Chapter 5 Leaving Nothing Unanswered
FIVE
LEAVING NOTHING UNANSWERED
Darolus
She does not rouse while I am gone, and I am gone for the entirety of the night, searching the rest of the subterranean tunnels around where I discovered her and the world above too.
It was not what I wanted to do, or what I needed to do, which was to hunt, but I could not shake the feeling that I had to know more about her as soon as possible.
Shifting the hide off her, I untie her hands and lay her out, checking to make sure she is still breathing and warm. Her skin, now clear of dust and dirt, seems paler than before, but otherwise she looks the same. Spreading the hide out with my tail along the floor, I move her body onto it.
My initial search turned up no new information about her, only a small plastic light source on the tracks—one with batteries in it that had not degraded, still powered on.
I turned it off, and left it, preferring to keep the old tech out of my nest. Afterward, I noticed two knives on the ground, too small for me to use, and determined the weapons had to be hers.
Unlike the flashlight, I picked them up and sniffed them for blood.
Finding them clean of it, I took them with me as I headed up the nearby exit to continue looking around.
It was clear by that point that she must have come from above ground.
I know this crumbling city like the scales on my tail. It did not take me long to find her skycraft.
I did not approach it, nor did its presence answer all my questions, though it did answer one of them: she did not merely venture into the middle of Rickton City on her own. She came with a machine, and possibly with others. Others who may want her back.
I am not one to start a fight when there are stealthier options. I prefer to avoid violence. Violence is messy, and I have had more than enough of it in my long lifetime.
I may be the biggest of all naga, larger even than those of the Anaconda, Boa, or Cobra clans, but I have refined my ability to remain discreet nevertheless.
Because I am also the only one of my kind, like all of those that were deemed ‘monsters.’ There is no other like me.
And I am feared for that. Feared for my differences, feared for my size, feared for how hard it is to kill me.
Since the human did not come alone—and I am almost certain of that now, in my experience, females do not venture to places alone and unfamiliar unless running from something worse, and this one was not running—that means she is here intentionally.
But I cannot assume her intentions are her own, whatever they may be.
The rest of her clan could be planning her rescue and my demise at this very moment.
Grabbing a spear off the wall and a whet rock, I untie the metal blade at the end and settle by the far end of the pool’s edge, away from her. Watching her slumbering, I keep my hands busy sharpening the blade as I slip my tail into the water to cool down.
She does not wake that morning, and by the time the noon sun is directly above us and the cracks in the stone are pierced through with bright golden light, I finally break from my vigil with a growl of frustration.
It has been a full day and yet I have not gotten more than a groan.
She needs food, water…
Throwing my latest spear back against the wall, I return to the female’s side and retie her hands.
This time, however, I wind the extra rope around the cement block, leaving her lying out on the hide rather than bound tight to rough stone.
When I am done, I bend close and listen to her breath, finding it faint and soft, but steady.
It fans my ear, tickling it, making the tip of it flex and prickle.
I shake the sensation off as I pull away.
“Do not move until I get back,” I order.
She does not respond.
Skipping the tunnel, I dive into the pool instead, swimming through a large crack in the far wall at the bottom, the reason I made my nest in this location. There are many secret paths in Rickton City, and I know all of them.
When I emerge on the other side, I weave through the dense stacks of crates to make a cursory check that the broken double-wide metal door in the back is firmly closed.
Reassured, I return to my hoard, digging out the items I came for, then head back the way I came.
Pulling my body out of the pool, I drop the supplies next to the human and run my palms over my head, brushing the remaining water off.
Blinking it out of my eyes, I move to undress her, but freeze when a loud noise booms from above.
The ground trembles and several rocks shift. Dust and debris fall from the ceiling. Coiling my tail around the female, I brace for more to fall, ready to shield her.
Slowly the noise fades and the rumbling stops.
It might be her ship…
Without another thought, I rush toward the surface, hissing in frustration, already out of patience.