Seth hesitated a moment, weighing his options. Sara’s heart was beating near a regular level again, and after a moment Seth too found that she breathed deep, full breaths. But she was bleeding profusely once again, and without action he would soon find himself exactly where he had begun. His hand covered in blood, Seth continued to keep pressure on Sara’s wound and reached inside himself to extract one portion of his own life that he had already separated for Sara. It was a small portion, a portion equal to that of maybe half a human life. Seth feared if he gave Sara too much human aura at one time the healing effects of the bat's aura would be watered down to an unusable level, though this was only an assumption, a fact Seth had no real way of testing or proving. Seth poured the small portion of energy into Sara and watched as it melded with her own aura. Sara’s aura swelled, then began to deplete rapidly as the glow from her skin returned.
Feeling the flesh actually move beneath his bloodied hand, Seth pulled back his makeshift wound dressing and watched as the flesh and muscle upon Sara’s neck began to mend themselves back together. Though it was dark in the chamber, Sara’s own light, emanating from her healing body, revealed the process to Seth who looked on with both curiosity and awe. Seth reeled back as what appeared to be steam issued out from the wound, and feeling the heat upon his face, he assumed the body's ability to heal must also be able to defeat infection in this manner. Next Seth watched as the small severed muscles within Sara’s neck appeared to crawl and undulate back together as the very fibers reached out to grasp one another. These very same muscle fibers wove themselves and twisted around one another as they began to heal and flow together again as one, as if the injury had never even been sustained. The last of the blood flow ceased and the very skin upon Sara’s neck seemed to blur at the edges of the wound, and without even the slightest scar, the flesh appeared to simply regenerate until the wound was completely covered, leaving only the wet blood that had escaped it moments before as evidence.
Sara had managed to mend herself. So far as Seth could tell the healing was complete. Sara’s thrashing and convulsing had stopped, and the rapid depletion of her aura had subsided. She lay peacefully now upon the floor, breathing calm regular breaths, her heart beating as it should. Seth exhaled loudly, tears of joy brimming his eyes, knowing he had succeeded. Sara was alive and safe, though still unconscious, and she rested tranquilly. Seth was sure she would awake in short order. Unfinished, he took a moment to appraise Sara’s aura and realized that in his concern for her and his rush to save her, in his idiot mind that seemed so vast and limitless he had made a vital mistake.
It was an error he had already reasoned out earlier, yet he had not thought about the implications of the process he had chosen to save Sara’s life. Seth’s plan was ended, and though successful, it was unfinished and he could not complete the process. He had stolen the life from his altered bat creature and as such it had infused with Sara’s aura, changing it and mutating it, making Sara’s aura more like its own. But the second half of Seth’s plan was to water down the bat's mutation with his own aura by giving Sara a large portion of his own aura. Seth would be giving the power to Sara willingly though, and so it would change to conform to her own current life force, providing her with extended life indeed, but having no effect on the bat's alterations to her. Seth knew he needed to imbue Sara with more power. In her current state she had little aura remaining after consuming it to heal. She had perhaps days, a week or two at most. Seth felt defeated once again by his own actions. He had to give her more life, which would in fact strengthen the mutated aura within Sara, making it grow larger and more profound. He knew he could, at a later date, take the life of many humans to then complete the process, but had no idea when that time might come. So it was that Seth found himself with quite a dilemma. The longer he extended Sara’s life now, the more lives he would have to take down the road to return her to as much human as possible.
Seth was torn. He had no idea how long it might be before he could complete the process, so he knew he must now give Sara more life for her body to feed upon. But what if, while they were waiting to complete the change, Sara became injured again. She would need the bat's aura within her to be strong so that she might heal to reach the day when Seth could complete her change. Seth knew what he must do, though he did not like it. Again he would be forced to make a sacrifice. Seth reached within himself and extracted energy enough to equal the life spans of twenty men. Watching as it changed and mutated to match Sara’s own current aura, Seth let it pour into her, swelling her aura to a great level. Someday soon, Seth knew, he would be forced to kill several hundred of his own kind to undo what he had done to Sara. He hoped that Sara would forgive him this mistake, and understand it was his love for her that led him to this end. Now all Seth could do was wait until she regained consciousness, and hopefully she would hear his pleas and forgive him.
* * * * *
Sara, lost in nothingness, felt herself fading. Her tenuous hold to this plane of emptiness was quickly slipping away, and for that she was afraid. Physically she could feel nothing, and in this place she could neither hear nor see anything either. Mentally however, Sara could feel herself slipping away, though where she would go from here was unknown. She clung desperately to the nothingness until her very will trembled with the strain, and when she could hold no longer, the vortex within the nothingness pulling her away, she prayed to no god in particular that Seth would carry on without her and find peace and happiness.
