Akriel took a long draw while staring into Andria’s eyes. “That would be Nazz Madame General Kuko Kiena.”
“Oh, you liar,” Andria said loudly, amused at the game of one-upmanship.
“Please,” Akriel soberly said to the pipe. “My little friend Ashley doesn’t know this and I’d like to keep it that way. In fact, only a few know.” Akriel’s gaze penetrated Andria. “Have you ever heard of Nazz General Vazkri?”
Andria swallowed hard at hearing the name. “Yes, I have. She’s on Kuko’s personal staff. I’ve been on the front lines and watched with my own eyes as that bitch’s troops tore through the Pharisee’s defenses.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
Andria’s eyes floated around as she thought. “Not really sure. I guess it was when the Azakamani nuked Rishikesh down to a pile of radioactive dust. What has that been? Some 700 Eden years ago…”
“Look at me,” Akriel said to Andria as she reached her hands forward. Andria took them as they stared into each other’s eyes. Finally, recognition hit. Andria’s head fell back. “Well, I’ll be a monkey,” she said softly.
They let go of each other’s hands. Akriel picked up the pipe, relit it, puffed, and then handed it to Andria.
“How’s it possible that a Nazz general on Kuko Kiena’s personal staff escaped and joined the Valkyrie without a Nazz assassin showing up the second they realized what you had done?” Andria asked.
“Kuko arranged it herself,” Akriel said as she reached over and picked up Ashley’s half-full glass of Porto and dumped it into her own cup, then repeated the process for Andria out of Grase’s.
“For quite awhile, I thought I was fighting on the wrong side. Of course, I said nothing. I was sure Kuko would kill me on the spot if I ever said such a thing. Me, one of her most trusted generals. Guess Kuko sensed something was wrong, because she eventually sat me down and made me tell her what was on my mind. And if you know anything about her, once Kuko starts asking you questions, you might as well get it over with quick because she’ll keep probing until you confess.
“She didn’t seem surprised at all. Of course, with Kuko being Kuko, I guess I should have expected this. She just smiled and said, ‘I understand’. Over the next months, we talked more about it. One day, she took me down to Azakaman. I incarnated as an Azakamani soldier a few times. Eventually, I woke up in the resurrection hall on Fleurie Isle. Rabii Shareon Hadraniel, the chief Valkyrie counselor for the Eden theatre, met me. She immediately moved me out of Satania altogether.”
“Wasn’t Indra suspicious?”
“Kuko told him the truth,” Akriel said slowly. “Well, I guess, most of the truth at least. She told him that after the Rishikesh thing and working so well with Pieska, I could continue to be a beneficial liaison.”
“You seem sad,” Andria said softly, reaching over the table and again taking Akriel’s hand.
“Yes, I am,” Akriel replied, her eyes misting. “I miss my Kuko. She was good to me. And I still love her.”
Akriel gave Andria’s hand a squeeze, then let go. She looked lost as she stared into her glass of wine. “But the Valkyrie don’t care that I’m still in love with her. More than once I’ve met with Rabii Hadraniel. And again and again she explained that this is the whole point. Our God, King Joshua…”
She relit the pipe, puffed a few times, and handed it back to Andria. “It’s not that he doesn’t care that we love the enemy. He demands that we love our enemies. Which is why, if it seems that the Valkyrie are pouring a lot of respect, even kindness and affection on you, it’s because they really are in fact pouring respect, affection, and kindness on you. Not through some confusion or an attempt to deceive you. They do it because that’s what their God demands.”
“And I assume the camouflage guards around us already know all about who you really are?” Andria asked as she looked around. “I also assume there really are still camouflaged guards…”
“Andria, just how the heck do you think I should know?” Akriel stood. “I put that chair against the wall as a place to sit just in case one of them wanted to. But who knows what’s in this room right now?” She waved her arms, gesturing around. “It could be anything.”
“So if your invisible guards were tracking us from the very beginning, why even let us land?”
“Because we were trying to figure out why. Shopping? Are you insane? And by the way, is it really true that none of you knew Oceania was the home of a major Valkyrie base?”
