“Our best bet is some kind of distraction, or event, where we can clear a path. If we’re to believe the prophecy, and there aren’t any more surprises, then Winona and Reagan should drive the sword into him, ending this forever.”
Madeleine’s speech gave Reagan hope, even though she knew it could never be that simple. But planning some kind of spell could be the key.
“Wait, didn’t Cecilia say more angels were coming?” Madeleine asked.
“We’ve met mercy and wisdom, and Cecilia is our angel of power. That leaves love, justice, and…” Reagan hesitated, scouring her brain for the last one.
“Majesty,” Winona stated.
“Once we arrive at the base camp tomorrow, we’ll get to work on planning. For sure we should contact Cecilia and request guidance on facing Rafe. And I have an idea about the traitor. We should ask Cecilia to look into our hearts and clear all of us, and I have no doubt we’ll all pass, and then we keep any magical plans to our group.”
Although Reagan understood the precaution, it felt wrong to leave out Papa. “Even from Papa.”
“For now,” Madeleine said. “Don’t get me wrong, no part of me suspects him, but we have to make sure.”
“I agree. My vision shows quite an attack, and everyone seems in danger, especially you—” Mom motioned with a slight nod to Madeleine “—and Winona. Since vampires were clearly involved, I feel assured we’ll be safe tomorrow as long as we arrive before sunset.”
Madeleine’s arched brow and tilted head reminded Reagan to share the vision. Before she could speak up, Winona started explaining, and Reagan interjected details here and there.
“I think we should keep this vision to ourselves, too. Have you shared it with anyone else?” Madeleine asked Mom, who shook her head.
“Let’s keep the visions to the three of us. At least for now.”
Reagan understood the need for secrecy, but it pained her to know she’d have to be guarded around Papa and, worse, Rowan. With the war closer than they originally thought, it was the worst time to not be a strong unit. She hoped the traitor messed up soon, so they could all work as a team again.
“We should all get some rest. There aren’t many hours left in the night, and I think it’s more important than ever that we get an early start,” Madeleine said as she moved to the door.
“Sounds good. Mom, would you like me to stay in here while Dad’s on patrol?”
“Yes, would you mind? You, too, Winona.”
Since there was only the queen-sized bed in the room—somehow Reagan’s mom and dad had gotten the only single bedroom in the cabin—Winona and Reagan squeezed into bed on either side of their mom. Reagan remembered when she and Sam used to sleep with their mom whenever Dad was out of town. But this was the first time Reagan had ever shared such an intimate moment with her sister.
A soft tap on Reagan’s shoulder sent her scrambling toward the edge of the bed and grabbing for the sword strapped to her back.
“It’s just me, honey,” Dad said.
Trying to breathe and calm her racing heart, Reagan stood, noticing the early light trickling into the room from the window. She saw her mom and sister starting to stir.
“Oops, guess we didn’t leave you any room to sleep.”
“I grabbed a couch. It warmed my heart to see all my girls safely asleep,” he said. He stepped closer. “Did you talk to your mom about the visions? Is she okay?”
“She’ll be fine. I know it’s scary for her, but we’ll take any help we can get right now.”
He opened his mouth slightly and closed it, as if he were considering how to respond. Finally, back to his normal voice, he said, “We really need to get going, ladies. Sarah already has muffins and coffee ready to go. I think I heard mention of some bacon and sausage as well.”
With everyone on their feet, he said he’d see them all in the dining room when they were ready.
“I hope he got some sleep. He looked so tired,” Mom said.
“We’ll all sleep like the… well, we’ll sleep really well when this is all over,” Reagan said, stopping herself from finishing her comparison to the dead. It didn’t seem appropriate.
Enticing aromas pulled them to the kitchen, where everyone else was already digging in. After some negotiations over the remaining food—Winona won the muffin but acquiesced the remaining bacon to Reagan—they finished up and started loading the van with their gear.
