The cell was darker inside compared to the hallway outside. Light from my necklace flooded into the cell where the door opened. The light revealed a simple cell with a couple of blankets in one corner. Sitting in that corner was a young man.
He looked up at the sudden light with squinted eyes. He wore simple clothes that were all black making it seem like he had no body. His black hair hung over his sharp grey eyes. The grey of his eyes seemed to glow even more in the light. He sneered at us as we walked in.
"Nice place you got here," he snarled. "Would have been better if it was actually fit for a human."
Gram rolled his eyes. "You are not even human," he said. "Ah, that hurts my feelings," Asher said, sarcasm dripping from his words. "So, how long am I going to have to sit here?"
Archean raised an eyebrow. "As long as the Association needs you to." Asher smirked. "Ha, that's funny old man, we all know that I will be out of here sooner than that. Well, maybe except for one."
His gaze turned to me. He gave me Cheshire Cat smile. "Well, well, what do we have here? A lovely new member, I presume. Let me tell ya something newbie. These fools aren't worth it. Ya think they would be stronger, but really, their quite pathetic. Can't even hold their own against a troll. The old guard was better."
An uneven silence fell over the whole cell. I stood dazed for a second. Old team? Pathetic? Troll?! Asher's smile grew even wider. "Oh, and you wanna know who destroyed them? It was us! That's right, my brothers and I-"
Asher never finished his statement because Astrid had rushed from my side and punched him straight in the face. I felt uncomfortable sitting there. Why was he telling me all these things? Of course, I have my own questions, but they had only treated me like family. Asher sat in his corner with blood leaking from his lips and nose. A noticible bruise was already staring to form on his face.
Astrid's face was covered in anger and hate. Asher, ignoring Astrid, only looked at me. Suddenly, he burst out laughing. "Really, Archean? Where do you get these pieces of trash?"
At his comment, the room seemed to drop a couple of degrees. Asher continued, ignoring the obvious glares he was receiving. "And you, newbie," He said. "What is so special about you? I bet your just like the rest of them, weak and useless pieces of trash. Go back to the hole you crawled out of!"
I lowered my head. The whole room went quiet. I felt everyone's gaze on me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Asher smiling triumphantly. 'I am going to wipe that smile right of your face!' I heard a small gasp from Wren. Oh, I must have said that out loud. A smile tugged at my lips. So, what? I don't care!
Suddenly, I felt the beast inside me stir. My vision blurred and I heard the roaring of my blood. I felt a tingling sensation wash over my body. My vision cleared, becoming sharper, and my hearing was heightened. "Amara?" It was Wren.
My necklace blazed brighter, becoming blinding to look at. Everyone was looking at me, looking at me with what? It hit me like a punch in the gut. They were looking at me with fear. All of them except Astrid. Astrid gazed at me with worry. She stayed where she was, instead of backing away. Somehow, some way, I knew that I had changed appearances again. Asher watched me with new found interest like I was some kind of toy.
"Well, this is interesting," he said, eyes ablaze with excitement. A little voice in the back of my head whispered to me. I was going to show him to never underestimate me again. I felt my body starting freeze and become numb. Good, the less I feel, the better. Finally, Astrid took a step back, not out of fear, but to avoid getting in the crossfire. The ground underneath started to frost over as I walked over to Asher.
As I stood in front of him, the voice came back. It rushed forward like the wind and floating around like a cloud. 'Do you want my help, Amara? Do you want to show this pathetic excuse for a human being what it means to be powerful?' I felt my lips part to form a grin. Yes! Let's pound him into the ground!
I snapped. Ice, wind, and hail erupted out around me and created an icy tornado of death. I could see Asher's face in the pale light. It was a face of wonder and rapture. My anger grew. My vision turned to red and then black.
It happened in an instant. The beast that had a voice grabbed my conscious and tossed it into the back seat. It jumped into the driver's seat and snatched control. I could only watch the scene unfold through a window. I screamed at the voice for betraying me and tried break its hold on me. 'Isn't this what you wanted? You asked for my help.' I stopped. The voice was right. I did ask it for it's help. So, I sat back and watched.
I saw Asher's face pale and fright jumped into his eyes. He must have noticed the shift. Icicles formed out of nowhere and were shot toward him. His feet were frozen to the ground so he could not move. He gritted his teeth as the icicles shot towards him.
Guilt flashed through my conscious. How was it fair to trap the guy and leave him defenseless. As I was having second thoughts, I felt dark claws grabbing me from behind and dragging me away from reality. 'I'm sorry, Amara. This is for the greater good.' The last thing I saw was my appearance in the ice. My white hair blew around me and my clothes were wrinkled from the wind. But, my eyes scared me the most. Bright electric turquoise orbs glared back at me and my once round pupils were now narrowed and pointed like a feline's. My lips curled in a tiny smile. Then the window closed and I was shoved deep down into an inky abyss.