14. Chapter 14 #2
Marduk came to an abrupt stop when we rounded a group of trees to find a cow eating from a trough in a small fenced area. The animal looked up, took us in, then went back to eating as if she hadn’t seen a giant serpent looming next to her enclosure.
“Shouldn’t she be afraid of us?” I murmured.
I heard a laugh and looked up to see Mason in his gargoyle form descending from the sky. He landed near the cow, folded his wings behind him, and grinned up at me.
“Skyler doesn’t like to eat meat because she says she can taste the fear and pain the animal went through before it was killed,” he explained. “So the Clover Pack decided that they’d raise their own beef and make sure it had a good life and painless death.”
“That's not a bad idea,” I said. “How many cows have they gone through?”
“Wait, I can guess the answer to this one: none,” Danzig said, laughter in his voice. “She got attached to the cow, didn't she?”
Mason nodded as a wolf ran up to him and pawed at his leg. I noticed this wolf was significantly smaller than the rest.
“Hello, Julia," Mason said.
I’d met Julia earlier, she was a young teenager and new to shifting into her wolf form, which was why she was smaller than everyone else.
The wolf danced around Mason and yipped.
“Do you want to fly?”
The wolf did a little excited hop, then jumped when Mason held out his arms. He caught her and tucked her against his chest. With several powerful flaps of his wings, he lifted off, taking the yipping Julia with him. They quickly disappeared into the night sky.
“That looks fun,” I said. Marduk made a loud, unhappy hissing sound, and Danzig hugged me tighter.
“Marduk and I think you shouldn’t try flying,” he said. “Except commercial airlines, but only if we’re with you.”
I didn’t answer because if I was given the opportunity, I’d absolutely let Mason fly me around. I heard Danzig sigh.
“You aren’t listening to me, are you?” he asked.
“I’m listening,” I said, throwing a grin over my shoulder. “But I don’t have to do as you say.”
Marduk made a grumpy sound. I didn’t realize snakes could make so many sounds. Then again, he wasn’t a true snake, he was a world serpent.
We moved again, following the sound of howling. Marduk increased his speed, surprising me with how fast he could go. It was fun to weave in and out of the orange trees, then avocado trees. I was having so much fun that I didn’t see the bear until Marduk came to an abrupt stop.
“Move it, Pike!” Danzig called out.
The bear stood up on his hind legs, waved a giant paw, then pointed to Marduk.
“No, you can’t ride him,” Danzig said. “That’s reserved for our mate.”
Pike’s bear face shot us a sad expression but turned excited when a wolf sprinted past him with a teasing yip.
Letting out a bellow, Pike dropped to all fours and followed the wolf. Three more wolves passed him before everyone disappeared from sight.
“I know this game. We must be playing chase!” Danzig said, tightening his grip on me. “Get ‘em, Marduk!”
Marduk set off again and was able to catch up to the last wolf, but he lost her when she ducked through a hole in a wall of trees.
I thought he’d turn and move around them, but instead he grew bigger until he was easily able to move over the trees without touching them. He was so big, I had to pull my legs up to sit cross-legged because if I kept them out, I’d end up doing the splits.
Danzig moved his legs to either side of me and let out a whoop.
Mason swooped down, holding Julia in one arm and tapping Pike on the back with his free hand. Pike grunted and stumbled with surprise. Before he fell on his face, Marduk put himself next to the bear and kept him steady. Then he shot his tail in the air and tapped Mason on the ass.
Well, no, tap wasn’t the correct word. Slap was a better description, especially after I heard the sharp shout Mason let out before laughing uproariously and flying further away.
“It’s not a game of chase, it’s a game of tag,” I announced.
With his balance back, Pike sat back on his furry bear ass and looked up at us. I couldn’t tell what his expression meant, but Danzig chuckled.
“No, you still don’t get to ride on Marduk,” he said.
“Can you communicate with him like you do with Marduk?” I asked.
“No,” Danzig said. “Pike’s face is as expressive in bear form as he is in human form. Once you’ve spent some time around various shifters, you’ll get a better feel for what they’re saying with their animal faces and movements.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” I said. Marduk was still massive, so when a large wolf was able to jump on his head right in front of us, I let out a surprised gasp.
The wolf did a quick play bow, then jumped back down. I looked over and realized there was a small shed hidden by some trees. He’d jumped up the tree, then the roof, then onto Marduk.
In response to the wolf’s actions, Marduk lifted himself up and up. Soon we were about three stories high, looming over all the wolves and bears below us.
I should be terrified. That was a long drop and certain death, but instead I was thrilled. My heart was pounding with excitement.
“I’m queen of the world!” I yelled down at everyone.
Mason flew past us. “Welcome to Clover Pack territory, Queen of the Serpents!” he shouted.
Marduk lifted us even higher and neither Danzig or I could keep hold of his back. We started slipping off, and my exhilaration turned to terror. I clutched at Marduk, but there was nothing for me to grab.
“Danzig!” I screamed in fear.
He didn’t answer me, but I heard clothes ripping, and Danzig’s arms were replaced with a loop of emerald scales around my waist.
With a gasp, I looked behind me to find that Danzig had shifted into his snake form, except much smaller than Marduk. He was holding me in the center of his long, python-sized body and the rest of it was wrapped around Marduk to keep us on him.
The silliest Dr. Seuss themed song popped into my head:
One snake,
Two snake,
Big snake,
Huge snake!
I almost snorted. It’s strange what your brain comes up with after a near-death experience.
I hugged the coil around me. “Thank you!”
He moved his head close to mine and flicked his tongue out against my cheek.
While all this was happening, Marduk was slowly lowering us to the ground. He must’ve realized he’d gone a little too far, but it was fine because Danzig was there to catch what Marduk missed.
After we were lowered down, Marduk shrank himself until I could drape my legs over each side of him again. He coiled most of his body around us, as if to shield us from the world. Then he rested his head on the ground and made a soft hissing sound.
I knew it was an apology. I didn’t know how, but I could tell.
I patted the top of his head. “It’s okay! We were having fun and things got a little out of hand, but I'm safe with you and Danzig. I know that.”
Danzig rubbed his head against my cheek, agreeing with me. Marduk let out a long breath and put the tip of his tail across my lap. I grabbed it and hugged it to my chest.
“We’re all good, I promise,” I said. “I don’t think I want to play chase or tag any longer, but I’m not ready to stop riding on you. Could we explore a little longer? It’s a beautiful night, I don’t want this to end yet.”
Danzig gave me a little squeeze of agreement, and Marduk lifted us up in the air so he could move again. This time he stayed low and slow. It was the perfect contrast to the excitement from earlier.
I could hear the wolves howling somewhere to my right, but by the sound of it, they weren’t close. Looking up, I spotted Mason dipping down and coming up again. This time he had a different wolf in his arms. It seemed he was giving rides.
We traveled at a sedate pace, moving further and further into the dark.
At some point, the Clover Pack land had to have ended.
Skyler told me that the neighbors' orchards were large and beyond them was land that belonged to the Bureau of Land Management. All of that meant it was highly unlikely for us to run into a human who wasn’t part of our group.
I relaxed, letting the serene night lull me into a peaceful state of mind. Danzig’s coil around my waist relaxed, then withdrew. I felt his shape change, and he was back to being human.
It took my brain a moment to catch up with reality. Danzig lost his clothes when he shifted and now he was pressed against my back completely naked.
Lust exploded through me, and Marduk stopped moving at the same time Danzig pulled in a deep breath.
He put his mouth to my ear and whispered one word. “Perfect.”