Very few things needed to be packed, which made her sad. Not that long ago, she’d fought her mom over giving some collectible dolls away, even though Reagan hadn’t touched them in years. Funny how survival made you realize what was important. Except for her family, she could live without most things, especially material stuff. A glint of gold caught her eye when sunlight beamed through the trees. Her bracelet from Nana cast a slight glow. Usually, Reagan kept it in her bag or the zipper pocket of her sweatpants. She’d noticed all the ladies wore theirs. It had been Nana’s Christmas gift to all of them; a gift she couldn’t give in person because Rafe’s evil son murdered her in cold blood.
Reagan mentally corrected her earlier thoughts, knowing she’d never want to lose that one item, having already lost some of the other jewelry from Nana in the haste of moving from one place to another.
“You ready to go?” Rowan asked.
She stopped tinkering with her charm. “Yes.”
“Jed wants us to keep a steady pace with the car but remain in human form. If there are any issues, we’ll communicate them to him in the van.”
“Are we partnering up?”
He took her hand. “No, I think it’ll be nice to stick together today.”
She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder, wishing she could close her eyes and really take in the moment. Wanting to connect with him and feel safe, and knowing she couldn’t share about the visions, she brought up Ricardo.
“Can I talk to you about something for a second?” she asked.
“Always.”
After summarizing what Winona had told him about sleeping with Ricardo, Reagan asked, “Can Winona really trust her heart to him? I’m so worried. I know how I screwed up my first time.”
He tilted her chin to look him in the eyes. “I’ll say something to him, make sure he has good intentions, which I assume he does. And I hope you know I’m not Dex. I love you, and I’ll wait as long as you need. You are my forever.”
Unable to do much else, she nodded as he pulled her into a hug. His words were everything she’d ever wanted to hear. She wished she had more time to tell him just how much hearing them meant, but Papa started shouting for everyone to get moving.
After indulging in his touch for a few more seconds, she straightened as he dropped his hand. “Okay, we should go.”
After only two steps, he pulled her back. “I’m not quite ready.” His lips found hers, soft at first, but then more insistent.
A soft moan escaped before she could stop it. Then, she pulled away, dropping her forehead to his chin. She chuckled. “I sure wish we had more time.”
“We will… someday.”
His words tickled her skin, and she reached up to touch his face, realizing how scruffy it was. “No time to shave these days?” she asked.
His eyes brightened with a smile before it transformed the rest of his face. “You don’t like it?”
Hearing Papa’s continued commands to get a move on, she began walking to the others, but not before she said over her shoulder, “I didn’t say that.”
“Didn’t say what?” Sam asked.
“Nothing. We ready?” she asked.
Sam cocked his head, clearly still intrigued. “Guess so.”
A chorus of sounds filled the area as several backpacks were dispersed with waters, snacks, and clothes. With a honk of the horn, the van pulled away and everyone fell in step behind it. While they were still in the woods, they could stay somewhat close. But once the van pulled onto the road, the rest of the crew would stay hidden in the trees.
>
A foot or so of snow had fallen the previous night, and trudging through it slowed them down. Even the van had trouble until it reached the road, which only slightly helped. Small groups of conversation formed to pass the time. Reagan found herself walking with Ricardo and Winona to start the day.
“How did the rest of patrol go last night?” Reagan asked.
“You mean after the vampire left?”
Ricardo seemed more on edge than usual, Reagan noted. He had always been the one to keep the mood light, but since Sasha died, he seemed to take every opportunity to rail against the undead.
“What is it with you and the vampires lately?” Reagan asked, ready to get to the bottom of his problem.
“Lately? Oh, it’s not lately. But having them attack my girlfriend and kill my best friend… well, let’s just say I have a score to settle.”
Winona took his hand.
Defending Lucent again seemed like a waste of breath, so Reagan changed the subject. “You’ve known Rafe longer than almost everyone, except Rowan. Does he have a weakness we can exploit? Any ideas on how we can finally end this thing?”
