Crimson Coils (The Snake Men Book 2)

Chapter 1

She was done.

Mari was absolutely done. She was done with her home, her family, and her people. She was done with their traditions, and their customs. Grabbing a shirt, she wadded it into a ball and threw it inside of her leather pack. She looked around quickly, making sure she had everything she needed out of her small tent, before quietly crawling to her tent flap. Reaching forward with her hand she moved it to the side with two fingers, just enough to peek through with her eye to check for any guards.

Nothing. At least, outside of her tent.

She let the flap fall quietly, strapped her pack to her back and with one last look, she slipped out into the camp.

The camp was quiet for the most part. Some families were still up, the lamps inside of their tents giving off a faint glow, revealing their shadows as they sat around each other. The quiet murmurs and of clay dishes clinking together revealed to Mari that they were finishing up their meals. She had to move fast, so she slipped from her tent and skirted around the others. She moved in a crouch, almost crawling as she didn't want her supplies to rattle and alert the others. Their camp wasn't that large, and they had few guards, which would make it easy for her to slip out.

Or so she hoped.

Mari and her people were known as the Nodouin – nomadic travelers and merchants who roamed the Grey Wastes and to the various cities and towns that dotted the landscape. For food and other supplies they could not always acquire in the Wastes; they traded their woven clothes, gemstones, and Ash Crystals – one of their most valuable treasures. The Grey Wastes encircled a volcanic mountain range, their black peaks reaching so far into the sky that some of them seemed to reach into the heavens. The Nodouin had a name for almost every volcano, like Dragons Tooth, Ox Horn, Red Fang, or Smoke Sky; but the largest, most terrifying mountain was Devils Gate. The mountain was the tallest out of all of the surrounding volcanoes. The sky around Devils Gate was completely black, the smoke from the large volcano never tiring as it continuously spewed into the sky. Besides being the tallest it was also known for it's unique shape. Like a tree split by a lightning strike, the mountain was separated into two, with the crater dipping between them far down into its base, and to a pool of lava. The volcanoes split sides were illuminated by the lava at the base, giving it the appearance of a red, craggy gate surrounded by black smoke.

Despite the harsh environment, the Nodouin called the Grey Wastes home, because the volcanoes provided an invaluable resource: the Ash Crystals. Mari's father taught her how to procure them when she was young. The volcanoes created pockets over the years with their constant eruptions, the ash became trapped inside those pockets, and through constant heat and the shifting pressure of the earth during the eruptions, crystals formed inside of them. The people in town liked to procure the Ash Crystals for various reasons –decorations, medicines, and some even claimed they had magical properties.

Not that Mari actually cared about magic, as she didn't have a drop of mana in her, much to the disappointment of her father. She rounded some crates before immediately falling back behind them. She crouched down, hoping it would hide her well enough as two men walked past her. Her eyes never left one as he walked by, even she could tell who he was in the darkness.

Tall, with hair as black as coal, cut short but curled just so slightly as if to make waves out of it, with a matching beard to sport it. His skin was tan, his teeth glinting white as he smiled at his friend, who seemed to be in the middle of telling some sort of joke. His face was turned away from her, and she almost let out a breath of relief at that. Kavash was one of the many reasons why she had to leave. The man was cruel, despite having such a bright smile. She imagined he liked to practice it so he could fool everyone.

He nearly fooled her.

Mari held her breath as they passed, only letting it go once they were out of sight, heading to one campfire where some men were still up and drinking. Checking around the corner where they came from, she darted across silently, continuing to weave around tents until she saw the horses that pulled their wagons. Like every night, the horses were not fastened to the wagons, and instead were tied to either a post or a nearby rock to keep them in place.

Much to her dismay, Mari couldn't take one of the horses. She knew how to ride, but she would have to carry food for the horse, and that would slow her down. Horses were not made for the Wastes, and on top of that many of the hills and mountains were too steep for them to climb. She was better off on foot. Just past them was the Wastes –her freedom.

One of the horses whinnied as she approached, and she quietly shushed the large beast, gently stroking it's neck and side. She didn't dare utter a word of goodbye, too afraid someone would hear her. Once she slipped past the horses, she broke into a run. Keeping her head ducked, her satchel tightened around her back and over her chest, she ran into the Wastes, sand and ash kicking up behind her. Her heart pounding as she left the safety of the camp, breath coming out in puffs as she aimed to go away from the roads. The Nodouin were no strangers into the wilds of the Wastes, but even they weren't foolish enough to go as far as she was going.

They weren't the only beings who made their home in the Wastes after all.

Mari had grown up on stories of strange men who lived in the Wastes. Her people called them "nagas" - men with the head and torso of a human, but the lower half being a snake's tail. They were bigger than most men, and had a terrible thirst for blood. Her grandmother had been a storyteller, she had a great love for stories, and for the history of their people. She had always feared that they would forget their traditions and stories, so she always told them. She would tell of the Naga, and their terrible tempers and powers. They could easily overpower a hunting party of men, they stole women, and ate the livestock. Her stories were enough to give the children nightmares for weeks.

Excellent parenting.

Of course Mari had never seen any of these Nagas, and some thought they were a type of dragon. No one in her camp had seen a Naga either, and they were nothing more than a passing monster told in childhood stories. Mari couldn't worry about them now anyway. Her only priority now, was to escape. She would be free in the Wastes, from her people, her family, and most of all:

Free from Kavash.

~/~

TheAsh Wastes were dry and desolate, hardly any plant life thrivedthere. It was home to dragons and drakes, ancient creatures thatbasked in the boiling heat of the volcanoes and geysers thatpopulated the area. Their eruptions often left caves and holes in theground, providing shelter to those who needed it.

Mariknew better than to seek shelter in a cave.

Mainlybecause dragons like to make their lairs in them, and she didn't riskher life leaving her camp only to be hunted and eaten by one of thelarge, scaly beasts. Now, here she was, curled up underneath an overhang, like half a shell that curled protectively around her. Herfather had told her that the lava from the volcanoes cooled overtime, giving the landscape it's jagged look. She figured she foundone of those spots.

 Shewrapped her arms around herself, wrapping her cloak tightly aroundher at the same time, her back pressed firmly against it so she couldkeep an eye on the opening in front of her. Her pack was pillowingher head and she shifted against it a couple of times, trying to getcomfortable. She huffed and stared at the scenery around her. Thejagged peaks of cooled lava reached towards the sky in menacingspires.