Everything happened at lightning speed. Too fast for me to even comprehend what I was doing, much less attempt to re-gain control of my own actions.
Lucas saw my attack coming and tried to move out of they way, but he was too slow. My shoulder rammed into his chest with all the speed and power of my uncontrolled fury. Lucas was thrown off his feet. He landed several meters away, pitching and rolling across the floor. He slammed hard into the wall. Bamboo cracked and shattered around him. A few chunks came loose and clattered to the floor.
He whipped around and met my gaze, eyes flaming with anger.
“What the hell is wrong with you? You little b-”
I didn’t bother listening to the rest, I was already charging in for anther attack. I was completely illogical. The wildcat had taken over. There wasn’t a thread of rational thought left inside of me.
This time, Lucas was ready for me. I lunged straight at his face. He swerved out of the way and shoved me hard between the shoulder blades, turning my own momentum against me. I shot forward and smashed right through the divider that separated the main hallway from the courtyard. I landed on the grass, debris raining down over my head.
I was back up in a flash. Without a single moment of hesitation, ready for my next attack.
Everything after that was a blur. We fought like a pair of wild animals, even though we were both still in human form. I came at Lucas with my teeth bared, nails flashing, channeling the wildcat into every one of my actions. Lucas stomped and kicked, throwing his superior size and weight around.
We were crashing into the walls, putting holes in the floor, making an almighty racquet. I heard doors creak open and sounds of alarm, but no one dared to get in between us.
Lucas didn’t hold anything back. He put all his strength into every attack. His face was set, yet there was a flicker of something underneath. Something that looked almost like fear.
He wasn’t prepared for this, it couldn’t have been more obvious. He was used to picking fights with people smaller and weaker than him. People who didn’t stand up to him. People who didn’t fight back. And now he had met his match in a place he never would have expected.
But, that’s what I didn’t understand. I was holding my own against him, but that was about it. According to Isaac—hell, according to everything I had experienced lately—I should have destroyed Lucas in seconds. By this point, he should have been nothing but a quivering pile of flesh on the ground.
I didn’t know what was going on. I felt… strange. Like I was fighting through molasses. My power was still there, bubbling and roiling underneath the surface. It was building and growing stronger every second. The warm, tingling sensation now filled my entire body. Yet, at the same time, it seemed like I could only access a fraction of that potential.
I was a huge, angry lion at the edge of a flimsy chain. A volcano about to erupt. A dam that was cracked and strained and ready to burst.
What would happen when all that power broke free? I was frankly a little scared to find out.
While my thoughts were distracted, Lucas threw me over his shoulder and slammed me onto the floor. He tried to pin me down. I thrust my legs out, catching him in the chest and flipping right over my head. The ground shook when he landed.
I rolled over onto all fours, but Lucas was somehow faster. I looked up to find a massive black horse with flaming blue eyes glaring down at me. The creature reared, pawing the air with its gigantic hooves. I barely scrambled out of the way fast enough to avoid being crushed.
Lucas reared again and I rolled in the other direction. His feet slammed down exactly where my hands would have been, turning polished slates of bamboo into a pile of splinters.
And then finally, all of the sudden, the dam burst. My fury boiled over. What the hell was he trying to do, kill me?
My wildcat broke free of it’s chains. The tingling warmth under my skin turning into liquid heat, burning through my veins. I felt the transformation begin to take place. My bones shifted position. Dark fur erupted all over my body. I grew wickedly long, sharp claws. Bone crushing teeth and…
No, wait. Wait… this wasn’t right. I was growing. My body was expanding out in every direction. The ground fell away as my legs grew longer. My head was getting bigger, my neck muscles becoming thicker and stronger in order to support it. Powerful muscles bulged and rippled along my shoulders, across my torso and down all four legs.
Finally, a pair of curved, dagger-like teeth sprouted from either side of my thick, powerful jaw.
I was beyond huge. I was a monster. My eyes were just about level with Lucas, but my body was longer, more massive. I was a gigantic, saber-toothed wildcat. And I was mad.
Shouts and screams reverberated around us. Lucas threw this head back, nostrils flared, his ears pinned against his skull. I stared him down, hardly moving, my whole body humming with energy.
Then, Lucas did the first smart thing he had done all night. He wheeled around in a tight, ninety-degree turn and ran.
I surged after him. I didn’t even hesitate. Lucas sprinted out the school’s front entrance, down the stairs and out into the night while I followed in hot pursuit.
The power coming out of this new form was incredible. Every time my back legs hit the earth, they propelled me forward like a rocket launcher. My body took huge, rapid strides, devouring the ground beneath me at a dizzying pace.
Lucas made a sharp right and thundered down the main street, his legs a solid blur of movement, the wind whipping his mane and tail into an angry tempest. He was probably going at least fifty miles an hour, yet I was gaining on him every second, and gaining extremely fast. Each step brought me noticeably closer to his flailing back hooves.
The blind anger was still racing through me, clouding my rational thoughts. If the wildcat had been difficult to control, this prehistoric monster I had become was next to impossible. I was completely at the mercy of its every whim and desire. And, right now, it only wanted one very simple thing; it wanted to destroy Lucas for ever daring to think he could mess with me.