As Sara’s final moment in the plane between life and death was upon her, something changed. It was not a perceptible change in the blackness of her surroundings, but more a change from within. Something alien had entered her consciousness and for a moment Sara could feel it trying to escape her. Then as quickly as it came it vanished. As the new presence dissipated, Sara felt herself renewed, both her energy and her determination to remain redoubled and again she clung to the nothingness, unwilling to relinquish her hold. Then Sara felt the energy. It was something within her yet somehow not a part of her. She could feel it changing her and altering her, becoming one with her, and for a reason beyond her own understanding, it brought her pleasure. For with this new energy within her Sara felt powerful for the first time in her existence, she felt whole. Something about the energy made her more than she was, or more complete than she had ever been. Even here in an abyss of nothingness, Sara felt she could hold on for an eternity with this new power that had become one with her. But then just as the power came she felt it slipping away.
Sara feared that this was to be one of the trials of the plane between life and death. She dreaded an eternity where she would be given the strength to hold on, only to have it taken from her again until she began to slip. Sara feared the process would repeat in an unending, maddening cycle to torture her. As her fear seemed to begin to become reality, something else changed. As the new power within her grew weaker and weaker, the nothingness around her began to gain substance. Not in a physical way where she could see any change, but she could feel her body again, thrashing and twisting, heaving and bucking. Also she knew now that she lay upon her back, whereas before she thought herself floating in limbo. Sara reveled in the moment, feeling for the first time in what seemed like forever a portion of something familiar to her. Then as the foreign power that had joined with her drained away further, so too did her connection with her body. Fear assailed her once again, but this time it was very short lived. As her connection to her mortal body began to wane, Sara again felt power surge through her. For a moment Sara was lost in the ecstasy it brought with it, but as the ecstasy relinquished, she found herself, much to her amazement, free of the plane of nothingness. Sara was finally at home. She had somehow returned to her body, and though she realized that she slept, she could once again feel, hear and breathe. Once again within herself, she felt at peace.
Sara lay unconscious, yet her mind was reeling at the blissful return to her current state for many a moment. She wanted to awake, hopi
ng to find Seth near and learn of all that had happened in her absence, but for the moment she let her body rest and enjoyed her returned connection with mortality. Sara drifted between conscious thought and unconscious dreams on and off as her body became fully reconnected with her consciousness. Somewhere between a dream and a memory Sara found herself once again assaulted, and overcome, by excruciating pleasure. Something inside her snapped and the wall between her and the world around her fell away. With something between a gasp for air and a moan of pleasure, Sara’s back arched off the floor beneath her as her muscles tensed in a pleasurable stretch and she opened her eyes.
Sara looked up to the man she loved, a smile parting her lips, and found that he too was smiling, but something about his demeanor was off. Sara glanced around their surroundings to see if the trouble in Seth’s eyes was a concern beyond that of her understanding. Though look as she may, from her current position upon the floor, she could find nothing of terrible concern. In fact it appeared they were alone in a stone chamber of some sort that was lit by an eerie green glow that emanated and reflected off everything in the room. Returning her gaze to Seth she was saddened to find his awkward smile replaced by a look of pure, wretched pain.
* * * * *
Seth watched as Sara began to stir with mixed emotions. He was elated that he had succeeded in saving her life, but fearful of what consequences his actions might have. Seth knew not if Sara would be the same person, or in her alteration had changed to something more primitive or feral like that of his wolf troops. He worried that her view of the world may have skewed, her understanding warped. Mostly Seth feared that Sara may have been altered to something less than human and that he could no longer connect with her as he had before, or for whatever reason her love for him was lost in the transformation. So watching her eyes flutter open he tried to greet her with a smile and watched as she then looked from him to around the dark chamber. Finally Sara’s gaze returned to Seth and he knew, though afraid, he needed to ascertain her current mental state.
"Hello my angel," Seth said hesitantly.
"Hi, was I gone long?" Sara replied, her throat feeling a bit hoarse.
"A day and a half, two at most. How are you feeling?" Seth asked, a tone of concern in his voice.
"I feel..." Sara paused taking note of her body. "I feel amazing. I think that somehow I have changed. I feel stronger, more complete, more...powerful."
"Really?" Seth asked and continued without waiting for a response. "I was afraid that you might have changed in a bad way. Are you sure you are OK?"
"How would I have changed?" Sara asked, worry consuming her features as well.
Seth was forced to relate the tale of how he had somehow magically transported them to this location. How without a healer he had no viable option other than trying to mend her wounds himself. He even explained to her, to the best of his ability, how he had through trial and error transformed the great bats into the likeness of human beings, and then used their life, and their amazing healing abilities, to save her life. All the while Seth apologized and begged forgiveness, swearing that as soon as he was able, he would complete the process, restoring her as best as he was able to her former position among humanity. After relating his tale, and watching Sara’s features change as her emotions swayed this way then that, Seth waited patiently for any form of response.
Several long minutes passed as Sara on several occasions looked as if to respond, then turned her gaze elsewhere within the stone room to ponder the story further. She was not angry in the least at Seth’s actions. As far as she could tell, his actions had brought forth no dire consequences. She did indeed feel amazing. Her body felt stronger, faster, even lighter than before, though she knew this could be due to not eating in a few days, along with her body burning off weight in an attempt to heal. So far as she could tell none of Seth’s fears were founded on anything at all. How could she possibly be angry with the one man she loved more than life itself for saving her? A mischievous thought coming to mind, Sara once again returned her gaze to Seth.
