Chapter 4
Naomi
I was confused. Really, really confused.
It didn’t seem to me like my captor wanted to kill me or even harm me.
I just had to glance down at the bandages wrapped around the injured palm of my hand to know this.
And when I’d kept insisting on my name he had even given me his, shocking me to hell and back when he just barked out: Crash.
Who the heck called their kid Crash? That seemed weird but I had to remind myself that though he spoke English to me, the rest of his Clan didn’t.
They spoke in weird hissing, sibilant tones that I couldn’t even begin to pick apart as a language.
In his own language, Crash probably didn’t mean what it did in English.
Besides, he pronounced it with a hard ‘k’ and a hiss at the end. Krashe…
Even more confusing, how had he learned to speak English?
That made about as little sense as his proclamation that I was his mate.
He hadn’t tied me back up either; I was now free to move around this small chamber.
He’d also left his lantern so I had light to see by.
See, confusing. Why was he treating me like that but still keeping me locked up in here?
I didn’t think the rest of the Naga outside in that big cave were going to be nearly as friendly as he had been. Actually, he hadn’t been all that friendly either, manhandling me, growling and snapping. He also hadn’t asked any questions, just sniffed my hair and licked my skin, and then he’d left.
I touched my uninjured palm to the side of my neck where he’d drawn that split tongue along my skin.
I still vividly recalled the sensation of those sharp fangs bracketing my throat when he opened his mouth over my flesh.
For a long second I had expected him to bite down and rip into me.
Flirting with that kind of danger had made my body sing and I was thoroughly disgusted with myself about it.
I couldn’t actually like that kind of thing, could I? That wasn’t normal… Was it?
Gah! I wasn’t even sure about that, considering how limited my experiences were when it came to romance and sex. I had barely left home for years… I barely knew how to say hi to new people, so how was I supposed to deal with this?
Breathing out with a huff, I contemplated my options.
I was untied, but I was pretty sure he’d only done that because he knew I couldn’t get out anyway.
Just remembering how I’d stabbed him with that piece of metal made me growl angrily.
He hadn’t even noticed. How did I fight a creature like that?
Especially when my body seemed to like tussling with him.
I couldn’t trust my own feelings and that really sucked.
Sitting around on my ass wasn’t going to solve anything, and now that I was free to move around, and I had light, I could at least explore.
I still needed to pee too so the first order of business was to pick a secluded corner and do that.
Relieved, I carefully picked my way across the rough stone floor to reach the door.
I was hoping to find a crack I could peer out of; I needed to figure out what the situation was on the other side.
Holding my breath, I pressed my ear against the panel and listened.
There was the constant din of many voices, the squeals of children and animals, and the sound of hammering.
Beneath all that noise I thought I could hear the sound of scales sliding along the ground.
Were those the sounds of guards standing outside this door?
I was pretty sure Krashe had yelled at people right outside my prison when he left.
But he’d spoken in his own language so I had no idea what he’d said.
Locating a crack just big enough to peek through, I leaned in and had a look.
Oh boy. I was pretty sure I could see the tails of at least two Naga—no make that three. How many were out there?
There was no way I could get this door open and sneak past that many without being noticed, and where would I go if I did get out?
I couldn’t cross an entire cave village without being seen.
I shivered when I remembered passing through the first time.
So many hate-filled looks, fear on the faces of the younger ones, and the pinching and stone tossing… Not fun.
I leaned over to run my hands along my legs, checking again that there was no serious damage I needed to worry about.
Bruises as far as my inspection could tell, but no cuts.
I could pull my legs to my chest in a good bend and rotate my ankles by hand.
Everything seemed in working order and the pins and needles feeling was fading from around the thigh area once more.
Good, but I would feel much better if I could rest up, I just didn’t think I’d feel safe enough in here to close my eyes for a bit.
The thought had only just crossed my mind when excited voices erupted just outside my cell.
Male voices rumbling and hissing, a higher pitched one silencing them all with a sharp command.
That couldn’t be good; that meant it wasn’t Krashe out there.
Not that I trusted him not to turn mean on me, but at least I knew him and he hadn’t harmed me yet.
With a sinking feeling, I used my hands to drag myself away from the door in a backward scramble.
I hated how vulnerable I was right now, if I had my wheelchair, at least I’d be more mobile…
If I had one of my crutches here, I could use that as a makeshift weapon.
The piece of wood I had been hopeful about earlier had crumbled to dust in my hands.
I braced myself for danger when the door swung open, fixing a fierce glare on my face that I hoped would make people think I wasn’t scared.
Now that the immediateness of that deadly situation on the river bank had worn off, I was finding it much easier to be frightened. They didn’t deserve to know that.
There was a female flanked by two males at the door, and my appearance was a shock to them.
I saw their eyes grow wide, saw how they exchanged glances and rapid words between them.
The female jeered and pointed as she indicated my legs.
Then she wriggled the lithe tip of her deep red tail and allowed the move to shimmy up her body in a sensuous manner.
It drew the eyes of everyone around, making it clear just how lacking I was to them.
Look, she has stupid useless legs and no tail! She can’t do this, can’t she?”
As soon as show and tell was done, the two males reached down and grabbed me by the arms. Instinctively I tried to yank myself free from their grips but their fingers digging into my biceps were too tight.
I was hauled from my cell and dragged after the female back into the extremely crowded village.
“Let go! Where are you taking me?” I demanded to know, but I was ignored by my captors this time.
Not so much by the laughing, pointing crowd of young Naga that had apparently gathered on the pathway next to my prison.
I saw far too many glowing red or orange eyes, a whole tangle of tails as they piled together to get the best look.
Pointing fingers, blackened teeth as sharp as needles, and that was soon followed by the first rock sailing through the air.
It hit me in the small of my back and I yelped in pain.
At least the narrow paths the two dragged me into, led by the callous female, made it impossible for them to follow.
I caught stares as we traversed the maze but no more rocks until I was dragged up the steps and into a big wooden building that took center stage on the edge of the clearing at the center of the cave village.
I didn’t like the look of that building.
It had to be important if they’d taken the effort to erect such a tall house.
It looked as big as a barn, with a sweeping roof and carved end beams that stuck out for dramatic and decorative effect.
Light spilled warm and bright from the open doorway and beyond the portal, I saw an abundance of colored fabrics that draped the interior.
I was so shocked to discover proper textiles in this place that for a moment that was all I could look at.
Those looked like silk and satin, shimmering in jewel-bright colors against a backdrop of the deepest of purple wood.
There was no doubt in my mind that the fabrics represented wealth, flaunted for all to see.
Then my eyes took in the many coiled bodies on the pillows that covered much of an intricately inlaid wooden floor.
Dozens of them, maybe even fifty Naga in total.
Some young, some old, and nearly all of them were women.
What was most eye-catching was the figure sitting on an elaborately carved wooden throne at the back of the rectangular-shaped room.
A Naga woman with graying hair and a strangely sallow cast to her gleaming scales.
Like the deep red had lost some of its color from lack of sunlight or something.
Did she ever leave this place? She was also the first Naga I had seen who was clearly overweight, her coils extremely thick and heavy.
She reminded me of an anaconda, instead of a viper like Krashe did.
Led by the woman who had brought me here, I was dragged through the room to the sounds of horrified gasps and pointing fingers, straight to the slightly raised stage on which the throne was perched.
There I was tossed to the floor in a heap.
When I struggled to raise myself on my hands, two big males with spears crossed them in front of the Queen as if they wanted to block my access to her.
They didn’t have to worry; I didn’t want to get any closer.