Inhuman - Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

A growl echoed inside the tunnel, reminding them that the creature drew closer. Valary heard the distinct sound of the Dalax sliding steps when the echo subsided.

“No, unfortunately, I’m not a god. However, I understand your sentiments. We carry the same dream. Now we need to pause our conversation. Rest easy, there’s no need to get up on my account.”

Valary wanted to lash out at his wretched sarcasm, but her throat hurt too much. Still, curiosity got the best of the woman as he continued to walk toward the growling. Amid neck spasms from lifting her head, she attempted to watch the events unfold. Through the tears filling her eyes, she could barely make out the outline of the stranger. However, she noticed his tall figure nearly reached the low ceiling as he walked. The man wore an unusually long coat, and his hair dropped over the collar midway down his back.

Just out of the light, Valary caught a shadow of familiar movement. She felt the icy pit of fear run through her. The woman forced down the rising revulsion at the coming terror. The first time she saw the monster’s sickening appearance, a lantern still burned inside the passage. Unfortunately, the stranger’s interruption left her no escape back into her mind. Instead, she remembered the encounter. The woman shook her head, willing herself to forget the creature slowly walking on two legs toward her. Her skin shivered at the idea of its rough, bark-like, rancid-smelling hide cutting into her. Each movement of the creature sliced into her when it fed. Involuntary shudders started. The beast looked like a huge suckerfish filled with small teeth. Worse, the four glistening black tentacles that extended from the lips. Normally, the Dalax’s tentacles wrapped around the shattered remains of her body. It struggled to wrench her flesh and bones out of the cage. Then, the mucus-covered tentacles probed for openings while hundreds of small teeth tore at her skin. Normal humans would never survive the attack because of the amount of blood and Aether lost. All she could do was scream. The same prayer came as it fed on her.

Please let me die!

Of course, none of the gods heard her. Eventually, she quit fighting and retreated into her mind while praying her will would not break. Fortunately, the beast’s paralyzing toxin, along with er creeping unconsciousness, eventually stopped her pain. Only her barely functioning healing power allowed her to survive the assault.

Her head dropped.

She expected the stranger to let the monster feed upon her aether again. Only this time she heard the man’s voice as he spoke to the monster.

“They call us monsters. It’s too bad you lack the brains to walk away from here!”

A blinding flash suddenly lit up the tunnel. A blast of air struck, forcing her to close her eyes. The brilliant light from the inferno pushed through her clamped eyelids, making Valary cry out in pain. However, the glowing fireball filled the surrounding air with a comfortable warmth. Her devastated body automatically attempted to turn over to gather more warmth. The brief sensation of heat gave her an odd comfort. When the light disappeared, a bestial scream echoed inside the tunnel. She opened her eyes to see the Dalax outlined in a bluish flame. An instant later, the intense hellfire incinerated the monster. Her mind went blank for a moment.

How?

The nauseating smell of musty ash from the monster's corpse drifted to her, along with the sound of boot steps. Her eyes focused on the man’s expressionless face; now highlighted by the light of a crystal orb he held in his hand. He stopped and crouched. His face drew close to hers, and the woman tried to back away. Her head hit one of the metal grills surrounding her body.

Covering the man’s face was a flesh-colored alabaster mask. The clay eyelids blinked, and she noticed the glint of violet coming from the iris. An icy fear filled her as the stories came back to her. The unusual mask to hide their looks. Earthen color rune symbol embedded on the cheek near the temple confirmed her apprehension.

“You’re an inhuman!”

He stared at her and cocked his head at the reaction.

“You know the real meaning of the term?”

She looked away from those intense eyes. Valary sighed and turned her face back to him.

“No, you can’t be. Inhumans can’t control magic. Unless...” her raspy voice stopped in terror.

“Unless you give your soul to Peyra,” he finished her sentence with an amused chuckle. “Next, you’ll tell me that only darkness awaits me. You’ll tell me the same thing priests have said for years. Becoming a ghoul is the worst thing a human can do.”

He belted out a hearty, bitter laugh at her fearful expression.

“Yet, an inhuman, like a human, only feeds because they must. They don’t butcher for fun or profit like humans do. I suspect you know this as well.”

The stranger pulled the mask from his face and leaned close to her.

“As for my soul, one must pay the price to achieve your goal,” he smirked. “I have no fear of priests or gods. How about you? Haven’t you paid the price for your time with the emperor?”

