>>12651809My legs felt like lead, but I forced myself forward, drawn by an irresistible, horrifying curiosity. Was this where Dane Boe was being forced to make his Troonslop? Was this the heart of the Jarty's insidious power?
I reached out a trembling hand, my fingers brushing against Kevin's glowing green fur. It felt strangely soft, yet vibrated with an immense, alien power. The moment my skin touched his, a jolt, not of electricity, but of pure, unadulterated fear, shot through me. My vision blurred, the room began to spin, and the metallic-sweet smell intensified, choking me.
Kevin’s black eyes fixed on mine, and a low growl, more like a purr, emanated from deep within his chest. His vast, green form seemed to swell, filling my entire field of vision. The last thing I saw was his massive, wet maw descending, his black eyes like portals to an unimaginable void. I screamed, a raw, primal sound that was instantly swallowed by the overwhelming green. Pain, absolute and annihilating, consumed me. My body convulsed, then went limp. Blackness enveloped me not as a void, but as an endless, suffocating green.
The bed was warm, impossibly soft. Soot stirred, a content sigh escaping his lips. Beside him, Kevin, his emerald fur glowing faintly in the dim light, snuggled closer, his great paw resting gently on Soot’s chest. The wolf’s breathing was deep and even.
Soot’s eyes, disturbingly wide and unfocused, stared up at the ceiling. He felt no warmth, no comfort, only the vast, echoing emptiness of a mind that had witnessed too much, created too much. He traced the contours of Kevin’s green fur, the soft, alien texture a familiar comfort now.