Selene's POV

The edge of the knife was cold against my wrist, but the power that ran through it bristled my whole arm with goosebumps. Thalia intoned the incantation in a tongue that I didn't speak, her words cresting and falling in waves on the sea. The runes under me brightened and brightened with every repetition, until I lay back in a pillow of shining starstuff.

"Close your eyes," Thalia took a breath. "Let go of the old Selene. Stop fighting to hold on to who you were."

I willed my eyes closed as the knife slid into my skin. Blood foamed and dripped down onto the altar, and wherever each drop fell on stone, the runes flared like tiny suns. Sadness shot up my arm, but it was not just bodily. Something deeper was breaking within me, something that felt like my very soul being torn asunder.

The chanting built, pounding against the marble pillars that formed a circle around us. I sensed Thalia as a warm wave surging in my direction, with centuries of power and knowledge at its center. Within the wave was something else – cold, dark, and ravenous, outstretched to touch me with dark claws.

"Repel it," Thalia's voice was distant. "The curse would take you as well. Don't let it pull you in."

My body began to convulse. Every muscle cramped at once, arching my back away from the altar as agony ripped its way through me. It was as if bones were moving and reconfiguring themselves, as if my own existence was being rewritten by non-corporeal hands. I tried to scream but nothing emerged.

And then the real pain began.

Blaze incinerated me, reducing everything I'd ever known to ash. Memories flared up and reduced to nothing – marriage to Corwin, warm afternoons patching up pack members, quiet hours on the river where I'd fantasized over children and gentle dawns. All dissolved to ash and blew away on air I couldn't feel.

But to the aged, something new was added. Knowledge flooded into my brain in whirling whirlpools – how to see truth in a man's eyes, how to get at honesty by a word, how to see deceit and lies through crystal glass. The power was amazingly old and immense, and trying to fill an ocean in a teacup.

"Let it out," Thalia's voice grew more reedy, fading away. "Don't fight to hold it back. Let the goddess reshape you."

I could feel her vitality flowing into me, rich and gold and fading. She was giving up her life to save my own, offering up everything available in this ritual. I could sense her recollections combining with mine – centuries of dedication to the goddess of the moon, of protecting the innocent, of fighting corruption and oppression. Her desire for justice was my own. Her sense of responsibility was mine.

The transformation carried over to my face as well, and I was aware of my facial structure altering. My cheekbones became higher, my nose more pointed, my lips fuller. My dark auburn locks transformed into deep brown, and when I lifted my lids, I knew they'd switched from green to gold. I was myself, yet completely different.

"It is working," Thalia breathed. Her voice was as old as the wind through dry leaves. "The goddess greets you. She blesses this union of power and intent."

But the curse was not yet through with me. I could feel it building up once more, trying to devour the new power that surged within my veins. Icy fingers wrapped themselves around my heart, speaking to me in a breath of vengeance and annihilation. It sought to use these powers in anger instead of justice, to be used as an agent of vengeance instead of one of truth.

"No," I could say to her, my words husky. "I will not yield to darkness."

"Good girl." Thalia's fingers wrapped around my own, trembling but warm. "Keep this with you. When the power seeks to move you to cruelty, recall why you tread this path."

The ritual reached its end. The altar beneath my feet pulsed with silver light so white and holy I could see it inside my eyes. Each rune, each etching, each glyph of ancient knowledge blazed out into light that was not fire. The air within our circle hummed with holy power.

And then silence.

I opened my eyes and found the moon overhead, full and bright. It was changed in it now, though – I could feel its strength in my bones, its blessing like a mother's soothing touch. The connection between the goddess and me was there, real, tangible, unbreakable.

Thalia lay on either side of the altar, her face as calm and timeless. Her white robes, streaked with blood – mine and hers – but she smiled.

"Did it work?" I asked softly, rolling over slowly. My whole body ached, but it was good hurt that comes from hard labor accomplished.

"Look at your hands."

I lifted them to moonlight and breathed. My skin shone softly, as if starlight flowed through me instead of blood. If I curled my fingers, I could feel the pale silver lines on the palmar surfaces of my hands – a sign of the favor of the moon goddess.

"The power is yours," Thalia breathed. "Use it wisely. Save your pack. Uncover the truth."

"How do I know it actually worked? How do I rehearse these skills?"

