Chapter 2
Iave
We had only one option to get out of here alive; the water.
I could hear the waterfall nearby and hear the racing of the water as it sped down the mountain in a winding stream.
We were lucky that this particular ice melt runoff turned deeper and wider in this area.
If we went in, the strong currents would quickly carry us away from the approaching Bitter Storm warriors.
First though, we had to reach the bank, and then I had to make sure we could create the head start needed to escape them.
Most Naga Clans lived near water and liked to enjoy the occasional swim, but Bitter Storm was notorious for its dislike of the deeper streams. Cave-dwelling, powerful climbers that they were, most of them were not particularly good at swimming and I needed to use that to my advantage.
Getting my Goddess and the injured female away from them was my mission, if that meant serving as a distraction I would do it.
With the way she wielded the knife she’d taken from my belt, I knew my Goddess was a warrior just like me.
The stars had blessed me well, a mate who could take care of herself, a mate who loved the thrill of the fight just as much as I did.
“Run,” I told her, my arm clasped tightly around the thin legs of the female draped over my shoulder.
Kalani, as I’d heard Zathar’s mate call her, was keeping up with me, her long legs eating up the distance with great strides.
She looked to me like the Arazal, the elegant woodland creatures that lived in the forest to the west of Thunder Rock territory.
They leaped and bounded with grace, and so did my mate.
She didn’t understand what I said because we weren’t touching right now but I hoped she heard the urgency in my tone.
She raced to keep up with me, her chest rising and falling with her rapid breathing, the short, springy hair on her head glinting with a deep purple in the Serant sunlight.
She was fast, keeping up with me without any sign of slowing down.
Behind me, I heard the shouts and yells from the Bitter Storm warriors that gave chase.
Glancing back, I could see the dozen red snake-like bodies flowing after us down the mountain slope.
This was their territory, they definitely had the advantage as capable climbers on the steep mountain flanks.
I could also see that several were trying to climb the rock walls by the crevice they’d collapsed, trying to go after Zathar and the others.
“Hey! You’re all idiots, and your mothers are as ugly as a Vakarsa’s behind!
” I yelled. Picking out a few more choice words to get them riled up.
As I’d hoped, even the Naga that had remained behind to chase after Zathar and Corin now focused on me; on us.
While this had been the plan, it wasn’t going to do us any favors and I could tell that Kalani had figured out I’d riled them on purpose.
She was shooting me a ferocious kind of glare that made my spine tingle and my groin grow heavy.
We were almost at the river bank but the Bitter Storm warriors had steadily closed in on us.
Going into the water now would just mean they’d drag us back out before we got far.
“Kalani, get the girl to safety, let the river take you,” I said as I dropped the injured female down in the grass at the edge of the water.
I meant to repeat my instructions while I wrapped my tail around my mate, helping us understand each other, but she danced out of the way.
Then Bitter Storm was on us and we were out of time.
With a roar, I grabbed my ax and dove into the fray, hoping she understood me enough to do what I suggested even without the spirit connection to help us.
Regardless, there was nothing I could do now but fight and I threw myself into that with everything I had.
I swung my ax left and right as I fended off the enemy Naga.
My heart rate surged and my body swelled with adrenaline. I loved this, and if I wasn’t fighting to protect two females, I would have danced through these warriors like I didn’t have a single care in the world. Survival? What did it matter when you rode the high of battle?
My Goddess was counting on me. I couldn’t lose myself to the fray, to the sounds of the battle that rang like music in my ears. I needed to keep my head cool, my battle rage left un-ignited and when I saw my opening, I needed to take both females to safety.
***
Kalani
That brute of a Naga threw down the woman he was carrying as if she were just a sack of potatoes. She let out a little whimper in pain when her body hit the ground but she’d barely bounced on the grass or she was already clawing her hands into it, dragging herself away from the approaching horde.
He yelled something at me, his gray eyes gleaming, and his fangs bared.
I didn’t understand a single thing he said but when he coiled the tip of his tail my way I danced out of reach.
No thanks buddy, you are not touching me with that thing.
He growled, sounding frustrated but then he spun away to charge the red-scaled Naga with a roar.
I stared after his huge back, taking in the way he wielded his ax like the giant blade was as light as a feather.
When directly next to the others of his species it became obvious just how big he was compared to them.
Rising over them on his long, thick tail.
