Max immediately crossed his legs again over the pond's surface, his fingers pressing into his knees as he took a deep breath. He focused, and with effort, began to pull back the infernal energy coursing through his veins.
The red light on his arm flickered, then slowly dimmed. The tendrils of power withdrew, retracting into the tattoo as if being sealed again. His eye and his hand returned to its normal color. Sweat beaded on his forehead as the transformation unraveled completely, leaving only the faint, dormant glow of the tattoo behind.
Then—boom—he let it loose again.
In a flash, red energy surged through his body, his right eye flaring with demonic light as his arm ignited in crimson flames once more. He gritted his teeth. The memories. The emotions. They slammed into him instantly—his mother's screams, his father's fading voice, Alice's terrified eyes. But this time, he forced his breathing to stay steady. He didn't fight the images—they were his. He accepted them.
