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Inhuman - Chapter 1
Synopsis: Murdered by his wife, a man meets Peyra, the goddess of mischief and lust, who saves his soul. While her motives remain unclear, the murdered man becomes her pet, a ghoul called Grym the Faceless. Grym carries the insatiable appetite for human flesh, but he also carries the frightening power of a dark sorcerer.
Chapter 7
“Where is the next stop?” Valary asked.
As expected, Grym remained quiet. He spoke to her only twice since they left their campsite that morning on his horse.
Since she could not ride the horse without her arms, Valary rode in front of Grym. She recognized they must look like a strange pair of travelers if they came upon others on the narrow trail.
Despite wearing a long black cape, the woman felt his occasional hot breath next to her ear and neck when she turned her head. Valary shuddered at the scent of death on him. Even the steady hoofbeats failed to relieve the need for human interaction. The silence from him reminded her too much of her eternal grave.
“At least tell me more about why you picked me,” she finally pleaded. “I can’t stand this silence. I’ve had it for too long.”
The woman felt his upper body tense before he sighed.
“We’re traveling to a train stop. From there, we’ll travel through the Jurz mountains to a place called Wrse. You can think about that for a while and quit bothering me with your questions.”
“Why are we going to Rudia? What’s waiting for us in the frontier?” Valary nearly slid off the saddle when the horse avoided a washed-out section of the trail.
“Pay attention to our mount. Your body’s waiting for you there,” he stated, then went quiet.
After another long pause, the woman tried again.
“If I’m helping you, then I need to know what I’m doing,” she reminded him with frustration in her tone. “How do you plan to use a dark spell to transfer my soul? It’s just a myth from the past. I say you should just give me my arms, and we can make an illusion for my appearance. I can’t betray you.”
His dark chuckle sent a chill along her spine.
“You seek to tell me my plan now. That’s quite bold for someone who thinks binding multiple spells together is a myth. It works just fine for me,” he mocked her.
“This inhuman advises that you don’t know anything. You need to open your eyes to the world around you. I’d say that’s one reason you lost your arms and legs.”
She dropped her head.
That’s not fair!
“I say it’s better to grow my limbs back,” she insisted. “A soul can’t leave the body easily, even if you have such magic.”
After another long silence, Grym replied.
“Oh, you of little faith. At least you show the knowledge of what will come when dealing with a soul. I guess it’s the reason you were at the top of your class.”
He shifted in the saddle as they turned down another trail.
“Still, I’m willing to wager that you never looked for those forbidden grimoires from the time of the Council of Eternal Awareness. It took me a while to get into those archives. I’ll admit it took me a while to stop thinking like a mage taught by a priest. Certain knowledge can benefit you or stagnate you depending upon the context.”
He’s a mage? But how?
“Then teach me! I’m a healer. I can help stop bleeding and even help mend bones. Perhaps a grimoire could give me back my limbs?”
“No, nothing grows back limbs unless you wish to become an abomination,” he told her confidently. “Combining the parts of animals to get new limbs always leads to a creature worse than an inhuman like me. I’ve studied this extensively. Something about the human body cannot change despite a thousand years of grimoires and mage spells.”
Valary went silent as she considered his words. Volumes of books warned about the atrocities of a few twisted mages who built monsters. The idea of combining the strongest features of humans and beasts started long before the empire. Still, Grym’s comment about studying such work made her even more concerned about his abilities and plans.
“Still, you’re not the first one to push for continuing down that path. The bloody nature of mortal humans often follows their sadistic yearnings. However, I’ve found the solution becomes easier for a mage to grasp when you consider an alternative.”
“An alternative?” she mused aloud.
After a moment, she suddenly jerked up at the thought.
“Swapping consciousness!” Valary said. “Are you saying you can make such a spell happen permanently?”
“Quite sure,” he nodded. “To an ancient people, such a spell was child’s play, no matter how taboo.”
The woman considered the idea for a moment.
“Still, I’m not even sure what you really want of me. I must trust you as much as you must trust me, don’t I?”
His grunt suddenly made Valary feel that the man debated her question during the long silence that followed. She glanced back at his expressionless mask.
“Fine, I’ll give you more,” he agreed. “First, I must build your arms and make your body presentable. This takes time. I only have one shot for you to pass your upcoming inspection.”
“An inspection?” She realized how much she hated that mask.
“Yes, a woman with the predisposition of a demon holds your new body,” the man explained. “To overcome her suspicions, you’ll learn to mask my scent and you’ll carry a special curse that I’ve cooked up just for her. As a healer, you’re the best equipped to do this.”
He leaned close and whispered into her ear.
“But you must not hesitate to do what is necessary. Steel yourself and remember your time with the Musketry Cavaliers and your elite Infinites group. You fought against sorcerers and monsters. If you can’t convince her of your worth, then you’ll become an experiment. It’s a death worse than you’ve already endured.”
His mask gave a fake smile.
“Plus, it would ruin my plans and leave you in an eternity worse than the cave you came from.”
“Your attempts to scare me fall flat. I’ve seen and experienced the worst of humans,” she replied with more confidence than she felt.
A chuckle drifted into her ear, and he went quiet. The lack of response bothered her more than she imagined. The woman felt the menace and hatred in the thing behind her, but she also carried a belief in his desire for her success. Her thirst for revenge appeared to match his needs.
But I’m not sure what drives him.
