TAVRIC
I stand stupefied at Lucy's doorpost, my heart stopping in my chest. The world feels like it has tilted off its axis, leaving me suspended in a vacuum of disbelief.
Lucy. A phantom. The image of her hand disappearing into that spectral mist haunts the back of my eyelids.
"What are you doing, standing there like a tree?" Jaxl's whisper is sharp, slicing through my shock. He's being quiet, likely thinking Lucy will hear him.
I can't answer. I can't even breathe. My silence draws him closer until he's peering over my shoulder, scanning the empty space. "Where is she?"
That question is the spark in the powder keg.
The curse in me urges upward like a tidal wave of oil. I see red. Not a metaphorical thing, but a literal, bleeding crimson that stains the edges of my vision. A roar, more wolf than man, tears from my throat as I march into the room.
