There were 32 marble statues lining those walls. Standing, seated, lounging, cuddled; each one in a different position. Some were alone and some were paired. All were female and all had a pleasant expression. There were no stoic visage here; happy, elated, or a sort of beautiful agony.
They were what remained of the holy ones. They were women who had sacrificed everything, their very life, to serve as capacitors, human storage for the power generated by pairs matched by the Vinculum Primo. Their exposure to such high and constant levels of white energy turned their bodies slowly to stone, or it had until Nathalia had found Camilla.
Camilla was a very specialized Panacea Primo. Her healing ability was in removing that which didn't belong. It made her especially useful down in the storage room. The Sisterhood had not lost one capacitor to the petrification since Camilla's assention to Primo.
The women standing in this room had solidified before Camilla's arrival, but they were very much alive. Camilla and others had told Nathalia they were, but being unable to sense a consciousness, Nathalia had doubted. Not anymore. She could see that they glowed ever so lightly with prana and could feel a mind there, though she was certain she could not push her thoughts into it.
She pushed aside the thoughts that that could have been her destiny, and headed toward the Abbess chambers. She almost walked right in as she would have when she ruled here but remembered herself in time. She knocked.
Harith opened the door for them. Nathalia could feel the hunger radiating off of him. She had no desire to start a war so she kept her head down, skin out of sight, but she knew he could smell her. Eiran distrusted the other's control and placed himself between Nathalia and the guardian of the One.
“Welcome. We're so glad to have a new Representative. With no other way to contact the Council of Esteemed Elders we have been feeling a little isolated. Please do sit down. Can I offer you anything to drink?”
Nathalia refused with a shake of the head. She had been speaking Sumerian only for so long now, it was most familiar to her. She struggled, the formal words feeling alien to her, The grandson of heaven has found the daughter of man and their joining has brought the One to earth.
Rejoice, for you are highly favored, the One is within you; blessed are you among women. You, Maeve, are chosen by fate to mother the savior of mankind and to be this chapter's Abbess Primo. You have steerage of their course; Direct their sails onward, lusty gentlewoman.
Nathalia had always been prone to quote Shakespeare and was quickly warming back up to the modern language. Apparently that didn't change in death or rebirth or a second or third life and served to identify her to Maeve more than her face or voice.
“Nathalia?” Maeve's question was barely a whisper. Normal ears might not have heard it.
Deny it. You will not enjoy revealing yourself. She will see the difference in you and fear it. Eiran discouraged her from doing what he could see was in her mind.
Nathalia heard his warning and decided against it. She needed Maeve. She indeed needed all the help the Daughters could give her. She answered the new abbess, Yes and no. The Nathalia you knew died but was born anew in me. I am Ereshkigal of the Kafziel family line.
Nathalia pushed back the hood of her cloak revealing her face to everyone in the room and getting her first good look at Maeve. She was VERY pregnant and stunned but happy to see Nathalia again. Maeve waddled around the desk, her arms extended for an embrace.
She will recoil at your touch.
Again only Nathalia heard Eiran's warning, but this time she took the advise. She remembered how Maeve had disliked touching the guardian when he came to bless her matchmaking. Maeve had told her it felt like being touched by a live wire. Experiencing that same sensation through Nathalia would surely make Maeve notice the change and fear.
Nathalia didn't want that so she held her hand up quickly in a motion for Maeve to stop.
It's better if we don't touch. I love you too much to handle seeing the look of disgust that would surely follow an embrace. Please be satisfied in knowing that I'm alive and happy with the second chance to sit together.
Maeve, I have decided that because of my death, you've learned a valuable and much needed lessen.
“And what lessen is that?”
The value of our secrets. Look at the damage that just one man in possession of our secrets was able to do to us. Imagine the damage that could be done if our enemies were organized or zealous about wiping us out. We must remain a secret society. The knowledge of our organization is power over us. You must now see that secrets are to be kept just that. But you aren't the only one who had a lessen to learn. We learned from you.
