Zylah watched as he dropped to sit on the ledge of roots and his pant legs instantly darkened when they grew saturated. He slid in with a splash, and the water came to the centre of his chest while he stood near the edge. It was obvious it deepened swiftly since he swam to the middle, his body gliding through the water with each stroke of his arms.
I wish I could do that.She hated that she instantly sunk in any body of water, as if she was just too heavy and dense – like a rock.
Jabez dived beneath the water and disappeared.
Zylah considered coming closer, but decided it was best she stayed out of his way. It gave her time to dwell on what he’d just said.
It seems like he has sacrificed a lot for the Demons.He’d grown the Veil for them, this village.Even if he doesn’t really show it, he obviously cares for them.He hid his true nature and feelings behind indifference, and she was curious as to why.
Why give away power, if he was so power hungry? Why care for these creatures, if he thought lowly of them?Why help me?
Her parents had acted as if he was horrible. They spoke of unpleasant things he’d done, things he hadn’t denied... but what about the good?
She looked up once more, remembering the scene of the village in the distance highlighted by the beauty of dusk. She wondered if the Demons appreciated him for all he’d done for them as much as she did on their behalf.
Before she could linger on her thoughts, the light snuffed out and shoved her into darkness once more. She brought her gaze down to the pool and flickers of green brightened in moving streaks just as air bubbles breached the surface. With a gasp,Jabez’s head popped up, and he immediately headed for the ledge.
He gripped a root before shaking his face of water. He shoved his other arm out, and his enclosed fist glowed with streaks of green before dimming – as if taking it from the water stopped it from radiating magic. Even the thrumming she’d felt earlier disappeared.
He climbed out and sat down with his legs crossed. “I ask that you don’t disturb me for a little while,” he stated, water sluicing down his naked torso and glittering from the stone in his hands. “What I’m about to do requires the utmost concentration.”
“Is it dangerous?” Zylah stated, worry tightening her stomach.
His lips quirked. “This isn’t the first time I’ve consumed a mana stone. I’ve just never attempted it without any of my own magic before.”
That didn’t make her feel any better, especially as he didn’tdenythat it wasn’t dangerous.
He sighed when she chittered nervously and lowered his hands into his lap. He gave a shrug as he focused his gaze on the stone in his palm and ran the pad of his free hand’s thumb over it. It did little more than faintly glow.
“I’ll be fine, Zylah. I’ll stop if I feel it failing or if it’s dangerous.” He tilted his head back to give her a smug, raised brow. “I do care for my life, you know.”
Although his words did nothing to settle her unease, she nodded and backed up. Nothing she said would stop him from doing this, and Jabez had never truly asked anything of her before now.
The least she could do was try to have faith in him.He said this is important to him... that it weighs on him.She didn’t want to interfere with his attempt to regain his lost magic.
So, Zylah watched intently as he cupped the stone to his chest, closed his eyes, and bowed his head. Nothing happened as choking darkness descended upon them.
For some reason, that darkness felt heavier than usual, like a cold, foreboding blanket. She didn’t know if it was fear that made it weightier, and she fidgeted in the dark as she tried everything in her might to keep herself where she was. To not intervene despite how much her instinct reared its head for her to do so.
Then a charge in the air surrounding him swirled in an engulfing wind, gentle at first but growing stronger by the second. Soft light emanated from the stone and sucked away from it in fluttering, smoky streaks like he was pulling them to his heart, his slightly parted mouth, and even nose and ears. Starting from his heart and spreading up his neck, forks of green glowed from beneath his skin, following his veins and arteries. It made some of the Elvish grey undertone of his complexion shift to green.
Her body tensed and her heart gave a sharp sting when he let out a pained grunt and his features twisted in agony. The stone cracked, glimmering fragments slipping between the gaps of his fingers, while the power in the air grew harsher.
Malicious energy burst into the air, just as the stone shattered.
A bursting growl cut short as complete darkness descended upon them, more suffocating than before. All Zylah could sense was his fast heartbeat, his light breathing, and her own growing frantic. The air calmed, only for it to suddenly grow colder, to rush faster.
A small, dark chuckle echoed through the air, just as that green glow came to life as a set of eyes. It crawled along his limbs like luminous vines, and even seemed to momentarily colour his long white hair to green strands that spread outwards from hisscalp. All the symbols, runes, and circles of writing across his body came to life in patches of multiple colours.
His chuckle grew louder as he stood and looked down at the magical lines of light twirling around his fingers, hands, and arms. He threw both arms out to the sides and torches she hadn’t noticed before lit up in flashes of fire.
Zylah gasped and stepped back in surprise.
The area got much brighter. It revealed him assessing his body as if he couldseethe magic now running through his entire being. The green faded out as his body began to change.
A red smoky symbol surrounded by a circle of runes on his chest glowed, just as his fangs grew, his nails turned into black claws, his eyes glowed a fiercer red, and the runes...moved.They shifted until black, near Demon-like streaks rushed over his sides, his arms, his neck, and even around his hairline.
He looked bigger, fiercer, and somehow... more like a Demon.