Book 1: The Chaos Keys

Chapter Seventeen: Melody🎵

The many feelings of the people in the room were kept at bay by her gentle hum. The library, though quiet for most, was never quite silent for Melody. But, it was one of the places she still found peace. Here, where everyone was lost in a book, emotions were calm, and auras were tame. She hardly even noticed the gentle colours, working on the homework she struggled to do at home.

The auras in her house had recently been nothing close to tame. Her father had been tense, her sister more on edge than ever. They had seperate reasons for their emotions, yet, Melody was certain that the reasons weren't quite as seperate as they believed.

Her idle thoughts were disrupted, as a sharp feeling pricked her skin. Her eyes widened just a tad, as the ocean blue aura crashed over her. Quite unlike it's typical, soothing waves, the ocean was rough and violent. It was a dissonance of terror, confusion, and the strongest thing of them all. An intense, burning pain.

She looked around in surprise. She recognised the aura, but not in the state it was in presently. She hardly recognised the person for exactly the same reason. Her elegant flare had diminished to a reserved, fearful walk. Her eyes darted back and forth, and her hand was tucked into the pocket of her white jacket. It was not difficult to tell that was where her injury lay.

Melody could not help but wonder why she was in the library, in such a state of intense pain. She also wanted to know how Lilith had gotten into such a position, where she could be so badly harmed. She had been fine on Friday when school was dismissed.

She debated allowing Lilith her privacy. But, when the girl sat only a few chairs away, she could not help herself.

"Lilith?" She asked gently.

Lilith jumped, her fear spiking rapidly. She was shaking, and there was a deep, frantic pain in her eyes. It struck Melody right in her heart. In that moment, the composed, elegant person had crumbled into what looked like a frightened anima!.

She gave Melody a somewhat feeble wave, noticeably with her left hand. She also attempted to muster a smile, but it was truly more of a wavering grimace.

Melody wasn't even sure what to say, looking at Lilith knowingly, in hopes that Lilith would volunteer an explanation. All she garnered, was Lilith lowering her gaze and exhaling softly.

"You're in pain." She finally said, continuing to hum so Lilith's rapidly intensifying pain didn't overtake her.

Lilith chewed on her lip, refusing to speak. It reminded Melody exactly of the way Melody herself interacted with others when her home life was. Well. Rockier than it was now.

That scared her.

She slowly stood, and offered her hand to Lilith. She spoke quietly, well aware of the soothing, almost hypnotic way her words flowed.

"I can help you. I don't need any answers, but I can at least help with your wrist."

Lilith looked up at her, breath shaky. She stood there, and Lilith stared in silence. Until finally, she took Melody's hand with her uninjured one.

Melody felt a violent jolt of pain sear through her hand, pulling Lilith's pain and circulating it through her body. And holy crap, if this was just a fraction, she did not want to know what Lilith was experiencing. Her adrenaline shot up as Lilith's panic flowed through her as well. She took a deep breath, relieved as she saw Lilith's wild aura slowly calm.

Lilith seemed too rattled to ask questions, allowing Melody to guide her from the library and out onto the cold streets. They exchanged no words, making their way through the city until they reached the large, upper class neighborhood. She walked through the gates, onto the grounds of a large white house with expansive gardens, and a stone walkway scrubbed clean of every bit of debris.