Viper (Naga Brides Book 1) Page 6

  “The robots have told me.”

  I still. My eyes snap to him. “Robots? What robots?”

  “The ones still living and maintaining Earth.”

  “They’re still here? They work?” How can that be? It’s been… ages. “That’s impossible.”

  Vruksha turns his head. “They are still here. They never left like humans did.”

  “Humans didn’t leave. They were killed off. The only ones who survived are the ones who weren’t on Earth when the Lurkers committed genocide.”

  “I survived,” he grunts. “Yesss… the Lurkers.”

  “Were you alive when the Lurkers destroyed us?” I snap, knowing it was impossible. There are long-living beings in the universe, but none that can survive fifteen hundred years. At least none that humans have encountered thus far.

  “No. I came after, when the plants and the trees returned to the world, according to my father. No naga remembers a time before that, before this world grew again,” his voice lowers.

  “Half this planet is still growing,” I say. “Entire continents of this world remain without life. Only this mountain range has truly become acceptable. It’s why I’m here, why any of us can be here.”

  “Ah yes, the dust wastes.”

  My eyes shoot to him. “You’ve seen them?” From my readings, the nearest wastes were a little more than a hundred miles from the facility, in every direction. It’s as if the facility was the epicenter of this dead world’s regrowth.

  “I have seen them.” He gives me an unreadable expression. “You may know more about this world than me, but you do not know this forest. This was once a place called an airport, and it is where I have made my den. A home I am eager to show you.”

  “But there are robots?” I’m still hung up on this. There’d been no working technology in the facility where we made our base camp. In fact, the base had been practically stripped clean.

  Which now I find odd...

  “Come. I’ll show you.”

  Vruksha glides to a half-bent tree that has a single large boulder beside it covered in moss. When I get closer, I realize it isn’t a rock at all. It’s a pile of… something. He swipes some of the moss off, and straight, angular edges reveal themselves. Man-made edges.

  I move closer. “What is it?”

  “What’s left of a plane.”

  “Planes aren’t robots,” I mumble. But I reach out and touch it, brushing off more of the moss. So much of it is bent and broken, and there’s even some rust. I step back to get a better look. “This can’t be a plane,” I say. “It’s not big enough.”

  “It’s all that’s left.”

  I stare at it, my belly churning, not liking his explanation. All that’s left? I look around, trying to see what this place was like at one point, but I can’t imagine it. I can only see a strange orchard with a strange growth pattern.

  “There is more,” he tells me when I finish circling the structure.

  “There is?”

  “Oh yes.”

  “Show me.”

  His eyes glint and something wicked darkens them for a second. He pivots away, and I chase after him to catch up.

  Eight

  A Deep, Dark Hole

  Gemma

  We don’t go far.

  Vruksha stabs his spear into the ground and reaches down when he comes to a random clearing. Turning, I can see the plane in the distance. He grabs something with both his hands and yanks. A thick metal hatch pops up from the ground, displacing a pile of leaves. Leaning forward, there are stairs on the other side of the hatch that leads down into a hole.

  I jerk back. “I’m not going in there.”

  He reclaims his spear. “Yes, you are.”

  “Hell no, I’m not.”

  “My den is within.”

  “I don’t care. There’s no way in hell—”

  Vruksha grabs me, rounding his free arm around my back and tugging me to his chest. I squirm and fight, but he’s too strong. He hauls me against him and carries me into the dark.

  The walls close in.

  “Let me go!” I shriek, kicking and batting at his chest. “Let me go!” He ignores me and shuts the hatch with his tail, closing off the remaining light. I’m blinded by darkness, and my fear returns tenfold. I got too cozy with curiosity. “Vruksha,” I gasp, hoping that saying his name will help me. “Please!”

  Then my world lights up, and the cold pathway reveals the walls on either side of us. There are small hanging glass orbs attached to them, and some glow, though most flicker weakly. He’s taking me downstairs, down, down deep. The light grows brighter and brighter the deeper we get.