"See me and hear the words I speak." Thalia's eyes crashed into mine, and now I could see something I had never seen before. Truth glowed around her like a halo of gold, warm and clean and unmistakable. "I am proud of you, child. You will do wonderful things with this gift."

Every word was true. I could feel the truth in them, sense the deep well of hope and love that had led her to this act. It was too much – not just to hear truth, but to experience it through every medium available to me.

"Now I'd like to share a falsehood with you," she continued. "I'm not going to die. This ritual has made me stronger."

The words hit me like blows. Lying was slick and cold, and it made my gut churn. The golden aura of her faltered and danced, letting the dishonesty behind the sweetness show. I had the lie on my tongue, bitter and tart.

"I can see it," I abruptly blurted out. "I really see when someone's lying."

"Moreso than that. You can force truth from others, though it takes will and focus. You can sense the motives of people's actions – love, hatred, fear, ambition. Their souls are open books to you now."

I stepped down from the altar and knelt beside her. "What do I do now? How do I return to my pack without being identified?"

"Your scent is altered, as is your countenance. Your voice, too. Even the energy pattern of your wolf has been altered." Thalia's breath was growing shallow. "You are no longer Selene. You will have to adopt a new name, a new persona."

I took a moment to consider it. "Vera. It means truth in the ancient language."

"Perfection." She smiled weakly. "But child, there is more you must be warned about. The Beta who wrongly accused you – his corruption is deeper than mere ambition. He serves forces which would destroy everything your pack treasures."

"What forces?"

"I don't know everything. But in my visions, I was seeing silver-eyed wolves, wolves that don't belong on this world. Kane is bringing something terrible through the wall between worlds, and your pack is just the start."

My blood ran cold. "Demons?"

"Or something similar. Creatures of darkness and thirst who feed on war and despair." Thalia held on to my hand with what little strength she had. "You have to stop him, Vera. Not just for justice, but so that the people you've ever cared about can live."

"How? I'm by myself now. One person with these strange abilities against an entire conspiracy."

"You will never be alone. There are other workers of the light, spread out across the lands of the wolves. When you are ready, they will seek you out. Or you will seek them." Her gaze was weakening. "But first, you must return to your den. You must go into your pack and gather proof of Kane's misdeed."

"What if I am too weak? What if these powers are not strong enough to take him down?"

"They will. The goddess does not play games with her servants." The voice of Thalia was dwindling into a whisper. "Never forget, child – truth always prevails in the end. It may take time, it may cost sacrifice, but lies cannot hold up to the light forever."

I could feel the life draining from my hands. This woman who had saved me, who had instilled in me the will to fight, was going to die because of my actions. The burden of that giving would haunt me for the rest of my days.

"Thank you," I wheezed. "For everything."

"Don't thank me yet," she gasped. "Thank me when Kane is dead and your pack is safe. Thank me when justice is finally being served."

Her hand stopped trembling in mine, and I could feel her soul leave her body in a gentle breath. Thalia no longer existed, but her strength lingered behind in the power coursing through my veins.

I slowly got up from my seat, experimenting with my new abilities. Everything felt different – stronger, sharper, more acute. I was experiencing the life force of all the animals in a mile radius of the temple. I was experiencing the truth of things as I never had before.

But with this immense power, a gigantic responsibility. And my responsibility was clear-cut: return to Crescent Pack, expose Kane's conspiracy, and save all those whom I had ever known from whatever wrongdoings he was cultivating in the world.

I carried Thalia's corpse and interred her in a stone sarcophagus in the center of the temple. Old magic sealed the door on her, where she would remain eternally alongside the other priestesses who had come before her.

Then, I walked along to the edge of the sacred ground and looked back at my homeland. The forest radiated under the light of dawn rising, painting the sky with pink and gold tones. It was beautiful and terrifying all at once – the last sunrise I would ever see as the woman I had been.

When I stood up to go, I said almost jumping out of my seat. A man stood under the shade of two ancient oak trees, looking at me with eyes that sparkled like silver coins. He was tall and thin, with black hair and alabaster skin that reflected in pre-dawn light.

"Hello, Vera," he said softly, his voice as soft as velvet. "I've been waiting for you."

Vera's POV

The silver-eyed man approached closer, and my new senses shouted danger. Truth-sight revealed to me something off about him – shadows that moved not in line with his body, coldness where I should see warmth. He was not completely human.

