"It is so horrific that I can't even speak it."
Carlos nodded. "You don't have to," he murmured, opening his gaze to the cleric. "I got it."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Carlos immediately picked up Damali's energy signature at the Methodist church on Germantown Avenue and Haines Street, and then followed it across the cobblestoned road to a new white-light enclosure that had to be the safe house she'd taken the team to for sanctuary. As soon as he stood in front of the storefront, he opened a direct telepathic channel to her to be sure it was cool for him to enter. Neteru or not, one didn't just whirl into a Guardian encampment unannounced; it was too easy to be mistaken for a demon entity and get smoked by friendly fire.
Oddly, it took him several minutes to get Damali's attention because it seemed that every seer on the team was blowing her head up with a private instant message. Her mental capacity to manage the incoming was nearly fried.
Carlos stared at the front door of the Nile Bookstore and Caf�, wondering whether or not it would be just easier to ring the bell. The way rapid-fired questions were coming at Damali reminded him of watching kids in the street playing hard-core double Dutch jump rope-but this was championship level.
Sometimes there were two or three Guardian seers in her head at the same time,then one would quickly exit only for another one to hop in before he could, and then that person set a new tempo. Getting her to be able to acknowledge and recognize his signature pulse was going to require a spousal override, but he didn't want to panic her with an SOS.
After a few moments longer without success, he simply rang the bell. The chatter in Damali's head went still. Beaded drapes got moved to the side with a 9mm muzzle. Carlos let his breath out hard.
"I'm looking for my wife, man," he said loudly, losing patience.
Locks quickly got turned and he could hear heavy tumblers engaging. In a few seconds the door opened and he and Damali's entire squad could be seen behind a young Guardian male wearing white pantaloons and no shirt.
"Why didn't you call me, baby?" Damali said, slipping around the sentry at the door. She glanced at the local Guardian, who didn't appear to be ready to stand down. "Mehki, he's cool. It's him. I scanned him."
"All right, then. Cool," Mehki said, unsure. "Welcome."
"I tried to third-eye call but couldn't get through," Carlos said, stepping inside and pounding the local Guardian's fist. "Rivera. Carlos Rivera."
"Brother Mehki," the local Guardian replied and then glanced back at the team. "I'm sosorry, there's been . . . some issues."
"What issues?" Carlos said, glancing around at the faces that blankly stared back at him.
"We have children here," Mehki said. "I know this is new for Guardian compounds, but we're getting children sent to us like never before. The house elders over in the dormitory section are concerned . . . given all the weapons, the war vibrations, the recent extreme violence in your auras. Don't get us wrong, our local team eldersknow your team is above reproach and we're honored to have a visitation from the Neterus in this era . . . and we most assuredly don't think you all would do anything intentionally to jeopardize our precious futures, the children-but rather that if something's hunting you or stalking your team, it might track it back to this place where the children are. This is our dilemma. We want to support you, but . . ."
"This place is a lighthouse, Carlos," Damali interjected quickly, her gaze going between Carlos and Mehki. "We don't want Mehki or the mother-seer or father-seer of this compound to feel some type of way or to think we don't understand their position. They just started taking in children because the need in the neighborhood was so great . . . and they opened a school-but, Carlos, if something follows our team here and were to hurt any of their students, nobody on this team would be able to sleep at night."
"She's got that right," Marlene said, wiping her hands down her face to stave off fatigue. "That's why you couldn't get a mental word in with her, because all of us were blowing up her head with that same sentiment."
"I'd rather go up the street to a doggone hotel and take my chances with an Uzi under my pillow, C-rather than think we led Vlad's army up here to these kids, or worse. Feel me?" Big Mike said, running his palm over his bald head.
"I feel you, man," Carlos said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Then, we be out, man," Yonnie said, shaking his head. "Ain't trying to have what I saw in Detroit come for no little kids. I never even went there while I was on the other side . . . but seeing hopscotch chalk lines and jungle gyms . . .maaan . That would make us no better than those stupid, punk-ass, young boy, drug thugs who ain't got cojones enough to step to their problem directly-but who do those Wild West school yard shoot-outs, spraying everybody, even kids that didn't have nuthin' to do with the bull.Naw. Ain't worth it, C, no matter what."
"We are glad you understand," a tall, regal man said as he parted the gathering of Guardians. "Hotep," he murmured, surveying Carlos and Damali, then their team.
All eyes went to the elder gentleman who spoke ina calm , but firm tone, as Mehki stepped back with a slight bow of respect.
"This is our house father-seer, Urhra," Mehki said with deference, motioning with another bow. "This is the legendary, new millennium Neteru team."
"Good to meet you," Carlos said, inclining his head with respect.
"Hotep," Damali said with a slight bow.
The man lifted his chin, his bronze hue set off by intensely dark eyes and a thicket of jet-black hair. His white-and-gold embroidered African robes crackled quietly with tactical static charge as he moved, gesticulating slowly with his hands as he spoke.
"Amen tua en hetep-peace.Ausar tua en aungkh-life.Tehuti tua en Tchaas-wisdom.Seker tua en aungkh hen-life eternal.Ma'at tua en aungkh en Ma'at-truth.Geb tua en khab-strength.All this I pray for you in the name of Neter," he said with an unblinking gaze. "Aquila and her sister are with the children and must remain as their sentinels, but send their deepest love to you. But I wanted to greet you myself and to confer the fact that there was no slight intended by our painful decision . . . yet, we cannot grant you lodging here."
"We understand, brother," Carlos said, clasping the local team's father-seer by the forearm in a warrior's grip.
"But we will not abandon our own," Urhra said, staring Carlos directly in the eyes. "We have made provisions for visiting teams-this is, after all, the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, no matter the current murder rate. Philadelphia's tactical warrior Guardians will cover you while here."