December Moon (The Raven Saga) (30 page)

"When I managed to break free from Vivian's hold, I wanted so much to return to you but I just couldn't," he said slowly. "You see, my only escape came in the form of a vampire. I didn't know he was a vampire, of course. I thought he was just there to set me free. I had no idea that he had other plans for me."

"I'm assuming it was Duran that did this to you?" she asked, still looking into his eyes.

Walter nodded and sighed. "If I had known my fate, I would have stayed with Vivian, I would have continued to give her my blood if it meant I would have stayed a man. At least then there was always that chance that I could have escaped and returned to you, my love. You were all that I thought of these passed years."

"But you could have returned to me a vampire, my dear. I wouldn't have cared. I loved you, it didn't matter what you were. Look at me, I am a changeling and it never stopped you from loving me, did it?" she cried.

"Oh, Rose. It's not the same. I would have put you in danger. I couldn't do that. That's why I fled from our daughter too. I could not endanger her. It took me a few years to control my thirst. I needed to get far away from you both in order to keep you safe."

Rose turned her face from him, and took his hand in hers, gently stroking it, "where did you go?"

"The one place that reminded me of you, Portugal. I fled to a little town called Sintra in the hills near Lisbon. It was there that I eventually managed to control that awful thirst, it had such a hold over me for so long. There were a few other good vampires in hiding over there. I was lucky that they took me in and they helped me. It was a good place for me to be. I often sat in the little bars in Sintra, and later, in the city, and listened to that fado music that you used to be so fond of. It made me feel like I was close to you, my darling."

Smiling, Rose rested her head against his shoulder as he told her all about that beautiful place he called home for a while. He told her tales about the nights he spent looking out at the stars outside the pretty old Seteais Palace, nights he would count every star in the night sky and wonder if Rose would do the same. He had broken into the Lisbon zoo during the hours of darkness, to sit beside the lions and tigers, just to feel close to her. And he had even travelled to the south of the country when he had heard about the opening of a centre for the breeding of Iberian Lynx. Again, he had waited until nightfall and had broken in, doing nothing but sitting beside the animals and watching them.

"Oh my Walter, my dear, dear, Walter, if I had known you felt this way, I would have flown to Portugal to be with you. You would never have harmed me. I know that."

Walter smiled sadly, "I'm sorry, Rose, I'm so sorry. We've lost so many years because of my stupidity."

But Rose merely shook her head, "No, not stupidity, darling. I understand why. You did it because you thought you were protecting me," she smiled.

The couple continued talking long into the night until Rose began to feel far too drowsy to continue and she slowly fell asleep as she leaned against the young man, her husband.

Rose dreamed of the life they could finally have, living together in their little cottage in Powell River. She knew there would be gossip about this attractive young man who had moved in. Some would comment on the similarity to her long lost husband and so she would have to make up some story about him being a nephew or some such nonsense. But it didn't matter, he had finally found her and they could spend the rest of their days together.

But the next morning when she awoke, she was shocked at what she found.

Overnight, Walter had aged about ten years.

#

"It appears to be the reaction between the disease and the anti-bodies. It seems that there is little we can do, other than wait, and hope, that the ageing process will stop once he reaches his actual age."

"You mean, he is dying," Rose said to Carmelo as they sat quietly in a small room just around the corner from the so-called hospital wing where Walter was having some more tests done.

"It's difficult for us to say, Rose. We've not seen this disease for many, many years. We thought it had been totally wiped out. All we can do now is hope that Walter will pull through this."

"But tomorrow, he will probably have aged another ten years, and the next day, yet more years. If it continues, he will be dead within the week," she sobbed, "I've only just got him back."

Carmelo stood and walked over to her chair where he knelt down, placing his hand gently on hers, "I know, Rose. I'm so sorry. We just don't know what will happen. You must enjoy the next few days with Walter. You must
live
them, they could be his last. And you don't want them to be spent grieving. Go to him now, Rose."

Standing with the help of a temporary walking stick, and with wobbly knees, Rose nodded and hugged her old friend before she stood tall and walked out into the dimly lit hall before turning towards Walter's new quarters.

As she entered, Walter was sitting alone on the edge of the bed, deep in thought. The faint new lines on his face crinkled when he smiled as he stood and took her in his arms.

"It's been a long time since I was faced with my own mortality like this," he said, stroking her head gently.

"Let's leave here, Walter. Let's go and spend the next few days back in Powell River where I can cook for you and we can live as husband and wife. The way it should have been all those years ago. Are you strong enough to travel?" she asked, looking up into his dark eyes.

"Rose, I feel fine, and yes, let's. I would love nothing more than to spend my final days with you at home."

"Oh please don't say that. We don't know if you're... if you're...."

"Dying, Rose?"

She swallowed and nodded, before resting her head against his chest, half expecting the sound of his heartbeat, before remembering there wasn't one.

#

It had been a tearful goodbye for all of the family who were remaining with the Elders at least for a little while longer.

Walter held his only grandchild close to his chest and told her how proud he was of her, how much he loved her mother and her, even though he had never really got the chance to know them both.

