84 | BERNER

Everything slows to a crawl around me as I hold the vibrating chords still in my hands. Their power hums into my fingers, shuddering through my bones, and sending electrical zaps along my nerve endings. From the roots of my hair to the tips of my toes, I’m suddenly tingling and sensing pressure all over my body. Not a gentle, lulling pressure either, but more like the kind I sensed when I met Nikki for the first time.

A dark-cloaked figure hovers on the edges of my vision to my right. A mere inch away, but I can’t even look towards the being. Only my hands seem to move as I tug the chords tighter, making their vibrations sputter as they become more muffled by my skin. Prickles of alarm shoot through me as the dark figure leans a little closer to me, a chill rolling over my shoulder as the cloying scent of death stings my nose. The presence is menacing, but not in a way that makes me think I’m in danger of being callously murdered.

My fingers loosen over the chords and the being leans back away from me. Realizing the only way I’m going to be able to do what I need to is by being gentle with the chords, I loosen the death-grip I had on the humming chords, but maintain a firm grasp on them. After what feels like forever, the being fades out of existence and I feel a bit more relaxed.

Time ticks a little faster, not rebounding as it did the last time I let go of the chords, months ago, but slowly speeding up. Turning my full attention to the problem, I move on instinct, pressing lightly against Darine behind me so the momentum of our combined bodies as us easily dodging the Tiger caught in midair. I know I have to be careful. I can’t be as careless as I was the day I accidentally hurt my friend - she’s only human, after all.

The amount of concentration this takes has my head pounding, the coldness of this odd power tunneling deeper into me and coiling tight around my chest. I feel like I’m being squeezed to death the longer I hold onto the chords. Black dots flutter across my vision as I continue pressing my luck, the Tiger slowly hitting the ground beside us and turning in a comically confused way to search for its prey.

Sounds are completely muted in this plane, only the fluttering of physical chords keeping me company as I dodge a swipe of the Tiger’s claws. Darine is now clinging to me, her frail human arms feeling like a noose around my neck as she squeezes. It’s a good thing I don’t need to breathe right now or there’d be no way I could continue holding onto the chords. But I do.

However, the longer I grip the vibrating strings, the hotter they get.

Soon I’m gritting my teeth against the burning heat roaring against my skin. At first it stings, then the intensifying feel of them trying to combust in my hands is slowly starting to tear through my flesh. I fight a wave of fatigue as I continue to grip the chords. This is, by far, the longest I’ve attempted to do this. My muscles begin to throb like I’ve been immersed in jelly, swimming in it for days, and my head’s pounding in time with my slowly rising heartbeat.

Another shower of black dots flicker across my eyes and my firm hold on the chords slips another fraction. The seconds tick a little faster - almost to their normal speed - and I have to fight even harder to maintain the momentum I’ve been moving at to keep Darine and I away from the wickedly sharp claws of the Cat.

I grind my teeth together as I increase the hold over the chords, their humming vibrations shuddering through my bones as they sear through my muscles. My knees wobble, threatening to buckle under the buzzing in my body. At that moment, something digs into my right side. The explosion of pain that follows as the large white paw - slowly being colored red by my blood - almost has me releasing the chords.

I jerk back reflexively, letting out a yelp and gripping the chords a little tighter as skin and muscles get shredded. Despite the fact that I was almost disemboweled, I manage to keep my grip on the thickening chords. Every inch of me is humming along with the vibrations around me now, and an icy chill has begun to spread across my scalp in patches. I need to hurry up and end this before I pass out or worse.

Making a split second decision, I shove back roughly, putting as much force into the leap as I can, and only just keep my footing as Darine and I end up a good four yards away from the Tiger. I duck my head under my friend’s arms, loosened by the backward momentum, and race back towards the Alpha of the Berner Pack. I have to make myself small to push against the thick air, my muscles crying out in protest against the strain I’m putting on them. I nearly trip a few times as I lurch back within striking distance of the Tiger-shifter.

He’s spun around, searching for me with his creepy, pale-blue eyes locked on Darine - who’s now still on the ground behind me. I know I’m moving too fast for him to immediately see, so I take advantage of that fact, weaving around him to make what I hope is the killing blow. My hands are busy, and I don’t want to risk the ire of that dark-cloaked being by pulling on them too hard, so I use my legs to strike out. Pushing up from the ground, I manage to get a good amount of force into the move. My heel slices through the empty air, the tips of my toes grazing the Tiger’s ear as it turns to look right at me.

My stomach plummets, the thudding pace of my heart in my ears tripping, as my foot drops to the pavement and creates a pocket of pulverized cement. It would have smashed through the skull of the beast, put the Tiger out of its misery in one quick strike. What I hadn’t counted on was the shifter being able to move so quickly.

It shouldn’t be possible, for even a feline shifter, to move so fast and lock on me with such precision. I nearly falter as his wide jaws open, head leaning down towards my completely naked leg, my heel buried in a mini-crater in the pavement. A chilling terror races up my spine as his teeth inch closer, but a sudden though occurs to me and I feel a grin stretch my lips. Hoping I’ve timed this just right, I push forward and release the chords.

Just like I hoped, my body goes flying with an extra speed and strength as time lurches to it’s usual pace. I get winded, my chest practically compressing as a roar of pain crackles to life from my near disembowelment. Blood spurts from the already closing wound, the itchy crawl of flesh and muscle being stitched back together floods my senses. I feel like dropping to my knees and dry-heaving until it stops, but my body is still caught in the forward motion.

My bloody side smack into the Tiger with all the force of my previous speed, shoving the open maw even farther apart as my hands land on either of it’s jaws. The Tiger’s eyes widen for the split second it has, the *‘oh-shit’* realization flashing it’s eyes golden. My maniacal grin is the last thing the Tiger sees as the force of my body presses into my hands and *rips*. Gore flies, a strangled yowl tearing up the throat of the massive beast in a delayed reaction.

I’m suddenly on my knees, drenched on hot, sticky red and gasping for breath. Everything has gone still around me, the chilling bite within bleeding away as my Wolven heat flares to life. I shudder as my injuries begin to ache. I can feel fresh bruises forming on my shins from falling to the ground, the torn-up flesh of my bare feet, and the holes in my palms where the Tiger’s teeth had punctured. Under that, a throbbing from being burned by the chords.

I don’t dare look at my hands, afraid I’ll be looking at the white of bone peeking out. So instead, I concentrate on the moment as oxygen and drips of Tiger blood fill my mouth. One second passes, then two.

Something connects in my head on count three, a zing of pain zips through the center of my head, and forces a fresh wave of dots curtain my eyes. Voices cry out all around me, leaving my ears ringing with the roaring volume. The cacophony of sound bears down on me, the figurative last straw, that makes everything fall away.