Inhuman Chapter 8

Riding Through the Past

The screams of women and children came back to Valary. 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,” Grym’s voice brought her back to the present.

“Of course, they already broke the woman when they ripped her child from her arms and slaughtered him. What I found was a drunken whore working an alley behind a bar in a no-name hamlet. For some reason, the whore did not fear my mask, or maybe she was just starving. However, she came to me with 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.”

He chuckled while reminiscing.

“When I finished using her and paid, she suddenly told me the story of 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. As I left, I wondered what the great healer Valary did on that day. Your answers confirmed what I’ve always suspected about your hero comrades in the Infinites.”

The inhuman leaned close.

“Don’t you want to know what I’ve learned?”

Valary refused to answer.

“Alright, I’ll tell you,” he stated suddenly.

“Humans are the actual monsters of this world! Those creatures who feast on aether, blood, and flesh are no match for humans who kill for pleasure, mistrust, or envy. Even an inhuman doesn’t kill unless we must. We only feed upon a human corpse unless the madness comes.”

“I don’t understand why nobody’s returned to this place,” Valary tried to change the conversation. “The emperor promised to rebuild the areas damaged during the war. Even if this is a remote area, he needs the support of the duke.”

“I believe he also promised things to the heroes well before you became a threat to his power,” Grym mocked her. “What noble cares about the plight of the people that he rules over? It’s the same thing when someone like you becomes a mindless beast who follows orders while throwing away any moral code they knew.”

“You don’t have to remind me of my past!” She suddenly exploded as she nearly lost her balance. An icy rage enveloped her as she suddenly wanted to destroy her tormentor.

“My heart is cold enough to kill you if I had my hands. I swear upon my dying breath that torturing me won’t turn me into your puppet. It only makes me want to destroy you along with the others.”

His monotone whisper swept by her ear.

