CHAPTER TWENTY
As the family and friends gathered their belongings in readiness for their journey back down to Powell River, they were asked to head into the main hall.
As everyone bustled into the huge cavern, Lilly wondered what was going on as she grabbed hold of December's hand and they walked in together.
"We have information," said Carmelo as he stood and beckoned for everyone to sit down, "regarding the Nephilim."
December and Lilly turned to look at each other as they hurried to the front of the room where Jo sat beside Tiffani and Sammy, "What's going on?" whispered Lilly.
"Listen..." replied Jo.
"We have managed to find out a number of things regarding the Nephilim, which we believe may help us in our search for our dear friend, Jack. When we last communicated with him through December here, we were told he had found another man who had been taken some 15 years ago. The dates of their vanishing shared something in common. Both disappeared on the night of a Full Moon. We have since had our computer whizzes, witches Emilie and Margot, looking into disappearances on the nights of full moons and we have discovered many people have vanished on such dates. It's nothing concrete, of course, but it is a start. However, there is more. We have been in touch with our worldwide contacts and found out there have been recordings of strange mirror-like anomalies during the phase of the Full Moon over a number of years..."
Suddenly there was a hiccup and Tiffani stood up, wide-eyed, "That sounds like the strange thing I saw just before I found myself in your land."
"And what happened, Tiffani?"
"I thought it was so beautiful that I walked into it and found myself... here. That's all I can tell you, I'm afraid."
"But that's very useful information, my dear," smiled Gabriel.
"It sounds like some kind of vortex," shouted a voice from the crowd as people began to whisper to each other.
Carmelo nodded and quietened everybody down, "Yes, you're quite right Seamus, it does. But we don't know for sure. What we do know is the Nephilim are behind this and the only way we are going to get to the bottom of this is by finding out more about them. So, I am asking you to reach out to your contacts and try and find out as much about the Nephilim as possible. We must bring Jack home... and of course, at the same time, return Tiffani to her own home to her own family. Please keep me up to date. Thank you everyone."
As Carmelo stepped down, he approached Lilly with a smile, "Are you all set for your return home?"
She nodded, "I wish I could stay here and help you find out more about the Nephilim."
"Don't worry, we will keep you informed. You must get back home ready for school on Monday."
"Carmelo, you sound just like Gabriel," she laughed.
#
"It's good to finally have you back," said Oliver as he sat in front of the TV with one arm around Lilly.
"I've not been gone that long," she smiled, snuggling into him.
"You went down to Seattle, came back briefly and then up to the Elders. I hardly saw you," he scolded.
"I did ask you to come with us."
"I know, I know, but I can't keep taking time off work, I'll end up losing my job," he replied, ruffling her hair.
"Speaking of jobs, has Ben found a replacement for me yet?"
Oliver was silent for a moment before he changed the subject, "So, how are Carmelo and Jo?"
Lilly turned to look at him, "You didn't answer my question!" she said, "And Carmelo and Jo are fine. Well?"
"Well what?"
"Has Ben found a replacement?"
Again, he was silent for a few seconds before he looked away from her.
"Oli!"
"Yes, yes he has."
"Why was that so difficult to tell me?" she said, shaking her head. "So, who is it?"
"Who is what?"
"Grrr, what's the matter with you tonight? Who is my replacement at the vet's?"
"Erm, just some girl."
"Who?" she demanded.
"Someone from out of town, you don't know her."
"Well, what's her name?"
"Her name?"
"Yes, Oliver, her name? What... Is...Her...Name?"
"Babe, there is no need to be funny."
"I'm not being funny... you're being weird."
"I'm not being weird. You are!"
"Oh My God... Oliver this is getting ridiculous. Are you going to tell me her name or what?"
Oliver's cheeks turned a little pink as he opened his mouth to speak, "Okay, okay. Her name is... Calliope." As he spoke, his eyes glazed over momentarily.
"Oliver... is there something going on with you and this... Calliope?"
Oliver's face turned deep red as he looked straight at his girlfriend, "Lilly... no way. I don't even know her. She's just, just... someone from out of town who accepted your old job with Ben. There's nothing going on, honestly. All I know is her name..." again his eyes glazed over while he spoke, "... Calliope."
Lilly's heart hurt. She knew there was more to this girl and it was clear Oliver was head over heels for her.
"I think you'd better leave, Oliver."
"B...but why? I haven't done anything wrong," he said deflated.
"You haven't done anything right either. I'm tired. I'd really like to go to bed now. Goodnight, Oliver," she said as she turned away and stormed out of the lounge, leaving him sitting with his mouth open in shock.
"What just happened?" he whispered to himself before he put on his coat and walked out, quietly closing the front door behind him.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
The more they walked, the further away the mountains seemed to get.
"It's been days and we don't seem to be getting any closer. It's weird," said Jack as they planted their belongings down on a couple of large rocks and approached the river to drink some of the refreshing water.
"Do you think it's safe to bathe in the river?" asked Zalea, who was getting increasingly hotter.
