Chapter 7 NowNever
SEVEN
NOW OR NEVER
Krellix
Running my fingers through my hair, frustration bleeds from me as I hold back a groan. Barely listening to what Zaku is saying, I coil and flex my tail to stop myself from leaving him to go back to the front of the house where Julia is.
“We need to understand what has happened,” Zaku huffs, pacing and slipping across the open, central space while he frets.
“I will leave today, as soon as we are done talking,” I tell him, increasingly annoyed by his demands. Turning for the hallway to the front of the house, Zaku grabs my arm before I can head to it.
“Take the female with you.”
I growl and face him, yanking my arm from his hold, knowing exactly who he is talking about. “She will slow me down.”
“I do not care. Daisy tells me she is considering choosing a naga mate anyway. Either she chooses now or you take her with you. I know you like her. Thissss might be your last opportunity.”
I bear my fangs but Zaku does not notice, having already turned away to gaze out the window. “She will slow me down…” I repeat with another growl. Humans are frail… she could get hurt…
“Daisy is distraught and so are the boys. The last thing I need right now are nagas hanging around my territory. Not anymore. I am done with them! Not with the noise and the smoke obscuring my senses. Sada must go and so must the others. I am tired of chasing them off my land when they refuse to fight me. If they would just let me kill them…” Zaku’s hands bunch, stress from the situation getting to him.
Concerned for my friend, I place my hand on his shoulder. “Zaku, you are not alone—”
He turns on me and hisses. “That is exactly what I want to be—alone—with my family. Not out hunting nagas who will not get off my land because of some female. Take Julia with you and if she does not want to go, tell her she must choose and choose now!”
“And Sada? What about him?”
“If we are lucky, the ships sent him fleeing. Hopefully they sent all of the nagas fleeing! There must be more opportunities for females now!”
He pulls away from me with an angry flourish and with another hiss erupting from his throat, he goes storming deeper into the house.
Silence returns after he is gone but I remain where I am, uncertain as to what I should do, peering around.
Taking Julia with me will make my job finding out information harder.
She will slow me down and distract me, making unsafe passage even more dangerous because of the countless humans who have just arrived.
Who knows what is happening throughout the forest right now?
Are the ships those of more soldiers, or are they only humans?
Are they our enemy or not? Taking Julia into that, when I do not know what to expect, does not seem smart or safe.
Even if she knows how to use human weapons efficiently and was once a soldier herself…
But if I do not take her…
She is probably leaving anyway.
I bite out yet another growl and head down the hallway, through the interior door and back to the front of the house, making certain I do not make noise as I pass Julia’s room.
Scenting her faintly as I momentarily pause, my ears prick for movement inside.
Hearing the very faint sound of someone slumbering, I flex out my fingers and turn away.
Maybe it is best that she chooses another… The others will have nests of their own and a safe place to take her…
But there’s still the Boa. And whether Sada is here for Julia or for another reason, I can only assume the former. I will not know unless I am able to talk to him, and so far, that has not been able to happen.
Slipping past the seating area to approach the front window, I look at the forest and sky outside.
The dark mass of trees and the late night’s gloom stares back at me.
But as I continue gazing out, everything is still and the sky is empty.
There continue to be ships flying overhead but they are not as constant as they were earlier.
Zaku and Julia both want her to leave, so if I leave now without her, the likelihood that I come back to find her still here is slim.
I turn back for her room but hesitate. There is still the matter that if I take her to one of the encampments she could still talk… and tell the humans everything she knows about us. If the soldiers find out about Zaku’s…
I shake my head. It is too dangerous taking her with me.
Anything could be happening out in the forest right now.
Deciding to leave now before Zaku reappears, I give Julia’s door one last lingering perusal before turning away.
When I do, I see a bag on the ground by one of the chairs.
Heading to it, I recognize it as Julia’s.
With the top partially unzipped, I pull the bag open.
Finding rations, folded clothes, and some tools and supplies, I close my eyes.
She is already packed.
Anger hits me, anger that there is nothing I can do to stop this or her from going.
If I leave, then that is it. I will never see her again.
I will never know if she ends up somewhere safe because it will be out of my hands.
She may stay a few more days as more information about what has happened comes to light but it will not be for long.
She is like me. She does not want those she cares about to get hurt.
I close her bag and turn on my tail, heading across the room and towards her bedroom door.
Grabbing the handle, I turn it gently and push it open, surprised to find it unlocked. Peering into the smaller, dark space that I had been in earlier, I stare at the lumpy form on the bed. I hear deep, even breaths and as a fresh wave of Julia’s enticing scent hits me, I slip into the room.
I stiffen from the powerful aroma of berries and soap, pausing at the end of her bed, my senses are quickly overcome.
Though she may be under the covers and draped in deep shadows, I am able to behold some of her soft features in the dark.
Wearing a large shirt and small pants—called shorts if I remember correctly—her legs are bare from the thighs down.
One of her legs is hooked over her blanket, revealing the supple limb to my perusal while the other is partially caught up in the covers underneath.
Unable to help it, I slide my fingers over her leg.
She’s not mine.
I do not even want a mate.
Noticing her eyes flutter, I take in her peaceful, sleeping features, my gaze trailing over the soft pout of her full lips, her curved nose, and her thick, wild black hair. Spread out behind her and across her pillow, some of the tendrils curl over her shoulders to drape across her neck.
