Desert Lily

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Kaisen

Just as me and my dad were trying to understand who sent me the letter impersonating him, the alarm from my house went off along with the noises of an angry mob. I was out the door before my dad could say anything but I knew he'd be right behind me. Quickly checking my telecommunicator, I saw that the alarm had gone off from the workshop. What was happening? I thought to myself as I quickly came upon my house where a large group of the townspeople stood in my yard.

"There he is! Where's the human?!" One of the men yelled as I quickly pushed past him while rounding the side of my house before stopping in my tracks at the sight of the backyard. Blood covered most of the backyard with people dressed in dark cloaks torn apart here and there. Amidst those bodies was Lily's telecommunicator and a pool of blood that seemed to trail through the woods. Where was Lilium?!

"Son, it seems that our tribe has been attacked and the townspeople think it was Lily." My dad explained while placing a hand on my shoulder as I quickly turned towards the angry mob who were now looking quietly at the scene around us.

"You think Lily did this?!" I shouted as the crowd cowarded back as one brave soul stepped forward.

"Who else would've started killing off the trees?! Our tribe's leader is dead and it's all her fault!!" He shouted as I ran up on him while jacking him up.

"How can Lily have killed our leader and sabotaged the forest when I just left her? Tell me, brave soul, what exactly do you see around you? What exactly did my mate do that you and your little group want to come storming into my yard and throwing accusations? Did anybody see Lilium stabbing anybody or sabotaging our forest? If not, WHY are you here?!" I seethed as the whole group took a step back while the guy in my hands pursed his lips together.

"How do YOU know that she didn't do it?!" He asked as I was about to hurt him when my dad stopped me before pulling us apart. "That's what I thought!" He shouted as my dad hit him in the face.

"You're only alive because he needs to find his mate. Had Lily still been on this property, you and your group might have been dead." My dad warned as murmurs filled the silence between us before my dad pushed me off towards the forest. "Go find her. I'm sure Haimo got her compared to all of the damage dealt here." He reasoned as I nodded before hopping the fence and running off towards the Tiocraven tribe.

[~~~]

By the time I arrived in the tribe, Tiocravens were quickly hurrying and shuffling around unlike how they'd normally be chilling and selling stuff from their stands. Quickly stopping a passing deer hybrid, I was surprised to see it was Nisa's mom as she looked at me with the same surprise. "What's going on, Risa?" I asked as she quickly shook her head.

"Oh Goddess! I'm so glad you're here! Haimo brought back a bloodied human and said that she's the one who saved Nisa! Is she your mate?" She asked as I nodded while she smiled up at me. "Good, good. They're currently taking care of her at the healer’s but we've also been attacked by people in dark cloaks and the forest is dying. They think those people had something to do with it." She explained as I quickly nodded, worried about Lily's current state. "I'll take you to the healer’s but I need you to stay calm." She warned while looking up at me as I raised an eyebrow at her.

"I am calm. Why? What happened?" I asked as she pulled me off from the main stretch as we followed a path behind the houses. "Risa, what happened to my mate?" I asked, more urgent now as we turned a corner.

"Have you not noticed the blood or the roots around you?" She asked as I looked around at how many roots covered the path we were following. "We have no clue what happened but every spot that her blood touched, roots grew from it. They aren't necessarily harmful to us but they seem to be helping keep the forest alive. The healer even said something about how it's harder for them to heal her." She added as I looked at the back of her head like she was crazy.

"What do you mean?" I asked as she shook her head before stopping in front of a door that was covered in roots. Was this Lily's blood?

"I'm not sure, you'll have to ask the healer. They said they wouldn't disclose that information to anybody except her and her family. Haimo knows now since he was the one to bring her here but that's it." Risa explained while struggling to push open the door as I helped her before we came tumbling into the small clinic. The entire small lobby was covered in roots leading up to the next door. "Once you go through that door, you should be able to find Haimo." Risa stated while pulling the door closed as she left. Slowly walking towards the door in front of me, I pushed aside the roots with ease before pushing it open as I stepped into the hall or what remained of it. Large roots swirled all around me, dipping in and out of the ceiling and the floors as I slowly walked down the hall while looking around.

“Haimo?” I called out as the roots seemed to give way around the door closer towards the end of the hall. As I approached it with quicker steps, the door flung open before Haimo poked his head out. When his eyes landed on me, he quickly walked out of the room before closing the door behind him while staring at me. The once relaxed look that he always wore was replaced with one that I couldn’t quite interpret. It’s like he was trying to hide how he felt. “Haimo, what’s going on? Where is Lily?” I asked while standing in front of him as he brushed some roots from his mane before sighing.

“We’ll go inside in a second. Let’s talk real quick.” He stated while leaning back on the door as I looked at him like he had lost his mind. “I know how much you want to go in there and make sure she’s okay but I need to make sure you’re okay as well. Today’s attack could have gone much worse had it not been for Lily protecting the children who quickly ran and got help.” He informed me as I couldn’t quite process his words as my mind was more focused on Lily’s wellbeing.

“Look, as much as I’m happy that the kids are safe, I want to make sure Lily is safe and okay. I’ve waited too long for my mate just to have her taken from me by some greedy bastards!” I shouted as Haimo nodded in understanding before cupping my shoulder.

“I won’t keep you waiting.” He quickly moved away from the door before pulling it open as darkness greeted me through the open doorway. Looking back at Haimo, he seemed to have picked up on my confusion before he peeked around the door. “This is Lilium’s doing. This is what I was trying to explain to you. Your mate’s powers are getting a little out of hand. I’m sure you saw what it looked like on the way here and the entire hallway that we’re standing in now. The healer believes that this is Lilium’s way of protecting herself and the surroundings around her.” He explained while gently moving some of the roots while ushering me to step through as I did before my eyes landed on the bed where my beautiful mate laid. The old healer stood over Lily as her hands hovered over her unmoving body.

“Kaisen, welcome dear. Please take a seat anywhere.” She smiled warmly as her gray fur seemed more ruffled than Haimo’s. “Now that you’re here, I’ll tell you about what’s currently going on.” She sighed as her dark blue eyes shifted from me to Lily. “Your mate has a very deep stab wound from being stabbed. I’m not sure how this happened but she has some type of blessing on her that seems to be protecting her from harm's way while also keeping her in this state of unconsciousness. We’ve also made a few discoveries while trying to heal her. The first thing we found out was that as long as you don’t bring any harm to her or the roots, they’re easier to move and manipulate. The roots also seem to be slowing down the decay of the forest that the intruders inflicted. We’re also unsure how but it’s saving us all a great deal while we make backup plans to save the forest. And lastly, Lilium has stopped bleeding but roots now fill her wound. The more I leave her, the more roots fill up this small clinic. If I heal her, they slow down but there hasn’t been any sign of her waking up and her breathing is more shallow by the minute. So, Haimo and I are taking turns healing her to slow down whatever is going on but there’s only so much we can do. We don’t have an unlimited source of magic as much as we wished we did.” She explained as Haimo helped her sit down in a chair that he had pulled from the roots that now completely occupied the room.

“Does that mean Lily’s going to die?” I asked as she only shook her head while looking down before she looked back up at me.

“We don’t know. We’ll have to play it by ear.” She sighed as Haimo took her spot next to Lily as he started healing her. Slowly looking around, I pulled a chair from beneath the roots near the door before setting it down on the other side of the bed. Taking my seat, I gently held Lily’s hand before feeling how cold she was. Dear goddess and mother of all, please let my love make it through this.