Chapter 32 - Cost of Hunger

Mage Academy: Leyland's Laboratory

"Wake up... Come on little one... You're not allowed to die... Yet..."

Slap!

Something smacked my muzzle and I was jolted awake. A brief moment of confusion grew into a sinking sensation of dread upon being reminded that I was still trapped in a nightmare. My appendages felt distant, a dull buzz filled my body, and my vision refused to focus.

"Do you see? Have you figured it out yet?" Leyland mused and hovered near my face with a toothy grin.

I tried to speak, yet all that escaped was a distorted murmur that brought along a trickle of drool. Everything hurt and I was in bad shape. I knew this, but for some reason my mind shielded me from the worst of it, and instead I found myself blanketed in a thick fog that made the world seem unreal.

In my struggle I turned to something old and familiar. Hatred, boiling, dripping, and searing hatred. I focused on it and I imagined my captor being torn apart piece by piece.

Yet, I found myself powerless. The aether wouldn't respond to my beckoning, and I could feel the feline's magic coiling around my insides like parasites sucking me dry. Even the Star seemed useless in the state I was in.

I still don't understand the Star... How it works... What drives it...

Leyland gripped my muzzle and mused, "Keep trying, it won't work. I've paralyzed and isolated the powers you're reaching for."

I'll never forgive myself if I die like this...

The thought tickled something in my mind and I felt my lips pull into an amused and rather insane grin. Leyland's amused smile faded and I felt the grip harden as his claws appeared once more.

"Let's see if you keep grinning, when you see this," Leyland whispered with a seething voice while angling my head so that I was forced to look down.

An unnerving sensation rippled through my chest and I felt my gut tighten in fright. He had cut me open, my chest had been pulled apart, and he had cut enough flesh to expose my ribcage to the world.

It thumped with every beat of my heart, and the movement of my lungs made the entire ribcage flex. All was not as it seemed though, and in the core of my ribcage was something foreign. There was a core of red crystal in the middle, swirling with the same texture as the Star. It had grown outward like a parasite, trailed along the ribs, and pulsed with light in tune with my heart.

Leyland let go of my muzzle and lowered his hand his to point at the large crystal, "Someone placed this within you, and twisted your biology to sustain it. Then they weaved spells within it and the very core of your aetheric presence. Do you know why?"

The presence of the Star stirred, but to my surprise it emanated from my chest and it made the crystal react. It shimmered, blackened for a moment, and made a faint impression on my mind.

Trapped... Helpless... Lacking energy... Survival... A sensation of doing its best to merely hold on... Hunger...

The last impression stuck, and for a moment I could feel it ripple through myself. Hunger, an intense and ravenous desire. It made me focus on Leyland with another kind of perspective, not as an enemy, but as food to be consumed and discarded.

Leyland tipped his head a little, reached into his pocket, and held up the true Star, "Oh... I wonder what would have just happened if you still had this? Your powers don't work without it though, does it?"

I lowered my gaze once more and stared at my open chest. It didn't make sense, how long had I been like this? How long had this thing been growing inside me?

Leyland held the Star closer, as if taunting me, "This is merely a tool, activated and hidden by the thing trapped inside you. Do you see now, the reality of things?"

The entity I've heard... It wasn't the Star... It's this thing, inside of me...

But why can I only hear it now? Is it because I came in contact with the Star?

Because my powers have grown?

"The entity itself is beyond my understanding, but the cage that this Rastlin has built to contain is within my reach," Leyland said and pocketed the star once more.

Rastlin did all this...

Leyland fixated on my eyes and held out his hands in front of my chest, "It's surprising... Because the defenses of this thing are turned inward, as if made to block you from altering it. I shouldn't complain though, it'll make it that much easier to extract it."

Runes of aetheric magic formed in the air while Leyland focused on my chest with an excited grin.

Mage Academy: Lower Levels

"You're angry," Talwin said.

Clyde glanced back, bit together to keep himself from snarling, and kept walking.

"I can tell, you know? I can smell it even. You're furious and your mind keeps churning the same thoughts over and over again," Talwin whispered.

Clyde felt his hackles itch as they rose, "You're pretty damn annoying, you know?"

"I've never liked situations like this, where your emotions are bottled up and they start rotting."

