Serpentine Love (8 page)

He raised both his hands, palms
up.

Maya changed shapes and stepped
forward. “Stop!”

“
Well, hello…” Archan
lowered his hands, a sinful grin slashing across his face. “I was
hoping you would join us.”

Maya stood shoulder to shoulder with
Arya. “Leave him alone. I’m the one you want. Let him go and take
me instead.”

“
Well, well, Arya you lucky
dog! Your lady love is willing to give up her life for you. What
more could a man ask for?”

Arya turned to face her. “Why didn’t
you leave with Isaac?”

Maya gripped his hand. She stared into
his eyes. It was hard for her to admit it, but she loved him. He
was a good man. How could she leave him at the mercy of a mad
man?

“
I couldn’t leave you here
alone,” she said.

Arya squeezed her hand. He turned to
face Archan. “Do whatever you want with me…but let her
go.”

“
Let her go? Let go of an
inagimi. It’s taken me a lifetime to find one. She is the key to my
ultimate destiny.”

“
What do you want?” Maya
asked, as she brushed her fingers lightly against Arya. She needed
him to be strong, to trust her and not to do anything foolish that
would lead into any trouble.

It didn’t matter what happened to her.
She was scared, but for him.

“
What do I want?” Archan
scratched his chin with his fingers. “Well, let’s see…what do I
want? Hmmm…how about immortality?”

“
Immortality?” Maya blinked
her eyes.

“
Yes. I want that. And
unfortunately for you, I know how to get it. It will grant my
greatest desire…to be alive forever. See, I came prepared.” He
gestured with his hand towards one corner of the room. A small cage
not more than a foot wide and two feet long stood in a corner.
“You’ll change into a snake and enter that cage. While inside, you
won’t be able to change back. The cage will prevent the
transformation. It’s bound by ancient and powerful spells I learnt
over many years. Come on now. Be a good girl. Don’t give me any
trouble.”

“
Don’t.” Arya gripped Maya
by her arm. “He’ll kill you.”

“
But of course, I’m going to
kill her. Oh Arya, you naïve boy. How do you think I’ll gain
immortality?”

“
What?” Arya looked from
Maya to Archan.

“
Once I kill her and use her
blood in a ritual of sacrifice, her powers will transfer to me. I
won’t be able to shape-shift but even better…I’ll become
immortal.”

Maya chewed her bottom lip. The secret
of the inagimi was known by few. They themselves were not immortal
but their death, if used in an evil ceremony, could grant their
killer immortality. That was one of the reasons the inagimi took
such great care to protect their identities. Sought after by evil
men, witches and spell casters, their lives were always in
danger.

What could she do now?

Arya stepped in front of Maya. “You
can’t do this.”

“
Who’s going to stop me?
You? Don’t forget that you’re at my mercy. I really shouldn’t…but
I’ll give you another chance. Be my man, and I’ll teach your
secrets of magic you’ve never dreamed of. You’ve worked hard to
find her. Why shouldn’t you reap the benefits? This will be your
chance to become a powerful wizard whom all will fear.”

“
I don’t care about power.
The inagimi deserve to live their life as they choose.”

“
Well, then.” Archan
dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “I’ve no further use for
you. Come on girl. Get in that cage or I’ll kill him.” He raised
his hand, palm glowing with suppressed power.

Maya stepped forward. She had no
choice. Even if she attacked him, he might manage to kill Arya
before she could disarm him. That risk she could not
take.

Perhaps she would get a chance when she
was alone with him. She would rather kill herself than let him use
her in an evil ritual to further his ambitions.

“
Come on, nice and easy…”
Archan kept his hand aimed at Arya as his eyes followed Maya’s
progress towards the cage. His eyes gleamed with greed. Perhaps, he
sensed his imminent triumph.

With a sudden twist of his body, Arya
jumped forward and at the same time, let loose a bolt of bright-hot
light that hit Archan near his feet. He pulled Maya away from the
cage.

“
Go, run!” he yelled even as
he created a ward around her to protect her from a magical
attack.

Archan bombarded him with fireballs but
Arya caused them to stop in mid-air. Within moments, the air in the
room was stinging with spells. Fire, smoke, gusts of wind and bolts
of searing light zipped across the confined space, making it a
battle ground from which only one victor would emerge.

Despite Archan’s weakened power, he was
more powerful than Arya. Soon, Arya knew, he would die. He could
not hope to win from Archan who had dedicated decades of his life
to hone his magical skills.

Suddenly Archan’s body stiffened. He
fell to the floor, thrashing and rolling wildly. His body jerked
and his eyes bulged. He foamed at the mouth.

“
Maya?” Arya got
up.

She was coiled around Archan’s ankle,
her fangs deep in his leg. Archan’s body jerked. He screamed in
anguish.

The scars on Arya’s chest had torn open
and blood was smeared on his shirt. The room door burst open and
all of Archan’s men streamed in, their guns drawn and at the ready.
The two wizards stared at their master’s dead body.

Arya raised his hands. The men, seeing
Archan rolling about on floor in pain and the snake still wrapped
around his leg, threw down their weapons and ran away. The wizards
took a cautious step back.

Maya changed shape. She swayed on her
feet, feeling dazed. Bracing her hands against the wall, she took
deep breaths.

Walking over, Arya put his arms around
her. His gaze remained fixed on the two wizards who couldn’t take
their eyes off their master. “Are you ok?” He wiped the sweat from
her forehead.

Her skin was clammy and cold. She was
exhausted. It had been a long tiring day. “I’m fine,” she
said.

