Bound by the Moon (The Ancients Series Book 4) (10 page)

“Sierra went downstairs to answer the door. Your mom wasn’t sure that you were completely under yet, and she didn’t want to break the link you guys had. Your dad was down there, with a security detail, and Sierra let them in. He’s her pack master. What else was she going to do?”

“Yeah.” I shrugged off the anger that was seeping into my chest towards Sierra, because I knew she would never do anything to put her own baby in jeopardy, let alone mine.

“From what Sierra managed to tell us, Jack spit up all over his clothes, and it was the last of what she had in her diaper bag. She grabbed one of the bigger shirts you had here for Willow, and put it on him after she got him cleaned up. She put the babies down in the crib together so she could get his washed and dried. Jack must have pushed the covers across Willow, in the crib, when Sierra went to answer the door. When she got back up here, she thought both babies were missing at first. Willow was just under the little blankets, that soft glow was the only reason she saw her when she turned to leave the room to get help.”

“You’re telling me that besides this glowing light my daughter seems to have developed, baby Jack is actually who saved my daughter?” Ashley nodded in affirmation. “Jesus, he couldn’t be your brother’s kid any more if he tried. Ashely’s startled half laugh, half sob let me know she felt the same way.

“My father mentioned a note?” Ashley walked over to the dresser and grabbed the little slip of paper. It was nothing more than a ransom demand. “So, basically, they want me to trade myself for the baby, but the note says I have to come alone. Do they think I’m stupid? I mean, how else is the baby to get back if I have to come alone, and they want to drain me. Also, they’re assuming I know where this portal is, because I definitely still don’t.” I rocking Willow back and forth in my arms as I paced the room “I hope Serena had some luck finding her sister while I was out earlier. We’re going to need to know exactly where to go later.”

“Jess, I know you’re still angry right now, but we have no way of knowing if this was because of your father’s security sweep or if it was something that would have happened anyway.” Ashley spoke into my ear as she came in for a hug, careful not to squish my daughter as she did so. “We can’t afford to be fighting each other here, not when there’s so much to lose.”

“I know. I panicked. All I could think about was waking up and finding my Willow gone. Sierra must be beside herself.” I pulled away from the hug to look upon my daughter. “What are we going to do?”

“Let’s get our asses over to your parents’ place, get a hold of Serena, and see if they can help us figure out our next move.”

“Isn’t my mom still here?”

“No, she left when your dad took off. Honestly, I think they were both afraid that if they stayed you would go full blown nuclear wolf on their asses.” Ashley had been trying to avoid looking at me, but then she stopped in front of me, and made eye contact. “You are one scary bitch when you get pissed off. Holy crap! I don’t know how much your abilities have grown, or what’s going on with you, but that was some crazy stuff, Jess.”

“Yeah, it was new for me too, Ashley. Like I said, I woke up worried about Willow, and got hit with a one-two punch after being knocked around in my dream a bit. It didn’t go over very well with me.”

“That’s the understatement of the year!”

~*~

“Well, I guess we don’t actually need to get a hold of Serena then.” Ashley was looking right at the witch as she spoke. Serena wasn’t the only one already at my parents’ house when we showed up. Avery had tagged along with her, which was only fair, since his pack was feeling the strain from this Fiul Sange Vampire who had been terrorizing our women. As he moved out of the way I noticed that it wasn’t just the two of them either. A blond stood perched just behind Avery, speaking very animatedly to my mother. To say that she was blond was to say the sky is only ever blue. You would be missing the descriptions of the vivid sunrise, sunsets when the sky turns to fire, or that of the night, so deeply blue it has run through with black. No, this woman was not simply blond. She was moonstruck, a pale beauty with moon-spun silvery blond hair and bright liquid mercury eyes.

“Good, you’re here, and you seem cooled off a bit. We waited while you pulled yourself together.” Serena turned her back on me after speaking, and if I’m being honest with myself, I wanted to punch her in the head. She acted as if I had no right to be angry about a baby going missing from my house. Never mind the fact that the kidnappers thought it was my baby they snatched. A sharp pinch to my arm from Ashley’s fingernails stopped my forward movement long enough for me to think sensibly though.

