December Moon (The Raven Saga)

  "Don't worry December, they know. They've already been notified."

  "Oh, okay."

  Her mind couldn't calm down, there was so much going around in her head, her being a possible witch, for one. And the fact that she had yet to tell Lilly. And then the voice telling her she could only make things happen if she really wanted them to happen. Oh and add to that, that frightening moment in the park when she had felt somebody standing right beside her. And she was rich! And she was going to see her mum. She was moving to America! Oh... she'd finally be near to Lilly!

  CHAPTER NINE

  The following morning, as everybody prepared themselves for breakfast, Lilly remembered the other reason she had been so keen to speak to Gabriel. She had wanted some advice about December.

  So she rushed to his room before they all headed to the grand dining hall.

  "Gabriel, can I talk to you about something?" she asked after she'd rung the little bell that hung on the wall outside of his quarters and walked in.

  "Of course, my dear. What is it?"

  "Well, it's about December. She told me some pretty weird things the other day and it worried me a little. I'm not really sure what to make of it."

  Gabriel sat down on his old green leather sofa and patted it so she would join him.

  "First of all, she wished for something to happen and it did... apparently she was in the school gym and, I know how much she always hated gymnastics, she wished for it to flood and it did!" Lilly exclaimed.

  "Well, the gym could have already been going to flood. Perhaps December has a sixth sense. Perhaps she has a knack at seeing things that will happen in the future. It's a common trait among women," he replied, smiling.

  "It is?" she said, looking somewhat surprised, before remembering something else.

  "No, that's not possible... there are no water pipes anywhere near the gym. It was a bright, sunny day. No rain. No water anywhere. And then when everybody else had escaped, she noticed that the water was everywhere except near her."

  "Well, in that case, it is very strange. Very strange indeed."

  "But that's not all, Gabriel. Then she had a dream," Lilly stopped momentarily to take a breath.

  "She dreamed that the gym flooded, everybody died except her and she saw me. And she said... she said I had wings!" she gulped.

  Gabriel's expression changed instantly. No longer was this a strange and humorous tale about a close friend, it was now something much more revealing, something odd was going on.

  "Oh my," he said, stumped.

  Together they sat in silence for a few minutes, deep in thought.

  "Honestly, Lilly, I have no idea what this means. But there seems to be much more to your little friend than meets the eye. I will speak with Carmelo about this before you return home. Now, let's go and get some breakfast. You must be famished."

  On the way out of his room, Lilly told Gabriel she would catch him up. First, she wanted to see if Tiffani was around.

  Approaching the little room, she noticed the curtain fully pulled back and Tiffani wasn't alone. Sammy was with her. They were both giggling and they looked so happy, so Lilly tiptoed back and ran to re-join Gabriel, with an extra spring in her step.

  After everyone had eaten that morning, Carmelo called upon the Tulugaq family to meet in his chambers to discuss the horrific recent event that was on everybody's minds.

  It was decided that Carmelo and Jo would join them on their return to Powell River, where he would pay a visit to Frank Jensen and bring him back to stay with the Elders until he could control his urge for human blood. If he had been transformed recently, everyone within easy reach of Powell River was in danger.

  "And it is of even more importance that we find out who this rogue vampire is. We must put a stop to this chilling spree he is carrying out."

  "Or she..." whispered Lilly, knowing only too well that some of the most evil people in this world are of the female variety.

  As Carmelo exited his chambers, Gabriel walked with him, explaining what Lilly had told him about December.

  "It sounds like witchcraft to me, but I could be wrong. Perhaps we can look into it some more when we have sorted out this problem with the rogue vampire?"

  "Yes, yes, that would be excellent. I know Lilly would like to know what's going on with her best friend but this is more important at the moment. Thank you, Carmelo."

  Later that night, as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon and darkness made its approach, they prepared themselves for their journey home. A fine dusting of snow covered the mountain and the moon shone brightly from above, the effect was dazzling.

  The family said their farewells to all of the Elders and to those that lived among them, and of course, to Gabriel. It was always heart-breaking to leave him but they all knew he wasn't really that far away. Considering all the special abilities they possessed, making a visit up the mountains was somewhat quicker than before.

  Standing shyly behind Gabriel was Tiffani. She was keen to say farewell to her new friends, particularly Sammy. Lilly noticed with a grin as she waved to her while they began their descent down the mountain. Just before Lilly transformed herself into a mountain lion, she asked Carmelo about his thoughts on her best friend.

  "The only thing I can think of at this time, Lilly, is that it is some kind of witchcraft. But fear not, I know you have experienced only the evil side of witchcraft, you should be aware that there is also a good side. There are many witches among us that do only good. It is possible that this friend of yours is one of the chosen ones. She could be a descendant of a witch, just as you are both a descendant of the raven and of feline blood. Good witches live with the Elders too. Do not worry. If December proves to be a witch, it is even better for you and for your friendship as you will be able to show your true self to her. I know you miss her. But do nothing, until you know for sure. You must not tell her the truth. Wait for her to reveal more about herself before you tell her about us."

  Lilly smiled her thanks and promised to wait until she knew for sure that December was special before revealing anything.

