by Suzy Turner
When she noticed Jack was watching her, she turned to face him and smiled, "It's a beautiful spot, isn't it?" she sighed.
"It certainly is. I wish we knew where we were though."
"Sorry, but I only know of Moharth. I have never learned of any other place within Argentumalea. When I return home, I am going to tell my father the faery children should learn about this world. Had I known more about it, we would be at an advantage."
"I agree you should all know more about where you live. The children of my world all learn about the world's geography in school."
"Tell me about your world, Jack?"
"Hmm, well, it's very different from this one."
"How?"
"Well, we have a blue sky for one. And a bright yellow sun that lights up the sky and warms us during the day and when it goes down in the evening, the moon appears. Sometimes it is a huge glowing white sphere in the sky and other times, it is barely visible. It is a sight to behold though."
"A blue sky? It must be an amazing sight."
"I guess we have always taken it for granted."
"Tell me more. Your world sounds fascinating"
"My world is a complicated one. At times it is truly magnificent, it has sights that are breathtaking, places of such beauty that they take your breath away. And yet we are destroying it," he said.
"Destroying it? But that's terrible. Why would you do such a thing?"
"Like I said, it's complicated. Suffice to say we are using up all of the earth's valuable resources at such an alarming rate and in the process we are polluting our world."
"Can it not be stopped?"
"Some people are trying to slow it down, to save the planet but others simply don't care. It's sad, really."
"Sad... and tragic, so tragic."
Jack smiled at her while he watched her rub gently at her eyes as if wiping away tears.
"Tiffani must be heartbroken."
"What do you mean?"
"Ever since she was a little girl, sadness has made her cry. She bursts into tears at the smallest thing.... even if it doesn't affect her. If she sees someone else is sad, she will cry for them."
"Perhaps you share a little of her emotions," he suggested as she rubbed her eyes again.
Zalea smiled at him, "I think perhaps I am a little more discreet," she smiled.
Turning to swim a little more, Jack noticed a few bubbles pop up from beneath the smooth water. Bubbles that changed in size and quantity until the surface of the water erupted.
"Zalea!" he shouted. She turned with a smile, which froze on her face as she noticed what was happening.
"Jack!" she yelled back, but it was too late. She was being dragged into the centre of the river and pulled downwards.
Jack dived head first into the river, swimming as fast as he could to reach her. Arriving at the place the bubbles had appeared, he ducked underwater and searched for her. His eyes immediately fell upon the tail of some kind of red scaly fish. He swam until he reached and grabbed it, pulling it with all his might.
As the beast turned to face him, Jack recoiled in shock as the face of a beautiful woman looked straight at him, baring sharp ugly teeth. Zalea struggled in her arms, trying to loosen herself from the grasp of the strange creature.
As Jack pulled her tail, he managed to draw her closer to him, close enough to take a punch. The force of which caused her to loosen her grip on Zalea who swam free while he and the beast continued their battle beneath the water.
Needing to take a breath, Jack felt himself begin to weaken. He knew if he didn't get to the surface for air he would surely drown. So he kicked as hard as possible and propelled himself through the water until he was able to breathe. But the second his face reached the surface, he was grabbed and pulled under. His weakening body prepared itself for the intake of water, but the moment he thought he was about to drown, his mouth was covered by something, or someone, who breathed air into his lungs. He opened his eyes wide and saw another beautiful face. She looked right into his eyes and smiled, pulling him up from the depths of the deep river until they both surfaced.
"Jack!" yelled Zalea, "behind you!"
"It's all right, Zalea, she saved me," he spluttered.
The beautiful creature pulled him across the water until he was able to drag himself out of the water, coughing and spluttering. Zalea helped him out, pulling him far from the water's edge, away from danger.
"Forgive my sister," said the creature, "She was once tricked by the evil doers of this world and she now believes everything to enter these waters is evil. But I could see she was wrong on this occasion. Do not think badly of our kind. We are not evil."
"Who are you?" asked Jack as he finally managed to calm himself down.
"My name is Dacius and my sister down there is Arapea."
"Thank you for saving me, Dacius. I am Jack, and this is Sheharazalea."
The creature nodded her head and smiled, "I am sorry my sister tried to harm you. You are not injured are you?"
Jack turned to Zalea, who shook her head.
"No, we are fine thank you. May I ask of the evil doers you mentioned? We are on a journey to find the Nephilim and wondered if that is who you were referring to?"
Dacius visibly cringed at the word, baring her scary looking teeth in the process.
"I take that as a yes, then," he said.
Nodding, Dacius continued, "They are the epitome of evil but they are trapped within their caves. You should be safe from them provided you stay away from those caves."
Smiling, Jack said, "Oh, but we need to find their caves. It is the only way I can find my way home."
"In that case, if you could breathe underwater, I could take you directly to them but that is clearly not possible. However, if you follow the river towards the mountains, you will find an entrance to their caves deep beneath the high waterfall that begins where the river widens. I wish you luck, Jack and Sheharazalea, but you will need more than luck to survive the clutches of the Nephilim," and before they could say another word, the creature had vanished deep beneath the water.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
"I am so very sorry to learn of your daughter's fate, Mrs Dickson. Please accept my condolences."