"Who are you?" I maintained my voice level, although every nerve in my body was screaming.

"Somebody who is doing the same thing you're doing right now." His grin exhibited teeth that were a little too sharp. "My name is Darius. I've been watching the corruption increase in your pack for months."

"Watching and doing nothing?"

"Waiting for the time. For the individual." His silver eyes fixed on me with uncomfortable intensity. "Thalia discussed her plan before she acted on it. She told you'd be the way to stop what's coming."

I experimented my truth-telling ability with his words, honing the manner Thalia had taught me. His words were true-sounding, but there was more to them than that – folds of covered-up meaning that I could not quite catch.

"What exactly is going on?"

"Kane isn't working alone. He's been in touch with forces of the shadow world, beings that live to feed on death and destruction." Darius moved closer, his steps quiet on the ground of the forest. "They've made him promises of power for opening doors between worlds."

"Shadow world?" The words sent a cold shiver down my spine. "You mean demons?"

"Beasts of the dark that between life and death. They cannot enter our realm without invitation, but once they do. They'll consume everything. Every living being will be fodder for their hunger."

I thought of Marcus on the ground, Kane's cold manipulation, pack members who had so quickly turned on me. "How do we keep them from coming?"

"Survive the next few hours, first." Darius gestured toward the entrance of the temple. "Kane will discover Thalia aided you in your escape. Men are already sent to search the forest."

As if summoned by his words, I heard the voices rising from the trees. Commands, the sound of men moving through leaves, the clashing of weapons and armor. They were still distant, but closing in.

"They'll find the temple soon," I breathed.

"Let them. They'll locate Thalia's tomb and believe you died in some failed magic ritual." Darius produced a black cloak from beneath his jacket. "But you need to be out of here when they arrive."

I grabbed the cloak, which was interestingly absorbing of light instead of reflective. As I wrapped it around me, I felt my existence sort of fade, like I had become more difficult to see.

"Where should I go?"

"Safe from Crescent Pack territory for now. You have time to hone your new abilities before you see Kane again." His silver eyes glowed a clearer intensity in the growing light of dawn. "Three days' travel north of here is a safe house. Other servants of the light visit it as a meeting place."

"Other servants?"

"You are not alone in this war, Vera. There are wolves throughout the territories who've sworn to protect our world from shadow realm incursions." Darius put a little crescent moon-shaped silver pendant into my palm. "Show them this, and they'll know you were sent by Thalia."

The voices were closing in. I could now hear individual words – commands to search all the structures, to discover traces of magical use, to take me in alive if possible.

"I have to go," I said, but did not rise. "What about you? Won't they suspect you here?"

Darius smiled, and this time his sharp teeth looked almost wolf-like. "They don't see me unless I wish to be seen. Shadow world beings are not the only thing that lives between worlds."

I was unable to question him what he was saying before he disappeared into the darkness between trees as though he had never existed at all. Only the pendant held tightly within my hand convinced me that the dialogue had actually taken place.

I pulled the hood of the cloak up around my head and walked out into the woods, taking roads I'd trodden all my life. My new awareness was daunting – I was able to hear heartbeats for a couple of hundred yards, feel fear and excitement on the wind, feel the life force of every creature in my vicinity. It was as though I'd entered another dimension.

Behind me, shouts of discovery were emanating from the temple grounds. They'd found Thalia's tomb and were arguing about what it indicated. I caught pieces of what they were saying on the breeze.

".priestess is dead."

".no sign of the Luna."

".search the grounds around the tomb."

Kane's voice cut through the others, cutting through them with fury. "She can't have gone very far. Find her."

I walked more quickly, taking detours from trails and along game trails which merely brought me deeper into the wood. I stopped to listen in intervals of a few minutes to make sure that nobody was tracking me. The cloak Darius gave me to wear also appeared to suppress both sound as well as sight – my steps were barely heard.

By lunchtime, I had a few miles on me from the temple. The shouting of the search party had long since been out of hearing distance, although I did have a sense that they were somewhere. Kane would not so easily give up.

I took shelter in a cave at the back of a waterfall, one that I had found years earlier on early childhood outings. The roar of the waterfall would mask my own, and the cave was spacious enough to hide me if others were to pass by.

Exhaustion overwhelmed me like a punch the moment I was out of danger. The ritual had drained more energy out of me than I had expected, and my body was still learning how to use its newfound abilities. I curled up into a ball on the cave floor and slept soundly and irrevocably.

