The unicorn sailed over the Otherworld. It was kind of weird. There were…bubbles of heaven. There were deserts next to snowy wonderlands and green summery places next to autumn groves. It was just weird. But neat. I guess when I get tired of snow I can go back to summer and then to fall and then back to winter.

"You never did tell me your name." I told him.

He snorted and his ears twitched. "Cander."

Cander began flying down toward a wide plain that had a line of trees surrounding a small creek. As we got closer I saw small teepees and a campfire like it was a home to some Native Americans.

Cander landed and the people of this little village stared at us and began whispering.

Yeah I guess unicorns are pretty strange even in the Otherworld.

I looked around. Most of the people in this village were girls. There were a few men and some teenager boys who looked weirdly familiar.

"I am looking for Darika." Cander said.

One of the girls pointed down the little walkway down toward the creek. Cander nodded and trotted toward the direction she had pointed.

"Who are these people?" I asked. It was a bit odd that they weren't completely weirded out by the unicorn or I guess even me since I have wings now.

What am I going to wear now? I can't exactly go topless like Kalona cuz I have boobies.

"Spirits of mortals. They linger here in the Otherworld because they have a duty they wish to accomplish before moving on." Cander said.

"No, I mean who are they? Those boys look familiar." I said. I looked up to see a girl and boy washing clothes in the creek. The girl stood up and faced me.

"These are your people, your mother's family and your dead brothers."

My mother smiled. I slid off the unicorn and ran over to her. She hugged me tightly. I hadn't seen her since that dream that had shattered days ago.

"I'm so sorry I haven't been able to talk to you." She said. "We've been rather busy here."

I glanced at the boy. I couldn't put my finger on it, but he looked familiar. Something about his eyes.

"Hello Raven."

I blinked. "Wait, no. You're the Raven Mocker who tried to take me back while we were hiding out in the tunnels."

The boy smiled sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that and next time you see Zoey Redbird, tell her I'm sorry and I didn't mean to hurt her."

"But-but how are you human?" I asked.

He pointed at my mother. "Your mother helped, a lot actually."

I looked at my mother. She just shrugged. "I merely offered them a choice to stay with us and be reborn someday as humans or stay with Darkness."

"Your mother showed us kindness. And not just when we died, but when she was alive and we lived for the first time, she was kind to us." He looked at her with a look of adoration. It wasn't creepy, but he looked at her like she was a mother to him.

I looked at Cander. "Your brothers who are still living have the same ability to choose." He said.

"But they do not know kindness or love." The Raven Mocker said. "Only Father." He looked sad.

"But there's hope, right?" I asked. I couldn't help but think about Rephaim. He probably had the best chance of choosing a different life. He was a bit more human than the rest and comprehended a lot better than they did. And if these guys could choose good, then maybe I didn't have to worry about becoming unforgivingly evil just because of my heritage.

"There is always hope." Chander said. "You're proof of that."

I looked at my mother. I didn't know if she had the answer, but it didn't hurt to try. "Why-" I took a deep breath and tried again. "Why was I born differently?"

"I'm not sure. It could simply be that you're female or it could be something else entirely." Mom said. "I suppose only the gods know exactly why you are so different in appearance from the others. I don't know why it bothers you so much." She said frowning.

"I guess what really bothers me is that I'm so different from my bothers. I have powers!"

"That's not strange." The Raven Mocker said. "We have powers too. Yours just presents itself differently."

Even among half-breeds I'm different. Is there nothing I'm normal at? Gee whiz.

"Raven. We must go. I believe Zoey and Stark are well enough for the journey home." Cander said.

"Hold on, one more question." I said. Cander snorted. I turned to my mother. "Do you know anyone called Damascus?"

The Raven Mocker flinched. My mother shook her head.

"Father knows. He mentioned the name, once. He may know something about this Damascus." The Raven Mocker said.

Great. What are the chances he's going to want to talk to me after my little chew out? Not good.

Chander whinnied. "We must go Raven."

"Wait!"

Chander snorted.

"This is important." My mom said. "Raven, when you return to your body you will still be in the form of a beast. When you visit your adoptive parents' graves you will take Upwalker form again."

My stomach clenched. "I'm not sure I can do that."

She looked at me lovingly. "You are stuck as a beast because you could not handle your grief and your friends needed your mind clear. But you need to confront the source of the grief for you to gain your true form."

I glanced at my wings. "When I change back I'm not going to be human, am I?"

My mom shook her head. "No. You weren't human to begin with and you can no longer hide what you are."

I really wanted to stomp my feet and throw the biggest tantrum ever. I just want to be semi-normal. Why in the world was I reborn a human and after finally becoming comfortable about myself, have it all explode in my face by the whole I'm-a-reincarnated-daughter-of-a-fallen-immortal bombshell that was now screwing with my life. I mean, no one asked me 'Hey, you want your half-immortal gene/powers reactivated? I'll throw in the getting thrown into a world crisis for free.' Honest to God.

