CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
“Hold on tight, Lilly,” said Sammy as he put his arms carefully around me. His wings flared out to his sides and with a simple jump we moved skywards. Although terrifying, flying through the dark night was exhilarating.
The higher we flew, the colder the temperature became and I found myself shivering to such an extent that my teeth began to chatter.
“Don't worry, we're almost there,” Sammy said softly above the sound of his moving wings. I couldn't look down for fear. But soon enough, we were home. He swooped down, staying within the confines of the forest. I recognised the area and knew I was close to home.
As we came to a standstill, he gently released his grip on me. “Are you all right?” Nodding, I hugged him tightly and told him that soon we would all be together again.
“How can I contact you though?” I asked, wondering how he would know when it was safe to return.
“I'll come back and meet you here again tomorrow night as soon as darkness comes. I'll stay hidden until I see you. Until then, Lilly. Keep safe. Good luck speaking to the rest of the family.”
I nodded as I watched him gracefully leap off into the sky again. I could hear his wings gently beating in the wind and wondered if, one day, I would be able to fly like that. I hadn't forgotten that I might possess the gene that could give me wings of my own. Or furry paws. But I was still waiting, nervously, for it to happen.
“Gabriel, Gabriel... wake up,” I said, gently shaking his shoulders as he slept peacefully, blissfully unaware of what had just happened to me.
As he came to, he suddenly sat upright and asked, “Lilly, are you all right? What on earth is the matter? Did you have another bad dream?”
I told him that I needed to talk to him urgently but I also needed to speak to Rose, Wyatt and Meredith... and Jo. “We must call them now and tell them to come over straight away. Something very important has happened.”
He turned and looked at his bedside clock. 4.57am.
“Perhaps it might be pertinent to just wait a couple of hours, Lilly. We don't want to worry the rest of the family... unless absolutely necessary. Is it, Lilly? Is it absolutely necessary?”
I thought for a moment and agreed that perhaps it could wait a few more hours. After all, it had waited fourteen years, what was another two hours?
I debated whether I should tell Gabriel about Sammy first but decided against it. I knew how he felt about the man and there was a possibility that he just might go a little mad at the mere mention of his name. At least with the others there, particularly Jo, they would help calm him down – that was my plan, anyway.
Gabriel wanted to know what was so urgent but I said I couldn't tell him until the others arrived. He wasn't delighted, of course, but he was understanding. Gabriel was always understanding. It was one of the many things that I loved about him.
We decided to telephone the others at 8am – it was a Sunday morning and Gabriel had said calling any earlier might have panicked them.
Fortunately he hadn't noticed my unusual attire by then so I decided to go to my room and lie down for a while. It gave me the chance to remove Sammy's over large boots and hide them until the truth was revealed later.
Adrenaline pulsed through my body as I lay there, darkness disappearing for another day to be replaced by a gentle light as the sun slowly began its ascent. I thought about Sammy. He had spent fourteen years completely alone. Even though I had felt lonesome during my childhood years, I could have no idea what it must have been like to have had absolutely no interaction with other people during that time.
I wondered how he had managed to hang on to his sanity. Hidden from the world like some kind of freak, when that couldn't be any further from the truth.
This man was a gentle soul who had suffered more than any of us had at the hands of a truly evil witch. It saddened me more than words could describe that he was not part of this family. The family that would have been his had Neleh lived. He would have been my brother-in-law. In my eyes, he was and would always be Neleh's husband.
The others arrived as soon as they could after the phone call. Wyatt had also brought Jo, as I'd requested. The last to arrive was Rose at five to nine.
They all appeared to be consumed with worry but it wasn't too difficult to get them to calm down. They could see for themselves that I was safe and happy.
I had wondered about Meredith. I knew at times she had been able to read my thoughts but this time, she seemed totally oblivious as to what was going on in my head. I asked her about it and she told me that it's not something she can do all the time.
“It only happens occasionally and only when you are very close to me but I'm not getting anything at the moment,” she sighed, clearly wishing she was.
After I'd made them all some hot tea, and requested that Gabriel bring the box of photos they had shown me before, I asked them all to sit in the living room together.
Gabriel handed me the box and I emptied it until I found the photograph I was looking for. The one of Sammy and Neleh happily together.
