Worm: Imago 21.6, Butcher's Bill: 2.1

She lashed out, hit us with raw pain.

In the agony, the feeling of fire running through my veins, I toppled from Bentley’s back.

I’d anticipated this, or something like it, knew it was temporary.  I could only grit my teeth and tell myself it was almost the best case scenario, even when it didn’t quite feel like it.

Rachel’s dogs bristled, but the pain dissipated, and she found herself free to command them to stand down.

—Worm: Imago 21.6



She turned to run.

I hit her with pain.

It was a reflex, the sort of thing that Butcher did all the time to people who weren't 'worth her time'. I'd achieved similar results with bullet ants, for that matter. But this was the first time I'd felt satisfaction watching someone fall to their knees and scream in agony. I almost immediately stopped using the power, and felt like throwing up when the voices in my head felt disappointed. In any case, I didn't need to use it longer - her stumble had given me time to catch up to her and cuff her on the back of the head with an open palm. She slumped to the floor, out like a light.

—Butcher's Bill: 2.1