Free The Cypher by Julian Rosado-Machain

with a smile. “Everything will be all right.”
    Thomas wasn’t in the least reassured, but he followed the butler to the parking lot.
    After a short trip in the limo, Bolswaithe escorted Thomas to his front door brandishing the oversized flashlight like a rifle.
    “Would you like me to come in, sir?” Bolswaithe asked as Thomas unlocked the door.
    “Let me talk with Grandpa first,” Thomas said. He stepped inside and closed the door. He leaned against the door and tried to catch his breath. His heart pounded in his chest. What was going on?
    He breathed a little easier; at least the house seemed in order.
    “Grandpa!” he yelled going up the stairs in large strides.
    “Gramps!” He crossed the small corridor into Morgan’s room. The lights were off, but the T.V. was on, the news blaring. Grandpa usually left the T.V. on with the sleep timer when he went to bed.
    As soon as Thomas entered, the door slammed shut behind him and a form in the bed stirred.
    “Gramps?” Thomas asked. He inched closer, careful not to stir whatever was on the bed.
    Suddenly, two tentacles shot from the bed impacting the ceiling. A slime-covered creature rose from the bed and tried to grab Thomas with two more tentacles, but he jumped back toward the door. A jaw ringed with serrated teeth opened in the middle of the bulbous creature – rows of green eyes blinked open.
    Thomas yelled for help as the monster stood up on four stumpy legs and approached him. He tried to open the door, but the doorknob seemed to be locked from the outside. The monster opened its mouth wider to engulf him whole, and the smell of decay became overpowering. Thomas covered his nose, choking on the stench.
    As the creature closed in on him, there was a sudden explosion of glass and wood as a winged creature entered through the window slamming against the monster. They fought, snarling, wings lashing the ceiling, tentacles slamming into the furniture, until they busted through the wall into Thomas’s room.
    The door finally unlocked.
    Thomas ran toward the stairs. Two more creatures slipped out from the shadows of a corner. These monsters had dark grey skin and incredibly long arms that ended in knife-like fingers. Their long pointed noses rose in the middle of two small and deeply sunken eyes, and their mouths opened in a wide ferocious grin.
    One of the monsters reached out for Thomas and sliced his hoodie cleanly off with a large claw. Thomas looked at his arm and saw blood. He rushed down the stairs, looking behind him as monsters scrambled out from the shadows to follow him.
    At the bottom of the stairs, he smashed into something and fell back on his butt. Standing in front of him was a dark grey devil. Its skin looked made of granite, and its leathery wings touched the ceiling. It was almost identical to the one that fought the monster in Grandpa’s room. With a massive claw, the creature grabbed Thomas by the shoulder and helped him up.
    “Get to the car, Thomas.” Thomas recognized the voice that greeted him every day at the mansion. It wasn’t a devil, but the gargoyle.
    The gargoyle interposed itself between Thomas and his pursuers, and punched, knocked, kicked, and slammed any monsters that got in the way. The gargoyle punched a monster in the face; the creature went through the stairs with a loud crunch just as another monster jumped on top of the gargoyle, slashing and biting into the granite.
    Thomas didn’t stop to watch the fight.
    As he reached the car, Bolswaithe had already started the engine. Thomas jumped into the back seat. They took off with tires screeching. “Your grandfather, sir?” the butler calmly asked as he sped down the road.
    “He wasn’t there!” Thomas cried. He looked back at his house. He could see the silhouettes fighting through the windows and the walls buckling. “What were those things?”
    “Adze trolls, sir,” Bolswaithe said. “Nasty creatures. Here comes another one.”
    A troll emerged from behind a