"If you stay by the water's edge and are quick about it. Don't worry, we'll keep an eye out for Dacius's sister," said Jack with a wink as Zalea walked slowly and carefully into the cool water, dipping her head back so her hair was soaked through. After a couple of minutes, she walked out, feeling much better.
"Is it me, or has it been getting warmer the past day or so?" she asked the two men, who both nodded.
Oprah squawked behind them and Zalea jumped.
"It's okay, she just wants a drink, that's all," said Nick, leading her to the water where she lapped at it until she was satisfied.
"I was wondering, Nick, how come you never tried to get home?"
"Why did I never try to go back into those caves full of deadly Nephilim waiting to pounce? Plus, where there are loads of dead bodies?"
"Okay, I get your point."
"But honestly though, I've thought about it for years. I've come pretty close but I can just never bring myself to go back there. It's almost like there's something keeping me away."
Zalea smiled, "I wish you'd have come to Moharth. We would have made you very welcome, Nick."
"I wish I had done too, Zalea, thank you."
"Tell us about your home, Nick" she asked, sitting down by the side of the river, her fingers trailing in the water beside her.
"There's not an awful lot to say, really. I lived in a trailer in Tucson, Arizona."
"What about your family?"
"I didn't have a family."
"What did you do for a living?" asked Jack.
Nick laughed, "I guess you could call me a survivalist."
"No, I mean before you ended up here."
Nick laughed again and shrugged his shoulders, "I'm being serious. I was a survivalist when I lived in Tucson. I used to travel all over North America teaching people how to survive in certain circumstances... in the mountains, forests, and so on."
"So basically people paid you to do what you've been doing here for the past 15 years?" asked Jack, intrigued.
; Nick nodded, "If it wasn't so tragic, it would be funny."
"Amazing, absolutely amazing. Had it been anybody else, they probably wouldn't have survived. Perhaps that's what's pulling you back, preventing you from trying to get home?"
"What do you mean?"
"Nick, clearly you are in your element in this place. Perhaps deep down you feel more at home here?"
With a smile, Nick stood up, "You're probably right, but 15 years is a long time to spend without the company of other humans. Meeting you has strengthened my resolve to get home. I want to go back, I know that now."
"Good," said Jack, smiling, "then let's get moving."
The three of them grabbed their bags, hoisted them onto their backs, Zalea with caution so she didn't do any damage to her delicate wings, and they began walking towards the mountains, all the while keeping the river to their left.
Oprah walked behind them, occasionally nuzzling their necks between short flights when she would disappear to find something to eat before returning to walk behind them again.
As they wandered through the large dry valley with huge cliff faces at either side of them and the river continued to flow towards the mountains, they came across what looked like a mass of giant mushrooms.
Nick took his rope and lassoed it around the top, tugging it to make sure it was strong enough to hold his weight.
"What are you doing?" shouted Zalea as she and Jack stood, astounded by Nick's sudden bout of energy and enthusiasm.
"An excellent source of protein can be found on top of these things. It'll be great for dinner!" he hollered from the top.
"Can't we just cut a bit from the bottom?" shouted Jack in response.
Nick poked his head out from the mushroom's top and shook his head. "No... the rest of it is kind of poisonous. You can only eat the top," he said, descending down the side, even faster than he'd climbed up it in the first place.
"How do you know?" asked Zalea, taking the little mushrooms handed to her and placing them carefully in Jack's bag as he turned around.
"Trial and error. I tried it once... and once was enough."
The trio continued walking until Jack spotted a small cave in the canyon.
"That might be a good spot to spend the night," he suggested as they headed over to have a look but before they got there, Oprah began squawking loudly.
"Wait," said Nick and he pulled his friends behind him. "We're not alone. Stay here while I go and take a look."
Oprah followed behind as they stood and waited for him to check out the caves.
A few minutes later, there was a loud whistle and Oprah was off like a shot towards the cave, to her master.
"Okay, it's safe for you to come in now," yelled Nick as he threw something with a lot of legs out of the entrance. Oprah pounced on it and began ripping it to shreds, eating every last bit of the creature.
"What was that?" asked Jack.
"Giant spider... Oprah loves them but they're not so good if they bite you," he said, lifting his leg and revealing a nasty red scar on his ankle. "This one got me shortly after my arrival here. I thought I was going to die. The pain was excruciating."
Zalea shuddered, "Are you sure there aren't any-more in the cave?"
"Don't worry, I'm sure. If there were, Oprah would be able to smell them and she'd let us know. So you can rest easy tonight."
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
"You look terrible, what's wrong?" asked December as she met Lilly at the entrance to the high school the following day.
"It's Oliver. I think... I think he might be two-timing me," she muttered, pulling her school books close to her chest and breathing in deeply.
"No way, that's just not possible. Not Oliver. Not with you. Are you insane? Why would you think such a thing?"
Lilly explained about what had happened the previous evening.
"Perhaps she's just attractive and he felt like you were putting him on the spot?"
