The Raven Saga Box Set

Chapter 33

“I'm sorry I wasn't able to come down to help today. I have literally only just arrived back home. I have been away for a few days. But I have been told of the news, and I know of your bravery… and yours Jo, too. Remarkable. Absolutely remarkable. So young and so brave. Excellent.” We smiled shyly and wondered who this man was.

“Forgive my manners. I haven't introduced myself, have I? I am Carmelo. I founded the Elders many hundreds of years ago. It is a pleasure to meet you both,” he said.

“It's an honour to meet you, Carmelo, but it's a little difficult to understand how you can be hundreds of years old,” I said.

“I am surprised you do not know about me, but yes, I am 435 years old. I am what people call, a vampire,” he smiled.

It made sense. From the research I had done, I understood that vampires were usually beautiful people, and Carmelo certainly was that. As I looked at my surroundings, I wondered how many other vampires lived in the caves, and I shivered involuntarily.

“Please do not be afraid of us here, Lilly. We are not the kind of vampires you should be frightened of. In fact, you should not be afraid of anyone that lives in these caves. You can trust everybody here. Although they are not all Elders, some live here because they have nowhere else to go. You can probably imagine how difficult it is to blend into the crowds when you look like Theodore over there,” and he pointed to the ape-man, “or Carla,” and he pointed to the lady with the webbed fingers.

I nodded and asked why he had created the Elders in the first place.

“After two hundred years of having nobody to go to for advice, or nowhere truly safe to go to when I needed to hide, I decided to create somewhere myself. I searched for a few years to find the right place and the right kind of people and creatures, and we slowly built this place here in these caves. Our kind know this is a safe haven of peace.”

“Wow... that's impressive,” I uttered as I took in more of the surroundings, amazed that this was created because of one man's, or should I say one vampire's, dream.

“That's absolutely amazing,” said Jo dreamily.

“Thank you, Jo,” he said, smiling as she sat staring at him.

“Perhaps I can show you around when we have finished dining,” and he looked deep into her eyes as if he was looking right into her subconscious mind. Jo nodded gently, and that was the moment I realised that Jo had fallen head over heels in love with a 435-year-old vampire.

A vampire and a raven? Anything could happen in this world.

After the majority of us had eaten (the vampires just kept us company), Carmelo and Jo headed off for a walk together, and I went to check on Gabriel. As he was still fast asleep, I quietly tiptoed out and went to explore a little bit.

“Oops, sorry, Tabitha. I was just having a wander around,” I said as we had rounded a corner and, both deep in thought had bumped straight into each other.

“Sorry, I was in another world there for a minute. I was actually looking for you. I wanted to talk to you about something,” she said as we found a comfy old leather sofa to sink into.

“What is it?” I asked, seeing that she was preoccupied.

“I was thinking about what you mentioned on our way up here. When you spoke about your transformation, you said that it had all started happening with the strange dreams.”

I nodded, wondering what was bothering her.

“Well, it's just that a few weeks ago I started having really bizarre dreams, a bit like yours.”

“Everyone can have strange dreams and nightmares. Mine were only significant because of my blood relatives. Well, my genes, I guess. Why are you worried?”

“I've been dreaming that I am an animal too, a lynx, actually. Oh, it's probably silly. It's probably nothing.”

“No, go on, what else?” I asked.

“Do you remember Zoltan's reaction to you when he touched your hand?”

I nodded.

“When he first touched me, he had the same reaction. Apparently, that only ever happens whenever he is very close to cats. He didn't tell me before because he didn't think it was relevant, but after having met you, I just wondered whether, somehow, I have the same ability.”

I was intrigued so we decided that we would speak to Gabriel the following day. It sounded like something important was going on deep within her.

I told her about what Charlie had seen at Christmas – that he had thought she was a witch.

“Charlie was there?” she whispered, and I nodded. “And he saw our fight?” She laughed. “Zoltan and I are always at each other's throats. We fight like cat and dog... oh...” as she said it, she realised what she was saying, and we both began laughing. “Maybe you really are then,” I giggled.

“But a witch? He got that wrong,” she insisted.

“He said you appeared to be casting spells,” I said, and this time she nodded.

“Yes, that's right. I always try to do the right thing and then find out that it wasn't the right thing. That's why I've come back to the Elders now. I want them to teach me where I'm going wrong.”

I didn't have a clue what she meant, and so she tried again, “I want to help fight evil, basically. But there have been times when it might have looked like I was evil when I was just trying to go 'undercover' if you know what I mean. But it never worked, and the Elders ended up having to rescue me.”

When I understood, I felt like I had met a kindred spirit in Tabitha.

Later that night as I lay down in a warm and comfortable bed, with Jo gently breathing as she slept peacefully in the bed next to mine, I came to the conclusion that Tabitha was truly a good person, she just needed some guidance. I fell asleep with the most minimal of fuss after such a hard and gruelling few days. Content that we had finally caught the woman responsible for so much pain, but sad that my father was still lost.

Jo woke me up the following morning. She was still in bed, but she was desperate to talk to me.

“Lilly, are you awake? Lilly? Lilly?”

“No, I'm still asleep,” I grumbled and turned away from her.

