"Are you hurt? Leo inquired looking at Lily still not placing well the fact that she was almost attacked. He did not want to imagine what would have happened could he have arrived a little late. What would have happened to Lily, maybe what he saw with the man who was turned? He at all did not want to imagine any of that happening to her.
With that thought in mind, Leo could not help but be a little upset at the actions that Lily took. She knew very well that these woods were dangerous, and especially so at night. Why would she risk her life like that, wasn't she aware of the kind of danger she could encounter here especially in the dark?
Lily exhaled sharply still startled by the realization she was just making, "I'm okay," she answered still staring at Leo without switching her gaze whatsoever. She knew Leo would ask for answers wondering why she was there, and she had to think of one very fast.
"I got scared and I figured nobody was coming towards this direction and that thing that was chasing everyone was going towards the direction of my grandma's. I would be trapping myself if I at all decided to run home," Lily explained almost with an expression of fear and shock.
Leo could not help but feel for her and how she must have been in so much fear. He again blamed himself for leaving her behind all by herself. If he only stuck around in the square with her then perhaps he would have ensured her safety and not let her witness what just happened.
"You need to leave this place right now, it is not safe," Leo stated with a serious look on his face. He was aware that Lily was still in shock and her witnessing him kill the shade must have also added to her shock.
On both of his encounters with her, he had never mentioned him being the guardian of the tower. Of course Leo could be selfish enough and just stick to protecting the tower and his family alone, this way he wouldn't disclosure his identity. However, Leo had a soft spot for humanity and he saw to it that his duty would not only be to the tower but also to the safety of the people that surrounded it.
If at all he decided to give a cold shoulder to the safety of the people in the town, then that would prove that if at all any danger occured, it would end up clearing the whole town. And as a result, the town would be swept clean and this would also increase the likeliness of enemies plotting against the tower.
"I'm walking you home," Leo stated holding out his hand to Lily. Lily hesitated looking at Leo's hand that he just held out to her and walked past him. She had a stern look on her face the moment she walked past Leo.
Lily really wanted to call out to Titus but she now knew quite well that that would be the worst mistake she could ever make. Summoning Titus right now meant that Leo would be able to see him since he had magic in him.
How could he act so simple when he was the most dangerous thing to her at this moment? How could she not have know that she had befriended the guardian of the tower itself. She was aware that at one point in time she had to cross paths with the guardian, but she did not know that that timing would be this soon.
With that thought in mind, Lily imagined what would have happened if at all Titus was not able to stop her earlier at the square. She would have risked exposing herself to Leo, their nemesis. Lily suddenly felt immense hatred for Leo. She was aware that as much as she needed him, he was very dangerous to her and her mission.
Lily stopped midway and without looking back at Leo, she stated, "I can walk myself home, thank you for saving me," Lily paused and continued, "I could be dead right now." She then continued walking without looking back.
Leo stood a few yards away from her at the moment and with him looking at Lily's back, he did not speak a word. Leo thought of going after her but he decided not to. He could read the sudden shift in Lily's reaction.
Leo understood that it must have been a lot what Lily had to witness. And the fact that people were aware of the existence of the guardian and the dangers that surrounded them, he understood quite well if Lily did not want to mix with him.
He thought of the idea that maybe if he was just a normal plain guy who did not have any connections to such kind of power then perhaps he would be able to have a normal life, and maybe Lily would not be scared of him and maybe she would not want nothing to do with him.
Leo thought of all this and decided to focus on the reason why he moved to this place. He was already the guardian and he had his priorities now. So, he had to see to it that he did not fail his duty towards the tower and the great legacy his bloodline carried.
Leo looked at Lily who was now almost out of his sight and with hesitation, he decided to release some of his energy. However much he wanted to respect her decision of leaving by herself, his conscience could not allow him let her leave without him being certain that she would be safe.
Realizing that Lily must have already grasped the truth around him, he did not want to hide his identify from her. He did not understand why he couldn't just walk away the same way she just did. Was it because he was too caring or maybe was there something else making him want to protect her?
Deem golden string-like waves softly followed behind Lily and rushed past her, disappearing just a few meters in front of her. "Get home safe forest fairy," Leo stated with a strong loud voice. "I can see you're making sure of that," Lily shouted back without turning around.
Waiting until he could not see Lily's figure anymore, Leo decided to turn around and head to the tower. He was sure that his parents were safe and in the tower considering that his father had the ring and that was a guarantee of his safety and that of his mother's.
Lily was now out of the forest and on clear ground. She did not feel Leo's energy surrounding her anymore after she stepped out of the woods. That told her that Leo was trying to make sure that she got out of the woods safely.
Allowing multiple thoughts evade her brain, Lily thought of the pendant. It had once again succeeded in protecting her. The instance Leo released his energy towards Lily, she had felt it and the very strength of it trying to circulate her.
If at all she did not have the pendant on, then Leo would have witnessed the battle that his energy and her darkness would have undergone. And feeling the strength of the energy being slightly weaker, she would have easily overcome it. This however was not Leo's full strength and Lily was now aware of that. She realized that she was going to need the pendant more than she thought she did.
Clouded by her sudden displeasure, she summoned Titus. She had gone a good distance by now and she was sure that Leo would not easily be able to feel or notice them. Titus appeared walking by her side knowing very well the kind of mood Lily was in at the moment.
"Did you know this?" She questioned Titus with pure anger in her voice. "It was not in my place to disclose that to you, you had to meet him and work on being acquainted with him all by yourself," Titus answered firmly.
"You could have at least said something, I wouldn't have risked being discovered back there with that little scenario," Lily interjected purely pissed. "I need to lay low for now, away from our dear nemesis at least until I get that key," Lily continued.
Titus could not agree more since he knew how dangerous the guardians were. Before he was assigned to be by Lily's side, he would venture into the human world through their secret portals and roam through the town and into the woods.
At that time, there were battles amongst battles between dark creatures and the inhabitants of the tower. The creatures would somehow managed to breach the walls of the tower and get within, but they never made it to the door.
It was until there were rumors that the tower decided to choose a guardian instead of letting the people that occupied it to face the dark creatures. The power of the guardians all through time were experienced by the dark creatures and they dreaded the very mention of their names.
That immense power proved to be so destructive that all the dark creatures decided to flee back to their world, that applied to at least those who made it. The news about the guardians immediately spread like wild fire and every being all over got word of it.
Umbra town suddenly became the safest and most dangerous place to live. It was until the tower took some time without choosing a guardian that the dark race finally decided to hatch a plan of invading the human world.
As Lily walked down the streets in the town, she could feel the fear spread across the town as everything was silent and all the stores had been closed, including the tavern that would always be open until very late in the night. She had to go back to the shore but thinking of her grandmother, she had to postpone that until the following day.
She was sure that by now her grandmother was worried sick but she was counting on Chris to help her out with that. She realized that she had to show her gratitude soon enough before Chris could try and get her to one of those stores they went to when they were kids.
Back at the shore, in the cave that went down the rocks, the blue glow intensified and pulsed for a few seconds. Then a figure in a black floral dress stepped out of it, standing on the ground immediately close to the sheet of blue bright glowing light.
A lean woman with green eyes that shone with maliciousness looked around and smiled. And humming a playful tune while playing with her hair, she walked away from the portal slowly heading out of the cave.