"No, you should have seen his face when he mentioned her name. It was like he was talking about someone he was madly in love with, December."
"No, it's got to be something else, hon. Oliver is mad about you. You two are like soul mates or something. There's no way on earth he would have feelings for anyone else. Believe me, I know. I am a witch," she whispered. "So who is this girl anyway?"
Lilly pulled a face and said, "Calliope, apparently," almost choking at the mention of the name.
"Cool name. I wonder what it means."
"Who cares what it means. I never want to hear it said again... EVER."
December laughed, "You really need to take a chill pill, Lilly. You're imagining this. Seriously, you are."
Lilly pulled the same face and walked ahead of her best friend who giggled behind her.
"Okay, okay, we'll go check her out. This... Calliope..."
"Excuse me, did you just say Calliope? She's just so.... hot..." said a random schoolmate December didn't even know. The boy stood motionless for a moment, mouthing the name in silence, "CALLIOPE...."
"Okay, now that is weird. Lilly, did you see that?"
"See what?" she said, still annoyed.
"I mentioned the name Calliope and that boy....."
"CALLIOPE.... wow what a woman...." said another random school student who stood fanning himself down just imagining her.
"Lilly, you're officially right. There's something going on here."
"See, I told you."
"Not really, you told me your boyfriend is having feelings for another girl.... not somebody named Calliope is causing strange things to happen."
"December Moon... did you just say Calliope? Have you seen her? Is she here? Where is she? I need to see her!" yelled Mr. Bacon, one of the teachers who almost pushed her against someone's locker trying to get information out of her.
"Wh...what? Mr. Bacon, what are you doing?" she asked loudly.
Lilly watched in shock as all the boys in the hall seemed to be acting bizarrely, all because they'd heard that one name. Calliope.
Suddenly, the school bell rang loudly and the boys returned to normal, acting like nothing had happened.
December turned to look at Lilly, "After school, we are so going to find out about this Cal....."
Lilly rushed to her friend's side, dropped her books to the floor and put her hand over her mouth, "No... don't say it aloud."
December nodded and bit her lip.
"After school, okay?" and the two then split up to go to their respective classes, both still reeling from the weird occurrence.
#
"I'm not going in there. I think we should peer through the window instead."
"Okay, but the windows are really high at Ben's clinic. We'll need to find something to stand on."
"December, you're a witch. Can't you do a spell to make us hover in the air or something?"
"The clinic is often full of innocent bystanders, Lilly, they might see."
"Point taken. We'll just find something to stand on."
The girls were deciding what to do as they walked from school out of town towards Ben's veterinary clinic. As they approached it, they put their bags and books down behind the nearest tree and searched around for something to stand on.
"Here, this should do it," said Lilly who found an old crate. As they carried it sneakily around towards the window of the room where Ben carried out most of his work, both December and Lilly jumped backwards, dropping the crate and falling onto their bottoms at the sight of another person doing exactly the same thing they had planned to do.
"Crystal?" Lilly whispered as the young woman blushed at being caught, "What on earth are you doing?"
Climbing down from the small stepladder she'd been using to peer into the window, Ben's girlfriend looked at the two girls suspiciously, "I might ask you the same thing," she said looking at the crate as they dusted themselves down.
It was then they noticed she'd been crying.
"Oh Crystal, what's happened?"
Breaking down
with tears pouring down her cheeks, she could barely speak.
"It's...it's... Ben. He broke up with me."
"No way. But Ben adores you."
Crystal shook her head, "Not any-more."
"But why?" asked December.
"Because of her... that, that woman..."
"Wait, let me guess... Calliope right?"
Crystal gasped, "How did you know?"
The two girls shook their heads in astonishment.
"I need to see what she looks like," said Lilly, climbing up the stepladder Crystal had placed against the wall.
But suddenly, there was a commotion around the other side of the building.
December grabbed both girls and pulled them away from the clinic, leading them behind the tree where they'd hidden their school books and bags.
The three of them peered around and watched as a number of local men and high school students all arrived by the side of the building and pushed and shoved until they were inside.
"What the hell is going on?" asked December. "Is that... Oliver?"
"Where?" whispered Lilly as she watched her own boyfriend, straightening his jacket and brushing his hair backwards before opening the door and walking inside.
"That... ba...."
"Okay, there's no need for language like that, Lilly. There's clearly something weird going on here and we're going to find out what it is. Crystal, what does this woman look like?"
"I took a picture through the window," she said, pulling out her cell phone and clicking through the images until she stopped on the one she was looking for.
"That's her, that's Calliope," she said pulling a face as if it pained her to speak her name out loud.
Lilly and December both gasped at the same time, "It's her. It's the woman from the funeral."
#
"What on earth is going on?" asked Crystal as the three of them sat down in Starbucks each with a Cinnamon Soy Latte. "Who the hell is she? And why have all the men in this town gone weird?"
"We don't know, Crystal, but we first noticed she had a funny effect on them at Jemima's funeral."
"I couldn't make it so I didn't see. Did you see Ben there? Was he drooling all over her there?"