Page 62 of Rescued By the Beast
A warm pulse vibrates in the gemstone against my neck. It's a familiar rhythm, like another heartbeat, as agitated as mine.
I try to concentrate, but fear poisons my thoughts. I know Mark can take care of himself, but what if this evil energy is something much worse than we imagine? What if it's connected to a powerful demon? What if he's no match for it?
No.
I can't think like that!
He'll be fine.
He'll come back to me...
Suddenly, something inside me pulses, a scorching current that runs through my chest like thunder tearing through the sky. My spine lengthens, a brutal pressure spreads through mybones, as if they need to be forcibly aligned. I widen my eyes, a strangled meow escapes my throat as the pain tears me apart.
It's as if my essence, however little there is of it, is pounding against an invisible barrier, trying to escape, trying to be free. A small groove forms in the shape of a , and my soul throws itself against it, pushing, tearing, biting... until, with a snap, the lock breaks.
My body collapses on the floor. Bare skin against the cold floor. My muscles burn, my breathing is ragged. Trembling, my fingers dig into the floor. Fingers. My human fingers.
"What?" I murmur, stunned.
My vision blurs for a moment, my chest heaving in despair. My body is trembling, exhausted. All the energy and essence I had has been sucked into this transformation.
Am I free?
Has the curse been broken?
My eyes scan the room, desperate for something, anything. Then I find the computer still on. But the screen is locked, and I don't know the password. If I knew, I could warn someone. Ask for help.
Is there a landline phone around here? I don't remember seeing one, but maybe...
Before I can move, a sharp cold creeps through my veins. My chest tightens, and the pain returns. Brutal. Excruciating. Sharp as a thousand blades tearing through my flesh.
No!
My bones bend against my will, twisting, forced to shrink. My skin burns, shrinks, reshapes itself. I try to resist, try tohold on to my human form, keep my body, my freedom, but something stronger drags me back.
"No!" I scream, a desperate sob escaping my lips.
A single hot tear slides down my face before everything collapses.
My body gives way.
I shrink, I writhe, and in the blink of an eye, I am back in my animal form. The world seems bigger, my body weaker, my voice reduced to a high-pitched, pained meow. My breathing falters.
What was that? How did I manage to transform back, even if only for a few seconds?
The pain still throbs in my chest, the remnant of the force that almost set me free.
What if... what if this is connected to what's happening outside? The dark energy Mark went to face. What if it has something to do with the witch who cursed me?
What if this force pulling me back means that Mark failed?
That he's hurt? Dead?
An anguished meow escapes my throat. Fear consumes me, each beat of my heart a drum of panic and despair. I lie back down in front of the door, my claws dug into the floor, forcing my eyelids to stay open.
Please, Mark... come back to me.
***
