Read The Ascension for Free Online

yesterday.
    Rio knew he had to do something. If he didn’t act soon, Gem would be swept up so completely in Sparks that he wouldn’t have a chance. Just the thought of that fil ed Rio with anxiety . He pul ed back from his dance partner without so much as a word, ful y intending to stride over to the dancing couple and find a way to cut in, and got at least two steps before the feeling struck, deep in the pit of his stomach.
    “Are you al right?” the fairy woman asked.
    Rio waved her off. For a second, he thought it was simply the juice and he vacillated between rushing outside to get some air and continuing towards Gem. The feeling grew stronger though, and Rio ran for the nearest door, rushing through the crowd of dancers and leaving his partner far behind.
    He made it out onto the palace lawn and sucked in air in great, heaving gasps. It brought no respite .
    This didn’t feel like the juice anymore.
    Instead, darker thoughts surfaced in Rio, of sensations he’d been trying to ignore for these past weeks, shivers that seemed to want to spread through his whole being, and that frightened him with the thought of what they might do if they did. Rio stood there and fought the sensation resolutely , retaining a tenuous grip on himself as best he could.
    It was no use. Whether it was the juice, or being in this new world, or simply the strength of his jealousy brushing aside the last few barriers, the feeling spread through Rio until it seemed that his whole body might be set to explode. He looked down at his hands, only to find thick grey hair sprouting from them.
    The sensation hurried through him then, in a rush of metamorphosis that sent bones and flesh shifting along new paths. Rio fel to his knees as he stretched and twisted, the strain of it ripping huge tears in his clothes. He somehow managed to struggle free of the chain shirt before it crushed his changing body, but the effort used up his last reservoirs of control.
    Rio lay there as the transformation rippled through him, and afterwards, as he panted, his tongue lol ing from his mouth. He tried to get to his feet, and found that those feet were now paws. He tried to cal for help, and al that came out was a howl. Managing to push himself to al fours, he trailed a struggling, stumbling path to the nearest fountain, seeing over the lip of it with an effort and staring at his reflection.
    Except that it wasn’t Rio’s reflection. Where there should have been a teenage boy with dark there should have been a teenage boy with dark hair, chiseled cheekbones and piercing eyes, now there was only a wolf. A huge, powerful looking, grey-haired monstrosity of a wolf, certainly, but that wasn’t much of an improvement. Part of Rio was repulsed by the very sight of it. Part of him, however, seemed to recognize it, as though something about the image resonated deep within him.
    Rio didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t go back into the party like this. Even if people didn’t attack him on sight, he couldn’t let Gem see him like this. Not when Sparks looked perfect by comparison. If she saw the monster he had become, there wouldn’t be any chance for him, and Sparks would probably be ready with some scathing comment to make it even worse. Rio shook his shaggy head. He couldn’t stay here. Not like this.
    At a bounding run he set off back towards the forest, the distance disappearing in great, leaping strides. As he did so, Rio couldn’t help thinking that Jack and Kat, left behind at the castle, were definitely the lucky ones.
    ********

    Snow covered the world as far as the eye could see, though since more snow was fal ing in thick waves, that wasn’t very far. Two figures, a boy with deep red hair and a darker haired girl, trudged through it, dressed in clothes of the deepest black that stood out like holes against the ice. At least, Kat trudged. For his part, Jack strode through the frozen waste with a strength that didn’t seem about to wane .
    Exhausted and