I woke up to find it was evening. The waterfall illuminated the cave in golden light, showering rainbow hues on the walls. I was stronger then, more centered in this new body.

Something was not right, though. My new senses were picking up on a familiar scent drifting on the evening breeze. Pack scent. Crescent Pack, I figured.

I shifted position to the edge of the cave and peered down through the falling water. Three wolves were opposite me across the stream, their forms stretched tight with the intent of hunting. I recognized them – Derek, the warrior who'd been willing to kill me, and two of his men.

"The trail ends here," Derek said with annoyance in his voice. "It's as if she just disappeared."

"Magic," one of them said. "That old crone must have done something before she died."

"Beta Kane wants her found," Derek said. "Dead or alive, he wants proof of what happened to her."

"Maybe she did die in this ritual. Maybe there's nothing to find."

Derek's head shook back and forth. "Kane doesn't believe so. He says she's too stubborn to die so easily."

They spread out in both directions along the stream for any sign that I had come through. I held my breath and continued deeper into the cave, praying the waterfall would cover my scent.

"Wait." the third man yelled. "I smell something."

My heart stopped. Had magic from my cloak failed?

"What is it?"

"Blood. Fresh blood."

I looked down at my hands and noticed I was still bleeding from the ritual cuts on the wrists. My altered blood had seeped onto the floor of the cave, making a trail even human noses could detect.

"This way," Derek ordered, moving in the direction of the waterfall.

I got seconds before they found me. There was no rear exit of the cave, and I could not fight three trained men even with the new powers. I was cornered.

But then I remembered something Thalia had spoken to me when we were in the ritual – the power would be greater during times of utter need. I focused on the reality I needed most: I was not here. I left no trace. There was nothing for them to find.

Power flowed through me, separate from my healing gift but somehow known. It flowed out to the three adventurers, brushing their minds with soft persuasion.

Derek stopped dead, his head tilted in the way a person listens to a sound. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Voices. North of here." He turned from the waterfall. "Someone's calling for help."

The other two men looked confused, but Derek was gone already. "Come on. Someone might be in danger."

They disappeared into the forest, following like ghost voices heard by only themselves. I leaned against the cave wall, shocked and terrified at what I'd just done. I could manipulate thoughts, plant suggestions, make people believe the impossible.

The power was thrilling. And lethal.

I waited until darkness before I left the cave. The night forest was unlike anything during the day – full of sounds and odors that my new senses could detect. I could hear voices miles away, smell emotions as if they were tangible objects, feel the pulse of life everywhere.

According to Darius's orders, I followed the northern route to the hideout. Three days of travel, three days to get used to these new abilities and ready myself to go back to Crescent Pack.

But walking under the moonlight in the woods, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. Not by Kane's trackers, no, but by something else. Something which moved in shadows and left no trail.

I stood at the edge of a moonlit glade and stretched my senses to their limits. There – something strange lurking in the trees. Not living, not dying, but following me with hungry attention.

If I looked straight at it, the thing evaporated like smoke. But I could still sense it, chill and hungry and waiting.

Darius had warned me of shadow realm creatures trying to invade our world. What if they already did so?

What if Kane had already succeeded in creating gateways between worlds?

I tightened the black cloak around me and headed north, but now shadows all seemed to hide perils. The war for my world's survival began, and I was walking into the very heart of it.

Behind me, something howled in the distance. It wasn't any wolf sound that I ever heard.

It sounded hungry.

Vera's POV

Six months had passed since that fateful night Selene died, and I was born. The safe house Darius had forwarded me to was my personal training area, where other slaves of the light taught me how to harness the power flowing within me. Now I stood on the edge of what was home before, looking over the pack lands I'd grown to know.

Crescent Pack looked no different from a distance, but my enhanced senses detected subtle variations. A stench of terror clung to the colony like a mist. Pack members moved about with restless energy, glancing nervous looks over their shoulders as if anticipating attack. Something had changed in this colony, and not for the best.

I had my nomad healer's pack slung over my shoulder and headed down the slope. My appearance was changed enough that even wolves that had known me well would take some time to recognise me. My hair was longer and darker now, my face shape had shifted in the change, and I moved differently as well. Where Selene had been quiet and innocent, Vera was cautious and vigilant.

