Grayson's Veil

Frowning, Grayson ran a hand through his knotted hair.

He was back on the horse, ridding deeper into the woods to find the amulet and creature. Uphir had instructed him on where to go and how to find it, but did not give much else information on the amulet or the beast that guarded it.

And he did not say what his compensation would be.

That left a heavy feeling in Grayson’s gut.

Shaking his head, he decided it was best to put it aside for when the time came to repay.

Coming up to a cliff, Grayson sat up straight to see the top of it. Grass, moss and trees covered the entirety of it, making it look more similar to a hill than a rocky cliff.

As he studied the scenery the sun started to lower in the sky, making him realize how much time he had spent with the demon physician.

Taking a swig from his flask, Grayson climbed off his horse and walked to the rock face side of the cliff.

He put a hand on the jagged surface.

The rocks dented his skin but did not fully pierce. A small vibration reached his fingertips, but stopped short after a moment.

“I cannot believe this,” Grayson muttered under his breath. He had become numb after meeting Uphir and witnessing a woman slip out of her own skin like a silk gown.

None of it was making sense. He could not wrap his head around the things he was getting involved in. Perhaps that was why Avice was so hell-bent on staying with him, to make sure he did not become a murderous psychopath.

‘Believe it, Soldier. This is only the beginning of your self-discovery. Isn’t that just outstanding?’ The demon laughed, obviously mocking Grayson.

Ignoring the demon’s terrible jest, Grayson pressed his hand harder on the rock. The sharp edges cut into his palm, blood coated the side and dripped down in intricate patterns.

Pulling back his hand, Grayson watched as his wounds sealed up. The muscles, blood vessels, and skin pulled together like a zipper, making him aware of the fact that he truly was not human.

Uphir had told him how to get the creature to come to him. Cut his hand on the rocky edge, make sure it bled, and wait.

For how long, Grayson did not know.

Leaning against a tree nearby, Grayson took out his flask and drank what was left. The bitter taste of red wine danced across his tongue and down his throat. He coughed lightly, trying to clear the tickle that decided to become known at that moment of peace.

A large rumble from the cliff filled the air. The birds and small animals that were living on or around it scattered immediately, knowing a large predator was close.

Grayson looked to the spot where his blood was.

It was gone.

Before he could react, a loud groan sounded. The earth beneath Grayson’s feet shifted, causing him to fall.

The cliff moved up. Grass, trees and rocks fell down to where Grayson laid.

He covered himself with his arms, trying to avoid the earth from crushing him. His horse was whinnying uncomfortably, bucking and rearing, trying to get away but was stuck tied to a tree.

As he moved to untie and shoo the horse away, a large boulder fell on top of it. Blood, guts, and pieces of horse hair splattered Grayson’s face.

He paused, contemplating his life choices.

The ground lifted him up, dirt flying through the air and covering him completely.

Spitting some of the dirt out his mouth, he grabbed onto the little grass that was left and braced himself.

He still was not prepared for what he saw.

The cliff continued to crumble while closing within itself. Two long antennas bounced out from under the grass floor on top of the cliff, pushing forward in front of the now almost nonexistent cliff. Little legs began to poke out along the side of an incredibly long body, a long body that Grayson was currently clutching to.

Panic seized him as he watch the terrifyingly large creature emerge from the ground.

This was not normal. Nothing about this normal.

Where had his search for Eleanor turn into this nightmare?

The creature, fully emerged now, turned its head to look down at Grayson.

Grayson starred back, his jaw slacked and his body frozen from shock.

The creature resembled a giant centipede. Upon a closer look, its little legs were human arms fused together with human legs at the elbow. The feet kicked and twitched wildly as if they were really humans underneath the body. Bones covered the ugly centipede’s body, replacing an exoskeleton.

Its antennas twitched wildly while its forcipules extended out from its mouth, which had millions upon millions of human teeth inside, venom dripping down in little splatters causing the forest floor to decay at the contact.

It chittered while making its antennas touch Grayson’s body.

He jumped at the first clumsy bump. It was hard and strong enough to leave a bruise, so he did his best to stay still and not anger the creature.

Satisfied, the creature’s antenna stood upright. It chittered again, making Grayson tilt his head in confusion.

‘Is it… is it trying to communicate with me?’ Grayson thought as he took a step back. Scanning his eyes over its massive features, Grayson spotted what he had come there for.

The amulet.

It was deeply imbedded into its exoskeleton, dead center between the antennas. It glowed a deep green, so deep it looked almost black and could easily be missed if not searching for it.

Swallowing the lump of fear that was crawling up his throat, Grayson unsheathed his sword.

The loud shink filled the hushed atmosphere, causing the centipede to jerk its head to the side. An intense growl type chitter escaped its throat.

‘Uh oh.’

Leaping back, the centipede stabbed its head where Grayson had stood.

