The Demons of Rome

IV - Iatus Incarnate

The first thing he noticed was the pounding in his head. It was a double beat that bounced around his entire body.

He groaned and sat up. He hurt all over and he struggled to pull himself to his knees. He felt like he had been dropped off a building; scratches and bruises covered his hands and with every twitch his muscles ached. He eventually managed to sit up and waited for his form to revert back to normal.

Except it didn't.

He looked back at his hands and they were making no effort whatsoever to heal themselves.

He felt like he might throw up, except he hadn't eaten in 10 years.

What did they do to me?

He looked around at the others. They all were lying on the ground motionless.

He tried to get to his feet but his head swam and he sat back down. He groaned again.

I feel so tired. I might just go to sleep here....

And with that thought he passed out.

When he woke he threw up. Iatus looked at it in horror and pushed himself away.

This isn't good.

It then occurred to him what the pounding was. It was a heartbeat.

He gripped his chest and felt it pounding away.

Aelith...

He reached out a hand to draw a circle. But nothing happened.

Crying out in desperation he dragged himself towards the nearest man. He looked as white as bone and his face had sunken in. Iatus fought with himself to reach over and grab anything metal on the man. He found a belt buckle and yanked on it until it came loose.

He didn't care to draw anything intricate, settling for a simple circle.

He struggled through scratching it into the rock and began the summons. When he named Aelith it felt like someone stabbed him in the stomach with a hot poker. He screamed out in pain and curled up into a ball. There was a flash and he passed out again.

He woke again, lying on his back. He still felt exhausted and the dust in the room was beginning to make his nose itch.

What is happening to me? I don't need to sleep...

"Ah! You're up," said an all too cheerful voice from his left.

Iatus forced his muscles into turning his head, only to see Aelith, in owl form, preening his feathers.

"Aelith? What's happening to me?" Iatus rasped, his throat so dry he thought it might crack.

"Well..." Aelith mused unconcerned, "It appears that you're a human."

"What?"

"Well, pretty much, you're still a spirit but also now human, it's weird... and unstable. The process seems to have taken a toll on you, it took a lot of magic just to keep you alive, nothing I couldn't handle of course but..."

"What do you mean unstable?" Iatus tried to shout but it came out in a sort of croak.

"Well, whatever happened to you has bound your spirit to your body. However, not like in a normal animal or person. You've sort of been stuck together with magical glue. And to top it off your binding has been broken, so your spirit is trying to return to the ether. If your body is destroyed, like if you die or trip and graze your knee, the magic will snap. Probably causing a large explosion."