LOF: Book 3-The Oncoming Darkness

Chapter 24

Lily awoke with the next day's sunrise. The sky was a rosy pink, tinged with blue at the edges where it had begun to cast off its early colors. She found that she couldn't remember the night's events very well. Lily remembered carrying Tuck through the forest, but after that, there was-nothing. It was as if someone had plucked the memories straight from her head. Had they?
Lily turned uneasily to see a tent wall beside her. The shifters must've set up camp again while I was asleep, she thought. But then where is-
A familiar figure poked his head in through the tent flap with a sudden abruptness. "Howdy, Lily!"
Lily fell backwards, her arms pinwheeling. When she righted herself again, she was breathing hard, her hair was in her face, and her heart was going a mile a minute. "Tuck," she gasped as she moved her hair away from her eyes. "Don't do that."
Tuck smiled cheekily. "Sorry, kid, but we're at our new home now. I take it you don't remember getting here?"
Lily nodded. She straightened out her brown top and laid back on the mattress beneath her. "Yeah. Why is that? I think I would remember being followed by a herd of animals to some new place."
Tuck ducked down to come inside and chose to sit down with her. "It's simple, really. Halfway through the journey, your instincts took over. The travel with your Tribe can be exhilarating enough to make you forget what happened during it. It's nothing to worry about."
Lily found that this didn't help. Something about losing her memories was highly unsettling. "Okay..where's Erin?"
"Asleep." Tuck looked out of the tent briefly, then returned, a questioning look in his eyes.
"Hey, do you think she would notice if I took a few berries from her tent?"
Lily was puzzled. "Berries? What for?"
Tuck grinned. "To eat, of course."
He began to back out of her tent, a playful look on his face. "Don't tell her I took some, alright?" he said to her.
"This'll be our secret."
Lily laughed, then saluted him. "You have my word, oh, valiant leader."
Tuck chuckled. "That's a bit much.
I'm not valiant, just hungry." With that, the head of Alae Salvatores left, ducking again to fit his lanky body past the flap. Lily went out after him, taking in the warmth of the sun against her face and shoulders.
It was gorgeous here. The soil was sandy, and a lake was close by, glittering in the sun. Several shifters were playing and splashing each other. There were a few rocky outcroppings that ringed the lake, but they were easy to avoid and weren't much of a problem. Lily looked up at the sky. She was grateful for the clear day, having been tired of the darkness and gloom. There were no storm clouds to be seen, just gentle, puffy ones that scudded past over her head. She sighed, taking it all in. Besides the lake, there was an open field with a couple of trees. More shifters were there, socializing and walking around together. A few young ones were hurling sand, and were scolded promptly. Tuck returned from his expedition, chewing and holding a couple of blueberries in his hands. The juice lined the edges of his mouth, and Lily would've laughed at him if he didn't hold such authority over her. His wheat colored hair stood up at every angle, and he smoothed it down with his juice coated fingers. "I'm back," he stated as he came to stand beside her. "How's it going?"
"Good," Lily breathed. "Really good. It's beautiful here."
Tuck smiled. "That's why we chose it, kid."
"I know. How do you like being the leader?"
"It's fine. Kind of hard, but that's what I was expecting." Tuck stretched out his arms, then continued. "Have you seen Erin today, by any chance?"
"Erin?" Lily froze. She hadn't seen the healer since the day before. "No, not really. Why?"
"Well, she wasn't in her tent." Tuck looked frightened then. It was a strange look for him. "She's always there unless she's out searching for healing herbs. I'd better go find her."
Lily saw the intense worry in his gaze. He really cares about her, she realized. "Um, okay. Do you want any help?"
"No, I'll be fine on my own." He smiled, but it wasn't genuine. "You stay here and enjoy yourself." He walked off, leaving Lily to stand there alone. Where could Erin be? She had to have gone with everyone else during the trip here. Not usually one to listen to directions, Lily went off in pursuit of her. Erin couldn't be far, and once she was found, she could let Tuck know. He deserves to relax too, after all he's done for me, she thought. I'd better find Erin soon.
Lily scoured the field, and searched behind every tree. She walked along the length of the river too, but she was nowhere in sight. It had gotten darker now, and Lily would've given up if she hadn't heard a voice break through the stillness of the wooded place. "No, no, no! It can't wear off now!" The voice rose, clearly scared. It was Erin. Lily caught sight of her crouched behind a gnarled old pine tree and made her way towards her. She looked terrified. The healer was holding something, something that glowed in her hand. It looked like a little bottle that was about the size of her fist. A cork was stuck in the top of it, and a sparkling liquid pooled up in the bottom of the container. As Lily got closer, she heard more from her. "I've gotta get out of here," she was saying. "Oh, this'll never-" A twig broke apart underneath Lily's foot. Crap. Erin turned to face her. Her gaze was distorted somehow. "Lily Collins," she said. Her lips turned upwards into a smile that made Lily's stomach churn out of dread.
"You're still in one piece! I've gotta say, I'm impressed. Most people that tamper with a beast's plans don't live for very long afterwards."
Lily turned pale. This was a trap. She tried to speak, to call for Tuck, but suddenly Erin snapped her fingers and she couldn't move at all. Every bone, every muscle, every part of her was arrested in a standing position.
