Page 30 of Doom

My innards contracted, and my entire body shook from a series of spasms as it, too, attempted to reject the trespasser that was my consciousness trying to take possession of it. Curling to the side—barely succeeding as I couldn’t quite yet control this corporeal vessel—I tried to retch, my empty stomach convulsing painfully. In the distance, a feminine voice spoke words I didn’t comprehend. Another couple of voices could be heard further back—male voices. But they all sounded as if my head was underwater.

Teeth chattering from the severity of the tremors rocking my body, I felt as if daggers were being stabbed at my eyes, at the base of my skull, and along my spine. The voices all began talking over each other. While I couldn’t make out their words, the urgency of their tone expressed increasing concern—for me I assumed. It was normal for a soul to struggle to adapt to a new corporeal form, but this was excessive. Something had gone terribly awry.

This body is wrong. This is not my Shell. It’s killing me.

I cried out in agony as my body began to shift of its own free will into battle form. It felt threatened and wanted to get rid of the intruder: me. Shouts erupted around me as my claws erupted from my fingers and began to tear into my own flesh.

Strong hands pinned me down onto the platform I was lying upon—probably a rebirth table—even as my body continued to try to kill me, to kill us. My soul searched for Victoria’s. If this was to be my final death, I would touch my mate one last time. For a fraction of a second, I felt her, and then we connected.

Or rather, I did.

Her psychic mind had awakened. It was still too early in its development to establish a connection with me. Chances were, she wouldn’t even detect my presence in her psychic void. The pain of my defective Shell faded away as I gazed upon her naked soul, mesmerized by its beauty. Brighter than the sun, a myriad of shimmering lights danced around the spherical representation of all that she was.

I cried out as my own scorpion tails stabbed my chest in quick succession. The male voices drowned under the scream of a female. The poison from my stingers felt like acid eating me from the inside out. A prickling sensation at the base of my neck was quickly followed by an icy cold feeling spreading at lightning speed through my veins, severing my psychic link with my mate and numbing the agony of my venom.

Lethal injection.

Even as the thought crossed my mind, my body seized, and then my hearts stopped, before I could thank whoever had thus hastened my passing. As death liberated me from that wretched foreign Shell, my soul soared to freedom, welcoming the sheltering pull of Jennuo’s psychic vessel reclaiming me. Before I fell back into hibernation, I surrounded myself with the enchanting vision of my woman’s soul, and then oblivion swallowed me.

* * *

Hunched over the side of my bed, my stomach and throat ached from another severe bout of dry heaves. I collapsed onto my back, my head pounding and my skin burning.

“There, there, Doom,” Shoyesh whispered in a gentle voice.

I didn’t recall rebirth sickness being this brutal or lasting this long. From the moment Jennuo had transferred my soul into a new Shell—a proper one this time—I’d been in and out of consciousness with only brief moments of lucidity drenched in agony.

Shoyesh patted my face with a damp cloth. I welcomed its coolness against my fevered skin. I opened my mouth, not quite sure what words I wanted to speak, but another wave of dry heaves silenced me.

“Put him under again,” Wrath’s voice said. “There’s no point torturing him.”

“We need him functional,” Legion said with frustration. “I need him now, more than ever.”

“I know, brother. We all do,” Wrath replied.

I wanted to argue, but the sting of a hypospray cast me back down into darkness.

* * *

Iwoke up in a soft, familiar bed, frowning at my own scent. Standing up on wobbly legs, I made my way to my en suite bathroom and quickly showered, wondering how long this rebirth sickness had lasted. Usually, it took a week, but this one had felt like an eternity. I wondered if my soul beginning to unravel had been the cause. Then again, maybe it had been a side-effect of that defective Shell, or both.

While I reveled in the soothing feel of the warm water on my body, my mind sought Victoria’s again. My hearts soared at the sight of the flimsy outline of a psychic shield around her soul. Her powers were still clearly basic, but they had grown since my initial glimpse of her mesmerizing true beauty. I sent her loving waves that I knew she wouldn’t be able to perceive at her current level. However, even if she couldn’t know that I’d done it, my Little Red would likely feel her spirit lifted and an unexplainable sense of well-being. I couldn’t wait for our minds to fully touch, to hold her back in my arms, and let her know I had kept my promise.

Stepping back into my room aboard the mothership, my stomach roared with hunger at the delightful scent that greeted me. To my surprise, Legion, rather than Shoyesh, had brought me food.

“Welcome back, brother,” he said with genuine joy.

Closing the distance between us, he gave me a bear hug and a stinging slap on the back. This baffled me. I understood his happiness at having me back, but Legion wasn’t the type to be overly demonstrative. Sure, there had been the mess up with the defective Shell—something that had only ever happened once as far as I could recall due to a damaged incubator. Clearly, something major had occurred during my recovery.

“What is it, brother?” I asked, pulling away from him to study his features. “Trouble?”

He snorted, a grim expression on his face. “You have no idea.”

“Victoria?” I asked, my stomach knotting in fear even though I had sensed no distress when I’d touched her mind moments before, only sadness.

“No,” Legion said with a reassuring smile. “Your mate is safe; we made sure of it. But eat. I will catch you up on the mess we’re dealing with.”

I didn’t argue.

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