Starsong

Scene 22

{--} Piya {--}

          Piya was deeply snuggled into her blankets, waiting for the warmth of the fire, when she heard it.

          From somewhere deep in the woods, Heros began to scream.

          "Heros!" Aro stood suddenly, as did the adults. They didn't have to chase after him-- he came for them. Heros broke into the clearing, clearly gasping for breath, his eyes glazed with fear. He ran straight to his mother and hugged her tightly, screaming something incoherent.

          "Heros. Heros, what's going on? Where's Tok?" Lilith tried to calm her son down, but he wouldn't stop screaming.

          "Right here." The voice came-- the voice that was usually so quiet and anxious, now bold and smooth and cruel. Tok stepped out of the woods calmly, holding his hands up like a performer, his hair untied and falling wildly into his face. He wasn't limping at all, like his ankles had never been injured. Deep blue veins glowed under his skin with a garish light, mapping a spidery pattern of magic coursing through him, inside him as his eyes glowed brightest, casting deep blue light over his grinning face.

          Piya remembered this all too well-- it had only been a few days ago, after all. Possession. But... A deep frown flickered across her lips. That wasn't it. There was something deeper she recognized in him, something she wasn't quite remembering...

          "Alright, who are you? Because this is the second time this week these kids have gotten possessed and I'm not above beating you out of him." Ren got up, stretching as though she were actually going to charge him.

          "You should ask your little girl!" He grinned wider, his face splitting in some sinister satisfaction, pointing directly at Piya. "If anyone would remember me, it's her. Or did all your tries scramble you up?"

          "Huh?" Piya stood up slowly. She knew she should just be trying to get whoever it was out of Tok, but he was right-- she did recognize him. She could feel it. Why? Who was he?

          "I think it's time to finish our little dance, hm? Once and for all." Tok-not-Tok suddenly got down on all fours like an animal, his body rippling and shifting. They watched in horror as his bones snapped and fused under his skin, his scales growing larger and sharper, his familiar face giving way to a predator's maw. In seconds, the awkward teenaged boy was gone, replaced by a towering serpentine beast with bladelike scales and rows of deadly teeth.

          And they all scattered as he charged.

          Piya felt Ren try to grab her to safety, but Ren missed, and Piya couldn't stop running. Her legs were springy and tough, propelling her through the woods, her small frame letting her slip between the trees. She was expecting a huge crashing, like the world was tearing open as her hunter smashed down trees to get to her, but she only heard silence. She dared to glance back and saw that his serpentine body was compressing and twisting to glide between the trees like they were nothing. She let out a sharp, high shriek of horror and tried to run faster, even as her legs began to burn and stumble.

          She reached clumsily for her lute strapped to her back, trying so hard to lift it over her head without slowing down.

          She didn't know many spells.

          But she was good at what she did.

          That was what had kept her alive so far. That was all she needed to be.

          She stumbled, feeling a cold presence brush her leg before she jumped away, trying to get her headstart back. But the gap was almost closed, icy breath swirling around her, across her skin, making her body grow stiff and cold. She tried to position her fingers just right, daring to spin around to face the serpent and letting out one massive strum, sending out a glowing lavender shockwave. It didn't send him flying back, but it stopped him for a few precious seconds. Piya played faster, praying that she didn't make a mistake, summoning purple ropes to hold him down. They barely fastened around him before he slithered out, again and again.

          Piya finally tripped over a root, falling backwards and scrambling away from the serpent. It grinned with its rows of gleaming teeth as it wrapped around her, knocking her lute out of her hands and the flute off her back, sending it rolling out into the woods. The serpent constricted around her, pinning her arms to her sides, making it harder and harder to breathe until Piya was gasping for air, trying with everything she could to struggle. She was being crushed.

          It's a shame the reincarnations have scrambled your mind. The hisslike voice seemed to come from all around her. It would have been so much sweeter to kill you with you truly knowing who I am. But why should I compromise on this? I'll tell you who I am to you, child.

          Piya cried out in pain as he constricted tighter, squeezing out the last of her air, her gasps hollow. She could barely think anymore, the lightheadedness setting in and making her limp in the grip.

          I killed your mother, Piya Nightclaw. And I intend to finish my work. Goodnight.

          Piya's eyes rolled back in her head as she began to slip completely into darkness.

          The last things she heard was a familiar warrior's scream, the driving of dagger into scale, and the horrible screeching of a beast in pain.