16. Not Like the Movies
Chapter 16
Not Like the Movies
O h, hell yeah, he could complain about that.
And complain he did the second he saw the scaled, two-headed serpent swimming toward us. One that swept through the red sand, creating folds of black waves either side of its body as it moved with speed. Its heads could only be seen for seconds before they dove back into the baked earth, showing us the arch of spiked fins as it traveled quickly.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t think that’s the welcome committee,” Orth said, only it was at this point that Marcus offered clarification,
“No, it’s a Balaur.”
“Meaning?” I asked, as I had never heard of them before.
“Meaning the only welcome we will get is the type you would from a shark,” he replied tensely, and from the size of that thing, we would need more than a bigger boat and a fucking harpoon. Try a fucking heat-seeking missile and a submarine. Yet despite this, I still found myself asking,
“Can we kill it?”
“No, so I suggest we make like a prostitute and fuck it,” Marcus said in a hurried way, starting to move in the opposite direction to where the creature was traveling.
Orthrus and I looked to each other, before he told me,
“No way I am fucking that thing!”
“Fucking run, you idiot!” Marcus shouted in return.
“Time to go then!” I said before we started running as the Balaur continued to chase us, gaining on us as it travelled across the vast desert.
I looked back toward the mountains it had come from to see a lone figure standing on one of the peaks. The being wore a long pale robe that covered most of them and held up a staff that was glowing above their head, circling it around. This caused the reddish looking clouds above to move, swirling together until they turned a much darker color. Then a foreboding thunder cracked through the sky, booming across the landscape.
As for the person, I only saw as much as I did thanks to my increased supernatural sight, making me point out the person to Orth and Marcus. Both of which followed the direction to where I showed them, as it looked as if the person was controlling the beast.
“Fuck!” Marcus hissed, now looking around for a way out of this.
“That most definitely wasn’t a good fuck,” Orth commented, making me wonder if I would get the opportunity to experience that ‘good fuck’ he spoke of ever again, because that thing was most definitely out to kill us.
“You think?!” I shouted back before looking to where Marcus was headed, knowing out of the three of us, he was the only one with the knowledge of this place and its fucking angry creatures. Which was when I saw him headed toward a small island of black rocks, all jagged and rising from the sand in diagonal glass shards. So, I got closer to my brother and hit him on the arm to get his attention away from looking at the Balaur behind us.
“Over there!” I shouted as the rumbling sound at our feet told me all I needed to know, it was getting fucking closer.
Orth nodded, following me as I found an extra gear, pushing myself even more. I knew I could have run faster in my other form, but seeing as I also knew that we couldn’t run forever, a plan was what we needed… and well, my Beast wasn’t exactly known for its strategic plan making skills. Running headfirst and asking questions later…? It was great at. But even I knew it wouldn’t exactly do me much good against something the size of a damn freight train! One bite from me would most likely tickle the damn thing.
So, I ran toward the rock formation until we both joined Marcus behind it, trying in vain to hide from the fucker who would be here in seconds.
“Okay, start talking, Marc, how do we beat this thing!?” I asked, and my brother added,
“Yeah, and don’t say by cutting the head off the snake, ‘cause last I checked, we don’t have Abaddon here with a sizable fucking machete.”
Of course, when Marcus didn’t offer a witty reply in return I knew it was bad. And yep, I was right as he admitted,
“It’s impossible.”
“Fuck, I knew it!” my brother hissed.
I ignored him, grabbed Marcus by his jacket, and gritted out,
“Explain!”
“It’s a Balaur.”
“Yes, Marcus, you said that!” I snapped at his obvious as fuck reply.
“Which means it only has one whom commands it.”
“You mean the guy I saw on the mountain?” I said guessing as much.
“Yes, and last time I checked none of us could fly up there and cut the head off that snake,” he said, mocking my brother’s words.
“You mean to tell me…”
“Kill the owner, it kills the Balaur… oh, and just so you know, it usually does have wings,” Marcus added, giving me even more cause to hiss,
“Fuck!”
“Yeah, that we are,” Marcus said with a tensed expression that really did tell me this was it, as for once… he had nothing.
“Fuck that, I am not going out by having that thing eat me, this isn’t fucking Tremors and I ain’t no Kevin Bacon,” Orth said, making Marcus roll his eyes.
“He survived, dickhead, and if we are to do the same thing then we will need more than a few sticks of explosives,” Marcus snapped, but that gave me an idea. I remembered the movie he spoke of and looked around, quickly finding what I was looking for.
“No, but we do have a cliff… look!” I shouted, pointing to the direction of where the barren landscape started to change and a large canyon could be seen behind us, one that had been hidden by the rocks.
“Wait! A cliff…” Marcus said, now looking deep in thought, hence why I grabbed him by the jacket and snapped,
“What is it?!”
“The warning,” he replied, the wheels turning in his mind and thank fuck for that, because if someone like Marcus didn’t have a plan then we truly were fucked.
