Blaze in the Darkness | ✔

Twelve

Oscen walked over to me, and I turned my head away in shame. My gaze was fixed on the twenty-three werewolf bodies as he stood beside me silently. Relief coursed through me when I noticed none of them were Sharion members, although I was certain some warriors had gotten injured.

Looking at my own body, I couldn't spot any injuries, although my clothing was torn and bloodstained in several places. Whether that blood was my own or someone else's, I wasn't sure.

A minute passed before I forced my fangs to retract and asked the question I never truly wanted the answer to.

"What happened?"

He sighed heavily, letting the question hang in the cold night air before answering. "Emio attacked with one of their Betas and twenty-two other wolves. It was no surprise attack; we could hear their howls loud and clear. You were the first to respond. By the time four wolves who were on patrol reached the battle, your shadow had already taken over and killed a couple.

"The five of you continued to fend them off until I arrived with the rest of the fighting force. We executed the rest of the wolves as a warning to the Alpha of the Emio pack, and now we're here. Thanks to you, we only took minimal damage, and everyone will fully recover within days."

A short, humorless laugh burst out. "It was this close to attacking you." I held up my hand, thumb and index finger nearly touching one another.

He put his hand on my shoulder, a little too forceful to be solely for comfort. "But it didn't. You were stronger and stopped it. You saved lives today, Thoysal. Zanixa could have died if you didn't stop them. Remember that."

My eyes fell to the ground in front of me. "I'm going to get cleaned up," I stated quietly. Before he could say another word, I teleported away.

I appeared far from Sharion territory, at the edge of a frozen lake. The ice creaked beneath my torn boots as I moved to the center of the lake. A twinge of sadness pulled at my chest, knowing my favourite footwear was beyond repair.

An axe appeared in my hands as I knelt near the center of the lake and started hacking away at the layer covering the water. The snow had weakened the ice, and after a minute, water appeared at the bottom of the hole.

I took off what was left of my jacket and shirt, followed by the rest of my clothing. Not a single injury marred my pale body. Other than the excessive amount of blood that clung to my skin and fingernails and the red tinge to my vision, it was almost like nothing had ever happened.

My eyes fell to my shadow was in front of me. It was taunting me, reminding me that most of the blood that covered my face and body wasn't my own. With a hiss, I swiped at it. My claws left deep gashes in the slushy ice.

If I didn't know any better, I could swear I heard it laughing in my head. I dunked my head into the freezing water, letting it fill my ears. The cold had none of the effect it had when I was human; my mind only vaguely registered it was there.

A sense of amusement that was not my own worked its way to the forefront of my mind. My attempts to push it away only made it stronger. Bubbles burst from my mouth as I hissed viciously, floating up to the surface. Bloodied water rushed into my mouth.

Spitting the water out before I could swallow it, I jerked my head up. My reflection stared back at me on the dark surface, a fanged grin on my face. I glared at it. Its grin only widened, glow in its eyes strengthening.

"Go away! You're not welcome here!" I hissed at it. No one was around to hear me, and even if they were, I did not care.

My shadow tilted its head before raising its eyebrow at me. 'Did we not enjoy the fight? The blood on our blades? The control we had over them as we ended their lives?'

A rush of excitement filled me as it spoke, but I pushed it away. It was not my own, and it would never be. "I did not. They had wives, children. Brothers and sisters. They were not meant to die today."

'Lies.' The beast blinked slowly, the glow going straight through its eyelids. 'You enjoy it. Every single time. You love the strength, the speed, the power that I have given us. The sooner we work together, the more powerful we will be.'

"I will never work together with you." I leapt into the water, destroying its image. Darkness enclosed me on all sides as I slowly sank to the bottom of the lake. For once, I welcomed it.

Blocking out the shadow's voice in my head, I cleaned the blood off my body. First my hair, face, and claws, and then the rest. When all crimson was removed, I swam back to the surface and crawled onto the ice. It didn't take long for frost to cake my hair.

I picked up my old clothing, holding it in front of me regretfully. I sighed as my eyes closed. Another good set of clothing wasted because I couldn't control the disease lurking in my veins. Shaking my head, I dropped them into the water before throwing the ice I had dug up back into it. It'd be frozen solid once more come morning.

My eyes were drawn to the moon. No one should have been in my room the past few hours. That was just what I needed. Magic swirled around me before I vanished, reappearing back in my bedroom. I opened my closet and got dressed. Spooking the pack's pups was the last thing I wanted to do.

I paused as I remembered Zanixa. All alone in the mineshaft, she was probably terrified. I finished buttoning up my jacket as fast as my vampiric speed allowed before going to the little kit.

Thoysal's inner demon is showing itself... whether he likes it or not. Thoughts?