“When I first met him, he was struggling with everything his mom and dad had done to him. I don’t know if we’ll ever fully know his mom’s story, and why she did what she did, or even if she had any control over what happened to her. But his dad was cruel, never really accepting Rafe as his son. Rafe would tell me stories about how his dad would take Rowan everywhere and avoid Rafe like the plague.”
Trying to imagine Rafe as a misunderstood boy proved too difficult for Reagan’s brain. She only knew him as the man who destroyed everything in his path. She’d have to ask Rowan more about their early years.
“Sounds like their dad had good instincts,” Reagan said.
“That’s not fair,” Winona responded. “He was only a boy. He didn’t choose what he became. You and I had no say in it either, if you recall.”
Reagan concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, totally caught off guard by her sister’s admonishment. Sure, Rafe had been a small child at some point, not responsible for his actions or his past. But there was no excuse—no sob story—that would justify all he’d done.
“You asked if I thought he had a weakness. Back then, I would’ve said Madeleine, actually. I thought she might be the girl who could capture his heart and bring out the good in him. Guess I believe everyone has some.”
Not sure what else to say, Reagan fell in step and kept her mouth closed. She wanted to bring up Lucent, and vampires in general, and ask Ricardo why he didn’t seem so quick to find good in them, but she knew it wouldn’t go anywhere.
“I’m going to catch up to Rowan and Madeleine just ahead, if you two don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Ricardo said. “It’ll give me some time with my girl.”
For as much as she wanted to strangle Ricardo at times, seeing him pull her sister close and watching the blush deepen on her cheeks made Reagan happy.
She jogged to catch up with Madeleine and Rowan, just as he took off in another direction.
“Where’s he heading?” Reagan asked.
“Guess the van is having some problems, so he went to help them. All this new snow is a pain for travel. I’ll be glad to get to the cave.”
“Me, too.” Still processing her discussion with Ricardo, Reagan decided to take advantage of her time alone with Madeleine. “So, Ricardo and I were talking about Rafe, about any weaknesses or strategy. And, well, he mentioned how he used to feel bad for Rafe, about his father’s rejection and all, and then Ricardo said he used to believe Rafe’s only true weakness was…” Reagan hesitated. Would Ricardo’s suggestion only bring Madeleine more pain? Before she could decide whether to finish or not, Madeleine interjected.
“Me. Is that what he said? That Rafe’s only weakness used to be me?” She snickered, a sound Reagan wasn’t used to hearing from her friend. “There was a time I thought the same thing. Then, I prayed my sister would be the weakness. That she would hold the key to saving Rafe. And, as you know, she thought their child would. He’s beyond saving for many reasons, but the first is that he doesn’t want to be. He’s had his chances.
“Sure, not having his father’s love must’ve been devastating. But he had mine, he had my sister’s. Hell, a whole pack thought of him as their leader and would’ve done anything for him. I didn’t have my parents, and I didn’t turn into a homicidal maniac.”
Her voice crescendoed, a wave of increasing volume crashing down with her last word.
“Not to mention, Rowan faced a mother’s rejection and trying to save a brother who couldn’t be saved. But he didn’t turn to evil. We all have our burdens to bear. Ricardo was with Rafe and Rowan before I was, so I can see how he’d have some sympathy left for him. I. Do. Not.”
As the last word pierced the air, Reagan noticed a tree very much like the one that transformed before them only a few days prior. She stopped. “I wish we could get more answers. Maybe if we stare at this long enough, faces will appear.”
“You wonder why I have no sympathy for Rafe even though I loved him once?” Madeleine asked.
“No, not for one second have I ever thought you owed him anything,” Reagan said, and she meant it. Madeleine had lost everything because of the man; having loved him at some point probably only made it worse.
“When the tree came to life, when it announced that the eighteen years began with a heartbeat…” Madeleine sniffed and turned away for a moment.
Reagan placed a hand on her friend’s back and let it rest there.
“Is everything okay?” Winona’s voice sounded in Reagan’s head. She turned to see her sister and Ricardo approaching and used her free hand to motion them off.
