Chapter 24: Practice (2)

Lily stared at herself in the mirror and splashed some cold water on her face. This was a lot to take in. Here she just recently discovered she was not fully human and now her "aura" could kill people!? "What is going on?" Lily whispered to herself. Rubbing her temples with her thumbs, she decided to give this breathing exercise a try. After all, she didn't want to look like a fool in front of the guys. What if she made a weird face or something?Taking a deep breathe she steadied her breathing and dove deep into her own eyes in the mirror. Pins and needles welled up all over her skin and she felt heavy. Looking at her arms developing goosebumps she glanced back into the mirror and she saw it. The aura was twisting and dark colored. It felt sinister and hellish. Terrified, she watched as the smoke like aura wrap around her neck and start to squeeze. Slowly she slid to the floor as she felt the weight of her own being crashing down on her. She opened her mouth to speak and the words couldn't escape her throat. Lily felt tears escape her eyes. She couldn't cry out for Arlo or Finn. The darkness enveloped her conscious and it started to fade.

Lily slowly started to stir and felt warmth all around her. Lily slowly opened her eyes as she heard 2 voices crying out to her. "Lily! Let go! Let go of your energy!!" Lily heard Arlo's words and a smaller tone in the background. That must be Finn. Lily drew a slow long breathe and imagined putting a lock back onto a locker and just like that she could breathe again. It wasn't completely gone as she still felt the pressure on her throat. She moved her hands around and felt the grass with one hand and felt someones hand grab her free hand. The sun burned her eyes and she opened her mouth to speak but she couldn't. Her throat was burning. Lily's eyes creaked open to see Arlo and Finn standing over her. She heard them calling to her in tandem. "Lily! Are you okay? Speak to us!?" Lily tried to speak but it was too painful. Arlo was squeezing her tightly and slowly sat her up. She started coughing profusely and even saw some blood in her hand as she covered her mouth. Tears began to fall and dropped onto Arlo's hands. Arlo bought her gaze up to his and paused. His chest was extremely tight and heavy. He couldn't stand to see her cry. He knew what had to be done. "Finn to the store and get me these things."Arlo quickly scribbled them down on paper. "And hurry!" Finn nodded so seriously and in a blink of an eye he was gone. Arlo jumped high and Lily squeezed her eyes shut and felt intense wind all around them. She looked up to see a large pair of bluish grey wings protruding from Arlo's back. Lily was stunned but was in so much pain she didn't dare utter a word. "We don't have time to walk. I need to get you home and prepare a tonic before you....." Arlo stared down at Lily's troubled eyes and changed his worried look into a warm smile. Even in pain, Lily felt comforted and knew she would be okay in his arms. "Close your eyes." Arlo commanded. Lily obeyed and felt a heavy wind and then a drop in her stomach. When she opened them they were already back at their house. Arlo quickly ran in. "Gerald!" Arlo yelled. Gerry flew down the stairs. "My lord what is....." Gerry looked at Lily and saw the black mark around her neck and already knew. "Bring her into the living room, quickly Gerry urged. Arlo wasted no time and gently laid Lily on the couch. At that moment Finn had ran into the house with a bag of items and set them across the table. Lily was looking up at the three men who looked down at her with worry, pity, and fear. Lily opened her mouth.."No Lily. Do not try to speak. Don't be scared. We will solve this. Just be very still and listen." Lily nodded.