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"Hana and I are still thinking over names ... the other three cases are ... perhaps more complicated than we should get into this morning," I finished off. Yeah ... my Illuminati aunt, the Hashashin advisor and my Seven Pillars' 'kidnapper turned Prisoner of War' cases.
Once the two crazy chicks (Buffy and Rhada) were contained, things quieted down quickly. I was left with the opportunity to immediately make things worse. There were four angry Amazons, yet only one in urgent need of succor. I pulled away from Elsa successfully this time. Her emotional focus on me couldn't withstand the volatility washing over the scene. She'd make me pay for it later.
"Buffy, I'm am all yours in 30 minutes," I touched her cheek. Juanita and Daphne didn't release her and I couldn't wait around for her blistering response.
"Oneida, please call me this afternoon so we can look to our next steps," I gave her my best 'I'm SO Happy everyone knows about our shared Warrior's Love' ... because lying was my only option at that second.
I walked straight into the frothing Rhada. My arms wrapped her up. As I pressed in, she collapsed on to me. The two Amazons - the Head and Apprentice of House Nammu - released her into my care. Rhada's sobs disturbed everyone present. They weren't thinking 'he's broken her'. Had they felt that way, I would have been attacked.
No, they were worried that Rhada, like too many of their daughters, was 'weak' in the mind. I curled her body into mine as I went to the floor. As few people as possible around us needed to participate in our 'private' moment. Mahdi was coming around the table rapidly. I had to move fast.
"Hey," I whispered to her. "You have a knife. Why are you not stabbing me?"
"I am shattered inside," she sobbed.
"No - no, you don't," I kissed her forehead, aborting her pity party. "Get up right now, or no more kitten showers for you." Rhada jolted. I had blindfolded and bound her, then let kittens lick her body. Afterwards, we had shared our first shower together.
"What ..." hissed Mahdi. I had visions of Day #2 on the job and her whipping me with my own belt.
"Rhada has been protecting me since the day we first met," I looked up into Mahdi's eyes. "She has been making sure I didn't flee after I knew your secret, though it took Oneida to explain to us why it was so. Right Oneida?"
I didn't look at Oneida. I gave her no hint on how to proceed. I'm a horrible influence on the hearts and minds of true romantics.
"Yes. I once found them in combat. I also misunderstood Rhada's desires, yet attest to my sister's fierceness," Oneida backed me up. "We continue to disagree over where Cáel's attentions are best directed," she tacked on. Whoops.
"I should have ..." Rhada mumbled. Her next words would have been 'killed you ...' so I smothered her lips with a kiss. As I pulled her head back I mouthed 'stab me'. Rhada stabbed me. I winced.
"Fuck," I grunted.
"You stabbed him!" the Apprentice of Nammu declared.
"He has left himself vulnerable," Rhada sniffled. "He should know better by now."
"You are teaching him?" she and Mahdi queried at the same time.
"He's a male," Rhada answered with more confidence and affection. She also snuck me a smile. Yep, I had masked her vulnerability with my own ~ silly male. Did ANYONE buy our deception? Not hardly. Once more it was a case of the lie you prefer over the obvious evidence. It was good to have friends too.
"Cáel Wakko Ishara," Beyoncé spoke up, "how many heirs to Ishara are there now and what happened to the 'no-sex for the first 84 days' policy?"
I grabbed the proffered social lifeline with gusto. I regained my feet, pulling Rhada up with me.
"Ten ...," I looked over to Gael of House Bendis, "Eleven. As for the 84 Day Rule - I am a reprehensible human being, the Poster Child for unreliable males everywhere, glib of tongue and when I find a woman I resonate with, I can't stay away." Ah yes, me and my old literary favorite resonate.
"He's been lying to us," "ten?" and "what does resonate mean?"
"Best Daddy Ever!" Queen Aya declared in her piping faerie voice.
"WAIT!" one woman's scream overwhelmed the others. It was Febe Mielikki. "Is this what you do to our enemies? Tear them apart from inside?" She was looking at me.
"Yes, it is (a lie - well, such things were her job, not mine)," Katrina nodded. "He is far harder on them. Witness the piles of dead he has lain before us in defense of our children, in revenge of the Hylonome and to protect our Queen. Ask the Seven Pillars and Condottieri how much they hate and fear the name Ishara over all other Amazon Houses. Better yet, ask a member of the Earth & Sky, or Nine Clans if they would unite our forces against our enemies without the clever council of Ishara."