Mrs Dickson shook the woman's outstretched hand with one hand and nodded as she wiped her eyes with a silk handkerchief with the other.
Lilly watched her as the beautiful woman then walked into Mr and Mrs Dickson's house where they were holding a wake for their only daughter. She was the woman from the funeral. Lilly became even more intrigued now she knew Mrs Dickson didn't know her at all.
The woman spoke to no-one, ate nothing and drank nothing. She merely hung around and watched the people as they mingled and talked to one another.
"Have you noticed something strange, Lilly?" whispered December.
"What's that?"
"Look at all the men in here."
Lilly did as she was told and turned to look at them all.
"They're all staring at the mystery woman. So, she's beautiful. What's so strange about that?"
"Really look at them, Lilly. Look at their eyes."
It was then that she knew December had a point. The men looked like they were under a spell. The only ones free of the spell were Chris and Walter - the only vampires in the room and Zoltan, a werewolf. Even Oliver was blatantly ogling the young woman, which really irritated Lilly.
"That woman is not all she's cracked up to be," she whispered.
December nodded and pulled her friend outside.
"Maybe she's a witch?"
"She's not a witch," replied December.
"How do you know that?"
"I don't know... I just do. Maybe we should get the others together and go home?"
"Definitely. I'll go get Oliver and Chris and the rest of my family. You go and get Moira, Millicent and Monty."
The two girls split up, both going back inside the house but in different directions.
"Oliver, it's time
to go home,"
"Huh?"
She tugged at his sleeve but he would not take his eyes off the woman. She tugged again, but nothing.
"Oliver!" she said louder, "I'm tired. Can you please take me home?" she said through gritted teeth.
When he ignored her for the third time, she tugged his sleeve so hard he spilled his drink down his white shirt, breaking the apparent spell.
"Huh? Sorry, what did you say? Oh no, my shirt. Sorry Lilly, what did you want?"
Lilly rolled her eyes at him and then noticed all the men had returned to normal. Looking around, she couldn't see the woman anywhere.
#
"Hi Jemima. How are you feeling?" asked Lilly after they journeyed to the Elders a couple of days later.
"Like hell," she answered, "but it's really good to see you," she continued, standing to give her former school friend a long hug.
"I'm so sorry about... everything that's happened. You don't deserve this."
"Does anybody?" she asked almost bitterly.
"You'd be surprised how many paranormals there are, you know. Once they've come to terms with it, they tend to cope okay with it. I'm just sorry about, you know, your family and your friends."
"Did you go to my... funeral?"
Lilly nodded, "It was almost like everyone in Powell River was there. The kids from school organised a beautiful wreath for you. I took a photo... I guess in hindsight that wasn't such a great idea."
"No, I'd like to see it," she said as Lilly took her phone from her handbag and scrolled through the pictures until she found it.
"It's really pretty. Thanks... for taking it. It means a lot."
"That's okay. How are you finding it up here?"
"Under other circumstances, I'd probably be awe-struck. It's incredible. I guess I just don't feel like being impressed right now. Rather a lot to come to terms with. Being kidnapped by a guy who was so evil, you know? Being hurt by him and his friends, being made into a vampire, being trapped alone for so long... drowning... I could go on."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm not entirely human either," she said attempting to smile.
Jemima raised her eyebrows. "Maybe a little," she smiled, "What happened to you?"
"Basically, my Dad and I were kidnapped by an evil witch when I was born, she murdered my mother and sister, then kept Dad under a spell in London and basically kept me prisoner, then my Dad disappeared, the witch went off somewhere and left me alone. I was sent over here where I found an amazing family I never even knew existed, then they told me I could turn into a mountain lion. The witch returned, nearly killed my grandfather and my cousin, who ended up having to be turned into a vampire to survive. I then found out my best friend is a witch (a good one!), then an evil vampire who killed her grandmother came out of nowhere and began killing and turning people into vampires... I guess you know the rest. Oh I forgot the part about my Dad being taken by the Nephilim," she said with barely a breath.
"I had, like, no idea, Lilly. I'm so sorry for you too. Wow... this is one seriously screwed up world, isn't it?"
"You can say that again," laughed Lilly, "I should introduce you to my friend, December. She's the witch I mentioned. She moved here from Seattle, actually first she moved to Seattle from London but now she lives in Powell River."
"Hi, Jemima, It's great to meet you," said December cheerily, who had been standing back waiting for Jemima to feel a bit more at ease. She stepped forward and held out her hand.
Jemima stood and shook her hand, "It's really nice to meet you, December." So you're a witch, huh?"
Nodding, Jemima smiled, "You'd be amazed at how many of us there are around here. And when I say us I don't just mean witches."
"Yeah, I'm kind of understanding that now," she said, looking around at the weird and wonderful characters that lived within the Elders caves.
"I'll get used to it.... I am getting used to it," she laughed, although it didn't quite reach her eyes.
"It'll take a little bit of time. Hey Chris, come and meet Jemima," yelled December, but the moment Chris stepped out of the crowd of people, Jemima shot backwards with a hiss, her teeth bared and her eyes shining red.