“Lilly. Wake up.”

I was awake, and I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep again, and so I turned to face her. Her face was bright as if she'd been awake for hours, and she looked excited. I knew why, of course.

I shook my head and chuckled to myself.

“What? What's so funny?” she said frowning.

“Jo... you're glowing.”

“I am?”

“One word, Jo.”

“What's that?”

“Carmelo.” The second I said it, she glowed even more, and her eyes lit up. “I can't believe you're falling for a man who is hundreds of years older than you,” I said as I lifted myself up in bed.

“He's twenty-five... he just happens to have been twenty-five for a very long time. And... I'm not falling for him. Don't be ridiculous,” she said, trying not to giggle.

“It's written all over your face, Jo. I could tell the second it happened last night at the dinner table.”

“It is? And you could? Oh, Lilly... I've never had this feeling about anyone before.”

“How long did you stay up with him last night?”

“For hours and hours. We talked for ages, and then he walked me here. He was such a gentleman, Lilly. I can't stop thinking about him,” she said almost to herself as she peered up at the cave's ceiling.

The dreamy look on her face reminded me of how I had felt when I was with Oliver. I missed him, and I still had that horrible feeling of emptiness in the pit of my stomach whenever I thought of him. I wished things had happened differently and that he had accepted who I was. Perhaps we would still be together if he had. But I couldn't think about him. He hadn't accepted me, and I wouldn't dwell on it. I had moved on. At least I'd thought I'd moved on.

“But doesn't it bother you that he's a vampire, Jo? He survives by drinking people's blood,” I asked.

“Technically, he survives by drinking the blood of animals. He hasn't drunk human blood for a long, long time,” she answered, and I knew that she had already made up her mind about him. Deep down, I doubt that it would have bothered her even if he drank human blood. She was in love, and when love hit you like that, nothing else seemed to matter.

Later that day, when Gabriel was feeling a little stronger, I took Tabitha to see him. For a split second, he'd looked at her as if he knew her. When I asked him about it, he just said that she looked familiar, that's all.

And then we told him about her dreams and her concerns. He was quiet for some time and Tabitha, and I exchanged glances.

“Tabitha, tell me about yourself. Tell me about your family, where you have come from, how you ended up here.” And so we made ourselves more comfortable, and she began to tell him all about her upbringing, everything that she had told me the day before.

After about an hour, Gabriel turned to me and asked if I would mind making some tea for us all, “I'm quite thirsty, and you must be too, Tabitha, after all that talking,” he laughed. I did as I was asked and went in search of some tea.

On my way, I noticed Carmelo and Jo laughing and talking together as they walked through the maze of the caves. They were holding hands like lovestruck teenagers, and I could easily see that he had fallen for her in just the same way she had fallen for him. She glimpsed at me and winked when he wasn't looking. I laughed and carried on looking for the cave's main kitchen.

I followed the sounds of voices and the clanking of pans and sure enough, found a large room containing everything necessary for the preparation of food and drink.

Two elderly women were gossiping while they prepared what looked like soup over a large open flame. Before I could introduce myself, I heard them talking about Carmelo. “I've never seen him act this way before. This young girl seems to have bewitched him,” said one.

“But don't they make a lovely couple. It's about time he found true love. It's been a long, long time since Dharma died,” said the other.

I cleared my throat to make myself known, and they both turned and smiled widely at me.

“Hello, dear. You probably heard that” chuckled one.

I nodded, and she continued “But it's true. That cousin of yours, Jo, seems to be brightening Carmelo's day. He's quite smitten. It's been an awfully long time since he knew love. What can we do for you, dear?”

We spoke for a little while longer before I thanked them and left the room, carrying a tray with tea for the three of us.

When I eventually found my way back to Gabriel's room, he was alone. Tabitha was nowhere to be seen.

“Where's Tabitha?” I asked, noticing that he was smiling more than he had been before.

“I sent her to find Carmelo.”

“What for?” I asked, and he told me that there was something important he needed to speak to him, and us, about.

As I set the tray down, I asked Gabriel what he thought about Carmelo.

“He is perhaps the most remarkable man I have met, the most remarkable vampire anyway,” he chuckled, “why do you ask?”

Not sure whether to say anything or not, I decided that rumours were already doing the rounds so he should know.

“Because it seems that Cupid has shot him with his arrows,” I grinned.

“Cupid is here? When did he arrive?” he asked seriously.

I shook my head in disbelief, “Cupid is actually real?”

Gabriel began to laugh, and I grinned.

“Very funny,” I said, gently punching him on his good shoulder. “What I meant to say was, it appears that Jo and Carmelo have bonded.”

Gabriel smiled and relief flooded through me. “You're okay with it?” I asked.

He nodded, “Since you arrived Lilly, my outlook on life has changed quite a lot. You have helped me become more open-minded,” he whispered gently, stroking my face as he spoke. “Especially since you brought Sammy back into our lives.”

Before I could answer, Tabitha returned with Carmelo and Jo in tow.

“Gabriel. How good to see you. My apologies for not coming to see you sooner. I was away for a few days and only returned yesterday evening, and I certainly did not want to disturb your sleep last night,” said Carmelo as they gently shook hands.