Cander stomped his hoof. "We must go now. You've been here too long. You need to go home."

I looked at my mom and wordlessly threw myself into her arms. She hugged me tightly and kissed my cheek.

"Just because I don't visit you in your dreams doesn't mean I'm not with you." She held me tighter. "I will always be with you."

I licked the tears off my lips. "Bye Mom."

She rubbed my back and kissed me on my temple. I turned away quickly because I knew if I looked at her again I was going to just fall onto the ground and never leave.

I climbed up onto Cander's back and he took off without a word. My mom waved and so did the Raven Mocker. I waved fiercely till I thought my hand would fly off my wrist.

"She really does love you." Cander said.

"She's my mom." I said. I wiped the tears off my eyes. "I mean, I love my adoptive mom from this life and everything…but," I didn't really know what was different. But something was very different between the bond of my adoptive mom and my first life mom.

He shook his head. "Your mother is quite something. It's rare to find a human who would show kindness to a monster like your brothers."

"They're not monsters." I protested.

"Let me rephrase: most humans don't show kindness to those the masses call monsters." He said.

"I feel a lot of pity for them." I whispered. "Yeah, they have their dad, but Kalona is a real ass sometimes. Actually, he's an ass most of the time. And everyone else is scared of them. It must have been hard for them growing up. No wonder they do whatever Kalona says. He's the only one who probably didn't treat them like they were monsters."

"But now you see there is hope for them. A little kindness goes a long way." Cander said.

"Then I'm going to smother them with kindness." I said.

The grove appeared below us and Cander circled down. Zoey waved and I couldn't help but smile. Her tattoos were back and she looked strong again.

Cander trotted over to them.

"A unicorn." Stark said.

"I guess you did miss him kicking Kalona's ass." I said. I patted his neck.

"I heard a bit of you chewing Kalona out." Stark said. "And Zoey told me a bit of it."

"Speaking of parents. I saw my mom."

"You're first life mom?" Zoey asked.

I nodded. "And you won't believe what she's doing."

Cander snorted. "You two get on my back. She'll talk while I get you to your entrance back."

Zoey blinked. "I thought only virgins could ride a unicorn."

"We favor those of pure and strong heart." Cander said. "And you shouldn't decline a unicorn's offer to let you ride."

Zoey and Stark didn't say another word and climbed up onto Cander's back. He took off at a decent trot.

"So, what is your mom doing?" Zoey asked.

"There's a little village in the Otherworld where, I'm assuming, the girls who died giving birth to the Raven Mockers stay with, get this, Raven Mockers."

They both looked at me.

"My mom gave them a choice: they could stay with her and be good, or stay with Darkness. They've changed too. They're human or at least human looking."

"How is that possible?" Stark said. "They're monsters."

"No." I said in a rather sharp voice. "They're not. Calling them monsters means I'm a monster too. They have humanity in them, but no one will look past their appearance. The Raven Mocker who hurt you, Zoey, he told me he's sorry he hurt you."

"Ray," Zoey said. "You can't-you can't look for goodness when there is none. Look what happened when I tried to do that with Kalona."

"There is good in them." I said stubbornly. "Saying there is no goodness in them means there's no goodness in me either. All of us were born to the same father in the same conditions." My voice had gone cold, but I didn't care. They all needed to get it through their heads that me and those Raven Mockers were the same despite the fact I look normal and they don't.

Well, I guess now I'm not that normal with the whole wing thing.

Zoey looked at me sadly like she thought I was just deluding myself. I gave her a stony look and turned to face forward.

I was a little upset that she wasn't excited or at least hopeful that we could help the Raven Mockers turn away from Kalona and find some sort of peace. I mean she is a Priestess and all, shouldn't she hop up on the chance to turn someone from evil to good?

I then reasoned that this whole Kalona thing probably shook her up pretty badly. I just hope because I look more like him now that she didn't start mistrusting me or giving me attitude because she's thinking about Kalona rather than about Raven.

Cander stopped. "We're here."

I looked up and saw the hanging tree.

"Oh whoa!" Zoey said.

"The hanging tree." Stark said almost reverently.

"Doesn't seem a very romantic name for something so cool." She said as she slid down from Cander's back. Stark slid down after her.

Cander bent down on his knees and I stepped off. Stark and Zoey walked over to the hanging tree. I felt like the awkward third wheel.

Cander stood up.

"Will I see you again?" I asked.

"I do not feel comfortable making promises I'm not a hundred percent sure I can keep." Cander said. "I do have a feeling that we will see each other again, but things are always in a constant state of change. It may not be so in a just a few days."

Oye, he couldn't just give me a straight answer?

"You have much to do in the mortal realm as well as the immortal one." Chander said.

My stomach tightened. "I'm just a little girl."

"You would be surprised how much you can change as a silly little girl." He said. "Look what your mother was able to do and she was just a little girl."

"Point taken." I muttered.

