December Moon (The Raven Saga)

  "Aren't you scared, Tabitha?"

  "Of what?"

  "Of everybody getting hurt in Tofino?" she asked as she looked down to the floor and fiddled with the cup in her hands.

  "Honestly? I'm terrified. But if I think about it too much, I'll be in a corner somewhere crying my eyes out."

  "Me too," said December as she noticed Sammy walk into the living room looking for someone. When he saw the two girls sitting down on the sofa, he walked towards them and asked if they wanted to get some fresh air.

  Needing to get outside after her fainting episode, December nodded as the two girls stood and followed him through the kitchen and out through the back door. Still feeling a little wobbly, December sat on the wall, her legs dangling beneath her. Looking around, she noticed the house was almost surrounded by dark forest.

  It was late afternoon and the sun was still shining in between a few fluffy clouds that hung high in the blue sky.

  "It's so beautiful here. I can see why Lilly is so fond of it," December sighed, "it's certainly different from where she grew up... I hope she's okay," she added as she looked back at her new friends.

  "I'm not waiting around to find out. I'm going to fly to Tofino," Sammy said quietly when he was sure they were out of earshot of everybody in the house, and the witches in their RVs.

  "What?" Shrieked Tabitha.

  "Sshhh... I don't want anyone to know otherwise they'll try and stop me. I can't just sit back and do nothing."

  "But, you'll be seen," whispered December.

  "I'll wait until it starts getting dark and then I'm going."

  They were all silent for a few moments as they thought about what might happen before Tabitha said, "I would do the same if I were you, Sammy. If only I could fly... will you take me with you? Please, Sammy? I can't just sit here and do nothing either. Not with Lilly and Zoltan out there. Please, Sammy, take me too."

  With a sigh, Sammy nodded, "okay, but it's going to be dangerous. It's a long way to go."

  "Danger's practically my middle name, Sammy!" she exclaimed as she jumped up and down and tried hard not to sound too excited while December looked on sadly.

  "I wish I could come too."

  "I'm sorry, December, but I can only take one. Plus, your mother and that grandmother of yours would probably kill me if I took you," he said with a smile.

  December knew he was right and nodded, "just be careful, okay?"

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  A few hours had passed since Sammy had dropped his bombshell that he was going to try and help Lilly. December had watched him and Tabitha sneak off into the forest behind the house, fully aware that they were going to wait for the onset of darkness, which was almost upon them, before flying off towards Tofino.

  December's heart ached for her best friend and she desperately wished she could do something to help. Above all though, she wanted to be there with her but there just hadn't been any room on the plane. Not that her mother would have been too keen on that idea.

  Wanting to be on her own, December had asked Gabriel if she could lie down. He had shown her into Lilly's bedroom where she sat on the bed for a while, taking in all that had happened to her that day.

  Just as she sat on the soft comfy bed, there was a tap on the door and Moira pushed it open and leaned in.

  "You okay, honey?" she asked.

  "Yeah, I'm fine Mom. Just a lot to take in, that's all, and I'm worried about Lilly."

  Moira pushed the door open further and walked in. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she pulled her daughter into her arms and stroked the back of her head.

  "I know, sweetie, I know. All these witches here and we can't get even get there unless we drive, which will take ages. But we're all discussing it now, okay? We'll come up with something to help. We won't let anything happen to her. She seems like a really sweet girl. I can understand why the two of you clicked back in London."

  "It's kind of weird though, isn't it?" asked December.

  "What's weird, sweetie?"

  "I'm a witch and Lilly is a changeling and yet we met in the middle of London and became friends. I mean, what are the odds?" she smiled as she lifted her head up from her mother's embrace and looked into her eyes.

  Smiling, Moira squeezed her hand, "It's not really weird, no, honey. Have you never heard the expression 'like attracts like'? Magic often attracts the magical, evil attracts evil and so on. You two were drawn together for a reason," she winked as she patted her hand and stood up.

  "I'd better get back to the others. Don't worry. You just get some rest, okay?"

