Ch. 32: Sunny's Background
September 11 | Dawn
As much as we wanted to march into battle and be done with it, we needed rest. Plus, the vampire returned throughout the night and the next day, reminding us that our moves were dictated by his moves.
My team couldn't do a thing until we were sure the vampire wouldn't walk in on us. That night, Jack and I secretly shared the bed in the guestroom, missing the djinn with her svelte, hot body. She sat outside our bedroom door singing Persian lullabies under the guise of singing to Cherie. Jack and I tried to make love, but I wasn't ready. The trauma of having lost my wings had made sex a taboo experience for me.
"We can wait," Jack had promised.
There was no pleasure to be had while anxiety fluttered my stomach, and brooding shadowed Jack's visage. The second morning, wooden-faced and troubled, Mal followed Darcy from the house, and we wondered if he would stay gone. I dreaded the way that whenever the vampire was around, he drained the spirit from Mal, hated to see her lifeless. Yet, I understood. We each had a role to play.
After Darcy left for what seemed like the final time, I waited for the sound of the heavy oak doors in the foyer to close, signaling brief freedom. Daylight would keep the vampire at bay for a few hours. Ava and Cherie crept from their hiding places, twin candles flickering with worry. We had good news for them, though. Sort of.
"We've found her," Mal announced as she breezed past her sisters into the dreary den.
"Who–Yalina? Where?" Ava fired questions, but the eldest Ravani squeezed her temples and circumnavigated the room. I had never seen Mal so agitated. It unnerved me.
"Darcy has the Luna here," I explained. "Yalina is LouLou. She's been in the house all along, and the vampire is on his way to collect Aurie. He'll have every piece he needs to locate the Map of Destiny. We've gotta move."
"Don't you get it? It's too late, Sunny! Who knows when the Ravani property will be crawling with Fext soldiers. We won't have time to find the map." Mal tore at a fingernail with her teeth.
Cherie welled with tears. "We have to try, though."
"Of course, sweetheart. Of course," Ava soothed her.
"We're not giving up, Mal. There's too much at stake," I rallied our team. Mal visibly recentered. That was what I wanted to see. "Aurie isn't on her own. She has celestial forces helping her." I thought of my mentor and the hand Wallace was probably completely aware he had in this situation. As a higher angel, he couldn't tell me everything he knew.
"Wait, didn't you say the location of the map passes through the masculine line?" asked Jack.
"Right, yes. Since Jack has Ravani DNA, he may have the instincts to find it," Ava guessed.
Beside her, Mal shuffled back and forth, sclera glittering wet. "On the other hand, Ajit told us that Zyr Ravani routinely mentions an obscure 'treasure' hidden on the property but doesn't seem to know what or where it is. Therefore, there's no guarantee Jack will find a damn thing when he gets out there."
I understood the dread prickling the soles of her feet, spurring her to restless movement, but none of us could afford to let Darcy win, uncontested."Quickly, the mirror!" I snapped my fingers and beckoned Jack. I had an idea.
He fumbled in his pocket for Mal's gift to him. "Here. What do you have in mind?"
"We need a facsimile of the key Darcy used to unlock Yalina's collar. Maybe she can help."
"What? Hell, no. Did you see the way she lunged at me?"
I marshalled a jauntiness that I didn't feel. "In Yalina's defense, you were talking about the hit you put out on her brother." At that, LouLou resumed her snarling. Jack pointed at her and shook his head as he held onto the mirror.
"We can't control her the way the vampire does. If you let that wolf go, she'll rip me to shreds."
"Yo, I've spent aeons–literally, aeons of earth time–studying martial arts and the art of war as a lesser angel. Never did I imagine I'd have to rely on that training as a human being, but the chips have fallen. None of our usual powers will see us through this. We have to strategize and be smart about our every move from here on. That means taking risks," I pleaded with him.
"I take it you have a new plan. I'm listening," said Mal, crossing her arms and letting those high cheekbones catch the light from the chandelier as she lifted her head.