She could blink still, and breathe, but that was it. Erin walked around her, her now frightening eyes fixed on her face. Her curly brown hair unfurled out behind her. "I knew someone would find out eventually. What I didn't know was that it'd be an inexperienced shifter." She laughed. "Ah, well. Since there's no one here to save you, I suppose I can just reveal my true identity." Lily watched as Erin turned away. There was a flash of green light around her. Her hair went ramrod straight, turning paler and grayish at the edges. Her dark skin turned shades lighter, and as she turned around, her pale eyes glittered with a brilliant burst of blue. Lily couldn't move, but she could think, and every thought of hers was accentuated with horror. If she could've moved her jaw, she would've screamed.
In Erin's place stood a frail looking young woman. Her outfit was still the brown tribe garments everyone wore, but Erin no longer existed there. Her light colored hair was a short, bobbed cut that ended at the curve of her slender shoulders. Her skin was dotted with freckles, along the length of her arms and her cheeks. There was a strange tattoo across the nape of her neck. It was a flame, a patch of fire that seemed to flicker with colors. "I am Rhonda," she began. "Rhonda Sarmatis. I'm a witch of a..former coven in the Vineheart forest. Master Hurricane won't want my plans to be compromised, so I'll have to take you out, my dear." She shook her head, then waved her hand close to her captive. Lily gasped, breathing hard. She tried to run back to camp, but her legs were still immobilized, and she could only move the upper half of her body. "You can't," she said, trying to look for a way out. "You can't kill me. I still have so much I want to do!"
Rhonda looked disinterested. She studied her stubby nails as she listened to her pleas. "Too bad," she told her, standing up straighter. "If you had really wanted to survive, you should never have come here. See you on the flip side, shifter."
The witch brought her hands together, and a silver dagger materialized in her hands, one with an intricate red and green design along its hilt. Lily snarled, showing her teeth. She could feel her animal nature resurfacing as she became angry, but she didn't care about the dangers.
She just wanted this girl to pay.
"You're sick," she hissed out from between clenched teeth. "You're a sick, horrible person. Hurricane tried to kill me. From what I've heard, he's killed many other people, sometimes without reason.
How could you support someone like that? You're a monster." Lily fought against the magic that held her in place. There was a slight snapping sound, and suddenly she could move freely again. Rhonda had looked amused before, but now she was scared. Her eyes wide, she moved backwards, holding her hands out.
Magical energy sparked and danced by her fingers, but this didn't faze Lily.
"What the-how did you-that was the strongest spell I knew!"
Lily smiled, stepping forward. "You underestimated me. All of you did."
Rhonda chuckled. She clutched the knife close to her chest, then let go of it.
It floated upwards, glowing with green at its edges. "You've got it all wrong, little girl," she said. "You're the monster here. Master Hurricane is purifying this world, ridding it of its trash. You should be thanking him." She raised her hand, and the knife moved accordingly, hovering farther up. "It's a pity you won't be around to do that." She laughed, her smirk widening. "Oh, well. At least he'll be rid of one more nuisance." Lily ran forward, ready to attack her. The knife moved through the air rapidly, as fast as a burst of lightning. She ducked, and the dagger whizzed past her head, striking a tree nearby. It was Lily's turn to laugh.
She didn't know how she'd reacted that fast, but it filled her with confidence, a confidence that made her feel invincible. "Sorry, Rhonda, but I won't just stand around anymore. I won't let you hurt the Tribe or anyone else ever again."
She dropped down on all fours, and let the changes wash over her. She felt the familiar prickle of thick, orange fur, and ignored the pain, hoping she could control herself. Rhonda staggered back, tripping over a tree root. When she hit the dirt, Lily closed her eyes, letting herself change fully. Stay in control, she thought.
Just get her out of here. Stay in control.
When she raised her head again, she was a fully grown tiger. She growled, padding forward and looking intently at Rhonda. Her striped tail lashed out behind her. Rhonda shrieked and backed up. "No," she cried. "No! N-Nice kitty..."
That's when Lily lunged. She leapt on top of her with otherworldly speed. Prey, she thought as she pinned her down. Fresh meat. She didn't know what she was doing after that. All she cared about was her prey and the hunt that went with it. Her lunch was running now. Having pushed her away, it was scurrying off to safety, but she was faster than her food was. Much faster. She caught up to her, and shot out a claw to grab her. The prey screamed, falling over, and blood welled up beneath her false furs. She drank something, something green, but Lily didn't pay much attention to that. The smell of blood urged her on, and she tore at her chest, ripping the furs and snarling at her all the while. The girl shrieked and wailed, struggling on the ground. Suddenly Lily was dragged backwards by a strong force. No, my prey! she thought. Must kill it...must eat it!
It was another animal. A lion. The mane was wild, and its golden eyes were even more so. It roared, shaking her to her very core. Suddenly all the thoughts of ripping and tearing flesh from a corpse were gone from her mind. Her striped pelt fell away, and her bare skin returned. Lily could hardly see anything. There were people around her, hauling her up in their arms and carrying her away. They were blurry, all fractured and fragmented. It was like looking through a broken camera's shattered lens. Lily's vision blurred more and then dulled, going black. She didn't notice anything, nor did she hear the yells of anguish that came from her leader.