Grey (Part 7 - The Exorcism)

The monastery's door was as imposing as the rest of the building. It was carved from some smooth black stone; there were thin red lines twisting their way up the door's length, and they seemed to pulsate as Grey looked at them, resembling veins more than anything. He swallowed hard to clear the lump in his throat, and watched while Bane approached.1

Bane stood in front of the door for a moment, fumbling in his backpack for something before finding what he was looking for. When he pulled out a rabbit, still alive, Grey stared at him in confusion. Pulling open a circular slot Grey hadn't seen before, Bane set the rabbit down inside and then closed it once more. 2

"What are you doing?" Grey asked, but was interrupted as the rabbit screamed inside the door, the noise continuing until a loud crunching sound cut it off, ending the animal's dying screams.3

Grey stood in silence for a few moments before his voice would work again. "Did the door.. just eat that?" 4

"Yeah, it did," Bane told him, looking impatient, "That door is made of a rare kind of stone that eats any living thing dumb enough to be trapped by it. It splits in two while digesting something, and reforms when it's finished, so it's actually a pretty neat door, in a morbid way."5

"What is that stone called usually?" Grey wanted to know, just so he could avoid it in future. Something about it just gave him the creeps.6

"Glutonum." Bane shrugged, pausing as the door let out some particularly disgusting chewing sounds. "I'm sure you can figure out why."7

Finally the disgusting noises stopped and, letting out a vile sounding burp, the door split down the middle and opened to admit the two travelers.8

Bane walked ahead confidently, with Grey right behind. The door's two halves slammed themselves together violently behind them, just missing Grey's foot. He thought he heard the door whimper in disappointment, but that could have been his imagination.9

It was too dark to see once the door was shut, but a few seconds later small flames ignited all along the walls, illuminating a long hallway with several doors. All made of regular wood too, Grey was happy to notice.10

Bane knocked on the door closest to them, and an elderly man in white robes came out, looking startled for a moment. 11

"Bane?! What brings you here? It's been months since your last visit," he said, clapping a hand on Bane's shoulder affectionately.12

Grey noticed Bane looked slightly uncomfortable, but it barely even registered because he was too distracted by the old man's face - no matter how he looked, the man's face remained too blurry to make out. He thought it might be his eyes, but Bane's face was as clear and defined as ever. 13

"I brought my friend here to see if you could help him, Father Réal." Bane's voice brought Grey's attention back to the conversation, instead of the strangely faceless man in front of them. "He came here from Haven and he says he can't remember anything before the last couple of days."14

"Haven?" Father Réal looked at Grey with interest for the first time, though how Grey could tell, he wasn't completely sure himself. "I heard that it was destroyed recently, do you remember that far back?" 15

"Not at all," Grey told him, "I think I found my way there not long after.. it was still burning." He could barely think past his irritation that the man's face just wouldn't come into focus.16

"Well bring him to the casting chamber," the man told Bane, "and we'll check to see if his memory loss is caused by magic or natural causes."17

"Um, what's the point of a specific room to use magic in?" Grey asked as he followed the other two down a maze-like series of dark, narrow halls. "Can't you use it wherever you are?"18

"Yes, of course," said Father Réal, chuckling, "but when a room or other area is used repeatedly for spell-casting, over time that area will adapt to its purpose, making any magic used much more concentrated. That's called Significance, when magical power is amplified because of previous circumstances."19

Grey suddenly had a whole new understanding of Bane's random teacher-like lectures. Thankfully the man was cut off when they stopped at another door, and he had to fumble in his robes for the proper key. 20

Once he'd gotten the door open, they all walked into a large, circular room with swirling designs drawn all over the black floor in bright blue chalk or something similar. There were other men in white robes standing against the walls, all of whom seemed to be waiting for Father Réal's command.21

'I guess I should have known he was the one in charge here,' Grey thought to himself, starting to feel nervous around all of these strangers. When Father Réal came and spoke to him, his feeling of foreboding only got worse.22

"You'll have to sit down," he told Grey, pointing to a large chair in the center of the room, "and then we can find out what the cause of your amnesia is."23

Grey followed the man quietly, but shot an alarmed look in Bane's direction when he saw that the chair was covered in restraining devices. When Bane gave him a reassuring nod, he sighed and sat down. He didn't even flinch when Father Réal snapped heavy cuffs over his wrists and legs.24

Walking back next to Bane, he said "It would be best if you left the room while we do this."25

"No," Bane told him shortly, "he's nervous enough already, I'm staying."26

With an obedient nod, Father Réal gestured to the other priests, who circled Grey's chair and started up a low pitched chant. He walked up to Grey and pulled out a pendant from beneath his robes. It was a clear stone attached to a black chain, and it seemed to glitter with an unnatural light.27

