December Moon (The Raven Saga)

  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.

  Carmelo stood, "As I am sure you have all heard the gossip by now, it is with a heavy heart that I must announce a murder in Powell River."

  Gasps could be heard throughout the great hall, followed by whispers as people began to realise the rumours had been true.

  Holding his arms out to silence the hall, he continued, "A man, we know not who, was killed before the very eyes of our beloved Lilly and Rose. But not just any man. He was a changeling, a bear."

  More gasps.

  "He was not someone who Rose recognised, but that does not mean he was not someone that any one of you may have known. We need to reach out to our loved ones, our friends. We need to ask some questions. We need to find out the identity of this man. But this is not the worst of it, my friends.

  "The murder was committed by one of us. It was committed by a... a vampire, a vampire that we had no knowledge of. He is a well-known and well-loved man in the Powell River community. We would have known if he had always been a vampire.

  "Of which can only signify one thing. There is an evil vampire among us who has begun to transform our local people into his own kind. He must be stopped before more murders are committed, before more vampires of his kind are created. Before the world comes to know of our existence."

  Shock reverberated throughout the caves that evening as everyone gossiped about the gruesome attack in Powell River. Even Tiffani, who knew nobody from the town, was saddened by the events. And when Tiffani was sad, she couldn't help but cry.

  Noticing the sound of gentle sobbing coming just down from Gabriel's quarters, Lilly tiptoed out into the long thin corridor and followed the sounds. Every now and then the sob would be interrupted by a gentle hiccough.

  As she neared the sobbing and hiccoughing, she saw Tiffani sitting on the floor facing the wall, all alone in a little room containing a bed and two small sofas. A heavy blue curtain, used instead of a door, was pulled to one side, allowing her to peer inside. On
the walls of the little cave were a number of large paintings depicting fairies of all shapes and sizes.

  As Lilly squinted at the paintings, she noticed the wings of the fairies fluttering. She closed her eyes and opened them again but as she looked on, the same thing happened, the fairies within the painting moved.

  "It's just a trick," said the softest voice Lilly had ever heard.

  Startled, Lilly noticed Tiffani had turned and sat looking at her. Her big blue eyes were open wide and a gentle smile spread across her lips.

  "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to pry. I just heard you crying. Are you... all right?"

  Her wings began to flutter and Tiffani lifted herself into the air onto her feet, before she moved over to the sofa and sat down. She patted the other sofa in front of her. Lilly walked in, sat down to face the young fairy and smiled questioningly.

  "I'm just a little sad. Hearing of such horrible things saddens me sometimes. You know, the attack in your home town... terrible," she sobbed again, hiccoughing at the same time.

  "I'm Lilly, by the way," she said, holding her hand to shake.

  Tiffani leaned forward and looked at her hand quizzically.

  "Erm... sorry. Humans often shake hands as a greeting. Like this," she said, taking the fairy's delicate hand in hers and shaking it up and down.

  "Oh, I see," she answered with her brows ever so slightly furrowed.

  "I'm Tiffanimelicomelea... but people around here just call me Tiffani. It seems Tiffanimelicomelea is a little long for most people to understand," she giggled. "You're Gabriel's grand-daughter aren't you?" she asked as Lilly nodded. "I know all about you. Gabriel is very proud of you and all of his family. I am very sorry about your father, Lilly," and with that, she began to gently cry again.

  "Oh, please don't cry, Tiffani. I've shed tears for the disappearance of my father, you mustn't shed them as well."

  "I'm sorry, but I can't help it. I cry when I hear of such sadness," she hiccoughed.

  "And you hiccough too?" she smiled as Tiffani nodded.

  "I can't help it," she said finally giggling softly.

  "How did you come to be here, Tiffani?"

  "With the Elders?" she asked and Lilly nodded.

  "I simply got lost from my own kind," she whispered as her eyes welled up with tears again.

  "I was wandering through the white forests of my home when I saw a strange fuzzy light in the distance. My mother always told me I was too inquisitive when I was young and that I should be wary of danger. But I followed the light and when I turned around to return home, the white forests had disappeared and I couldn't find my way back. I cried until I had no more tears to shed and then I wandered around to see if I could figure out where I was but it was a place I'd never seen before, nor heard about. It was just mountains and far off in the distance green forests. In my home, we have only white forests laced with silver. Nothing like this."

  "But how did you find the Elders?"

  "I'm fortunate that they came upon me. I found myself beside a great lake, so I stopped and sat down for a rest. When I began crying again, a woman appeared out of the water and offered to help. She brought me here. These people have been kind, so kind."

  Lilly felt as though her heart would break for her new friend, who was wiping the tears from her eyes once again.

  "I'm so sorry, Tiffani. I hope the Elders can help you find your way home."

  Tiffani nodded, "I... I hope so too."

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  When December arrived back home, she was greeted by an unfamiliar sight. A black BMW with tinted windows was parked in the gravel driveway and a tall thin man in a navy blue suit was leisurely pacing up and down, as if waiting for something, or someone.

  The front door to the house was shut and there was nobody else in sight. As she approached, he turned, startled and smiled warmly at her. She immediately relaxed and returned the smile.

