The brightness enveloped Scorpius from head to toe; he was screaming, writhing like a wizard being burned at the stake, even though there were no flames around him. His body lifted off the ground and stopped in mid-air, leaving him in excruciating pain. Suddenly, sinuous silver threads slid out of the boy's nose, eyes, ears, and mouth like smoke; they joined together and formed a sphere, its surface fading into streams of vapor.