  I’m still battling to get out of his hold when he comes to a stop at the bottom of the stairs where a long room reveals itself with dim lights and weak colors.

  I spin away from Vruksha when he sets me down. I brandish my hand to keep him at bay. “Take me back out,” I gasp, barely paying any mind to the colorful things around me. “I want out.”

  People go into holes to be forgotten about, or worse, to die.

  “Soon, human. When you calm again. When it is safe.”

  “I am calm!”

  “When you submit to me then,” he says, his voice lowering. He sets his spear against the wall next to the stairs. “It will be easier for you if you did.”

  I swallow and back up another step. “So that’s your plan? Keep me captive until I do what you say?”

  “I will keep you captive regardless of whether you listen to me or not.”

  My stomach sinks. “I refuse.”

  He slips toward me, and I back up even more. He continues until I fall upon a barrier and something crashes to the ground. It’s not big, but regardless, I grab it and hold it in front of me as a shield. “Stay away!”

  “Human,” he hisses, rearing up and forcing me to strain my neck, to cower. “I will never stay away from you.”

  “I can’t stay here,” I whisper.

  “You are afraid?” He puts his hands on the wall on either side of me. “Why are you afraid this time, little female?”

  “I’m…”

  “You’re?”

  “I don’t like being trapped,” I breathe, pressing hard against the wall at my back.

  Vruksha lowers his face to mine. “Then don’t think of this as being trapped. Think of this place as a shield.” He glances at the thing in my hands. “A better one than that,” he mutters, taking it from me, whatever it is, and sets it aside.

  My arms curl around my chest again. “I can’t be in a hole, I can’t. I know we don’t know each other, but you seem… reasonable. Is there someplace else you can take me?”

  I stop before I say Azsote’s treehouse.

  Vruksha’s face snaps back before mine, and I startle with a hitch.

  “This isn’t a hole. It’s a bunker. And if you take a minute to look around, you’ll find it is not all that disagreeable,” he growls.

  He sounds unhappy.

  Have I insulted him? I chew on my lip. Does it matter if I have?

  Yes. Yes, it does, Gemma. You’re now stuck in a hole with him. Don’t insult those you’re stuck in a hole with.

  Even spaceships have port windows to help with claustrophobia. They have giant gardens with wild animals, and lagoons to swim. The nicer colony ships do at least. Those meant for higher castes of people.

  Somehow, I know this place has neither gardens nor lagoons.

  I’m not happy. I still haven’t accepted my fate. There are correspondences I need to address, meetings I’ve made with my subordinates, and I have a checkup with the ship’s physician in five cycles. Time is money, and lives, or so the higher ups say.

  And there’s this male here who unnerves me, a male who pulls out his cock and touches it in front of me.

  No, I haven’t accepted my fate yet.

  I sure hope I’m not here long enough to do so.

  “Are you calm now?” he asks, his head swaying side to side, his hot breath hea
ting both of my cheeks.

  But a hole? I can’t do a hole. “No,” I say, turning my face as Vruksha’s sways. “I’d rather take my chances above ground.”

  He leans back, and my lungs open for air.

  “Orb, initiate,” he barks, looking to the left. My eyes follow to see what it is as I dash under his arms and move away from the wall.

  A buzzing fills my ears, followed by a dry, mechanical voice. “What can I help you with today?” the orb says. A small, round ball drifts into the air. Lights come off it in flickers, like it’s dying. Like the lights on the walls.

  I’ve seen something like it before. We have similar speakers on the ship, but they’re integrated into the structure and appear more as holograms.

  I think I remember seeing one of the other nagas on the plateau with one.

  The old humans of Earth were highly advanced, this I know. And with the Lurkawathians guiding them, they had access to things far beyond anything we can currently create, but it unsettles me, seeing these relics of the past. I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll know Lurker technology when I see it or if it’s only old human tech that’s left.