Border guards stopped me at the border of the pack. Two young wolves I recognised, but who did not recognise me, their hands on swords.

"Speak your business," the taller snarled.

"I'm a travelling healer," I said, my voice steady. "I heard your pack was having some health problems. Figured I could help."

It was not entirely a lie. During training, I had heard whispers from other domains of bizarre sickness spreading among members of Crescent Pack. Wolves vanishing into inexplicable comas, others breaking out into violence. The attacks were akin to what Darius had told me of shadow realm manipulation.

"We don't need outside help," the second guard said, but I could sense doubt in his eyes.

I let a tiny slice of truth-forcing power into my words. "Your pack healer is overwhelmed, isn't she? Too many patients, too many questions with no answers. I could be of use."

The guards glanced at one another. My power worked quietly, suggesting the possibility rather than forcing it. They wanted to think that help was available.

"Wait here," the tall one said. "I will go inquire of the Beta."

My heart constricted at Kane's name, but I kept my tone even. "Of course."

I stretched out my senses to the pack community and waited. The familiar energy signatures were all there – Corwin's strong Alpha presence, the elderly council members, the families I'd known since childhood. But underlying it all was something else interwoven, something that caused my skin to prickle. Dark energy that had a flavour of hunger and chill.

The guard returned with permission to travel, but he would not let me go by myself. Crossing the settlement, I could see how many of the pack's members were ill. Pale faces, dark rings under their eyes, a general look of tiredness that spoke of sleepless nights and round-the-clock worry.

"Something's been going on here," I told the guard quietly.

"Odd things. Folks are getting ill for nothing. Others are violent, like they're no longer themselves."

He scanned the area nervously. "Some people say that it's a curse. Retribution for what happened to our old Luna."

The irony wasn't wasted on me. The pack believed they were being punished for killing an innocent woman, when in fact it was the man who'd set her up.

"Your old Luna?"

"Murdered the prince six months ago. Alpha had her done away with." The guard's voice was tinged with regret.

"But since then, nothing has been right. Makes you wonder if maybe she was innocent after all."

I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from responding. Kane's version of events was being questioned by people, and that could be my advantage. But I needed to be careful and not reveal too much too quickly.

The guard brought me to the pack infirmary, which was a plain wooden structure that had been expanded since I'd last visited. The old pack healer within was thin and grey-haired, with loose hair coiffed around a face furrowed into concern.

"Another healer?" she asked when she saw me. "Bless the goddess, I'm drowning in these cases."

"I'm Vera," I said, holding out my hand. "I cure unusual diseases."

"MARGARET," she said, reaching for my hand with gratitude. "And bizarre is not quite the term to apply to what we're treating."

She walked me through the medical ward, presenting me to patient after patient with unexplainable symptoms. Some were comatose so far down they would never respond. Others fought at restraints, rolling their eyes with unnatural rage. A few endlessly muttered in tongues that sounded non-human.

"When did it start?" I inquired, even though I already knew.

"Perhaps three months ago. Started with one or two cases only, but it's spreading." Margaret slapped her hands on her apron, leaving stripes of exhaustion. "I've tried everything – herbs, potions, old remedies. Nothing works."

Three months ago would have been approximately the time that Kane had started to accelerate his agenda. The timetable coincidentally matched what Darius had told me concerning shadow realm interference.

"Any other unusual occurrences? Unusual deaths, people acting out of character?"

Margaret's face fell. "The former Luna's execution was intended to mark the start of it all. And then the case of Prince Marcus's murder was reopened last month."

My heart froze. "Reopened?"

"Alpha Corwin found discrepancies in the proof. Started questioning whether his wife was really guilty." Margaret had a low voice. "Beta Kane tried to discourage the investigation, but the Alpha wouldn't give up."

I hadn't been looking for this news. Corwin was starting to doubt Kane's story. That would be useful, but it also meant things were riskier. Kane would be desperate to cover his tracks.

"What did the Alpha find?"

"I don't know all of it, but rumour has it, some of the witnesses recanted. They said they'd been coerced into lying." Margaret glanced around nervously. "Folks are afraid to discuss it openly. The Beta's been. Short-tempered lately. Quick to anger."

The rest of the day was taken up with examining patients and recording. The symptoms were all symptoms of shadow realm contamination – the comas, the flashbacks, the strange speech, all fitting what I'd learned during training. Kane was testing these people as laboratory rats, probably to open a wider doorway between worlds.

