Rise Up - Mage & Demon Queen

Chapter 6 - Lamia Lesson

Malori sat on the small cot in the corner of her prison. The air was cold and damp and she could hear distant drops of water as if there was a leaky roof that had not yet been fixed. The stone against her feet was frigid and her only sense of warmth and comfort was a small blanket, which was really more of a rag with its unamended holes and ripped seams.

The cell itself was quite small, one wall consisted solely of bars that she could have slipped out of if she was just a hair smaller. The stone bricks that lined the chamber were engraved with cracks and scratches, worn away with time.

Malori could only let out a huff and lean back against the cot. It wasn't the most uncomfortable thing in the world, but it still did leave much to be desired. She had already been locked in here for what she assumed was about half a day and was already incredibly bored.

At least on her journey here she could observe the scenery and analyze the demons around her, or at least listen to their conversation, but the silence that filled the prison was surprisingly eerie. She had grown used to the loud stammering of the white demon, Berkz trying to get her to talk and the sounds of happy war cries.

In here, she was left with nothing but the sound of her own voice and thoughts, something she did not particularly enjoy. Her eyes scanned the ceiling for what felt like the hundredth time that hour before a loud clang from down the narrow hall startled her.

She snapped her head up and watched, eyes widening, at the shift in light as the door to the main dungeon was opened. She could hear the quiet hum of a female voice approach and quickly began to internally panic.

She grabbed the blanket next to her and wrapped it around her head, shuffling into the corner and staring into the darkness in the direction the mysterious person was approaching in.

Warm orange light grew closer as the humming grew louder and Malori simply stared at the approaching figure.

When Malori saw who rounded the corner, it was not who she expected.

The woman, at Maloris first glance, looked completely normal. She had long, black hair and war a pair of spectacles on the tip of her nose, a small smile framing her face. As Maloris eyes trailed farther down she could see the woman's revealing top, something Malori swore to herself that she would never be caught dead wearing, and her legs.

Well, what should have been legs.

Instead of feet, the women had a long winding tail dressed in amber scales that glinted in the light of the lantern the demon carried. She had a long stripe of white that followed down her underbelly.

It reminded Malori of the small snakes that she often saw near her home in the mountains. They were often covered in dirt and their scales never shined as brightly as the woman in front of hers did.

Malori was awestruck as the women slithered closer to her cell, coming to a stop once reaching the locked entrance of the gate.

"My, it seems that Queen Vel really did bring back a human!" The snake tailed woman spoke excitedly, placing one hand on her cheek and staring at Malori with pure curiosity and intrigue.

Malori shivered under the snake like woman's gaze. There was no malicious intent in her eyes, but something about her was unsettling nonetheless.

A small space of silence settled between the two, as if the demon was asking her for an answer. Malori simply, slowly nodded her head, gazing back at the woman studying her. They stared at one another for a moment longer before the snake woman puller out a ring of skeleton keys seemingly out of nowhere.

The demon leaned towards the bars and chose a key to pick at the lock of Maloris cell with. The young girl sat and watched as the woman fiddled with the lock, trying to get it open until an audible click was heard.