The grotesque, disfigured face stunned her. After all the battles, Valary witnessed all forms of mutilation. The physical scarring and torn flesh from the effects of battle during her time as a healer remained in her head. Still, she looked away from his ravaged face, that of a living undead. His jawbone showed through the decayed muscle of his cheeks. The ripped, greenish flesh covering most of his features made him look as foul as the other creatures inside the labyrinth.

“Don’t show me pity, woman. I’d say you’re experiencing a far worse fate than mine,” he sneered as he stood.

The man placed the mask on again. Valary witnessed something impossible. The magical rune should not work with an inhuman. Yet, the enchanted clay immediately formed to become a copy of a living person.

How?

She stared in wonder at his eyes that danced with crazed joy. He looked over her body again as he pushed back his long, black and white hair over his shoulders. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke.

“You have a choice to make if you want that revenge. You’ll become my slave. I’ll give you all the blood you want to take from those who wronged you.”

Her expression turned into a glare.

“I’ll be no slave to you!”

The ghoul smirked at the remark.

“You’d stay here to enjoy your time with stale bread and monsters feeding on you.”

He lifted his arms and pivoted around as he laughed. When he looked back at her, his expressionless mask seemed to mock her.

“Woman, I won’t ask again. When I walk away, it’s your eternal torment, not mine!”

“No one can grow limbs back,” she snapped. “Once I become your slave, do you plan to haul me around as a display for your carnival?”

The man crouched down, his piercing eyes revealing nothing to her. His fake lips curled up in a devious smile.

“You obviously lack foresight. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve. For becoming my servant, I’ll give you a complete human body along with the pale blue eyes of a court goddess. I will make you far more powerful, a witch with keys to the netherworld.”

He paused for effect.

“As you said, I’m a follower of Peyra. As such, I carry magic that the empire’s mages have no ability to counter. Join me and they will fear you. Use your brain and you’ll realize this is your only chance. Or do you want to rot here forever?”

His smile turned bitter. Still, his eyes lit up. Valary witnessed the fever of burning convection.

“I’ll give you access to the court once again. In the end, we’ll bring those fat rats to their knees. Can you see yourself walking those marble floors as they cower from you? Imagine the expressions on their faces as they bow and scrape, knowing you hold their lives in your hands.”

The man’s voice turned gentle as the words soothed her turmoil.

“That is the true nature of power beyond a cruel emperor who used you as a tool. You’ve seen only one side of the supernatural forces that shape our abilities. The empire doesn’t want its mages to see the power they can wield. Why else would he stuff you inside this coffin? Should he not receive something for that?”

He stopped, then reached over to force her to look at him.

“There’s one more thing I’ll promise you, Valary.”

The inhuman stared at her for a moment.

“I’ll swear upon my goddess that I’ll break my slave curse on you once we finish the work. You’ll be free to do whatever you want. Does that sound fair to you?”

He stood over her, his voice nearly growling out his final thoughts.

“There is only one item you must remember. The magic spells and abilities I give you have but one purpose until your freedom: vengeance in our hearts. You will always follow my decisions until I’m satisfied enough to let you go.”

He placed his hand on the cage that held Valary’s body off the floor.

“Now, make up your mind, Infinite One! Do you become my slave or remain here under the eternal torment of your emperor?”

Valary’s mind reeled in turmoil. Tears suddenly poured down her face at his cruel offer. The idea of becoming a slave appeared a bridge too far, but he offered freedom at the end. The woman shook her head.

I can’t trust you!

Yet she had no choice. They both knew that. Only her stubbornness stopped Valary from accepting immediately. Filthy blond hair covered her face when she looked up at him. Finally, she let out her rage.

“Curse you! By the gods, I’ll strike you down if you’re lying to me!”

“So be it!” he replied with a smirk.

Suddenly, the bolts on the cage holding her body snapped, and Valary felt her body drop. She landed face down on the cold stone amid her excrement. The force of the blow knocked the wind out of her. She writhed around in pain, unable to even turn herself when using the stumps of her limbs.

The stranger placed his hand in the middle of her back, and she immediately screamed out in pain. Valary’s grotesque stumps thrashed around as the slave bond between them seared into her soul.

“Accept Grym the Faceless as your master!” he shouted over her screams. “Accept the power of my goddess!”

Valary somehow repeated his chant, and the pain immediately faded. When he lifted his hand, she collapsed.

