Serpent of the Abyss by S.J. Sanders

Chapter 18

Slengral hissed in disgust, unable to escape the putrid scent seeping into the numerous scent receptacles of his nose. He knew the peace would not last, but he had hoped for a little longer before another calamity struck his nest. At his side, Lori pinched her fingers over her nose and gagged, her eyes watering as they stared at the putrid mess streaked around the mouth of the tunnel outside of their cavern.

“Gods! What is that?” she choked out in a distorted voice.

His fangs flashed in anger. He knew exactly what it was. It was a traditional enticement. If males discovered the presence of a female traveling through the upper caves, they would attempt to entice her into their reach by smearing the blood and innards of prey at their tunnel entrances. The bigger and more impressive the offering, the more likely she would be tempted to investigate. Normally, such a sight would not disturb him except for two things: one, there was no sign of a female having passed through the main shaft, and two, this was the entrance to his tunnel.

A cold rage spread through him, making his gavo rise aggressively, the fans of flesh expanding and stiffening into a shimmering armor.

Another male had scented the unmated female within and was attempting to lure her out even with Slengral’s spoors clinging everywhere. It was a blatant challenge to him as a male, against his ability to keep his mate and protect his nest. The only way he could have possibly been more offensive was if he had scent marked the area too. There were trace scent trails from the male, but he had not carried the insult as far as that.

Slengral opened his mouth to draw more of the scent in so he could identify its source, but even then, he was not able to recognize the intruder. It was not one of the few males he regularly scented nesting off the main shaft.

Although those within the cave systems used connecting tunnels to make their way through the main shaft to hunt, it was rare for a male to come close enough to an occupied tunnel scented by its hunter to catch the scent of other occupants. What had drawn the male near enough to his tunnel that he scented Lori within it?

“It is an insult,” he growled, the tip of his tail herding his mate further back into the tunnel.

He doubted that a male would make an attempt for her while he was present, but it was better to be cautious. Lori’s frown deepened, but she did not argue. Instead, she craned her neck to peer around him at the tunnel entrance.

Her nose wrinkled above her hand. “It’s disgusting. Did something die right outside your home?”

Slengral’s head tilted as his eyes roamed over the visible areas of the shaft just outside of his tunnel.

“No. It was not killed here,” he growled. “It was merely gutted here so that the scent from the blood and organs would serve their purpose.”

“For fuck’s sake, what kind of purpose would that be?” she choked out, her hand tightening over her nose.

He worried for a moment whether or not she could damage it. It protruded out from her face and was far narrower and daintier than his. When she showed no sign of discomfort from gripping it like she was, he pushed his concern back and focused on her question.

“The purpose is you,” he stated bluntly.

There was no reason to lie. This was the way of their world, and while she continued to decline mating with him, it would continue to be a danger. Her presence there was no longer a secret. Now that one male knew that she was there; it was only a matter of time before others also discovered her presence.

He would have to bring her down to the shinara as soon as he could safely do so. The upper levels weren’t the only parts of the shaft that were a mess. The lower levels were in an even worse state, the massive obstructions visible even from his tunnel entrance.

He let out a furious hiss. Of course they would seek to capture her now. Despite the hazards of the caverns, a male would be emboldened to try before Slengral would feel comfortable risking her safety to transport her to the lower caverns.

That was if she would even go. She was determined to speak to her people on the surface first.

“What? What do you mean I’m the purpose? For what?”

She sounded so confused that he wanted to curl himself around her and hide her from the truths about his world. The upper tunnels were a bitter contest for survival, and the unmated males were loners by nature. That because of that she wasn’t safe. He doubted that anyone would actually go so far as to enter his nest, but they would attempt to lure her or frighten her out.

He let out a hiss from between his teeth. He hated to make her more frightened than what she already was, but he needed her to be cautious. And to consider their position.

She was his. He would let no other male claim her. Even if he had to fight them all and kill his own kind with his own claws to keep her.

His eyes settled on his small alien mate, and she met his glowing gaze uncertainly.