"It's okay, Jemima. Chris was being kept against his will by Duran. He wasn't one of them," shouted Lilly, trying to calm her down.
"Carmelo... we've got a problem," yelled December, as he ran through the throng of people to the end of the grand hall where the four of them stood, Jemima ready to pounce.
"Jemima, calm down, remember what we taught you. Control those emotions. Chris is completely innocent just like you. Duran and his buddies murdered Chris's family and then turned him into a vampire. You're safe here. Completely safe," urged Carmelo as he held her arms and gently tried to pull her back down to the sofa where she had been sitting.
"I'm... I'm sorry, Jemima, I'm sorry for what he did to you but they did it to me too. I didn't want this either. Please believe me," pleaded Chris who stood motionless waiting for her to calm down.
Jemima's protruding fangs retracted into her gums and she broke down, sobbing.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." she said repeatedly.
Chris approached her and knelt down by her side, "It's okay, it's okay. I know what you're going through."
She looked up at him and he took her hand and squeezed it.
Lilly looked across at December and smiled but the smile wasn't returned. Instead a pained look momentarily crossed her eyes. Rushing to her side, she took her hand and pulled her away from the crowded main hall, into the room they used whenever they stayed there.
She pulled her until they were both sitting on the soft old green leather sofa with its fading arms and comfortable cushions.
"Is Dad trying to communicate with you again? Is it a headache? Remember what Millicent said about focussing on the pain?"
December smiled, "No, no, it's nothing like that. No headaches or anything,"
"Oh, then what happened. You looked like you were in pain?"
"Did I?" she asked innocently.
"December, this is me, remember? I know when something's wrong."
Her best friend put her hand through her shoulder length red hair and smiled a sad smile.
"I guess it was because of Chris."
A look of confusion crossed Lilly's face.
"He and I have been close since we met, you know. I really like him."
"Well, that's obvious. He really likes you too."
"Perhaps he does, but not as much as Jemima. I have to face the facts. He's a vampire. Who am I kidding? He needs to be with his own kind? And Jemima is now a vampire, a beautiful vampire the same age as him who he can spend eternity with."
"Oh December, you do have a point, I guess."
December gave her friend an angry stare. "That should have been the time you tell me he likes me more than any other girl, that not even a vampire could compete with me, blah blah blah...!" she said crossly.
Lilly chuckled, "I'm your best friend, I'm not going to lie to you, December. You realised it the second he took her hand. Perhaps they are meant to be together. If anyone has ever had a real connection, it's those two. You two can still be friends. I mean, it's not like anything ever happened between you two, is it... or did it?"
Shaking her head, December tried hard to smile, "No, we only ever held hands. It just wasn't meant to be, was it? Oh God... I'm such a moron. But, but he was so cute. Is so cute. He's just a lovely guy, you know?"
"Yes, he's cute and yes he's a lovely guy and yes, he's a great friend and if you were a great friend, you'd accept this and let him move on with his life which could possibly mean a relationship with fellow vampire Jemima, who, I might add, could really use our support right now. It's not like she's stealing your boyfriend, December, because he was never your boyfriend in the first place. He was just a really good hand holder," she laughed as she stood pacing from one end of the room to the other.
Suddenly she was pelted by a multitude of cushions
.
"Hey!"
"Sorry, I just remembered the last time we were in here... I was hitting you with a cushion then, so I figured I'd do it again."
"Stop using those magical powers on me right now, December or I'll... I'll..."
"You'll what?" she giggled as the cushion kept tapping her on the head, "You'll turn into a mountain lion and eat me for dinner?"
Soon the two girls were flopped out on the sofa giggling so hard that they got stomach ache.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
"What were those things?" asked Zalea.
"I think there is a very good possibility they were mermaids."
"Mermaids? But I thought mermaids were supposed to be good?"
"They were good... that first one only grabbed us because something really bad happened to her before, at the hands of the Nephilim. It was the Nephilim that made her that way. It's kind of sad."
"Yes, it is very sad. I shall never want to go bathing in a river... ever... again."
Jack laughed heartily, "I know what you mean. I'm sure we can still bathe. We just need to be quick about it and keep a look out. There was one good thing that came out of that encounter though," he smiled as Zalea looked at him quizzically.
"The Nephilim? Dacius told us how to get there."
"Oh yes, of course!" she chuckled. "All we need to do is to follow the river towards the mountains and then enter the cave through the waterfall where the river widens. Is that right?" she asked and he nodded in return.
"Absolutely."
After the couple had rested and dried off, they picked up their bags, threw them onto their backs and continued on their way along the riverside, in silence.
"Tell me about your daughter, Jack?" Zalea said quietly.
Taking a deep breath, Jack pouted his lips and turned to look away from her.
"I'm sorry. If it's too difficult to talk...."
"No, it's not that. It's just.... just that we went through hell for years, you know. I feel like I lost her and she had such a terrible childhood. And I couldn't do a damn thing about it. I couldn't help her. I wanted to, you know, God how I wanted to. But there was just nothing I could do..." he croaked.