"I agree," Christian said. "I have their contact information."
"Then let us proceed." Thomas looked at Elyssa. "I suggest you get some R and R in the meantime."
"Yes, sir," Elyssa said. She took my hand and we exited the building. The streets were clear, save for a harried Templar or two jogging past with some important duty awaiting them. Or maybe they'd just eaten spicy Indian food and were looking for the nearest latrine.
I brainstormed for possibilities as we walked back to the cabin. Inside, Nightliss lay sleeping on the bed, her face still wan and pale. I'd hoped she might, at the very least, have some useful information, or use her angelic powers to zap the Templar army north.
Not gonna happen.
Nightliss had been Plan C. As with most of my plans, I'd probably end up using all the letters in the alphabet by the time it was all said and done.
"Might as well pack," Elyssa said. "When Thomas and Christian make a decision, it'll come down the pipeline fast."
"I really need to wash my clothes," I said, grabbing my duffel bag. It was the same one I'd used when escaping hellhounds as they attacked the home I grew up in. After returning to the States from Colombia the first time, Shelton had given it back to me. Inside it were all my remaining worldly possessions and a few thousand dollars in cash I'd raided from my parents' rainy day fund.
I turned the bag upside-down over the table, emptying all my clothes into a heap. I picked up a pair of shorts and sniffed them. Tossed them back into the bag. Sniffed a pair of boxers. Wrinkled my nose and tossed them on the floor.
Elyssa laughed. "That's disgusting."
I gave her a sheepish grin. "I meant to wash all this stuff, but Shelton didn't have a washer or dryer in his hideout." Within a couple of minutes, I was left with two pairs of tighty-whities, cargo shorts, and a single sock. Everything else smelled or looked dirty.
"You're in luck," Elyssa said, opening a door to the side of the kitchen to reveal a washer and dryer. She eyed the pile of dirty laundry and grimaced. "I think I'll let you handle it from here."
While I shoved in the load, Elyssa emptied out the other compartments on the duffel bag to make sure I wasn't missing anything. The companion sock to the lonely one on the table spilled out of an end pocket. Two large bundles of cash, my wallet, and an old folded piece of parchment tumbled from the others.
"What's this?" Elyssa asked, unfolding the thick yellowed parchment on the table.
I shrugged. "Meghan found it on Vadaemos when we brought him back to Atlanta. I figured it might be something important, but forgot about it."
"It's a map," she said. "A really old map."
When fully unfolded, it formed a rectangle two feet by three feet. Black ink outlined streets and buildings in what appeared to be a small town, or maybe a portion of a town. For all I knew, it was a map of Disney World. A black dotted line ran from the edge of the map and intersected a house, terminating in an "X".
"Is that where the treasure is buried?" I said, touching the mark and tracing my finger along it. "I'd definitely like to know how to get there."
The lines on the map shifted. I jerked my finger back and stared. "Did I imagine that?"
Elyssa shook her head. "I saw it, too."
The black lines soaked into the parchment, vanishing altogether. As if by an invisible artist, the map redrew itself, showing crooked little streets, and birds-eye outlines of buildings, detailed down to shingles and ridges. Trees, shrubs, and other details sketched themselves into place. The black outline of a stick figure appeared within the outline of a house. The invisible pen drew a dotted line, running down a nearby street and vanishing off the edge of the map.
"Whoa, this is trippy," I said.
"Wait a minute," Elyssa said. "I recognize those streets." She grabbed the map and ran outside the house. Stopped beneath a tree, and gaped at the map. "This is trippy. Look!"
I stared with disbelief. The stick figure had moved outside the house and now stood beneath the outline of a tree. "What kind of map is this?" I said.
"Show me a wider view," Elyssa said.
The map redrew itself, showing more of the surrounding area.