December Moon (The Raven Saga) (23 page)

"That's it. I can't take any more of this. We've got to stop him. I'm not going to sit around while he takes his pick of the people in this town. There must be something we can do?" she shrieked as the tears fell down her face.

Oliver strolled up behind her and put his arms around her. She turned to face him and rested her head on his shoulder while she sobbed.

"Lilly's right," said Jo, "We can't let him win. We need to set some kind of trap. Lure him in and kill him, for good."

Each and every person in the room nodded and looked around at each other.

"There are many of us with special capabilities here... if he wants war. He's got war," growled Zoltan who stood up like the warrior he clearly was. "He is just one man... one vampire against an army. Us."

Carmelo smiled before he replied, "but don't forget it wouldn't take him long to create his own army."

"Which is precisely why we need to act... now," replied Ruby, "he killed me and if we leave it too long he WILL kill one or all of you, given the chance."

"And we need to track him down and find Jemima before she becomes another Dharma," said Lilly.

"Who's Dharma?" asked Jo.

Sighing, Carmelo began to tell the tale of Dharma and him.

"It was Venice in 1575... a horrendous disease was killing people all over the place. It was an agonising death, people vomited blood and their bodies decayed while they were still alive. Dharma was my betrothed at that time but she contracted the disease before we could get married. My mother wanted us all to leave Venice, to flee the disease and so she told me Dharma had died. I believed her, she was my mother, why wouldn't I believe her?" he said uncomfortably, before going on, "Well, my family and I fled a day later, but it was too late, we all contracted it. I was only saved by a kind man who transformed me. I had no idea he was a vampire. I had no clue I would spend centuries as the walking dead," he finished, sadly.

Jo rushed to him and held him tight.

"Carmelo, it was such a long, long time ago. You must put this all behind you."

"I thought I had... until Dharma appeared yesterday in Tofino. She hadn't died. My mother had lied to me in order to get me to leave Venice. Duran had turned her all those years ago and I'd had no idea. I killed Dharma, the vampire, yesterday. I had no choice."

"1575 Venice? That must have been the Bubonic Plague. It wiped out much of the population," said December, who had always taken a keen interest in European history.

Carmelo nodded.

"Carmelo, Dharma died hundreds of years ago. The vampire you killed yesterday was not her. The vampire you killed was pure evil. Remember that... besides I am led to believe that you have a new betrothed?" said Gabriel with a sneaky smile.

Jo's face lit up the room as she turned and flashed her hand around, revealing a stunning diamond solitaire. She'd been wearing the engagement ring a few days but hadn't wanted to mention it in light of recent tragic events. No-one had noticed.

"Carmelo proposed about a week ago and I accepted," she gushed. "Mom and Dad knew but I asked them not to say anything."

"Congratulations Jo... fantastic news!"

"Congratulations!"

"Awesome!"

"You guys are perfect for one another... can't wait for the wedding!" yelled Lilly above all the other cries. She hugged both Jo and Carmelo and looked around at everybody's smiling faces. When her eyes descended on Oliver's face, he grinned and pulled her over to him, holding her close.

She was reminded of all the women in her family. They had all met their soulmates at a young age, all had married young and all had had children young. Of course Lilly wasn't ready for all that yet but she was beginning to think that Oliver was the boy for her. He had forgiven her for not telling him the truth and he had finally accepted her for what she was. Were it not for Duran's rampage, Lilly would be blissfully happy.

She looked up into his eyes as he looked down into hers and he leaned over and gently kissed her just very briefly on the lips. Lilly's heart skipped a beat and she was lost in the moment until a massive crash outside brought her back to reality with a bang.

"What the...?"

December was the first to open the front door and run out. What she saw made her scream at the top of her lungs.

The others followed outside and were greeted by the sight of a mutilated body. The corpse had been thrown to land on top of Ruby's precious T-Bird.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

As Ruby dramatically attempted to sob for the damage done to her precious car, Lilly sobbed for other reasons.

"Oh My God... it's Jemima isn't it?!" yelled Lilly as Oliver tried to shield her eyes from seeing the remains.

"Girls, stay here... we'll go and see," said Zoltan as he pushed Lilly and Jo back into the house and shut the door behind him. They'd seen dead bodies before, but not anyone they knew well.

He, Carmelo, Ursula and a small group of others immediately went out to investigate, first and foremost, to see if Duran was still close by.

But his scent had disappeared. He had tossed the corpse and vanished.

Gabriel had known Jemima and so he approached the body to identify it. Although he was greeted by a bloody mess, the person's face was blood-free, pale and peaceful. Although she was pretty, she had dark shadows beneath her eyes and her cheeks were drawn in. It wasn't Jemima. Plus he noticed the girl's arms were covered in tattoos and Gabriel knew Jemima wasn't the type to have tattoos.

"Jemima is still out there somewhere and we've got to find her," said Lilly after she was told it wasn't her.

"But who was this girl?" asked December.

"Nobody recognises her... she's not from around here. Perhaps he took her from Tofino. Did you see on the news if there was anybody else missing after the attacks?" asked Rose.

