The Lost Soul by Suzy Turner

until the throbbing became more of a dull ache and the sound of her voice filled his mind.
    "Can you hear me, Jack?" she said.
    "Yes, December. How are you both?"
    He heard her giggle, "We're great. Lilly is sitting beside me. She so wishes she could talk to you."
    "Tell her we will have a lifetime of talking to do when I get home," he smiled.
    He waited a moment for her to relay his message.
    "We think it's important to tell you what we have discovered," she said before continuing, "We believe you were taken by the Nephilim..."
    Jack interrupted her immediately, "That's right. They kept me captive in their caves. Somehow I got away. I don't know how... it's a memory I seem to have lost. All I know is that I was found by the Faeries. They say I was on death's door but they saved me and nursed me back to health..."
    "The Faeries?" asked December.
    "Yes, I know it sounds bizarre but it's true I can assure you. I have one of them with me now. She is helping me find my way home, while we also search for her sister who is missing."
    December was quiet for a few moments, presumably as she spoke to Lilly.
    Her voice was different when she spoke again, "Did you say your faery friend's sister is missing?"
    "Yes, that's right."
    Again, a pause.
    "Jack, I'm with a group of people at your father's house. It's all very complicated to tell you about them now as our time is limited but I can tell you there is a faery currently living here. Her name is Tiffani, oh, hang on a sec.... no, her real name is Tiffanimelicomelea. She got lost from her home a while ago and the Elders found her."
    Jack laughed aloud, "I don't believe it," he whispered.
    "Zalea... it's your sister. She's with my family. She's safe."
    Zalea broke down in tears, real tears of joy.
    "Jack, I can't talk for much longer. The pain is getting worse, I need to rest. We and the Elders are trying to find out where you are. We're trying to find a way of getting you home and Tiffani back to her home. I'll try and speak to you again when we have news," she said, her voice cracking under the pain.
    "I understand. We'll continue our journey... we're trying to find the Nephilim. Perhaps we can find our way out from there. Don't worry, I will speak to you if we discover anything."
    As Jack said goodbye to December, after she had told him repeatedly to be careful, he turned to find Zalea still sobbing. He held her in his arms until eventually she was able to speak.
    "Thank you, Jack. I would never have known she was alive were it not for you."
    "It's okay... December told me Tiffani is very well. She's actually living in my father's home with Lilly."
    "It's so strange how this has all happened, isn't it? she asked dreamily, "this connection you have with December, how you found yourself here and my sister found herself there. I wish I could understand how our worlds work together."
    Jack nodded, not knowing what to say. It was a coincidence, just a bizarre coincidence but he was relieved they no longer had to search for Tiffani. Now they knew she was safe and well, their only mission now was to find their way home.
     
     

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
    Lilly found it difficult not to smile as she donned her simple black dress, opaque tights and boots. She was dressing for a funeral for a girl who wasn't actually dead. Well, technically she was dead but very much alive in the vampire sense. But the smile was for her father.
    After all this time of not knowing if he was alive or dead, she now knew. He was alive and well, albeit he was still in danger.
    After December had spoken to him, Lilly had been so overwhelmed with emotion that she needed to be alone so she could run with nature in her other form.
    Leaving Moira's house, she had run home before shedding all her clothes and heading into the forest, where, the moment she was out of sight, she relaxed her muscles and allowed the transformation to take place.
    Her fingers snapped back to become claws and her pale skin became covered in a sheath of