Anacrusis: Book One of Heartstrings

Chapter I - Part 6

The transformation of his body appeared to havecome with added strength, for his raised forearm was placed againstthe man's neck, having held him at bay and prevented him fromreaching his throat with his elbow. He still seemed to gasp for air,and his eyelids, although having opened more, looked heavy. It was asthough the transformation had been made as a last-ditch effort todefend, rather than attack.

Faint laughter could be heard, and the deitylooked at him from behind his arm. His eyes radiated withsatisfaction and excitement. "Finally," the deep voicesaid. "It's been a while," he added. "Now we can playa little," he remarked, smiling a somewhat Machiavellian smilebehind his arm.

As Hunt kept his forearm up against the man'sneck, seemingly without the energy to move further, the man moved hisfree arm, the one that was not pointed at Hunt's neck, and placed thepalm of his hand flat on Hunt's abdomen. Almost immediately as he didso, an intense blast of energy burst from the palm of the deity'shand. The force of the strike blasted Hunt into the rock behind them,but the rock was very close, and so the force of the impact was allthe more brutal, and the explosive sound very loud. Hunt's bodycrashed into the rock with such great force that he immediatelycoughed a large amount of blood, eyes closed. Because his body wasindented into the rock and a little stuck, he did not fall forwards,and remained immobile.

The large man looked up at the boy as hemotionlessly lay in the rock, his young face almost completelycovered in red smudges of blood. His body was battered, his whiteclothes soiled, torn and bloodied. Behind him, between his legs,against the rock, it was possible to see a white tail, a littlelizard-like in shape, but with the same sharp ridges as theivory-like hide on other parts of his body. The deity slowly stood,still looking at the boy as he did so. He appeared calm andcollected, and said matter-of-factly, "I suppose that settlesit." He then turned away, making his way towards the passageway."Doesn't it, prince?" he added absent-mindedly, adjustinghis cape.

Hunt gasped in pain as he pushed himself out ofthe rock. He landed on his feet, but immediately bent over and losthis footing, falling on one knee and propping a hand on the floor forsupport, and appeared to cough up more blood. He immediately tried tostand up again, wiping the blood from his chin with the back of hiswrist, and looked up at the man a few yards ahead of him, strugglingto maintain balance.

The man stopped, eyes widening a little, as heheard the sounds behind him, and turned around. "I guess theanswer is no," he remarked almost off-handedly, beforeimmediately dashing in the boy's direction, palm aimed towards theboy's head. There was a loud, explosive sound, and a large cloud ofdust, reaching the ceiling, as the deity made contact with itstarget. As the dust began to clear, the man was kneeling on one floorwithin the rouble of what looked like a small crater, his palm havingcrushed the whatever was beneath it. The impact of the strike hadbeen so great it caused the area surrounding it to sink. The manraised his head, an angry look on his features. As dust cleared onthe ceiling, it revealed that Hunt had undergone furthertransformation, and was upside down, on the ceiling, in a crouchingposition that looked a little animalistic, his back turned at anangle and legs a little spread as he looked down. It seemed that heconnected to the ceiling as if he were on the ground. His clothes hadpartially given way to further expansion of the white hide-like skin.The white hide had spread to his upper arms and shoulders, now barewithout a top, and partly over his chest and lower abdomen. It was asthough the sharp ridges on the surface of the hide had torn off whathad previously remained of the shirt. His trousers were also tornfrom below the knees, and his lower legs had been completelyenveloped in the chiselled white hide. His feet looked quitearmoured, and his toes had become sharp claws.

The hide on his neck had made its way further uphis chin, and covered his jawline, as well as his temples, and partof his forehead. The outline of the hide enveloping his face wasjagged. His hair appeared to be kept down along the back of his headand his back, the short fringe dangling towards the ground. The greenring around Hunt's eye glowed all the more intensely.