Clyde slowed down, knit his hands into fists, and threw the coyote a dark glance, "If I didn't, you wouldn't be here, coyote."

"I thought we were getting along pretty well. Do you really hate me that much?" Talwin asked.

"Will... you... SHUT UP!" Clyde snapped and flipped around.

Talwin stopped dead in his tracks and bolted back while Clyde's chest heaved with exertion.

"We won't be able to fight together if we're fighting like this, that's what I'm trying to solve," Talwin answered with a cool voice, devoid of both anger and excitement.

Clyde stepped closer with his heart still pounding in his chest, "Oh, and how are you going to solve it? By getting rid of me?"

Talwin's eyes widened in surprise, "Get rid of you? Why?"

"Avery will have my head if someone so much as touches you! But me? I'm an obligation to him, someone to be saved according to his principles. I'm not someone he cares about, I'm expendable!"

Talwin's raised one brow confusion, while the other furrowed into a frown, "You have no idea what Avery is like, do you?"

"I grew up with him!" Clyde snapped with enough force to make spittle fly.

"I didn't, but I don't think he's changed that much. Avery loved you, just like he used to love his family. He might hide behind a lot of anger, but it really tore him to be in your presence. I-"

"Shut it!" Clyde snapped, turned around, and marched off.

Talwin resumed walking, picked up pace to keep up, and started jogging, "That day when you asked to talk with him alone, what happened?"

"He made things clear, that's what happened, nothing else!" Clyde fumed and kept marching.

"You say that, but whatever happened put a lot of things on his mind. He couldn't sleep, but sure as hell pretended to, and when I asked it only gave me the impression that he's feeling guilty."

Clyde kept his eyes locked on the walls they passed, "He's got nothing to feel guilty about. He picked who he picked, and that's it. End of story."

"Which still leaves you, Clyde. Alone and hurting," Talwin said.

The words sapped Clyde of energy. His steps slowed, his legs grew heavier, and the weight on his shoulders seemed to double. Moments later he stopped walking, let his gaze drop to the floor, and spoke with a callous voice, "What do you want me to say? That I hate you? Because I do."

"Why?" Talwin asked with a whisper.

Clyde gritted his teeth and angled his head to look at Talwin, "Don't play stupid with me, or I'll-"

Talwin raised his hands, "I'm not... I promise. Just trust that I have a point to make, please?"

Clyde's lips twitched before growing into a dark grin, a moment later he chuckled while his ears folded back, "It's funny, you know... The 'hierarchy' and the power it holds. I never accepted Cujo as my alpha, despite that it was difficult to resist his orders."

Clyde motioned to his head and angrily tapped one claw against his skull, "It gets inside. Culture, obedience, instinct. It drowns out any clarity you might have. Avery broke those shackles and asked me... No, he commanded me to consider you part of the pack, to treat you like I would a brother. It was a ridiculous notion at first, something I could just play along with, something that wasn't real. Yet for each day that passes that order burrows into my head... It beckons to me, twisting inside my mind, and you play the role quite well. I want to resist it, but I can't because I willingly gave myself to the one I consider my alpha."

Clyde pushed off the wall, stood tall, and stepped closer. Within a moment he loomed over Talwin like rangy giant, staring down at him with his hackles raised. "You are like an anomaly to my mind. You are not wulfkin, yet you are part of the hierarchy. You're small and weak, yet you can beat me. I was forced to train you, and I wanted to beat you until you could stand no more, yet I couldn't because my instincts wanted to befriend you. You could have taken advantage when we were cooking dinner, but you didn't, and I looked up to you for the grace that you showed me."

Clyde raised his hands and held them out in a strangling motion, "If not for his order, and my own bleeding heart, I'd kill you in a heartbeat. Because you make everything hurt in a way that Everwinter never managed to do. That's why I hate you!"

Talwin observed in silence as Clyde's arms grew limp and his gaze dropped to the ground once more.

"Let's say I dropped dead and you were left to pick up the pieces, would that make you happy?"

Clyde raised his gaze with a tired stare, "What are you talking about?"

"Would it make you happy? Knowing that you took my place in such a way?" Talwin asked.

Clyde fixated on Talwin with pinpricks for eyes, "What are you getting at?"

"Just answer the question, do you think everyone would be happy if I just vanished like that?"

Clyde clenched his hands, "I asked Avery what he would have done if I was first, he refused to answer me."