“Oh, you mean the one I said would come in fucking handy!” Orth griped. Again, I ignored him and told Marcus,
“What warning, Marc…? Come on!” I shouted. The vibrations below were getting stronger as the ground started to shake more violently the closer it got.
“Fuck, no time, may I suggest we take a leaf out of the Tremors handbook and take this meeting to the rocks?” Orth added as Marcus tried to recall the warning.
“Good plan… but just so you know, I am Kevin Bacon,” I said, holding him back before we started to scramble up the jagged rocks. Then just as the beast began to circle us, Marcus slipped, making me turn just in time and grab for his wrist. A good job too as one of the heads started to rear up through the sand with its mouth open ready to swallow him whole.
Meaning I was left to yank him as hard as I could. No doubt doing so with enough strength to pull an arm right out of its socket had he been mortal and not made from tougher stuff. The momentum of which meant he landed on top of me, making me cough out my breath at the impact.
“Thanks for the save,” Marcus said with a wink.
“Don’t mention it… actually, could you mention it when you get your flamboyant arse off me,” I huffed, making him smirk before removing himself from my sprawled body that most definitely felt the jagged rock imprinted on my back. Damn but I think I preferred the zipper on my cock. At least that came with the hot as fuck image of Ella.
My brother gave me a hand and hauled me up, and I moaned at the pain from my now torn skin. Skin that thankfully would at least heal. Although my lucky leather jacket was no doubt shredded. Damn it, I loved that thing! It had survived a fucking battle against an apocalyptic event for fuck’s sake!
“Okay, now I am officially pissed!” I said, scowling at the beast who had taken to circling us before rearing up against us at what it must have thought was a better angle. Both heads looked exactly the same, as if a dragon had given birth to a snake.
Its scaled heads were also rippling with small horns and spiked harden skin that vibrated as it reared up at us like heckles on a cat. As for its teeth, Marcus hadn’t been wrong in calling it a shark as it had rows and rows of jagged teeth, with a pair of chilling fangs from the top of its jaws that were too big to fit inside its mouths. Like some sabretooth tiger, they were always on show. Another unusual feature was the dual tongues it possessed, each that grew from gland-like sacks either side of its lower jaw.
As for its eyes, it had two pairs on each head, with the front set being a glowing orange color and the two behind being a milky white, making me question if these acted as a way for it to see underground. The eyes now glared at us as either something to eat or as an enemy to attack.
So, I broke off a shard of rock the length of my arm, and the second the beast came close enough, I tossed the rock up in my hand, caught it, and threw it like a spear. It whizzed through the air and hit its mark, sticking into the smaller scales on its neck and doing so deep enough to make it howl. Yet unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to kill it, just injure it enough to roar furiously at us.
“Sure, lets piss it off… why not?” Orth said, snapping off his own piece with his foot before doing the same thing. As for Marcus, he started muttering behind us, as he was obviously still trying to remember the warning.
“Come on, Marc, this isn’t exactly fun for us.” My tensed voice said it all, and I continued to break pieces off and hurl them.
“Speak for yourself, it beats leg day.” I laughed at my brother’s quip just as he threw another glass spear, one that shattered against the harder scales, making me raise a brow and comment,
“You were saying?” He shrugged his shoulders and said,
“Gotta test it out for the fleshy bits somehow.”
“Yeah, and piss it off in the process… WATCH OUT!” I shouted just before we all ducked as one of the heads came our way, swinging its neck around in an attempt at knocking us off the rocks. At the same time, the other head snapped its jaws at us, only just missing my brother. It ended up crunching down on the rock, which shattered in its mouth in an explosion of black glass. This, it didn’t like so much, as it whimpered and moved back enough to prompt Orth to shout,
“Ha, take that, you toothy fucker!”
“Marcus, I hate to rush you, man, but I am fucking rushing you… you know, before we die and shit,” I warned as I threw another spear, this time making sure to hit it closer to the neck where the smaller, softer scales were and making it stick.
“Zud-as cel tut ?n tiras ca a suka ?n dinas rabo gilus iar cel cerurile trosnesc de tunete. Solomonar, vr?jitorul din giria cheam? drigas fiara Balaur. Moarte celor care nu sunt spirus la karsa o buta karpa din akmon ?i a g?sit unde Balaur nu pot merge, nici urma calea c?tre osul sangelui Dava,” he started mumbling the ancient language to himself.
“English, pencil dick, you know, now we actually need to know what the fuck it means!” Orth shouted after throwing another of his own shards.
“Take care the smoke in the barren wasteland as a tear in the land flows deep and the skies crack with thunder…” He hurried, now following our lead by pulling out his staff and making blue fire balls fly out at one of the heads. Like the glass shards, it wasn’t enough to kill the thing, but it was enough to make it think twice about getting close enough to eat us for a breath.
