Raven (23 page)

It
hadn't happened how I had hoped it would. I had imagined myself
something like Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter who could
change in the blink of an eye, without an ounce of pain. That is
how I'd wanted it to happen and in the company of a select few.
Certainly not in the company of Oliver. But that is exactly what
had happened and I couldn't take it back. My relationship with him
was ruined. And there was nothing I could do about it.

Rose had
become quiet once again, deep in thought, I imagined as we trampled
through the undergrowth beneath the tall trees and headed in the
direction of her home. Although I wasn't looking where I was going,
I knew we were close because I could hear all of her cats. I could
smell them too but more than anything I could almost feel the sound
of their hearts, beating gently, keeping them alive.

Of
course I could 'feel' Rose's heartbeat even louder than anything,
and it was beating a little quicker than when we had left my house.
I looked at her and it amazed me that this seventy-plus (she still
hadn't told me her actual age) year-old woman was capable of such a
massive transformation. She was still incredibly fit and agile. She
was a force to be reckoned with and I was intensely proud that I
could call her family.

We
arrived at the front door and as she pushed it open, Scully was the
first to rush out. The hair on her back raised high as she saw me
and she arched her back. I noticed that her eyes had become as
black as coal again as she stared deep into my eyes. I just stood
still, waiting for some kind of recognition. It didn't take long.
Within seconds, she relaxed completely and approached me, purring
happily.

Rose
smiled too and patted her on the back, “I knew she would recognise
you. She just needed a moment,” she said.

As I
entered the house, I had similar experiences with the rest of the
animals and soon it was as normal, the cats curling up in various
nooks and crannies wherever they could.

Rose
walked into the kitchen and sat down, taking off her black pumps
and replacing them with a pair of warm slippers.

“
Right,” she said, “we need to get you back to Lilly, the
girl. As much as I love this new look.”

I sat
beside her and waited for her to tell me what to do.

“
And
don't worry, I've got clothes for you to wear here,” she laughed.
“You'll find that it becomes very useful to keep clothes at the
homes of all our family members,” she laughed.

“
Now,
the key is to relax. It's really quite simple but it will take some
getting used to.”

I tried
to do as she said but nothing happened and so I sat and focused on
relaxing and being calm. Nothing. I was still a mountain
lion.

“
Okay,
let's try something different. Lie down completely,” I did as she
said and curled up on the soft rug besides the kitchen counter
top.

“
Now
close your eyes. Slow your breathing down and relax. Feel as though
your muscles are falling away from your bones. That's it. Breathe
in slowly. Breathe out slowly. In. Out. In. Out.”

Sure
enough, as I completely relaxed my body, I felt something happen
within me. There was no pain like before. It was incredibly
uncomfortable but strangely pain free. And finally, moments later,
I felt my whole body become human again. I opened my eyes to find
Rose had gone. I stood up and turned round, conscious of my
nakedness. At first I had felt very warm but soon grew
cold.

Rose
appeared from another room carrying a pair of pink pyjamas and some
thick purple woolly socks. “I told Gabriel you would stay here
tonight. I think it's for the best,” she said as she handed me the
warm clothes. I slipped them on, quickly warming up before I
thanked her.

Once
dressed, she hugged me long and hard, “It's a tough life sometimes,
Lilly. We can never know what's going to happen. But you mustn't
worry yourself over Oliver. What's done is done. He will
survive.”

For the
first time since early that evening, I broke down in tears. They
flowed for a long time afterwards. No matter how hard I tried to
choke them back, my cheeks would become soaked once again. Rose was
perfect company. She knew exactly what to say and when not to say
anything and I was particularly grateful for her wisdom that
night.

When my
eyes and cheeks finally became drier, Rose heated up some milk on
the stove while I heaped a few teaspoons of cocoa into a couple of
mugs. Hours later, we were still talking about love, life, Serena,
Neleh, Walter, Lori, Sammy, Oliver, December and everything else
that mattered to us both. We bonded more that night than we had
ever done before. Rose had become something of a surrogate mother
to me.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

I didn't
speak to Oliver again after that. I tried phoning him but he
ignored all my calls. My emails bounced back and my letters were
returned unopened.

Gabriel
had reasoned with him and thankfully he had agreed to keep our
family's secret, but at a price. The price being that he no longer
wanted to be a part of our lives.

I was
heartbroken. Not just for me but for Gabriel who cherished him and
had done so ever since he was born.

I was
also sad for his brother Ben who was completely unaware about what
had happened. Oliver had agreed Ben was better off not knowing the
truth that surrounded him. He then left Powell River, out of our
lives. I knew that the fault lay entirely with me.

Ben had
attempted to find out the truth behind his sudden departure but we
refused to give him any more details than absolutely necessary. All
he had been told was that Oliver and I had a huge disagreement, so
big that he no longer wanted to live here. Apparently, he'd told
Ben he had always yearned for more than being stuck in Powell
River, so it seemed the perfect time to get away and explore what
he really wanted out of life.

Ben
simply accepted what he had been told. The excuses made sense to
him, and so he carried on life as normal. Well, as normal as could
be expected considering his beloved younger brother had effectively
run away.

I could
tell that it pained him that Oliver had left, but he told me that,
regardless of his reasons for leaving, he was also proud that
Oliver had decided to stand on his own two feet and was going to
have his own adventure.

