"Cain busted out of Nod with Lilith's help and went to Hell and took his father's throne, and he's now the new Chairman and may have cut a deal with Satan, and since he's a hybrid, he can do daylight and can make babies, but he also took a teeny, weeny, sip of blood from me-that time, you remember when you said it was cool, so when he sat in the throne, he got a rush, had to eat, then he did Lilith in Dante's throne, that's all you were feeling, baby. Zehiradangra told me it happened last night while we was in bed, and uh, that's the rea�son you bit me so hard, like I said, baby, it wasn't you-there was a reason, and y'all are sorta linked, by way of both being Neteru broth�ers, until his silver burns all the way out is my guess, but the Chairman sired him and bit you, so that links you, which also hit Jose last night-'cause he bit the living bullshit out of 'Nita-I healed her a little while ago."
Damali gasped and sucked in a huge breath to keep rolling. She spit her words out like they were being sprayed by a semiautomatic, and they came out even faster as Carlos's eyes went solid silver and his fu�rious gaze began melting sand on the beach when he looked away.
"Oh, it was bad, Carlos. Juanita, had blood-clot-type femoral nicks, but I got it all even though I was tired. She'll live, will just be sore. So. we probably oughta tell the team that this isn't a drill. Vamp Council is back in session, time to go huntin'. You should probably check on Yonnie, too, because if you felt it, then he definitely is in his lair losing his mind-we should just be sure brotherman has enough black bot�tles to hold him over... uh, Cain was younger and stronger than Dante, so all you brothers are gonna feel a big jolt from his corona�tion."
Damali sucked in another huge breath, her eyes wild and her hair practically standing up on her head. "So, that's what happened. Well, I'd better get back to the house to tell Inez I just want a salad and, like, eight hours of sleep. Cool?"
"Do. Not. Move." Carlos walked around her, circling her with his hands behind his back, a look of such rage in his eyes that it made her close hers.
"I know you're angry and upset, baby, but-"
"Pissed off at that bastard does noteven begin to describe where I'm at, D," Carlos said in such a quiet rumble that she wondered if the ocean had gone still.
Damali opened one eye. The only saving grace was the fact that Carlos had said his rage was directed toward Cain, not her. Still, she wasn't ready to release her breath. She'd seen her man mad before, butnever like this.
Carlos dragged his fingers through his hair and tilted his head, coming to a stop before her. "You mean to tell me that while we were on our honeymoon," Carlos whispered, his voice increasing in decibel word by word, "that bastard got out of Nod, did Lilith, and tookDante's throne?" He shook his head and looked off into the distance for a moment, trying without success to summon calm. "We're now double linked by what happened out there in Arizona when you let him bite you, is that what you're telling me?"
"Now, Carlos, baby, you have to be rational," she said, backing away from him and talking with her hands. "He lost the whole contest and we got married, so he was apexing and needed some real bad-you've been there yourself, and uh, Lilith was available, since I'm married now," she said, flashing her ring as evidence, "and I wasn't nowhere but with you, right, so, what I guess he figured-"
"Do. Not. Justify this in any way, shape, or form, Damali!" Carlos hollered. "I got a blood taint from that motherfucker through you?"
"No, no, no, it's not like that-there's a lot involved and it's more complicated than-"
"Than what?"
Sand and wind were beginning to form a turbine of energy around Carlos, sending shells and debris in a stinging cloud around them. He had to calm down before he had an aneurysm. The rational side of his brain, the side that was currently frying, knew that it wasn't Damali's fault. After all the bullshit he had done in his life, and all that she'd tol�erated from him, he couldn't by rights go there. But the very male part of him, admittedly the irrational side at the moment, wasn't feel�ing the shit. The thing that was making the whole twisted scenario nearly impossible to process was the fact that he'd never brought any�thing foul home to Damali! For all his bullshit, he never had her eyes going gold from a were-demon-contracted virus, or dropping fang from a dragon nick!
Carlos closed his eyes, fury spikes making him need to count to ten. He could feel Damali peering at him. Her beautiful brown eyes were filled with worry, which only channeled his fury toward the real source of his anger-Cain. This time he'd gone too far.
"But, I can explain how-"
"No! Don't tell me shit," Carlos said, whirling on Damali. "Don't try to explain why his ass is crazy-none of it. You aremy wife!"
The moment the tide lapped the shore, Carlos flung out his arm and a sonic boom hit the wet sand, sending a backward tidal wave into the confused surf. Family was on the front steps and heading their way in a panic.
"Yo,yo, yo, y'all!" Shabazz shouted.
The moment the older Guardian shouted, Carlos turned, stopping the family meeting in its tracks just by the expression on his face. "This is between me andmy wife," Carlos said between battle-length fangs, and then made a square with his hands in the air, sealing him and Damali in a huge, translucent black box.
For a moment, she didn't breathe. Maybe she couldn't. She had seen him angry in her time, but never like this-at least not when she'd been the one in the wrong. She could see family nervously watching them through the blackish-silver energy seal, but not even the sound of the surf penetrated into the enclosure. Her heart was beating off tempo, making her slightly faint as Carlos stood in front of her trembling with rage, his chest heaving with sudden breaths of fury.
"Now, let me get this straight, Damali," Carlos said in a low rumble. "This horny, apexing, gotta-get-with-my-woman motherfucker busts out of Nod, using Lilith as his crowbar, goes down and gets a power hit thatI feel... thatall my boys feel, and because I am unnaturally linked to his ass through a blood transfer thatmy wife did with him... a willing, throat nick laced with seduction all in it-a f**king plea�sure nick, I drop fang Onmy wife... in bed... onour honeymoon, and I can't shake his tie to me now until I take his head off with my blade. Is that what you're telling me, bottom line?"
"Sorta," she said quickly. "But there's more to it than that, Carlos. More important things, and uh, it actually happened before we got married, 'cause, baby, youknow I would never,ever, in a million years go there-we were having problems when it happened, and baby, I love you, youknow that, so let's not go back to the past, let's look to what we have to do together in the future, and uh-"
"Before we go to the future, such that it is," he said, now studying his nails coolly. "Let's look at the repercussions of what you just told me, okay?" He glanced up at her, his eyes creating unnatural warmth on her face.
"All right," she said quietly. "Okay."
"Fact number one. Had there been no blood exchange between you and Cain, whatever his ass did would not involve you or me at home. It would just be a job, like any other vamp assassination, which I would gladly do." As he stared at her stricken expression, a part of him mellowed. "I've done this type of shit, myself. Maybe that's why I'm so pissed off, D. Not at you, but at the whole damned thing."
Carlos shook his head and rubbed the tension out of his neck. "I know how dangerous it is. Remember, I've had warrior angels all up in my grille about some dumb shit I did, not knowing the repercus�sions. So, I'm not casting aspersions on you, baby, but I wanna kill this motherfucker in the worst way. You have no idea."
When Damali drew a breath to speak, Carlos held up his hand. "And, because it was your blood in his system and you are a queen, the Neteru Queen's Council's newest made, I am sure they are feeling some fallout from this."
Carlos nodded when Damali gasped and covered her mouth. "Yeah. Eve. His mother. He took your blood with him down into that throne." Carlos walked back and forth and punched the translu�cent wall.
"Hey, hey, hey," Damali said, holding up her hands in front of her chest, becoming defensive. "Like you said, you did it, too, and sur�vived. You sat in Dante's-"