Great question, honestly. But Riley had no time to answer anything, because the mouths on those figures twisted into something far more menacing the moment they realized that he had actually managed to evaporate the bubbles.
Their forms rippled, jagged lines shivering before settling. Irritation clung to them now, heavy and sharp, as though the darkness itself was bristling. Riley could see it in the way their many mouths stretched too wide, curling into shapes that were never meant for comfort.
This time they were no longer amused. They had decided. The human was not a nuisance. He was a threat that needed to be snuffed out.
Riley gritted his teeth. His hand burned with lingering heat, but he raised it again, forcing the fire to flow.
FWOOOSH!
A ribbon of flame lashed out across the corridor. It struck true, searing through the distortions that had been draped like veils over the shadowy figures. The false layers peeled away in an instant, revealing what they truly were.
