Inhuman Chapter 7
This Place is Familiar
“Where is the next stop?” Valary asked.
As expected, Grym remained quiet. He spoke to her only a couple of times since they left their campsite that morning on his horse.
Unable to hang on to the man without 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 smell of death when she smelled it on him. Still, the steady hoofbeats reminded her too much of the grave she just escaped from.
“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, then she heard him sigh.
“We’re traveling to a train stop. From there, we’ll travel through the Jurz to Wrse. You can think about that for a while and quit bothering me with your questions.”
“Why are we going to Rudia? That’s in the frontier.” Valary slid to one side of the saddle when the horse avoided a washed-out section of the trail.
“Your body’s waiting for you there,” he stated, then went quiet.
After another long pause, the woman grew frustrated.
“If I’m helping you, then I need to know what I’m doing. Do you plan to use a dark spell to transfer my soul somehow? It’s just a myth from the past.”
“Just like the myth of binding multiple spells together. It appeared to work just fine last night,” he mocked her. “This inhuman advises that 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 find a way to grow my limbs back. A soul can’t leave the body easily, even if you have such magic.”
“That’s true. At least you show the knowledge of what will come. I guess it’s the reason you were at the top of your class. Still, you never bothered to look for those forbidden grimoires. It took me a while to get to those archives and stop thinking like a mage taught by a priest.”
He’s a mage? But how?
“Then teach me! I’m a healer. I can help stop bleeding and mend bones. 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.
“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 hated the expressionless mask he wore.
“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 as bad as you’ve already endured.”
His mask gave a fake smile.
“Worse, that 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, and she looked around the area again with a certain realization.
“I see this place is familiar,” his voice 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 seemed both a cold, yet interested.
She shook her head.
“Don’t be shy,” he tried again while pointing to the field on their left. “I believe Emperor Nazalath praised your Cavaliers for their steadfast courage in the battle at that spot not far away from Maldra. 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 remembered the time and suffered from nightmares after it occurred.
“During my planning to find you, I heard a tale that your family raised you in a town near here,” the inhuman stated. “When you and your comrades came this way, did you stop and say hello to your old friends?”
“Why would you ask that?”
“No reason in particular. Oh my, take a look at that fence row. Doesn’t that take you back?” He watched her refuse to lift her head.
Grym suddenly slapped her head.
“Look!”
Valary knew what was there before she raised her head and gazed at the fence line, mostly covered by brush and vines. Fortunately for her sanity, nearly all the evidence remained hidden. Then, the woman saw a small skull, bleached white across the front, peering through the foliage. She looked away.
“The orders came from Nazalath. The troops had no choice.”
“That’s your story. Funny thing is, you could have lied to me. Those bones can’t tell you whether it’s your enemy or your kin.”
His irritating cackle burst out.
“So, a healer stood by and watched as they beheaded children in front of their mothers,” he continued to chuckle to himself.
He directed the horse onto another path, cutting through a row of trees. Valary paid no attention as she thought about the long slog to the remote territory from the principal base outside of the capital. The trains filled with five thousand troops stopped in Barab, yet she did not bother to take time to see her mother. She had that privilege yet, as a hero of the empire, Valary told herself her mother would not want the attention. The reality was far different. Embarrassed by her humble origins, Valary kept the location of her childhood a secret from her friends. Since most Infinites were nobles, she knew they looked down upon her humble origins. There was no reason to twist that knife further.
“Well, it’s expected,” she heard Grym say. “In my journeys through the empire since becoming a monster, I find humanity filled with such hypocrisy in every town.”