  “Tell me what predators are nearby,” Vruksha demands of the orb.

  The lights on it twinkle once. “Scanning now,” it says.

  Vruksha turns to me. “This is why I can’t let you leave.” He reaches out and twirls a strand of my hair. I swap his hand away.

  He plays with my hair a lot.

  Vruksha recaptures my hair with his other hand. His eyes soften as he stares at the strands between his fingers, and this time, I don’t swat him away. It’s no use. He’s going to touch me if he wants to. My scalp prickles as his fingers move and goosebumps rise on my arms. He’s being gentle.

  I hold still, waiting to see what he does.

  His eyes lift from my hair and find mine.

  Staring intensely, he brings my hair to his nose and breathes in. His eyes roll back and close as he groans.

  My heart quickens, mystified. He hums next, like breathing in the scent of my hair is not enough for him, he tangles his hand into more of my strands and burrows his face into it, rubbing his cheek, his nose, against them. His groaning turns into a rumble, matching the thrum of my heart.

  And then his tailtip curls around my ankle and wanders up my pants.

  Startling, I dodge away and out of his hold.

  He growls when I do, “You are mine.” He turns to face me.

  I search for an escape but the space we’re in is long and narrow. “No.”

  He stalks towards me and I’m back against another wall.

  No. Not even if you look at me with softness, not even if you vow to keep me safe on this strange planet. I can’t let his gentleness seduce me, nor his clarity, or his knowledge of my language. I won’t be manipulated.

  I’ve spent my entire life mastering a skill set to become an asset to my people. I clawed up the ranks and worked my way into a higher caste. Giving that all up for him and what he offers? I’ll never do that. I can’t let my blood, sweat, and tears go to waste.

  His arms come back up to trap me again.

  “Scanning complete,” the orb announces. It couldn’t be at a better moment. I turn my face away when Vruksha tries to lock me with his intensely hungry eyes. His muscles bunch, showing veins and tendons outlined where the scales are a little thinner. His strength is always on display.

  I wish I could do the same.

  I’m trying to be strong, but inside, I’m nothing but a little, lost girl, still wishing my parents were living on the same ship as me.

  Depressing feelings rise, and I force them away before they take over.

  “To the north lies several packs of wild pigs and a bear,” the orb says as I ignore Vruksha’s staring. “East is another, larger pack of pigs, heading south.”

  “Pigs aren’t predators—” I whisper. I don’t know what bears are.

  The orb brightens, and a screen materializes in the air. I blink as it catches my attention, breaking the spell of Vruksha’s gaze. We both face the screen. Whatever it’s showing us is hazy, fuzzy, and dirty, but through the messy streaming, shapes emerge.

  “There are three more bears west, following a herd of deer, and south lies two snakes,” the orb finishes.

  I take in the sudden imagery, hoping to get a clear view of what it’s trying to show. I want to see these predators, what I might be up against when I make my way back home.

  I need it to distract me from the way Vruksha is making me feel. I shiver.

  Giant shapes appear. They are large, furry creatures standing on all fours. They must be these bears, since I know what pigs and snakes are. They don’t look frightening to me, but their size gives me pause.

  “Show the snakes,” Vruksha demands.

  The airy screen blurs, shuts off momentarily, then returns with a crackle. At first, all I see are trees. Nothing but thick branches, bushy leaves on some, while others have pine needles and cone-shaped baubles hanging from them. The same trees I’ve been seeing for weeks now.

  “I don’t see a snake,” I say.

  “Wait for it,” Vruksha tells me.

  Something emerges. It’s slight at first, perhaps an appendage? But whatever it is, it coils around a branch slowly. Covered in scales of black and grey, it gets bigger and bigger. It reminds me of Vruksha’s tail. Another one of his kind?

  The tail slips out of sight, and I search for where it went.

  One of the branches shakes and flings, and something large drops to the forest floor.

  “A snake?” I gasp.

  The rest of a serpentine tail comes into full view, and so does the male the tail is attached to. My gut twists.