“Who is this?” I nodded in the mystery woman’s direction, but didn’t receive an answer until we were all seated around my parents’ large kitchen table. Both my parents, Serena, Avery, Ashley, a very distraught Sierra, Gabriel the Hunter, and myself were all there. “And why is he here?” I tossed my head towards the hunter.

“This, is my sister, Layla.” Serena began the introductions

“Layla?” I questioned, and then heaved a sigh of relief. “You are a sight for a sore eyes.” She bowed her head to me in a quick gesture.

“That she is.” Gabriel spoke up, seemingly entranced with the witch. “As to why I am here, we recently acquired a dark one who gave us some rather helpful information. Avery was just catching me up to speed on your own interrogation of a dark one, and unfortunately, you have already learned all that I know.” As soon as he finished speaking to me, Gabriel’s focus returned to the moonbeam drenched goddess to my left. At least I could rest easily around him now, knowing that his fascination with me seemed to pale in comparison next to that of the moon goddess, Layla.

“I tried to reach the white wolves through the dream world. They basically kicked me out, and wouldn’t let me back in. I need to know where the hell this portal is so I can get Jack back. He’s just a baby.” I didn’t say what was probably on everyone else’s minds. We’d all heard the rumors that the dark ones favored infant blood above all else, because it was so pure and untainted, as if the deeds of man somehow factored into the flavor their blood would take on as they aged.

“I understand what is at stake, for everyone concerned.” Layla spoke, and I swore I could hear wind chimes in her voice. It was an icy sound that sent chills up my spine, just as a her wintery scent enveloped me in a minty-cool essence.

“I will tell you where to go, but only after we’ve established a plan to get you there and back safely again.” Layla tipped her head to her sister. “She will not allow me to send you otherwise.”

LAYLA

We were all perched around the kitchen table minutes later. It seemed to be as though hours had passed. Everyone had an opinion of what we should do, and none of those rescue attempts involved me going to the portal. “The only way to open the gateway to the dead is by spilling your blood, Jessica, or that of your direct line.” Layla spoke softly. “If we keep you both safe, then we needn’t worry about your blood spilling there.”

“That’s the problem. They have Jack, but they think they took Willow. If they get desperate they may attempt to use Jack’s blood. They’ll drain him dry because it won’t work. Hell, they’d probably drain him dry anyway, just for fun. We’re talking about monsters here. And all of you are acting as though I have any choice in the matter. Little Jack is family. It doesn’t matter how he came to be, how long he’s been in our lives, or anything else. The truth is, he inadvertently saved my daughter tonight, and no matter what, he deserves a chance at a wonderful lifetime of happiness. I won’t be the reason he doesn’t get to grow up.”

“You won’t be the reason, Jessica. That’s what you’re not understanding. Bad things happen to people all the time, some of them are out of our control.” My father said to me.

“Only this thing wasn’t out of our control. We screwed up. You, me, every one of us screwed up, and that baby is counting on us to make it right.”

After a while of fruitless argument, I excused everyone else from the room except Serena and Layla. I sat in the kitchen with the two of them while Willow I fed Willow, and we discussed the realities of the situation.

Layla reiterated, “It only takes a willing drop of your blood and a desire to see the portal opened on your part, Jess. They don’t realize this though. When others hear that the portal was sealed with a blood sacrifice they get all dramatic and extreme, thinking it requires death. A mortal sacrifice is something I would never dabble in.”

“I understand that, but how the hell am I going to get that through Louis’s head? I mean, even if he realizes that I can open the portal so easily, it’s not likely that he will let me walk out of there unscathed. Obviously, he’s going to want at least a modicum of surprise on his side. He won’t want anyone to know what the hell he’s trying to raise from the underworld.”

“No, he won’t. That is why we are left with very few choices, and none of them are good ones.”

“We have to get him back!” Sierra choked out through her sobs as she rushed around the corner of the kitchen. Apparently, she had been perched there, eavesdropping the entire time. “Those monsters don’t care. If they find out he’s a boy, and not the baby they’re looking for, they will eat him. If they grow tired of waiting, and desperate, they will sacrifice him. I can’t lose another Jack. I can’t.”

