Page 38 of Beyond the Treaty
The memories struck me like a storm, Withers, the council’s chants, the moment the walls within me crumbled. I glimpsed flashes of blood, fire, and terror. I saw Withers’ face contorted in fear, the enforcers falling one by one, their cries devoured by the chaos I had unleashed.
And then, there was Elara.
Her voice reached me, distant yet sharp, cutting through the beast’s rampage like a dagger. It wasn’t enough to halt the destruction, but it had been sufficient to make the beast hesitate, if only for a moment.
But now she had disappeared. Or perhaps I had.
The beast growled once more, its presence suffocating. It didn’t communicate in words but in raw emotions, rage, hunger, and an insatiable thirst for freedom. I could sense its satisfaction, its glee at the carnageit had wrought.
I attempted to fight, to claw my way back to control, but it felt like trying to grasp smoke. Every effort I made met with resistance, a tidal wave of power that pushed me deeper into the recesses of my mind.
The voice of the beast appeared to convey, not through words, but through the immense weight of its presence, that this is your true self. You were destined for this.
“No,” I whispered, though the sound scarcely travelled in the darkness. “This isn’t who I am. This isn’t, ”
“Who you are?” the beast interrupted, its tone mocking. “Who do you think has held me back all these years? You’re not innocent in this, Kaelen. You’ve always been a weapon, and now... now you’re finally free.”
I wanted to deny it, but the memories of my own choices, the battles fought, the lives taken in the name of duty surfaced. The beast was not entirely wrong.
However, it wasn’t completely accurate, either.
“Elara,” I whispered, holding onto her image in my mind. She was my anchor, my light in the storm. If I could just grasp her, I could fight this. I could find my way back.
The beast roared, its fury trembling the very foundations of my mind.
“She cannot save you, Kaelen. Nobody can.”
The darkness started to shift, and I sensed the pull of the outside world, sounds and sensations bleeding into my confinement.
When I opened my eyes, the world was afire.
The forest was unrecognisable, its once lush and vibrant expanse reduced to smouldering ruins. Trees lay shattered and charred, and the air was thick with ash and the stench of blood.
I stood in the midst of it all, my claws dripping with crimson. All around me, the bodies of soldiers and enforcers lay scattered, their faces frozen in expressions of terror.
I gazed down at my hands, or what remained of them. Theyappeared monstrous, elongated and clawed. These weren’t my hands no more.
The beast hadn’t merely taken control; it had transformed me.
A low growl rumbled from my chest, and I realised with a sickening jolt that it wasn’t entirely my own. The beast re- mained, its presence entwined with mine, its hunger gnawing at the fringes of my consciousness.
I attempted to move, to run, but my body felt alien, unre- sponsive to my commands. Every step I took felt leaden, as if I were wading through quicksand.
“Kaelen.”
The voice was soft yet steady, cutting through the chaos surrounding me. I turned, my monstrous form moving with a speed and grace that were not my own.
It was Elara.
She stood at the edge of the clearing, her expression a blend of fear and determination. She bore no weapon, no armour, just herself, illuminated by the soft glow of the moonlight.
“Elara,” I rasped, my voice distorted and thick with the beast’s guttural tones. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I had to come,” she said, stepping forward with caution.
“You don’t understand,” I growled, my claws sinking into the earth. “I’m dangerous. I’m... I’m not myself anymore.”
Her gaze softened, yet she didn’t halt her approach towards me. “I know you, Kaelen. I know who you are. This isn’t you, it’s them. The council did this to you. But you can resist it. You must fight it.”