Once it caught Grey's eye, his head started to feel heavy, and he felt like the room was spinning around him at some ridiculous speed. Soon the only thing he could hear was the priests still chanting in a monotone voice all around him. Then Father Réal's voice slipped through his haze, shockingly clear compared to the other sounds blurring together.28

"Tell me," his voice said in a low murmur, "what was the name of the demon that chose you? Who left that mark on your arm?"29

It never occurred to Grey to lie, but some small bit of sense remained nonetheless. "I don't know," he said, slurring even those simple words.30

"You can't lie to me child," the man said, still talking gently but with some hidden menace in his voice, "I've been around a long time, and I know a demon can't give a mortal power without sharing his name, and you'll tell me, even if you need some extra motivation."31

At this point, Grey's vision was completely black, but he couldn't drift off into sleep. He barely registered what the man had said until he heard him snap his fingers, and the chanting picked up at a much louder volume. 32

At first his body felt tingly all over, but within seconds the sensation rose until he felt like his skin was being melted off of him. Still, he was unable to scream, unable to make any sound at all as the torturous feeling intensified, until all he could focus on was how to make it stop.33

"Just say the name," the voice whispered soothingly in his ear, and suddenly he could feel his own voice again.34

"Brand!" He screamed, almost sobbing the name out, "His name was Brand!"35

"Just as I thought," Father Réal breathed exultantly, "you're the one I've been looking for."36

The feeling subsided and Grey could see faintly again, enough to make out the pendant as Father Réal placed it against Grey's chest.37

"Now we'll take it from you," he whispered to Grey once more before backing away and giving the other priests a hand signal of some sort. 38

Suddenly, the gem in the pendant flashed red, and the pain he'd experienced before was nothing compared to what Grey felt now. He thought he might die if it kept up, but he also felt something else that he couldn't explain, as if something had been sleeping inside of him, that was now slowly waking up.39

Then, it stopped as soon as it had started. Grey looked up dazed, to see Bane standing over him, holding the pendant. He looked stunned, an expression Grey had never seen on Bane's face before, and as he watched, the pendant's jewel faded from bright red to a dull black.40

"What is this?!" Bane asked, holding his head, "What have you idiots done?"41

"Carry on," Father Réal said, his voice showing the surprise Grey couldn't see from his face, "it seems our young master might have something worth taking as well!"42

It seemed the restraints weren't necessary, since Bane looked as though he couldn't move either. When Grey's eyes met Bane's, he was surprised to see that they were now the same shade of red as the pendant had been a moment ago.43

"Bane," he said, but was cut off when Bane let out a bloodcurdling scream that sounded more animal than human, dropping the pendant and bolting for the nearest wall. 44

One of the nameless priests ran at him, plunging a knife into Bane's chest. Bane let out a strange, high pitched laugh, before backhanding the man into the wall. It hadn't looked like a hard blow, but the man hit the wall and continued through, leaving a gaping hole through which sunlight poured in. Before anyone else could try to stop him, he was gone, leaving Grey alone with the murderous priests.45

"We'll have to kill him when we're done with this one," Father Réal said, shrugging, "he's too dangerous to be left alone."46

At the word kill, something snapped inside of Grey's chest, and when he looked up again, his head was perfectly clear, and his eyes shone red just like his friend's. 47

"I think you have bigger problems on your hands," Grey said in a cold, flat voice, easily lifting his hands and feet free of the restraints that had held him down before. He didn't notice that the heavy cuffs had snapped into pieces, but then he wasn't really conscious of what he was doing either, not anymore. The only thought left that made sense to him, was that everyone in the room with him would die soon.48

The priests ran at him all at once, maybe hoping he couldn't block them all. He didn't need to. He let out an inhuman growl, and flames rose around him in a circle, incinerating the foolish men.49

"That trick won't work as well on me," Father Réal said, a tremor in his voice. Grey could see his face clearly now, just a typical, scared old man, but it didn't make any difference. He wasn't Grey anymore; there was no pity left in him.50

"Good, I was hoping to have some fun with you anyways," he answered, grinning widely.51

Réal watched his death walk towards him, and could think of nothing to stop it.52

"P-Please, make it fast," the wretched man said, whimpering pathetically.53

Grey laughed, a deep booming laugh that echoed eerily off the walls. "It's far too late for that," he said, licking his lips and reaching for the old priest. "You got me all riled up!"
*********54

Outside of the monastery, Father Réal's screams could still be heard; it was hours later when they finally stopped, and silence crept back over the monastery as if nothing had happened.