Serpent of the Abyss by S.J. Sanders

Chapter 24

Slengral’s wings cautiously stretched wide as he examined the mouth of the cave. The humans had been as busy as he had presumed with all the sounds of activity that had gone on over the last several days. The rubble had been cleared away and new supports installed. Soon they would be returning deep into Aglatha without any care toward for whose home they invaded.

“I do not even recognize Aglatha’s mouth,” Kehtal murmured beside him.

He was right. The humans had changed the structure so much with their metal supports and equipment that the ancient formations that had been there are all his life and had been familiar to him as his own wings were gone. It seemed that between the damage done during the earthquake and the aftermath of removing dangerous obstacles that the humans had scarred the cave more than ever.

Tail flicking behind him, Slengral rose up, his wings carrying him through the cave opening and into the night air. Kehtal followed after him, his body darting through the cave as quick as possible as if afraid one of the large metal creations were prepared to come alive and attack him if he was too slow. Within just a handful of minutes, the male glided at Slengral’s side, scanning the land around them.

“What are we looking for?” he asked, his voice low.

Slengral dipped his chin. “We are not looking for anything,” he replied. “I am scouting the route leading to the structure Lori described as the humans’ colony dome.”

Kehtal jerked in the air in surprise, his head whipping around. “We are going to the human nest?”

“Of course. That is where my mate wishes to go. I would not take her there unless I know there will be no immediate dangers in our path.” Slengral glanced curiously at the male beside him. “Is there a reason for your objection?”

“I do not object,” Kehtal corrected, his eyes roaming the landscape restlessly as they flew, “but I am worried. I know your female needs to be above the ground, but taking her to that nest does not seem to be a wise choice. Let the intruders work out their own agreement with the shinara if they are smart enough to win the cooperation of a male to their side. There is no reason to risk her.”

Slengral sighed. “You tell her that. I tell you now that my female will not agree. She will not rest until she sees for herself that the humans are safe and remain that way. She will not even allow me to take her to the safety of the shinara until she has spoken with her humans.”

A worried expression crossed Kehtal’s face, his mouth tightening. “It is best that she does not go to the shinara either. I do not think it would be safe for her.”

Wings snapping once to bring himself to a stop midair, Slengral waited as Kehtal slowed and rounded about and flew back to his side. He was not going any further until the male explained himself. The whole point of this was to satisfy his female and get the humans cooperating with the shinara so that he could take her to safety away from the unmated males of the Aglatha.

“Explain,” he hissed.

The male hesitated as he seemed to search for the right words. When he spoke, it was slowly as he carefully selected his wording.

“Do you imagine that the females would be pleased to know that females of another species on our world were able to lure away capable hunters? They are under no obligation to choose a permanent mate from us, and only very few do so willingly. Human females, willing to mate and nest with us and diminish the number of males the shinara will have available to feed and breed them? Even if they made an agreement, I am not so certain they would not attempt to kill any female who mates with us,” he said quietly. “They are already noting your absence. It would be foolish to assume they will not take exception to it, given your popularity among them.”

Slengral’s blood ran cold. With his focus entirely centered on what his mate needed and wanted, that was a possibility that had not occurred to him. Although females rarely traveled among the upper caverns settled by the hunters, keeping to their own tunnels and the shinara, venturing into the nest of a mated male who posed no risk to them was not beyond imagining. His stomach twisting, he considered just how fast he could return to his nest. He would need to scout for a viable place to take her far enough from the reach of the shinara.

He glanced around the landscape stretching out around him, uncertain of what to do. The human dome was still some distance away; it was not too late to turn back and scout for a location away from both the shinara and the human habitation. Even if it would earn his mate’s anger. His stomach soured as if he just sank his teeth into rotted meat. Lori would be distressed if he did that.

“What do you suggest?” he ground out. “I cannot and will not make my mate unhappy.”

“Better unhappy than dead,” his friend muttered, earning a sharp look. The male sighed. “The unmated are determined. Even within the human nest, there will be risk of males attacking. There is no guarantee of safety there any more than there is in the shinara.”

“Then give me solutions, something that will not make Lori hate me,” Slengral snapped.

He would not be able to tolerate or endure his mate rejecting him. He knew that his friend understood because Kehtal gave him a knowing look before his expression turned thoughtful, his ear ridges fanning.

“What if we just delay it?” he said slowly. “We will tell her that the way is still blocked at the mouth to give us a few waking cycles to collect intelligence on the position of the shinara.” He grimaced. “You are not the only male who has not been seen as of late. I have no doubt that the shinara will have been searching out the reason. Give me that time and we can make a better decision from the information we will have.”

Slengral did not like it. It felt too much like deceit, but Kehtal’s idea had merit. Knowing the way that the land lay was important strategy for every hunter. In this situation it would serve them no less.

“Very well,” he agreed reluctantly, his expression hardening. “You will have two waking cycles and no more. Until then, let us see for ourselves what exactly we are up against with this colony.”