“For the purpose of mating and breeding,” he rasped, the tip of his tail twisting around her ankle. “You are unclaimed, and although my scent protects you to a degree, since no male will violate the nest of another without risking death, it will not stop them.” He rounded on her, his words coming out angrier as she gaped at him as if he were a monster who was inflicting all of this on her. And that just made him madder still as he slid closer to her. “They will watch, and they will wait. And the moment they have a chance where they can catch you vulnerable and unaware outside of my protection, they will strike.”

Lori jerked back, yanking her foot out of his loose hold. “Wait, what? Didn’t you already tell me that I’m your mate?”

“Make no mistake—you are mine, but it does not negate the fact that we have not mated,” he reminded her. “This means my scent has not mingled with yours beyond a surface level. This makes you potentially available to any male, worth the risk to lure.”

His mate wiped her hands up and down her bare legs anxiously. Her uncovered body that was so pleasing to him was now displayed before any male watching nearby. All of her vulnerable flesh was on display, including her sex. While he enjoyed having her bared with him, he did not enjoy this. He did not enjoy the possibility of other males looking upon what was his. Now the idea of having his mate covered—at least while outside of their nest—appealed to him a lot more. His wings spread, blocking the tunnel so that no one watching would be able to see inside as he advanced closer.

“You will stay in the nest and not leave it unless I am by your side. This will make certain of your safety until the shaft is cleared and I can take you to the shinara.”

His mate’s eyes widened and then narrowed as she shook her head aggressively in a gesture, her golden head-fur slapping her jaw in the process, that he had begun to understand as her form of negative indicating. She certainly did it enough for that to become apparent. He bit back a snarl of frustration as her expression hardened with an obstinate look that seemed to be universal among their species.

Surprisingly, although speaking in a tight, clipped manner, she seemed reasonably calm.

“I think it would be best if we stick to the original plan and get me to the colony. If anything, I would be safer there. It might even work out better than if the Corp picked a male to serve as our representative.”

Slengral barked out a raspy laugh in surprise. “You think the females in the shinara, who purposely keep away unfamiliar males, would allow an alien male into their territory to speak peace with them? Not only would there be a good chance of them killing any such invader, but it is also unlikely that they would accept any male as a representative of your people. That is not how our society works.”

As for the other matter…

He glanced uncomfortably back toward the entrance, the putrid smell disturbing him. There was something not right about it, and unfamiliar. His wings twitched anxiously as he began to examine the spilled remains closer. A disquiet settled over him when his eyes fell on something that was definitely not an internal organ.

“As for the safety of your colony: I am not convinced that you will be as safe there as you think you will be,” he murmured.

His mate frowned, her eyes following where he was looking. The soft glow of a few small clusters nearby weakly lit up that area. He hoped it was not enough for her to see what had been left there.

“What…?” she murmured as she moved a little closer.

He lifted his tail, blocking her from approaching any nearer, but it was not enough. Her horrified gasp told him that much.

“Oh my gods. Oh fuck…is that? Is it…?”

Lori spun away from him and bent in half, her small frame seizing as she heaved and her latest meal spilled out on the floor of the tunnel. He jerked his tail back so not to get any on himself even as he set a comforting hand on her back and rubbed in an attempt to comfort her. Glancing back at the dismembered human foot lying at the side of the tunnel, he flicked his tail, the tip of it sending the foot off the edge.

Lifting his tail, he grimaced, his thin lips pulling back from his teeth. He was going to have to thoroughly cleanse that. The entire tunnel would need to be doused as well with water from the hot spring. It would deplete it enough that it would take the pool a few days to return to normal, but at least he would remove the unpleasant stench of the human remains.

“That… that was supposed to lure me?” Lori choked out around.

“Or frighten you out,” he reminded her. “Remains of your brethren left close by may have been meant to drive you from the safety you have within my nest.”

“That’s so fucked up,” she said in a ragged whisper. “Do you think it was perhaps just from a body that was found? Maybe they didn’t kill him.”

“The blood is fresh,” he said apologetically.

“The patrols,” she moaned, her eyes deadening as they stared out at the darkness of the main shaft. “They picked off guards the night before. The Corp decided just to continue as usual. Oh, I’m sure they doubled the patrolling units—and just gave your people more prey.”