That last sentence might have been scoffed at ... it certainly was derided with snorts and sneers by many initially. Then those Amazons saw the grim acceptance on the faces of their House sisters based in Africa, India and Indonesia - the front lines of the struggle. To them, the Alliance with the 9 Clans was fresh on their minds and deemed critical to any hope of success.
The seizure of the PRC's South China Sea island bases had been a combined effort of the Black Lotus, three Amazon houses and the E&S. The theft of the nuclear aircraft carrier had been a combination of the same factors with even greater risk of exposure, yet none denied the morale boost which permeated the Host because of the humiliation their warriors had heaped upon the Seven Pillars.
The trust their sisters had exhibited toward non-Amazons was appalling to the skeptical, although obviously necessary in hindsight. After all, defending your freeholds was important, yet every Amazon knew you won wars on the offensive - attacking, killing and seizing things from your enemies was the pathway to victory.
"We cannot ask Ajax," Rhada turned to Mahdi. "Cáel killed him for us."
"Did you really kill Ajax," Mahdi's eyes burrowed through my soul, "the way we were told you did?"
"Did I feed him to the Goddess SzélAnya?" I looked to make sure this was the version of events St. Marie had conveyed to the Council. It was.
"Yes. I swear to you all, but it would not have been possible if Kwenhamai had not rekindled her love for her people and Bolu of Illuyankamunus had not remained steadfast and loyal when the rest of the Host betrayed him. Eternal love and deathless loyalty had as much to do with the death of Ajax as SzélAnya's might and any cleverness I can lay claim to."
"In truth, Ajax should have feared the Amazons. 3000 years ago, he belittled, betrayed and humiliated us. In turn, we tricked him into his own death. When given a second chance at life, he did the last thing any Amazon would do - he repeated the exact same mistake and paid for it with his life - again. Amazon love, loyalty, strength and wit are as strong today as they've ever been. He didn't learn from his mistakes; that is the real reason he's dead."
"150 words to basically say 'yes'," St. Marie muttered.
"Those are the words of an Ash Man," Oneida sighed amorously. St. Marie was correct. I could have used one word instead of one hundred and fifty. I didn't because of people not yet present in this room. Every word spoken in Council was officially recorded unless the Keeper of Records was told to 'commit it to the nothingness'. From this day forth, when young Amazons girls would be told the stories about our most recent wars they would hear about the Slaughter of the Hylonome and the vengeance visited upon their slayers.
Sure, I'd play a prominent role. Ajax's return was intertwined with the return of House Ishara and that meant me, Cáel, Vranus' heir. SzélAnya would get the credit for the kill, which would make everyone happy. An Amazon Queen couldn't even land a blow on him three thousand years ago, so a male Amazon having to feed him to a goddess was just fine in their book. Bizarrely, 'clever tricky' men were okay. It was the macho heroes which gave them problems.
Now, with my hastily conjured prose, I had reminded everyone Kwenhamai was there as well. At the Seven Skulls, she had begun her path to redemption. Amazons were big on killing traitors, not rehabilitating them. Without Kwenhamai's betrayal of Ajax to me, there would have been no revenge and no birth of House SzélAnya.
When those Amazon lore-mistresses repeated my words in the future, their daughters would ask, 'Who was Bolu of Illuyankamunus?'
And then the lore-mistresses would have to say ... 'Bolu was an Ash Man and it was his devotion and that of his descendants which brought SzélAnya to fight at Cáel's side that day.'
Fuck it all. He deserved at least a mention for all his courage and devotion. I had to believe when the Arinniti handed him their three sons and his orders, he knew something wasn't right. Vranus was a young man and gripped by the immediate desperation of his people.
Bolu though, was a seasoned fighter. More to the point, by his mid-thirties, he was a senior member of his House and most certainly his voice had been heard around the council fires of the Illuyankamunus.
In that moment, as the Arinniti spoke, did he want to confer with the elders of his House first? Did he ask about any of his own sons, or daughters? He was certainly old enough to have had a few. Or, did he look into their eyes and know the truth?
You have butchered my sons and nephews, and my daughters and my sisters let them die.
And then he carried out his mission anyway. Because he was an Amazon and, unlike his sisters, he would never surrender to despair, no matter how grim the outlook, or heavy the odds. Unable to save his own offspring, he saved the three children of Arinniti and the one young warrior of Ishara. From Dot Ishara's own description, old Vranus wasn't terribly bright, yet the five had survived.