"You're still evading the question," Talwin retorted.

"Does it matter? Are you going to drop dead? Would you be willing to give him up?" Clyde asked with a confused stare.

Talwin shook his head, "No, but-"

"Then why are you asking!?" Clyde snapped.

"Because I want to think that there's a solution to all of this! But I need to know who you are, Clyde!"

Clyde inched closer and his eyes widened while he loomed from above, "What are you going on about, coyote? Is Avery too much for you? Did the cute wolf turn out to be a beast too wild to handle?"

Talwin gritted his own teeth, "Mind your tone wulfkin, or I'll put you in your place again."

Clyde drew deep and steady breaths that made his breath brush against Talwin's face, he then grew a slight grin that bared his teeth once more. "You're a lot more likable like this, you know? When you're not a whiny bitch all the time."

"Answer the question, and I promise I'll do my best to earn your respect, like a wulfkin, not a preacher."

Clyde stared in silence, his chest heaved with slow breaths, and his muzzle wavered, "I... Don't know."

Talwin sighed, "Of course you know... What do you want from all this? To break us up and take my place, give up, or consider a third option?"

"A... third option?" Clyde asked with his ears perking up.

Talwin hesitated for a moment, gulped, and spoke "I was going to suggest that we share."

"I don't follow..." Clyde whispered.

Talwin's ears twitched and then folded back, "I mean... The three of us, in one relationship. But it'd mean that all of us want it, in particular it'd mean that the two of us need to..."

Clyde's eyes grew wide, his ears flattened, perked, then did the same all over again. In seconds flat any pretense of anger dropped while he inched back and his tail dropped.

"Insane, right?" Talwin whispered and looked back at Clyde's now mystified expression.

Clyde remained silent and stared through Talwin as if frozen in place.

"Clyde?" Talwin asked and waved his hand in the air.

Clyde shrank a little, and his head lowered as if hiding from something. A moment later his tail made a sudden wag while a sheepish grin grew on his muzzle.

"Hello?" Talwin tried once more.

Clyde's ears perked, he stood tall in an instant, and he cleared his throat while turning his back to Talwin, "We need to get a move on."

Talwin followed with a nod, "Yeah, we do. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Clyde answered and picked up pace once more.

Mage Academy: Leyland's Laboratory

Rastlin had taught me the basics of looking inside a person to see what made them what they were. In Everwinter it was used to determine whether the children would become wulfkin or not. While annoying to admit, Leyland was quite skilled at it.

His technique differed and rather than sensing the weaving patterns of the aether he brought it into the real world. The result was a tangled web with aetheric constructs hovering in the air in front of me.

In the very center of the web was the core of the spell Rastlin had woven inside of me. It riddled the rest of my body like a parasite holding me hostage, while acting as a prison for the entity he had hidden inside me. The entity looked like an orb of darkness. It tugged at light itself, just like the Master's tower, and writhed like a wraith.

Leyland stared at it with amazement, and his whiskers were perked while his tail lashed, "I guess that makes sense. What better way to control an artifact from beyond the aether, than by enslaving a creature from the same place?"

The presence which I had assumed was the Star emanated from it, and I could still hear the echoes of it inside my head. It felt exposed and vulnerable, but there was also that hunger. An ever present need for more sustenance, an urge to feast on life itself.

This explains a lot of things... The sensation I felt when feeding on the deer... The whispers...

Leyland cautiously extended his hand, and held it near the caged or of darkness. In an instant the dark pit lashed out like a falling shadow. It made Leyland jerk his hand back with an amused chuckle, "Feisty, isn't it?"

Kill him... Slaughter him... Drain him of energy until he's nothing more than a husk...

I glared at Leyland as the thoughts spun in my head.

Leyland glanced up, caught eyes with me, and grew another one of his cheeky grins. He then reached out, gently cupped my muzzle, and whispered, "I have good news for you."

My chest struggled as I drew a wheezing breath, and gritted my teeth in silence.

"You might survive this, and if you do... I'll let you live," Leyland angled my muzzle, and raised one hand to point at a door by the far end of the room.

Leyland whispered, "The world is looking for someone to blame, and Cyrus will become the traitor who paved the way for the Master's invasion. You will become the Master's right hand, the wulfkin monster who evaded every bounty hunter in the land. Guess who's going to deliver the two of you, and become the hero? Me!"

