One Man’s Demonic Nightsaber …

Jaynekobb raised his bow and pulled back the string, watching nervously as Vera stalked toward him, growling lowly and baring her vicious looking fangs. His throat was tight, his stomach was turning, but above all else, his heart was breaking. Seeing Vera like this was something he never expected, and couldn’t possibly be emotionally prepared for.

As he felt the tension on the bow string grow with every moment, Jaynekobb glanced around the room, hoping for a way to avoid putting down one of his most beloved pets. Surely, K’Vorkian had built a device to undo whatever his weapon had turned Vera into. What kind of self respecting mad scientist wouldn’t?

Sweat was beginning to sting his eyes, and Vera was getting closer with every passing moment. As Jaynekobb was finally pressed up against the wall behind him, he almost stumbled as his foot kicked one of the Blood Elves. Thinking quickly, Jayne dropped to the ground and used both of his legs to push the body of the Blood Elf toward Vera, hoping she would choose to dine on it, rather than him.

“May the gods forgive me,” Jaynekobb said, feeling horrible about offering a corpse up to Vera to devour.

Vera stopped her stalking and lowered her head, never taking her eyes off of Jaynekobb. With a sniff, she began inspecting the body, pawing at it occasionally, growling in indecision as she looked longingly at her former master.

That’s when the Blood Elf’s hand moved, and his eyes opened, startled at the site of the demonic feline pawing him on the chest and sniffing at his neck.

Vera let loose a mighty roar and bit into the Blood Elf’s arm, causing him to scream in horrendous agony, trying to get away from the monstrous creature. He tried hitting her on the snout with his other hand, but it was in vain. Vera had claimed her prey, and it would not get away now. Realizing the game was afoot; she released the arm and snapped her jaw around the Blood Elf’s neck, freezing him in place as the life drained from his body.

Jaynekobb stood in horror for a moment, then snapped himself out of it. How many people and creatures had he killed? How many Blood Elves had he shot down while Vera did this very thing? He couldn’t begin to count… so why was this one any different? Why did he feel so guilty?

As he felt horror let its grip slacken on his heart, he gathered himself and jumped over the railing, down into the center of the room, worried that his sudden movement would re-center Vera’s attention on him and bring his plan to a quick end. Fortunately, however, his former pet’s hunger outweighed her hunting instinct, and she paid him no mind.

Jaynekobb ran to the weapon that K’Vorkian had used on his precious kitten, and began looking for any kind of switch that would allow him to reverse the effect. He flipped the gun over and scoured it for instructions, but none were to be found. Just as he was about to give up and began planning his next move, however, he was seized by the arm.

Startled, Jaynekobb pulled out his dagger and turned toward his assailant. There, looking woozy and scared was the second Blood Elf guard. Before Jaynekobb could stab the dagger into the Blood Elf’s throat, the man began whispering in a raspy voice.

“I know what you are trying to do, Night Elf, and I can help you do it, but you must allow me to leave after you’ve cured your pet,” the guard spoke with a thick, melodic accent.

Jaynekobb thought for a few moments, trying to block out the sound of bones crunching and flesh being torn apart. He held no ill feelings toward this Blood Elf, but he didn’t exactly trust him either. His mind raced, but finally he made his decision.

“Fine, but… no tricks, or I will make sure the last thing you see is my blade,” Jaynekobb replied.

The Blood Elf nodded and, while keeping his eyes on Vera, slowly walked over to a panel on the wall. There, he began turning a knob counter clockwise until it clicked loudly. Looking over his shoulder at Vera, he slowly began raising a large switch. With a rusty squeal, the switch began its journey upward, making enough noise to attract Vera’s attention.

Vera turned her head and looked toward the Blood Elf that was making the horrendous sound. With a roar, she leapt into the air at the warrior, teeth and claws bared for the attack.

The Blood Elf screamed at the sight and tried, vainly, to get out of the way. Before he could, Vera was on top of him, biting him on the shoulder, pinning him to the ground and digging her claws into his chest. He squirmed under her weight and looked toward Jaynekobb, straining to get out his last words.

“SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT NOW!” he screamed before his words turned into a meaningless howl of pain and terror.

Jaynekobb’s eyes widened at the sight of the dying Blood Elf, but knowing the he was probably next, grabbed the gun and shouldered it, feeling its power course through his arm. As he prepared to fire, Vera turned to look at him, her eyes filled with hellfire and hate. With another roar, she thrust herself into the air, her attack set.

Jaynekobb squeezed the trigger and let loose a blast of hellfire, hitting Vera in the chest, knocking her from the air and sending her flying across the room. With a resounding thud, she slammed up against the wall, and fell to the ground in a heap.

Jaynekobb dropped the weapon and walked slowly toward Vera, picking up his axe from the ground, and wielding it cautiously. Vera still had the same coloration, and her size and shape had not been altered any. It appeared that the blast had done nothing to reverse the effect, and Vera was still possessed by whatever fel energies had taken her over.

As Jaynekobb neared her, Vera began to stir, her eyes blinking a bit. She stood up and looked around, growling in anger. After a second, her attention turned toward Jaynekobb and she tensed all of her muscles, preparing to leap. Jaynekobb grabbed his axe tighter, ready to finish his nightsaber off, should it come to that.

Vera bolted across the room and threw herself on to Jaynekobb, shoving him to the ground, causing him to lose his grip on the axe, sending it skittering across the room. He grunted in pain and began to try and put himself at ease in these, his last moments. Vera was too strong for him, and he was completely unarmed now.

The nightsaber growled ferociously and put her face right next to Jaynekobb’s, opening her mouth wide, her razor sharp fangs dripping saliva and blood on to his face. With one final thrust, she began licking his face, her sandpaper like tongue sloppily smearing blood all over his face.

Jaynekobb winced for a moment, and then realized Vera was not killing him. Instead, she appeared to be… washing him. He tried to move, but she growled and pressed her paw down firmly on his chest, keeping him in place. As the minutes wore on, Jaynekobb finally allowed himself to relax a bit. Perhaps the second shot had worked on her. Was it possible that she had reverted back to his loving Vera? Was the demonic influence gone?

After what seemed like hours, Vera finally let Jaynekobb up, and began sniffing at his satchel. Jaynekobb stared down in confusion for a moment, then, smiling, reached into his satchel and produced a cooked trout. Holding it out to Vera, he tried not to flinch as she snatched it out of his hand, dropped it on to the ground and began playing with it for a bit before happily devouring it.

Looking around the room at the chaos, Jaynekobb sighed to himself and looked toward the door that K’Vorkian had escaped through. The tiny mad scientist had once again escaped, and now the desire to capture him was even stronger. He could almost forgive the theft of the two gold pieces, but there was no way in hell he could let what K’Vorkian had done to his kitty stand.

K’Vorkian would pay dearly for his assault on Vera, and Jaynekobb would enjoy doing it. In the meantime though, he had to find his way back to safety, and figure out a way to explain to all of his friends just what had happened, and why Vera looked completely different.

With a grin, Jaynekobb began turning every steam release valve he could find in the room, causing the pressure in the pipes to build. Calling for Vera, the two best friends ran through the maze of tunnels, Jayne following Vera every step of the way. Just as they emerged from the cave, a large explosion could be heard coming from behind them, a sign that Jaynekobb had stopped K’Vorkian’s plan… at least temporarily.

Jaynekobb stopped and turned back around, looking at the cloud of steam bursting from the cave’s entrance. Next to him, Vera sat on the ground, washing one of her paws, completely oblivious to the events that had just transpired. Jaynekobb looked down at her and scratched her behind her ear. She looked different, but Jaynekobb knew that his pal was okay, and that made everything else just a little bit better.

—
Epilogue

The night had come, and the rocky crags of Netherstorm were silent, except for the sounds of wind. Vera sniffed at the air and purred.

Happily, she prowled across the campsite, sniffed at Jaynekobb’s head, and with a satisfied growl, plopped her butt down on Jaynekobb’s chest and began trying to wake him up to go hunting.

Stupid Nightelf.