Page 40 of The Magic of Revenge
Losing my mind. I was losing my fucking mind.
No purpose, no drive. I didn't even have the desire to cook or do yoga.What the fuck is wrong with me? Oh yeah, you lost your animal and your mate and possibly your best fucking friend in one fell swoop. Come on, Kai. Think. There must be something here that you can do to be useful.
With Laurie and Asrael both out of the castle with the others, that only left douche-mage to watch out for... So I could do some grade A creeping. When we went on missions, I was always the one who ended up sneaking around. Being light on my feet and having heightened senses basically made me a ninja. It had been a while since I went stealth mode on some bitches.
I hopped up and peeked out of my bedroom, finding the hallway empty. Marvelous. Closing the door softly behind me, I figured I'd start in the wing I hadn't been in yet. I knew that was where Laurie, Bryce, and Asrael's rooms were. There had to be a basement around here somewhere, too.
Gods, this anxious feeling was getting old. I was constantly on edge, feeling like something horrible was moments away from happening. Or hell, maybe it already had. That feeling of something building was even stronger today. I was just waiting for the moment.
Peering out over the loft, I didn't see Bryce, so I did a little tuck and roll just because I could—at least I could pretend like I was on an actual job. Just as I jumped up onto the balls of my feet and darted into the hallway, I heard a faint squeak. I pressed myself up against the wall and froze, listening. There was a soft scuffling of tiny feet from... within the wall?
I looked over just in time to see a tiny black mouse poke his head through a crack in the cobblestone wall.
"Jupiter's cock!" I whisper-screamed at the mouse, holding a hand over my heart. "You fuckin' scared me, you tiny little beast."
‘Get in here, I have something you need to see,’the mouse said.
I blinked. Then blinked again.Oh, Kaito, you've really lost it this time.A mouse with a French accent. Yep. It’s all over now.
‘Quit staring,géant. I don't have all day!’the mouse squeaked in annoyance and I felt like I might faint.
‘How are you…’I stuck my finger out toward the mouse and he leapt onto it which caused a sound I'd definitely never made before in my life to slip past my lips.
‘Why are you afraid of me?’the mouse asked, now standing on my shoulder, little arms held up in awhat the fuck, mangesture.
‘I-I'm not. I've just never talked with a mouse before. Or any animal, really,’I explained, still trying to wrap my head around this.‘I mean, I’ve talked with Bagheera, but I share a consciousness with him so this is different.’
‘First time for everything. But listen, we must hurry. Merge with me and I will show you. I've been watching you and your friends. You seek answers?’
‘Yeah, that's why I was out here. What do you mean merge?’I questioned, as the mouse hopped down my arm and came to rest in my upturned palm.
‘You are a shifter. So shift,’he stated plainly.
I laughed.‘That's not how it works, dude. I shift into a panther. The one who I share an existence with.’
The mouse tilted his head and looked at me for a moment, his little tail wrapping around my middle finger.‘No, you're more. I sense it. Focus,géant. I will share my body with you to gain you access to what you seek. Time is running out!’He stomped his tiny foot.
‘Gods, I must be dreaming. This is more than my MDD—they're gonna put me in the hospital again, I just know it. But what the fuck. Let's do it.’It wasn't like I had much to lose at this point, I already looked like an idiot talking to a house mouse with a French accent. Who was now gleefully rubbing his tiny hands together in anticipation.Go big or go home, right?
My magic surged as I called upon it and I focused my intention on becoming this creature. Similar to what I did with Bagheera. The familiar tingling sensation zapped down my spine and when I blinked I was landing on the floor with a squeak, tiny mouse legs beneath me.
‘Well, this is weird as all hell,’I confessed, laughing as the mouse launched us at the cobblestone wall and scaled it with speed and accuracy, dipping back through that crack in the wall and hauling ass into the darkness.
Being so tiny and low to the ground was an entirely new experience for me. Fun fact, mice are liquid. The cracks and crevices that we squeezed through were un-fucking-real. Pretty sure I forced a few surprise turds out of this mouse's little ass at least seven times.How am I a mouse right now?Shit just kept getting weirder and weirder.
‘Can you quit shrieking every time I jump?’the mouse said through our shared mind.
‘Shit. Sorry. Where are we going?’I asked as we peered out of an opening in the wall into what appeared to be... aha! The basement.
I felt the mouse roll his eyes at my thoughts.‘I have a name, you know.’
‘Well, how would I know? You didn't introduce yourself, you just immediately started bossing me around,’I replied, exasperated. Little dude had an attitude.‘Fine. What's your name, mouse?’
‘Napoleon.’
‘Shut up,’I laughed.
‘Rude,’he squeaked.
