Lilith Blackwood's Arc

Chapter 17 of 21

The cover story held only while Rosalind stayed. Lilith knew that. But a new danger came faster than any inspector. That morning the suspicious townswoman stood in the square, talking low to her neighbors. Lilith watched from the shelter window. Heads turned toward Pawswell House. Mouths tightened. The woman pointed, and the doubt spread like frost across glass. Then a cart creaked into the yard below. A wounded animal lay in the straw, sent by the field creatures. Its foreleg was torn and swelling. It needed treatment now. But treatment meant the town saw another strange beast arrive, and the townswoman was already stacking her doubts high. Lilith had no neighbor to speak for her, no name the town would trust. "You're chewing your lip again," said a voice at the door. Shelly Thornveil stood there, braid over one shoulder, satchel loose at her hip. She was Lilith's oldest friend and a healer of sick creatures herself. Once she had hidden the animals with an illusion. Now she looked past Lilith to the crowd in the square. "That woman won't stop. I can't hide you forever. My spells run out." "I know," Lilith said. "I don't need a spell. I need her to vouch for me herself." Shelly frowned. "How?" Liko sat on the sill, tail curled. The gray cat had known Lilith since birth and missed nothing. "Give her the wounded one," he said. "Not to hide. To heal, in front of her." Lilith understood. She crossed the square, past the whispers, and stopped before the townswoman. "You doubt me," Lilith said. "So watch me work. Bring your neighbors. The animal in my yard is hurt. I'll treat it where you can see every step." The woman's eyes narrowed, but curiosity pulled her forward. The neighbors followed. Lilith knelt by the cart and stayed still, letting the frightened creature settle before she touched it. Shelly passed her clean cloth and a jar from the guide book. Lilith cleaned the torn leg, packed the wound, and bound it with steady hands. No magic. Only care, plain and visible. The animal stopped shaking. It pressed its head into Lilith's palm. The crowd went quiet. The townswoman stepped closer and saw the swelling already easing under the wrap. On Lilith's finger sat a silver ring set with purple facets, catching the light as she worked. The woman stared at the calm hands, not the beast. "I was wrong to spread talk," the townswoman said at last. She turned to her neighbors. "She heals. I've seen it now. Anyone who asks, send them to me." She had made herself Lilith's witness. The crowd drifted off satisfied. Shelly squeezed Lilith's shoulder and slipped away before her spells were ever needed. But as the townswoman left, she paused. "I'll vouch for the healing," she said. "So I'll be checking that it stays only healing." Her promise came with a leash.