  Content with what she had learned, Lilly escaped from view and removed her clothes, her teeth chattered and her body shivered as she carefully folded them and placed them inside a specially made rucksack to fit on her back - not as a human, but as a cat. With a graceful leap, Lilly was no longer a teenage girl, but a beautiful black mountain lion, muscular, lean and strong.

  She padded back to the others, with the bag in her teeth. Sammy bent over her and took the bag from her, carefully strapping it to her smooth furry back.

  "Lilly, I keep telling you that I'll happily carry this for you!" he joked.

  She shook her head and he smiled back, knowing very well that she would want to carry it herself. She was so stubborn sometimes.

  She sat and waited for the others to get ready for the journey. Like her, Zoltan had disappeared somewhere for privacy so he could remove his own clothing and change into a wolf. Tabitha followed behind him so she could pick up the shorts and T-shirt that he'd flung so carelessly on the ground. She tutted, rolled her eyes and then smiled lovingly at her boyfriend. Tabitha had only recently discovered that she had the same power as Lilly. Being of the same family, the change had only happened for the first time just three weeks prior to the trip. She was still getting used to it and she still found the process of transformation somewhat painful. Rose and Lilly had tried to teach her the 'tricks' for it to happen painlessly but she was yet to master them. It was slowly becoming easier but she still dreaded each and every transformation.

  "Come, my dear Tabitha, follow me and we can change together. Jo, would you mind helping us with our bags? Thank you," said Rose as she led her grand-daughter to behind the same vast tree that Lilly had used for privacy.

  Just a few minutes later, following a deep howl of pain that had escaped Tabitha's lips, a grey and white mountain lion and a smaller lynx wandered out from behind the tree and walked towards the others. Both carr
ied a bag in their teeth, which Jo removed and strapped to their backs. As Zoltan approached Tabitha, he let out a low growl just as she hissed back at him but then she arched her back and rubbed herself against him. He licked her face and the two began walking side by side downwards as they looked skywards to watch as Sammy gracefully flew above.

  The group was an unusual sight to behold as it began its descent down the mountain: a large grey wolf, a winged man, a black mountain lion, a grey mountain lion, a lynx and two beautiful vampires all heading back in the direction of Powell River.

  CHAPTER TEN

  It had been a long night for December and Monty. The flight from Heathrow to Seattle had been around nine hours and with the time difference it was just one in the morning when they landed in America.

  When they'd finally gotten through customs and collected all of their luggage, it was nearly two-thirty in the morning local time.

  As they headed out to the arrivals lounge, December spotted her mother immediately, even though she had not seen her since she was a toddler. December just knew. Moira's fiery red hair matched the colour of her daughter's locks and she also had the same eclectic colourful taste in clothes. She wore orange skinny jeans, brown boots and a purple blouse which poked out from underneath her warm brown coat. She removed a small purple hat from her head and shook her hair as she waited.

  The second Moira set eyes upon her not-so-little, little girl, her face lit up like the Northern Lights. December's face mirrored hers and the two ran into each other's arms.

  "Mum!"

  "December, my little angel!"

  Monty took his time to let the two hug and cry together for a few moments before walking up behind them with a big grin, his long grey hair loose around his shoulders.

  "Monty... my, you look almost exactly the same!" said Moira as she pulled him in for an unexpected hug.

  Laughing, he held her out at arms length and took her in. "And you haven't changed one bit. You look lovely, my dear. It's so good to see you. It really is."

  "I'm so sorry you had to stay with Penelope all these years," Moira said to her daughter as she hugged her once again, "and you, Monty. I am forever grateful that you followed the wishes of December's father and I. You are a true, dear friend," she added. "Come on, let's get out of here," she said as they followed her down to the car park to her midnight blue Chevy Malibu before they headed out of the airport's grounds and towards their new home.

  Having no clue as to what kind of home her mother had, December had no expectations. She didn't care. She'd be happy in a cardboard box, as long as she was finally with her mum... and Monty.

  But their home was far from a box, it was a huge old wooden house full of character and charm miles from the city. In fact, much to December's delight as her mum explained, the house was actually much closer to the Canadian border than it was to Seattle itself.

  "When I first came back to the States, I lived in the centre of Seattle but I couldn't cope with all that noisy city life. It's not for me. So I searched around to find something a little quieter. I decided to head north and that's when I found this. The nearest city is called Blaine and Canada is literally just north of it. It's beautiful, isn't it? Not that you can see terribly well at night. You wait until the morning... when you can see it in all its splendour," giggled Moira, clearly delighted at getting her daughter home, at last.

  December had barely noticed what her mother had said, she was more interested in the fact that Canada was so close to her new home. She couldn't wait to contact Lilly to tell her the astonishing news.

  As the three of them unpacked the back of the car, Moira unlocked the front door and switched on the light. "We're home my lovelies!" she yelled as three cats came running towards them at full pelt.

  "Welcome home," said Moira quietly with another tear in her eye, as December stepped over the threshold to a whole new life, the cats purring loudly and brushing up against her jeans.

