Raven (18 page)

But we
couldn't lounge around alone for much longer as I was soon called
back into the party as there were lots more gifts to open and
partying to do. My final birthday present was a joint gift from
Gabriel, Rose, Meredith and Wyatt. They had waited for everybody to
leave before giving it to me... it was my very own
computer.

They
explained that even though they had split the cost between them,
they had only been able to afford a second-hand laptop but it was
in excellent order, Wyatt had said as he showed me how to work
it.

“
It
wouldn't matter if it was out of the ark, it's fantastic” I told
them as they laughed.

“
We
know you've only ever used computers at school and we know most
kids have them these days and felt that you should no longer have
to miss out on anything,” said Rose.

“
Plus,
it'll come in very handy for your research,” added
Meredith.

No
matter how hard I tried at that moment, I could not stop the tears
from flowing down my cheeks.

I gave
each one a big hug and thanked them from the bottom of my heart,
knowing that I would use my new computer more than they could have
imagined. There was now a whole world at the end of my fingertips
and I was determined to discover it.

After
the others had all gone home, I rang Jo to tell her the good news
but, naturally, she'd already known and said that she'd had
difficulty not saying something when she'd given me my MP3 player.
We laughed and chatted for a little while before she told me that
we could now chat online whenever we wanted to... as Gabriel had
also organised for me to be hooked up to the internet.

“
Which
also means that you can finally keep in touch with your friend,
December,” added Jo. She was right, of course; the last letter I
had received from my only friend in England had included her email
address.

In fact,
that night before I went to bed, I created my own email address and
promptly sent December a message telling her all about
Thanksgiving, Christmas and my birthday. I knew she would be
delighted.

Again,
my life was changing dramatically and I was loving every second of
it. I still thought about my father every day but was beginning to
realise there was little I could do to find him on my own. I would
need my family's help and to be able to get that, I had to wait
until the spring. Until then, I would continue to read books and
articles online.

And
that's what I did over the course of the next month. When I wasn't
at school, working with Ben, hanging out with Oliver, or chatting
to December or Jo online, I would devour as much information as
possible. I didn't just read about all the animals that might
appear in my path but also about myths, legends and tales about the
so-called supernatural world. I read about beings that were only
supposed to exist in story books, but I knew different and I also
knew that I needed to learn as much about them as possible.
Naturally, much of what I read wasn't exactly strong factual
information, but beliefs and, in some cases, pure fiction.
Nevertheless, every little scrap of detail was devoured. The more I
knew, whether it was entirely true or not, made me a stronger
person. Or should I say a stronger raven or a stronger cat...
which, I still didn't know.

I was
fortunate that Oliver was interested in the same things as me. We
spent much of our time watching spooky TV shows and movies, before
discussing them in depth. Oliver, assuming that we just shared a
common thrill for the supernatural, when I knew that the majority
of what we saw was, more than likely, true.

CHAPTER TWENTY

As the
end of January drew near, so my dreams began again. It had seemed
like so many weeks since I'd had such vivid experiences during my
sleeping hours that I had almost forgotten about them.

As the
dreams intensified, one night I found they had an altogether
different effect. I awoke to find myself sleepwalking through the
house. Although it worried me a little, I decided against telling
Gabriel. I didn't want to concern him, and the fact that I'd woken
up while still within the house reassured me that I probably wasn't
capable of opening the front door.

I was
wrong.

Just a
few nights later I had one of the most vivid dreams to
date...

Voices called to me from within the forest. Ethereal voices
sang my name, beckoning me to follow.

Before I knew it, I found myself approaching the tall trees
that swayed in the softly blowing wind. I couldn't stop myself from
following the sounds. Peering through the trees, I tried to see who
the voices belonged to. My vision seemed blurred and I couldn't
quite see but I did catch sight of a figure dressed in white. I
pushed through the long branches and gently tiptoed through the
cold mossy ground beneath my bare feet.

It's strange that in dreams I could walk barefooted in the
snow and I didn't feel the slightest bit cold. In fact, the snow
felt more like soft balls of moist cotton wool, squelching
underfoot. I looked ahead and saw the figure moving like an angel
in front of me. Or a ghost. She was not stepping but gliding along,
almost as if she was on roller skates being pulled along on a
smooth surface.

She didn't turn so I was still unable to identify her, yet
the smooth tones of her voice continued to sing my name, beckoning
me to follow.

“
Lilly.... Lilly.... come Lilly.”

The forest soon became darker as the trees thickened ahead,
the path we walked upon disappeared completely and I was forced to
climb over huge tree roots that exploded from the ground underneath
my toes. In areas it was slippery and I stumbled a few times but
managed to stay upright.

Although I was vaguely aware that I was dreaming, I was
conscious that the cast on my leg had only recently been removed so
I had to be extra careful on my delicate bones.

“
Lilly... Lilly...” sang the voice. Soon I heard another
voice and she too sang out my name. I quickened my pace, feeling
like I needed to know who was calling me, and why.

Just as I was close enough to see, I noticed that both women
had long black hair. They turned and I gasped. Serena and Neleh
stood before me, reaching out to me. My mother and my sister had
called me this far but why? I tried to speak but no words would
come out of my mouth. At the same time, they put their fingers to
their own mouths, indicating that I shouldn't make a sound. Then
they pointed ahead of them and as I tried to reach out to them
again, I stumbled. But that time, I couldn't stop myself and I fell
to my knees.

