The Lost Soul (11 page)

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.

Zalea patted him on his back, "I understand."

"No, I don't think you do, Zalea. I don't think I really understand what happened either. That woman, that evil woman, she put me under that spell for years... so many years. Lilly must be 15 or 16 by now, and I wasn't there for any of it. Not really."

"I'm sorry, Jack. It must have been unbearable for you."

"I just hope Lilly is okay, you know? I mean, really okay, deep down. No child should ever have to go through what she went through. Losing her mother and her...s...sister like that," Jack turned away again as a few tears escaped from his eyes. He rubbed them away and turned back, attempting a smile at his new friend. "Sorry, I just miss them, I miss them all so much...... Is that a bird?" he asked suddenly looking upwards to see where the gentle sound of flapping wings was coming from.

"A bird?" Zalea asked, "What's that?"

"You don't know what a bird is?" he asked astounded as she shook her head.

"A bird is a small creature with wings... but, if you don't have birds in your world, then what is that?" he asked as it suddenly dawned on him that they could be in danger as the large winged creature swooped down towards them.

"Run, Zalea... hide behind those rocks!" he yelled, astounded at what he saw.

The flapping wings slowed down significantly at the sound of Jack's voice and the creature swooped down just metres from them.

As Jack prepared to protect them both from harm, the creature opened its mouth and squawked loudly, making them jump. It then lowered its head for a moment before peering back up at them as if waiting for a response.

"I... I think it's communicating with us," whispered Zalea, tiptoeing out from behind the huge boulder and bowed her head in response.

"No Zalea, No!" yelled Jack, "If that's what I think it is, it's dangerous."

"But it seems friendly," she whispered, approaching the strange looking winged creature with her arm outstretched.

Jack rushed to her side and yanked her away from the beast until they both hid behind the boulder.

"Why did you do that? It looks friendly."

"But we don't know that... and it looks suspiciously like a... like a....." he stuttered.

"Like a what?" she asked.

"Like a Pterodactyl. But that's impossible. They're extinct. They haven't been around for millions of years."

"In your world," corrected Zalea.

"Well, there is that, I suppose. I just wish I knew more about your world," he added, peering round to see the winged creature still standing in the same position.

"It's still there."

"Then let me approach it," she replied, pulling away from his grip and attempting to walk up to it. "See? It's quite all right," she said as it gently nuzzled at her hand.

Amazed, Jack followed, watching the faery giggle as the creature repeatedly licked her face.

"I see you found company, Oprah" said a voice out of nowhere.

Jack leapt to his right and scoured the area to identify where the voice had come from. Looking upwards, he saw a man on top of a ledge some 40 metres or so above them. The two watched in awe while he scaled down the side of the jagged cliff with absolute ease, his strong arms taking his full weight as he took the final few metres in a jump, landing firmly on his feet.

The winged creature hopped away from Zalea and headed towards the man, who patted it softly on the head with a smile. Both turned to face the strangers.

"I would ask 'friend or foe' but I can see perfectly well I have nothing to worry about. Oprah here is a good judge of character," he said smiling, approaching them with his hand outstretched.

"I'm Nickolaus Pryce, please... call me Nick," he said as Jack took his hand and shook vigorously.

"Jack Tulugaq and this is my friend, Zalea."

"It's really good to meet you Jack and Zalea," he said, eyeing up the beautiful pair of lilac wings that jutted from her upper back.

"I am a faery from the Moharth forest," she offered.

"Ah yes, of course. I've never spent much time within Moharth, Oprah here prefers to be out in the open. But I have heard of your kind. But you," he said turning towards Jack, "are not from around here. That I can tell... quite easily," he smiled, revealing a set of perfectly aligned teeth that were a little stained. "Let me guess... you're from the States? Or Canada, perhaps?"

Jack's eye lit up at the mention of his home, "But how... how did you know?"

"Because I, too, am from the States," he said with a wink, before adding, "How long have you been here?"

Jack's mind went into overdrive imagining how this man could finally help him get home. "Honestly, I don't know. I was trapped for some time before I was rescued by Zalea and her people. We've been travelling a few days now."

"And where are you heading?" he asked as Oprah nuzzled the ground between them.