There was a steep drop in the road just ahead, hurtling towards us at breakneck speed. I lost sight of Lucas for a moment as he disappeared over the edge. I saw my opportunity to overtake him.
When I reached the edge of the hill just seconds later, I gathered my legs underneath my body and pounced. This new form easily weighed upwards of two thousand pounds, but I launched myself right into the air like it was nothing. I flew at least ten meters, claws extended, and landed squarely on top of my prey.
Lucas gave an animal shriek that was half terrified, half furious. My weight caused him to pitch forward. He struck the pavement with his left shoulder. We tumbled violently, end-over-end down the rest of the hill, me clinging tenaciously to his back. The road started to curve, but we continued to roll straight, plunging into a narrow alley of shops and boutiques. We tore through displays of ceramics and stained glass. Outdoor tables and chairs went flying in our wake. We knocked over support beams and sent a number of awnings plunging to the ground.
We landed in a dark, deserted plaza at the bottom of a hill. I stood up and shook myself off, not even fazed. Lucas, on the other hand, was not so lucky. One of his front legs was folded awkwardly underneath him. Blood ran down his back, nearly invisible against his dark fur.
I released a quiet snarl and began to walk in slow, deliberate circles around him, my huge paws striking the ground gracefully, noiselessly.
Lucas fought to re-gain his feet, throwing his head, muscles straining, but it was useless. His eyes showed white all the way around. His nostrils were flared. He looked absolutely terrified.
If I had been thinking like a normal, rational person, I might have felt sorry for him. But, I wasn’t thinking like a person. I was thinking like a wild, remorseless predator. I tightened my circles. Lucas was talking rapidly inside my head, trying to stop me, trying to reason with me. To my animal brain, his pleas were nothing except background noise. My gaze zeroed in on his jugular. I bared my dagger-like fangs and lunged.
My teeth were just inches away from Lucas’s throat when something large and heavy rammed into the side of my face. I staggered and my teeth clamped down on nothing but air.
I whipped around with a furious snarl. For a second I didn’t see a thing, but then I made out a lean figure in the darkness. She was almost invisible against the night sky, black on black. Only the reflective surface of her eyes gave her away.
Eve Danielle said. Listen to me. You’re out of control. You’re not thinking clearly. You have to-
I cut her off with a roar that shook the ground and probably woke half the village. Just who did this interloper think she was?
I hurled myself at the new threat. There was a flicker of terror inside my human mind, but it was nothing against the colossal strength of the wild creature inside me.
Danielle leapt swiftly out of the way and I was left clawing at the empty space where she had been. I made a sharp turn, paws skidding on the ground as I chased after her.
I had barely taken a few steps when two more weights landed on top of me. I released another earth-shattering roar. Channeling all of my formidable strength, I reared into the air and sent both of my attackers flying in opposite directions.
All three of them were on me again within seconds. They paced around me, keeping a safe distance, occasionally darting in to nip at my heels. Their voices echoed through my mind, words and phrases bouncing back and forth.
Eve, do you even realize what you’re doing? A female voice. Jewel.
You have to stop!
Shift out! That was Reza.
I was too far gone to understand what they were saying. All I knew was that these three annoyances were getting in my way, and I didn’t like it one bit.
I flew into a rage. I lashed out wildly at them. I charged aimlessly from one to the next. My huge paw shot out and made contact with one of the dark figures circling around me. I heard a yelp of pain, though I couldn’t see who it was in the darkness. The voices in my head increased in volume and intensity. They meant absolutely nothing to me.
Then, suddenly, I was somehow being swept right off my feet. My back slammed into a hard, unforgiving surface. I looked up and found myself staring into a pair of glowing, silver eyes.
It was Isaac. He had me pinned up against one of the buildings, his left wing pressed uncomfortably against my throat. My back legs hung uselessly several inches above the ground.
Shift out, Evelyn. His voice was so loud inside my head that it was almost painful. Now. This instant.
I tore irrationally at the membrane of his wings, trying to fight my way to freedom. He didn’t budge. My razor sharp claws couldn’t find purchase on his skin. It was like stone. Like solid diamond.
Evelyn, you need to shift out of that form before you hurt someone. Do you hear me? Do you understand me?
The short answer to his question was “no.” I did not comprehend a single word. I worked myself into a frenzy, kicking and clawing and snarling in rage. The wildcat hated—absolutely hated—being pinned down like this.
Only as the creature wore itself out—bit by bit—did my human side begin to emerge. My conscience surfaced as if from a vivid dream. I saw everything that had happened as if experiencing it for the first time. From my initial transformation, to chasing Lucas through the streets, to fighting with Danielle and Reza and Jewel. Panic rolled over me as the images flooded my thoughts.
Oh crap, I had done it this time. I had really done it this time.
My struggling faded a little bit at a time. I didn’t even realize I was changing from until I began to shrink. The sharp canines retreated back inside my skull. My fur disappeared. My huge muscles seemed to cave in on themselves. Thick curls shot out of my scalp. My vision darkened and dimmed.
Not until I was fully human again did Isaac release me. I slid to the ground. My arms and legs felt like overcooked noodles. My head seemed too heavy for my neck. Involuntary tremors rippled from one end of my body to the other.
I was completely spent, too exhausted to even begin to contemplate what would happen next.