The Changing

by Jeremy Laszlo

  Borrik smashed directly into a goblin soldier, sending the small green creature cart-wheeling head over feet through the trees. Digging his clawed toes into the soft soil beneath him, Borrik literally slid to a stop, crouching as he slowed, preparing himself to lunge. As he decelerated, and details of his surroundings became clearer, he realized he had rushed headlong into the center of a goblin party, and hearing his collision with their brethren, goblins closed in on him from all sides. Surrounded, Borrik used the collective conscious of the pack to summon his troops to his aid.

  As the nearest goblin rushed him, the pathetic creature hesitated mid-stride and faltered as his comrades directly behind him nearly trampled him. Many of the little green monsters were closing in, yet never having seen a magnificent beast such as Borrik, none dared to be the first to attack. Borrik watched as those who were the nearest of the scrawny little men slowed to appraise him. Then from somewhere beyond Borrik’s field of vision he heard a vicious snarl and the scream of a goblin that had been set upon by one of his wolf men. With the shriek, the small forms of green leathery skin and armor reacted and charged Borrik from all directions.

  Borrik had been a priest as a human, and as such his knowledge of battle had been limited to being beaten as a child. Since aligning himself with Lord Seth, however, he had been recreated into a massive, muscled beast of a man, designed for killing. Not only was his body an amazing new asset, but so too was his mind. As the alpha of his pack, all of the memories of those who submitted to him were his to access at will. Having nearly five hundred troops' memories at his disposal at the battle just two days ago had taught Borrik more about fighting than any other man alive. Through his telepathic abilities with his pack he had not only witnessed but also been a part of every single fight his soldiers had brought to their foes. In a day he had gleaned a few thousand years’ worth of battle training, and now he would put those lessons to use.

  Borrik sprang at his nearest enemy like a great bird. Crushing the slimy green creature beneath his massive weight, he spun upon the gore under his feet to face his next foe. That goblin lunged at him with his wicked blade in an attempt to pierce Borrik’s armor, but Borrik was both too fast and too smart for such crude tactics. Sidestepping at the last moment, Borrik let the goblin’s momentum carry it past him, and reaching out to his side as the vermin passed, he clutched the small creature’s face in the palm of his hand. Tugging with all his might while digging in his clawed fingers, Borrik effectively removed the creature’s head and a portion of his spine which he tossed at the next approaching goblin. By now the growls and clangs of steel came from all directions as Borrik’s pack located their foes.

  Having the head of one of his peers hit him full in the chest gave Borrik’s next opponent pause. Borrik used the creature’s uncertainty to his advantage, and rushing the goblin at full speed, he reached out with both arms as if to scoop the beast off the ground. Instead, however, as the poor critter panicked at the approach of the giant, armored wolf man, Borrik drove his clawed fingers into the sockets of both of the goblin’s shoulders, and wrenching his hands away from one another, ripped the arms off the small beast. Borrik then snatched up one of the dismembered arms and spun to face his next opponent. But this time Borrik did not face a single foe. As he turned, two of the leathery green beasts rushed him from directly ahead, while another came from the side. Borrik first feigned a lunge at the two who approached from the front but instead whirled and charged the single opponent from the side. Using the dismembered arm of the previous goblin, Borrik knocked the blade from this one's hand as he ran straight past the singular creature. Then turning back the way he had come, as he had hoped, he saw the two other goblins following him.

  Borrik rushed into action once again. Digging his toes into the soft soil he dove at the recently disarmed goblin and snatched him up by his breastplate. Not even bothering to slow, Borrik continued towards the oncoming pair as if to rush them, using their comrade as a shield. However, when he felt the pair of opponents in range, Borrik twisted his torso. Slamming one foot into the earth he whirled upon the heel of his other foot, and using both his forward momentum and the centrifugal power of his spin, he released the goblin within his grasp and propelled it with bone-crushing force across the distance between him and the advancing foe. As his living missile crashed bodily into its brethren, Borrik listened as simultaneously the sounds of crashing steel and cracking bones erupted, followed by the gurgling screams of both felled goblins. Borrik did not even hesitate to witness the deed.