Leyland's hand tightened around my muzzle while his tone rose in fervor, "Can you see it!? The aristocrats bowing before me! The people cheering! You'll be able to watch it from the pyre you'll be on, feeling the flames licking your paws. Your fur curling and catching on fire from the heat. The searing sensation of your lungs being burnt!"

His hand moved lower, and clutched my throat, "But before that I need to finish this, and cut out your voice. After all, we can't have you talking to-"

Leyland's voice came to a sudden halt as a rumble grew in the distance. A moment later the whole room shook and he gripped the supports to steady himself. Dust shook from the ceiling, flasks clattered around the room, and a few dropped to the floor before shattering. The aetheric conduits running along the roof flickered and within moments a few of them went dark.

The magic lights around the room dimmed and Leyland's eyes widened as something roared within the aether itself. It was fueled by fury, and it carried the hatred of a spurned god that had chased its prey for too long. I recognized it as the Master while Leyland stared at the walls in confusion.

Moments later the tremor abated and silence filled the room once more. Leyland smile could no longer be seen and he turned to look at me with renewed focus.

"I need to hurry..." Leyland whispered under his breath.

Mage Academy: Lower Levels

"What was that?" Clyde asked while focusing on the ceiling as the dust settled.

Talwin held his head and gulped. The tremor had been one thing, but the screaming roar of something within the aether was worse. Even now there was an echo in the back of his mind and the aether seemed to be shifting, as if the academy was losing power.

"I think the last of their defenses just fell. Whatever it was it had to be a tremendous blast to be felt all the way down here," Talwin answered.

Clyde had his ears perked and looked down the hallway they had just come, "Can you sense that? It's like... wind? A draft?"

Talwin raised his nose to the air, and felt the air brushing against it, "Yeah, but the air isn't being pushed in... It's being pulled out. I guess that makes sense if whatever happened just ripped a giant hole in the academy and exposed the lower levels."

Clyde sighed, "If the air is being let out then they'll be able to track us that much easier."

"Then lets keep going!" Talwin answered and resumed walking.

Clyde nodded and followed, while motioning down the hallway, "Those conduits that were glowing earlier, they're dead now."

Talwin nodded, "Hopefully that will be in our advantage. But we need to prepare for what's coming."

"What do you mean?" Clyde asked and glanced over.

"You've seen Leyland, tell me about him?" Talwin asked.

"Only for a brief moment. He looked me over, hummed a little, and barked some orders. He's powerful though, I could feel his presence and the others feared him," Clyde answered.

"So, at the very least we're facing one high level mage. I take it you don't have the gun any longer?"

Clyde shook his head, "They took it and I didn't even have a chance to use it."

Talwin patted his waist, "Well I still have the knife, so that if we can get close enough, then we can incapacitate a mage, no matter how powerful he is."

Clyde was silent for a few moments, "And how are you planning that?"

The two came to a stop as they neared a corner, and Talwin glanced past it. It led toward some kind of checkpoint with two big columns fitted with crystals.

"It's abandoned, like the rest of the level," Talwin whispered.

Clyde took a peek as well, "Looks like the entrance to something important."

Talwin nodded, resumed walking, and sensed the aether as he did. The checkpoint itself and its pillars were dead, but the place resonated in the aether as if it had once been a major conduit. In particular his gaze was drawn to the crystals lining the pillars, and the way they looked like the shield that had once isolated Clyde's cage.

"What are you waiting for?" Clyde asked and looked at Talwin.

Talwin raised his hand, "Wait."

Clyde frowned, "... Hey, I might have said I like this tougher version of you. But don't let it get to your head."

Talwin glanced over, "Do you remember what Avery said? That I rank above you."

Clyde's ears clamped to his head, "I do remember..."

"Bear with me for a moment and listen," Talwin said and motioned to the pillars.

"All right?" Clyde answered and looked up.

"We've been wandering the lower levels for a while now, and all we've seen are cages and supply rooms. Then we get to this, a checkpoint that until a short while ago had a lot of power running through it. Whatever is beyond this is also the reason this is the 'restricted area'. We need to be ready once we walk past this."

Clyde raised his brow, "Share with me your plan, oh great coyote?"

