Nodding would just not cut in this situation. He had to see that she was completely and absolutely sure. The calm with which she had gifted her steadied her voice and slowed the frantic, excited pace of her nerves. "I can do this..." In spite of her calm, her voice was so quiet, so gentle, it was as if she feared shattering the delicacy of the moment. This was really it. Whatever was to come, she took a deep breath and promised herself that she was ready for it.
The pain lasted only a moment and, if she thought hard enough, she could think back to the times she had sliced her palms in offering to Myri. Her features softened from being tight with pain and apprehension to soft, gentle, and lost in thought. Before her eyes, little wisps of something blue began to form around Ignotus, reminding her of the mist created when cold water crashed over hot rocks. The Djed- Res, she corrected herself - seemed to move without being propelled, as if acting entirely upon the whims of the man manipulating it. It must be, was the disconnected thought. Were it not under his control, I would be in danger.
But, the strange substance was so oddly unnerving and, almost instinctively, Edreina closed her eyes. There were ticks of silence, of apprehension so intense that her lungs threatened to fluctuate rapidly to pump adrenaline through her veins. The only thing that kept this from happening was Edreina's experience as a swimmer. Control over her deep, strong lungs was a must in that situation and the ability to remain calm to conserve precious air was just as greatly needed.
When it started to pour into her mouth, Edreina's first instinct was to hold her breath for fear of it choking her. But, after a second, she realized how stupid that was. What's it going to do? Go deeper into my lungs? Her first breath was hesitant but, upon realizing that she could breath normally, the rest followed more easily. The marks on her palms itched and crawled oddly as if she had been bleeding and the blood was creeping back into her veins. That in and of itself was bearable, but as the Res slithered its way through her veins, Edreina found herself growing colder, as if she was slowly becoming a corpse. Though pressed against Ignotus's hands, chilled fingers started to quiver, perhaps even out of fear.
For nearly a half tick, she thought that would be the worst of it. She was utterly and painfully wrong.
Like tiny fingers, Res crept into her system beneath her eyelids. There were no words to adequately describe it, but it felt to her as if foreign eyes had replaced her own and now sat in the socket, glancing about idly of its own accord. Of course, the feeling may very well have been imagined, but it was the beginning of a sense of loss of control that the Svefra did not handle very well at all.
Suddenly, the sharp tang of fresh ink spilled into her nose, surprising and shocking the rest of her senses to alertness. This only led to their own shock being more apparent and all the more disconcerting. Suddenly, on her tongue was the flavor of a fish she had not eaten and her ears rung with a tune she had never heard. Every twitch of her muscles made her aware of a presence in her body. It felt to her as if some silent, watchful soul had taken up a residence in her own vessel. Her own callouses seemed to disappear, making way for those brought on by years of page turning and writing with a quill. Everything grew disjointed as her brain attempted to process-
She was not alone in her own body.
A gasp broke the silence that had been forged between the two as Edreina fought to maintain control of herself. He warned you that this would be hard. You knew what you were getting into.
HE'S IN HERE WITH ME! What if he decided not to leave? The chilling of her body was nothing compared to how her soul turned to ice at the thought. Nuits were able to take the bodies of others for themselves. Was this how they did it? Had he somehow tricked her into becoming his newest addition to the collection of bodies he surely had stashed about Zeltiva? When it was that Edreina had come to realize his nature, she was not sure. But the knowledge reemerged at the worst possible moment. Inside, she thrashed against the invading forces, as if her own soul could expel the newcomer.
A single ship could not stand against a tidal wave. Again and again it washed over her, deeper into her until her soul was snarling and coiling up like a rabid Balicani deep within the recesses of her mind. It was by some miracle of existence and the muscle-locking abilities of terror that kept her rooted in place. Slim hand rocked violently up and down, side to side, fingers twitching inexplicably. This and the gentle quivering of her hair were the only indicators of the depth of her terror.
Worlds could have ended and began for all that Edreina was aware of outside of the little torture chamber. Each time her soul lashed out at the invading Res, some part of it mingled and meshed together, creating a new entity. Though her thoughts were the same, she knew she was changing. It was as if some fearsome monster had taken up residence in her bones and was metamorphosing beneath her skin. At any moment, she feared that a new Edreina would burst forth and the old one would be lost.
Eventually, she realized that she could not fight the Res and simply stopped. And waited. For it to end. For him to leave.