Now seeing the danger the outside world is to our existence, we agree with you that this organization should go on the offensive. We can no longer live carefree, believing that if we do no harm then no harm will be done to us. There's much evil in this world and we must do more to protect ourselves from it. We'll continue to practice as we always have and increase the good and love in the world, but we'll also hunt down and destroy the evil in it too. We can no longer sit by and wait for danger to come to us.
Maeve, we were foolish to think we alone had found power in this world. There are others out there collecting power, for less noble reasons. We're in the midst of a battle and didn't know it.
Nathalia feared that the battle was about to be brought to light all across the globe. No good could come of Eitan having the weapon. She really must find it first. That's why she had come here.
Maeve jolted her out of her thoughts. “Your mouth isn't moving, Nathalia. How can your ability be so much improved after only a few months? It took you years to reach the level you were when you died.”
I have no idea how long ago it was that I last stood in this room. Time's perceived differently by us. My ability's changed because we have a different power source. I can still access the capacitor's power, but if I were to power my voice with their collected supply you'd be very sick by now and they'd be completely drained. Telepathy is not the only current draw on our attentions and abilities. We're in a constant battle for control of our thoughts and it consumes energy in abundance.
“Who is 'us' and what are you talking about?” Maeve's voice cracked ever so slightly. If Nathalia had not been so intimately acquainted with Maeve, she would not have heard her anxiety.
Immediately there was danger filling the room. Nathalia planned to tell her about the Nephilim, but Harith and Eiran were against it. Eiran would support her no matter what she decided, but Harith would see certain revelations to the mother of his Sinnis as a breach in the very concept of their laws.
Nathalia looked at Maeve's guardian and said, I swear I will not to reveal another's name or true identity. Then she turned back to Maeve. Be not afraid. You'll find me much changed since our life here together. So much so, that I now consider myself one of the guardian kind.
Maeve's laugh. Nathalia forgot how beautiful it was. Her laugh made everyone smile. It broke the danger that was now almost a physical thing in the room.
“You consider yourself one of them!? Just minutes before you came in, I was thinking that you would roll over in your grave if you knew that there were so many men walking around the compound.”
I've come to understand many things. One of which, is that I misjudged and mistreated men. They're tortured creatures, wholly unaware that they're being influenced by evil. I deeply regret my old attitudes, but nothing can be done concerning my past life. The second of which, is that these guardians are not men.
“What do you mean, the guardians aren't men?”
And therefore as a stranger give it welcome. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
The revelation was too much for Maeve and she began to faint. All three guardian moved quickly. Nathalia caught Maeve's limp body. Harith lunged toward where Nathalia had been, but Eiran moved to intercept. Both men now had swords where their right arms had been before.
Nathalia felt certain that Harith would have spilled her blood if not for the proximity to the One.
Peace brothers. Harith, if the One is to be your mate then you will need to accept the Daughters of Women as allies. We need them. I need them. Certain secrets cannot be kept from them if the Nephilim want to choose from their ranks.
With her eyes closed, Maeve said, “Sorry to pull a fast one on you, but if you wouldn't let me hug you I had to make you come to me. I knew you couldn't resist a Maeve squeeze.”
Nathalia smiled at her attempt at a joke in such a moment. Nathalia's touch was obviously causing Maeve some discomfort, so she laid her friend, the new Abbess, on the couch. Both guardians, their arms now back to normal, took their places beside the two women.
“Perhaps it would be better if the men left us alone to talk.” Maeve suggested.
Definitely. Nathalia broadcasted to the guardians only, wanting Maeve to feel she was in control of this meeting. Why don't you both go and take nourishment in the sunlight together on the roof?
Harith remained in place and looked toward Eiran. He, in turn, shook his head no. Neither would leave if the other was staying and Eiran was hesitant to leave her side. They were certainly not going anywhere together. Certainly not at suggestion only.
Maeve doesn't know you and you're troubling her. Nathalia directed this at her own guardian.
