Chapter 48
Emmett
“How are you feeling now?” I half laughed as I looked at a very well-sated Kelly.
“Mmm…sore and satisfied.” Kelly said, rubbing her eyes awake.
She finally started to settle down late last night, giving us all a much needed break. I dont think I ever came that much, even as a teen. But her heat did last four days. Never did I think I would be thankful for help in handling Kelly’s and or Keres’ appetites. She said it had never been that bad before. Unfortunately, it was a huge setback in our journey. We were running low on our food supply, having eaten through half of it, needing the energy to keep up sexually for four days. We had better find this crystal soon. Truthfully, we were just aimlessly wandering, going deeper and deeper until we would hopefully come across it.
“There is ice ahead.” Thorin announced, dropping his bag to dig out more layers of clothes.
Wolves were able to withstand some heat and some cold, but at the temperatures we were facing, we would need more than just our wolves to keep warm.
“Ready to move?” Jonas asked, nipping at Kelly’s ear.
She giggled and nodded, standing up and putting on an extra layer, even though she was still coming down from her heat, her skin still warm to the touch.
“Being underground isn’t so bad after all.” She said to herself, a smug look on her face as she packed up and began following after Throin and Jonas.
Goddess, if only she knew how adorable she was. I wonder what will happen once we are out of this cave, when we are finally back home. What would become of us?
“Ugh-guys? I think you should see this.” Jonas said from down the way.
We caught up to him and found him staring at a nest with three eggs in it.
“What animal is that from?” Kelly frowned. “I thought it would be too far in for anything to live down here.”
“I have a theory, but I don’t think you are going to like it.” He said, nervously looking around.
I looked at the nest, the eggs were huge and almost completely white. The outside of the shell felt leathery, unlike how a bird’s egg would feel.
“Reptile?” I guessed.
“Not just any reptile, I believe it’s that of a Naga,” Jonas said. “They are supposed to be some sort of water deity. A divine serpent or dragon-type creature. It’s believed that they were a mixture of both humans and snakes.”
“Are they friendly? I hope,” Kelly asked.
“Well, they are considered powerful and protective. They are associated with fertility, wisdom, and wealth. They are often depicted as some sort of treasure guardians, and are believed to even possess the ability to control the weather.” Jonas continued.
“That must mean we are close to the healing crystal then,” I said.
“Now the question is, will they let us take it?” Kelly sighed.
“We make sure they will.” Thorin nodded.
“Lets just use greater caution. I honestly have no idea what the Naga will do if they find us here.” Jonas said, nervously looking around again.
We continued on for another two days, the cave going deeper and deeper, ice forming along the cave walls. I felt like we had to be close, apparent from the plethora of shed skin and nests from the Naga. If they were here to protect something, I had no doubt it was for the healing crystal. The question was, could we get it without being stopped?
– – – – – – – –
Jonas
Of course it would be Naga! Why would it be anything else? The Naga were low on my list of things I ever wanted to see. I hated snakes. Let along giant human sized ones. If I remember correctly, they were essentially giant snakes with a horn on their heads, and could actually speak human language. We were in their territory, no doubt about it. I felt like I was being watched. I probably was. But why haven’t they shown themselves? Were they waiting to see if we would die off along the way? Or if we were here to start trouble or not? Were they formulating a way to kill us and eat us? Goddess I didn’t want to be strangled to death.
“You okay?” Kelly linked me. She knew I hated snakes.
“Edgy is all.” I gave her a tight smile.
“We’ll get through it.” She said, giving my hand a soft squeeze.
Not a moment later, we could hear a familiar hissing sound, that of a snake. We all stood still, my b***d running cold. Its hiss vibrated off the cave walls, making it hard to pinpoint its exact location. Exactly what it wanted.
“Turn back.” A female’s voice echoed.
Kelly looked between me, Thorin, and Emmett before taking a steadying breath and continuing forward. The voices continued for the next ten minutes, warning us to turn back, threatening us, trying to intimidate us. I don’t know about the others, but it worked quite well on me.
“We don’t mean any harm!” I yelled, praying that they would be reasonable.
“Guys, look!” Kelly whisper-yelled.
I looked forward and gasped in awe. We had just walked into a giant part of the cave filled with crystals. In the center was a bioluminescent tree with bright violet leaves surrounded by a pool of water, filled with bioluminescent fish. The whole cave seemed to glow in fact. It was beautiful. The tree trunk was hollowed out in the middle, a small section cleared where something was suspended in the middle, defying the laws of gravity. The crystal.
– – – – – – – – –
Kelly
There it was, in the center of it all, the crystal. I carefully made my way towards it, ignoring the warnings of the men I brought with me. I was on a mission and nothing was going to stop me. I hopped across the small pond that surrounded the tree, using some perfectly placed rocks to make it across. Something about this just felt too perfect, but I didn’t have time to ponder the thought. As soon as I was on the island where the tree was, the tree holding the precious crystal that I so desperately needed, a serpent descended from the tree.
“Can I help you?” He hissed, slithering over to me, showing off his full height.
I took a few staggering steps backwards, completely caught off guard.
“K-Kelly-” Jonas called.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org
I looked back and saw we were surrounded by at least a hundred of these so-called deities. They were slithering all around, there eyes and parts of their skin glowing a vibrant yellow.
“I need that crystal,” I said bluntly to the Naga in front of me.
He was taller than me, and had a long tail that dipped into the water. He had sharp eyes and an even sharper looking tongue, making him the thing of nightmares. He, like the others, had glowing eyes and patches of skin.
“Sssso niaeve.” He hissed. “Have you any idea what thissss is?”
“It’s a healing crystal and I need it to make an elixir to save my mother,” I pleaded.
“And you think you can just come here and take it?” He said, slithering around me, sending a cold chill up my spine.
“That was the plan.” I gulped.
“Ssssometimes planssss change.”