Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Pain, Part 1

PART TWO - OBSESSION

"Fall back!" Alrin bellowed.

Beside him, the horn-bearer blew the retreat, and the men closest to him immediately broke free of their opponents as quickly as they could and fell back.

Alrin waited until his men were clear before hastily stripping off his clothes and giving himself over fully to his dragon. Transforming always hurt; it was like no other pain he'd ever experienced. Being kicked repeatedly in the balls with spiked boots for a year straight would hurt less.

He screamed until the transformation took that ability away, then fell to the ground, writhing, jerking, and twisting as bone, muscle, guts, and all the rest altered—and then grew. The growing hurt worse than the shifting, everything pulling, stretching, tearing, and then starting over again at pulling. He couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't hear anything except the horrid noises of his own body.