“
He’s…” Arya looked at
Archan.

“
He’ll live.” Maya breathed
heavily as she sagged against the wall. “He’ll be unconscious for a
few hours. The venom was not enough to kill him. I should’ve killed
him…but I couldn’t. He will however lose his magical
powers.”

“
You can do
that?”

“
With great ease,” she
muttered.

“
Do you want to share the
same fate?” Arya asked the wizards. “Leave now, and take him back
with you.”

Hearing this, the two wizards ran
forward. They carried Archan out and scurried off, probably heading
for the portal that would take them back. Losing one’s magical
power was one of the worst fates a wizard could suffer.

“
I should have killed
him.”

“
It’s ok.” Arya hugged her
close. “You don’t want to dirty your hands with his
blood.”

Maya looked at him. “What about you?
What do you plan to do now?”

Would he leave now? Emotions bubbled in
her heart as she wondered how she would survive without him. Would
she be able to live with the pain of his rejection?

“
I’ll be here forever. I
think I’ll quite enjoy living in this world,” Arya whispered in her
ear. “I love you.”

Maya turned, and saw in his eyes what
she wanted to see. She smiled, her eyes filled with
tears.

“
I love you too,” she said,
quite unable to believe that he loved her despite knowing who she
was. It was a miracle, a gift from the Goddess--and one she was
willing to grab with both her hands.

Their fingers linked together as his
lips captured hers in a kiss. Her heart thumped as she felt his
love course through her body in a song of joy.

Sabine A. Reed’s other books
include
The Black Orb
,
a fantasy e-novella published by
Uncial Press
. She has her
own
blog
and is available on
twitter
and
facebook
.

The Black Orb

Prologue

The old man stood in front of the heavy
oak doorway. It was close to high noon but the rays of the
blistering sun barely penetrated the thick canopy of the trees that
hid the ancient stone structure from prying eyes. The door was
covered with creeping ivy. Dusting off mud from his cloak, he
stepped forward and muttered the words that had not been uttered in
over three hundred years.

"La Khatam Duan Ma Yuan
Veil."

A shudder went through the earth
beneath him in response to the magic he invoked.

He suppressed the urge to
flee.

"La Khatam Duan Ma Yuan
Veil."

Once again, the earth beneath his feet
shook restlessly, almost as if to warn him not to
proceed.

Ignoring the knot of fear that wedged
itself in his stomach, he repeated the same words a third time,
setting in motion a sequence of events that might lead to his
eventual death. The doors started to pull apart, leaving an opening
big enough for a grown man to squeeze through.

He walked inside the Tomb of Issar, the
long-forgotten God of War. When he emerged, the sun was nearly
down. In the faint evening light, he glanced at the treasure
clutched in his hand and broke into a fast run, towards the
clearing where his horse was tied.

The hunt had begun. And there was not a
moment to lose.

Chapter One

Aria stood at the corner, waiting for
the mark to show up. Earlier, she had spotted him at the fair. He
was loitering near the food stalls, stuffing his already bulging
stomach with sweet cakes and eyeing the women around him with a
lecherous gaze. She would have easy pickings tonight.

There he was, lurching forward on
unsteady legs. Clearly, he had been drinking steadily through the
night.

"Hey, handsome!" she called as he drew
near. Thrusting her hip at an angle, she angled her body towards
him. "Wanna have a good time tonight?"

He stopped and gazed at her out of
glazed eyes. "How much?"

"For you, darling, only three silver
coins." She ran her fingers through her long, black tresses and
pouted at him.

"Are you mad, woman? One silver coin
and that's it."

"Oh, you drive a hard bargain." Aria
giggled and sashayed closer. "Do you have a room?"

"At the corner of the street." His
words were slurred. "Come. I'll give you a good time
tonight."

Drawing her cloak tightly about her,
Aria covered her head with her headband. She did not want the
tavern keeper to remember anything about her. Her mark staggered
his way to the tavern and led her upstairs. Late as it was, there
were not many customers at the bar and the tavern keeper was busy
cleaning in the kitchen.

Once they were inside, he closed the
door and took off his cloak. "Show me the goods, sugar cake." He
slapped her lightly on her buttocks.

Obligingly, Aria took her cloak off.
She was wearing a low cut grass-green gown underneath, one that
showed off her bosom and tiny waist to perfection.

He grinned and licked his lips. "Well,
well. You're a fine looking woman. If you're as good in bed as you
look, I might keep you for the entire three nights I'll be here.
Come here now. Lose the gown."

"What's the hurry?" Aria nodded towards
the jug of ale that stood on a table in one corner of the room. "My
throat's parched. Let me have a drink first."

He took off his tunic and scratched his
hairy chest. There were two leather pouches hanging on a belt
around his ample hips. "Pour me one," he ordered.

As she walked over to the table, Aria
slipped her hand inside her satchel and took out a small wooden
box. She bent to place her satchel near the table. With her back
towards her customer, she opened the box and put some powder in the
ale cup before pouring the ale for him. With the box safely hidden
in her hand, she offered him the ale cup.

He drank it down in one big
gulp.

She took the cup from him and placed it
on the table. As there was no other cup in the room, she dared not
chance pouring herself a drink. The residual powder might still be
in the cup and since it was a highly potent sleeping potion, she
did not want her senses dulled. There was still much work left
ahead of her.

"Come now, my pretty, drink up
quickly." He was already fighting to keep his eyes open. "Let's not
waste any more time."

After taking one step towards her, he
swayed and fell to the floor. Even in sleep he wore a surprised
expression.