The knocking turned savage.
The bangs rattled my shack while dust drizzled from the ceiling.
"Sirius!" Cory's voice cut through the wood. "Open the f**king door!"
The banging intensified. Wood splintered.
I lunged for the grimy window, but the door exploded.
Cory stepped through first, his flint-chip eyes gleaming. Clean clothes, that sly smile stretching his lips. Behind him came Jason, filling what remained of the doorway with his brick-house frame. He had a spiked club in his arms. I secured my grip on the only weapon I had.
"A change of plans," Cory said as he inched closer.
"You said tomorrow night!"
I lunged, but I only stabbed the air as the slimy bastard dodged my attack.
With two deliberate steps, I ran for the window, but something yanked me by the collar. Jason stepped in and locked me in his arms.
Cory produced a cloth from his expensive coat, the fabric dark with some chemical stench that made my eyes water.
"Nothing personal, rat."
With the cloth pressing against my mouth and nose, I saw the room tilted sideways.
"That's it," Cory whispered. "Breathe it all in."
I kicked the air while darkness diffused and claimed all the light.
***
Consciousness snaked back.
My skull felt like someone drilled a hole in it. A single yellow bulb dangled above me. The air reeked of stale blood.
I tried to move, but I couldn't.
Thick rope bound my wrists and ankles to a wooden chair, the fibers rough against my skin. Another length circled my neck, tethering me to the chair's back like a leash. A filthy gag filled my mouth, tasting of sweat.
My vision cleared as if I emerged from the Fog.
What the hell?
Cory sat to my left, bound to an identical chair. His usually immaculate clothes hung torn and bloodied. Fresh bruises purpled his angular face, and his flint-chip eyes bulged with terror.
Jason flanked my right side, his massive frame straining against identical bonds. Muffled growls escaped around his gag. Dark stains covered his shirt. Blood, I guess? A swollen jaw had transformed his bulldog features into something even more grotesque.
We'd all been played. Used. Discarded.
The metal door creaked as it opened.
Gareth entered first. He was smaller than his reputation. The iron hammer hung from his belt, its surface stained dark. His filed teeth caught the yellow light as he smiled.
Two unfamiliar thugs followed. The first carried a wire cage, and inside it—
Three lizards that resembled the shape of chameleons clawed against the bars of the cage. Their sizes were similar to the rats in the sewer. Their scales shimmered with a spectrum of colors. Red like fresh blood. Green like the sewer's waste. Bruised blue like a corpse's veins.
"Comfortable?" Gareth's words contradicted his tone.
I frowned.
"Good. Then let's get to the point."
He circled us, his boots echoing against the concrete.
Gareth stopped in front of me, his pointed teeth gleaming.
The creatures pressed against the cage bars. One flicked out its tongue like a whip.
"If you survive, you'll have the honor to lick my feet like those two. If not..." He patted his hammer. "Well, at least the lizards get fed."
Jason thrashed in his chair, desperate sounds escaping around his gag. Cory had gone as pale as an old, yellowed scroll. His chest rose and fell too quickly.
Gareth nodded to one of his thugs. "Let's start with . See how well these things work."
The thug yanked Jason's gag free. "Please, boss. After all these years—
A grunt from their boss cut Jason's begging.
Jason's voice cracked like a gunshot. "My wife and kids need me!"
Gareth's expression didn't change.
The second thug donned thick gloves and opened the cage. The red lizard didn't resist as he lifted it out. If anything, it seemed eager, its tongue punching the air toward Jason's terror-streaked face.
Jason's massive frame convulsed against his bonds. "I'll do anything!"
The thug forced Jason's jaw open. The red lizard slithered into the opening. Jason's eyes bulged, his face flushed red as he gagged and choked.
Blood gushed out from Jason's nose. It poured from his ears as well, staining his shirt collar. His eyes erupted, shooting crimson streaks across the floor. The bulldog features I'd known contorted beyond recognition.
His skin lost all color. It revealed the dark veins beneath. The flesh began to wither, pulling tight against his bones. Jason's muffled screams grew weaker, fading to wet gasps.
A hole tore open from his belly.
The red lizard burst through his stomach in a shower of gore and shredded fabric. It had doubled in size, its scales now glistening with digestive juices and whatever was in the thug's stomach. It skittered across the floor, leaving bloody prints on the concrete.
Jason's lifeless eyes stared at the ceiling. What remained of his torso resembled a slaughtered goat, dark scarlet and glistening.
The lizard curled up in the corner and began to clean itself like a cat.