Talwin sighed and stepped closer, "You've got the clothes of Leyland's henchman, you're at least as big, and you smell like him as well. You haven't washed your fur, I hope?"

Clyde glanced down at himself and sniffed, "Nope, why?"

"That means you're covered in the same camouflage potion as the rest of us. I can make your fur look like that henchman."

Clyde's expression quickly changed to that of a wicked grin, "That's a good plan. It might even be good enough for us to get close."

Talwin motioned to his own clothes, "The problem is that I'm not, and we have no idea what that other henchman looks like."

"So you get to stay back and support me from a distance," Clyde answered.

Talwin shook his head, "That won't work. The only reason I was able to funnel energy through you was because the transporter, crates, and that diversion distracted him. A high level mage won't fall for the same trick."

"So..." Clyde whispered.

"I need to stay near you, in fact, I need to hold onto you in order to funnel energy and do my best to make our aetheric signature look like that canine you killed."

Clyde frowned with a grimace that made his ears droop, "That's going to look weird, and it's going to catch his attention."

Talwin scratched his head, "I know. I've been trying to figure out a way to hide my presence, but I think the hood on this cape will have to suffice."

Clyde drew a deep breath, "We'll have to wing it, there's no other choice."

Talwin stepped closer and glanced up, "Any ideas?"

Clyde observed in silence for a few moments, and nodded, "The hood is a bad idea. Whoever sees it will immediately raise his guard. But if you walk behind me, one of his most trusted henchman, then he'll merely be curious."

"So, no hood. But I can't look like a coyote either," Talwin answered.

Clyde shrugged, "Your current appearance is fine."

"I'll play the role of student then," Talwin answered with a chuckle.

Clyde joined Talwin's side and brushed up against him, "If I walk like this you'll be able to keep your hand near my side without it looking too weird. Does that work?"

Talwin reached out, adjusted his footing so that Clyde's arm hid his stance, and nodded, "I think so."

"Anything else, or are we ready to go?" Clyde asked.

Talwin closed his eyes, strained to summon yet another spell, and extended his shield to encompass Clyde. Moments later he shifted the aether around the wulfkin, and opened his eyes to help guide it.

Color invaded Clyde's white fur, and blended in hues until it looked similar to the burly canine.

Clyde flexed his hands and watch the new colors of his fur settle, "It's strange to see this happen."

Talwin nodded and focused on shifting his presence in the aether to mimic the rather chaotic signature from earlier. Once it seemed stable he drew a deep breath, and continuously counted the spells in his head to keep them going.

"That should be it, let's go," Talwin said.

Clyde started walking and Talwin followed in his wake. They passed the pillars, and entered a long hallway with an assortment of rooms attached to it. At the very end of the hall was a large entrance in the form of an arch.

For each room they slowed down a little and observed, but like the rest of the level it seemed abandoned. Talwin refrained from actively searching the aether, but let himself soak up the surrounding impressions.

Most of the rooms were cluttered with cages, workbenches, and all manner of artifacts and books.

Clyde raised his nose without warning, and whispered, "Blood."

Talwin felt a cold chill in his spine while Clyde stopped and glanced to the side, "What?"

"Feline blood," Clyde answered and pointed to a room on the left side.

Talwin eased back, glanced beyond Clyde, and saw the remains of what must have been a violent clash. Blood had trickled onto the floor, and someone had slipped in it to create large smears. Shards of some kind of crystal were scattered on the floor and still rested in the drying blood.

A strange sensation emanated from the spot, as if a large amount of aetheric energy had been unleashed and the flux still lingered in the area.

"Could be the remains of Cyrus and that crystal of his," Clyde whispered.

Talwin nodded, "Could be, but I thought they were allies."

Clyde shrugged and resumed walking, "Alliances change quickly, come on."

Talwin followed once more, and as they approached the end of the hallway they could see light from within reflected on the walls. It looked red in nature and with every step there was a growing presence of something distorting the aether. Strangely enough there was no hint of Avery.

Clyde glanced over, and nodded in silence. Talwin nodded back as they walked past up to the arch, and stepped through without stopping.

Tomes floated in the air, and large crystals were set like pillars throughout the room. While the crystals hummed with energy they were connected to the roof through aetheric conduits that were now black like obsidian. Strange machinery littered what looked like a giant lab that smelled of blood and the stinging scent of antiseptic.

