Raven (20 page)

Eilam nodded and his eyes bore into hers, willing her to do the unthinkable.

“I’m so sorry, Eilam. I’m so, so sorry,” she sobbed as the tears continued to stream down her face.

“Do it my love, I shan’t feel the pain for long,” he promised and kissed her lips with such tenderness she wondered how she would ever be able to live with herself after this moment. But like Eilam, she too wanted to protect those around her, and what was the point in coming to save Cybele and all the others if she didn’t do just that? She resigned herself to the fact that this is what had to be, and she knew she would find a way to be with Eilam once more after all of this was over. In this life or the next, she was his and his alone.

“Please, please forgive me Eilam. I love you so much,” she cried.

“I love you, Aiyana,” he said and closed his eyes as she drove the dagger deep within his chest wall. It was sharp and found its mark, piercing the soft muscle that made his heart pump blood through his body.

The instant she did it she regretted having done so, but it was too late. Already the magic was being broken from when the first spell had been cast. Slowly one by one the ravens that flew towards them unwillingly morphed back into their human forms. Without their wings they started to fall from the sky one by one and plummeted to their deaths on the sandy beach below.

Einar was the last to morph, probably because he had been the first. His cries were no longer of that of the raven, but that of a man that had been cursed from the very beginning.

Aiyana watched him fall, arms flailing and cursing the whole way down. The audible thud could be heard even from where they stood, but the sound brought no comfort to her, for the man she loved was dying in front of her very eyes.

He smiled and seemed to sway on his feet, holding on to the sight of her face as he slipped from the reality of the moment. She dropped to her knees and cradled his head in her arms, stroking his black hair away from his forehead as she placed kisses all over his face.

“I’m so sorry Eilam, please forgive me,” she begged, still unable to let go of him.

Reed came to comfort her, but she was having none of it. She pushed him away angrily and hated that he had been a part of the end game. He too had known it would come to this and she was sure he had been a part of Eilam’s confidences in the end. Eilam lay gasping; sucking in every last breath that he could to have just that one extra moment with Aiyana, looking at her mesmerising face.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said and his eyes shut then and a peace seemed to come over his body.

“No, no, no, no, nooooooooo,” she screamed as she shook his body, desperate for him to open his eyes once more. He didn’t move. His chest slowed and the beating of his heart stopped. She sobbed like her heart would break. None of it mattered anymore. She didn’t care that Einar and his flock lay dead, fallen from the sky as humans and left to break their bones as they landed on the beach. Eventually the tide would come in and claim them as part of the sea. But Eilam still lay with her, his chest just now stopping the rhythmical rise and fall that happened when one was alive. She buried her head into his neck and cried like she would never stop. Her sister and Reed didn’t try to comfort her, for they knew that it would be hopeless. Now that Eilam was gone, she pulled the dagger from his chest and threw it as far as she could in to the ocean. She caressed his face and continued to kiss his lips, hoping just once more that he would return the gesture with pressure from his own. He lay still and unmoving and she could do nothing but sob hysterically, certain that she had made the wrong choice. How could this ever be okay? She thought.

She was startled out of her crying by a slight movement under her. She sat up suddenly, certain that she had felt him move. She ran her eyes over every square inch of his body to look for signs of life. Nothing. He still lay just as still as he had a moment ago and she thought she must certainly be imagining it just because she wanted him to be very much alive. As her eyes rested on his face, she started to notice something strange. His jet black hair was turning white.

“Reed,” she called him over to her as she wiped the tears from her face.

“Yes, Aiyana,” he replied.

“What is happening to him?” she said, worry replacing the bitter loss she had been feeling moments ago.

Reed inspected Eilam, checking all over his body for signs of life.

“There’s no pulse, Aiyana, he must be gone,” he said apologetically.

She ignored his remark and said “Why is his hair turning white?”

Reed looked again.

“I don’t know,” he said. They watched Eilam very closely now, their grief replaced by morbid curiosity as to what was happening with his body. Within a matter of minutes his jet black hair had turned a brilliant shade of coal black to that of snow white. Aiyana almost didn’t recognise him. Still he lay inert, but his body was going through changes that normally death did not bring upon. She watched fascinated now, the gaping wound that she had inflicted in his chest now healing so quickly it made her question whether she had done it in the first place. She started to panic.

“Reed, can you still morph?” she asked as she turned to face him.

He looked confused for a minute. “I haven’t thought about it. Before it was just a matter of thinking I want to be a particular form more than the other and then, bam! I was just that – either human or raven. I don’t feel that anymore. I don’t think I can change, Aiyana,” he said with disappointment.

She continued to stare intently at Eilam.

His eyes flickered. Not opened, just flickered.

“There! Did you see that?” she asked hopefully.

Cybele and Reed exchanged looks; they had begun to think Aiyana was imagining things because she didn’t want to face the reality of what lay in front of her. But when they look around her they realised that Eilam’s hair had completely changed to a snow white colour.

“What the…?” said Cybele.

“What’s happening to him?” asked Reed.

“I don’t know, but his wound has healed, see?” she said.

They all peered closely to inspect where she had inflicted the knife wound and all came away amazed that it had healed completely. There was a scar for sure, but not the gaping bleeding wound that was there minutes ago. They all watched him now, waiting to see what else would suddenly happen. Nothing did. They watched and waited and still nothing. Aiyana had begun to think that the changes had occurred purely because Harmony had indicated he was the pure form of his species. Perhaps his body was changing because his soul had never been dark or cruel, instead being that of everything that was pure and good in the world. She rested her hand on his heart.