Julia has the longest hair of all the females, and it drives me wild wanting to sink my hands into it and feel the tumbling strands with my fingers.
Reaching up with my other hand, I feel my own hair instead, pretending it is hers.
I can not take care of a female…
Closing my eyes, I let my hand drop to a fist at my side because all I have to offer her is nothing.
My nest is gone, my clan with it, taken over by humans now—twice. Annoyed at the direction of my thoughts, I touch her lower leg right above her foot, nudging her softly.
Her leg pulls inward, closer to her body and I follow it with my hand, clasping her boney ankle and giving it a squeeze. She tugs her leg from my grip with a grumble and sits upright. “Daisy?” she moans sleepily.
“No.”
“Krellix?” She says my name sharply.
“Yessss.”
She reaches over the side and turns on a light. Her tousled form and confused features come into view as my eyes adjust, hers being wiped rapidly with her hands.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, pulling the covers to her and pushing her legs over the side of her bed. I lean away and slip back towards the door when she covers her nose with her blanket and looks at me.
“I am leaving.”
Her eyes slip from my face to my body, eventually landing on my clenched hands before journeying back up to form a furrow in the center of her brow. “Right now? It’s the middle of the night.”
I nod. “Now. It will be dawn soon enough.”
She tilts her head, sending her hair tumbling over her shoulder. “Is Zaku sending you away?”
I shake my head. “I am leaving to find out what has happened.”
The furrow in her brow loosens as she stares at me. “And you came to tell me this and say goodbye? Thank you…” she glances behind her and at the entrance to the bathroom. “For earlier. I…”
“Your safety is important to me,” I grunt.
She lowers the covers and places a hand on her nose instead, her lips parting slowly before forming a frown. “I… I appreciate that.”
I turn away, tense all over, knowing she is waiting for an explanation, knowing I have confused her by coming in here. Opening my lips slowly to ask her if she wants to come with me, she stops me, speaking first.
“Take me with you,” she bursts out, throwing off the covers and getting off the bed.
“You know I can’t stay and if you’re leaving anyway, take me with you.
I’m not asking you to protect me or carry me, or anything else, just take me close to an encampment and I’ll go from there. Please. That’s all I’m asking.”
I open my mouth again but she continues, “I’m a good shot. I can watch your back and know enough about what to search for when it comes to foraging for my own food—”
“And if I do not?” I say, interrupting her. “What will you do then?”
She shifts on her feet, her brow furrowing again. “I already told you. I’ll find someone I can trust to take me…” Her eyes slide away as she trails off.
I hold up my hand, scanning her from head to toe, lingering briefly on her shapely, bare legs. “I will take you but we leave now.”
She starts to say something then pauses, her eyes widening. “Are you serious?”
“Yessss.” I do not tell her what Zaku told me.
Part of me believes she already knows. Even if she did not want to go, she is not welcome here anymore.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Okay!” She looks around quickly, excitement igniting her expression.
She turns for the bathroom and dashes away.
“I’ll be ready to go in ten minutes.” She enters the smaller room and shuts the door.
Hearing the faucet turn on inside, I pivot and leave her room behind, returning to her bag and shouldering it.
With its weight in my hands, I know there is no turning back now. No matter what happens, I will be leaving this house with Julia by my side.
The door to her room opens and she comes walking out, wearing the same uniform she wore the same day I first saw her.
I let out a low hiss, not liking her in the soldier clothing but let it go because it appears the clothing offers extra protection.
Belted, booted, and wearing a faded, black jacket, she rolls a strap on her shoulder that’s hooked to one of her guns.
As she walks over to me, she pulls her hair away from her face, using a string to tie it back.
“I’m just about ready.” She stops when she sees her bag hooked over my shoulder. Her eyes flick to me and her voice softens. “If even half of those ships managed to land, I’m sure I can find passage on one of them. You might not have to worry about me for long…”
“So, are you ready?” I ask when she remains silent, moving her eyes around slowly.
“I…” She startles. “Yeah. I’m just saying goodbye. I feel like I should wait for Daisy and the kids…”
I head for the door. “You can but I will not be here when they wake.”
Hearing her follow me, I pause before turning the front door’s handle, gazing at the row of trees across the yard and briefly searching for movement among them. If any of the naga try to take Julia, I will be ready for it.
“She’ll understand,” Julia says, her voice soft, still talking about Daisy. Glancing over my shoulder, I watch as she pulls her gun forward.
“Stay close to me.”
She looks at me and nods.
“Try not to make too much noise,” I add.
“Got it.”
“If you see or hear anything, you will run.”
She squints, an expression of consideration playing over her features. With a band of cloth tied over her nose, I can only see part of her face. “I will if I can’t get in a good shot.”
My nostrils flare but I accept it, my gaze briefly dropping to her body, recalling what she said to me last night about what she was willing to offer.
My stomach tightens as I throw the idea aside.
Deciding not to mention it to her, I turn back for the door and open it, sliding into the darkness and whatever lies waiting for us within it.
As I do so, and while holding the door open for Julia with my tail, I just hope I am not making the biggest mistake of my life.
I pray that I am not bringing her straight into danger.
Clenching my fists against the instincts now thrumming through me, I lead her away from Zaku’s and into the night… With me.