Page 16 of Malicent
A second of silence. Then his breathing changes.
Shallow. Ragged.Wrong.
“What the fuck?” Kalix curses, his voice sharp. He instinctively steps back and tightens his grip around his sword.
Then bones snap. The sound is wet, a series of horrific cracks.
Leving’s arms contort, twisting at impossible angles. His fingers break, then reform, the bones shifting in deformed angles.
His neck jerks violently to the side—too far, too fast. A killing angle. Yet he doesn’t fall.
Instead, his feet slip underneath him in a series of sharp, disjointed movements. His spine bends, folding him backward into a grotesque bow.
Pushing off the ground with deformed arms, his body rises. His head twists, cracking and turning, until our eyes meet.
Gone is the brown from his portrait. Only white remains—glassy, empty, and soulless.
His jaw unhinges. Yellow foam bubbles at the corners of his mouth, spilling between his teeth.
Then he screams a sound that isn’t human or natural. It splinters the air.
Then his flesh tears open.
From within, inky spikes spear outward, punching through muscle and bone.
They burst from his back, his arms, and his chest, ripping through him like blades from the inside out.
Blood spills in thick, violent bursts. Each fresh wound sends sheets of crimson splattering onto the floor.
“Well, let’s not wait for it to finish transforming, yeah?” Kalix quips, his voice strained as he chokes on the thick sulfur air. He tugs at his tunic, making sure to cover every inch of exposed skin.
It’s likely some type of hellion capable of possession. Not a common pest but a far worse breed.
And if I’m right, its blood will eat through human flesh like acid, down to the bones.
Kalix lunges. His blade glints in the faint moonlight.
Steel arcs through flesh.
The Duke’s head falls, plummeting to the ground with a thud. It rolls before coming to a stop. His body collapses after it.
It’s silent again for a moment. Nothing moves.
Then his chest rises.
Not breathing. It’s something else.
Something worse.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Kalix’s displeasure seeps into his features.
I take a cautious step forward. My fingers grip tightly around my sword. My eyes sharpen, trying to make sense of what I’m seeing.
This thing is fighting its way out.
The body twitches, then convulses.
A wet, tearing sound rips through the room.
