Blessing of power

Long stripes criss- crossed its chest, faint like the smoke marks on the pelt of a panther.

I glanced at its face, and the power in its gold eyes rooted me to the floor. Goose flesh marked my limbs. I couldn't move. It could have pounced on me and I couldn't have done anything to stop it.

The mammoth muscles of its neck bulged as it rolled its head one way, then another, stretching. The twin pads of its upper lip split, revealing three-inch-long canines. The monster licked his lips, long lines of whiskers twitching, and spoke in a deep growl.

"Pretty, aren't I?"

Ben. In midform. I broke from his gaze.

"Adorable."

The nightmare made a barely perceptible nod, and a ratman scuttled forward with superhuman agility and leaped, finding purchase on sheer wall. Up he went to the gap twelve feet above the floor and dove through it. The scout was off.