The jolt
woke me immediately, but I found myself not in my bed. Not even in
my home. But in the forest. In exactly the position I had dreamt I
was.

I
shivered uncontrollably and as I looked down I saw why. I had
sleepwalked out of the house and into the forest in nothing but a
pair of thick cotton pyjamas.

I
panicked, thinking if I stayed out there like that, I would surely
die of hypothermia. I would find myself with the same fate as my
mother. Looking around, I tried to see a way back home but I was
well and truly lost. Why would Serena do this to me? She wouldn't
want me dead, so there must be a reason for her and Neleh to bring
me here.

I
recalled the dream and remembered that they had been pointing in
the opposite direction. I had no choice but to go where they had
told me to go. After a minute of stumbling through the freezing
cold, something caught my eye. A flicker of light. I quickened my
pace. It wasn't just light, it was fire. Warmth.

I began
to run, not caring about the scratches my poor feet and ankles were
picking up as I went. Warmth was much more important to me at that
point. As I approached, I could hear another voice. It was the
voice of a man humming to himself, in perfect tune. Because it was
a kind voice, I didn't feel afraid.

I
approached him. He hadn't heard or seen me so when a few twigs
broke underfoot, he jumped and hid immediately behind the large
tree he had been leaning on.

“
Who
goes there?” he asked.

The
moment the words escaped from his lips, I felt even more at ease
and so I rushed towards the fire and sat down, rubbing my poor feet
and hands in an effort to warm up as quickly as
possible.

“
My
name is Lilly Tulugaq,” I responded.

“
You
shouldn't be here, Lilly Tulugaq”, he said, “it is not safe for you
here. You should be frightened.”

“
Why
would I be frightened... of the man that saved my life?” I
questioned, recalling that stormy day when I had become trapped
beneath an oversized log. Someone had rescued me and carefully
placed my unconscious body somewhere safe where he knew I would get
immediate attention. That person was the same person that hid
behind the tree in front of me. I would have recognised that gentle
voice anywhere.

As he
stepped out from his hiding place, although the light did not allow
me to see his face, I could see his silhouette and I was not
prepared for what I saw.

His
profile was that of a fit man in his early 30s but as he moved to
the side, he had something else that should have terrified me. Two
huge black wings jutted out from his shoulder blades.

“
What
are you?” I whispered, “Are you a raven?”

He
laughed then and shook his head. “I wish I was. I am neither a
raven nor a man. Not any more,” he said sadly.

“
I
don't understand.”

“
I was
once a man but an evil woman cursed me with these wings and now I
am neither one thing nor another,” he said, sitting opposite me. It
was then that he noticed I was wearing only pyjamas and he stood
abruptly, making me jump in the process.

“
Lilly... you could freeze to death like that. What were you
thinking walking in the forest with hardly any clothes on? Not even
any shoes? Are you insane?” he said as he rushed into what looked
like a cave that was well hidden by the trees. Returning, he had
old thick socks, walking boots that were several sizes too big and
a large woolly blanket.

As he
came closer to me, I caught a glimpse of his face and jumped
backwards, suddenly very afraid.

“
You... you're... Sammy Morton,” I muttered, confused and
frightened.

He
nodded in response and placed his hand gently on mine.

“
Please don't be afraid of me, Lilly. I am not the killer
that some people think I am. Neleh was everything to me. I loved
her more than anything in the world. Come, sit closer to the fire
and get warm. I will explain. I will tell you the truth about what
happened to your sister... and to your mother.”

His
voice was so gentle and soothing, that I believed every word that
he said and I instantly found it impossible to believe that someone
like him could ever be thought of as a killer.

As I sat
next to the fire, Sammy produced some hot tea for me, made, he
said, from herbs he picked from around the forest. Over the years
he'd had little choice but to learn to fend for himself – teaching
himself all about the different plants and animals. He had to learn
how to hide from prying eyes and to defend himself from
predators.

“
But
before I tell you about any of that, how did you find me
here?”

I
explained how I had been led to him by Serena and Neleh. How they
had come to me in a dream.

“
I
understand now that they led me to you. They want the truth to be
known... as I do,” I said, before letting him continue his story
about how he ended up in the forest all alone.

“
Neleh
and I used to spend a lot of time here in this forest. Although we
never dared come this far. Jack and Gabriel would have gone mad. We
would just hang out... do what young lovers do,” he said sadly,
before going on, “we were going to get married you, know? Neleh and
I. But then that awful day happened and our dreams were snatched
from us. From all of us. Not just from me and Neleh but from you,
your father, Gabriel. All because of that evil witch.”

Of
course that's when things started to click into place. That evil
witch. He was talking about Vivian. She had been responsible for a
lot more than we had initially thought and I was about to find out
just how evil she really was.

“
She
killed Neleh,” he said and then he stood in front of me, his wings
spread out majestically to his sides.

I
realised that he had probably never spoken about it before. In fact
it dawned on me then that I was probably the only person he had
spoken to in fourteen years. Fourteen lonely years with no company
except for the animals that lived within the trees surrounding
us.

He had
kept the heartbreak to himself for a long, long time and it would
undoubtedly hurt him immeasurably just to say these words, but I
didn't interrupt. I knew the benefit of talking about things.
Hopefully this would be the start of his healing process, if it was
still so raw.