Page 22 of Black Mamba

Frozen on the threshold, momentary misgivings fill me. I should not be doing this… This is her nest, her space… If she were a naga female, she would be furious at the intrusion.

But it is within my territory.

I press my hand to the door keeping the room hidden from me and slide it into the wall when it does not automatically open.

A large human bed covered in a puffy white ruffled blanket with two small tables on either side appears. The walls are white and covered with shelves and drawers. Most of the shelves are empty except for a few objects that look more decorative than useful. Some have books. Books that are not aged and crumbling.

Breathing in her scent, smelling her at her purest yet, I reverberate.

I am a lucky male. My bride smells good—like she is meant to be mine.

None of the other females I have encountered smelled like Elena. Like berries, tree sap, and honey—rich and sweet. It was how I knew she was the bride I had been waiting for. Why else would I find her aroma so enticing? If she was not meant to be mine, then whose? No one will love her scent more than me.

She might not know me yet, but she will soon. She will understand I only seek to keep her safe. To covet what is so precious.

Grabbing the blanket off her bed, I throw the smaller flufflier ones and other items into it, creating a bigger bag in the process. Hauling the cushiony material in my arms, I collect the few books I see and the pile of clothes off the floor, adding them to my lot. She will have all of her belongings. I will retrieve anything she needs; she just has to ask for it. I do not want to make her transition harder than necessary.

A small bundle of cloth falls from my hand as I stuff the rest of her clothes into the blanket. Reaching down to pick up the scrap, I pinch the black silky material between my claws. My eyes widen as I set down the sack and explore the strange fabric, stretching it with my fingers.

My eyes roll back as I clutch the cloth to my nose. My lips part and my tongue dabs outward, licking at the sweet flavor spread between my fingers. A rough hiss tears out of my throat before I release a heavy groan. My stem pulsates, heating within me.

Adding the material to my bundle, I hasten my pace, realizing I am taking longer than I mean to. I quickly leave her sleeping space behind to pick up the food in her stores. But coming upon a rectangular slotted machine with many buttons instead, I skip the food and turn for the few bottles on the wall. She likes the liquid in these bottles. Breaking open the glass shielding them with my fist, I grab several.

I leave her ship behind and return to my cave.

But before I come to it, the rustling of bushes far to my left catches my attention. Heading downward at an angle, my ears prick as I freeze to listen, waiting to see if it is an animal near my nest or something else.

Then I hear the snap of a twig followed by an audible gasp.

Shaking my head, I set down my bundle and turn toward the noise.

Spearing through the woods in Elena’s direction, I come upon her sprinting and stumbling down my mountain.

Pressing forward, I catch up to her and scoop her into my arms.

She shrieks and flails as I cradle her body to mine, spinning us around to take her back to our nest. Like earlier, it is little effort to move her. She is much smaller than me and nowhere near as strong.

As she continues to shout and thrash, I return to her bundle first, shifting her to my shoulder to free one of my hands. Gathering her blanket back into a sack, I haul her and her belongings the rest of the way to the cave. Finding my lantern on the ground outside the cave’s entrance, I take a moment to collect that too. I hold the light up behind me with my tailtip as I carry my treasure into the shadowy darkness ahead.

Dropping her into the hides of my nest once again, and the sack outside it, I take the lantern and head to the storage rooms in the cave. There are four caverns in total, with the first being a short way inside the entrance and the last being where my nest is. The first two are smaller than the last two, and each space is off the main passageway.

The one closest to my nest is where my firepit is. It is where I keep my food stores and baskets. The firepit is in the middle while the rest of the room’s contents are gathered in organized arrays along the sides. It is also the only cavern in my cave that can allow a fire to burn for long periods of time. There are cracks in the ceiling that suck out the smoke.

I sometimes sleep in here when the nights are especially cold.

Passing the pit, I enter the second cavern.

Spying my blue rope on a plastic crate filled with the most useful items I have looted from the soldiers’ encampment, I collect it. In the crate I have two more lanterns, an array of batteries, humanmade weapons, and several sets of tools. With the rope in my hand, I return to Elena.

This time she is under the bigger table on the right.

I slip past her and loop the rope around one of the steel hooks high above my nest.

“What are you doing?” she asks breathlessly as I make a knot.

“If I cannot trust you to keep yourself safe while I am gone, even when I tell you I will not be gone long”—I shake my head—“then I will make sure you will be kept safe before I leave. I told you the mountain is dangerous to traverse alone, not until you know it, and I caught you racing down it with speed.”

Turning to her, she is silent as I slide the loose rope through my hand.