He swung his sword at one of the legs, nicking it as it moved away.

The centipede angrily screeched then launched towards him. Again, he was able to get out of the way just in time.

Seeing an opportunity, Grayson grabbed its antenna when its head was close to him.

The centipede reared back and screeched loudly, causing the forest to shudder and to lose more of its animals.

It shook its head violently, but Grayson held on with one hand while the rest of his body tried to stay upright.

When it paused, Grayson used his sword to stab the creature. Unfortunately, the sword pinged off the strong exoskeleton, making him almost lose his weapon.

Not seeing a way to get to the amulet from where he was, Grayson decided to run down the Centipede’s long body. The creature began to move was well, its body rearing up and dipping down.

The combined movement of Grayson running and the centipede nearly made him fall, but his demon somehow kept his body upright.

‘Run Grayson! This creature is made from the depths of Hell, its venom poisonous even for us demons. Faster, faster! If we succumb to its venom, there is no afterlife for us. Dead, gone, nothing more than rotting flesh in the ground.’

Gritting his teeth, Grayson listened to his demon.

The Centipede swiveled its large head towards him. It extended its poisonous forcipules out if its mouth, making them shudder in excitement, and quickly sent its head towards Grayson.

Grayson jumped in time, but ended up falling due to the creature slamming its heads into its body.

“Oomph!” Grayson breathed out as his back landed on the churned up forest floor.

Laying still for a moment, Grayson tried to catch his breath. He opened his eyes just as two legs started to come down on him. Grayson rolled to the side, out of the way just enough to avoid the blow.

Getting up and wiping his dirty sweat covered forehead, he watched the centipede skitter around the trees. It was circling him, not giving a chance to escape.

But that was far from what Grayson wanted to do.

He spread his feet apart, raised his sword and waited.

The creature rounded another tree than stopped in front of him. It rose its head higher while watching him, its legs still moving and giving the head more height.

Grayson dug his back foot into the ground, giving himself as much leverage as he could get.

The centipede opened its mouth, releasing its forcipules. They moved in and out, like hands shoving food into the mouth.

Its body shook before going in for the kill.

Grayson swung his sword, watching it clash against the forcipule and feeling it vibrate all the way to his bones.

They separated for a second, then attacked again.

This time the sword sliced through the poison dripping forcipule, making the centipede rear up in pain.

Grayson saw his chance. The underbelly of the creature was soft and squishy, a perfect spot to thrust his sword into, which was becoming dull from the hard exterior.

Being quick on his feet, he dashed under the creature and stabbed it with as much force as he could muster.

The creature let out a loud, painful hiss that pierced Grayson’s eardrums.

Ignoring the pain and the feeling of blood dripping out of his ears, he twisted his sword and continued to slice sideways.

Black, oozy fluid poured out of the centipede, covering Grayson.

Grunting, Grayson continued to stab and slice at the creature, which was thrashing about. It was making the ground shake and the trees fall when it collided with them.

With one last painful hiss, the giant centipede collapsed on its side.

Grayson rounded to the front of it, cautious of the wounded creature knowing its fight or flight is triggered and being vulnerable could make it worse.

However, it stayed still. Only its antennas giving away that it was not dead.

Walking softly, but panting heavily, Grayson stopped in front of the amulet.

The antennas swung wildly, but strength was leaving them fast.

Grayson swung his sword sharply, the black liquid that was on it painted the grass a few feet away. He twirled his sword his hand and thrusted roughly next to the amulet. It pierced the exoskeleton, but just an inch of the tip.

A low hiss left the creature’s mouth.

Bracing his other hand on the head, Grayson pushed as hard as he could. The exoskeleton cracked, the piercing sound not fully reaching his nearly deaf ears.

Grayson threw his sword aside and began to stomp the shell. The cracks were loud at first, but then the stomping of his boot on the creature’s head soon covered it.

Drool began to drip down his chin, mixing with his sweat. Hysteria had its grip on him, and Grayson was allowing it to control him.

Sticky black goo covered his legs and boots, some of it flying to his upper body and face with the force of his stomps.

When he felt satisfied with his work, and relief from the action, Grayson stopped. Breathing heavily, he stared down at the angry mess he had made.

The amulet sparkled amongst the mess, surprisingly clean of the black residue.

Grayson reached down and gripped it with one hand. The cool, metallic surface made him sigh in relief that it was real.

It was beautiful. A large, deep emerald gem took up most of the center, while the surrounding metal was a dark gold. Etched foreign letters lined around the gem.

Cocking his head to the side, he looked at each letter, unable to recognize any of them.

Grayson sighed while pocketing the amulet. Warmth touched his thigh, a promise of power radiated off it but he ignored it. He wanted nothing to do with it, just wanted to get back to his itinerary.

Picking up his sword, he began to walk back to Uphir’s campsite.