Page 72 of Black Mamba

“Tools, medicine, blankets, clothing and makeup for her, and suppliessss. It is not everything my Sabrina wants but it is enough for me. There are several large ships stocked with all sorts of things she often seeks or needs. She is good at bartering.”

“So you provide them meat in exchange for these items?”

“Yessss. The camp has much but it does not have a steady source of food, not for the people outside the barricade. With the meat I bring, they can keep the people fed. In return, they will allow me and my bride to openly trade with those outside the walls.”

Trading. Bartering. These are things I have never thought of before. Scanning the central tent, several spotlights turn on to fend off the encroaching darkness. Brightening the walkway areas between the tents and along the pathway to the barricaded encampment farther in, only the field remains encompassed in shadows. There are no lights past the outer ships.

Soon, smoke trails fill the sky as bonfires are lit.

The Titanoboa picks up his deer, scooping one under each arm. “Sabrina will be wondering where I am.” He rises on his tail. “You can gain much by bringing the soldiers food. If you and your bride plan on staying here or near the camp, it is not a bad idea. She can get things she needs that are not easily available otherwise. You will find that I am not the only one who hunts for these humans…” He leaves the shadows and enters the field. “I may see you again, naga, and if I do, you may call me Darolussss.”

“I am Lukyssss.”

Darolus, meeting several soldiers as he approaches the camp, is escorted inside one of the smaller tents.

Right then, Elena appears in the spotlight. I jerk from where I am waiting and slip into the field. I approach swiftly, despite the shouts of several soldiers. Watching as she looks around, she turns and scans the field in my direction. There is a bag under her arm.

She stiffens when she sees me and I stop.

Emotions war in her eyes.

A soldier yells out to me, trying to steal my attention. I ignore him.

Instead, I coil my tail under me, planning to go to her when she takes a step in my direction. Several soldiers warn her against it, but she continues, hastening her pace as she enters the hilly field. I reach for her as she stumbles to me, offering my hand.

Her eyes wide, she looks at it. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“You held it earlier,” I remind her, smelling her arousal even now. “At least give me the bag you are holding and your pack. You will be tired now that it is dark. Did you pack any of your human rationssss? It is too late to hunt for you.”

Darolus suddenly appears behind her. Without stopping, he races past.

Elena, noticing only when he is next to her, startles and jumps into my arms. Gripping her to me, I watch Darolus vanish into the forest.

“What was that?” She grasps onto me tighter. “Another naga?”

“Another naga,” I agree, turning us to the forest ourselves. “You do not need to be afraid of him.” Soon we enter its deepening darkness just like Darolus had. I sniff out his scent and take us in a different direction.

When she stumbles, I pick her up.

“Lukys! Let me go,” Elena gasps, going stiff. After a few paces, she reaches up and grabs my shoulder. “You don’t need to carry me… I can walk.”

“It’s too dark now and dangerous. And I want to carry you. I always want to carry you. I like being close to you, female.”

She goes silent as the lights of the encampment fade behind us. For a time, I travel aimlessly, needing to get as far away from the others as I can. Eventually she presses into me, lured by the heat of my body. As the darkness chills the air, she leans in closer, shifting her bag in her arms. “Lukys…” she whispers. “Lukys… Where are you taking me?”

“Somewhere safe. Somewhere we are entirely alone.”

“Alone…”

Where that place is? I have not found it yet.

I continue until I no longer hear the hum of machines or scent the presence of other humans. Reaching a moonlit grove where the trees are spaced out, I slowly lower Elena’s trembling form and release her. “Here,” I say.

“Here?” She breathes the word, looking around. She lifts her chin to the moonlight. Momentarily awed by her beauty, her silky hair falling just past her shoulders, my tail goes taut. I busy myself by sweeping it outward and flattening the grasses and small plants to make a place for us among them.

“Yessss. Here. We are far from the noises and smells of the others here. Stay, wait, and I will build us a small fire as we settle for the night.”

“I… Okay. A fire would be nice.” Half turning from me, and partially shielding her eyes in shyness, she pulls her arm out of her pack and lowers it to the ground after she drops the second bag she was holding.