What Once Was One (Book 2) by Marc Johnson Page A

He squeezed his chest, gasping for air. The goblin spirit branched into Prastian’s soul as the two became one. Prastian screamed. His body went taut,   then collapsed on the ground. He didn’t move for several long minutes.
    “Brother!” Demay said, wanting to rush to Prastian, but Behast grabbed him. “Let me go! What’s happening to him? Is he all right?”
    Prastian’s body shuddered. He slowly rose and his eyes were glazed over. He peered at his own hand as if he hadn’t seen it before.
    “How do you feel, Prastian?” I asked.
    “Strange,” he said sounding awed. “It’s like having someone inside me with their cravings, thoughts, and feelings. It’s amazing, yet scary. I’m—”
    Prastian became quiet and his whole body froze. He didn’t even blink.
    I waved my hand in front of him and asked, “Are you all right?”
    He didn’t respond to me. I was about to reach out to his spirit to see if I had done something wrong, when Prastian leapt at me. He landed on top of me, slamming me to the ground.
    Prastian lashed out with his fingers, slashing at my face, his own contorted in a vicious snarl. I summoned my magic to attack him, but stopped when I remembered who he was. I tried to get a hold on him, but he was so fast and strong and I didn’t want to hurt my friend.
    Behast and Jastillian seized Prastian, binding his arms in place. Prastian still struggled, snapping his teeth at them.
    “What happened, Hellsfire?” Demay asked. “What did you do? What’s happened to my brother?”
    I touched the cut on my face, feeling fresh blood on it, and stared at Prastian. I leaned over him for a closer look, but when I did, it just agitated him more. “I’m not sure. He seemed fine a second ago.”
    I told the others to contain Prastian so he wouldn’t squirm. I scooted over to him, placing my hand on his face. I forced open his eyes, peering into them. Through them, I reached out to Prastian’s mana and saw his spirit deeply intertwined with the goblin’s. That was good. That’s what should have happened. The goblin spirit was overpowering the elf’s, though. I sighed. I had no idea how to separate them without ending the spell or harming Prastian.
    “Snap out of it!” Demay said, pushing me aside and shaking his brother.
    Prastian didn’t recognize him. He snapped his teeth snapped at Demay and struggled to break Jastillian and Behast’s grip.
    Demay slapped Prastian hard. The cracking sound rang in the small cave. Prastian ceased fighting. His frantic eyes settled onto Demay, and his pupils focused on his brother. “I’m all right now. You can let me go.”
    Jastillian and Behast glanced to me, and I nodded.
    Prastian gave a small smile and brought his hand to his face where Demay had left a mark. “That was quite a slap you gave me.”
    Demay reached out and hugged him. “You needed it.”
    “I did. Thank you. Hellsfire, what happened to me? It felt as if she took control. I attacked because I recognized you all as a threat.” Prastian paused and put a hand to his chest.
    Behast shifted his body, getting ready to hold him again.
    “It’s all right,” Prastian said. “Controlling her takes some...getting used to. You’ll see. I will get used to it. We have to.”
    “Just let me know if anything at all changes,” I said. “And if you feel any more outbreaks.”
    He nodded.
    I exhaled and looked at everyone else. “Who’s next?”
    ----
    I was able to successfully perform the ritual on the rest of us. After each ritual, we were all on guard to see how the person would react. Everyone else’s bodies seized up much like Prastian’s did. Mine didn’t. It could have been because I was a wizard, or even because I was human. Yet, I was bone-wearied.
    By the time I was done, my head was throbbing and I could barely keep my eyes open. My chest tightened and I gasped for air. The room spun, and I couldn’t stand, much less sit up. At least I had the goblin to keep me company, as strange