Cander hit my elbow with his nose. "Don't lose faith in yourself, that's when evil will truly win."

I threw my arms around his big neck and kissed his soft nose.

"Have hope little one. Things will work out in the end if you truly want them to." He said.

Yeah, I really wanted Cander to come with. He's a frickin' unicorn! Whatever nastiness is waiting for me in the living world would be hard pressed to get around a unicorn. They're magic!

He reared and flared his big wings before taking off and vanishing in a flash of white light.

"Come on Ray." Zoey called.

I jogged over to the hanging tree.

"I never did get a chance to ask, but how did you get here?" Zoey asked.

I thought she did, but I guess in her zombified state she might have not remembered.

"I astral projected." I clasped Artemis's moon stone. "This stone helped guide me and protect me."

"What's astral projecting?" Zoey asked.

I chewed my lip. "I sorta of make my spirit leave my body while my body is still living. That's really what it is, I don't know how I can do it, I just can."

She had a look in her eye and I had a feeling she was comparing my astral projection to Kalona's dream walking ability.

This is really going to suck until she gets it through her thick head that I'm not my father.

"So, you should get back on your own?" She asked.

I nodded. I didn't what to say anything because I was afraid my tone might offend her.

"Okay." She had a gold thread fisted up in her hand. "Then I guess I'll see you two in a bit." She turned from us and threw her arms wide open. "Spirit, come to me. Now, please take me home."

I watched the air in front of her ripple and she jumped right into it.

"Should I stay put until you get home, or should I go ahead?" I asked.

"Go on Ray. I hate to leave you here alone knowing how easily you get into trouble."

I bristled.

"I do not!" But I felt my back prickle with the sense something nasty was watching me. I suddenly really wanted to do what he said and go ahead and leave. "Fine." I tried to show how scare I suddenly was. I didn't know why I was so creeped out and I didn't have anything, but a name, no face or biography. Not much to go on. Once I get more info, I'll let them know.

I clasped the stone in my hand. I felt a rush of warmth and watched it glow. The uneasy feeling left and I was filled with warm, safe fuzzy feeling you get when you're safe at home with parents complete with a fire and hot chocolate.

"I want to go home. My work is done here." I watched soft shadows and rainbow colored lights curled around me gently.

I spread my wings and I felt them curl under them. I gave one huge sweep and flew up into the air and up into the sky.

And somehow I found myself spiraling downward and settling back in my body.

I opened my eyes and a piercing headache stabbed me behind the eyes. I closed them and found that I was being overwhelmed by my senses.

I guess that brief blimp in the Otherworld messed me up. I didn't realize how sucky half-breed senses where until I was back in my animal form.

Wait, how come this didn't affect me before? Maybe I was just too pissed to pay attention. Talk about blinding rage.

I opened my eyes slowly after the overwhelming smells and sounds finally got under control.

"You're back!"

I was knocked over on my side as four kittens pounced on me. I still felt dizzy.

Their mother hissed. "Kits! Have more respect! She's obviously worn out. She doesn't need you four pouncing on her!"

"Sorry." The kittens mumbled.

"You're okay." I whispered as I stood up. I stretched, arching my back and curling up my toes.

"Raven?"

I looked over at Zoey. She stood there with a big shocked look on her face.

"Um, yeah, I can shape shift and now I'm stuck." I said. It sounded really sad and pathetic when I said it out loud. My first use of this power and I end up stuck even though it was for a good reason.

She walked over to me, she still looked like she didn't believe that I was in this form, and slowly touched my hair.

Then she got a ridiculous smile on her face and I had a bad feeling I knew what she was going to say.

"You're really soft!"

I took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. "I've been told."

Zoey glanced at Stark, who was not being hacked up by Seoras, and back to me. "Can you, um, heal him?"

"Um, I don't think I can use my powers." I said. "I mean, when Stevie Rae got hurt I couldn't help her. Besides, Seoras did a good job. Stark won't need any stupid half-breed's help to heal properly."

Zoey didn't look convinced and she walked back over to her guardian.

Stark was carried out the hall and I ended up outside while he was being cleaned and patched up. I looked up at the clear sky. The sun had set and the full moon was out bathing everything in a silver radiance.

I breathed it in and felt the strength of the moon goddess who was so interested in me fill me up.

Yeah, we got Zoey back, but I had a feeling that it was going to be hard for me for a while with the whole Kalona thing. And not to mention I had something creepy after me.

I sighed. I feel like a took one step forward and two steps back.

The golden eagle swiped down and landed on the tree branch beside me. The stag, wolf, and cat stood beside me.

"Peace dear one. You have much to do, but don't worry about it now. Relax, have peace. Bath in the Guardian's light." The wolf pointed his snout to the moon. "Things will be all right."

I looked up the moon, which had always been a source of hope for the ancients. Well I guess if I had her on my side then I would be okay.

At least, I really hoped things would be okay.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Sorry it took so long. Enjoy!