The creature’s eyes shone in the murky water like lamplight through mist, reflecting the luminescence of Casek’s blade back at him. A dribble of bubbles streamed from the corners of its grotesque mouth, uneven, crooked fangs jutting out at odd angles past thin, fishlike lips.

  For a moment, Casek couldn’t think through the horror. Then, as though possessed, he started thrashing his legs madly, trying to propel himself back through the water and away from the monstrosity before him.

  It lazily opened its mouth, baring row upon row of ferocious teeth, and suddenly a group of its strange tentacles arrowed through the water at him. He twisted, avoiding the first, and his sword diced the second as it got close, muscles burning to move his arm fast enough to do so.

  The third, however, caught hold of his wrist, the rope-like appendage winding around his wrist tightly. With the contact, came a pull on his magic as it tried to drain away his strength. Casek severed it quickly, the removed segment dissolving into black and being absorbed by his sword, much the same as a shade would be.

  Another wave of sinuous appendages darted at him, and Casek cut off his attempts to swim away in order to fight them off, slashing wildly through the water to keep them at bay. The thicker ones took considerably more effort to cut through, some requiring him to hack at the limbs two or three times to remove them.

  I don’t have time for this! His lungs burned, the wild movement expending what little oxygen he had left from his initial breath. I’ll drown if this keeps up for much longer.

  Take more power. Tauph’s voice sounded strangely distant and garbled, as though he, too, were drowning. Take more, or all of us will die.

  He cut away another pair of serpentine tentacles and focused his mind, searching out the sources of his power. He’d used Tauph’s power before to give him a boost in strength to bind the Drau. There would certainly be enough—the well holding it seemed to be unfathomably deep.

  However, the process had left Tauph out of action for an entire day, and he hadn’t really been right since. Why do that to Tauph again, when he had a second source of strength to pull from right here? Of course, there were risks to using the Drau’s power, but at least he’d be taking that risk on himself, instead of forcing it on Tauph.

  He focused on the Drau’s well, ignoring the mumbled sounds of protest in his mind the Drau was trying to influence him with. This time, he dragged free the largest portion he could manage. Ignoring the screeched whispers it forced through his mind, he cut it loose, absorbing it into his own well all at once.

  The rush of strength was immediate. Power flooded through him, pouring into his muscles and mind, making him stronger. His blade flickered and brightened, practically buzzing with power in his hand, and he grinned at the newfound strength.

  But there was something else. A feeling nagging at the back of his mind, like a splinter just underneath the skin. His stomach fluttered with anxiety, even as his blade swept through half a dozen of the creature’s reaching arms in one fell sweep, the sword moving through the water as easily as air.

  The beast howled, seeing its prey strengthen before its eyes. It lifted from the lake-bed, stirring up a storm of silt, propelling itself at him like an octopus. Casek readied his blade, a grin on his face. He could sense this creature, feel its power. This was a Drau, one stronger than the one he’d bound before, admittedly, but then, he too was stronger than he had been then.

  Casek concentrated on his power as it approached, focusing it into his body and blade, allowing it to fill him entirely. One strike was all it would take.

  The Drau came within range, its rows of crooked, reticulated teeth bared, when an earth shattering screech cut through his mind, like metal grinding against metal. Casek’s blade fell away to nothing, and his hands clutched at his hair and head so desperately it was as though he were trying to dig his way inside to remove the noise that way. The unearthly grinding persisted, even as the creature barrelled into him, Casek barely able to lurch out of the way of its fangs.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Then, something about the noise changed. Or was it that something was added over the top? A babbling, throaty mockery of Tauph’s voice boomed through his mind.

  SHRED. WORTHLESS. KILL. PREY. DIE. FEED.

  The words echoing a baser instinct echoed and repeated, reverberating through themselves, creating layer after layer of unbearable noise. Casek gave up the pretense of holding his breath as a scream tore its way loose from his throat, a torrent of bubbles made up of his last precious scraps of oxygen erupting from his mouth in place of actual noise.