After a moment's thought, Ruby piped up, "yes, there was actually. What was her name? Hmm. Samantha something or other, I think. A bit of a rebel, apparently, a drug addict."

"This must be her. I'll deal with the police. Moira, Emilie... I might need a bit of assistance?" the witches nodded and got up to follow Gabriel outside as the first local police car drove up the driveway, followed by the coroner.

"He's taunting us, you know. We have no choice now. We'll have to set up a trap... and the bait...? That'll be me then," said Lilly as she gripped Oliver's hand tightly.

"No," he said, "you can't."

"I have to, Oliver. It's the only way we can stop him."

"She's right, you know. As much as the idea makes me feel so physically sick, it is the only way," replied Rose sadly.

"And with all our help to protect you, I have to agree," said December nervously.

A couple of hours later a rough plan was finally in place.

But it involved the entire group travelling north up the mountains towards the Elders' caves. They agreed that the fight could not take place anywhere near the town. There had been so many deaths and too many questions had arisen around Tofino. They didn't want to bring the same problem to their own home town.

The journey would begin by boat. It was the same journey Lilly had taken months before when she had ended up in the hands of Vivian and Gabriel had sustained his injuries. The memories were unpleasant but the journey itself was breathtaking.

They knew that Duran's ultimate prize was Lilly and that he would also happily try and take out many of the group, some of whom he had fought before.

They knew he would follow them wherever they went. So at first light, they set off on a trip that they hoped would culminate with the capture, and ultimate death, of their enemy.

They were quite a big group of odd looking characters, vampires, a werewolf, witches, changelings, a halfling and a few ordinary people of the Tulugaq family. They would attract attention and so the witches cast a spell to allow them to travel without causing any undue attention to themselves.

As they all climbed into a multitude of boats on the water's edge, everyone was on full alert, keeping a look out for Duran or any of his vampire friends.

As they started the engines and began on their way, Lilly recalled the last time she had taken the same journey. It had been just her and her grandfather and she had enjoyed the start immensely. It had been a chance for them to bond, just the two of them.

As they passed island after island, she remembered what he had said about them being places to hide out. She eyed the greenery cautiously, telling December, who sat beside her, what might be hidden within.

Oliver looked more worried than she did, but he said nothing. He just continued to hold her hand tightly, as he had been doing since they had got back together in Tofino.

The group was eerily silent. All that could be heard was the gentle chug of the boats engines as they glided through the crystal clear water towards their destination.

Lilly's boat was up front where she sat with Oliver, December, Ben, Carmelo and Jo. There was a space for Sammy, who flew high overhead to keep an eye on things below.

A number of boats followed behind, carrying all of Lilly's family and friends, the visiting witches and members of the Elders and the final boat carried Ursula, Zoltan, Tabitha and a few of the stronger vampires that lived in the mountainous caverns with the Elders.

After a couple of hours, Sammy swooped down and very carefully landed in the boat, careful not to rock it too much in the water.

"We are being followed but they're keeping their distance," he said, breathlessly.

"How many?" asked Carmelo.

"Thirteen."

December gasped and turned to look behind.

"They're a long way off and it appears they want to keep it that way... at least for now," added Sammy.

"Would you mind going and telling Ursula?" he asked Sammy as he nodded and was careful to jump out of the boat into the air, flying gracefully towards the back of the group.

"There's more than I thought there would be," Jo said cautiously.

"Do you think they're new-borns?" asked Lilly as Carmelo shook his head. "No, Duran will have called upon his close allies."

"So vampires who are more like Dharma then?" she said, cringing at the thought.

He nodded, "but don't worry. This is our territory now. We've sent word to the other elders. Some of them are heading down the mountain, just in case. But you can do this, Lilly. Especially now we've got December's help, we'll get him," he smiled.

Later, when they reached the shore, all the boats were tied up and left behind while the group headed off on foot. The hike began. They walked through lush green forests of tall trees before the terrain began to change and the trees became scarce.

The group walked for hours before Gabriel pointed to a cave where they could all eat and rest for a while.

The cave was one Lilly knew only too well. It was the very same cave that Charlie (a man under a spell) had taken her to when he had kidnapped her and presented her to Vivian.

There was plenty of room for the entire group to fit into, yet the entrance was small enough to offer ample protection should the vampires decide to strike. The older and weaker of the group quickly had something to eat, before laying on the ground and taking a much needed sleep.

Zoltan, forever the warrior, wouldn't leave the entrance. He was ready and waiting for a battle.

"Zoltan, come and sit down for a while. You need to eat something," said Tabitha who was making herself comfortable on a bed of hay.

But he shook his head and said, "I'll sleep when I'm dead."

Tabitha rolled her eyes, "You're so overly dramatic."

Moira and Ruby fussed over her daughter and Lilly as they prepared themselves for the trap that would soon be set.

After everybody had rested, they would leave the cave, leaving the two girls, and Tabitha, behind to attract Duran and his gang of killer vampires.

A protection spell similar to the one she had placed on Lilly in Tofino (minus the bubble) was being cast to try and keep the girls from harm. Whether December was Millicent reincarnated or not, she was still a novice witch - a fact that worried her mother incessantly.