Page 114 of Of Rime and Ruin
And then his magic pulls. Hard.
From the recesses of my mind, the Beast awakens. Ice bursts in my stomach as my magic flares in response. For a moment, I lose control of my body.
My mouth moves, and words form, without my command: “Leave, witch-doctor. Before I rip out your throat.”
My teeth snap shut, and I land inside myself. Fear crawls over me, lifting my scales. What just happened?
“Begone, dark spirit!” Lucas bellows. “I expel your darkness from this mortal husk! You are not welcome here!”
The twisting sensation intensifies, and he yanks. Like ripping a fingernail from its socket.
I scream.
The ice drains from my stomach, following the path of Lucas’s glowing light. Out of my body. My magic weakens by a fraction, lost to the aether.
“What are you doing to me?” I shout. My teeth knock together with force.
“The curse is connected to your magic, Sire! This is the cure. I will pull the magic from your body like a bloodfish from your side, and the Beast will come out with it.”
I grip the chair, and the wood cracks. Take my magic away?Is he fucking mad?
“No,” I growl.
Lucas sings louder. His magic grips the Beast, pulling harder. The Beast rattles in my head and clambers for purchase. His icy claws scrape the inside of my skull.
The Beast takes control. My mouth moves again—“I won’t go!” My hands pull against the leather straps, and the left one snapsfree. My arm flails through the air, grasping at nothing. The chair tilts, then slams back into place.
“Excellent, Sire! Draw him out of his shell!”
I wrestle for control, crowding him toward the back of my mind, but he will not let go. The Beast is in charge now.
My eyes fly open. Magic unfurls. Jaw drops. My Voice reverberates through the room, and ice explodes across the floor. Steep, jagged shards, straight toward the healer.
Satisfaction. Gleeful hatred. Let it split him in two.
But Lucas sidesteps the Beast’s attack without breaking his spell.
“You will pay for the countless innocent lives, Beast. Begone!”
Confusion. Hurt. Innocence.
Feigned innocence. The Beast is a killer.
Anger, hot and consuming.
The scales spread rapidly, like a tidal wave over my limbs. My skin ripples with the speed of my transformation. I watch in terror as my fingernails darken, lengthen, and curve into wicked claws. My body stretches, muscles burning as I grow. The chair splinters apart.
I rise to my full height as my skin itches, dry and thirsty.
I need water. Ice-cold water.
I need to dive into it. To complete the transformation. Escape. Swim into the Rime and never emerge again.
Yes. That would be best for everyone.
Leave Sunfish alone.
Suddenly I can’t breathe. A fissure forms in my chest, and I break around a Nahla-sized hole.