“I will not sit back and let your baby be hurt, Sierra. I will get him back, I promise you.”

“Don’t make promises, Jess…” This bit of advice came from Avery as everyone slowly made their way back into the room. I shot him a scathing look, because his words set Sierra up for a world of hurt. The words he held back hung on the air, just as thick as if he had uttered them anyway. I shouldn’t make promises that I probably can’t keep.

“We have to get him back. There’s no question about that. Sierra has already lost too much for this pack, and I won’t add to that tally for her. Baby Jack was a much needed miracle for Sierra in her darkest hour. I’ll be damned if I won’t do everything in my power to get him back in her arms.”

“Even if it means giving up ever holding your own baby again?” Gabriel called out. “That’s what you may be doing. You’ve only begun to touch on the power that comes with being a white wolf, and you are currently disconnected from your ancestors right now, if what you said earlier about your dream vision is true.” It was. I was. That didn’t mean I still couldn’t try to get baby Jack out of his impossible situation. I was also well aware that it was a situation I may not come back from, and that my rescue attempt might only be good enough to ensure that Jack pass quickly into the land of the dead with me, instead of lingering near the portal being drained of blood.

“I need a few moments with Layla, alone. Please, don’t follow us. We’ll call you once I’ve heard everything about this portal, and how opening it works.”

“You can’t open the portal, Jess.” My father spoke to me directly for the first time since he had left my house earlier. “We have no way of knowing why this Louis wants it open, or what the hell is going to come out from the other side.”

“I understand that. Now, I need to speak to Layla, alone.”

My father rose, raised his hands in the universal sign of ‘I give up’ and everyone else relaxed back and followed suit. I handed Willow off to Ashley before I got up to leave, and then I leaned down to speak to Sierra. “Sierra,” I waited for her to turn and acknowledge me before I finished speaking. “I need you to help look after Willow while I go find baby Jack for you.” She nodded through a sob. “If I don’t come back…”

“You will come back, and you will bring Jack to me.” She all but whispered. “I will be here for Willow, no matter what though.” That was all I needed to hear. I needed to know that she wouldn’t give up and quit like she almost did when Ashley’s brother passed into the world beyond.

~*~

Once Layla and I finished our powwow, I knew exactly what my plan of attack was, and so did she, for the most part. It would at least give baby Jack a fighting chance of survival when pitting us against unnumbered dark ones and a Fiul Sange. When Layla left to join the others I noticed Gabriel lurking in the hallway, and called him into my father’s office. “Gabriel, I have a task for you, if you feel you are up to it.”

“I thought you’d never ask. I’ve been waiting to be able to assist you.” I stepped back, and eyed him then as he sighed. “Not in a weird, creepy way. If you knew your complete history, you would understand. One hunter is almost always chosen to stand by the side of the White Wolf as her humble servant. I thought, perhaps, you would chose me.” I quirked up my eyebrows at him, not knowing whether to amused or surprised. “For some that meant they used us a shield in battle or for other, less grim tasks.” When I gave him my angry face, he quickly added on, “not that I expected that of you. It was obvious that you had a true mate when we met. I just hoped you would still chose me to your sword in battle, or your advisor in those sorts of things.”

“I see. Well, you probably should have mentioned all that a bit sooner, because until Layla got here Mikael and I thought you had some sort of weird fantasy crush on me, and it was starting to creep me out.”

“Oh, well, I suppose with such horrible communication skills, I didn’t deserve the spot after all.” I smiled at him, easing the tensions a bit.

“I do have a job for you though. I need someone to be able to keep Layla safe, and hidden while she upholds her part of our plan. Apparently the only way for her to direct me to the portal is by physically taking me there. You hunters have special gifts, correct? Do you have anything in your bag of tricks that could keep her hidden?”

“I do, in fact, and I would be honored to help.”

“Great, but while on the way there, you need to keep your distance, and make sure she doesn’t see you. I don’t want you to show yourself until we get close enough that she can go no further without risking herself, is that understood?”

“Completely.”

“And one more thing…” I added as I got up to leave my father’s office. “If I am not able to come out in one hour with the baby, then you are to take her back home. Do not let her stay and get herself killed.”