The Kin

  ***

  Junius pulled the gag from his mouth and let out an exultant cry to his people. As one they responded and urged him to join with them. For a moment he relished in their unity and their thoughts flowed into him. Their experiences made his heart beat faster and he threw his head back and savoured the power and hunger that coursed through his veins. He shrieked again, allowing the energy to morph his muscles, and enjoyed the delicious sensation as the roof of his mouth began to tingle, until finally the feeder teeth burst through. For a moment he revelled in the pleasure and gnawing appetite, which had been with him most of the day and was now about to be sated. He could feel the Kin exult as he became fully immersed within them and they rejoiced with him in his final surrender. They welcomed him again as their general and first Roman citizen.

  He tore the rope from his feet and stood. Already the changes were flowing through his body, ripples wove across his skin, muscles twitched and sinew shuddered. He ignored them all, because it meant nothing unless he could feed and bathe in the moonlight. Then and only then would it mean something and he would be completely and permanently reborn.

  Junius turned to the door and began to push against it with his new strength. Eventually though, conceding defeat, he snarled his frustration and clawed at the wood. In desperation, he called upon them to renew their attack; they must throw everything at it, he told them. He was here, but trapped, and it didn’t matter how many died, as long as someone was able to free him. It would be worth it, he assured them, they would soon have the right to walk in the Empire and no longer have to hide away in caves and abandoned cities.

  She answered his call. They all did, but it was her voice he heard. He commanded her to stop and to stay where she was, she was too precious to him, others could risk themselves but she’d done enough for him already. But her willingness to sacrifice herself spurred him on. He moved in his new fluid gait to the other side of the chamber and ran at the door. It shuddered and juddered, and in that noise he heard the sound of a plank on the other side jumping in its sockets. He snarled and repeated the process.

  Finally, after repeated pressure in the same place, the door broke and Junius stumbled out into the night. He regained his footing and stopped. There in front of him above the fighting was his other creator. Instinct took over and he announced his triumph to the Kin. Immediately the night filled with the sound of their joy at his imminent transformation and full Becoming. He could feel the moon already working her silver magic over his skin and pouring her influence into his body. Willingly, he submitted himself to her dominion, and savoured the sensual caress of her power and the delicious sensations that it wrought throughout his changing body.