Slengral grunted, unable to deny or confirm it. So he contented himself with comforting her. He hummed low in his throat, allowing the vibration to wash over her. Gradually, she relaxed enough that she turned into his chest and buried her face there. His hum caught in a low vibration before he was able to pick the rhythm up once more. He gathered his mate into his arms and was grateful when she curled further into his embrace. There was something so tender and trusting—and so vulnerable—in the gesture that it awakened something within him.

Something beyond his need to defend what was his. Something stronger than a desire to mate and breed. It was something so distinctly her that it called to a part of himself buried deep within him to answer. He wanted to care for her in every way and keep her within his coils—not to possess but to demonstrate the greatest affection that was roused within him. She called to a softer part of his nature that he did not even know he possessed.

She needed him and he would answer. In due time, he would see to it that the mess on the tunnel floor was cleaned—the remains left by his unknown rival and the sickness from his mate, but first he would see to Lori. It could all wait until she had bathed and been cleaned first.

Turning toward the front of the tunnel, he rattled his jaw in warning, a low sound rumbling from deep within his chest, vibrating through the air to carry it. It was deep and thrumming, so much more so than the warning rattle given by the male he had encountered the day before. There was no doubt that every male nesting nearby would hear the violence within it and steer clear if they were wise.

Several barks rose up in acknowledgment. Once he was satisfied that his warning was received, he turned away, drawing his female tighter into his arms.

“Come along, little ashlava. I will see you cleansed and comfortable.”

“What about the mess? I’m sorry I didn’t mean to throw up…” she mumbled again his chest, the soft vibration of her words making his scales quake with desire that he tamped down.

His female was not feeling amorous and would not appreciate such overtures after such a shock.

A darkness settled deep within him. He was going to find the male responsible and rip his wings from his body right before sending him falling into the depths of the main shaft.

Barely able to control the quaking of his rage at the affront to his mate—mostly because she was shivering so hard he could not bring himself to frighten her more—he carried Lori back through the tunnel to their nest. Bypassing the central room, he headed directly to the hot spring at the back. It was a source of pride for him, since few of the upper caves had hot springs fed directly into them. He was especially glad now that he had when his mate needed its soothing touch.

She barely stirred when he slid into the warm water, the manipulation of his tail lowering him onto the first shelf within it with a practiced ease so that he was able to keep his arms wrapped around her. It was only after they had soaked into the heated water for several minutes that Lori started to stir and peel herself off of him.

He missed having her pressed close to him, but he was glad to see some sign of activity from her as she sank into the water with a grateful sigh, her arms smoothing water against her exposed neck and face.

She still trembled—he would be a fool to miss it—but when she looked back at him, her gaze did not seem quite as hopeless as it had moments before. She swallowed and leaned into his touch when he grabbed a cake of soap he had traded for the last time he ventured down to the shinara. It smelled of the barlisk nectar and the herbs the females grew in their hidden caves near the surface. It was a scent he had always found pleasing. Judging by the smile on Lori’s face, it was one that she did as well.

Idly, she stroked her hand along the smooth edge of a gavo that had partially unfolded in response to her anxiety, her fingers trailing over the shimmering streaks of light emitting from it.

“What is this?” she asked softly.

He shivered at the intimate touch. Although he had limited sensation in his gavo, not unlike that of his claws, and he knew that she was not initiating mating with him, he still got a private thrill for her hand there.

“My gavo. They help me hunt by luring prey and help me protect myself. Be careful,” he murmured, stopping her fingers before they could slide over the sharp edge, “that part is sharp.”

She peered up at him, her eyes landing on his flattened crests. “You have them on your head, too.”

“My crests,” he confirmed, his mouth parting in a smile.

“Well, they’re very nice,” she said at last, her hand dropping down to her side. Sighing, she settled against him quietly. “Can you do that again… sing to me?” she whispered.

Slengral did not answer but began to hum, the rolling vibrations filling the room of his cavern. He did not stop humming for even a moment as his hands stroked the soap over her flesh. Eventually, her quiet sobs stilled, and her voice began to sing with him, so softly at first that it was barely there. But as he continued, her voice grew stronger until she joined him, singing wordlessly with him. The merging of their vibrations—the heart songs—made his spirit tremble. The tip of his tail slid around her lower legs, needing more contact as they temporarily allowed their spirits to become one through their song.