“I'm ordering you both out. This is my office, my chapter, my decision. You, to the roof and you, if you prefer, may stay close to Nathalia, but on the other side of that door.”
That's my girl, Nathalia thought. Take charge. She followed Maeve's order with one of her own. Do as she says, my love.
Eiran couldn't defy a direct order from Nathalia. Seeing that Eiran was going, Harith followed. Both men bowed to the ladies and made their exits, never letting the other out of their sights. Nathalia closed the door behind him.
“Ugh!” Maeve exclaimed as soon as they were alone. “That one's been attached to me every second since Jolie's wedding and Aaron's no different. Being pregnant may feel empowering to some, but it imprisons me.”
Your daughter is of great importance to all men and guardians alike. Some don't know it, but those who do, are bereft to think she might come to some harm during their watch.
“We don't know it's a girl. The sonogram was inconclusive.”
She will be called Sarvamata and Yamina Prima as she will be mother to all proper and suitable love to everyone who lays eyes upon her. She will be the true mother of peace and take the throne of her ancestor and will reign over Earth forever; Her kingdom will never end.
Nathalia had already begun to move before there was a blood curdling scream in the hall just outside the door. Maeve got up too, but was much slower than the former Abbess. “Guards! Guards!”, the screaming voice shouted from the hall.
The door slammed open, crashing into the wall behind it and tearing off at least one set of hinges. Eiran jumped in the air, flew into the room with a back flip and landed at his mate's feet. He made apologies that only Nathalia could hear, I am sorry, my love. I was focused on you and did not sense the Iudex. She touched me. He looked up at her as if something had just occurred to him.
Elle, looking pale and shaken, followed quickly. Not seeing Nathalia, and looking only to Maeve, she said, “I read him and he's pure evil. Every thought in his head's about killing, consuming flesh and drinking blood.”
And here I thought that having sex with me was your only thought. Nathalia smiled down at Eiran. She would make this right. Eiran knew there was a reason that his mate had turned out to be the Abbess of the Daughters of Women. She would be the Nephilim's bridge to humanity.
Elle pleaded with Maeve's guardian, who had appeared out of thin air, directly, “Grab him before he kills us.” Elle was shaking violently. Never had she seen such a mind so filled with thoughts of the pleasures of violence and cannibalism. She struggled to keep her lunch down.
Peace to all. Nathalia broadcast to everyone in the room. No one is to make a move towards us. He's no danger to anyone who doesn't harbor evil in his heart.
Nathalia didn't think it was possible, but Elle went even whiter. “Is that you Nathalia? We thought you were dead.”
Perhaps the short and easy answer would be better here than the whole truth. Yes, Elle. It's me. I'm alive. Nathalia tugged her cloak neckline down to show the room her jaggedly scared jugular. Because of him. I gave up my life and he gave me a new one. I lost my voice and he replaced it.
“Nathalia or not, Maeve's acting Abbess. Maeve, you've never questioned me before and I'm telling you he's beyond dangerous. At least banish him!”
Maeve turned to Nathalia now and asked, “How much do you really know about him, Nathalia?” Clearly Elle's entreaty had some effect on her; Elle was never wrong.
I know everything about him, Maeve. We are one and the same: He's my beloved, my twin, my husband, my own. Eiran straightened to his full height, given strength by his wife's pride. She took his hand, in a more tender display than anyone was expecting, and they stood before the others, unified.
Nathalia gave them all a moment for that comment to sink in. That she was married to a man was no doubt a shock to them. Elle, the thoughts you saw are not his own, but those of the ones he keeps prisoner for the safety of mankind. They torment him and attempt to seduce him into acting out their desired violence. He's devoted his life to withstanding them and has never failed to do so.
The couple turned slightly to Maeve. Now I must come to the reason for our visit. We're here to ask for the Daughters help. An Evil one has been released into the world. He has renewed strength and the fervor of purpose to match. We must find him and the weapon capable of destroying this invincible ageless foe. He will come for all of us if we cannot.