"To the Nephilim caves," answered Zalea.

"Woah there. Are you crazy?" he asked.

"Possibly," replied Jack, "but we believe it's the only way to get home. How long have you been here?"

"Believe me, you don't want to know."

But when Jack continued to look at him with raised eyebrows, Nick's expression changed to one of sadness and he shrugged his shoulders,

"Maybe 15... 16... years."

Jack gasped, he felt winded and took a step backwards as if he'd been punched in the stomach.

Nick stepped forward, thinking he might have to catch him if he fell but dropped his arms to his side when Jack steadied his balance.

"Perhaps we ought to go and sit down and have something to drink?" said Zalea as the two men nodded in agreement.

"...and then when I woke up, I found myself here. Well, I found myself in those awful caves you're so desperate to find."

"But weren't you chained up?" asked Zalea, picking at the strange looking bumpy brown fruit Nick had given them to eat.
"No, but I did see others were in chains," he choked, "I saw those beasts, the Nephilim, taunting them. I don't know how I got there but I sure as hell wasn't going to stick around."

"So you managed to escape?" asked Jack eagerly.

"In a manner of speaking. I hid within those caves for days on end, trying to figure out what to do, I couldn't find a way out, it was like a never ending maze of caves. Eventually I stumbled upon a river running through them. I knew I'd die if I didn't get out, so I threw myself in and hoped to God it would lead to safety. I swam for as long as I could under the water. And just when I thought I was going to drown, something miraculous happened. An angel appeared and breathed for me. Then she held onto me and we swam beneath those caves until eventually we were free. She let me go and I swam to the surface. When I turned back to her, she was gone," he said in awe.

"It was one of the mermaids," said Jack.

"Have you seen them?" he asked.

Nodding, Zalea answered for him, "One of them attacked us and then her sister saved us."

"Why would one attack you?"

"Apparently she was harmed by the Nephilim so now she fears for her life every time someone goes into the water."

"That's... understandable, I guess. But tell, me, what happened to you? And why do you think the Nephilim caves will help you find your way home?"

"Well, that's kind of a long story...."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"We've decided to postpone the wedding," announced Carmelo and Jo at dinner that evening. "I know, I know," he said, looking around at the hundred or so faces that sat quietly watching him from around the enormous table in the centre of the grand dining hall, "but Jo and I feel the wedding would not be the same without her Uncle Jack. And in light of the latest information about the Nephilim, we feel we are much closer to bringing him home. So I'm sure you will all understand our big party must wait a while. Enjoy your meal everyone."

Jo squeezed his hand as he sat down and a hum of voices returned to the hall as people began talking to their friends and family as they ate and drank deep within the Elders' caves.

Later that evening, Lilly was still beaming as a small group gathered in Carmelo's quarters to discuss Jack and the Nephilim.

"Thank you," she said to Jo who was the last to arrive, closing the heavy long drapes to the room behind her.

"It wouldn't be right to have such a celebration of love without your Dad being here, Lilly, especially when we are able to communicate with him now. Well, December is able to, anyway."

The cousins hugged each other and sat down, while Carmelo stood facing December, "I want you to get as much information as possible this time, December. The more we know about where Jack is, the better it is for us to figure out his true location."

December nodded and lay down on the only sofa in the room, as the rest gathered around her with notebooks. Millicent sat by her side and held on to her hands.

"Remember what I told you, December. I know there is no headache at the moment, but if you focus purely on Lilly's father, you should be able to obtain a connection. Don't worry about how long it takes, we're right here for you."

Turning to look at her mother, December returned her smile and closed her eyes.

"Everybody should remain silent, please," said Millicent as December's mind began to focus on the Lost Soul, Jack.

Soon enough, a faint throbbing entered her head and she winced. Millicent squeezed her hand to reassure her and so she continued to focus on the task in hand, until the ache came as strong as it had before.

Minutes later, she spoke out loud, "Are you there, Jack? Can you hear me?"

A smile crept upon her lips as she listened to the voice within her head.

"He's here," she said softly to the others.

"Get him to describe his whereabouts to you," said Carmelo who sat with his hands clasped from behind his desk.