The Raven Saga Box Set

Chapter 16

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

When I came to, I noticed a pale green ceiling and green walls. A distinctive smell hovered in the air. It smelled... clinical. Hearing people moving around beyond my room, I realised I was in the hospital. I had absolutely no idea what had happened to me.

“Lilly?” said a deep voice to the side of the bed.

I turned my head and saw Ben sitting patiently by my side, waiting for me to wake up.

“What happened?” I asked.

Apparently, it was a mystery to him too. After he had treated his patients, he had been working alone on some paperwork in his practice, when there had been a knock on the door, and when he opened it, he found me lying on the floor unconscious.

“I had absolutely no idea what had happened. At first, I assumed you had knocked on the door and then collapsed, but when I tried to pick you up, I noticed someone had roughly wrapped your leg with these huge leaves. Someone had clearly helped you and then left you there. Do you have any idea what happened?” he asked.

I shook my head, which ached a little, and I asked for Gabriel.

“Don't worry, he's here. He's just having a word with the doctor. Rose is here too, and Sonya and Meredith are on their way.”

“They don't need to come. I'm okay... aren't I?” I asked, unsure whether I was or not.

“You've broken your leg, and you've got a few bruises, but other than that I think you're okay so don't worry. Your hair looks great, by the way,” he said, trying to make light of the situation.

Gabriel walked into the room and thanked Ben profusely for bringing me to the hospital so quickly. “If you need to get back to work, Ben, go ahead. I'll take over for now,” he said.

As Ben nodded, he picked up his coat, leaned over and kissed my forehead. “You had me scared for a while there, Lilly. I'm glad you're okay. You call me if you need anything, okay?”

I nodded as best as I could without my head throbbing and smiled back.

“Thank you, Ben.”

The moment he left, Gabriel closed the door behind him.

“Oh Lilly... what on earth happened? Did you go into the forest?” Gabriel asked.

I explained everything that I could remember, which wasn't much. Just that I had gone to find the land that belonged to my father. I remembered finding it, but I couldn't recall much more than that.

“But how did you get to Ben's?”

“I really don't know, Gabriel. But I wish I did.”

I was uncomfortable lying flat on my back, so I asked him if he would help me sit up a little, and as I did so, I noticed I was clenching something in my hand. I opened it and found a single black feather. Strange, I thought, I don't recall picking up a feather, and why would I still have it in my hand?

Gabriel saw the look on my face and followed my gaze.

“I must have found it there and picked it up, for some reason,” I said innocently as Rose opened the door with a cup of coffee that she handed to Gabriel.

“Hello, dear. Are you feeling all right? I've been worried out of my mind,” she said as she tiptoed over to me and leaned over to peck me on my cheek. She hovered for a moment, and I could have sworn she sniffed at me a couple of times. As she straightened up, she turned to Gabriel and they shared a quizzical look.

She walked over to my coat and picked it up. As she did so, another black feather, a much larger one, fell to the ground.

This time it was my turn to gasp as she crouched down to pick it up.

Gabriel took it from her and held it up to the light.

“This is the feather of a raven,” he whispered.

“But it is too large, Gabriel,” Rose whispered in reply.

He nodded, and they both turned to look at me.

“Lilly, it's very important that you recall what happened to you this afternoon. Is there anything, anything at all that you remember? The slightest thing could make all the difference,” Gabriel said hopefully.

I closed my eyes and thought back to when I left Crystal's, looking up at the sign and smiling, then I'd walked through town and had spoken to a few people, and then I'd followed Rose's map to find the land belonging to my father. I remember the dirt track that had started off winding and then had straightened out, giving that funnel effect.

As I walked in my mind, I walked into the clearing where the concrete base was situated. I remember feeling sad. My eyes settled on the logs where I had gently caressed the wood that would have made a house for my family and me. As I explained all of this, Gabriel nodded, waiting to hear more.

“My coat got caught on something, and then the log fell on my leg... I remember being trapped and there was so much pain,” I said, flinching at the memory.

“That's obviously how your leg was broken, my dear. It has broken in two places. But if you were trapped, how did you get out? And how on earth did you get to Ben's?” asked Rose.

I tried hard to remember again, but there was nothing. I had no memory after that. I was so frustrated. But then as I looked at that huge feather, something was triggered in my subconscious.

“There was a man's voice,” I gasped, “'don't worry, Lilly. You're going to be all right. I'll make sure of that'. That's what he said, but I don't know what happened after that.”

“Well, whoever he was, he must have been the one that took you to Ben's practice. We just have to try and find out who he was. We'll ask around and see if anybody saw anything strange this afternoon. There's a lot more to this. I can feel it,” said Gabriel as he drank the last of his coffee and threw the polystyrene cup into the rubbish bin.

“Whoever he was, I'm eternally grateful to him, that's for sure. I don't even care to imagine what might have happened had he not been there,” said Rose as Gabriel nodded in agreement.