“Well, I cheated a bit to get this done quickly,” he chuckled while she gasped for air.

Grym pulled off his cape and wrapped it around the grime-covered woman. Bloody pus oozed from the infected stumps along with the agony of the unhealed wounds.

“Now, let’s get your carcass out of here.”

With unforeseen strength, the lean man threw her over his shoulder as Valary let out a pain-filled grunt. Then, the inhuman went over to the wall to retrieve the rifle he had left when he arrived. After he slung the weapon over his other shoulder, he began the long walk back to the entrance. Each step he took caused Valary to grunt from the pain.

“Grit your teeth or pass out, but stay quiet. I don’t want to fight monsters to leave this cursed labyrinth. Your healing magic will return once we leave. Your wounds will heal with time.”

Hours later, Grym arrived at his makeshift camp inside the dark forest with a silent, semiconscious woman draped over his shoulder.

As expected, Valary’s healing abilities worked to restore the woman’s battered body after they left her external grave. The constant agony inside her after so many months slowly withered away. Before she realized it, the woman fell asleep as Grym walked through the forest.

Her new master surveyed the camp just before he arrived. His enhanced senses identified prey around the camp, but no humans to worry about. When the ghoul stepped into the clearing, he found things as he had left them. His canvas tent stretched over a line strung between two trees. A horse calmly stood hitched to one tree. It began kicking at a bucket of grain at its feet.

“Yes, Cavalier, I know you’re hungry. You’ll get more in a little while,” the man replied with a soft smirk.

His soothing words surprised the waking Valary as she felt her body lifted and lowered to the ground. The lack of pain throughout her body felt comforting. But the tug of desperation about her lack of limbs returned. She could not even roll over.

What will he do with me?

The man walked over to a nearby tree and placed his hand on the trunk. Nodding with satisfaction after using a short chant, he then went to two other trees to verify the barrier’s operation. Valary recognized the magic technique. It hid the camp from monsters by not allowing the scent of their aether to escape. She had seen this used many times before. However, she couldn’t believe what she had witnessed. He cast another spell at the same time.

“You can double spells as well?” Her shocked tone came out louder than she had expected.

Grym grunted at her reaction. For a moment, she thought he would ignore her.

“It’s a bit like using a summons. The insects in the area will warn of approaching visitors by increasing the volume of their mating calls.” He continued working while his words drifted over.

“You can combine as many spells as you want if they don’t cancel other incantations you’ve used. Once you get your new body, my teaching will give you such abilities.”

What do you mean about he would give me a body?

Valary hesitated to ask him the question as she lay on her back. What he told her was impossible. Soul transference was a myth. Then she reconsidered the thought.

In a way, she had already witnessed the impossible. The priest’s maintained the nonexistence of magic in the undead. Magic required a soul and free will. Ghouls carried neither. The tales of dark mages always portrayed ghouls as brainless servants. They were creatures created by their masters to strip the flesh from the dead or to bring the living back for the mage’s evil spells. The ghouls also carried an insatiable need to feed upon living flesh, barely contained by their master.

Even with Grym’s soul under Peyra’s blessing, the events did not fully explain what she had already witnessed. To cast a dark alchemy spell to kill a monster single-handedly remained difficult to accept. Still, she saw it. Then, he discussed casting multiple spells simultaneously, as if routine. His ability to link hotspots around a camp using the trees and insects showed an expert knowledge of nature. Only the greatest elders understood and used such magic.

Maybe he was a dark sorcerer before becoming a ghoul?

The thought frightened her. Her world as a healer came from the magic of light bestowed upon them by the gods themselves. Using dark magic was the opposite. The priestess told her that dark sorcery held no more power than hers. Yet Grym said the opposite. Still, she knew light magic created an immunity to dark spells. Valary could not understand what would happen if she followed Grym’s magic.

When the chaos of the past fell away and the dark world no longer haunted the people, the blessings from the gods brought the New Age. That was the first thing taught to the children of the empire. An empire that controlled its world for over a dozen centuries. Even as the use of magic slowly faded from many human endeavors, the priests remained vigilant against the forbidden spells of the ancients. To become one with the dark spirits led to immediate and painful death by the inquisitors. Now, she was a slave of a ghoul who followed Peyra. She’d burn at the stake with him. She looked over at him when another question entered her mind.

How does he wield magic?

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