The Raven and the Wraith Book 2 (Completed!)

The Raven and the Wraith 2 Chapter 39

The Raven and the Wraith 2 Chapter 39

I dropped forward, my hands smacking the wooden floor, then digging in. I could feel the tension at my fingertips, and I knew why. My claws had slid out from the tips of my fingers, and sunk into the floor. I was holding on with everything I had and I was still losing control.

Then my mind threw me into a boiling pit of images. A long, narrow hallway, its walls slathered with garish bright pink and blue paint, and a cluster of feet surrounding me. Memories I hated, memories I had long ago buried deep. Voices, sharp and angry, talking too fast for my young brain to keep up. But I still caught the piercing distaste, the raw callousness, in their words.

I still heard my mother sobbing as she crouched next to me, trying to sooth me as my own power ravaged my tiny body. I had heard them all, even though I was in the fangs of the Cat, just like now. I heard them cast us out.

My mother's voice rang in my memories, almost as if she were once again next to me on the floor, trying to coach me through this.

"Rahvin! Listen to me! You must choose, you cannot be both Cha'el and human. Let go of one or the other. I will be here, it doesn't matter what you choose, it changes nothing. But you must choose!"

In the castle, on the floor, with shivers of savage power tracing up and down my body, I heard those words. I hadn't understood then, but I knew now.

My father had been Cha'el.

And just like that first time my power had rose up, I knew I could not choose one or the other. I was truly a child of two worlds. Especially now that Kavik was dead. I dug my claws into the floor and snarled as I hurled my willpower against the storm inside.

This savage power, this connection to the Kahlraugh here and the essence of the panther back from my world, was trying to sweep away my rational mind. It was rippling through my body uncontested, I could feel the way my bones were snapping and re-shaping, the way inky, black fur had covered me from head to toe. But I refused to allow my sense of self to be swept away or reshaped, like my body was.

A soft knock on the door behind me. The heartbeat slightly quick, the breathing pattern light and small. Kiera.

"Rahvin...? You ok?"

I opened my mouth, feeling my fangs against my tongue, and decided I wouldn't risk trying to speak right now. The power flashed through me one last time, accompanied by a shocking burst of pain, making me let out another snarl in response. Then I felt my body and my power stabilize, held in a fitful balance.

"Um. Does that mean yes or no?"

Despite the battle inside, despite being shaken by the revelations of those old memories, I found myself grinning at her. She was amazing. Now that my power was done changing me, now that it was done trying to change who I was along with my body, I could think clearly again. 

I stood, looking down at myself with wide eyes. I lifted my arms and looked them up and down. I was completely covered in a silky, black fur, and my hands were wide and curved, with long, bone-white claws extending out between the finger pads.

I couldn't call them hands, these were more like a precise blend between human hands and a panthers paws. My entire body was heavier, corded with steel-hard muscle, rippling strength evident even through the fur. My legs were no longer straight, instead they had a backward bow, like the back legs of a cat, holding me in a slight crouch. I knew what I had become.

I was a Werecat.

"Ok, not gonna answer me? If you're naked, don't be, I'm coming in!" Kiera called, then tried the doorknob.

I tensed, then relaxed as I heard her mumbling furiously as the lock held her out. I had never been so happy I had locked a door before. I could not let her see me like this.

"Gonna kick the door in, cover your preciousness!" She called, and the door rattled with a solid kick.

I had no doubt she would be able to kick the door in. Her concern for me sent a warmth through me, along with cold terror that she would see me like this. I sprinted over to the window and looked down.

A bird flying below me looked up inquisitively, no doubt wondering what this mutated monster was doing thrusting it's head out the window so violently. I hadn't realized my room was so high!

The door rattled again, harder this time. I felt my mouth go dry as I heard the doorframe crack.

"If you're ok in there just say so and I'll stop going all psycho on your innocent door!" Kiera yelled.  She ended this with another vicious kick, bowing the door in.

I made my decision. The air rushing past my face felt almost refreshing as I plummeted towards the trees in the castle garden far below. I picked a likely branch, took a deep breath, and prepared for impact.