Hell - they'd thrived. 2600 years later, Bolu's actions had not only saved the true House Illuyankamunus - now SzélAnya, he'd saved House Ishara too ... and through me, House Anat - Saku ... and the Royal House of the Amazons through Kwenhamai and Aya ...
And he'd lived long enough to have another family and teach them to be good little Amazons, even passing on the Hittite cuneiform in their religious practices.
I couldn't imagine his final night before taking himself to the cliffs. Would he die alone without a Goddess and ancestors to welcome him? Would the religion he had passed on to his children be a lie? It hadn't. He was no augur. He had no way beyond faith to be sure. Still, he jumped. Generation after generation had taken themselves to the cliffs after him as well, proving his lessons had taken hold. For all that and more, I could give him a mention in our official records - his fierce determination reaching thru the millennia, guiding me to my rendezvous with Ajax.
"To answer the question which led us to this ... revelation," Krasimira interjected. "The phrase is Meikkiz Kisetta! That is the formal greeting of Amazons to their Queen."
'Meikkiz Kisetta' meant 'from many become one'; the ancient Amazon pledge which I felt had been echoed many centuries later ... All for one and one for all.
"Meikkiz Kisetta!" they repeated.
"Thank the Goddesses," St. Marie groaned. "Meeting adjourned."
[THANK YOU FOR REMEMBERING]
"Krasimira, a moment in private?" I requested as soon as the council meeting was concluded. She nodded. We walked side by side out of the chamber and into the hall. When the noises of the others grew muted, I dismissed Buffy, Juanita and Daphne. Krasimira motioned her followers to give us room as well.
"Two things," I exhaled. I placed a hand on her upper arm, stroking it affectionately. I doubt she'd ever beheld the gesture before. She was uncertain.
"First - thank you. Thank you for all that you and the other Keepers have done down through the ages. Thank you for the loneliness you have endured. I will take the reason for my thanks to the grave. You have been right. No one else should ever know."
"Secondly, I humbly request you tell me 'her' name. I would like to use it when I greet her when I pass. I imagine she hasn't heard it in a long, long time." By 'her' I meant Yakko Ishara. The second question was both a quest to determine if I had guessed right about how things had unfolded and as an indicator that I sympathized with her burden.
"Firstly, you are welcome. Secondly, whose name are you referring to?" she smiled. Yep, I was right.
"It is okay."
"Thank you, Ishara. If I give you a fortune cookie to give to your goddess, will it remained unopened except for her eyes alone?" Krasimira offered.
"Yes."
"I have never given a direct offering to a goddess before," she nodded. "I would like to try. I will have the fortune cookie delivered to you before five o'clock Monday afternoon. Take care, Ishara," she bowed an inch, or two, then slipped past me and left.
[SPINNING PLATES]
I walked into my place right before nine. Odette was spending the day with her parents, so I had promised myself a little 'unwinding' time. Sovann, Timothy's Cambodian-American boyfriend, was on the sofa, hair wet, towel around his shoulders and 'boy shorts' underwear on (with nothing else) looked my way. Juanita was right behind me. At least they had met before. The shower was running.
"Hey Sovann," I headed his way. "Good night last night?"
"Yeah," he grinned. "How's life been treating you?"
"Stuff I can't talk about," I grimaced. "Has Timothy talked to you about us getting a new place?"
"Yes," he nodded. "We are both of the opinion you need to keep the few sane friends you have." Ah, the advance in a relationship when the couple starts thinking of one of their friends as a friend of both of them.
"I appreciate it," I grinned. I was about to plop down on the sofa beside him when I recalled my 'company'. "Juanita, can I get you anything?"
"No," she paused then, "what's next on the agenda?"
"I am planning on hanging around for a half hour before calling my neighbor in 3F and inviting her out to brunch. She's done a great deal for me and, since I'm about to move out, I figure I would like to repay her kindness before I go."
"He means 'fuck her'," Juanita sniped. Sovann arched a questioning eyebrow.
"Rough morning meeting," I mumbled. As my ass hit the sofa cushions, the shower cut off. Juanita's displeasure over the revelation of my sexual misadventures earlier this morning was amplified by the idea I might be talking 'shop' with non-Amazons.
I'd talked down Buffy at Havenstone after the meeting. She had official business to take care of, which curtailed her ability to make my life miserable at the moment, so Juanita felt obliged to take over those duties. I had about had it with that shit. I was reordering my thoughts for the umpteenth time since Aya had become Queen and I'd become a Father ten times over when Timothy came out, a towel around his waist.
