Serpent Game: Slave to the Shadows vol. 1 (Now on Kindle!)

Introduction

A dark night.

Clouds flooded the earth with rain not too long ago. It was quiet. Not a soul in sight, or at least one of this world.

Parting through thick forest shrubs, a figure clad in shadow appeared, stooping on a hill, brandishing a shovel. Its fiendish presence was displaced in this unfamiliar place. Eyes like amethyst admired a nearby cemetery, enamored as if all it ever needed.

This worn, mulched relic was buried within a blanket of trees, down a slick and treacherous path of mud. There was no other business this far from civilization. Nothing good.

It was keen, trotting graciously in the muck pits, keeping mind to elegance even in heavy boots. Its strut spelled perceptive, allusive-aroused, even. All the while, it observed the surroundings; not a single stone left unturned as it glazed over, suspicious and picky with every inch. Despite being burdened with a need for perfection, its movements became much more swift the closer it got to the gate. Common eyes couldn't defile its work here; not after all it had done. It halted, spared under a double-gated archway.

The innards were barren. Forgotten by time, but their contents survived through legends, through vassals of a bygone era. Eras of which the world lost long ago, for time itself had been buried.

The hooded anomaly began snooping around. Gloves disguised their intentions, but telling veins pulsated; hairs rose from their entitled grip, careful, careful hands savored each moment. This mortal man, he and the night were one inky shadow in their motions.

Tranquil as these times had become-seeing an end to a brief conflict just weeks before-another troublemaker was eager to kick the hornet's nest that was the region of Licentia. She's without peace for long, and was beaten tender. Her mountain ranges wear centuries old scars for the bloodhungry. They, themselves, share a chorus.

Didn't work for them up this hill. What makes you so lucky?

Craters litter the land, lifelessness abundant in certain areas. Yet, some bristling wilds rebelled against the cycle's fate. Lucky them.

When this troublemaker assumed all was clear, he pulled from his cloak an amulet that shared the likeness of a skull. The shadow admired it with great pleasure. A grin curled on his face under a telling cowl. The symbol resembled actual bone: a stained, ashen white. On its forehead, a depiction of a serpent climbed over its scalp. Curious as it may be, the figure ceased his advance and examined it closely, allowed its string chain to dangle with a liberal hold. But the question remained: what to do with such a fiendish trinket?

The shadow dropped the mysterious item back into their cloak pocket. Unopposed, he proceeded through the gates easily; the lock had been broken before arriving. Not planned, but welcomed all the same.

He now strolled through the graves. The search produced a tombstone which appeared hastily erected. The name Gyone Irensho had been carved into the face with manic lashes. The deceased was a legend in his own field and infamous among many discrete circles. But why was his final resting place constructed so ... sloppily? Questions for another day. The figure wasted no time as it began digging. 

Minutes passed. Mounds of moist dirt built, and soon the coffin laid exposed for the taking.

It leapt into the fresh hole. He granted a still to mourn. Then in one swift juke, the coffin flew high into the night sky as to mock mortal ability. The steel-lined box then plummeted, momentarily digging its way back. The figure unhinged the locks of the coffin and cooed while it opened the lid with a lazy lift. It cradled Gyone's body impossibly, no more taxing than a mother lifting her young. It laid Gyone on the ground flat as offering to the dampened grass.

Gyone had long, grey hair and wore a tattered battle vest-lacking an undershirt, signs of a hurry. Black steel-toed boots shielded his feet from the elements, though they stunk of mulch and amend soil.

The shadow, again, produced the amulet, but this time was no mere admiration. It was the catalyst: the first piece to set in motion what their greedy heart desired. Brought on by a violent snap of its necklace string, divorced now from the amulet. Hostility ebbed within their whiplash tug. 

He rested the amulet on the chest, carefully lain just above Gyone's rib cage. At the slightest touch upon their body, spikes shot from the object, pierced into flesh like claws of a wild animal with a puncturing crunch.

The eyes on the amulet began to glow dark purple and strange, root-like markings engraved themselves into Gyone's head and left arm. The body was then willed off the ground with tremendous, otherworldly authority. However, he soon plummeted to the ground, accompanied by a sonic boom. What had inhabited him now ceased its tampering of the laws of physics.

The strange ritual ended as soon as it had begun. Gyone now laid as he were before.

The shadow checked the body as if expecting movement, perceptive eyes travelling rapidly. His wish came true. Gyone's hazel-green eyes sprang open when his lungs caught up; he gasped with an inhale of deprived breath. The figure could hardly contain his delight. It gazed into the famed killer's eyes - with a sly chuckle.

Gyone slowly propped upright with a groggy daze about him as though he had been sleeping. Despite the fresh embalming, he regained a very lively appearance. Not even as much as a discolored pigment soured his complexion.

He struggled to stabilize, feeling stuck in the blurry mess of his vision; all blotchy details and muffled sounds. Unbeknownst to his benefactor, Gyone was far from grateful when he regained muscle control. In the blink of an eye, he sprang into action. He forcibly grabbed the figure by his cloak like being strung up to dry. Adrenaline overclocked his kick-started heart. Gyone's vision slowly regained clarity. "Who are you? ... Where the hell am I?"

The shadow said nothing.

Gyone conjured a more demanding demeanor as he yanked the shadow closer. "Where. The. Hell. Am I!?" The man could only barely conceal his gush when they finally met face to face.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Gyone."