Time to Prepare
Beth laughed when Mah-Mah hugged her a third time.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, emotion straining the words. “I told the Lord when I saw you again, I’d hug the heck out you. I think this last one’ll finish off that deal.”
Mah-Mah released her and held her at arm’s length, tears streaking her face. Her pretty blue eyes sparkled with warmth and worry, and whatever she was about to tell her. Maybe that’s the part responsible for that fiery determination in her wise gaze.
Mah-Mah shot a quick glance at the room full of aunts, cousins, sisters and daughters and discreetly tossed her head toward the hall.
Beth followed her to the laundry room, emotion overcoming her at remembering her first day in the beautiful home.
Once the door shut them in, Mah-Mah turned and hurried to her.
“We have so much to catch up on but first I want you to know that this whole swamp has been on its knees praying with all our hearts for you and that baby and Sahvrin.”
Mah-Mah covered her mouth as tears made diamonds of her eyes.
“I have never been so scared in my life,” she whispered.
“But those angels God sent us?” Her brows rose high as she dabbed her face with her fingers.
“Those sweet, precious sisters in the lord?” She nodded and took Beth’s hands and squeezed them.
“I swear the air in these woods shook with power.”
Beth’s tears gushed too, now. “I had no idea Bishop had nearly died.” And it killed her every time she imagined all of it.
Mah-Mah drew back sharply. “Don’t go blaming yourself. You were called to go where you went and do what you did and it’s done now.”
Beth wiped her face, steadying her breaths. “What is done? I brought a man home that deeply offends my husband and… I can’t blame him. I…” She fought with the shame twisting her guts.
“I can see that one is special,” she whispered. “I don’t know all why he’s here but there is a reason. More than making my son jealouser than a rooster with only one hen and a visiting cousin.”
Beth gushed out a piece of laughter. “I can’t explain why or how or… what it is about Sinrik but…” She shook her head slowly, raising her gaze to Mah-Mah. “I feel like I’m… supposed to protect him.”
“Well, he clearly feels the same way about you,” she said, nodding. “I see it. It’s a holy bond, honey,” she assured softly. “For such a time as this, even while we don’t know the whys, we trust the good Lord. Oui?”
Mah-Mah pet her face and Beth forced a nod.
She placed both hands on her womb next. “How is our precious one doing?” she asked, locking a fierce, searching gaze on her. “A mother knows things. Tell me what you know.”
“He’s growing fast.” More tears gushed. “I think he’s growing… too fast.”
Mah-Mah’s brows sharpened. “Explain, honey.”
“I… he’s…. He’s bigger than he should be and… too smart.”
“Now why would you cry about a thing like that?” Mah-Mah cooed, making her sob more.
“Because I don’t want him to be hurt by…” Her words barely squeaked past the turmoil.
“Alright,” Mah-Mah soothed as Beth fought to catch her breath. “He’ll be alright, don’t worry about that. No matter what happens, he’ll be al-right.”
The conviction in her strong voice came with another hug and this time Beth buried herself inside every bit of it. “I’m so scared, Mah-Mah,” she barely confessed.
“What are you scared about, honey?” she pressed softly. “Get it out of that pretty head of yours. Don’t let it fester.”
“Everything,” she gushed quietly. “And for everyone.”
“You sense the same thing this whole swamp does, honey. We all feel it.”
Beth shuddered as the baby jerked in her womb. She held the woman’s gaze. “What is it, Mah-Mah?”
“Oh chile,” she barely said, heatedly, hand stroking her head then holding her at arm’s length. “This here is the end that we’re feeling.” Her smile trembled with her whisper. “But… that’s not the part that concerns me.”
Beth’s pulse tripled as she waited for Mah-Mah to speak what hid in her mind too.
“It’s what’s beginning that concerns me, baby.” A grave passion hardened her gaze as she nodded slowly. “And what’s still coming.”
A wave of nausea swept over Beth.
“Oh, honey.”
Beth shook her head, breathing slowly as she sat on a hamper. “I’m fine, just… need a…” God, she needed Bishop. “What time is it?”
Mah-Mah looked at her watch. “Knockin’ on nine-thirty. You want me to call my son? Let him know he needs to get you home?”
Beth nodded, not caring where she went, as long as it was with him.
“You hold on,” she ordered softly, fishing her phone from the pocket of her floor-length red skirt.
Was this what Mah-Mah needed to tell her? Or was it something else?
“He didn’t answer, I’m textin’ him,” she announced.
“He never was big at answering his phone,” she fussed lightly.
“Now, I had an idea to pass by you,” she said, returning her phone to her pocket after texting.