Andria just shrugged her shoulders again.
Akriel threw her head back and laughed. “You know, I get it. I know what happens when someone loyal to Lakshmi is found with any texts, including a map, other than those from the Kabbalah.” She stared at Andria with a big smile. “So, then you probably don’t know that this isn’t just any Valkyrie base. It is actually the Eden theatre SAS headquarters and the rest of the base is just for support of the Silver Storms.”
Andria slumped in her chair and closed her eyes. “Well, you know even though the texts are verboten, every corps of guards on Eden knows some of the myths of the old gods. But why would you believe them now? Have you actually ever seen one of these things?”
“Uh, yeah. I have,” Akriel replied. “Actually, I was warming up to the part when I met King Joshua and Queen Magdalene in person.”
Andria’s eyes twinkled with surprise. “You have?”
Akriel’s head fell. She walked back to her chair and slumped in the seat. She studied the residues of their meal for a few seconds, then leaned her head back into her interlaced fingers, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
“He’s a nice guy,” Akriel finally said. “A really nice guy. So nice and kind and real and present and focused. He gives off no sense of having any kind of powers at all but so freaking good that you instantly understand why the Angels love him so much. They love him so much they call him the Bodhisattva, because being in his presence for just a minute will make you cry at feeling such a Perfected Heart.
“It’s so warm and wonderful to be in his presence that you start to feel jealous of the Queen — that is, until you actually meet her. And she is exactly like him only completely opposite. When you go from the presence of one to the other real quick, it twists your head, like you don’t just have to switch gears; you have to do a complete system restart.
“I’m convinced if I talked to them at the same time, I would tear apart. But then, after you’ve been with her awhile, you start to understand who she is. Suddenly you really couldn’t give two shits about Josh. You want to hang out with Maggie. Pure woman. A total free spirit. Funny. And kind. And powerful. And so wonderfully good.”
Akriel leaned forward in her chair. “Just wait until you meet them. You’ll see what I mean. You’ll run through all these justifications of why it really can’t be such a big deal… And then you’ll physically come into their presence, and all of that wonderful attention will fall on just you. Suddenly the stories won’t mean shit either. There you’ll be for who knows how long — hours, days, years, who knows — not really caring what you talk about. When you say bye, and they embrace you, and some time later you find yourself somewhere else, you really won’t miss them. You’ll just feel satisfied. That’s when you’ll know for sure, you’ve been playing on the wrong team.”
Akriel leaned back in her chair. She glanced at her rank and insignia. Her captain’s bars and her one silver thunderbolt of the Valkyrie had been pinned there by Queen Magdalene’s own hand. She had no idea if she was angry or sad or grateful. All she knew was she missed her Kuko. It was her Kuko who set her free.
Kuko had once met privately with The Blind King and The Donkey Queen. Kuko, in perfect confidence, told Vazkri that she too feared she might be playing on the wrong team. But the difference between their experiences was, when Kuko met with Queen Magdalene and neared the end of their conversation, Magdalene told her that in the near future they would be spending much more time together, possibly even at some point
incarnate together as friends. But for now, it was the duty of Nazz Madame General Kuko Kiena to faithfully serve Indra and the Nazz.
Chapter 63
Andria: New Friend of the Valkyrie
It starts with a single step.
—Andria
Oceania
The detention center was attached to one wing of Zadkiel Hospital. Master Sergeant R. Sardiniel escorted Guard1 and Guard2 — Andria and Grase — to the hospital wing so they could view Karolita and Eros with their own eyes and see both were in good health.
“This is a two-way mirror,” Sardiniel said as she gestured to the far side of a large room. “They won’t be able to see you. While they healed from their injuries, both were on drugs to sedate the cognitive mind. The injections Nurse Rowe is giving them right now will bring them around to full cognitive awareness in a couple of minutes.”
As Andria watch Nurse Rowe, she thought about how strange this trip to Oceania had been and how odd it was to see Karolita and Eros behind bars.
