December Moon (The Raven Saga) (5 page)

"Who's there?"

There was no answer, yet the feeling of having somebody standing very close to her remained. But before she could think any more of it, December forced her feet to move and she was soon running faster than she'd ever run before, through the trees, over large rocks sticking out of the ground and across grassy verges.

After about five minutes of running, the short sharp breaths had become too much to bear. Her lungs felt as if they would give up at any moment. She had to stop.

As she did so, December made sure no-one had followed her. Not that she could see them if they had.

But the feeling of someone's proximity had gone. She was definitely on her own. Leaning against a tree, she began to take long deep breaths in an effort to return her breathing to the way it should be.

She had never been any good at running... and cross country had always been a nightmare for December. It always resulted in her face becoming red and blotchy, s
o not a nice look.
And she knew that she probably had the same air about her now. She blew out a long deep breath and leaned forward, her hands on her knees.

"Are you all right, love?" said a voice that almost frightened the life out of December altogether, even though it was a friendly one and belonged to an elderly man walking his two little Pekinese dogs.

Nodding, December had just about got her breath back.

"Yes, I'm okay thank you. Just a little breathless. I'm not used to... erm jogging these days."

"Jogging? You're not really dressed for a jog in the park!" he laughed, "You should get yourself a pair of trainers, love. Jogging in those shoes won't do you much good. Go easy now," he added before he smiled kindly and went on his way, both dogs keeping their beady eyes on her until she was out of sight.

He was right. December didn't exactly look like she was well prepared for jogging. Her brown ballet flats and long yellow skirt wasn't the most appropriate attire for any form of exercise.

Chuckling to herself, December had almost forgotten why she'd been running in the first place, but not completely. As she neared the edge of the main road to the side of Battersea Park, she pressed the button for the traffic lights, watching the cars zoom by her as she waited patiently for them to come to a standstill.

CHAPTER SEVEN

In the time it had taken Lilly and the others to reach the Elders, rumours about what had happened were already circulating throughout the mass of caves hidden within the British Columbian Coastal Mountains.

But before she was ready to explain to anyone what she had witnessed, she first wanted to go and see her grandfather, Gabriel.

As usual, he was delighted to see her. It was clear from his face that he missed her, as he did the rest of the family. But he was content living with the Elders. He felt like he belonged there.

The injuries he had sustained at the 'hands' of Vivian had simply made him reach his decision to go and live among the Elders a little sooner than he had originally planned. Although his new life was exactly what he relished, he was always keen to hear news of his family.

The news that was reaching his old ears now though, wasn't exactly the kind that he wanted to hear.

"Lilly my dear, you look remarkably well," he said as he embraced her in what can only be described as a bear hug.

"You seem much stronger, Gabriel," said Lilly as she kissed him on his cheek. "It's so good to see you."

"And you, dear Lilly. You're growing up to become a mighty young woman and a mighty young cougar too," he winked.

"It wasn't that long since I saw you, Gabriel," she laughed, enjoying the attention from her grandfather, the man who had lovingly taken her in when her father had vanished.

They chatted for a while, discussing what they had both been up to, but conversation soon changed to the horrifying event that she and Rose witnessed in the forests by Powell River.

Gabriel was aghast to hear the truth, but more than anything he was concerned for the safety of his family.

"You mustn't worry, Gabriel. We're all safe and well. But we wanted the Elders to hear about what had happened as soon as possible. We think it's something that perhaps Carmelo may have to deal with," she said as the two of them began to exit Gabriel's quarters and walk back towards the main hall, where everybody was gathering to discuss the attack.

Gabriel placed a protective arm across Lilly's shoulders and smiled, "yes, I do believe you are right, my dear. Carmelo is perhaps the one best able to deal with the possibility of a rogue vampire."

Walking through the maze of caves that were now becoming more and more familiar to her, Lilly was still struck by the beauty that surrounded her. It was a safe haven for anyone of the supernatural variety that needed protection from the outside world. Not only were there vampires and werewolves, but there were halflings (half human, half animal). Changelings (like Lilly, humans that could morph into animals), enormous beings that resembled apes but walked, talked and lived like people (across the world they were known as all manner of things such as Yeti, Bigfoot, Sasquatch, etc). Lilly had even seen a beautiful woman covered in scales. Although she had never been introduced, she assumed she must be a mermaid. She had assumed correctly, of course.

The caves were decked with fine old furniture and massive intricate wall hangings and hundreds, if not thousands of candles lit the way along the corridors beneath the mountains. It smelled inviting too, in some rooms there was the distinct smell of gently burning incense. In others, flowers could be smelled, or nearer to the vast kitchen, the odours of slowly roasting meat. It took Lilly's breath away each and every time she visited, and, since her first introduction to the Elders' enormous home months before, she had visited a number of times already.

As she and Gabriel walked down long narrow corridors and then from one open cave to another, they soon approached the large group of people and creatures. The whispers grew louder and soon she was being greeted by many she knew and a few faces she had never seen before. A young woman with long blond hair sat quietly in a corner, seemingly afraid of all the commotion. She hid her face away shyly when anybody looked at her. As she turned her back, she revealed a set of stunning small wings, pale pink and glistening in the candle light. They fluttered gently, making the candles flicker and shadows shoot across the uneven walls.