When night came, Margaret invited me to remain in the healers' quarters. I agreed, realising that I had to be inside the pack's defences to take in information effectively.

That night, I slipped out of the medical compound and cut through the dark settlement. My super senses guided me to where I'd felt the dark energy coming from previously. It led me to a building I'd never seen before – a stone structure that oozed evil as a fire gives off heat.

I circled the building carefully, noting the guards posted at regular intervals. Whatever was inside, Kane wasn't taking any chances with security. But I needed to know what he was hiding.

I used the shadow-walking techniques I'd learned back at the safe house, merging with the shadows and slipping by the first guard. The skill still felt uncharacteristic, as if becoming momentarily insubstantial, but it worked.

Inside, I found something that froze blood in my veins. The middle room had been converted into a kind of ritual chamber, with rings carved into the stone floor and filled with black liquid that stank of death. Candles made from what seemed to be human fat illuminated the walls with unhealthy light and were covered in symbols that throbbed to look upon directly.

But the middle room's cage made my breath catch.

Three pack members I had known were held in iron bars, but they were no longer themselves. Their eyes glowed with silver light, and dark things slithered beneath their skin as if alive. They'd been possessed by shadow world beings, been used as hosts for things that did not belong in our world.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" a voice I recognised said behind me.

I glanced back to find Kane standing in the doorway, his blue eyes aglow with victory. He was thinner, paler than I remembered – dark veins visible on his skin. The corruption was changing him, too.

"The transformation process is almost complete," he continued, stepping into the room. "I shall be able to transform populations as opposed to individuals soon."

I kept my face blank, but my heart was racing. "I'm just a travelling healer. I don't have the foggiest idea what you're talking about."

Kane laughed once more, the sound like breaking glass. "Did you really think I wouldn't recognise you, Selene? Or would you like me to address you as Vera these days?"

My blood turned icy. He knew me.

"The ritual changed your appearance, but not the signature of your soul. I've been waiting for you since the old crone set you free." Kane moved closer, and I could feel the craziness in his eyes building. "My new friends taught me how to pierce magical appearances."

"Your friends?"

"Bodies as strong and smart as your little brain could not comprehend them. They've shown me the truth – our world is weak, vulnerable, ready to be devoured by something larger." Kane motioned towards the possessed pack members. "These three are just the beginning. Soon, all the wolves in the territory will belong to the shadow world."

"Like you?"

"I'll be their general here. Commanding armies of turned wolves, their power extending over all the packs." Kane's smile was absolute insanity. "And you, lovely Selene, will be my first willing convert."

"I'll never be your servant."

"Won't you?" Kane held out a small crystal that hummed with dark energy. "This contains the concentrated power of shadow realm energy. One touch, and you'll know the loveliness of surrender."

He stepped up to me, the crystal glinting more brightly in his hand. I drew back, but there was nowhere to run. The crazed pack members trapped in the cage were straining through the bars, trying to grab me with claw-fingered hands.

"Don't fight it, Selene. Let the darkness take you. Let it show you how wonderful it feels to worry less about right and wrong."

The crystal was inches from my cheek when the building doors blew open. Corwin stormed in, surrounded by a band of his devoted warriors, his expression twisted with fury and betrayal.

"Back away from her, Kane!" he thundered.

Kane spun around, a flash of actual surprise crossing his face. "Alpha. How did you-"

"I pursued the stench of corruption." Corwin's eyes swept the ritual room, the pack members who were demon-possessed, the black glyphs scribbled on the walls. "Goddess save us, what did you do?"

"What needed doing?" Kane snarled. "What you were too weak to do yourself."

"Weak?" Corwin's words dropped to a killing whisper. "You murdered my brother. You used my wife. You've poisoned our pack with shadow realm rubbish. And you call me weak?"

Kane stood over him, the crystal held tight in his hand, its black light rising to wildly shining brilliance. "I say you're obsolete."

He flung the crystal at Corwin's feet, and it broke, releasing a cloud of unadulterated shadow which spread itself on the floor like living smoke.

"Run!" I shouted, but too late.

The shadow-smoke engulfed Corwin first, its fingers clamping about his ankles like hungry tentacles. His eyes grew wide with horror as darkness slithered up his body, hunting for his heart.