  As soon as he launched the goblin, he again charged at what would be his remaining foe. Just as his previous goblin ended his first and last flying lesson, Borrik crashed bodily into the last goblin that dared attack him. Though it would have been easy enough to rend the small beast limb from limb, Borrik felt that particular message would simply not be clear enough, and driving the beast backward he propelled the small man into the trunk of one of the massive trees with a bone-shattering thud. Ripping and tearing with his claws Borrik severed all of the leather bindings holding the goblin’s armor in place. As it fell away, Borrik clawed once more, slicing ribbons across the lighter green flesh of the beast's abdomen. Stepping back to watch the steaming entrails fall to pool at the creature’s feet, Borrik then reached down and grasped a handful of them. He began to run through the forest once more to assist his pack, dragging behind him the still-screaming form of the disemboweled goblin by its own intestines. Few goblins remained for Borrik to slay, but he did manage to strangle one with the intestines of the still living goblin which he had drug through the forest, before then stomping in the face of their owner. Then as a last show, Borrik used the goblin he strangled as a meat club and beat to death his final goblin of the day with the limp body of one of its own kind.

  Borrik enjoyed the act of killing. It was as if it was something he was born to do, and as such he tried to the best of his ability to make an art form out of it. It was not a revelation he would share with any of his human counterparts, however was common knowledge among his troops, and Borrik knew they weren’t going to tell anyone. The joy of killing made Borrik uncomfortable, though. As a priest he had sworn off all things pleasurable, and yet now he found pleasure in creating death. Killing as well was commonly forbidden to a priest, yet here he was, killing not only for necessity, but also for sport. The thought of such deeds would have once made Borrik retch, but now he was beginning to understand. Ishanya had told Borrik to swear his loyalty to Seth and to serve her through him. Ishanya had promised Borrik that Seth would reward him for his service and so he had. Ishanya knew all along that Seth would bestow these blessings upon him, and as such had arranged the meeting between the mortal men. Ishanya had simply wanted Borrik to reach his potential. Not as a priest, but as a warrior. Seth had made of Borrik an amazing warrior, both cunning and vicious, and for the first time Borrik realized that he was no longer a priest of Ishanya but a general to the Death Mage's army. He could not be both, so as Ishanya had sworn him to do, and as he would have done in any case at this point, Borrik steeled his resolve to be the most valuable asset in Seth’s arsenal. He would be both his lord’s faithful servant and most respected warrior. He would be protective yet merciless, honorable and horrible. Borrik swore to himself that he would become the fiercest warrior upon Thurr to best serve his master. Finally seeing his fate for what it was, Borrik released all his moral ties to Ishanya, and hearing all sounds of battle subside, gave the order to resume their trek eastward once again.

  Chapter 6

  Bliss and Blood

  In the dark, cold, solitary confines of their stone chamber, Sara sought to express her appreciation to Seth as passionately as she was able. Seth found himself both amused and concerned at Sara’s sudden advance. As she straddled his body kissing him first upon the lips, then working down his neck to his chest, Seth, though becoming aroused, could not help but to notice that Sara’s body barely pressed into him. It was a slight oddity as Seth realized that S
ara lay upon him completely, yet her weight against his body was far less than it should have been. Although he did not want to worry or upset her, Seth couldn’t help but to start making a mental list of the alterations Sara’s body had been through. Amazing as they were, Seth was beginning to wonder at the implications of her multitude of physical alterations. Since altering the building blocks of her life in an effort to preserve it, Sara had become lighter, stronger, faster and more graceful. This combination of assets might not be as negative as Seth had previously thought, and so far as he could tell the woman he loved had not altered at all mentally. Comforted with his findings Seth decided to focus himself on the situation at hand and succumb to the pleasures Sara was so happily bestowing upon him.

