Cold ice burned Karelias' cheeks. At the same time, waves of heat washed over his body. Everything around him shook. He barely managed to lift his head, finding himself on a piece of ice floating on Lake Taipas. All around him, the water was on fire. Something had destroyed the thick ice sheet.
Voices called out in the distance. But with the roaring of two dragons stuck in his head, he neither understood nor recognized them. Before he could make out any shapes, Karelias fell unconscious again.
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Not far away from the burning lake, a hideous creature broke through the ground. Animals scurried away at the sound. A large hand with four-clawed fingers reached out from beneath the snow. It reached for the nearest branch and then the monster pulled itself out of the ground.
The frozen soil broke open. A scream hounded the forest as a tall, lanky figure, clad in a black shell, barely covered in torn furs and with six glowing red eyes climbed out of the underworld. No fog escaped from between the long, sharp teeth as the monster hectically breathed in and out.
Adelo gazed at his hands, still shaking, still unable and unwilling to believe what just happened. He grabbed his shell, tried to pull it off. There must have been a way. He could not return home like this.
Impossible!
Impossible!
Impossible!
Blue blood came streaming from a crevice. Adelo screamed out in pain. He stopped trying to rip the shell off, just stared at the wound. Soon, the blood just stopped. As if a barrier had emerged to keep it inside. "H- h- how," he wanted to cry, but no tears came out.
Adelo tensed up. He frantically looked around, stumbling across the snow. Looking down, he saw feet seeming like they belonged to a bird of prey. They were not his own, yet they obeyed his command, leaving traces in the snow unlike any he had ever seen.
Talon struck against frozen root and the boy turned monster fell into the snow. But he barely felt the cold, he barely felt anything. The tough shell had absorbed most of the impact and for some reason he did not seem to get cold.
Only now did Adelo notice the torn furs all over his body. "No," he squeaked out, fumbling for the many small pieces. The old jacket mother had made for him, the scarf Aria had given him for their betrothal. All torn up. Tiny pieces, burnt in many places. Nothing remained.
His chest clenched. Even though his lungs had grown larger, Adelo could barely breathe. There was almost no heartbeat in his chest anymore. Nothing he would recognize as such. He whimpered and sobbed, trying in vain to pick up the pieces and put them all together.
No matter how many times he cried out, no tears came flowing from his eyes. Adelo just sat in the snow, barely able to control his new body. His claws only tore up the pieces of clothing even more. Every time, he stuttered and sobbed incoherently, sometimes crying out for his parents like a small child.
Then he looked up. Adelo recognized this place, he knew exactly where he was. So the boy turned monster forced himself up, turned around and started running. He ran through the frozen woods, faster than he had ever thought possible. No blue blood spilled across the snow from the self inflicted wound.
He ran and ran, all animals fleeing at the sound. The longer he ran, the more different these forests seemed to become. As if death waited behind every tree, as if Inari did not want him in her realm anymore. Kadath, the sun himself seemed to scorn the boy turned monster. Violent thoughts invaded his mind. Every little slight he had ever experienced came back, followed by a voice demanding revenge.
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Zakula: Beloved Companion
FantasyKarelias did not choose his dog. Armas chose his human. For many years, they have been brothers with two hands and six feet. But Armas was always destined to die first. Knowing how lost his human would be without him, he clings onto life. But death...