Tabitha sobbed into his shoulder as he said his goodbyes, hoping that it was just temporary. Hoping that the disease would stop once he reached his actual age and that she would see him again, but she knew Rose needed to be alone with him. She had lost so many years and a few days was so little, yet so precious for her.

Meredith was almost all out of tears since the death of her husband, but she still shed a few more as she hugged Rose. She had no words. Words were unnecessary.

December and Lilly were the last to say goodbye to the couple.

"I can't tell you how grateful I am, Walter. You saved my life. You saved all our lives. I'll never forget you," Lilly whispered sadly but Walter shook his head.

"No, Lilly. I believe that you saved mine. And I'm happy knowing that I am ageing like a man now, regardless of how long I have left. I can die a happy man, finally with the woman I love. And I have you to thank for that. You saved me, Lilly. And I will never forget you."

Lilly stepped back and smiled, turning to her aunt, falling into her arms and hugging her tightly.

"Get a message to me if anything happens and I'll be there as fast as my hind legs can take me, okay?"

Rose nodded, a single tear dropped down her cheek and onto her lips, leaving a faint taste of salt.

"Thank you, Walter. Stay safe and well. I'm sure we will see you again," said December cheerily, as she gave Rose a quick peck on the cheek.

"Enjoy your time together and we'll see you both when we come home," she added optimistically.

A huge group of people assembled at the large hidden entrance to the caves to wave goodbye to the couple as they began their descent back home.

When they were out of sight, the bunch of strange looking characters disbanded, everyone going this way and that within the caves, back to their everyday lives.

CHAPTER FORTY

Lilly knew that her life would never be the same again. Not only did she have Oliver back, she no longer had to keep secrets from him or from Ben. Not only that, but December was to be a strong fixture in her life as well.

Had it not been for the sorrow of losing John, the sadness that surrounded Walter's condition and her missing father, Lilly would have been a very happy girl.

That evening, the two girls sat chatting in Gabriel's quarters as her grandfather sat in another room with Meredith sharing stories about the wonderful man they had lost.

A thick heavy brown blanket hung in the air, its corners jumping up and down as if dancing to music. Suddenly it flew across the room and landed on top of the two girls as they giggled uncontrollably.

"Am I interrupting something?" asked a male voice from the doorway.

Lilly pulled down the blanket and Oliver noticed how pretty she looked when she laughed, her eyes glistened in a way he hadn't seen before. What he saw now was the true Lilly Tulugaq, not the girl who had so much to hide from him just a year before.

"No! Come on in," she giggled as the blanket was lifted above them and then flopped down on their laps. "December was just showing me some of her recently discovered skills. It's amazing."

"What's amazing is what she did in that cave."

"Hello?" said another male voice as the three of them turned towards the doorway once again.

"Christoff!" squealed December before she had time to control herself. When she realised, her cheeks flushed pink.

"Come on in, Chris, the girls are just messing about and being silly," said Oliver as Christoff sheepishly walked in and sat down in a chair opposite them.

"Chris? You call him Chris now?" teased Lilly.

"Actually, I prefer it," he smiled.

"Chris it is, then," added December who was still blushing.

"Chris and I have been shooting some pool down in the games room."

"There's a games room here?" Lilly asked confused and Oliver nodded, "Oh yeah, this place has got everything. It's amazing. There's even a load of skiing equipment for when it snows."

"How come I had no idea about any of this?" she answered, shaking her head as she stood up from the sofa next to December and practically threw herself on top of Oliver, making him squeeze over on the smaller seat, and throwing her arm over his shoulder with a giggle.

He responded by tickling her sides before leaning over and gently placing a soft kiss on her lips.

December and Chris shared an embarrassed look.

"Erm, guys, get a room!" she yelled, sending a cushion over to land on top of their heads.

"December! Are you going to always use your magic to wind us up?!" Lilly exclaimed, laughing.

"Yes, as long as you continue to get all gooey, lovey dovey in front of us, I will!"

"Okay, okay, we get the picture," Lilly replied as the cushion continuously hit them on the tops of their heads.

Chris couldn't stop himself and he giggled at the scene before December finally gave up and let the cushion fly back to her side.

When they'd finally stopped laughing, Lilly turned her attention to the boy with the sad face. She noticed, even when he laughed, the laughter didn't quite reach his green eyes.

"So what happened to you, Chris? How did you end up a... a vampire?" she asked boldly.

His breath caught in his mouth. He hadn't been expecting the question so soon and his eyes looked down towards the floor as he nervously pushed his hair behind his ears wondering what to say.

"Oh, it's okay. If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay," said Lilly feeling a little ashamed for assuming it was a subject she could broach with him.

"No... it's fine. It's just a little... raw, if you know what I mean," he whispered sadly.

"You know, Chris, it's always good to talk. Getting things off your chest helps the healing process," December said quietly as he lifted his head and smiled right at her, nodding.

"Yes, you're right, of course. I guess I need to talk about it, don't I?" and she nodded back, the colour returning to her cheeks, yet again.

"But if you're not ready, that's okay too."