Valary shifted her focus on the surrounding scenery. The foliage appeared even more vivid green than she remembered. Even the sky above held a blue hue so refreshing after the countless hours locked in her misery. The woman listened to the sounds of nature that filtered through the steady hoofbeats. She occasionally smiled in fond remembrance of a few wonderful times traveling. A time before she became enamored with the plans of others, an innocent time of youth and ideals. Then she noticed the familiar features of a stark ridge running for miles on.
Barab is on the other side!
She lightly sighed, thinking back to her first time traveling away from her home. Valary recalled the tears in her mother’s eyes when she sent her only child to Dismas. Her ability came to the attention of Marquis Dubart, who sought to grow his influence inside the emperor’s court. Dubart accompanied a young child to the capital and showed her a world filled with luxurious living. Following three years of training, she became an appointed healer to the prestigious Cavaliers. Even as a commoner, Valary instantly carried status as high as a noble. The marquis returned to bring her back to Barab as his wife. When she refused to accept his marriage offer, Dubart tried to rape her. Only the intervention of several nobles stopped the defilement. However, Valary later overheard from maids that those same nobles began taking bets on which man would force their seed into her. Seeing the true nature of the world inside the palace of Nazalath, Valary felt herself blessed when the Musket Cavaliers soon left the capital.
And I thought I was lucky!
Gradually, the woman felt the scenery slowly changing as they came into an open area. The change came to her feelings as well. She noticed the sounds of nature were now silent and weeds and grass filled the desolate fields. The trees on the opposite side of the trail blocked the light breeze, letting the sunlight turn her wool cloak into a stifling towel over her skin.
Just as the horse came to the crest of a hill, Valary noticed the remains of a village ahead. As they came closer to the area, she felt unnerving memories coming back to her. Vines and small trees were already covering most of the burned-out wood huts and stone dwellings. Then, the woman noticed a partial skull and other bones along the trail. More human remains were nearby as well. Sudden panic enveloped her body. She looked around the area again with a certain realization.
“I see this place is familiar,” his icy tone added to her discomfort.
“Maldra! It was here!” The words tumbled out of her mouth.
“You must tell me about your time in this village,” Grym stated in a tone that was coldly interested.
She shook her head and remained silent.
“Reports reached me of the great Musket Calvery’s battle over terrible odds. I’m sure you should be proud for the recognition of Emperor Nazalath, who praised your Cavaliers for their steadfast courage. We’re not far away from Maldra and those mounds over there must be where the rebel army placed their cannon.”
Valary dropped her head, shivering under the heat of her cloak. A battle, he called it.
No, it was slaughter.
A handful of rebel commoners opposed the crushing taxes and confiscation of their lands by the same Marquis Dubart she rejected years before. Valary instantly remembered the events. After all, she suffered from nightmares ever since.
Grym suddenly slapped her head.
“Oh my, look at that fence row. Doesn’t that take you back?”
Valary forced herself to look at the spot, even though she knew what was there at one time. Fortunately for her sanity, nearly all the bloody evidence remained safely tucked away by the dense foliage. The woman gazed at the fence line, mostly covered by brush and vines. She held up well until she saw a small skull. The bleached white face peered through the undergrowth at her. She felt the unsettled souls watching her, and she looked away.
“The orders came from Nazalath. Our troops had no choice. One unit lined them up and tied them to the fence…”
Valary shook her head. The pent-up tears threated to let loose. The screams of women and children came back. Still, amid the carnage occurring outside of the tents, she made sure that she never watched what occurred. Instead, the woman cowered by turning away from the scene and focusing on healing those men injured and maimed by the brief battle.
Even those who normally did not need her help received it that day. Valary could not confront the massacre occurring only a few hundred paces away.
“I heard about the event from the newspapers, but then I met a survivor from the village during my journey.” Grym’s voice brought her back to the present.
“Of course, they already broke the woman on that day when they ripped her child from her arms and tied him to a fence post. The Infinites rode along the fence and beheaded each child as a game. No wonder what I found was a drunken whore working an alley behind a bar in a no-name hamlet.”
“Don’t!” Valary pleaded.
The inhuman continued his story without notice of her pitiful state.
“For some reason, the whore did not fear my mask, or maybe she was just starving. However, she came to me at a cheap price, so I obliged her. Even with my desiccated features across my face and my chest, parts of my body remain useful. I keep the basic urges of killing and lust.” Grym chuckled.
“Anyway, after I finished using her and paid, this whore suddenly told me her story after I asked about her accent. Another bottle of drink and she told me everything about her child’s death and her ordeal that day. Can you imagine the scene? A pathetic naked drunk on her knees as a monster like me looked down upon her.”
Grym leaned back, placing a hand on Valary’s shoulder and she jerked at the touch.
“The funny thing is, I wondered what the great healer Valary did on that day. Did you ride out to save them or did you help slaughter those innocents? Those were my thoughts on that day, I swear. Your answers confirmed what I’ve always suspected about your hero comrades in the Infinites. It matches what I’ve always known.”
The inhuman leaned close and whispered in her ear.
“Don’t you want to know what I’ve learned?”
Valary refused to answer as the tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Alright, I’ll tell you,” Grym announced.
“Humans swear those beasts who feast on aether, blood, and flesh are monsters. Yet, those creatures are no match for humanity. For only humans kill for sport, pleasure, mistrust, or envy. Given the right circumstances, a human will kill and eat their own in a battle of survival. Yet, you call an inhuman a fiend. Humans truly are the worst monster in this world.”