  December nodded as Moira walked out and gently closed the door behind her.

  As she laid back and put her head on the pillow, December got that same sensation again. It was the very same feeling she'd first had in Battersea Park and again in her vision. But the difference this time was that she wasn't afraid.

  "Hello?" she whispered. "Is there somebody there?"

  She sensed the person move to her side.

  "Who are you? What do you want?"

  But there was nothing. Just silence.

  Sighing, December shifted on the bed so that she was sitting upright again.

  'Help her.'

  The two words just popped into her head, as if someone had physically placed them there.

  December shook her head, unsure what had just happened.

  'Help her.'

  There they were again. Someone was putting words into her head.

  "But how? How can I help her?" she whispered.

  'You have to want it, December. You have to really want it.'

  December gasped when those last few words popped into her head. She'd heard them before. They were the exact words she'd heard in Battersea Park. Whoever was communicating with her had been with her in England.

  Standing up abruptly, December knew whoever it was, was right. Perhaps if she wished it enough, and wanted it enough, she could somehow get to Tofino. But how?

  You have to want it, you have to really want it. Those were the words she needed to remember.

  Think, December, think about what you really want, she thought.

  "I wish I was in Tofino," she said out loud. When nothing happened, she closed her eyes and thought long and hard about her vision. "I need to be in Tofino. I want to be in Tofino. I wish I was in Tofino," she whispered to herself over and over until she felt a massive wave of nausea overcome her and she sank slowly to the soft carpeted floor by the side of the bed.

  #

  When she came to, there was a distinctive scent in the air and a gentle breeze caressed her face. December could smell the ocean. It wasn't a smell she'd recognised from Powell River so before she opened her eyes she knew she was no longer with her family in Lilly's house.

  "It worked," she said to herself in a daze as she lifted herself up from the ground and looked around. Gasping, December knew exactly where she was. She had managed to propel herself all the way to Tofino, to the exact beach where Oliver would be (or was) attacked. She recognised it from her vision.

  Looking down at the sand, she searched for signs that the attack had already taken place. She looked for those little droplets of blood that had spattered when Duran had plunged his fangs into the blond haired boy's neck. But there was nothing. December was hopeful that she had made it in time to warn him.

  Wandering along the beach looking for any sign of him, December could see nobody around. Nothing but the long stretch of smooth sand, piles of driftwood and the odd pile of dark green seaweed covered in golden sand. December took a deep breath, breathing in those fresh ocean scents and listened as the waves pounded the shore in the distance. She shivered.

  There were a few houses scattered around the edge of the beach, but all appeared to be empty. There were no lights switched on, no sounds coming from any of them. It was eerily silent except for the crashing of the waves. As she neared the water, it was then that she noticed a lone person in the water. A surfer.

  She recalle
d that Meredith had said he was surfing in Tofino. It must be him, she thought. That must be Oliver. Searching the beach for his belongings, December wandered back and forth until she came upon a small backpack. She sat down next to it and waited a moment, thinking what she could do.

  In the vision, Oliver was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. His hair was dry and he wasn't carrying a surfboard. She realised she had time. He must have gone somewhere to change before he came back to the beach.

  As she watched the boy catching the waves as he successfully glided along them in peace, she realised she had no idea what she was going to say to him. How on earth was she going to explain that a vampire was going to attack him? She would surely sound insane?

  Think, December, think.

  Before she knew it, the boy had ridden his final wave for the day, had surfed all the way to the shore and was walking towards her, shaking his wet hair. She stood up and smiled as he neared.

  "Hello," she said.

  "Hi," he replied looking a little quizzical at her as he took a towel out of his bag and began drying his hair with it.

  "Erm..." December felt stupid. She had absolutely no idea how to approach the matter, and she had no idea how long it would take Lilly and co to arrive.

  Oliver looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something. When she didn't, he picked up his bag, his surfboard and said, "see ya" before turning and walking away.

  "Wait!" she yelled, as she jumped up. "Don't go!"

