A reckless, horrifically bad idea. Which, in my experience, tend to yield the best results.
Wrapping my fingers tightly into a fist, I roll my shoulders back. If I've miscalculated and shatter my fingers, at least I'll have the pleasure of Arden's healing to look forward to. A worthy reward for the risk I'm about to take.
Cocking my fist back, I slam it into the tower.
The goo screams. As does Arden, who jumps back from my side. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch her jaw slacken as I pound the surface again.
My fingers do not break, nor do they throb. The tower's surface absorbs the impact, causing more goo to wriggle and fall to the ground. It is like punching a slab of meat instead of a stone.
If punching it yields such a result?—
I slam my body into the side of the tower.
Oil soaks into my clothes and covers my boots as I lash out. I throw punches and kick at its side. I deliver a swift beatdown of the structure that shakes and screams with each blow. The goo sprouts up around the areas I hit as if taunting me to strike again.
"Have you lost your mind?" Arden demands.
I pause, fist raised. My heart is pounding wildly. Each breath is ragged from the force of my exertion. Sweat pours from my brow despite the chill.
The putrid air chokes me with every deep breath.
"Haven't you ever touched one?"
Arden shakes her head.
"The structure is abhorrent to me. Being this close causes me pain."
The stiff set to her shoulders indicates she’s telling the truth. Her usually vibrant color has dulled into a muted shade of green. Even her curls look limp as they cling to her temples.
"It's not stone. It's softer—like flesh." Her lips curl in disgust. "It moves."
Gripping the hilt of my sword, I pull it from the tower with a grunt. Using the sharp blade, I slice off a chunk of the obsidian. I extend the wiggling substance despite her hiss of outrage.
The goo is hot in my hand. Oil seeps over my palm and spreads between my fingers. It ripples in my hand, ebbing like a wave.
"It's alive."
"Impossible," she breathes. "None of my scouts ever reported such findings. They believed it to be stone."
"Your scouts aren't nearly as clever as me."
Pride warms my chest at the impressive look she gives me. It quickly dissipates as she shakes her head.
"Or reckless."
I chuckle at her disapproving scowl.
"Come on, Queenie. Nothing bad has?—"
The obsidian goo’s scream pierces my ear. I recoil at the sound and make to shake free of it. The substance clings to my skin despite my best efforts to dislodge it.
Heat radiates along my palm as the mass spreads. It rapidly encases my hand, wrapping bone-crushingly around each finger. I grunt at the sudden pressure.
Black coils up my wrist, spreading up my arm with intense speed.
"Finn!" Arden screams.
Her glittering magic wraps loosely around my flesh. The darkness quickly eats it. Her eyes are wide as she looks at the rapidly expanding sludge. My skin feels as if it's being burned off my body.
