Serpentine Love (7 page)

His legs hurt, as did the scars on his
chest but he was lucky to be alive and since Isaac was in this dire
predicament because of him, he was duty-bound to save
him.

So many things he wanted to ask her.
Could she shape-shift into any snake? Earlier she had been a
python, now she was a cobra. Also, did she retain her intellectual
powers as a snake or was merely guided by instincts?

There was no time to ask her anything.
Quick as lighting the snake made her way towards the gate, taking
care to hide among the bushes and the shrubs despite the cover of
the darkness.

Arya made no attempt to hide his
presence.

Once he entered, he veered off to the
left. The warehouse was an old derelict two-storied building. Its
windows were shuttered off and its main door was closed and planked
shut. No light was visible from any of the closed
windows.

Two vehicles were parked near the walls
and Arya searched for a side entrance nearby. Sure enough, there
was a small door set in the wall. It stood wide open. He entered a
long lightless corridor that led to the main warehouse.

He was in a cavernous room. Silvery
beams of moonlight filtered in through the narrow windows set high
above the walls. Old empty cartons and containers were stacked on
the floor, along with old papers and broken wooden
planks.

“
Stop right there,” a rough
voice called out. A second later a flashlight beamed on his eyes.
“You again?”

He was one of Archan’s security guards.
He had stood silently behind when his companions tied Arya, and now
seemed surprised to see Arya again.

Arya flashed a grin at him. “I missed
you.”

“
How the hell did you free
yourself?”

“
Where is Isaac?”

“
Oh, you want to be a hero.”
The guard raised his hand, ready to do magic. “Come on then. You
seem to have a death wish.”

Arya surrendered without a fight. He
hoped Maya would find Isaac soon. Archan’s wizards were powerful
and the soldiers were armed with guns. He wanted her out of danger
as soon as possible.

They entered a room lit with
battery-operated flashlights placed on the floor. “Archan, this man
followed us here.”

Archan was sitting on a chair, drinking
coffee from a Styrofoam cup when Arya entered. His hand faltered in
mid-air as he stared at his old protégé in surprise.

“
You amaze me,” he said and
lifted the cup to his lips to take a slow sip. “I spared your life,
even though you failed me. Dare I ask why you came
here?”

“
Where is Isaac?” Arya got
straight to the point. There was no sense in denying his reasons
for coming here. In any case, all he had to do was to distract them
until Maya found Isaac and got him out of the place safe and sound.
“What did you do to him?”

“
Well, well!” Archan drained
the cup in one big gulp and placed it back on the table. “You seem
to have developed quite a likening for the old snake
lover.”

“
Where is he?” Arya took a
step forward.

Archan had six men with him. Two of
them stood behind him now. One had brought Arya here. That meant
there were three more men in the warehouse. Arya hoped Maya didn’t
have the misfortunate to meet them.

“
Rest assured, I’m not going
to hurt him,” Archan drawled in his typical lazy manner.

Arya was not fooled. The man was
dangerous and untrustworthy. It would be foolish to take his words
to be true.

“
I just need a little
information from him. After all, you’re the one who said he knew
something about the inagimi.”

“
I said he might’ve
information. I was mistaken. He knows nothing,” Arya
said.

Archan stood up. “Well…I would prefer
to talk to him myself…in my own manner.”

“
Don’t hurt him.”

“
Arya, Arya.” Archan
stretched his lips in a cold smile. “You hurt my feelings. I’m a
civilized man. If he tells me what I need to know, he’ll be able to
leave in no time.”

Arya resisted the let loose a fireball.
Archan would be protected by magical wards. Arya would be dead
before the fireball even reached Archan. Despite his magic, he
couldn’t duel with three wizards at the same time. He was
outnumbered and these men were ruthless. They would kill him before
he managed to reach their boss, and that would leave Maya alone to
deal with them. That he could not…would not risk.

“
He knows nothing,” Arya
said. “Think about it. Why would he deny knowledge regarding the
inagimi? That information alone would give him an opportunity to
earn so much money and fame.”

“
There are some foolish men
who prize loyalty and humanity above money and fame.” Archan
scratched the side of his neck with his long neatly trimmed nails.
“Tell me, Arya. How did you manage to get so banged up and
bruised?”

“
I fell down the
mountain.”

“
Who freed you from the old
man’s study where we’d left you?”

“
His assistant. He has
already gone to the police for help.”

“
I find that hard to
believe. Isaac’s boys had taken hikers up the mountain before we
entered his cottage. There was no one there, except for you.” He
moved to the front of the table. “You are lying to me and I want to
know why?”

Arya thought carefully before
answering. Isaac was tending to Arya when Archan and his men bust
in on them. Instead of questioning Arya, Archan ordered his men to
tie him and take Isaac along. Clearly, he was now regretting his
decision. He wanted to know why Arya was up on the mountain
alone.

Had he begin to suspect that Arya knew
something about the inagimi?

“
Perhaps you’ll believe me
when the police surround this warehouse and force you into a
battle?” Arya said.

Ignoring his comment, Archan gazed at
the scars on Arya’s face and neck. “How did you get those
scars?”

“
I’ve already told you that
I fell down.”

“
That was clumsy of you.” He
tapped his fingers on the table. “Did a magic fairy heal your
wounds so quickly? I know the work of a master healer when I see
it. You were attacked by an animal, a leopard by my guess …and
someone took the time to rub some healing potions on you. Now,
interested as I’m in the healer, and we’ll get to that eventually…I
want to know who saved you from the leopard.”

Arya forced himself to laugh. “There
was no leopard. You’re letting your imagination run away with
you.”