  His expression was one of confusion.

  "I'm sorry, but do I know you?" he asked with a lop sided smile.

  Shaking her head, December tried to smile, "No, but you know my best friend... Lilly."

  Immediately his expression softened and then he looked angry.

  "I'm sorry, you must have me confused with someone else. I don't know anybody called Lilly."

  "Please, Oliver, don't go. Hear me out. You're in danger. Lilly is on her way to help."

  "What are you talking about?" he said angrily, "please just leave me alone."

  "No, I can't. Oliver, please just look at me. It's important."

  When he continued to walk away from her, she called out, "Your brother, Ben, he's on his way too."

  "Ben?" he asked, turning and dropping his bag.

  "Is Ben okay?"

  December nodded, catching her breath as the wind blew her hair across her face. "Ben's fine, Oliver, but they're on their way here because you're not. Well, you won't be if you don't hear me out."

  "Okay, I'm listening," he said as he pushed his surfboard into the sand and leaned on it.

  December shivered, "Look, I know you know the truth about Lilly but there's so much more that you don't know about us."

  "Us? So you're one of them too?" he asked, disgusted.

  "Yes. No. I mean... kind of. I'm not a changeling, if that's what you mean. I'm a...a... witch. I only just found out about it myself so I know it sounds crazy."

  "Jeeze... you people are crazy," he responded as he pulled his board out of the sand and picked up his bag and started walking away again.

  Getting a little aggravated with him, December focussed on the surfboard and flicked her wrist. The board flew out of his grasp and upwards, hovering for a moment before zooming off into the ocean.

  "Hey!" he yelled, "What the...? My board!"

  "Did you... do that?" he yelled at her.

  "It's the only way I could get your attention! Oliver, you are in major danger here. So stop and listen or I won't get your board back, okay?"

  Rooted to the spot, Oliver nodded.

  "There's this guy, a really, really bad guy. Well, he's coming here to get... you."

  "What do you mean by bad guy? And why would he be coming here to get me?" he asked.

  "He's a vampire. A really bad one and he's probably got it in for you because of Lilly. He seems to want Lilly for his mate or something weird and somehow, he seems to know that Lilly already has a mate and so he needs to get rid of that mate in order to have Lilly for himself. Capiche? You get it now?" she said with barely a breath.

  He nodded and swallowed.

  "Right, now that we understand each other, we need to get off this beach. I'm freezing here!"

  With a flick of her wrist, the surfboard flew back in Oliver's direction.

  "Look out!" yelled December, as Oliver turned and ducked out of the way just in time.

  "Sorry, I'm kind of new to all this magic stuff," she said, reddening.

  Picking up the board and dusting off the sand, he said, "I'm staying in an apartment just up the beach there. Come on."

  December followed him as she told him about her vision as they quickly hiked all the way up the sand, climbing over some large pieces of wood and up some steps into a small cluster of apartments. After she'd explained, neither of them said another word until they were safely indoors.

  "Do you mind if I have a quick shower?" Oliver asked December who shook her head and flopped down into the nearest chair.

  "There's soda in the fridge, or coffee there if you need something hot. Help yourself. I won't be long. I just need to get out of this wetsuit and get rid of all the sand and salt."

  "Do you have a sweater I can borrow, Oliver? I'm really cold," she shivered as he walked into another room and came out carrying a large grey pullover.

  "Thanks," she smiled, quickly putting it on and rubbing her arms to warm herself up. It dwarfed her and Oliver shook his head with a barely heard chuckle.

  December made them both a cup of coffee and waited for him to finish in the shower. When he came out, he was wearing the white T-shirt and jeans she'd seen him wear in the vision.

  Handing him the drink, she said, "I'm December, by the way."

  "Thanks, December. I'm sorry I was such a moron back there. I guess I'm still pretty confused with all this business with Lilly. Is she okay?" he asked.

  "She's just seriously worried about you. She'll be fine once she sees you're all right."