  “Death Adder,” Vruksha murmurs.

  The image wavers, but the male before me scares me to my bones.

  He isn’t beautiful like Vruksha, or even the green one, Azsote. He’s large, scarred, and crooked, with stripes of thick black scales from chest to tailtip. His muscles are meaty and ripped, his hair is tied to the top of his head, and he wears garish white trinkets which are attached to his hair, arms, and waist.

  Bones?

  There’s a scar trailing from one of his eyes and into his mouth, making it appear like he’s scowling. There are more scars. Some of them are deep, as though there are chunks of his flesh missing.

  His dark eyes whip in my direction.

  My back straightens. I know it’s not possible—I think—but the male is glaring directly at me.

  His tail strikes out, and the image disappears. I stare at the air, waiting for the picture to return.

  It doesn’t.

  “That’s not a snake,” I whisper.

  “No, that’s a Death Adder,” Vruksha mentions that name again. I’m not a fan that Death is in this male’s name. “One who will break you and use you, if he were to get his hands on you. Zhallaix, he’s called. He’s made his den in another bunker on the other side of the airfield.”

  I swallow. “Will he come here?”

  “No.”

  I blow out a breath. “Are you sure?”

  “He will lay traps and wait for us to come to him. Zhallaix does not hunt.”

  That’s not better. That sounds worse. Much worse.

  “Why is he called Death Adder? What’s a Death Adder?”

  “Zhallaix is gifted with exceedingly powerful venom. He is a rabid male who once tried to rule us with his power, but we have all fought him to keep our territory. He has survived us all. I don’t believe anything can kill him. Especially not a small human female.”

  I tighten my arms over my chest. “How do you know he’ll hurt me?”

  My plan to run wavers.

  Vruksha snarls. “You underestimate me if you think us understanding each other means we are not savage creatures. I have fought him and nearly died on several occasions, and I am sure we will fight again, he and I. He will hurt you because he does not use nor trust the mechanical beings of this world. He destroys all tec
hnology he finds. Death Adders are rapists, of his kind and technology, and the reason why there are no more females.”

  I don’t understand half the things Vruksha says, but his mention of the females of his species stops me. My eyes shift to him. “Where are your females?”

  “Gone.”

  My lips flatten. ‘Gone’ does not make me feel better. “Dead?” I ask warily.

  He shakes his head in answer.

  “Show the other snake,” Vruksha barks at the orb.

  The orb glitters with lights again. “The other snake is no longer in range.”

  Suddenly exhausted, I turn away from both Vruksha and the orb to take a look at my surroundings. Vruksha’s den. The hole I’m trapped in. He’s right, I concede. Just because Vruksha isn’t forcing me to mate with him doesn’t mean one of these other males wouldn’t.

  For now, I won’t fight him to leave. I want to live, because I know I can survive this.

  I can survive him. But maybe not the other...

  I try to forget Zhallaix. He’s another problem I don’t need, same with the bears. Getting Vruksha’s spear is a requirement now—if I want to survive the trek back to the facility too. I won’t take my chances on luck.

  Silence descends between us while I glance about, but I continue feeling the burn of Vruksha’s eyes on the back of my skin.

  His bunker is long. It spans far out in front of me but comes to an abrupt stop at the end, where there’s a door. The ceiling is curved like a half-dome with ribbing, and between the cement ribs are lights—or what could’ve been lights long ago. None of them are on. And though there’s light throughout, the longer I stare, the more it seems to dim to a comforting multi-colored warmth.

  The main chamber is crammed with so much stuff it eclipses a lot of my view. There’s no straight path from the stairway to the very back, and most of the stuff between me and the end, I know nothing about.

  Wait, could it be?

  I step deeper into the space as the thing I used as a shield catches my attention. It’s a metal box with openings on one side, partially covered in dingy scuffs.

  “What is that?”

  It’s not Vruksha who answers me though. It’s the orb. “A toaster.”