  As December looked around, she noticed the bright white painted hallway was full of photos in all kinds of different frames, wooden, iron, even feathered ones. The majority of the images were of December as a baby with her father and Moira. They looked like such happy times. Times that she couldn't remember.

  "I'll tell you about all these wonderful times we had together another day," her mom said as she noticed her looking sadly, "but now you must be beat. Let me show you to your rooms."

  Climbing the long steep white staircase, Moira led Monty to his room first before showing December to hers. As she pushed open the white wooden door, she could have cried. Her mother had clearly spent hours and hours decorating the room to meet her tastes exactly.

  "But, how? How did you know my tastes?" she said, after a few moments of just standing with her mouth open in surprise.

  "We're witches, December. We just know," she laughed as she placed one of her daughter's suitcases on the floor.

  "You have your own bathroom through here, and a small walk-in closet just here," she added as December followed her to see a pretty little bathroom complete with bath and shower all in white and blue mosaics.

  "It's beautiful," she whispered as she peered into the walk-in closet fit for a princess, "it's perfect. Just perfect. Thank you."

  "I'm sure you just want to go try and get some sleep now, honey, so I'll leave you to it. I know I'm beat!" she said as she took her daughter in her arms and gave her long, loving hug.

  Pulling away, she looked into December's eyes and smiled.

  "I can't believe I've finally got my baby back home."

  "I can't believe it either, Mum," she said after a rogue tear escaped from her eye and fell down her cheek. Moira brushed it away with her thumb and hugged her once more before she let go.

  "It's going to be so much fun... together at last! Now get some sleep, you must be exhausted! Goodnight, honey."

  "Goodnight Mum."

  And with that, she gave December one last long hug and a kiss and walked out of the room, closing the bedroom door behind her.

  Sitting herself down on the bed, December looked around at her surroundings and smiled, forcing herself not to squeal with delight.

  All of the wooden panels on the walls and ceiling had been painted white, as had the floorboards beneath her feet. The wall behind the dressing table had been papered with a shabby chic pink floral design to offset the pretty distressed white table and mirror in front of it. The bed and a small chair in the corner matched the table beautifully, and both were covered in cushions in a multitude of floral and striped patterns. The bedspread matched the pink floral wallpaper and the rugs on the floor matched some of the striped cushions. It was totally eclectic, totally fun and totally December.

  Before she got herself ready for bed, December switched on her laptop, saw that there was a Wi-Fi internet connection and sent a brief email to Lilly, just to let her know she was in Washington State, finally with her mother at last. But that was all she revealed.

  As she fell asleep that night, all thoughts of the weird and frightening occurrence at her old school and in the park had completely drifted from her mind. She slept like a princess, probably because she felt like one for the first time in her life.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  A day after Lilly and the family had returned from the Elders, she got the surprise of her life. An email from December revealed that she was no longer living in London, but she was with her mother and Monty near Blaine, Washington, mere miles from Powell River!

  "I've looked it up on the internet and it would probably take less than three hours to see you!! Woo Hoo!!" she wrote.

  Lilly was absolutely speechless, she had no idea. It had all happened so fast. But it was also a little worrying... how could she keep her biggest secret from her best friend? She had never wanted to keep a secret from her, but her family had warned her that she must keep it from everybody. The only ones who could know were the supernatural ones and, currently, Lilly didn't know if December had a gift or not.


  Running towards the kitchen to tell Tabitha her news, Lilly ran straight into Wyatt, her father's brother.

  "Whoa easy there Lilly!" he laughed as she apologised, red-faced to her uncle, unaware that he was even at the house.

  "I just popped by to borrow a couple of Gabriel's books," he said as she noticed an old heavy hardback in one hand and a lighter paperback in the other. "You look excited about something," he said, picking up on her enthusiasm. Nodding, she told him about December's email as they walked into the kitchen together and took a seat at the table. Tabitha, who was making a pot of tea, couldn't help but listen to the conversation.

  "Well, that's fantastic news!" she gushed, as she placed the pot on a tray with five cups and a jug of milk and carried it to where they sat.

  "Zoltan, Sammy... cup of tea!" she yelled to those in the rest of the house, before adding, "that means you can go visit her and see if there is more to her than meets the eye. Some of us could go with you, to give you a second opinion, if you like."

  Wyatt smiled and nodded, "that's not a bad idea, actually."

  Lilly's excitement was not easily contained as a grin spread almost from ear to ear as she let out a squeal of delight.

  Voices could be heard laughing and chatting as the two men of the house opened the kitchen door and walked in, at the same time as Jo came into the house via the back door, removing her coat. She didn't look happy.

  "I'm afraid you're going to have to put that visit on hold," she said sadly, "there's been another attack."

  This time the savage attack had not happened deep within the forest like before but in someone's home and it hadn't been at the hands of Frank Jensen, either.

  As soon as the group had returned from the mountains, Carmelo and Jo had immediately gone over to Frank Jensen's house to talk to him... and restrain him. Carmelo had no choice but to tie him up with heavy chains and lock him in the basement of his own home until they were ready to head back to the Elders. Frank had not attempted to flee. He just slumped in a seat and let them tie him up. He was disgusted with himself and he'd said to Carmelo, "I just want to die."