The Raven Saga Box Set

Chapter 46

December nodded mutely and tried to smile.

"Why don't I continue the story, dear?" said Ruby.

Not waiting for an answer, she carried on where her daughter had so rudely been interrupted.

"Seattle had its own coven of witches at the time. Not just any old coven, mind you. This was a particularly bad one, but they weren't really my problem. My problem was the fact that these witches summoned the magic of all kinds to the city. The hospital began to overflow with victims of all manner of attacks. Some people were savaged so badly that they were impossible to identify... many were attacked by werewolves, others by vampires. Some had just got in the middle of the age-old fight between the wolves and the vamps. It became more and more difficult for me to hide the truth from the world. You see, I don't know if Moira has told you, but we do have to keep so many things a secret, you know. If it got out that the world is full of supernatural beings, goodness knows what it would cause. Mass hysteria, for starters. Now, where was I? Oh yes, all those victims." She shook her head sadly, before continuing, "Well, there was a particularly bad egg tied up in all of this. He was a vampire. Hundreds and hundreds of years old, naturally. What was his name? Hm, let me think."

Moira and December stole a glance at each other as the glamorous dead lady began to think out loud, "Joseph? No, it wasn't that. Harold? Nope. Frederick? Nah. Hm?? Oliver? No... Oh, I remember... Duran. His first name was Olivier, but everybody called him Duran, for some reason. He was French. Very handsome, of course. Quite the charmer, too. But my goodness, quite the murderer. Dreadful, dreadful. Where was I? Ah, yes. Duran had committed all these murders in the city and on the outskirts too. Soon the killings calmed down a little, and I assumed he had been killed or had left our shores. I was wrong, of course. The reason why it had all quietened down? Because he'd been busy with one of the witches. What was her name..."

"Mother... the name isn't important!" said Moira in an attempt to get her to continue.

"Well, I suppose not. It'll come to me. Anyway, Duran and whatsherface were creating their own little 'family'. They'd snatched a couple of adorable fourteen-year-old innocent-looking twin girls and a few other boys who were around eighteen, I believe. All were made to drink his blood and made into vampires. Soon the children were on a rampage and the place they'd chosen to have their fun? My hospital. I was on duty that night when I walked into one of the rooms. It was like hell on earth. There was blood everywhere. It was the girls I'd bumped into, and I still remember their faces as I walked right in on them. The bloodlust was so intense, I've never seen anything quite like it. They pounced and tried to feed off me, naturally, but my witch's blood repelled them. I had no choice but to stop them, and the only way I could stop them was to... was to... kill them," a look of complete horror washed over her face as she recalled the single event that eventually led to her own demise.

"I knew how to kill the vamps. I'm a witch, of course I know how to kill them. So I first grabbed the silver knife that I always used to carry in my doctor's coat - you should always carry a silver knife with you, you know, just in case - and I stabbed them both with it, just to subdue them, you understand. A single stab wound from a silver knife won't necessarily kill them. Then I found something larger (I won't go into all the gory details) and stabbed them both through the heart. Completely and utterly dead. But I wasn't cautious enough, and just as I'd killed the second one, their 'brother' walked in and witnessed it all. He tried to attack me, but it didn't work, of course, because of my blood, etc. He escaped and ran to daddy, I suppose. Duran. I knew they'd be after us so I rushed home as quick as I could, and I whisked Moira away from there and ran. We travelled all across the States before he eventually found me a few years later. I dropped my guard. I thought I was safe and then BAM... he and his missus... I still can't quite remember her name... they got me. See?" she said as she almost proudly turned to reveal a massive scar that ran the length of her spine.

December shivered at the thought of the pain it must have caused.

"It wasn't just any old stab wound, of course. They'd poisoned the tip of the dagger to make it hurt. And it certainly did hurt. When Moira returned from college, she found me lying there in a pool of my own blood. Slowly dying a long, painful, drawn-out death."

"Less of the theatrics mother, we get the picture," said Moira who was visibly uncomfortable at the most horrendous memory of her life.

"Sorry, darling. I'm just glad we got to spend my last few moments together, that's all," she smiled sadly.

"Last few moments? Mother, you've barely left my side since you died. The only time I ever had any peace were those short days I spent with December and her father in England."

Finally, December opened her mouth to speak, "I... I don't understand," was all she could muster.

"Why I'm still here?"

December nodded.

"Remember I told you the tip of the dagger was poisonous? Genius, really. It was poisoned and cursed so that I would be doomed to walk the walk in the afterlife, no heaven for me... doomed to be stuck right here, like this, blah, blah, blah. You get the picture?"

Surprised, December nodded once more.

"I suppose now you must completely understand why your mother had to leave you in the safety of London with that awful aunt of yours. What was her name...erm?"