On Glamoria, Karolita was the Goddess of wealth, intelligence, voice, and beauty. And Eros, although not a child of Lakshmi, rather a child of Mephistopheles, was almost equally worshiped because of her amazing libido. Everyone knew that having sex with Eros a single time would bring them an eternity of sexual prowess.
On Glamoria, no one ever challenged Karolita — Karolita always got exactly what Karolita wanted, exactly when Karolita wanted it. On Oceania, it was becoming clear that Karolita was not what Andria had, her entire life, believed her to be. Karolita was in fact a hate-filled, spoiled, greedy, prideful, self-indulgent, envious, narcissistic, cowardly bully. Eros had turned into something so despicable that Andria began to feel physically nauseous whenever she thought of her.
As Nurse Rowe finished the injections, Andria knew she never wanted to speak to or see Karolita or Eros again.
Andria heard voices and turned as three individuals of similar height entered, chattering to each other. She instantly recognized Marije. The second had nice light-blue skin and was wearing a waitress’ uniform. The name ‘Bill’s Clear Creek Grill’ was sewn into the right breast of her blouse and the word ‘Staff’ sewn into the other.
Andria noticed that the third individual was Parvarti. It seemed rather interesting that Parvarti, the barmaid, and Marije were all about the same height and build, and bore a slight resemblance to each other.
A few seconds behind Parvarti, Commander V.A. Odinero and Lieutenant Colonel F. Haiguns entered. From the moment Andria had seen him at the dock, she knew this was the Frank who had tossed Karolita out of his store. Behind those two was the big green Melchizedek who had been sitting beside Parvarti at the docks. And following them were Colonel Josephine Doulmahel and General David Pesagniya.
Grase lightly tapped a message on Andria’s hand. “This isn’t good. Something big is about to happen.”
Andria noticed the little blue-skinned barmaid staring at them. The barmaid turned away and evidently signaled to Haiguns, the grocer, who quickly approached her and bent over so the barmaid could whisper in his ear.
He walked over to Andria and Grase. “If you will please, Elizabeth would like to speak with you.”
Andria and Grase followed Haiguns to the other side of the room where he stood holding a door open for them. He followed them in and gestured toward two chairs. They sat. A moment later, the barmaid entered. “Thanks Frank,” she said. “That will be all for now.”
“Ma’am, I would prefer to stay here,” Haiguns said respectfully.
“Sure, Frank. If you want. But if you will, please tell Aniel to make sure that neither Parvarti nor Marije gets close to the door. You know how acute Parvarti’s ears are.”
Frank left the room and a few seconds later returned, closing the door behind him. From the crack that briefly opened, they could see that Aniel had taken up a position to keep an eye on Parvarti’s location in the room.
“Hello,” the barmaid said with a small smile, giving Grase, then Andria, individual nods of recognition. “My name is Elizabeth. I believe Marije told you about me. I was the one she trusted enough to reveal she was one of Lakshmi’s Yukta Yogis and eventually asked me for asylum.”
Marije asked a barmaid for asylum? Andria wondered. It seemed unlikely that a barmaid could grant anyone anything beyond what pleasurable services the barmaids on Glamoria granted to high-paying guests.
“First, let me ask if either of you have been mistreated.”
They shook their heads no.
“Have there been any inappropriate advances against you?”
They shook their heads no.
“Do you have any medical needs?”
They shook their heads no.
“Very well, then. May I ask the both of you a favor?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Grase said quickly. A lieutenant colonel had just called this barmaid ‘Ma’am’. So should they.
“Did you notice the handsome green Melchizedek holding Parvarti’s hand at the docks last Saturday?”
Grase spoke while Andria nodded. “He’s the same one who just walked in, right?”
“That’s right. His name is Collin. That’s Parvarti’s latest boyfriend and one of my best friends. The night Marije and I met, we ended up outside his cottage. He and Parvarti were on a date, so I invited Marije to stay the night at his place. The next morning, I had already gone to work, so when Collin and Parvarti returned, I was not there to make any introductions.”
Both Andria and Grase saw a disaster coming.
“I’m sure both of you know how false impressions can be formed between strangers.”
Andria and Grase nodded.