"I'm busy. Leave!" An angry voice snapped from within.

Talwin turned his head toward the voice and felt his body tense up as if something had stabbed him in the heart. His footsteps stumbled but Clyde snapped hold of his arm, and forced him to keep walking. He felt his stomach tighten and for a moment he almost lost his control of the spells he maintained.

Avery had been pinned to the wall in some kind of macabre experiment. Worse, he had been opened up, and his arms were held to the wall by spikes through his hands. Blood had soaked the floor and Avery's head hung low as if dead or unconscious.

A twisting form of aetheric constructs hovered in front of Avery's body and the feline known as Leyland was busy snipping threads as if carefully dislodging something.

Talwin threw a glimpse at Clyde and saw that his face had twisted into the expression of a monster. His lips twitched, his eyes glared with a scowl, and it looked like he was moments from snapping.

"I said... I'm busy!" Leyland snapped once more without even glancing back.

Clyde kept marching forward, and Talwin followed on his own accord. Within moments Leyland began to glance back.

"We have important news from upstairs," Clyde said with a strained tone that bordered on growling.

They were almost in reaching distance as Leyland locked eyes with Clyde and spoke, "This better be-"

Leyland's voice cut short as he blinked once, and focused on Talwin. Fear began to creep into Leyland's expression as Clyde increased his pace, and was about to lunge forward.

Clyde reached out, his maw opened wide, and he threw himself forward. In that same instant the aether shuddered, something visibly rippled through the air, and time itself seemed to freeze in place.

Clyde floated in the air, arms reaching out toward Leyland, but his body was frozen to the point that only his eyes could move. Talwin blinked, tried to breathe, but to his horror found that he could only wheeze.

Something had broken through his shield in the blink of an eye, and restrained them both like coiling snakes. Leyland gulped, blinked, and a moment later his expression darkened.

"Who are you?" Leyland whispered and raised his hand.

Another shudder rippled through the aether, and the camouflage spell broke. Within seconds Clyde's fur became pure white, while Talwin's fur regained the complexity of a coyote's fur.

"You're the wulfkin, and you must be... Oh, yes... The coyote..." Leyland murmured with a grin that grew for every second.

Talwin felt his heart thumping, his lungs screamed for air, and his mind felt like chaos incarnate. Out of desperation he reached for the only thing his mind could reach for: The knife. He struggled with his arm, pulled with every bit of strength he could muster, and slowly. It hurt, but he could feel the field budge a little, millimeters at a time.

Leyland stepped to the side, and angled his head so that he could look past Clyde's outstretched arms, "Impressive. Not only did you escape, but you dressed up in the clothes of my peasants, mimicked their aetheric signature, and managed to get this close... Impressive."

Talwin kept struggling, inch by inch he moved his hand closer to his side.

Leyland sniffed the air, and glanced over at Talwin, "But as far as I remember, the wulfkin didn't have much aetheric aptitude. Which means that... You, were the one who did most of the work."

Talwin followed Leyland with his eyes as he inched closer, and then looked over at Clyde once more. Leyland then raised his hand, commanded the aether, and made Clyde lift into the air like a statue.

"Be gone," Leyland said with a flick of his hand.

In an instant Clyde was hurled through the air, hit several floating books on his path, and slammed into workbench. The bench toppled over, Clyde tumbled, spun, lifted once more, and crashed into the ground. He spun around, skittered along the floor, and slammed into a bookcase. It toppled, and within seconds it crashed to the ground and buried him in a heap of books.

Leyland watched for a few moments, and once he was sure nothing moved he turned his attention to Talwin once more, "Now... I wonder, should I keep you alive for a while longer? Or should I get rid of you at once so that I can-"

Talwin felt the pouch that held the knife, and gripped hold of it. A strange sensation rippled through his hand, extended his arm, and began to flood his body. It made the spell ease up and he eased the knife out to grip its base.

Leyland smile dropped in confusion and his eyes widened in confusion, "What are-"

Talwin squeezed the knife hard and felt the power of the embedded bullet surge. He then gritted his teeth, and moved his arm upward with all he had. With a sudden resistance he felt the knife dig deep. It cut through cloth without resistance, pierced flesh like butter, and scraped against the ribs in Leyland's chest. Warmth trickled out and Talwin felt something wet soak his hand.