“That’s what I’m counting on, my dear!”

~~~

The two travelers reached the train station at Frola the next day as the sun reached its peak. To call the stop on the Empire’s main line a town was too generous. Aside from a water tower and the brick station, half a dozen wooden buildings made up the rest of the hamlet. The wide-open landscape held only a few large trees as the grasslands extended to the uplands in the distance. Valary barely recalled traveling through the area by train once before.

Grym steered their horse to the fenced area outside of a shack where several dozen Auroch oxen wandered around the pen. He helped Valary down from the horse, then went to the building where a stable owner waited. She noticed the man greeted him without a change in his expression at seeing Grym’s mask. After the two men spoke for a while, Grym returned.

“We’ll take the train that stops tonight. I’ve sold the horse and saddle. We’ll wait under that tree by the water tower. It’s in the shade and we can fill the water bag.”

“I can’t help with no arms,” she replied sarcastically.

“If you keep complaining, I’ll tie it to your body, and you can carry it on the train along with the other bags,” the inhuman glared at her.

Valary went quiet as Grym unpacked the saddle. She noticed Grym appeared even more distant than usual, but she did not bother to ask the reason. The traveling proved difficult, but her natural immunity, as well as food and rest, brought her back to full vigor. Even the fake legs she used no longer required careful supervision to operate. Still, the woman hated her lack of arms and hands.

“Put the bag of water over my neck and I’ll carry it,” she suddenly told him.

Grym looked at her, then did as she asked. He pulled off his musket in its leather scabbard and threw the leather bag, carrying their supplies over his shoulder. As they walked across the dusty road, she grew curious.

“I noticed that the guy who bought the horse did not react to your appearance. Have you done business with him before?”

For a moment, he appeared not to hear her question.

“No, I simply put an illusion spell upon my mask,” he finally explained. “It’s similar to the way your golem legs work. Another sage, or even some healers like yourself, can still see the reality on the other side of the illusion.”

“That explains why I didn’t notice the change.” She nodded.

“No, you should notice any changes in the aether used by a spell. You failed to notice because of ignorance.”

Her face flushed at the insult.

“I suppose your skills surpass even the best court mage!”

“Rulli would not make that mistake,” he told her as they reached the windmill.

The slight breeze spun the vines of the windmill a few feet above them and the rhythmic thump of an iron rod lifting and dropping was the only noise around them. An iron pump spit out water into a wood trough while lifting the rest of the water to the wooden tower next to them.

“You act like you know her. I doubt she meets with inhumans regularly.”

Grym glanced over and shook his head.

“During your time in that labyrinth, I would hope that you noticed your failures. First, you still carry arrogance. Not realizing your weakness led to your betrayal. No doubt brought on by your own stupidity. Second, you never learned the skills to become a weapon with your aether. You took your role as a savior without reflecting upon the history of human cruelty and folly. Humanity always follows the path of the powerful.”

He dropped the bag next to the wooden water trough under the tower used by the trains. Grym slid down next to the trough under the shade of the tree.

Valary stood over him for a moment, unable to think of a rebuttal. At times, she wondered if he could read her mind.

“Curse you. I spent long hours understanding my shortcomings, and those who betrayed me.” She finally said, as she used the wood slats of the water tank to slide down into a sitting position a few paces away.

“My time in prison while the guards used me for entertainment made me hate the gods. Then, I realized I was weak. The gods wanted me to pay for something. But I didn’t understand it at first. Then, it came to me. When my friend warned of a plot against the Infinites, I stood at the height of arrogance. I just didn’t believe the bastard would arrest us. We were heroes to the empire and that son of a bitch took away my friends in the snap of his fingers.”

She dropped her head.

“It’s so frustrating! You’re right, I only learned how to use a musket or a sword for defense. Even as a hero, I stood behind others.”

Grym remained quiet behind his mask. After a while, his voice reached her.

“Turn your frustration into something else. You know this inside, but you’re still afraid.”

She looked at him.

“Afraid of what?

“Death.”

He looked up at the tree above them.

“Although, in your case, I suppose that’s expected. Someone with your capabilities focused upon healing the near dead. You’re nearly immortal, so you’ve never really experienced anything close to your ultimate demise.”

“That’s not true!” Valary protested. “I saw more death than you can imagine.”

“But Valary the Infinite is dead in name only,” he looked over. “Yes, you saw many dead, and you witnessed people dying. But you did not truly experience it. The closest you got was in your tomb. Those who betrayed you expected you to live in agony long after their bones turned to dust. That keeps you in rage but, in the end, you can only imagine death.”

Grym turned his head back to the sky.

“Before you go into the blackness, you experience every second. Your mind realizes you are dying while your body lies in your blood, and you cannot stop waves of pain that keep rolling in. You’re unable to move while you experience each heartbeat. The voices of your killers walking away while you bleed pass through as you as a cold slowly fills your body, starting from the limbs. You know there’s no escape as the blackness descends over your mind. Like you, betrayal came for me. However, I found that my failure gave me a path to avenge myself.”

Grym closed his eyes like he was in prayer.

“Death became a way for me to achieve my retribution. A goddess gave me a chance. I’ll have no other opportunity, so I must finish what I start. That’s what you must understand to get the revenge you seek. To the world, Valary is dead. Nazalath and his cronies killed you. The very people you wished to save turned against you. Do you still follow the teachings of the temple who gave you to Nazalath?”

“Of course not,” she immediately replied. “As I shivered in the darkness, I remembered how the priestess kept warning me about my soul if I failed the holy order of the emperor. Now I want to see them burn in the underground fires.”

Grym smiled as he opened his eyes.

“You’ve begun the process of reclamation. You’ve seen butchering and slaughter. And you have the fury in you to pull the beating hearts from your opponent’s chest. Beyond a healer, you carry aether which you can use against anyone with some training.”

He held out his hand, weathered and dirty. A blue flame rose from his palm.

“When I give you the golems for your arms, you can take this flame to warm you.”

Her eyes widened at the blue aether. The priestess warned her repeatedly about the pitfalls of such a fire.

“This flame will slowly enter your heart to take away the doubts in your path,” he continued. “Accept the hatred and inspire retribution into the deepest parts of your soul. Everything else becomes easier.”

Valary watched the handle of the windmill pump come down like an ax with each thump of the rhythmic sound. The image suddenly made her re-live each time the ax bit into her arms and her legs. The woman remembered her screams, the crowd’s laughter. She felt the pain come back with stunning clarity.

“I want that blue flame!” Valary whispered.