Raven Saga 01 - Raven

was possible. What we didn't know was who in our community possessed the ability to change and why wasn't Gabriel aware of it?
    It troubled him as he knew all of the members within the Tulugaq clan and was on friendly terms with pretty much all of the residents of Powell River. It was possible that whoever had saved me came from further afield but why not show themselves?
    Gabriel was desperate that I recall exactly what had happened. I wished I could remember but having fallen unconscious made it considerably more difficult.
    “I believe the only way to tap into your unconscious mind and find out the truth, Lilly, is to take you on a journey to meet some very unique and special people. But it will be quite a long journey and much of it needs to be taken on foot and you are certainly not able at the moment. Your leg must heal first and then we will travel to the mountains to see the elders. We will do so in the spring. Until then we must not worry about any of this. We must continue life as usual. Although we do not know who this person, or creature, is, we do know one thing. He saved you, Lilly. So clearly he wishes you no harm. You must not dwell on your father's disappearance either. The elders are aware of what has been happening within our family and they are keeping eyes and ears open for any news,” he said while the others nodded solemnly behind him.
    “He's right, dear. You haven't been here all that long and look what's happened to you already. You must completely settle in to life in Powell River. When you've recovered and the weather starts to get warmer, you and Gabriel will go and visit the elders. But until then... just concentrate on your studies and making friends. Okay?” Rose said with her eyebrows raised, waiting for my reply. I nodded reluctantly. They all meant well.
    But that didn't mean I had to agree with them. Of course I couldn't. My father was out there somewhere and he might be in danger. I didn't want to wait until the spring. But I had no choice. I could do nothing alone, especially with a broken leg. I couldn't even start my part-time job.
    There was still a possibility that my memory might be triggered during one of my dreams, but until that happened, I imagined the next few months would include an awful lot of reading and very little else.
    Later that morning after everyone, except Gabriel, had left and I'd spent hours with my head in a book, Jo arrived.
    As she walked in, her brow was furrowed so deep with worry that she made me laugh. “I'm okay, I'm okay,” I said to her with my hands held up, before she'd even opened her mouth.
    “I was so worried for you. Especially seeing as you didn't turn up for school. I've obviously heard from the others but I want to hear from you. What on earth happened, Lilly?”
    I told her all about the previous day, and she was relieved that we could finally open up to each other about our family's secret.
    “I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you anything before but I was literally sworn to secrecy by the whole family. I really wanted to. It was killing me. I have to admit, finally having a friend, a girl, to be able to talk to about all of this crazy stuff is brilliant. Sometimes it really eats you up when the only people you can talk with are parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts,” she said, barely taking a breath.
    I totally understood. Even though I'd only known the truth for a short time, I did feel the need to have a close friend to confide in.
    She told me about the time she'd had the 'family of ravens' talk with the rest of the family and, although it came as a bit of a shock, she'd always known our family was special. It was just a feeling she'd had.
    “But you've never transformed, have you?” I asked, eager to know more about the physical change.
    She shook her head, “No, not yet, but I've had all the weird dreams too so we're just waiting for it to hit me one of these days. I have no idea when it will happen though. It's a bit scary, isn't it? Not knowing how we turn. I worry that it will be painful,” she said, twirling her long hair around her fingers nervously. “But Rose told me that provided you relax completely and just let your body change of its own accord, the pain should be controllable. She said it's all mind over matter. I've been doing meditation and yoga ever since!” she laughed.
    “Seriously?” I asked, wondering if she was joking or not.
    She nodded enthusiastically and jumped up from the armchair,