Chapter 26 - Warm

In the middle of the office, flames were suddenly appearing everywhere. Lilly was terrified. She had never known Myndia could control her flames without her permission before, but this proved she was more than capable of just that.

Grandfather, or Eolanathel, which Lilly assumed was his real name, seemed almost as shocked as she was. His eyes widened as his name was called out of thin air, looking around for the source.

He put on a brave face before replying, grinning as he searched the room. “Ah, Myndia, nice to hear from you! You don’t feel like letting me go just like that?”

The disembodied voice sounded again. “You’re going to die here, you despicable bastard! You, of all people!”

Her rage was felt deep in Lilly’s core. The flames now surrounded them in a giant sphere, cutting through the roof and floor of the office. All the wood and burnable material in sight was blazing due to the temperature, and Lilly had to assume Eolanathel had some serious flame protection on him to still be standing.

He was sweating heavily, but still seemed relatively fine in spite of the circumstances. An evil smirk was showing on his face, showing he still had some cards up his sleeves. “Are you sure you want to antagonize me, Lilly?”

She felt uncertain, scared of what he might do. “Myndia, are–”

Lilly was barely able to utter any words before the staff floated towards him at an incredible speed, sending the fire beam shooting forward at full power.

In the next moment, he was gone, except for an arm that remained where he had been standing, quickly getting charred to ash.

Lilly looked around the room, but he was nowhere to be found. The sphere no longer contained him, causing an immense fear to set in her heart. ‘No, he’s… No, no, no!’

“Myndia, what the hell?!” She screamed, desperate for this situation to be undone. “He’s gone?! Then go get him, quickly!”

A quiet frustrated voice was heard in her head. ‘I can’t, that was all I had…’

Panic, anger, fear,  frustration, it all came bubbling out. “What the hell do you mean?! You provoke him just to go hide in your damn amulet again? If anyone I care about is hurt because of this, I’m never speaking to you again!”

She grabbed the staff, trying her best to focus on getting in the air, while also calming herself so she didn’t melt everything. She was on the verge of breaking right now.

‘How could he get out of the ball of fire? Did he use a portal of some sort?’ Lilly tried to think, but it didn’t really matter either way. He had escaped, barely managing to avoid the beam of fire.

She flew, as fast as she possibly could, praying Eolande was still at home and capable of fighting off a one-armed Eolanathel. At first, she had hopes of him just fleeing, but he wasn’t the type to leave things like that.

Long streaks of red she saw on the road to her home confirmed her fears. The destroyed door, and the guards lying on the ground, all served to confirm her fears.

Barely able to keep herself composed, she walked through what remained of the door. Not much had happened inside, but it was eerily quiet.

The sound of baking was gone, the smell of pastries was mixed with crimson, and the lights from the ovens were dark.

‘This… this is… it can’t…’

A choked-up cough from the kitchen brought Lilly back from her spiraling thoughts, making her run to see who made the sound. Her steps resounded in the quiet of the bakery as she ran, turning into the familiar kitchen.

She found him there, half lying on the ground, leaning towards the counter and looking back at her. His greying beard was now stained with blood, his left eye was bloodied, but his smile was the same as ever.

“Lil– ugh, Lilly… I’m glad you came…”

Gramps had a dagger sticking out of his side and several deep cuts spread across his limbs, bleeding profusely. ‘My– Myndia, help him! Save him!’

Lilly was panicking, trying to think of what to do to save him. No answer came from the amulet, forcing her to take the staff in her hands. “Heal!” she shouted, pouring immense amounts of flame into the staff, praying it would work.

“Mia and Elly?” She asked, praying they had left for the shopping trip already.

“Gone… after you left,” Gramps replied, providing a sliver of relief before Lilly continued her attempts at healing him.

The light slowly spread from the staff out to his wounds, but nothing seemed to happen.

Gramps gently shook his head. “Lilly, let it be… Come here, girl.”

She could barely see past her tears now. “No, let me just help you! You’ll be fine!” she cried, trying the staff again. ‘Why isn’t it working?’

“Probably… poison. Lilly, come here…”

The realization struck her hard. Healing magic might even worsen the situation with poison spreading through the body. But she refused to give in just yet. “I can purfir, I can purify poison!”

Gramps shook his head forcefully. “It’s too late! Come here, please…”

Finally understanding that nothing could be done, Lilly relented. Feeling helpless, she dropped the staff in the air somewhere and knelt next to him. The wounds were horrible, discolored, and impossible to fix.

Selene had only been sliced on her arm and was healed through Myndia’s control. There really was nothing Lilly could do.

She blinked her tears away as she carefully laid her hands around him, gently laying her head on his upper chest. He was so warm. She started crying harder than she had in years, letting her pain sound out to everyone.

“Gramps! Grahahamps!” She sobbed, trying to listen to his words, but also refusing to accept this situation.

“Sweety, don’t worry about me… I’ll finally be… able to see my wife and… daughter again after all… And you’ve found others to put your trust in… I don’t have to worry anymore…”

“No! I still need you! You’re all the family I have left!”

A light chuckle could be heard from him, followed by a wince. “Lilly… You know that’s not true anymore… You have Elly and Mia… both fantastic people… I wish… I wish I could have seen your children before I go… But that’s a minor complaint, don’t worry about me… Really…”

“Don’t… Aaaaauuuwhaa…”

“... Live happy… Lilly…”

His movements stopped, and a final breath left his lungs.

Lilly bawled, letting her entire weight fall on him now. He was still warm, but slowly grew cooler now. An intense grief washed over her, threatening to overwhelm her mind completely. But a fire within prevented her from fainting.

‘Not again! I can’t lose another parent like this! Why? WHY MYNDIA?’

The amulet remained unresponsive, making the rage she felt inside only burn brighter. She violently ripped the amulet from her neck and squeezed it with all her might, wishing it never showed up in her life.

The rage was unbearable.

‘Eolanathel…’

A dark growl came from her throat, unlike any sound she’d made before. Eyes closed, she imagined ripping his ugly face apart with her talons.

A sound could be heard, but before she could understand what it was, she was ripped from her spot and violently tussled around, before being flung forcefully into the air.

“Fly, Lilly!” sounded a familiar voice from below, and feeling herself falling, she did as she was told. She could see the city from high up now, and a fire was burning where the bakery was supposed to be.

‘... I did that?’ Lilly briefly wondered before focusing her energy on anger again. The warmth slowly disappearing remained clear in her mind. Nothing was holding her back now as she was floating in the air, and she let it all out.

“Screeee!”

The piercing shriek of a phoenix was once again heard throughout Thundrel.