Leyland's short muzzle dropped open in surprise and he looked down in shock at the knife now buried in his chest. A whisper escaped his muzzle as he stuttered in panic.

The huge amount of energy in the room began to shift. Floating books dropped to the ground, large crystals crashed to create splinters that rained down around the room. Sparks of energy began to dance in the air as flux grew.

Talwin stared into the Leyland's slitted eyes when he felt something grip his hand. A moment later Leyland gritted his teeth and hissed, "No."

Leyland's claws dug into Talwin's hand, and he began to push. Talwin struggled to hold the knife in place, but Leyland pushed with strength someone so small shouldn't have had.

Something odd began to happen as Talwin stared at Leyland's face. The once bright fur began to drain of color and grew sparser. Within moments spots of gray skin began to appear, and the eyes grew clouded as if suffering from cataracts.

"No," Leyland hissed as his claws sank deep into Talwin's hand and drew blood.

"What are you?" Talwin whispered as he struggled to keep the knife in place.

Leyland's freakish appearance twisted with anger as he hissed, "Die!"

With a sudden push Talwin felt his hand jerked back and the knife slipped free. In an instant a pressure grew between them, and the air itself seemed to boil. Searing heat triggered instinct, and Talwin stumbled back with the knife in hand.

Talwin raised his arm to shield his face from the boiling heat when he saw something at the edge of his vision. A moment later something heavy hit him from the side, and he was sent crashing to the floor. He skidded to a halt, looked up, and saw several workbenches hovering in the air, ready to thrown.

Leyland covered the wound with a bony hand that was sparsely covered in fur and kept hissing, "Damn you! You impudent insect!"

Talwin turned his head to look at Leyland, and saw him for what he was: Ancient, an abomination that should have since long been dead.

Magic glowed from Leyland's hand while whatever camouflage he used began to activate once more. Fur blossomed, color returned, and within moments he was back to his old self.

"I'm going to make you suffer for that... Trust me on that, you will spend the next century in agony, pleading... Begging me for release," Leyland hissed while focused on the wound.

Talwin's eyes grew as he noticed something occurring behind Leyland. The large red construct that hovered in front of Avery was being reabsorbed. Second by second the core drifted closer while a hundred tendrils were reconnecting.

In moments Avery's body twitched, and he opened his eyes to reveal red eyes that swirled with the same essence of the Star. Avery's hand pulled away from the spike holding it in place, and with a gentle pop he came loose. Blood dripped from the hole, and a moment later his other hand came loose.

Rather than walk, Avery's body seemed to float forward like a ghost. A moment later his maw opened wide to reveal canine teeth stained with blood. His movements were gentle, and embraced Leyland like one would a lover.

At that point Leyland seemed to notice, as bloodied hands wrapped around his chest, and a weight settled on his back. Fear gripped his face once more, and he glanced to the side just in time for Avery to bite down.

His maw settled around Leyland's neck and throat, before snapping shut. Blood began to flow as the teeth dug deep and Leyland wheezed in surprise. Avery's hand found a pocket, reached in, and at that instant a flare of red surged in the room.

A vortex of energy flared, tendrils emerged around them like the maw of an eldritch horror and something black began to creep over Leyland's shoulders. Leyland reached outward in panic, as the dark shadows crept over him, pierced his flesh like feeding maggots, and spread like wildfire.

In seconds the camouflage failed once more, but this time the result quickly grew worse. Fur began to fall to the floor, bones cracked, and Leyland's chest began to collapse on itself. It spread in every direction, his legs became like twigs, his hands dried up, and the skin of his face began to blacken. His eyes shriveled, and the once colorful clothes became like dust.

Within moments parts of Leyland began to fall to the floor, and clattered as it settled in a pile of dust and bone. As Leyland was no more, the vortex of darkness extending from Avery's chest began to pull back. While doing so it seemed to mend him in the process. The skin of his chest settled in place once more, the wound shut itself and Avery was lowered to the floor.

The flare of energy seemed to abate and Avery held up his hands. Slowly the holes began to fill with flesh, while a network of blood vessels formed. Within moments skin began to grow, fur flourished once more, and the room calmed once more. Avery drew a deep but slow breath, exhaled, and then let his gaze drift toward Talwin.

"Talwin?" Avery whispered and blinked in confusion.