One look told him something was wrong with my soul.
"Bro," he murmured. I stood up as he approached. He wrapped me up in a hug. Sovann joined us a few seconds later. After a bit Timothy pulled back. "What can you tell me?"
"They screwed Aya over big time," I sighed, "and I'm going to be a dad more than once. Everyone woman I know is either too good for me, or violently-bitchy fucking nuts." Sovann stole a quick glance Juanita's way. Timothy didn't.
"We were planning on catching a 12:30 showing of 'As Above, So Below'. You should come along," Timothy suggested. Normal guy-stuff.
"I could invite the girl in 3F," I amended the offer. "We could do brunch at the Egyptian place first."
"Great," Timothy grinned. "You go ask her and I'll get dressed."
As I was heading for the door, he called out from the bedroom.
"One of your Kazak buddies stopped by after they found out we were moving. They have scouted out a few place for 'their Prince' - eight in fact. They left a bundle for us to consider." Ugh. My 'Brother', the Great Khan, had heard I was moving, was currently living like a pauper and decided to do something about it. My 2014 Tax Returns were going to be ... interesting.
Juanita tailed me to 3F. I rang the doorbell and waited. Movement ... hesitation ...
"Hey!" through the door.
"It is Cáel Nyilas from down the hall," I responded. "You've been kind to me on numerous occasions and I've been remiss in thanking you. My roommate, his boyfriend, my 'buddy' and I are going out for brunch and a movie and I'd like it if you could come along. I apologize for the short notice. My life's been a mess recently."
"Oh ... OH!" she gasped. "Hold on!" I could make out the sounds of her running around before the door swung open. She was blushing in embarrassment and it wasn't hard to see why. Her place as a pigsty. The girl in 3F was cute, zesty and vibrant ~ 5' 2" and 110 lbs. She was busty, bra-less with dark-coppery hair pulled back in a loose bun and pale skin.
She was wearing a white wife-beater and cut-off jeans - no socks, or shoes. Both were stained. Her place was a mess with discarded fast food containers, pizza boxes, grocery bags, shipping boxes and other such debris lying about.
"Come in. Let me get dressed," she ushered me - us in.
"This is my bodyguard, Juanita. She's going to take a quick peek around then make herself scarce," I tried to smooth things over.
"In this dump?" Juanita scoffed cruelly. "I don't know where to begin."
Blink. The girl in 3F's lower lip trembled and her eyes grew watery. She sniffled. I'd had it with ... everybody.
"That is uncalled for," I said in a dead voice as I pivoted toward Juanita. "Go home." Juanita glared. "I don't mean my home. I mean 'home' as in wherever you go when you aren't with me, because you are passed being on my last nerve. Don't call in a replacement either. I've had it with you and your fucking attitude ~ and today - right now - I am pulling rank. Get out of my sight."
"I'll be out in the hallway," Juanita backed away.
"No," I shook my head. "You are not welcome in Ishara's presence for the rest of the day. Your crass words to a person who has only shown me kindness were the last in a long list of insults today which have had a detrimental effect on my quality of life. Go home and contemplate your failure."
She tried to match wills with me with her gaze.
"Let me at least call in a replacement before I go," she retreated.
"No."
"You are being unreasonable."
"Yes I am. A minute ago, you ceased being worthy of an explanation."
"I'm sorry," 3F spoke up. "I didn't mean to make you and your friend get into a fight."
"We aren't fighting," I kept my eyes on Juanita. "She made me a promise to respect my desire to live a somewhat private life. The way she treated you is showing the utmost disrespect to both you and me. She assumed no matter how horrible her behavior, I would stomach it. And I'm letting her know she's mistaken. Good-bye Juanita."
"Don't do this, Ishara," Juanita tried to guilt me by authority.
"You should have thought over your obligation to our House before you opened your damn mouth and insulted my neighbor, Juanita. The next words out of your mouth will be taken as an assault on my prestige." Basically, a 'fuck-you' to Juanita for being a bitch and then trying to guilt me out of over me punishing her over lousy attitude. By sending her away, I was punishing her, there was no doubt of that in my mind.
The agreement I had with my bodyguards was simple - I accepted the necessity of their presence because my life really was in danger and they accepted I wished to maintain some illusion of normalcy. Juanita crossed the line - again - and I'd had enough, so now NO Isharan was going to be around to both protect me and intrude on my normalcy and I was forcing the responsibility for my decision on both of us ... because it WAS her fucking fault.
