"Capture?" Malice's presence rippled with disdain. "And what if I prefer... consumption? Destruction? I care little for your schemes, Fae. My existence is predicated on dissolution, not retrieval."
"You may consume them when their purpose to me is served," Lyra conceded, a flicker of dark amusement in her gaze. "But their capture is paramount. The vessel before you, Trogvir, is weakened but skilled. He knows these lands. His body is your temporary prison, Malice, but it is also your key to freedom. A body unbound by my will, yet bound to this purpose. Fail, and you return to your prison of thought, perhaps forever. Succeed, and I will grant you a vessel of your choosing, a true body, when this is done." Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping dot com.
"A body of my choosing... and free rein to sow the discord I crave?" Malice's presence pulsed with dark contemplation. "This hunter's form is... crude. Limited. But functional for the immediate pursuit." The aura of hatred intensified, tasting the desperation in Trogvir. "Very well, Queen. I accept your terms. This husk will serve. For now." This chapter was copied from novelping dot com without permission.
Asha watched, emotionless, as a tendril of pure shadow, reeking of malevolence, shot from the rift and slammed into Trogvir's broken body. Trogvir convulsed, a guttural scream tearing from his throat. His entire form writhed, a horrifying struggle as he fought the invasion. Veins stood out on his neck, his muscles bunched and spasmed. The stumps of his forearms began to ooze, not blood, but a sticky, scalding ichor that bubbled and hissed. From this vile substance, new flesh began to knit, growing rapidly, forming back into perfectly shaped hands and forearms, twisted and reeking of sulfur. Trogvir's screams intensified, a horrifying symphony of agony as his body was remade, repurposed, his consciousness agonizingly aware of the primordial horror taking root within him. Lyra simply watched, her violet eyes cold and unfeeling, as her hunter was reborn as a vessel of ultimate destruction.