Behind My Shadow - Book Three

22. Up In Lights

The animals charge the Angelus Reprobi from either side, springing off the ground to sail through the air with primal cries. The weight of the creatures slams brutally into the hybrid hard enough to rock her from side to side.

The Mink savagely bites down on her wing while the Swan and the Owl wildly attack her face. The Angelus Reprobi buckles and sinks under the barrage, frantically slashing with her spiral horn to ward off the winged assailants while desperately flapping her wings to climb back up to her feet.

I am cringing as I watch the massacre from my vantage point up here in the balcony. God, this is brutal! How the hell am I supposed to come out on top of this one?!

The Snake springs again and coils around my hybrid's neck once more and slams my creature's face down into the sand. The Ram and the Ox both slam their horns grueling into my spirit's sides, and the Stag stabs its antlers into the side of the Angelus Reprobi's neck.

I feel the crippling desperation weigh heavily on my heart, it feels like it's crushing my chest.

I take a shaky breath and clutch the banister tighter in my sweaty grip, bowing my head as I struggle to calm myself. Damn, I'm... I'm really beginning to feel overwhelmed.

The Royals' animal soul spirits keep dealing deafening blows to my spirit, I feel it ricocheting through the Angelus Reprobi into me.

Damn it, get a grip! I frantically order my animal spirit.

She doesn't listen, instead she panics. The mighty creature withers and thrashes uncontrollably, crying with effort as she strains against the assault.

What are you doing?! I wildly demand. Get up! Fight back!

She is thrown back against the ground, buried under the savagely attacking bodies of the other spirits.

What are you doing? That echoes in the back of my mind. I wearily lift my head and squint through the blinding sunlight to watch my animal soul spirit get bombarded with devastating blows. The real question is what am I doing? I anxiously wipe the sweat off my brow as I stand a little straighter. These are animal soul spirits! I remember Queen Eastyn telling me. They feel whatever you feel amplified through spirit!

No wonder my Angelus Reprobi is getting her ass kicked. My head isn't in the game. Of course she's distracted, I'm distracted.

I shakily drawl a deep breath and force myself to relax, rolling my shoulders back a few times, desperately trying to ignore my animal soul spirit's frantic cries. I try to quiet my mind as I try to search for the advice Vyndren gave me on animal soul spirits. Quit thinking of it as an individual. He told me. It's just you.

"Okay, Chief," I softly say to myself as I lift my head once more. "This Labor is for you." I fix my eyes intently on my animal soul spirit, channeling all of my animalistic, primal rage. Today is definitely the right day to tap into this. I currently have more rage and fury than I know how to process. But luckily I know what to do with it.

I can feel my power and fury surge through my bloodstream and for the first time, I feel like I can see through my Angelus Reprobi's eyes. I feel the scales on my skin, the ice freezing in my chest, and the wings on my back. For the first time, I am my Angelus Reprobi and I definitely feel ready to kill something.

To say that this is an out of body experience is an understatement.

My consciousness has literally merged with my animal soul spirit so now it genuinely feels like I'm in the middle of the ring fighting against eight other animals.