  Reaching down to cup the back of her head in his hand, Seth pulled Sara’s lips back to his own as her hands sought to unbuckle his trousers. In the throes of passion Seth and Sara worked to undress one another without sparing their lips a moment's reprieve from each other’s flesh. Sweating and panting Sara carried out her blissful duty of thanking the man she loved for restoring her life to the utmost best of her ability. Just as Seth was brought to the most absolute peak of physical pleasure that Sara could bring him to however, something both unexpected and horrible happened to the young lovers.

  * * * * *

  Sara, caught up in the ecstasy of giving herself to the man she loved, concentrated solely on the pleasure that they brought one another. Engrossed in the act, Sara had not noticed the urge within her, fighting to be satiated. As Sara worked atop Seth to bring both of them to the height of their pleasure, Sara’s body, seemingly operating of its own accord, reacted by instinct. Grabbing each of Seth’s wrists in her hands, and using her newfound strength, she pressed down with all of her might driving his arms to the stone floor, effectively pinning him to the ground. Though she still worked towards their pleasure she found herself once again leaning down to kiss below his ear as she had felt inclined to do several times already. But this time Sara noticed something that before she had not. As her lips touched the flesh of his neck she could feel the racing of his pulse beneath the flesh. Not only could she feel it, Sara also could hear the pounding of Seth’s heart as if her head were pressed firmly to his chest. Most unnerving, though, and thinking herself mistaken, Sara believed she could smell the blood coursing through his veins. Try as she might to resist it as she continued to bury his neck in kisses, and caught up in the bliss they shared, new instincts took over for Sara, and she reacted, not of her own accord, to fulfill a need both horrid and foreign to her.

  * * * * *

  Just as Seth felt the release that brought with it the amazing gratification that only Sara could bring him, he was assaulted by both immense pain and intense pleasure. Seth noted immediately that simultaneously his power was being leached yet new power was being infused within him. Unable to release himself from Sara’s unimaginably strong grasp, Seth began to panic as he realized his predicament. Sara had indeed changed in an un-foretold way though the signs had been there, and sadly they had even been obvious. Sara had gained amazing new strength that belayed her size. She had retained the bat’s natural ability to heal as well. But most obvious had been the stubborn canine-like teeth that refused to relent to Seth’s many attempts at altering them. As a necessity to sustain the bats' lives, the enlarged teeth were essential for their ability to feed off the blood and life forces of their prey. Having retained the teeth Seth should have foreseen sooner that this could have been a likely result of Sara’s alteration. However, it had not occurred to him before now that the woman he adored would attempt to feed off him. Seth continued to struggle with the small woman he loved, thrashing and kicking his body in an attempt to free himself. Light as she was, Seth’s attempts availed him nothing as Sara clung to his wrists with her hands, his torso with her legs and his neck with her teeth. Knowing not what else he could do without harming Sara, in a final attempt to get free Seth screamed, "Sara! Get off me!"

  * * * * *

  Sara suckled at the bleeding flesh of Seth’s torn neck awash in the ecstasy that his power brought within her. As she drank in his blood she too drank in the immense aura of his power, lending even more life to the already bloated aura that was her own. So lost in pleasure she was that Sara did not have a conscious thought for many moments as instinct drove her body to continue feeding until satiated. As her teeth bit deep into his flesh Sara could actually feel his hot pulsing blood flowing through the hollow tubules inside her sharp canine teeth. Each beat of his heart pumped more blood and more power directly into Sara’s bloodstream, and with it came pleasure unlike anything Sara had ever known before. She clung to Seth’s body even as he began to thrash and kick. It was his voice that helped Sara to escape the pleasurable intoxication that drove her to continue sucking the very life from his flesh. As Seth screamed her name, Sara snapped back into conscious control over herself. As realization struck her of what she had done, she released Seth. Doubling over while turning to the side, Sara began to vomit as her body began to shake and tears began to stream from her eyes.

