"There are easier ways to die, but none quite as humiliating."
Flashback:
Kael moved lightly through Raven Creek that windless night.
It was awfully quiet, like the place was waiting for something to go wrong.
As soon as he stepped through the gate of Blackwood's house, he felt the strange energy in the air more intensely.
"Seris was right. This place stinks of trouble."
He lifted one hand, and a thin glow rippled around him. The shield settled over his skin like smooth armor, giving him space to breathe.
The house looked untouched yet ruined at the same time. It smelled of old papers and dust.
Kael walked up the steps, pushed open the door, and slipped inside.
Blackwood lay on his bed bent to one side, sweating like he'd been running for miles. His face looked drained, like someone had wrung his life out and left what remained shaking on a pillow. His breathing came in fast, shallow bursts, and he looked terrified even in sleep.
Kael scanned the messy table nearby with little interest. Bills, prepared eviction notices, angry letters, warnings. All of it screamed trouble.
"Till the very end."
"Let's finish this," Kael muttered, and stepped closer.
He leaned over and reached toward Blackwood's chest.
The air dipped, and shadows around the room pulled back as if trying to hide.
A pale outline peeled out of the body, slow and uneven. Its eyes snapped open, wide and stretched with terror. Thin fingers reached out, trembling, and hungry.
Kael frowned. "Don't struggle. Just pass through."
The moment their hands touched, a sudden pull slammed into him.
"What—" he gasped.
An energy yanked him forward, feeling like a whirlpool made of teeth. The force clamped around him, dragging him with a forceful strength.
"What is this?" kael hissed.
His shield flickered. Pressure built around his ribs, squeezing. Blackwood's physical body jerked upward on the bed like something inside was trying to break out.
Kael braced himself and shoved back, but the force didn't care. It pulled harder, clawing at him devouringly.
"Let go," Kael growled.
"This is wrong. This is wrong."
He threw his powers against it, but the force turned vicious.
His power buckled, and the room twisted sideways.
In a final fist, he threw a forceful blast and a blast tore through the room. A ringing void swallowed his thoughts, his vision blurred, then everything went black.
•
When Kael came to, he was lying on the floor.
"Did I escape? It feels like I slammed through a mountain."
He pushed himself upright slowly, and the floor wavered under him. His head rang like a broken bell.
When he tried to sit up, pain bit into his back.
Pain.
"Pain? That shouldn't happen. I don't feel pain."
He dragged himself up and looked around. The room was a mess, Blackwood's body and soul was nowhere in sight.
"Where's the soul? Did it escape? Did I fail? No… no, I would feel that. Where did it go?"
A faint light shone through the hallway. He dragged himself toward it, one hand gripping the wall.
Outside, the moon sat low against the rooflines. He stepped toward it on instinct, wanting air.
He bumped his foot on the doorframe hard, stumbled, and fell to the ground.
Pain shot up his leg.
"What… was that?" His voice shook. "Why does that hurt so much?"
He sat up fast and tried to heal the bruise, but nothing happened. He tried again. Harder this time, but nothing. His hands stayed cold and still.
A small panic crawled up his throat.
"Why isn't this working? Did I get damaged? Did something burn out?"
"Something's wrong. Something's very wrong."
He lifted his hands to check them, and his heart stopped breathing for a split second.
These were not his hands. They were rough, and smaller, it felt wrong.
"No," he whispered.
He stepped into the moonlight and stared at them harder, but it was the same result.
He lurched to his feet and limped back into the house. His pulse thumped loudly, as sweat collected at the back of his neck.
He found one lying crooked against the wall and pulled it up.
The face staring back wasn't his.
Kael's stomach dropped, and his breath turned cold.
"No," he whispered again, his voice cracking just a little. "I'm not… I'm not this thing."
He touched the mirror, and the reflection copied him.
"This can't be real. This can't be happening. I didn't escape. I got pulled in. I got trapped."
His heart sank further.
"I'm stuck," he said quietly, like saying it out loud made it true.
His hands shook.
For the first time in centuries, Kael felt fear.
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