“Tear in the land, check, thunder, check… what else!?” Orth asked with exertion, making Marcus continue,
“Solomonar, the sorcerer of the mountain calls forth the restless beast the Balaur…”
“Yes, yes, we got it, arsehole magician on a mountain with the giant pet snake… go on,” I added, ducking quickly when the left head took another shot at me with its teeth.
“…Death to those that are not quick to the cave… the cave! A dwelling cut from rock and found where the Balaur cannot go nor follow the pathway to blood bone city!” Marcus shouted, making all three of us look to the cliff face at the same time.
“That looks like it might be hard to get to,” Marcus commented, making my brother also add,
“Do you see wings…? I don’t see wings.”
“It’s our only shot, even if it does. We are running out of ways to fight back,” I said as most of the shards from the jagged rock around us had been broken off and used, none of which were enough to make any real damage, like bullets against Godzilla.
“Okay, so how are we doing this then?” Orth asked and well, it was a good question, as Marcus and I looked to each other knowing there was only one way.
“Rock, paper, scissors?” he asked, putting away his staff as I groaned,
“No, you fucking cheat, every time.” I then sighed and told them, “It takes time to turn and needs space to do it so that gives us an advantage.”
“Meaning?” my brother asked, throwing one of only two spears left, making it snarl and back away.
“Meaning I will distract it, while you both run either side and I will keep its focus long enough for you to be clear, then I will…”
“Fuck that… I was going to pick rock anyway,” Marcus interrupted, kicking up the last spear Orth had broken off and held it firmly in his hand before ordering,
“What are you waiting for? A hot chick with a checkered flag…? Fucking run!” then he turned and ran straight for the edge of the rocks and jumped on the closest head.
“Oh okay, so we are riding the thing now,” Orth commented dryly.
“Not us, just him, so let’s not waste this rodeo!” I replied before running to the left. Orth ran to the right while Marcus nimbly ran down the middle. His lithe movements only pausing long enough to hammer the spear into one of the Balaur’s necks, doing the most damage yet. Its natural reaction kicked in and it retreated underground, giving Marcus enough time to run along its arched back, dodging around its fins before jumping down onto the sand just before it went under.
Marcus then easily caught up with us, while also pulling his staff back from his jacket as we all ran toward the cliff.
“So how are we doing this?” Orth asked just before the creature came at us with even more purpose, one fully labeled revenge as it made running on the vibrating ground even harder. Then it burst from the ground in an explosion of black and red sandy mist, making me answer him,
“Oh, I think jumping is a good plan!” I shouted, at the same time bringing part of my HellBeast form forth so as when I did jump over the edge, I could use my claws to grip down the sides of the canyon. I glanced over to see my brother doing the same. And as for Marcus, he used his staff, hammering it into the rock and using it to slow his fall, like my brother and I had.
“There!” I shouted. I could see an obvious ledge below and further off to the side. So not exactly in the direction of straight out falling. Which meant we all had to account for this. I transformed my other hand and used my claws to swing me closer to the fast-approaching ledge. This was so as I had a chance at landing on the bloody thing.
I watched my brother drop first, seeing as he was the closest before I followed. A good job too as I underestimated it and landed just on the edge, making me quickly fall backward. But thanks to Orth’s quick reactions, he had hold of my T-shirt and used it to yank me toward him, preventing my fall. Of course, it also ripped the material and came off practically in his hand, leaving me in strips of torn cotton.
“For fuck sake, what’s next, my pants?” I complained, making my brother chuckle.
“I fuckin’ hope not,” Marcus said when he too landed, and a lot more gracefully than when I had as he swung from his staff like some trapeze artist. Then he added,
“Guess we found the cave then.” And he wasn’t wrong as this looked to be one of many that ran along the canyon’s edge dotted along the cliff.
“Must be some kind of underground tunnel system,” I guessed.
“Yeah, and one I suggest we get ourselves acquainted with. Fast. It turns out that fucker does have wings after all!” Orth shouted as he was the only one looking above as the creature burst from the edge. We all had to raise our arms to save us the mist of red and black sand as it rained down from above.
Then by the time it had passed us, we lowered our arms in time to see the creature’s fins start to separate. Meaning this formed two long wings that opened up down the length of its serpent body. A feature that now acted like sails that caught the wind so as it could glide down to us. It also needed a wide birth to do so, traveling away from us at first and making me comment foolishly…
“It doesn’t know where we… oh, never mind!” I added when it circled back, angling itself straight toward us. Finally, our arse saving reactions kicked in as we all scrabbled back into the cave, one I was really fucking hoping wasn’t big enough for it! As it now traveled at speed toward the opening.
“It’s gonna fit… it’s gonna fit… It’s gonna fucking fit!” Orth shouted as we continued to back up with speed without taking our eyes off it. And it looked like my brother was right.
It fit, and the sorcerer’s beast…
Wasn’t finished with us after all.