  "December? I just remembered. You're her friend from London?"

  December smiled and nodded.

  "How did you get here, December? And how on earth did you know where to find me?"

  "That's a long story..."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  "There's still no answer on his cell," shouted Ben over the noise of the plane as it came in to land on the water.

  Unfastening their seatbelts, the small group began to descend the side of the aircraft once they had come to a standstill.

  The pilot smiled and wished everyone a good stay in Tofino, completely oblivious to the real reason they were there.

  "Tom, I can't thank you enough for this," said Ben shaking his hand.

  "I've told you before, Ben, you're always welcome. Any time you need to fly anywhere, you just let me know. Duke and Duchy wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you and for that I owe you... big time. You take care now, okay?"

  Waving goodbye to Tom the pilot, Lilly asked, "Duke and Duchy?"

  "His Golden Retrievers. I guess you've not been at the practice whenever I've treated them."

  Ben's cell rang just as the plane took off without them.

  "Oliver?!" he yelled into the mouthpiece, "Oh hi Jo. Yes he's right here. Hang on a sec. It's for you," he said, handing the phone to Carmelo.

  "Hi babe, what's up? Gone? What do you mean, gone? Yes, okay. Yes, we will do. Keep us updated. Yeh, you too."

  "It's December. She's vanished."

  Lilly felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. "Oh God, no, not December. What if it's Duran? What if somehow he tricked us into coming here, when he could still be in Powell River. He could have been planning to take December all along," she groaned.

  The same cell phone rang again and Ben answered abruptly, "Yeah? Oliver... Oh thank god you're okay. We've been worried sick. We're here. We just landed in Tofino. We're on our way. You're with who? How? How is that possible? Okay, put her on and I'll pass the phone to Lilly..."

  "Hello? Decem
ber. What the...? How did you...? Yeah, they know you're gone. You'd better phone them and explain. Okay, we're on our way now. The apartments behind that beach, the Dune Apartments, number eighty-two? Okay, stay put. We'll be as fast as we can."

  Shaking her head in disbelief, Lilly looked shocked.

  "I have absolutely no idea how that happened but somehow December has managed to get to Oliver. She's with him now. Come on, let's go."

  Twenty minutes later, their two cabs pulled up outside the Dune Apartments. Lilly was the first to jump out and run up the steps to Number eighty-two. Just as she went to knock, the door was opened and December stood there smiling at her.

  "Oh, thank god, December. I was so worried. Jo called just before you did to tell us you'd vanished. I thought Duran had got you. I thought he'd tricked us. I'm so glad you're okay. But how did you get here?"

  Laughing at her best friend's lack of breathing, she pulled her into a hug, "some kind of witchy magic... I can't even explain it. Mom never told me about it so I have no idea. But we'll talk about all of that later."

  Pulling apart, Lilly saw Oliver standing behind waiting.

  "Hello Oliver."

  "Hey Lilly," he said shyly, just as Ben pushed the door open again and rushed in. "Bro! I can't tell you how happy I am to see you. Are you all right?" he asked as the two hugged each other only as brothers do.

  "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine."

  The others followed indoors and closed the door behind them.

  "Erm, Oliver, this is Carmelo, Ursula and Zoltan," Ben introduced them to his brother.

  Shaking Carmelo's hand, Oliver pulled away quickly, "Jeeze, man you're freezing!" he said.

  Laughing, Carmelo replied, "I'm afraid that comes with the territory."

  Unsure what to make of him, he turned to Ursula who nodded curtly and then to Zoltan who took his hand and shook it... hard.

  "Erm, that's one helluva grip, Zoltan," he said with a forced smile.

  "Well, I guess we can't keep the truth from you any more, so you should know that Carmelo and Ursula are both vampires and Zoltan is a werewolf. I assume you already know by now that December is a witch? And you obviously know that Lilly is what is known as a changeling. I know, I know... it's kind of a lot to take in. I've only just learned the truth myself!" said Ben, smiling what was probably the most fake smile in the world.