The Nibiru Effect

Memory 93

I'm transforming. My entire body expands, my limbs growing longer and stronger. A thick layer of muscle envelops my frame as black scales erupt from my skin. My tailbone starts growing, changing into a massive tail. Claws explode from my fingers and toes. My teeth are now razor-sharp. Heat bursts from my stomach. I can feel the lava rolling around inside it. For the first time in my life, I know what true power feels like.

I'm indestructible.

Jonn and Kara stare at me in disbelief. So do the arkane guards. At least, the ones who haven't run off in terror. Only Avalon seems unaffected by my sudden change. She just stands there and peers up at me with an amused smile. I don't understand why until the transformation suddenly stops.

I'm shrinking. The scales that now cover almost every centimetre of my body evaporate. My tail gets sucked back into my body. My herculean strength vanishes. Within seconds, I'm a human once more.

"What happened?" I ask. "Why didn't it work?"

There's a moment of silence before one of my friend's answers.

"It did," says Kara.

I don't understand what she means until I glance down at myself.

"Oh no!" I groan at the sight of my long, raven hair and my swollen chest.

I'm Avalon.

"H-how?" I ask, but I already know the answer. Avalon was the one who taught me to shift. She was the one who warned me I could only replicate the appearance of the last being I touched. And she used that knowledge to keep me from finalizing my transformation. Now, instead of being a powerful, lava-spewing dragon, I'm a pale-skinned woman with a scar on her right cheek, a faded hourglass symbol on her left wrist, and a penchant for melodrama.

Defeated, I revert to my original form. I can't believe how close I came to beating Avalon, only to fail in the end.

"You can't defeat me," she mocks. "I know what you're going to do before you even think of it."

She's right. She won. I lost, and it's time I accept it.

No! says a voice in my mind. Don't give up. Keep fighting! KEEP FIGHTING!

Either I'm crazy, or my subconscious is working overtime to keep me motivated.

If I give up, Kara and Jonn will die. Somehow, the thought of my companions trespassing scares me more than my own demise. It's thus out of pure selflessness that I come up with my most insane plan yet.

I snatch the knife from Avalon's hand before she can react. I clench it tightly and wave it around, forcing her back. She retreats a short distance, but stops as soon as the arkanes step forward, spears pointed at my chest.

"What do you hope to accomplish with that?" she asks. "A knife is no match for spears and swords."

"You're right," I say, "but there's something you failed to take into account."

"Really?"

I smile.

"If I die, you can never get your powers back," I say as I press the blade to my throat.

There's a moment of stunned silence as everyone present struggles to comprehend the implications of such an action. Avalon is the first to react.

"No!" she yelps. "Don't do it!"

I smile. She just showed her hand, and now I have complete control.

"Release my friends," I command, pressing the blade a little harder against my throat.

Avalon hesitates, but we both know there's nothing she can do. She eventually grunts and gestures for the arkanes to release Jonn and Kara. The guards hesitate but retreat.

"That was brilliant," says Kara as soon as she and Jonn have joined me at the centre of the now wide circle of arkanes.

"Really?" asks Jonn. "I thought it was kind of dumb."

Kara glares at him, but the grey-haired soldier doesn't let it affect him.

"What?" he asks. "It's true." He turns to me and adds, "What's your plan now?"

To be honest, I hadn't thought that far ahead. I'm surprised it worked at all. But, since it did, continuing along the same path seems like the wisest course of action.

"Order them to leave," I tell Avalon, gesturing at the arkanes.

Avalon hesitates for a moment before shaking her head.

"Do it," I warn, "or I'll kill myself."

"I don't think you'll do it. If you die, your friends are doomed."

She's right, and she knows it. Still, I refuse to give up.

"You'll never get your powers back."

Avalon shrugs.

"True, but I will get the satisfaction of killing Jonn and Kara. I'm willing to pay that price. Are you?"

Dammit! I bluffed, and I lost. All that remains now is giving up what little power I still possess.

I drop the knife. It clatters to the floor with a soft thud. Nothing happens for a few seconds, then Avalon orders her acolytes forward. The arkanes approach, weapons raised. Jonn retrieves his knife, but we're still vastly outnumbered. And the circle is closing quickly. I suspect Avalon won't allow me to die just yet, but things aren't looking good for my friends.

As I stare the death of my companions in the face, I find myself thinking of my encounter with my older self. He may have lied about a few things, but most of what he said came to pass. Though the forest korrigans' prophecy was orchestrated by Avalon, I still fulfilled it. Just like I survived seemingly insurmountable odds. He told me help would come when I least expected it. I assumed that referred to the fact that Korri saved me from the quicksand, but what if I was wrong? What if the help I was promised has not yet arrived? If ever there was a time for a last-minute rescue, now would be it.

I wait, but nothing happens. I'm just about to give up when a battle cry echoes throughout the stone chamber. It's high-pitched, but it's unmistakable.

"Korri?" I call out, just as the arkanes turn to locate the source of the battle cry. In doing so, they create a breach in the humanoid wall. It's not much, but it's enough for me to see Korri, coiffed in a red korrigan hat and brandishing a shovel. It's such a ridiculous sight I can't help laughing.

I can't believe it. Korri may be one of the smallest humanoids I have ever met, yet he has more courage in that small frame of his than most people possess in their entire body. Only he would charge into a roomful of armed arkanes with only a shovel as backup. But I soon realize how wrong I am when the tower's main gates fly open, and a veritable tidal wave of lava korrigans pours into the room. I guess my older self was right after all.

Help did come when I leastexpected it.