“During their conversations over breakfast...”
They had breakfast together? Andria thought. Goddess Parvarti finds a strange girl in her boyfriend’s home and they have breakfast together? She is cold.
“…it came out that Sipheria had been Parvarti’s nanny growing up. Somehow Marije got the impression that Parvarti’s parents were poor and Parvarti had been raised by Sipheria as a part of her charity missions.”
“Oh no,” Andria said under her breath. “She’s just setting Marije up, isn’t she?”
“Nope. Not at all. From my perception, Marije is the first real friendship Parvarti has ever had.”
Andria and Grase’s eyebrows furrowed.
“The fact is, Parvarti is the youngest Goddess daughter of King Joshua and Queen Magdalene. And that has been Parvarti’s biggest problem. She knows who her parents are. She doesn’t need to be reminded of how wonderful they are. What Parvarti wants is for someone to get to know her for who she is.”
Elizabeth glanced at the floor. She took a deep breath and blew it out. “Now, let me ask my favors. I want both of you to pretend you don’t know Marije. You don’t know she’s a Yukta Yogi. You have no idea who she is. And most of all, you know nothing about Marije being one of Karol’s servants.”
“Correction,” Andria said. “Marije was Karolita’s primary handmaiden.”
“Oh, I see. She didn’t mention that.” Elizabeth paused for a moment and then continued. “I also don’t want you to give any indication you know who Parvarti is. As far as I know, Marije still doesn’t know. All that Marije heard was that Karol believed Parvarti and Josephine were friends, an easy target, so that’s the only reason she was singled out. Already, Parvarti knows her own identity, and already Marije knows her own identity. Were the truths to be known, it would be difficult for Marije and Parvarti to have such an innocent friendship.” Elizabeth stared from Andria to Grase and back again.
Andria closed her right fist and held it tight against her heart. “I give you my word as a warrior. I will never let anyone know who Parvarti is. I will never let anyone know who Marije is. I will forever deny that I have ever known anything about either one of them.”
Grase closed her right fist against her heart and made the same pledge.
Elizabeth smiled and nodded appreciatively.
&nbs
p; “Since I guess we’re, at some point, going to be interviewed,” Grase said, “can you tell us who actually knows the truths of these matters?”
“Besides,” Andria added quickly. “How long can this secret be kept anyway? Everyone on Oceania must know who Parvarti is.”
Elizabeth nodded. “All you need to know is that Colonel Doulmahel, General Pesagniya, and Captain Brigettie Sardiniel know. Those will be the only ones who ever interview you while you’re on Oceania. When you depart Oceania, your next counselors will tell you who can be told what. As for others on Oceania who know Parvarti and Marije’s secrets, I think almost everyone knows by now.”
“Everyone?”
“Well, I guess that was an exaggeration. Only a highly select few know Marije’s true identity. But many know that Parvarti has a new friend by the name of Marije, and that Marije doesn’t know who Parvarti is.”
Andria and Grase gave their heads confused shakes. “On Glamoria, everyone would be dying to give away such a fabulous secret.”
“We are not on Glamoria, where giving away secrets is an ego-gratifying game designed to destroy friendships. We are on Oceania, where everyone loves King Joshua and Queen Magdalene and have sworn to uphold their laws. They might know little about Parvarti beyond who she is, however, in our world, to destroy innocence in a relationship is one of our highest crimes. To intentionally destroy innocence in a relationship and Sipheria were to find out…” And she always seems to find out, Elizabeth thought, “…the punishment would be much worse than any Cardinal could imagine. I promise you, no one will tell.”
Elizabeth smiled, and then stood. “Now, let’s go back to the observation window. Parvarti and David have a little surprise set up for Karol and Eros.”
Elizabeth walked ahead of Andria and Grase, back to the observation room. Elizabeth approached Sergeant Sardiniel. They touched their foreheads together and spoke softly to each other, but Andria could not make out any words. They exchanged a sweet smile, and then Elizabeth walked over and stood by Marije.
Lilith: Eden's Planetary Princess (The Michael Archives Book 1) Page 51