After
several weeks when I asked after Oliver, Ben told me that he
regularly talked to him on the phone but when I asked for more
details – how he was, where he was, etc, Ben just said that he was
doing okay but that he had promised Oliver not to tell me where he
was or what he was doing. His only message to me: 'please stay away
and don't try to contact me'. When Ben told me those words, I hid
myself away for a while, shed a few tears and did my best to move
on, but it wasn't easy.

Although
I blamed myself, I refused to let it affect my life negatively. I
still had a life and I intended to live it as best as I could. That
didn't mean I didn't miss Oliver though. I missed him terribly. He
had been such an important part of my early life in Canada and I
wished that things had happened differently with him. He deserved
it... and so did I.

My life
continued, not quite as normal as before, but continued
nonetheless. With Oliver no longer in the picture, Sammy didn't
have as much to worry about because we rarely had any other
visitors to our home. The two of us became very close, he was like
a brother to me and I loved him dearly and I knew he loved me too.
I was the little sister he had never had. There were days we would
spend hours in the forest, Sammy showing me how he had lived there
for so many years.

Throughout that lonely time, he'd had no choice but to become
totally self sufficient – hunting for food and furs to keep himself
warm during the winters, creating shelter, building fires... he
taught me all of this and more, at the same time helping me to
develop my own fitness and strength too.

Whilst
there, deep in the forest with him, usually during the hours of
darkness, I spent much of my time as a mountain lion, running
stealthily through the trees below with Sammy flying just above the
tree tops. We would spend hours racing against each other and
having fun.

It
hadn't really occurred to me until then, but it was like Sammy was
regaining those years of his youth, the ones he had lost. The ones
that had been so cruelly taken from him.

As
spring turned to summer, my thoughts of Oliver and our times
together gradually dwindled and I began to concentrate on other
things and to look to the future.

I hadn't
forgotten Gabriel's promise to me, the one he had made earlier in
the winter shortly after I broke my leg. I recalled him saying that
he would take me on a trip to visit the Elders and he'd said that
we would go when the weather had improved... in spring. Yet spring
was now nearly over.

He
hadn't forgotten. In fact he was well prepared for my questions and
had already begun preparations for our journey together.

With a
smile, Gabriel nodded. “There's no need to worry, my dear Lilly. I
have been planning our trip for a while, I've just been waiting for
the right time and I believe that time has come.”

The
thought excited me. Not just the fact that we were leaving Powell
River for an unusual journey, but that I was to spend some quality
time with my grand-father, something I hadn't really
done.

When
Gabriel had first mentioned that we should go to the Elders
together, it was primarily to help unravel the mystery of who had
rescued me after my accident, however, with the truth now fully
known, we decided the journey was still an important
one.

It was a
rite of passage for me. At the same time, he told me, it was
important for me to meet the Elders. “You never know when you might
need their assistance or advice, Lilly,” he had said, almost in
warning.

Of
course, there was also the matter of my missing father and the
Elders might be able to offer some insight as to what had happened
to him and where he might be.

Gabriel
explained that it would likely be a difficult trip to take and that
it involved a lot of hiking through the mountains and forest
trails. But, like him, it had to be taken in human form. I couldn't
change into a mountain lion for ease of passage, he had warned
me.

“
In
order for you to grow, truly grow as a young woman, you need to
complete the journey as one,” he had added.

I knew I
was ready, physically and mentally. I was also ready to learn more
about the Elders and he told me he would enlighten me during our
journey.

Gabriel
had gained approval from the school to take me away for a while,
with the simple agreement that I would take some extra classes
during the summer holidays.

When I
asked Ben if it was okay for me to take some time off work to go
away with Gabriel, he had agreed that I could use a
break.

We had
packed as if for a camping trip. Our backpacks filled with all the
gear that we would need on our journey. The first part of our trip
would take place by boat. It was a very small boat too – with just
sufficient space for the two of us and all of our gear. Having no
idea where we were going, this little boat surprised me. It
frightened me too. The only other boat I had ever been on was the
ferry with Ben when he had collected me from the airport. This was
seriously tiny in comparison and I certainly didn't feel safe. But
Gabriel's soft voice and his kind words helped me feel at ease
after a few hours on the water. At least it had a small motor so we
didn't have to row.

It
wasn't until we were gliding quietly through the water that Gabriel
began telling me about the Elders. And from what he explained, they
were not quite what I was expecting.

“
The
Elders live high in the Coastal Mountains, hidden from all eyes
other than those they want to see. They are not all human, Lilly.
Many of them are changelings, like you. Some are vampires, some are
white witches. There are some creatures there that might even
frighten you. But you must not be fearful. All of them are good and
honest. They are very wise and they help people like you and me who
know the truth about their world. You could say that they are
authority figures for our kind. Somewhere we can go for help should
we really need it,” he said and I nodded a little
nervously.

I took a
little time to let the information sink in. We were on a long and
arduous journey to meet with vampires and witches? It sounded crazy
but I knew that Gabriel knew what he was doing.

“
Are
they all really old then, Gabriel?” I asked wondering why they were
known as the Elders.

“
Many
are very old, yes, although they will not appear to be old to us.
The vampires, for instance, are immortal. They appear to be young
and beautiful, when in fact they have been in existence for many
hundreds of years. Some of the witches are the same. But those of
them that are like you, half human, half animal, they look old
because they are old. But they all have something in common. They
are the Elders and they are called the Elders because they are full
of wisdom and knowledge about almost everything,” he
answered.