I smiled. "Yalina's the only one who knows those woods. With her assistance, the portal card can take us to nearest the location to the map. We don't have time to argue. Ask for the key, Jack."
I didn't have angelic gifts, skills, or abilities to lend anymore, but I had a brain and a willingness to take what might be my last leap of faith. Certain death was chomping at our heels. It was obvious the vampire wouldn't stand for us maneuvering behind his back. If we didn't give this our best shot, the whole lot of us would be dead by sunrise.
Jack held the mirror, fretful, but willing to let my sound reasoning stand. "I desire the key to unlock Yalina's collar." He observed the smooth, glossy surface with a hooked eyebrow. Nothing appeared to happen. Then, his sockets rounded with awe, and he hesitantly reached a hand into the glass.
The surface rippled like the clearest spring. When his thick knuckles slid from within the mirror, he came out with a shiny silver key exactly like the one Darcy Cyprian had used. Jack passed the key to me. I figured he didn't trust LouLou enough to break her enchantment, himself.
Gulping, I stared into the wolf's eyes. "We're not here to hurt you, but we need your assurance you won't hurt any of us, either."
A deep-throated whine accompanied her glance at Jack, but she laid her ears back and lowered her head. Taking that as a promise, I clicked the key into the lock of the collar and jiggled it. As the buckle loosened, the facsimile key dissolved into water and spilled from my palm. Mal bobbed her head, acknowledging that the facsimile mirror had worked as intended.
The Luna transformed in a swift blur that started with a shimmer of the air like heatwaves above a long stretch of empty road. One moment she was the wolf and the next she was a raven-haired beauty. Anger bristled in her stiff frame, but she kept her word. She didn't attack Jack.
"Get her something to wear," I instructed.
Cherie dashed away to comply. The young woman was in her early to mid-twenties. She accepted the throw Cherie brought back, tucking the knitted cloth around her shapely body. The youngest Ashivant was the sole occupant in the room who didn't seem stunned that her beloved pet was anything other than the wolf we had known her to be. Yalina kept her head lowered and shoulders hunched. I wished I had the power to lay hands on her and take away her discomfort, but, alas, the only thing I could do was draw her into a hug she resisted. I let her go.
Jack showed his cellphone. "I called them off," he said of his henchmen. "I have no more reason to harm your brother. There, see?"
"You think that makes me trust you? You want me to help you... Why should I?" Yalina rasped. Her voice was husky from disuse, and her saffron peepers were far from trusting. "Each of you work for him."
Mal licked her lips and tried to explain, "Yalina, I am sorry for the way Darcy has treated you. I'm sorry for the part we unknowingly played in keeping you hostage. But being in this house, you've witnessed the ways the vampire has manipulated and used us to do his bidding."
Inclining her head, Ava stepped up beside Mal. "I can't believe he hid you right under our noses." A partial smile tickled her lips as she studied the girl.
"I want to see my family," Yalina responded.
"In due time," said Mal. "Your family is okay. They think you're safe and sound at an art school in Paris. At this point, they need you here more than you realize. You heard Darcy. The bastard has coerced the council to put your mother under house-arrest, and he's using one of your brothers to trick Zyr into turning himself in."
"For what crime?" Yalina thin eyebrows stitched in a frown.
Ava blotted her lips. "Because Zyr is going feral, sweetheart."
"What?" Yalina gasped in dismay.
Ava nodded empathetically at her reaction. "Darcy has been messing with your brother's head for years, and I learned earlier today that he finally got him suspended from his job. Without something to keep Zyr focused, since he gave up his Alpha title to avenge you, he is a rogue wolf, hastening the process of going feral."
"Zyr didn't have to do that," the Luna wailed. This time she accepted the hug I imparted.
"Please, you have to keep faith that everything will work out in the end," I murmured. She sniffled, trying to be brave. I felt the fine tremor in her body. I noticed the way her view constantly darted to the door, as if she expected the vampire to arrive any moment. She was scared, traumatized, and perhaps more skittish wolf than wary girl for now.
