Before anyone could respond, the serpentine forms started to writhe and then morphed, taking two distinct forms. The one emerging from Nessa's shadow twisted and contorted, its amorphous shape taking a disturbingly human-like structure.
Yet it couldn't be any farther.
As if realizing her master's vulnerability, Cassie instinctively drew her blade and thrust the weapon forward, just before making contact. Its edge momentarily gleamed with a deep blue hue, then pierced right through the body of the shadowy beast.
Kaleb's shadow meanwhile, morphed into one of the beasts he and the rest had fought so hard to kill. Its eyes glowed with the same malevolent crimson as the beast spawning it.
Moving with as much just speed as he could manage, Kaleb swiftly drove his blade into the second humanoid creature.
Both beasts writhed, and then in the blink of an eye, they simultaneously scattered into faint, inky wisps.
