Queen Of The Ventils

XLIII

When I awoke, at first, I felt a gentle pressure on my neck. I paid it no mind; probably just Lunalis lying, tucked under my chin like we had last night. Last night...that was amazing, I thought to myself, feeling a bit giddy in my sleepy daze. I grunted, stretching out my four arms. Wait. Four arms?! Oh, KLEB—

My eyes snapped open to see Lunalis' face, leering over me, green eyes burning with anger; not only could I see it, but I felt it, as if her rage were my own, burning in the back of my throat and throughout my entire nervous system. I guess that's what she meant when she said 'I will feel it', my brain chimed in unhelpfully, and I gasped as I was shoved back into the concrete of the roof.

I winced as pain shot up my back, and I suppose Lunalis noticed it, as she pressed down harder on my throat (ah, yes, those were her claws wrapped around it), snarling and making strange noises. "Lu–" I was cut off by a harsher squeeze, reducing my voice to a strangled whisper.

She roared at me in Ventis—I recognized it from the night we had met, though instead of curious noises, these were clearly made with anger. "I-I can't—breathe," I gasped, and the fingers relented, if only slightly, as she muttered something under her breath. "Where. Is. He?" she growled, voice so low and dangerous I struggled to comprehend the words through the fog beginning to grow in my brain from lack of oxygen. "W-who?"

"Don't play stupid," she snarled, and I flinched as her razor-sharp teeth grazed over the skin of my face. "Last night; you took him. How else could you have gotten here and replaced him?"
"W-wha—"

"KREL," she roared, slamming my head harshly onto the concrete roof and making me nearly black out. "The human who I was sleeping with! If you did not take him, then you must have seen who! TELL ME!!"

"I....I—"

"If you won't tell me where he is, I'll rip that tongue of yours out of your blue skull and force it to confess," she growled, and I saw a haze of magenta surrounding her.

"Wait! Wait," I gasped. "I—I'll show you! I'll show you where he is! Just don't kill me!" Immediately, the magic faded and the hand around my neck disappeared. I sighed in relief, sitting upright to examine the situation I was in.

Now that I could take a good look for myself, I could see that my transduction had worn off. Even after tinkering with it to fit in among the other humans while I was on Earth, it still needed a daily recharge. I usually let it cool down while I was sleeping, then reactivated it in the morning; that would explain why Lunalis had panicked.

I wiggled the fingers on each of my four hands, each glowing blue and contrasting with the black bodysuit that reached up to my neck, down my arms and covering my toeless feet. I was much taller now; my human disguise was around 5'6" tall, whereas my Akiridion form was much closer to 7'. Lunalis seemed so small to me now, although no less terrifying leering over my sitting form.

She was standing in front of me, staring down as her hands glowed with magic, informing me that she was in no way hesitant to strike me down without a second thought. "Rise," she commanded, and I hurried to my feet; her anger still burned fiercely. "You will lead me to my mate. If you mislead me—" She snapped her fingers, and a serpent of magic rocketed towards my neck, curling around it and constricting my airway. "Understood," I gasped, and it relented ever-so-slightly.

"Now, march."

**********

I was, without a single doubt, in serious trouble.

I was currently being marched down the street of my neighborhood, leading Lunalis towards the Mothership in the hope that I could show Lunalis my transduction in action and convince her to not strangle me to death with her own magic; unfortunately, I had left my serrator inside the Mothership itself, as I doubted I would need it at a school dance. Oh, if only my past self could see me now...