"What a worthless son of a b*tch!" Gareth spat those words like his underling was a disposable rag and sighed.
My bladder nearly let go. The gag muffled my retching as I felt my guts writhe. Cory had gone rigid in his chair, his breathing shallow and rapid.
"Your turn." Gareth's thug approached me with the green lizard. This one seemed smaller than its red cousin, its scales shifting between emerald and sickly yellow. Its eyes darted at me.
I clamped my jaw shut. The thug grabbed my chin with his fingers. Like a crowbar, they were forcing my mouth open.
Its skin was rough. A cocktail of mud and iron flooded my mouth. Its tiny claws scraped against the inside of my throat. It burrowed deeper, making its way to my guts.
My eyes brimmed with tears. Blood raced through my heart like molten metal from a furnace. Each heartbeat thundered in my ears. My vision shattered into fragments.
I felt a couple of veins burst as my left hand began to rot.
The skin turned black. Underneath, green scales emerged like jagged plating. They shimmered with an oily iridescence resembling the lizard's.
The transformation crawled up my arm. Veins were sewn back in place, and muscles bulged beneath the scales. My nails were replaced with claws that curled like scythes. They were like oiled black steel.
My ribs arched rapidly as I sucked in the damp air as much as possible. At least it was better than The Fog.
As my vision sharpened and breath steadied, I saw the words.
Fiery letters blazed across my vision, hovering in the air like burning brand marks. The text made no sense, but somehow I understood every word:
[SYMBIOSIS COMPLETE. HOST VIABLE. NEW BLESSINGS ACQUIRED. DIRECTIVES AVAILABLE.]
More lines scrolled past, displaying information that shouldn't exist.
Rank: Pawn
Scales: 1
Scale Class: Dawn
Health: Optimal
Active Blessings: Enhanced Strength
Passive Blessings: Bulletproof Skin
Curse: Acid Blood
Artifacts: N/A
[CURRENT DIRECTIVE: ELIMINATE THREE THREATS. FAILURE WILL RESULT IN EVISCERATION.]
Health status? Physical modifications? Blessings and Curses? What the actual hell?
[KILL COUNT: 0/3]
[TIME REMAINING: 3:00]
The most disturbing of all was the threat of evisceration. The timer turned to 2:59 and kept counting down.
The ropes holding me snapped like spiderwebs.
I rose from the chair in a leap, the bonds falling away like shed skin. Power coursed through the scaly limb.
Gareth's thugs rushed forward with knives. Their blades glinted in the yellow light. The first one lunged at me.
I answered with a breaking swipe.
My claw caught his skull. The bone crumpled like an eggshell, blood and brain spurting between my fingers.
The second thug tried to circle behind me before launching himself with his blade. However, a single swing and I knocked the bastard down. The sucker faced the same fate as his fellow henchman.
"What the f**k? The doc never said anything about this!"
I could see the boss panting; his voice trembled as he spoke. Gareth had his revolver out, the silver barrel tracking my movement.
Six shots exploded in rapid succession. I raised my scaled arm, watching the bullets flatten against my transformed flesh. It was like hail against armor.
Gareth's eyes gaped. He fumbled for more ammunition, but his hands trembled as he reloaded.
I crossed the distance between us in three strides.
My claws tore through his chest just below the sternum. His pointed teeth clattered as I lifted him off the ground and he kicked the air.
I drove my claws deeper, feeling them emerge through his back. His internal organs wrapped around my fingers. With a sharp twist, I pulled my hand free, bringing most of his intestines with it.
They spilled onto the floor in deep pink coils, steaming in the cool air.
He collapsed, his body thumping as it hit the concrete.
New letters blazed across my vision:
[KILL COUNT: 3/3]
[REQUIREMENT FULFILLED.]
[CURSE WILL ACTIVATE NOW.]
[TIME REMAINING: 24:00:00]
"What?"
A countdown timer appeared in the corner of my sight: 23:59:58... 23:59:57... 23:59:56…
The last three blazing words piqued my interest. What does it mean by "acid blood"? I was eager to learn about it. In an instant another set of words appeared before me.
Curse Description: The host's blood will turn into acid unless they kill one of the Blessed.
"Aw, come on!"
I really didn't want my hands to get dirty.
I stared at my transformed arm, watching blood drip from the claws. The scales gleamed like emeralds in the yellow light.
Cory remained bound to his chair. His words were muffled. I could see a huge stain in his pants.
What a coward!
I could kill him. Maybe I should.