Stained Credence. Book One: The Wretched

Prolouge

There it stood, that mephitic creature. It’s dark eyes flashed with a mottled red, like rich velvet, and it snorted an ash-filled fire at finally seeing her. Famished by an insatiable appetite that could only be slaked by feasting on the devastation it reaped; it gnashed its ragged teeth, yellow strings if spit clinging between them. It whipped its head from side to side, froth dripping from its black gums. The thick smoke boiling from its body leapt fervently at the putrid globules as they fell to the floor.

The door shut, pushing the smoke into a heap. She closed her eyes, seeing Grady in his confused calamity. That monster, savoring his misery, pressed itself against the door, the framing heaving under the pressure. Leave. She thought. Run.

The sickly smoke crawled its way toward her, but it could not touch her with its malignancy. They whipped violently across the floor, seeking their victim. The steel frame moaned as the monster pulled away, the smoke retreating with it. The gangrenous smoke thrashed in protest as it was slowly pulled beneath it. Smoky tendrils reluctant to abandon their search.