#tkan

So I’ve not posted a lot of my work on here in a while, so here we go!  I loved writing this scene, and I hope you enjoy reading it! (This comes quite near the beginning of the first book, so no real spoilers to be found here.)

He turned to see that Alice had stopped, staring intently into the shadows beneath the trees.  Without averting her gaze, she slapped herright scabbard with her palm.  The blade jumped from it like a salmon leaping a waterfall and she caught it deftly with one hand.  Around them, the forest seemed to darken, light dimming, draining.

Shadows lengthened.  The birds had stopped calling.  Space seemed to stretch.  Light felt more and more distant and faint.  A twig snapped.  Alice tensed.  Varin drew his own blade.

Suddenly there was a shape in the dusk.  Outlined against the trees was the silhouette of a wolf.  Varin knew the shape, but there was something off about it.  It didn’t move like a wolf should.  It didn’t so much run towards them as glide, covering the distance faster than it should have.

Alice’s knife was emitting a strange purple glow.  The creature emerged from the treeline.  Lupine, but not quite.  Something wrong.

The light from Alice’s knife brightened, just as all the others dimmed into almost non-existence.  She dashed the creature, which charged her in return.  As it came it morphed, its whole body twisting, becoming a perfect facsimile of Alice.  It smiled coldly at his shocked expression.  In its hand it held a knife like Alice’s - except this one was dark as night.

All this happened in seconds and then they collided.  Alice was fast - he thought it was Alice, anyway - but the creature mutated and warped, avoiding her strikes.  At the same time it lashed out with limbs and claws that were there briefly, then gone again.  Soon Alice had crimson slashes all across her arms and was clearly tiring.

Varin dashed the thing, stabbing with his blade.  He got a heavy limb of what felt like stone in the stomach for his troubles.  Flying backwards, he hit a tree and slumped, dazed.

His attempt did seem to have done some good, however.  Repulsing him had distracted the creature, and Alice gained ground, landing hits with her knife.

Varin noticed that the more damage the creature took, the slower it became and the less it shifted form.  Soon it was covered in slashes, oozing black fluid and was barely changing shape at all.  Alice gained a renewed energy.

Circling the creature, she continued slicing at the beast, occasionally rolling, stabbing as she did so.  The monster writhed, more wounds than anything else at this point.  Its form was that of a bear, twisted to combine some of Alice’s features as well as those of a snake.  Thrashing, it tried to morph.  Failed.

Triumphant, Alice struck one last time as the beast tried to flee.  It seemed to shrink, then its form twisted in every direction at once.  From its maw came an agonised shriek.  Shrunken abruptly became expanded: its skin tore, exploding into blackened fragments that faded in the wind.  From within came a vapour, like inky black smoke.  This coiled and spun, then boiled away to leave a bright white orb.

“Varin!  Look away!  Now!” Alice yelled at him.  “Close your eyes!”

He did as he was told and an instant later he felt an explosion.  Light seared through his eyelids as if they weren’t even there.  It was so bright that it burned.  If he had been looking directly at it, he would have been blinded for sure.

somethin i made for my comic