Archan glared at Arya. “Do not lie to
me! You’ve already made the mistake of following me here. I didn’t
like that, Arya. For that, you’ll die…but I can choose to kill you
quickly or prolong the agony until you beg for death. Now, tell me.
What were you doing on the mountain? Did you find the inagimi? Tell
me everything…or the old man will die.”

Maya slithered under a crack in the
door and surveyed the dusty room. One flashlight stood in a corner,
casting yellow shadows on the wall and illuminating the two men
sitting on chairs against the wall. One of them was Isaac. His
hands were bound behind his back. The other man was one of Archan’s
guards.

Luckily for her, he was sitting
sideward to the door and did not see her slide across the floor.
Isaac was facing the door and noticed the sly movement. His eyes
followed her as she moved into position behind the guard. His face
showed an unmistakable fear, but Maya was glad to see that he was
unharmed.

Perhaps they hadn’t begun to question
him as yet?

Maya reared up and hissed menacingly.
The guard jumped on his seat and turned around to face her. Maya
slithered under his chair and emerged on the other side. He took
out a gun—but not being used to the weapon, he was clumsy with it.
Isaac kicked it out of his hand with a sharp thrust of his foot.
The gun flew into the air. Changing shapes in mid-air, Maya lunged
across the floor and caught it neatly in her hand. She pointed it
at the guard.

“
Untie him,” she
ordered.

The man cringed, his mouth agape with
shock as he equated the presence of this beautiful woman with the
vicious cobra he’d seen. Slowly, the reality of the situation
dawned on him.

“
You…you?” He turned to face
Isaac as if to confirm his fears.

“
Untie him!” Maya repeated.
“Do it now!”

Slowly, with great reluctance, he got
up and untied Isaac’s hands. “You won’t get away,” he said, his
voice quivering. “Archan would hunt you to the end of the
world.”

He was right, Maya realized. If left
alive, he would report to Archan, confirming the news that there
indeed was an inagimi and that Isaac had information regarding it.
Not only would hers but Isaac’s life would always be in danger. Her
finger pressed the trigger ever so lightly but despite her resolve,
she could not make herself shoot a man in cold blood.

It wasn’t her way.

“
Let’s go,” she said to
Isaac instead.

Her priority was to get her grandfather
out of the warehouse alive. Once out, she would devise a strategy
to keep him as far away from Archan as possible.

Keeping her eyes on the guard, she
walked backwards and reached the door. Isaac followed and together
they closed the door behind them. It wasn’t possible to lock it
from the outside, but they placed a number of cartons in front to
bloke his exit. It would not keep him in forever, but it might buy
them a few precious minutes to plan their escape.

She held the gun in her hand and led
Isaac towards the exit.

Luckily, no one challenged their slow
but cautious progress across the warehouse. “Go,” she told Isaac
once they reached the door through which she had entered with Arya.
“There is a car parked in a grove less than a mile from the road.
The keys are under the driver’s seat. Take the gun, just in case
you run into one of Archan’s goons.” She handed him the
gun.

“
What about you?” Isaac
gripped her elbow. “I won’t leave you alone here.”

“
I’ve to find Arya. I can’t
let him fall into Archan’s hands. He will kill him once they find
out that you’ve escaped. Go,” she urged him. “Your presence here
will only slow me down.”

Isaac squeezed her hand. “May the
Goddess be with you,” he said, blessing her with the ancient prayer
the inagimi used. “I’ll wait for you at Illion’s pub.” He referred
to his friend’s pub in the nearby town. It would serve as a
suitable hiding place until Archan and his men left
town.

Maya nodded. She changed shapes and
glided back towards the main area of the warehouse. The air tasted
musty. Dust coated the floor. It was easy for her to identify the
paths where men had trooped in and out. She trailed the footprints
to a room at the back of the warehouse.

She coiled herself into a tight ring
behind a carton and surveyed the door, searching for a crack she
could slide through.

The guard she had left behind came
running. He burst into the room and left the door open. Now, she
could see and hear everything.

He fell in front of Archan. “The
inagimi…she took the old man.”

“
What?”

“
There was a girl…she…she…”
The guard stuttered. Clearly the experience of seeing Maya change
from a snake into a woman had left him shaken.

“
Speak up!” Archan
ordered.

The guard shook with fear. “A cobra
entered the room and changed into a beautiful woman in front of my
eyes. She took the old man with her.”

“
And you let her go?” Archan
kicked the man on his chest. “Do you know how long I’ve searched
for that prize? How dare you let her slip out of your
hands?”

“
She took the gun.” The
guard clutched his chest with both his hands, whimpering in
pain.

In one quick movement, Archan let loose
two fireballs that hit the man on the chest. The guard screamed in
pain. He withered on the floor as the magical fire consumed his
body with red-blue flames. Within moments he was dead.

“
Let this be a lesson to you
all.” Archan looked around the room, his voice taut with temper.
“If you fail me, you’ll die. I want that inagimi, alive! And I want
her now! Go and find her.”

The three men left. Clearly, they were
more scared of the retribution their boss would demand if they
failed to capture the inagimi than they were of facing the
snake-woman.

“
You and I are going to have
a talk.” Archan beckoned Arya forward. “You’re going to tell me
everything. Who is this woman? And where’s she?”

“
I don’t know where she
is.”

“
Do you really wish to
sacrifice your life in order to protect a snake?”

“
She is more human than you
ever will be.”

“
Ah!” Archan’s voice turned
oily. “You’ve been charmed by an inagimi.” He laughed. “This I
didn’t see coming. Really, Arya. How disappointing of you. Oh,
well…”