Kehtal nodded, visibly relieved. As one, they snapped their wings, darting forward through the air to cover the remaining distance. When the dome came into view, Slengral understood its appeal and his mate’s eagerness to return to it. Even Kehtal whispered to himself in awe at the sight of the glowing mound.

Standing out against the dark, not only was it above ground as Lori had said, but it was also of unimaginable size, capable of containing numerous nests. He peered at it with interest, grunting in approval. A place like that would be easy for him to defend his mate and see to her comforts without having to take her deep within the caves.

The more he looked at it, the more he coveted this colony not only for its size but also its fortifications. The structure itself looked formidable, and there were a multitude of lights mounted around the perimeter providing more focused illumination than even the thickest cluster of galthie blooms. At various points, he could see numerous metal structures surrounding it in a defensive formation. He was not entirely sure what they did, but it mattered little to him. Their visages alone were like sentinels that would serve as adequate warning if it were his.

His tail coiled behind him. It would be so easy to take it. The humans patrolling the area were easy enough to spot, moving about in pairs or groups of three, none of them matching even a juvenile of his species in size.

Unfortunately, as much as he was tempted, he knew his mate would not approve.

“They have females guarding the nest,” Kehtal murmured, drawing Slengral’s attention from his darker desires.

Slengral hummed with surprise and tasted the air. The salty meat-musk scent of the males mingled with the sweeter perfumes of the females. For the most part he could not visually tell the difference between them in their matching coverings and helmets that obscured their faces in entirety. That a few of them had prominent swells on their chests like his mate indicated they may have been females.

“It seems that males and females work and live together,” he observed with interest as they watched the humans make a sweep, their steps in time, their weapons raised almost identically. “The females are not segregated and protected within the core with the males as the outlier presence. They are barely discernable from each other.”

“Fascinating,” Kehtal remarked dryly, his tail twitching with unease. “Meanwhile, they are placing their females in a perfect position to be hunted and picked off.”

“Because they do not know we are here,” Slengral reminded him, despite his own discomfort seeing the safety of the females being risked against the dangers of Seshana.

“That will mean nothing to the males who capture them.” Kehtal’s words were grim but irrefutable.

Ignorance would not protect the humans, and the unmated males would not care even if they were told. In fact, they would take advantage of it.

As if having spoken an omen, a rattling shriek filled the air, and then another as two Seshanamitesh swooped above, both dropping, their weapons drawn in a coordinated attack. Such a thing had never happened and should not have. It was not their way to hunt, or plan strikes together, but things were changing within the Aglatha and he understood that too well. Had he not invited other males into his nest and placed trust in them? The humans’ presence was changing everything. The humans stood no chance.

Slengral surged forward with a growl, but Kehtal shot out into his side, dropping him to the ground with the force of their colliding bodies, the smaller male’s wings snapping around them to pin him in place. His snarl of outrage mingled with the humans’ panicked screams, and loud blasts filled the air with streams of light, but it could not save them.

“Stop,” Kehtal hissed, but he ignored him.

Growling, he threw the smaller male from his back, his body twisting to free his tail. In the distance, shouts joined the screams as the pair of humans from the first team ran back and joined in the fight. When their screams joined the first, a very real fear for his mate gripped him him—of her being attacked and seized this brutally.

Jerking free, he rose to his full height, his wings spread to lift into the sky, but froze when a hunting group of four dropped in from another direction. Several of the humans already lay dead, their bodies already being torn apart, harvested for meat, as the other males from the two groups fought over the females.

Now helmetless, the females looked frightened as they were pulled between them as males made their rattling territorial calls. A male hissed and dragged away one female, his wings beating furiously to carry away his prize, leaving the larger group of males with the remaining two females. They hissed at the retreating males and barked, the angry vibrations bursting through the air, but they too retreated. With their females secured, and one male laden with bloody meat, they took to the air.

Slengral stared after them, anger filling him. Anger that he immediately redirected at Kehtal. Jerking around, he leveled the male with a furious look.

“Why?” he hissed. “Why did you interfere?”

Rather than wilt under his anger, Kehtal met it with an icy fury of his own.

“Because you could not save them,” he barked. “To even try would have left your mate without your protection. You may be foolish with your life, but I cannot watch you risk her.”

Staring at the male, Slengral’s anger dropped away, leaving behind a cold ball of dread in the pit of his stomach. Kehtal was right.

“It should not concern you,” he said half-heartedly.

His friend laughed humorlessly. “You may think not, but it does. You are my friend, and your female…” he exhaled, his expression softening, “…she is unlike anything I could have ever imagined.”

Jealousy washing over him, Slengral jerked up, his wings stretching menacingly.

“She is my mate,” he hissed.

Kehtal hummed in agreement, his gavo crests flicking. “She is.”

That there was something left unsaid there, Slengral tried to ignore as he took to the air. Instead, he allowed himself to be calmed by the male’s assurance. As for the colony, he had seen all that he wanted to see for the night. He was eager to leave that place before he was spotted and return to his mate. The speed at which Kehtal shadowed him spoke volumes of the male’s own eagerness. That too he would ignore… for now.