“It’s gonna sound crazy as the day is dark and really, it’s the dark days that gave me the idea. ”
“Tell me,” Beth urged, needing something besides the gnawing dread in her bones to think about.
“Some will say it’s the worst idea at a time like this, but I know you’ll understand where I’m coming from.
It don’t have to be fancy or anything, but what do you think about one big welcome to the swamp party for our incoming.
” She shot up a palm. “I do realize we don’t know a thing about any of them and there needs to be certain precautions, but this is a multiple bird killing, crawfish boiling, stone throwing event.
” She swiped the air. “Poorly strung words.
I'm just sayin' we need to really get to know them if you know what I mean.”
Beth considered what she was trying to say. “Like an intel party?”
She spanked her own hand sharply. “Exactly! An intel party! I knew you’d get it! Cause we know there’s gonna be all sorts of people and somebody’s gonna need to sort ‘em properly.”
“Find out their skills,” Beth agreed, nodding.
“And their belief system and what-not. They need to be educated on how we do things here and that this ain’t no America here in these swamps.”
Boy, she wasn’t kidding there. She recalled Sinrik’s Ever-Fallen handbook. “Does the swamp keep a written record of all its laws?”
“Oh, absolutely we do. Every Hatch has its bylaws of course, and every Hatch follows the Horde’s constitution so-to-speak.”
“We should make copies of those, then,” Beth thought.
Mah-Mah’s eyes lit up. “We could,” she said, excited. “We can get every Hatch to make ‘em, that way it won’t be daunting. And the Sisters have agreed to help however they can.”
A plan began to spring up in Beth’s head. “We need to have a meeting about it. With all the women. Assuming we’ll have Bishop’s blessing. The men can focus on getting the refugees in and we’ll focus on receiving them.”
Mah-Mah nodded. “Receiving them nice and clean.”
“We’ll treat it like…” Beth angled her head, thinking. “Becoming citizens of the Horde?”
She lit up at that. “They’d need to swear allegiance,” she snapped, nodding.
“That’s definitely non-negotiable,” Beth said, realizing how many ways this could bring trouble. “Different religions, different mindsets, different ways of life—all of that will surely become an issue.”
“Unless they adopt our way of doing things and believing. Aside from religion. I realize we can’t force nobody to that.”
“No, we can’t,” Beth agreed. “But we can enforce our laws and ways.”
“We must,” she assured. “And those are religious in and of themselves,” Mah-Mah added.
“They are.”
Mah-Mah paced before her. “Would be like a…”
“Quiet testimony?”
Mah-Mah did another hand spank, shooting an index finger at her. “Oui! A quiet testimony. But proud,” she tacked on with a firm nod.
****
Seer’s excitement flipped on the second Zodak entered the graphene-infused enclosure. Several Creole Kings stood and watched with the rest of the Twelve as his favorite graceful monster moved toward an unconscious Sinrik still bound on the floor, his long black robe brushing the stone.
He slowly circled him, ocular gates still lowered and locked on. Standing at his head, he stopped. His right hand lifted and the webbed etching on his skin glistened in the light. The plan was to move slowly through each lens, only touching him if he needed to.
He flipped up the first lens and Seer’s breath held as he stared. His head began to gradually angle.
He moved slowly around his entire body till he returned to the head. He flipped up the next lens. Again he circled him, pausing every few seconds then resuming. He flipped a third lens back at his head and again paused. Longer this time.
“What’s he seeing you think?” Hurricane barely wondered next to Seer.
“No clue,” Seer said quietly back.
Zodak moved again. Slower now. His steps feeling careful. Cautious.
“He’s seeing something,” Bishop said on his left.
“Indeed he is,” Seer agreed quietly.
“How many of those lenses does he have?” Shank asked behind him.
“I think that was the last one.”
“Oh shit, here goes the real deal,” Hurricane muttered as Zodak raised his hand and flipped up the final lens. With his naked eyes, he very slowly tilted his head right. Then left at the same pace. Again he moved around the body. This time, his steps moved faster.
He stopped when he reached his head again and looked right at Seer. He gave one shake of his head.
“What does that mean?” Bishop asked.
“He can see nothing,” he whispered, stirring the divine things in Seer.
“Bruuhhhh,” Hurricane said under his breath with certain doom.
“I hope he uses that badass hand,” Spook whispered behind him somewhere.
“Hell yeah,” Nitro agreed, eager. “Blast the answers out of his ass.”
****
Zodak’s eyes burned with the unsettling conclusion. No malevolence. Only a sterile void, just as the Bishop said.
Staring down at the bound man, his brain still attempted to find a point that would trigger his biochemical entanglement. But with no trauma or malice, his gift just slipped off.
Whether or not this was an intentional design would require him to touch.