  Languid arms wrapped their way around his limbs and chest, crushing and squeezing. Casek thought his head might explode. Or perhaps the beast would rip him apart. Or even tear strips from him with those sickeningly white teeth.

  Anything, anything, besides the slow and agonising death that would come the second he took that last breath. He could no longer see or think. All that existed was the noise, and that voice, and the exquisite, excruciating pressure in his chest that told him he still hadn’t taken that final breath.

  A flash of blue light. A terrible cloud of oily black smoke. Freedom. That last thing comforted him. Freedom was good—relaxing, even. He breathed. A scraping, gasping breath, as though his lungs had arms that could reach out and tear oxygen right from the sky; and sweet, clean air filled him. He took another, and the blackness started to fade.

  Above him, the cloudless sky stretched for miles around, unbroken by even a whisper of cloud, yet it still seemed to dance and swim before his oxygen starved mind. For a long while, Casek did nothing else but breath precious air.

  By the water’s edge, Raelynn stood shivering, wet travel clothes hanging heavy with marsh water, wringing out her loose, black hair.

  Tauph, what the fuck happened?

  You drew from the Drau’s power in the middle of a fight. It did exactly what Raelynn warned you it would—try to get you killed so it could take your body. Why didn’t you listen to me when I warned you?

  Casek frowned, wiping the silt-laden water away from his eyes. What do you mean, warn me? All I heard was you telling me to take power. I figured it would be better to take the Drau’s than yours, because of what happened last time.

  There was a hesitation, then, and a pit of anxiety settled in Casek’s stomach like lead. Casek, that wasn’t me.

  Raelynn knelt down beside him before he could even process what Tauph had just told him.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, eyebrows knitted in concern.

  “Other than a little waterlogged, yeah. Thanks to you,” he said, a nervous laugh bubbling from his mouth.

  “I’m sorry it took so long—the murky water made it difficult to actually see where you had been dragged to. Luckily the light of your foci gave me a rough idea before it gave out.”

  Casek sat up, shrugging. “Its fine. I should have been able to, really, but the tentacles made it difficult. Then I started running out of air. I tried to draw on the Drau I’d bound to compensate, but—”

  “It’s almost impossible to maintain a weapon whilst cycling,” she finished for him, a wry smile on her face. “You wouldn’t be the first to try. Only the most powerful binders are able, though.”

  “Raelynn, it—spoke to me. Not anything coherent, but actual words.”

  Her brows knitted. “It’s almost unheard of for Shadowspawn weaker than a Bel’gor to be able to do that. Even among that rank, it’s rare. Usually, the more powerful the Shadow entity, the closer to what we’d regard as human consciousness they come. Are you sure?”

  He nodded, and Raelynn’s face twisted uncomfortably. “I’d have to speak to the archivists in Oreia to know if a Drau ever has, but I’ve certainly never heard of it. I suppose it must have been stronger than I guessed—close to metamorphosis into a Bel’gor. Either way, it’s dead now. We’d best get to making camp so we can dry off. It’s getting colder already.”

  Casek hauled himself to his feet, and aided Raelynn in gathering firewood, but the knot of anxiety had only grown. Raelynn might have been willing to believe she had misjudged the Drau, but Casek was positive he’d been right. After all, he’d sensed the same.

  Tauph, what do you think?

  If I had to guess, it probably had something to do with the additional being from the Other you have bound to you. Perhaps I make you more susceptible to being influenced? Either way, we’ll have to be careful. We’re lucky to be alive.

  Casek scoffed as he bent down to pick up a piece of dried, dead birch from the ground. Waking with no memories in a world where death lurked at every turn, where places he knew he’d once felt safe and at home had been tainted by the presence of these creatures? Second chance or not, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to call that lucky with a straight face.

  Thank you all so much for reading this far! If you've enjoyed what you've read, please consider checking out one of my other stories below - just click on the pictures to go to their pages!