"Penelope," answered mother and daughter in unison.

December understood perfectly. She had been protected from the evil Seattle witches, the vampires, werewolves and most of all, from having to live with the ghost of her dead grandmother.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Panting, Lilly made it to the back door and pounded as hard as she could. Come on, Rose, answer the door, she thought. But there was no answer. Rose wasn't home.

Turning, she tried to catch sight of what or who was following her, but she could see nothing. Her eyes scanned towards the pathway that she had walked along, there was a tree to its side. A tree so large that it could easily hide anyone not wanting to be seen.

Scully, who was still by her side, continued to hiss and growl loudly. Whatever or whoever it was, it was still there, and Scully was not happy about it.

Lilly thought about transforming but decided the safest thing to do was get in the house and call for help. She knew where Rose kept a spare front door key, so she took a second to catch her breath and dashed around the side of the house until she reached the large pot containing a single sad-looking hydrangea. Lifting it, she spotted the key and lifted it with shaky fingers. Whatever or whoever it was, was in no rush to get to her, as she finally unlocked the door and rushed inside, making sure Scully was safely indoors before she slammed the door and locked it behind her. With her back to the door, she slid down it and quickly took the cell phone from her pocket. Dialling the number for Carmelo, she waited for a reply.

"Lilly?" he said.

Panting, she whispered, "I'm at Rose's. Come quickly. Someone followed me. I can't see who or what it is, but I'm pretty scared. The cats are pretty spooked too."

Just a few minutes later, she could hear the voices of Carmelo and her cousin. Peering out of the window next to the front door, she spotted him and Jo moving like the wind to get to her as fast as physically possible.

"You check on Lilly. I'll have a look around," said his deep voice.

Lilly carefully opened the door, relief clouding her face.

"My God, I'm so glad you're okay," said Jo as she ushered her back inside and shut the door.

"Now tell me... what happened?"

A few minutes later, Carmelo gently tapped on the door. They opened it, and he walked in and looked down at her. "You okay?" he asked.

Nodding, he helped her off the floor before they walked towards the kitchen. Jo called Rose on the phone and explained what was happening.

As they sat with a hot cup of tea in their cold hands, Carmelo told Lilly that she was right, there had been somebody there. A vampire. But he had made a very hasty escape before they'd arrived. Carmelo was sure the vampire was just trying to scare her.

"But why?" she asked.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that. Why the other attacks? At the moment, I don't have the answers. I wish I did. We need to find out who is responsible."

Lilly's phone rang. Looking down, she saw it was Meredith.

"Lilly? Are you all right? I sensed fear, so much fear from you. I tried calling straight away, but there was no signal on that damn cell."

Lilly smiled and reassured her aunt that she was okay. After Lilly had explained what had happened, Meredith told them to stay at Rose's and that the rest of the family would join them as soon as possible.

Sure enough, a short while later, the whole family arrived, Rose included. They brought with them plenty of provisions so they could all eat well that night. Once darkness had fallen, Sammy joined the g**g too.

A few of the Elders had finally arrived that afternoon and had taken Frank into 'custody' back up the mountain. At least the family was safe in the knowledge that one of the new-born vampires was out of harm's way and out of reach of the innocent people of Powell River.

They all kept an eye and an ear out for any signs of the rogue vampires that evening, all concerned why he (or she) had decided to target Lilly. It was a question on all of their minds, and none knew the answer.

"If whatever it was had planned to attack, then why didn't it? I walked all the way back from Ben's alone. They could've easily followed me all the way from there. Why didn't they just do it?" asked Lilly as she tucked into a slice of hot and spicy pepperoni pizza later that evening.

"If Gabriel knew you were out wandering alone when there is a predator on the loose, Lilly, he'd have your guts for garters," scolded Meredith.

Duly told off, Lilly looked around at the faces of her family members. They all held the same expression. They all knew that she could have been killed.

She felt stupid, incredibly stupid. Ben had insisted on giving her a ride home, and she had turned him down. She wouldn't do it again. That much she knew for sure.

"I don't want any of you alone at any time, do you all understand?" said Carmelo, as the younger ones nodded back to him.

"And I mean you too Sammy, and you Wyatt, John? This monster could attack any one of you. If he has his sights set on this family, he might wait for anyone to be alone. Just because he didn't attack Lilly today, doesn't mean he won't do it next time. Don't give him the opportunity. In the meantime, I've called for some backup. I've got some of the region's finest witches on their way, and they should be here tomorrow. They might be able to identify the perpetrator. I've also got some vampires coming down the mountain. With their eyes and ears, they might be able to recognise someone from the old days. I'm pretty certain this is someone that goes way back."