“I’m so sorry Eilam, please come back to me,” she pleaded.

She watched and waited. As if some greater power was listening to her prayers, the clouds parted and the skies cleared. For the first time since the beginning of the curse the sun was visible in the sky. The dark foreboding clouds that had bathed the coast in darkness had suddenly dissipated and allowed the sun to shine brilliantly over the coast line. Despite the fact that buildings still burned and fires still raged, there was now hope in the air, a feeling not too dissimilar to that of a promise of springtime. Aiyana tilted her head towards the sun and closed her eyes to feel its heat on her face. For the first time since she was a child she knew what it felt like to feel hope and happiness. She let it burn her cheeks and she couldn’t help but feel a sense of calmness come over her. Two things happened at once then. The first was she started to feel a slight beating thump under her hand. The second was a voice broke into her reverie.

“It feels good doesn’t it?”

She snapped her eyes open, for she knew who the voice belonged.

Eilam stared up at her, a grin from ear to ear on his face, although not looking a single bit like himself. He no longer looked like the dark and mysterious stranger she had fallen for all those months ago. No, the broodiness had gone and there was peace written across his face. His hair now whiter than the sand he lay on made him almost look like an angel, everything that was pure and good in the world. Almost. There was still a hint of cheekiness that played on his lips and his eyes remained the coal black that they had always been. All she needed to do was look into those eyes and she knew without a doubt that she had her soul mate back for good.

“Eilam!” she squealed, and threw herself at him with a force that could not be contained. She kissed his lips for all she was worth, never for a second wanting to let him go.

“Aiyana, my sweet Aiyana, I told you all would be okay, didn’t I?” he asked.

“You did,” she said, “but you forgot to leave out the part where you told me you would come back to me,” she said.

“I didn’t know I would, but I certainly am not complaining,” he said with a glint in his eye.

“I should think not!” she said as she slapped him playfully on the arm.

“Hey, gentle, I’ve just been through an ordeal you know,” he complained.

“Well I have something that will make you feel better,” she said seductively.

“Oh yeah, what’s that?” he teased.

“This,” she said simply as she place her lips on his and kissed him with all her heart and soul. He kissed her back, thankful to have her back in his arms once more.

“Ahem,” coughed Cybele into her hand, clearing her throat in an exaggerated way.

They broke away from each other then, remembering that they had an audience.

Reed came over to check on his friend then and they embraced as brothers would.

“How do you feel, Eilam?’ he asked.

Eilam thought about it for a minute before replying. “I feel strange. Kind of jittery and wonderful, like I could run a race or something,” he said.

He still lay on his back in the sand, a smile playing at his lips. “Help me up will you,” he said to Reed, waving his hand at him. Aiyana stood back and let Reed help Eilam to his feet. They all stood back to watch him. He closed his eyes and tilted his face to the sun, inhaling deeply the salty air from this new world that he had never experienced before. He decided he liked it very much.

Aiyana watched him from behind, taking in the new look of the man she loved. His strong body ablaze with sunlight and the ocean gleaming blue in the background. Gone were the dark dull tones that had dominated the landscape since the curse had first been cast and in its place was the bright glorious sun, shimmering across the clear blue sky. At this moment neither of them could have felt more content.

“I feel like I want to fly across this the beautiful landscape, Aiyana,” he sighed.

She felt bad for him. She knew that he must love the feeling of being in the open air – free to come and go as he pleased and see all that the world had to offer from a completely different perspective. She also knew from the sacrifice that he had just made that he would have given up flying in a heartbeat just to ensure her own survival.

She hurt for him nonetheless and felt and incredible stab of guilt for taking the only life he had known away from him.

“Eilam, I’m so sorry I did what I did. I know you will never forgive me for such a thing, but Reed has said he can no longer fly,” she said, eyes downcast and unable to look him in the face for fear she would see his crushing disappointment. She sensed he turned around then and came to stand in front of her.

She still eyed the sand, able to look nowhere but at her own feet.

“There is nothing to forgive my sweet Aiyana, I wouldn’t have things any other way,” he said as he lifted her chin with his finger and brought her lips to his. His mouth was hot he seemed to breathe new life into her and she let all the worry leave her.

“Besides,” he said, “I saw Harmony on the other side,” he said with a smile.

“You did?” they all asked him as he stood there looking very proud of himself.

“Uh-huh. She said your grandmother was most thankful for my sacrifice, and hoped that peace could now come to the city where you dwell. She also said that their gratitude would afford me a wish,” he said, his smile growing even further on his face.

“What did you wish for?” she was almost afraid to ask.

“This,” he said simply, and opened his arms slightly at his sides as though he was suddenly gesturing for them to look at him. From behind his shoulders sprung the most beautiful pair of white wings that Aiyana had ever seen. She heard the others gasp behind her and she moved forward to him to touch them. They were the softest feathers and they reflected brilliantly in the sun’s rays. Tiny streaks of blue and pink appeared in the recess of the feathers, making his wings seem like they glowed.

He flapped them now, moving the sand about his feet and causing her hair to blow back behind her head from the wind that the movement had generated. She sucked in a breath, mesmerised how beautiful a creature he now was, even more so than as the raven he had been.

“Fly with me,” he begged, extending his arm out to her.

She took it willingly, knowing with every fibre of her being that there was nothing on this earth that she wanted more than being with him right now.