“Can I come home with you, Gabriel?” I asked, hopefully. I didn't want to stay there in that hospital bed. I was reminded of how my mother had died, and I felt physically sick to the stomach at the thought of having to remain there.

Gabriel checked with the doctor who said it shouldn't be a problem for me to go home, as long as I stayed horizontal and was well looked after. The doctor had known the Tulugaqs for many years and therefore knew that we were a strong family who cared for each other deeply. He was confident that I would get even better care than at the hospital itself, so he discharged me immediately.

Using his cell phone, Gabriel called both Meredith and Sonya and told them to go straight home instead of coming to the hospital. Then, for the first time, I was driven by Gabriel. He and Rose had struggled to get me into the back seat with my broken leg in plaster but eventually, they managed, and we were on our way.

As I lay there, barely able to move, I tried so hard to remember what had happened that afternoon, but the memory could not be tempted out of my subconscious mind. It was deep in there somewhere, and I knew it would eventually come out... most likely during my sleep.

Laying on the sofa later, I felt awful that I would miss out on my very first date with Oliver. Why couldn't I have just walked straight home? Why couldn't I have gone to see my father's house another time? Instead, I had completely messed up my chances with Oliver.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the front door. Sonya stood up and went to see who was there. At the same time, Meredith smiled at me and made a quick exit into the kitchen. Clearly, she knew who it was.

Oliver rushed into the living room and sat by my side immediately, “Lilly, are you all right? I was really freaked out when I heard what happened. What were you thinking going out alone like that?”

His reaction actually made me laugh out loud, and he suddenly stopped talking, and he looked at me before laughing too. “Sorry, I guess I sound like Gabriel. I was just worried,” he said.

The fact that he was there with me helped ease the pain tremendously, and I felt utter relief that he cared that much for me already. And we hadn't even had our date yet.

“I'm glad you're here, Oliver. Thank you for coming,” I said shyly, nervously running my hand through my hair, which I had completely forgotten actually looked good.

“Wow... I've only just had the chance to really look at you. You look amazing. I love the new hairstyle. You certainly don't look like someone who has just had a near-death experience.”

I felt myself blush. “It was hardly a brush with death. I just had a log fall on me, that's all.”

“Are you kidding? Do you know how much those logs weigh?” he joked.

We sat together for a few minutes in silence, enjoying each other's company when Sonya and Meredith walked in, carrying two big plates of food for us.

“We figured you'd both be hungry and seeing as you aren't able to actually go out, we thought we'd bring the restaurant to you... oh and we brought you a few movies too, just in case.”

“Aww, thanks,” said Oliver.

“We both have to get home now so we'll leave you to it. Gabriel is over at Rose's house. He said if you need anything just buzz him on his cell and he'll come right over. You look after our patient, Oliver,” said Meredith with a wink and then they were gone.

They were well aware that I was supposed to be having a date with Oliver that night, so it was very sweet that they had all left and allowed the 'date' to happen at home instead.

“So how did you know about my little accident?” I asked.

“Actually I had a few phone calls,” he laughed, “first Ben rang me as soon as he'd got you to the hospital. Unfortunately, I couldn't get out of work otherwise I would have come straight over. And then Meredith called me to let me know and then Rose did too! It appears everyone knows that we're close now,” he added, with a cheeky smirk.

To hear him say that we were close, out loud, was just amazing – it really made my heart leap and certainly helped take my mind off the bad day I'd had.

As we sat there on the sofa, me with my leg stretched out in front of me and my dinner on my lap and Oliver sitting so close to me with his dinner on his lap, we looked a right pair.

“So what are these movies that Meredith mentioned?” I asked as I ate a mouthful of pasta.

Oliver leaned forward to pick up the DVDs that had been left on the coffee table and laughed, “Well, I don't quite know if they're your sort of thing, but there's Twilight, Van Helsing or League of Extraordinary Gentleman. Not really date movies but if you're into supernatural stuff...”

I laughed at the choices. Clearly, Meredith or Gabriel had been responsible for them, but I appreciated the thought all the same. It was just a shame I couldn't share the joke with Oliver.

I opted for Twilight, at least there was a little romance in with the vampires – it seemed more appropriate than the others, and at least it had a bit of action for Oliver too.

He stood up to put the film on and then sat back down so we could finish dinner together. Although the film played on in the background, there was too much to say to each other to really take any notice of it. We had a lifetime of experiences to share with each other. Well, Oliver had a lifetime of experience to tell me about. I, on the other hand, was a little embarrassed that I didn't have an awful lot to tell him about me.

He told me about his parents' death but that he was too young to really understand what had happened, and he admitted to not being able to remember them, sadly. He still liked to look at their photos, but the memories just weren't there. “But I still miss them, if that makes sense?” he asked, and I nodded with a mouthful of pasta.