Nathalia didn't tell her that the us she was speaking of were Nephilim. His thoughts were about the weapon, getting more Nephilim blood, hers specifically, tempting as many of his brethren to join him as possible and then destroying the Igigi. Maeve had the One inside her. That baby would become a woman Maeve would care very much for, a woman that would be converted to Nephilim just as Nathalia was. That woman would be a target, however much in the future that was, Nathalia needed to use it to get Maeve's allegiance.
Maeve had to sit back down. “First you come back from the dead and now you tell me an evil creature, hell bent on killing, was released and we have to find a weapon to kill this invincible thing?! Who released it?”
Nathalia looked into Eiran's cool opal eyes and found the strength she needed there to tell the truth.
I did.
***
Of course Maeve had given her permission for Alisha to use her power to help them find the weapon. Nathalia had known she would. In her heart, Maeve would always feel that Nathalia ran this place. If Nathalia needed something that the Daughters of Women could provide, they would. Alisha was getting ready now.
The courtyard was filled with sunshine and children. It was also packed with guardians. They all looked hungry to Nathalia. Their eyes darted around to the face of each girl child playing, searching. Nathalia knew an uncorrupted Nephilim would never hurt a child, but could a desperate one?
News had traveled. They all knew that the first had been converted. One of their own had a mate, someone who could satiate their hunger, travel in their special way and live as long as they could. They all knew their times were coming for that satisfaction.
Nathalia sent out two compulsions. One to the children that it was time to go inside, and one to the Nephilim: they wanted to stay. Eiran and Nathalia, cloaked from their view, walked out to the middle of the Nephilim once the children had vacated that space. Nathalia reached down to pet a fat lazy cat laying in the grass. She thought it was looking at her, but the cat jumped at her touch. A not too large but very sharply armed paw slashed through her skin, leaving a set of scratches. They quickly downgraded to whelps, but not quickly enough. The feline ran off with a 'rair', but the damage was alre
ady done.
Every Nephilim smelled her blood. It called out to them. Even their thousands of years of practice resisting temptation didn't prepare them for a female Nephilim. They were all inhaling deeply and involuntarily stepping forward. In the anonymity that their camouflage afforded them, Nathalia called out to the great mother earth, Ki, asking her to hold her sons.
The earth reached up and wrapping her flesh around their legs, Ki held them fast. Nathalia ordered Eiran to drop their camouflage. To the race of antediluvian giants, it looked like they just appeared, but they were used to tabalu. Nathalia donned her warriors garb. They all recognized her and the threat she represented. Some of their eyes held fear, others defiance.
You know me. I am Ereshkigal, chosen warrior of the Igigi. I have a duty to the shining ones to destroy all trace of the half breeds.
One of them called out, “You do not have the weapon.”
Today is not the day of reckoning. I kill no one today.
The same Nephilim challenged, “Then why do you have the mother hold us?”
I only want to talk to you and give you a chance to get accustomed to my scent. I know it is very tempting.
Nathalia turned as she spoke, looking in each of their eyes, making sure each saw her honesty. I need sisters. Fellow Sinnis must be made who will help me in my quest to abolish the abominations. I will allow any who have withstood temptation, as my mate has, to live and to search for your beloved. I know that is why you have gathered here.
The old prophesy, which had failed to fall short of absolute truth, said that 'from wince the first comes, so shall the others'. Most family lines had at least one branch in the good old US of A, because of it's immigrant origins. Texas was indeed the 'heart of independent land' that the same prophetic woman had spoken of before such a place was even known to exist.
Another yelled out, “How? How is it done, converting a woman to be darisam baltutu?”
We are uncertain. It happened for me by accident. I was on the brink of death, brought by my own hand. I don't know if that is crucial or trivial to the conversion. I do know there is a blood exchange and tabalu involved.
Transit of Ishtar,(Book 2 of Sinnis) Page 18