“I don't want any of you to worry, especially you Gabriel,” I said, “and I don't want you to say anything until I've told you everything.”
Gabriel sighed and I continued, “Please, Grand-father. This is more important that anything. Not a word, okay?”
He nodded and smiled as best he could, unsure about what I was about to reveal.
“A few nights ago I had a dream and when I woke up, I discovered that it had caused me to sleepwalk.”
The others all looked at each other with worry.
“It's okay. That night I woke up inside the house and nothing happened to me,” I smiled before going on, “but last night something very different happened. I had the most vivid dream I have ever had and I sleepwalked... right into the forest.”
“Goodness, Lilly... you could have...” Rose began but I interrupted her.
“Please Rose, let me finish. I was led there by the ghosts of Serena and Neleh. They took me deep into the forest. I walked for a long time before I woke up but when I did, I knew that they had been trying to show me something. Well, not something, but someone,” I whispered.
I could tell my family were all biting their tongues, except Jo who was clearly excited and desperate to know the full story.
I held up the photo of Sammy and Neleh and said, “Last night I met Sammy Morton.”
Gabriel stood up so abruptly that he knocked his cup of tea to the floor.
“Lillian Tulugaq. What were you thinking? You could have got yourself killed. And then what? Then what?” he yelled and stormed out of the room.
That was exactly the kind of reaction I had dreaded, which was one of the reasons I had wanted the others to be there with me for support.
As I'd imagined, Wyatt stood and followed him, as did Meredith who returned a moment later with a sponge and began mopping up the tea. She was soon followed by the others. Gabriel was obviously forced to bite his tongue, again.
I said nothing until everyone was sitting quietly.
“Sammy is not what you think he is. Sammy is not a killer.”
I could hear Gabriel huffing and trying so hard not to speak so I continued quickly.
“Sammy was a witness to my sister's death. Vivian is the true murderer.”
Although there were gasps, I could tell the information was being mulled over by them all.
“And he told you this, did he? And you naïvely believed him? Oh Lilly,” said Gabriel softly.
“There's more to it, Gabriel,” I said, “Sammy has been in hiding all these years. Not because he was involved in the death, but because she cursed him. She prevented him from being able to return home. She cursed him with wings. Two beautiful big black wings.”
Everybody suddenly began to speak at once and I waited a moment before hushing them so I could continue, “Sammy was the one who saved my life. He rescued me and you still have that feather to prove it... don't you, Gabriel?”
He s
tood then, his face white as a sheet and he walked into another room, returning with the feather that proved what I had been telling them was the truth.
“Goodness. All these years,” began Rose, “all these years he has been persecuted in so many ways. He was never even given the benefit of the doubt.”
“That's not all,” I said, “Sammy and Neleh saw Vivian putting some kind of spell on Serena. He believes that he was putting a spell on her to get rid of her. That's how Neleh was killed. She confronted Vivian and she was murdered, but not before...” I took a breath.
“Not before what Lilly?” asked Jo eagerly.
“Not before Neleh changed into a cat.”
Rose smiled then, “So she did carry the gene. And I thought I would never know the truth.”
“The scar that Vivian had on her face in this photograph was put there by Neleh. She managed to swipe at her with her claws seconds before she died.”
We all sat in silence for a few moments, letting the news sink in.
“So where is Sammy now?” asked Gabriel at last.
I explained that he'd created some kind of a home within a cave in the forest, far from the town. He couldn't risk being seen by anybody. “He knew that if anyone saw him, he would be taken away like some kind of freak. He is such a gentle man. Even now, after all that has happened to him. Even after being so alone for all these years, he is still a truly wonderful, gentle man. He should be a part of this family. The way he was meant to be,” I said sadly.
Gabriel finally conceded and nodded, “I feel absolutely terrible. How could I not have known this?”
“He hid from the world. He didn't want anybody to know,” I replied.
“But the Elders. This is something the Elders should have known. We must go and see him,” he said.
Again, I explained that it would be very difficult to find his hiding place but told them that he had said he would return not far from the house that evening.
“He wants to meet with you all too,” I whispered, as a tear rolled down my cheek, knowing that he would finally be welcomed into our home with open arms. Fourteen years later than he should have been.