“Yes, we’ll catch up in a minute,” she communicated.
“There are very few days that go by where I don’t feel sad about what I did, that I don’t regret the heartbeat I diminished, but I also believe I did what had to be done. Still, there’s no joy in being right.”
Pain seemed to follow everyone she loved, hanging onto all of them like thick, dark smoke. Reagan knew how much the conversation about Rafe had affected Madeleine, could see it in her body language when the tree spoke, and hated that such intense memories had been reignited. Hoping to ease her pain and change the subject, Reagan thought some plotting would be beneficial.
“There must be some way we can smoke this traitor out,” Reagan said.
“Watch TV much as a kid? I’m guessing your dad forced you to watch Westerns with him on Sunday afternoons. Am I right?” Madeleine asked as she began moving forward again.
With a smile, and grateful for the turn in Madeleine’s mood, Reagan nodded. “You caught me, but you know what I mean.”
“I do, and I’ve been thinking a lot about this. I think we need to get Jed in on this one. I’m not sure exactly how, but we need to do it soon. Until we know we can trust everyone on the team, I don’t know how we can possibly defeat Rafe.”
An idea began to form in Reagan’s head, and she made sure nobody was close. “Although I don’t think any of us with angel blood could be the traitor, we’ll be sure and clear that up with Cecilia next time as you suggested. Then, we can really focus. What if we create a scenario where the traitor couldn’t help but pass on the information? Think about it. Winona and I are the big target. If we were alone somewhere, or with a very small group, it would be the perfect time for Rafe to strike. Agreed?”
Madeleine nodded.
“What if you offered to take me and Winona on a training exercise, just the three of us. We only tell Lucent—”
“What? You mean to tell me the only person you’ll trust is him,” Madeleine said, shock apparent by the crack in her voice.
“Hear me out. And, yes, I trust him. With faith, we fight. Remember? I have faith that he won’t betray us. He has too much to lose.”
“What could he possibly have to lose? Even if Hell takes over, he’s a demon.” Madelei
ne’s voiced edged higher.
Reagan pumped her hand up and down slightly in Madeleine’s direction. “Shhh! Trust me on this one. We have Lucent send a team to follow us. As soon as something goes wrong, or he senses anyone from our team approach, he’ll call in the troops.”
“Okay, let’s talk this through for a minute. Why would I take just you two off to train?” Madeleine jerked her head to something just behind Reagan, so she turned to see what it was. Rowan.
“Hey, what you ladies been talking about?” he asked as he walked up.
“Oh, not too much. Just wondering how much longer until some lunch,” Reagan said, finding it surprisingly easy to lie as her stomach grumbled, giving her an easy out.
“Jed is pulling into the nearest town. He needs gas. Thanks to the sun being out, we’re hoping the roads will get better. It’ll only help to make about an hour-long pit stop.”
“Did I hear someone say food?” Sam asked, sauntering up to them with Jessica right behind him.
Reagan made a note to make sure she and Madeleine were somewhere secure the next time they discussed any plans. After some thought, she decided it might even be safest to keep Winona out of the loop. Shaking it off, she tried to not be so obvious that she was distracted.
“You are always thinking about food,” she said to her brother.
“I’m glad you said it.” Jessica put her hand up for a high-five, and Reagan obliged.
Within half an hour, they entered the small town and found a trucker’s gas station. It had plenty of snack foods and even a small restaurant inside. They all grabbed whatever they wanted and Papa paid the bills. Most everyone gathered inside to eat, but Reagan had Rowan bring her food to the van. It didn’t make sense for her to walk in with the sword, and there would be no reason she’d part with it between then and the moment she thrust it into Rafe.
“Here you go,” Rowan said as he joined her. “A hamburger, barbeque chips, and a Diet Coke. I can’t vouch for the hamburger, or how long it’d been sitting under that lamp, but it’s better than nothing.”
Tala Prophecy: The Complete Series Page 56