"I know this is a lot to take in," Mal gave her an awkward shoulder pat, "but tonight the tides of change rise in Darcy's favor if you don't align with us. We have to prevent him from getting the Map of Destiny. He plans to use it for no less than to take over the world. With the map and The Book of Tides, he'll be unstoppable."
"Your family has been protecting it for generations," Ava interjected. "Yalina, I've done plenty of research on this. Your father was the last Keeper of the Map, but he disappeared before he could pass key information about its location to his eldest son, your brother, Zyr. By chance, did anyone in your family speak of it to you?"
"Naturally." Yalina rubbed her arms, studying the floor. "At menarche–or transition, these days–every potential Luna is initiated into the Order of the Keepers. But since dire things can happen if that map falls into the wrong hands, its location is no longer shared with everyone."
"Was it shared with you?" Ava asked.
"No." Yalina lowered her head further.
I refrained from throwing up my hands in despair. Mal and I shared the same thought. We were out of luck. Jack growled in frustration and flopped into a chair that almost broke under his weight. Scowling, he moved and leaned against the grand piano.
"Ay, what now?" he huffed.
"I didn't say," Yalina responded mysteriously, "that I don't know where the map is, though." The group of us perked to attention. Yalina raised her head, revealing a secretive smile. "Thing is, Dad always said I had the craziest knack for being in the wrong places at the right times. I followed him one day when I was about six or seven. He unwittingly led me straight to it."
"Do you remember where, Yalina?" Mal pressed.
The woman nodded. "Do you have a topography map of the area?"
"I'll do you one better," Mal laughed as she reached into her pockets and retrieved her oracle deck. "All you have to do is hold one of these and picture as much as you can remember of the location in your mind. It'll open a door there."
"No, she can't leave," I said abruptly.
"Why not?" Yalina recoiled.
I shook my head with regret. "If Darcy returns unexpectedly and LouLou isn't here, he'll know something's wrong. Mal, you and the twins should stay here as well. Let Jack and I go so we can move quickly and quietly through the woods. We'll take an oracle card with us for the trip home as soon as we find it."
"I hate it when you're right." Mal narrowed her eyes.
Jack leaned forward. "What about my parents? Can you use an oracle card to get to them, too? We know what the room looks like. It's right there on surveillance." He nodded toward the laptop Darcy had left behind.
Mal traversed the room to peer at the screen. "There's a problem, Jack. Darcy can't know we're behind their escape. None of us can be caught on camera."
"Kato?" Jack latched onto the first name that came to mind.
"For safety's sake, the OASIS agent needs to appear to be in Darcy's pocket, too," I stated.
"Can we try Ajit?" Cherie piped up.
It surprised me when she engaged because she had such an air of detachment. But Mal said, "That's brilliant, darling! We have a special code when we contact the familiar. If he's alone, he'll answer."
"Then, get him over here and on the job," Jack ordered. "I won't be able to rest until I know my parents are okay. Can Ajit take them somewhere far away from New Orleans, and can we trust him not to clue the vampire in?"
"Positively. Ajit will do anything for Cherie. He has a crush on her."
"So, everything is in place?" I asked.
"Yes, angel."
Mal passed a card to Yalina, who closed her eyes and went deep in thought to recall the location of the Map of Destiny where she had seen her father go many years in the past. Gradually, an area of the room in front of her began to rotate as if a black hole was opening.
Through the portal could be seen a forest. The sharp smell of pine needles spilled into the room. Birdsong could be heard, and an overcast sky could be seen through the leaves of the trees. Yalina slowly and thoroughly relayed to us where to find the map. She made us repeat the steps back to her to ensure we knew where we were going.
I didn't know what would happen when we stepped through, whether we would find what we sought or run into further trouble. Nothing thus far had gone according to our plans, and I wasn't naive enough to think that just because of my background my strategy would play out any better. But I thought about redemption. I thought of love. I thought of the intricate ways the puzzle pieces of each of our lives had come together to prepare us for this moment, and I knew that I had no choice but to push forward.
"Let's go," prompted Jack.
I checked the short sword belted to my waist and girded myself as we walked into the woods.