"How could I possibly forgive you?" Sara asked with mock disdain.
Seth could not even manage a response, his heart seemed to stop beating and fall into the pit of his stomach. Broken as surely as a glass smashed upon stone, Seth’s head fell to his chest.
"What I mean is," Sara continued, "how can I forgive something that requires no forgiveness?"
Seth raised his head, hope restored, with a huge grin beginning to spread across his face.
"If anything I must do my best to repay such a debt with both my love...and my body," Sara said, her mischievous grin parting her lips.
Without another word Sara rolled her body over, and rising to all fours, sprang at Seth like an animal stalking its prey. Defying her size and the limited space available to them, Sara lunged more gracefully than any cat Seth had ever seen, yet more powerfully than a charging bull. Pinning him to the ground with her own body, Sara began to kiss Seth both relentlessly and passionately. It was then, in the deep gloom of their chamber, that Seth realized the first of the changes in Sara. Like she had said she was stronger, even faster and more graceful than before. But with their lips locked, and their tongues fighting for dominance, Seth discovered a slight physical alteration as well. Just as in the damned bat creature he had used to restore Sara to life, the front upper canine teeth had become slightly enlarged. Not to the point to look awkward, but enough that if she were to bite down on his lip, she would surely draw blood. Seth hoped beyond hope that this slight physical alteration was the worst that he had done to Sara, though his hope would be short lived.
Chapter 5
A Solemn Return and a Dark Revelation
The solemn procession of the king’s mounted advisors and councilors, along with the many heads of various orders and the remaining Knights of Valdadore rode swiftly back to the castle city of Valdadore. Normally such a procession would be slow moving, slowed by carts burdened with the remains of the honored deceased. But having no such remains the procession raced on, ever nearing the city. Only armor, weapons and personal effects remained of the fallen king and his many honored knights who had fallen in the final blast of the battle. Much of the funeral had yet to be planned. The procession had only stopped once along the trek back home, in Raven's Hold. The men had spent but a single night within the black walls of that castle city and no decisions whatsoever had been made. The king's absence left a great void. With no one being chosen to lead in his stead, there was a vacuum at the heart of the kingdom which too many power hungry mongrels were looking to fill. Thus no funeral arrangements had been made, and many of those in the procession were in a hurry to return home, not to lay to rest the memory of their king, but to lay a foundation of followers so that they could themselves claim the throne.
Garret rode in silence upon his great white imperial steed. It was a magnificent beast whose bloodlines had been documented for centuries. These animals were bred to perfection with a precise balance of intelligence, strength and stamina. Garret and the rest of the procession were fortunate for this fact, for it was several days ride back to the city of Valdadore. After their brief stay at Raven's Hold the horses had been pushed hard, none wanting to stop for rest until within the walls of their own city. Even now Garret could see the tops of the towers in the city beginning to appear on the horizon. A few more hours at best and they would reach their destination.
Garret did not know what to expect when he reached Valdadore. His own conscience was burdened beyond belief at the loss of his king whom he was sworn to protect and his mentor Sirus, and the possible death of his brother Garret felt somehow responsible for each of the losses and as such the deaths weighed heavily upon his soul. He had already decided against sending word to his father in Vineleaf, for he still held hope that his brother lived. Garret wanted nothing more than to strike out on his own, as did Borrik the great wolf man that Seth had created to be his second-in-command. But Garret had too much responsibility to simpl
y drop everything to go searching for his brother who may or may not still be alive. Garret clung to hope that he would be reunited with Seth some day in the near future, but knew the effort that reunited them would not be his own.
Garret had also taken upon himself the responsibility of delivering the sorrowful news to Sasha, the now widow to his fallen mentor Sirus, the proprietor of the King’s Herald inn. It was perhaps not his duty to deliver the news, but the woman had shown Garret and his companions such kindness in the past that he could not help but see to the task himself. It was a dire duty that he assigned himself to, but none the less he would perform it honorably, just as any other Knight of Valdadore would.
So much was as yet undecided, Garret feared the kingdom might fall apart. Several men were obviously setting themselves up to try and fill the position of king, but Garret somehow doubted any of them vying for the position would be able to fill the previous king's shoes. King Valdadore had been an honorable man. Blessed by the god Gorandor he had lived an unnaturally long life, and though he appeared only a man of his mid-forties or early fifties, in fact he had been reigning as king for over two centuries. Very few lived who remembered a time when he was not the king. He had been a man of true honor, who did not lead for personal gain, but instead for the better of his own people. He made laws not to enslave those under his protection, but to give them freedom and safety. Most of those with an eye on the throne now were not such men, and their reasons for wanting to rule were not near as honorable as their predecessor’s. Garret did not know if his position as a knight would hold any weight, but with Sirus and the king both fallen, as well as several other Knights of Valdadore, Garret had found himself filling a position within the king’s council. Even though at present there was no king to preside over such a council, it would be up to them, as a whole, to decide who would take up the role to lead the kingdom. Garret, much by fate, had been given a voice though he wondered, given his lack of experience, if any would hear him.
The Changing Page 6