Chapter 6: Helemoira

I gathered my basket and filled it with a few small pies and a jar of sweetwater I had prepared two moons ago. Adhmad Dé was calling to me. After last night, I needed to check on things and make sure all was well.

It was as if the smell of earthly rot still clung to my hair and skin. It was sickening. I plaited my hair and wrapped it around my head, placing a few flowers from my garden within the intricate design. I hoped that the flowers might hide any smell of decay if it were noticeable to others.

Amelina approached me carefully. "Are you heading into Adhmad Dé?"

I sighed and nodded. "I noticed something yesterday that I need to confirm. I'll be back soon, I promise."

Her face scrunched up with worry. "Is everything okay?"

Amelina could be trusted, but I did not want to cause her unnecessary worry. "I think everything will be okay, but you must swear not to breathe a word. There was a death in Adhmad Dé yesterday and I need to make sure that everything is okay."

She gasped in horror and her dainty little hand went to cover her full lips. "This can't be."

"I know," I sighed. "This is why you must not breathe a word of it. If Queen Zylhana got wind, she would most certainly use it against me."

She nodded, her expression still one of dismay. "I trust you in all things, Helemoira. I will not utter a word."

I hugged her to me and rubbed a warm hand down her back. "Thank you, Amelina. You are a true friend." She wrapped her arms around me and nestled her face into my neck.

"Please be safe, Helemoira."

I nodded and grabbed a cloak from my wardrobe. After placing a familial kiss to her forehead, I descended the steps and left out of a side door of the temple so as to not be seen by any of the other priestesses.

I wandered the paths aimlessly for a while, no goal or direction in mind. I simply wanted to check on things. I examined every flower, every leaf. I counted several groups of grazing Green-Nosed Springboks, a series of colorful birds that sat on delicate branches and preened their feathers, even a rather large Flame Boa.

Everything seemed to be in order and I breathed a sigh of relief.

But then the smell hit me once more and I felt dread creep up my stiffened spine. For a moment, I tried to convince myself it was just in my imagination. Or maybe it was the smell from the night before still clinging to my hair.

As I walked though, the smell grew stronger. I pulled my cloak to cover my nose and searched the forest floor, desperate to find the source of the rancid stench.

As I stepped closer I heard the screeching of a troupe of Mammoth Gibbons, all clambering about and shaking their sturdy branches. When I made my presence known, they backed up and gave me space. The smell was stronger than the fox from the day before and I feared the worst.

I parted the branches of a Silky Bush and had to fight the scream that clanged its way up my throat and seized my jaw.

A mother Mammoth Gibbon lay dead, her silent baby still clinging to her breast. The tears came suddenly and violently, causing me to trip as I scrambled back from the bush. It couldn't be, it simply couldn't.

"Geien, no," I wailed and collapsed to the forest floor. The smell was nothing compared to the sight of such a tragedy and I scrambled towards the bush once more, my hands raised before me.

Maybe I could do something, my magic was that of Reclamation, perhaps I could reclaim them for the living, undo their death even if it were blasphemous of me to attempt such a thing.

I chanted the arcane words I thought might do the trick, but alas, breath did not fill their lungs. I crawled closer, touching a gentle hand to the baby Mammoth Gibbon, nearly choking on my sobs when it stirred. The little thing was still alive.

I scooped it gently against my breast, cradling it and rocking as tears streamed down my face. I would gladly take this blessing. The baby clung to my cloak, rooting through the fabric with its nose in search of milk. I did my best to soothe the poor thing, but it was clearly starving.

I stood with it, calling gently to the troupe of Mammoth Gibbons that watched quietly now from nearby branches. Spotting a mother with a baby latched to her full breast, I approached her, gently holding the baby in my arms aloft for her to see.

"Will you be mother to one more," I asked softly through my tears.

She looked at me curiously, trying to figure out my intentions with the baby I held. I took another step towards her and held the baby higher. "They still hold breath, would you be mother to them?"

She held her baby to her and slowly descended from her perch. As she approached me, I had to crane my neck to look upon her face. Mammoth Gibbons easily stood well over seven feet and I was quite a few inches shy of six feet.

She extended her arm that did not cling to her own baby and stared into my eyes before they flicked to the baby.

"Thank you." I placed the baby in her warm calloused hand and stood back as she began inspecting it, nipping at its fur in examination. She seemed to find everything in working order and curled the thing to her breast where it immediately latched.

She nodded at me and huffed out a warm breath that fanned my face and then darted back to her tree, climbing it carefully as two babies now clung to her breast.

With a heavy heart, I set about taking care of the dead Mammoth Gibbon that lay curled in the bush. I weaved my hands through the air and summoned all the magic I could from Adhmad Dé, pulling the roots up from the soil and wrapping them around the creature. It was a simple thing to have the roots pull it down into the dirt, laying it to rest where she lay.

I stayed there a while, watching the new mother preen and kiss her new baby. I smiled as tears slid silently down my face, grieving the loss of the troupe. They lived here in safety, in comfort their entire lives. And now something was killing them, killing my creatures.

Pulling myself up, I stepped away, leaving the Mammoth Gibbons in peace. There was more of Adhmad Dé that I still needed to inspect.

I made my way through the forest, my eyes scanning every inch that I passed with hyper-focus. I left no rock unturned, no leaf unchecked. It was up to me to find the source of this rot, this sickness. I would not rest until I had.

I was so focused on my task, I nearly missed the sounds of footsteps trailing behind me. They were not the steps of an animal, for I was well familiar with those. No, these were the steps of a fae.

"Who's there!" I yelled but there was no answer and the steps immediately halted.

My eyes darted about, my breath still in my chest. I listened but could hear nothing, even with my heightened senses.

Weaving my hands in an intricate pattern, I pulled the magic from around me and sent out a pulse, but the magic fizzled out just a few feet from me. I sucked in a shaky breath and looked down at my hands, my brows knotting together in confusion.

The steps started up again then, coming closer and closer.

"Show yourself!" I shouted and pulled a small knife from my belt. No one should be in Adhmad Dé, only the priestesses of Geien were allowed in. There was even a protective barrier around the entirety of the woods. So if someone was here with me, then we were in more trouble than I thought.

The steps grew closer, but still the mysterious visitor did not show themselves. I spun in circles but could not pin-point the source of the sound.

"Put down the blade, wife," a male voice called out from behind a tree. "It's just me."

I dropped the knife as he stepped into view. "You..."