  "Miss Moon?" he questioned, as he held out a hand to shake.

  Taking it, she nodded.

  "I'm James T Brook of Brook, Hippisley and Sons. May I come in?"

  "What is Brook, Hippisley and Sons?" she asked curiously before agreeing to let the stranger in. Even though he appeared to be friendly, she wasn't stupid.

  Taking out a small card from his front jacket pocket and handing it to her, he replied, "Forgive me. I'm an attorney and Brook, Hippisley and Sons is a law firm in the city. We are rather well known, in fact," he stated with a warm smile.

  "And you're here to see me?" she asked, confused, as she noticed a thin streak of grey across his short dark hair.

  As he nodded, she took her key from the small thin handbag that was flung across her body and opened the front door.

  "Yes. I did speak to a very nice gentleman earlier who invited me to wait indoors but I was happy to wait here until you returned. It's such a nice day, a rarity for October," he smiled.

  "Come on in. Can I get you a drink? I hope you haven't been waiting too long," she asked politely as he followed her into the kitchen.

  Forty minutes later, she was seeing the middle-aged man back to his car. She was in a complete and utter daze.

  Mr James T Brook had informed her that she was the beneficiary of a trust fund. A trust fund. And she had never known about it.

  But the beauty of this trust fund is that it became hers... in its entirety when she turned fifteen.

  Mr James T Brook informed her that her father had left strict instructions with his law firm to make sure that December received all that was in the trust fund the day of her fifteenth birthday. Why? She had no idea. Her father had also made it clear to Mr James T Brook that he was to speak to her about it, and not to his meddling sister Penelope. December smiled at the thought. After all these years, she now knew that her father hadn't entirely trusted Penelope and that in itself made her laugh.

  After closing the door, December ran through the grand old Georgian house, and out of the back door looking for Monty.

  She found him cleaning out the shed at the bottom of the field.

  "Monty, Monty. I have some news!" she yelled.

  He turned to her with a grin that suggested he knew all about the trust fund.

  Wide-eyed, she blurted, "you knew, didn't you?"

  Chuckling, he nodded as he stood up and walked out of the shed into the sun towards her.

  "Your father told me not to tell you and I always keep my word."

  Plonking herself down on the grass, December laid back so her face took full advantage of the bright sunlight. Basking in it, she took a deep breath and inhaled the lovely odour of freshly cut grass. Monty had been busy.

  December could hardly believe what had happened to her. She had turned fifteen, found out her mother was a witch, been told she was a witch and now had found out she was rich. She was a rich witch. Change the W to a B and that described her aunt, she thought, chuckling to herself. She couldn't help but let out a happy sigh.

  Monty sat down beside her. He said nothing for a moment before asking if she was okay.

  "I think so but I honestly don't know, Monty. All this weird stuff is happening to me and I don't really understand any of it."

  Again, he said nothing. He just sat quietly waiting for her to speak before remembering that a letter had arrived for her earlier in the day. Because the letter had a Seattle postmark, he had removed it from the pile of mail off of the little unit beside the front door and pocketed it. He knew if Penelope had spotted it, she may well have opened it and read it herself.

  "This came for you today, December," he said, carefully taking it from the pocket of his overalls and handing it to her. "Sorry, it got a little crumpled."

  Once she had noticed the postmark, she ripped it open eagerly. Inside, was a letter from her mother...

  Dear December

  I know you must have a million questions for me and I will happily answer them once we are finally together again. By now, you will know the truth about you and me. I hope you have accepted it gracefu
lly. At times it is such a curse, hence the two of us having to be apart for so many years, but at other times, it is a gift. And now we can rejoice in this gift together.

  My gorgeous daughter, December, it is finally time for you to come home.

  There is a bit more to that trust fund, December. It also states that once you turned fifteen, Monty no longer works for Penelope, he works for you! Now, I'm sure he is with you while you read this letter. He has something to tell you...

  We will see each other VERY soon, my angel.

  All my love,

  Your Mom, Moira

  "Apparently you have something to tell me, Monty," December said in such a confused tone that made Monty laugh as she handed him the letter.

  He read it in a matter of seconds and gave it back to her.

  "She's right about that. We're going home, December. Your bags are all packed and we're booked on a flight out to Seattle."

  Her mouth wide open, December was totally speechless.

  Monty stood and helped her up. Brushing off the grass from his overalls, he double checked that the shed door was locked before he took her hand and pulled her gently up the grassy field towards the house.

  Having known that Penelope is usually out the entire day on a Saturday, Monty had taken full advantage while December was out walking in the park. He had even managed to bribe the rest of the staff into helping him pack all of December's belongings. And they had done so with such gusto and joy... knowing that December was finally breaking free of her aunt was almost as good as themselves breaking free from the meddling so and so.

  All she had to do was say goodbye to the staff... and they were off!

  A note had been left for Penelope detailing everything. December had left her own little card thanking her for 'looking after her' all those years but neither particularly wanted to hang around and see the ghastly woman.

  As they sat in the back of the taxi, stuck in a traffic jam, December's mind wandered to all that had been happening to her, starting with the strange occurrence at the gym... which suddenly made her think about school. "Monty!" she exclaimed, "we haven't told the school about me leaving."