Lilly was mesmerised. She was one of the most beautiful creatures she'd ever seen. Even from a distance, Lilly noticed her long blond eyelashes, which fluttered occasionally over her eyes which were the colour of sapphires. Her pale skin was almost translucent and it gleamed in the light.

"You've noticed our newest addition, then?" asked Gabriel as he watched the woman with her head down trying not to attract attention to herself, something that proved difficult considering her natural beauty.

"Who is she?"

"Let's see if I can pronounce it properly," he said, "Tiffanimelicomelea... she's a fairy."

Lilly's mouth dropped in amazement.

"Close your mouth, dear," he chuckled. "fairies often have long and unusual names. Here she is happy to be known as Tiffani. She's a little shy though, she hasn't been here very long. Perhaps you could go and say hello later. I'm sure she'd like that."

Lilly looked back at Gabriel, nodding, before spotting the family members who had travelled with her to the caves. Lilly gently led Gabriel to them. She had been so eager to see him that she had rushed away from them as soon as they'd arrived, not giving them the chance to even see Gabriel for themselves.

"It's great to see you, Gabriel," said Sammy, the handsome dark haired man in his early thirties with the two breath-taking black wings erupting gracefully from his upper back.

"Sammy, I hope all is well with you and that you have been taking good care of my grand-daughter?"

"Absolutely," he answered, "she's the sister I never had. It's good fun living down at the house...oh and I do keep her in check though, Sir."

"Hey!" Lilly promptly responded with a gentle push to his shoulder. The three of them laughed as Tabitha and Zoltan stood back waiting to say their hellos just as Sammy spotted the beautiful blond fairy in the corner.

"Hello Gabriel."

"Ah, my dear Tabitha," Gabriel said as he pulled her towards him and hugged her, "you look very well, very well, indeed. Family life is clearly doing you well," he winked as she grinned from ear to ear.

"And Zoltan, I do hope you and Tabitha have finally settled in to life in Powell River?"

"Yes, Sir. It's been a long time since we've felt that we've belonged. Thank you, Sir,"

Chuckling, Gabriel patted him on the back, "there's really no need to call me sir, Zoltan. Gabriel will do just fine."

After the discovery was made that Tabitha was Rose's long lost grand-daughter, she and Zoltan were invited to stay in the town. In fact Gabriel had offered for them to move in with Lilly and Sammy, which they had happily accepted.

"Rose came with us too but I'm not sure where she's got to," said Sammy looking around, although his eyes couldn't quite stop returning to look at Tiffani.

"She's speaking to Jo and Carmelo," Tabitha replied, "she wanted to tell them everything before all the others gathered together. It might get a bit loud," she continued, her voice increasing a few octaves in the process as more and more creatures joined them and began chatting amongst themselves.

"Gabriel, may I ask who the girl is over there?" Sammy asked shyly as Gabriel explained who she was.

"She's beautiful, isn't she Sammy?" Lilly said as she watched him become more and more bewitched.

"How come she's here? Doesn't she have family?" he enquired.

But before anyone could answer him, the voices within the hall began to quieten down as a beautiful young couple appeared through a large archway to the left.

Dressed in a long flowing red gown, black ribbon criss-crossing across the front and back of the corset, Jo was resplendent. Her long black hair hung in natural ringlets which framed her pale yet angelic face, set off perfectly by the colour of her natural blood red lips and dark black eyes. She was more beautiful than any woman could ever be - apart from the perfectly formed fairy Tiffani, although their beauty was very different from each other. But that's probably because Jo was a vampire.

Her hand was held lovingly by her partner, Carmelo. Although Carmelo appeared to be a man in his early twenties, he had, in fact, been in his early twenties for hundreds of years.

He clearly couldn't decide whether to wear clothes from the current century, or from a previous one and so he fashioned old and new together. His top half resembled that of a Victorian nobleman and his bottom half that of a present day rock star, skinny black jeans and pointy black brogues.

Combined with his unnaturally overly handsome dark features and long dark hair which he held in a low pony tail at the nape of his neck, the effect was nothing less than perfect.

As the couple walked through the crowd towards Lilly and her family, they had a calming effect on everybody that surrounded them. Even Tiffani turned to watch, a dainty smile creeping across her lips. Their beauty truly took people's breath away.

As soon as Jo spotted Lilly in the crowd, her pace quickened and a broad smile lit up her face. Carmelo smiled and released his loving grip so she could run to her cousin.

"Lilly!" she squealed as her graceful pace turned into a childlike run.

Lilly rushed to her and they shared a long hug.

"You can stop eyeing up my neck, for starters," joked Lilly as they pulled apart. Lilly knew that Jo's transformation into a fully-fledged vampire had happened relatively quickly. For some, it can take years before they can safely re-join society. For Jo, it took merely a couple of months. The elders suspected that Jo's raven blood may have helped speed up the process.

Grinning widely, Jo laughed and pretended to look hungrily at her. The two fell about laughing as Carmelo and Rose finally caught up with them.

It was the first time that Rose had visited since Gabriel had left Powell River and so they shared a long hug, both unable to stop a few happy tears from falling.

After they had finished saying their hellos and gossiping a little about life, Carmelo spoke a few words in an effort to quieten people down. He then asked them all to sit.

The candles flickered from the sudden movement, but as a seat was found for everyone, an eerie silence followed.