  * * * * *

  Finally free of her grasp, Seth pulled away from Sara momentarily in an effort to assess the damage. Physically he was not badly off. There were only two puncture holes, and so far as Seth could feel, they were quite small and already beginning to clot. Beyond physical, however, was another matter. Seth had felt pleasure upon first being bitten and had recognized immediately the familiar sensation of foreign life being drawn within himself. Reaching inward in an effort to capture the power to prevent it from altering him, Seth realized immediately that he was in a dilemma unlike any he could have imagined before. Sara had not simply infused him with power; somehow she had infused him with her own blood, and that blood, being a part of her living body, carried with it a small portion of her life's power. Now the blood coursed through his own body, mingling with his blood. If he drew the life force from Sara’s blood within himself he would effectively kill the blood, causing himself unknown physical problems. Seth had no idea what could happen if a portion of his blood were to actually turn to ash within his veins, nor did he know if he could survive the consequences of such an action. He was therefore forced to watch within himself as Sara’s blood became diluted within his own and spread throughout his entire body and all of his organs.

  Feeling as if there was nothing he could do, and knowing that Sara’s actions were only a result of the process he had used to heal her, Seth closed the distance between himself and the woman he adored above all others. Now she had finished retching, Seth pulled Sara into his arms in an attempt to comfort her. Though crying and wracked by sobs with blood staining her lips and chin, Sara pulled out of Seth’s arms and turned to face him.

  "What did you do to me?" Sara questioned, the pain clear on her face. "What have I become? What kind of person drinks someone's blood?"

  "It's OK my love, we will figure it out," Seth tried to reason with her. "Look, I am unharmed." He added pointing to his neck. "It's barely a scratch."

  "This is not all right, Seth, I bit you like an animal," Sara replied still crying, her voice rising in a near scream. "I drank your blood, that is..."

  "I can fix it Sara," Seth pleaded cutting her words short. "I told you that it wasn't complete, that I would have to finish at a later time. I didn't know this would happen, but I can fix it." Seth tried to pull Sara back into his arms.

  "But why would I do that?" Sara asked. "It's like I didn't even have control over myself."

  "It must have been an instinct passed to you from the bat," Seth replied. "Sara, I am sorry that I did this to you. I'm sorry that I'm not a healer who could have just mended your wound, and that things have changed about you. I did the best I could, and I promise that someday, when we are away from here and find our way home, that I will repair it. I know I can fix it, I just need time." Seth said tears now streaming from his own eyes.

  The young couple, deciding that there was nothing else that the
y could do about it at least for the time being, found comfort in each other’s arms, working through their fears and uncertainties together. This time around, Sara was extra cautious not to put her face anywhere near Seth’s neck again. After calming down, and having had time to think the events over, Sara decided she needed more answers.

  "So the bats drink blood?" Sara asked.

  "I would presume so. One bit me earlier in the leg," Seth replied.

  "I could feel your blood actually flowing inside my teeth," Sara said.

  "Inside?" Seth asked.

  "Yeah, inside my teeth, all the way up my jaw," Sara returned.

  "Let me see." Seth took Sara’s chin in his hand.

  Opening her mouth, Sara tilted her head back to expose her upper canine teeth to Seth, but with almost no light remaining in the room Seth could see nothing. Raising his other hand beside her face Seth summoned a magical blue green fireball in his palm to illuminate Sara’s face. As he had suspected, in the center of each of the razor sharp teeth was a small hole, like a tube leading up into her jaw where it connected directly into her blood supply. The discovery lent another question to Seth’s mind, the answer to which he imagined was important. When Sara had bitten him, a portion of her own blood had managed to mingle into his bloodstream, yet when the bat had bitten him no such thing had occurred. Thinking it over a minute, Seth determined that this too was his fault. He had altered the bat's bone structure in its head, jaw and teeth so much he had obviously created a flaw. Whereas the original creature must have a means in place to keep the blood flowing into its teeth going in one direction, through his alterations of those systems, Seth had inadvertently also corrupted them and now the direction of the blood flow could no longer be maintained.