He thrived on the intensity. A totality of existence. Experienced the sense of “Eternal Now” with such clarity. Color, depth, the complexity of sound, the movement of air on his expanded collar, the scents of plants and prey, immersed him in a celebration of what it meant to be alive.

I am free.

Filling his lungs, he expelled a harmonic blast of sound from his vents, chittering at the same time in an exploration of quetzal expression.

Around him, the chime changed, its pitch rising.

Through the gap in the trees, he could see the sheer mountain wall rising to the clouds, its colorful and patterned rock broken and craggy along the fault lines, the stone radiating in different shades of infrared where Capella’s rays warmed the cliffs. Lines of waterfalls, shadowed cracks and crevices gave off a duller shade, almost blue.

Dek reveled at the vista, taken by the grandeur of the place. He had seen Earth’s most spectacular scenery, and nothing compared. As the human inside him marveled, the quetzal became confused and then amazed. How could the creatures not have a sense of aesthetic beauty? But here it was, as if in illumination.

“That’s Demon. It never accessed that part of Talina’s brain.” Rocket whispered from his shoulder. “He was too intent on just killing her.”

“But Kylee knew. You shared with her.”

“Grew up with it. So much to explore now. Like the miracle you experience seeing through quetzal eyes, we feel seeing through yours. A remarkable—”

A blast of pain exploded in Dek’s gut. Bent him double. The agony of it left him wheezing for breath and clutching his middle.

“What that . . . ?”

“Not to be heard.” The voice had a hissing quality now, coming from inside.

“Demon,” Dek gritted, made himself straighten and breathe. “So, you can just blast Rocket out of my head with a jolt of pain. Talina warned me.”

“Yesss. Stronger.”

Dek blinked, the world coming back in focus. The mountain wall remained before him, more stunning than he remembered as it rose in sheer cliffs to the cloud-wrapped peaks so high above, but the image wasn’t quite the same. Flatter now, and the IR shading had lost its vibrancy. His breath was labored, sucking and expelling out of his lungs. The sounds not as rich to his ears as the chime rose, seemed to catch a melody, and then disintegrated into atonality.

He looked down, surprised to find his body, not quetzal, but human. He wore only a set of coveralls, belted at the waist, and his boots. But looking around, he was on that block of stone, only to gaze up at the same mountain he’d seen as a quetzal.

“What the hell?” he demanded, turning. Capella hung over the treetops above the eastern horizon.

“Brought you out here to die, human.” Demon’s voice seemed to chortle down inside Dek’s gut.

“Where’s my rifle? My pistol?”