He was like the Naga Hulk or something, giant and filled with battle rage, bowling through his opponents like they were nothing.
But even a brute like him couldn’t stand against the odds we were facing, we were outnumbered ten to one at this point. And I was counting the other woman for that calculation. Thirty Naga against one brute was still a forgone fight, he’d lose.
“Come on, we’ve got to get out of here,” I said to her, dropping down to my knees so I could sling her arm over my shoulder. “I’m sorry, I bet you hate this but I’m pretty sure we’re faster if I try to carry you.”
The woman made a wry chuckling noise, “Don’t be sorry.
This is life or death, I can swallow my pride.
I’m Naomi, and you are?” She was strong when she gripped me around my shoulders with both arms, clinging to my back like a koala bear.
I grunted as I staggered to my feet, her lower body dragging limply behind me.
“I’m Kalani and I’m going to get you to safety, I promise.
” It was stupid to make such promises, I couldn’t guarantee any such thing, but it was my nature to protect.
I wanted innocent-looking Naomi to make it, no matter what.
That’s what I always did, wherever I went.
I found the underdog and then I stuck by them.
While she was small and slender, Naomi was heavier than she looked, probably all that upper body strength she was packing.
I struggled down the river bank, trying to get as much distance between us and the fighting Naga.
I was scanning around me, hoping for a good hiding place because I knew there was no way I could carry Naomi far, or fast enough to escape.
My eyes lingered on the churning, fast-flowing river I was following.
That was an option too, but I was certain that one or both of us would drown if we went into it.
I was a decent swimmer, but Naomi could panic, and with how strong her upper arms were?
She’d have no trouble pushing me under in the water.
She wouldn’t mean to, but panic did crazy things, especially in drowning situations… I couldn’t risk that.
Goosebumps broke out all over my body when I heard him approach.
Turning my head I had the perfect view of the brutish Naga in all his glory, barreling down the mountain toward us.
A rain of spears and arrows darkening the sky behind him.
Oh shit, that was all I had time to think.
He grabbed me by the middle, throwing us sideways into the water.
In one of those perfect snapshots where time seemed to stand still for a split second, I could see everything.
The flying missiles, the enraged Naga charging at us from the distance.
I felt how Naomi slipped from my back as we went flying into the churning river.
I saw how she landed awkwardly on the bank, rolling along the dirt while the Naga and I went into the water as spears and arrows thudded down around us.
One spear struck him in the shoulder and then we were in the water, the foaming rapids closing above our heads.
Water went up my nose, I inhaled it in shock as the freezing temperatures hit me, and my body cramped up painfully.
I immediately knew that I’d made the right choice not going into it before, Naomi and I would have sunk when I froze up from the cold.
The Naga seemed far less bothered as we bobbed back to the surface, his face an angry grimace.
“Damn it! The female,” he snarled, shocking me because I could understand what he was saying.
His body was sparkling from the water, and glowing in streaks and swirls along his front.
He didn’t seem surprised by that, just angled his head back to stare at what was happening behind us on the riverbank.
The currents of the river were rapidly taking us away, but we could still make out Naomi’s prone form on the bank, her fingers clutched in the thick, dark purple grass.
A handful of Naga had surrounded her, aiming spears or swords of black obsidian at her.
It was also obvious that they were uncertain what to do, Naomi was no threat, and they knew it too.
I’d failed her, and right on the heels of promising I’d get her to safety.
“We have to go back! We can’t leave her there!
Naomi!” I tried to force my frozen, cramped muscles to move, kicking against the current and the powerful grip of the male holding me to his body.
He had my head cradled in one thick bicep, his long tail undulating behind him as he swam with the currents.
He was leaving her there, but we couldn’t do that. It was a death sentence for poor Naomi.
“No, go back! Go back!” I yelled at him but while his expression turned grim, he didn’t turn us around.
Then she was out of sight as the river made a sharp turn.
I could see a flash of glimmering red scales from some of the Naga still chasing us, but not the captured Naomi.
Screaming in rage, I tried one more time to wrest myself from his grip but his arms around me were immovable, and truthfully, I would probably sink rather than swim if he did let me go.
I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe that we’d abandoned Naomi. My thoughts were churning, my emotions in turmoil, but the icy water was quickly sapping my strength. Soon, all I could think about was getting warm again.