Crimson Coils (The Snake Men Book 2)

Chapter 19

Rezran was pissed. He had overheard their conversation from outside. How dare her father protect the man who caused her so much pain and fear. He wanted to tear him apart, slowly, piece by piece. Same to the one who did the deed, Kavesh as he was called. His grip on Mari tightened some more as he glared at him. He glanced down at her, checking to make sure she was unharmed, before looking at the others. "You're lucky I'm merciful." he growled. "Out of respect for you being her family, I'm willing to let you all live." he continued. "However Mari has made it clear that she wants nothing to do with you. If I so much as see you try and take her back, I WILL kill you all." he threatened.

With that, he began to slowly back away with her, keeping his eyes on the humans in front of him. He almost wanted to smirk in triumph at her cowardly father, shaking with a scimitar in his hands in front of the women.

What he didn't see, was Kavesh slowly pulling out a knife from his boot. It was Mari that had caught it. "Rezran!" she cried out in warning write as he lunged.

To protect her from the blow, Rezran pushed Mari out of the tent. "Run Mari!" he yelled as he deflected the blow just in time, and wrapped Kavesh in his coils, rolling out of the tent with him.

Mari ran through the camp, not caring about which direction she was going, but more about how she was going to get out of it. She glanced behind her to see what had happened to Rezran.

He had Kavesh pinned to the ground, but soon found himself surrounded by other members of the caravan. At that moment, when they were getting ready to strike, Ziva and the other tribesmen leap from underneath the ash and ambushed them. It was a massive skirmish, the screams of the men sounding throughout the air as the ash flew up into the air. Kavesh had used the ambush to weasel out of Rezran's grip, and now he was chasing after Mari.

Her eyes widened and she picked up the pace, her legs pumping as she ran as fast as she could across the terrain. She heard Kavesh yell behind her "You can't run forever Mari!!" She didn't dare look back, and instead focused ahead of her. She ran through a cluster of vents, vaulted over a ledge, and quickly made her way up a hill.

She skidded to a stop when she realized that the hill was actually a sheer cliff drop into a small valley below her. She quickly turned around to head down the side of it, but found Kavesh blocking the way. He was panting, but grinning like a madman. "You really thought you could escape me?" he asked, slowly moving closer to her. Mari began to back up, put stopped when she almost lost her footing on the ledge. She looked around for another escape, but other than the sheer drop to her certain death, there was none.

Kavesh continued stalking closer. "You were good that first night, my lovely. But after seeing that you have quite possibly slept with a beast..." he clenched his hands into fists. "...I'm not sure I want to be with some tainted woman." He continued moving closer, now just a couple of feet away from her.

Glancing behind him, she saw Rezran racing towards them, having escaped the skirmish. She gulped, looking back at Kavesh. He wouldn't make it in time, not to save her. She silently prayed that this would work, that she would spend the rest of her days with Rezran, and that what would happen now, would be a distant memory.

Kavesh took his chance. He raced towards her, arms outstretched, and closed his hands around her neck. He flew into her with such force that she fell backward. At the same time, she unsheathed her dagger and plunged it into his chest. As he gasped for air, she leaned back, curled up, and kicked him in the stomach, using his momentum to send him flying off the cliff behind her. As he fell, she kept a firm grip on her dagger, and it came out of him with a soft 'schlunk' as he plummeted off the cliff. His screams were quickly cut off with a sickening 'thud' as he landed on the ground below.

Mari glanced over the cliff, looking down at his body, when strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her away. "Mari, Mari, Mari..." Rezran chanted over and over as he held her close, burying his nose into her neck. "Oh I thought I lost you..."

Mari's eyes watered and her body began to shake. She dropped her dagger and wrapped her arms tightly around him as she cried softly. He held her tighter, letting her get it all out. As her sobs slowly turned to soft hiccups, she heard a soft moan from the bottom of the cliff. Her eyes widened and she scrambled out of his arms to look over the edge again.

Kavesh was weakly twitching and trying to move, face down on the ground. He was bleeding out, and bleeding from his mouth. His legs were twisted at irregular angles, as was his left arm. "H-Help.." he coughed out. Even if he was alive now, he wouldn't be soon.

Rezran glanced over her shoulder and snarled, ready to crawl down there and finish the job. Mari stopped him however, and glanced to the area surrounding Kavesh. "Look there." she said softly.

Surrounding Kavesh, were ten very hungry Fire Drakes. They circled him like wolves, snapping their jaws as their saliva dripped from their mouths and burned holes in the ground. They yipped and growled, praising such a lucky catch. Kavesh began to whimper, his begging cries for help turning into sobs. A much larger Fire Drake stepped forward, letting out a howl, then lunging on top of him. The other Drakes followed, tearing him apart, throwing some pieces of him around as well. His screams were cut short by their brutality, silenced by their howls and yips of pleasure. 

Mari felt nothing as she gazed at the scene. Rezran helped her to her feet, keeping his arms around her. He felt satisfied as he watched the man become food for the Fire Drakes. He believed it to be a fitting end. "Let's go home." he said softly to her, guiding her away from the scene. They met back up with the others, who were none the worse for wear, and the group began their journey home. 

Before they left, Mari looked over to the remains of her camp. Her mother and grandmother, as well as her father, were still alive. She couldn't say the same for the other members of the camp. Her father spotted her, and met her with a stinging glare. She already knew she wouldn't be welcome back, but she was okay with that. Because she had a new family, and a place where she was welcome and accepted. She turned and continued walking with Rezran at her side.

~/~

The first person to welcome Mari back was Madam Savari, and she never expected the old snake to be a hugger. Yet here she was, pulling Mari into such a hug that she thought she was never going to let her go. "Don't worry me so much again." she said, her voice choking up.

Mari chuckled and hugged her back. "I promise." she said softly. That night, the Chieftain announced their mating, and her safe return, and a large celebration was held. It was like another Festival of Flames and Embers, though a bit smaller. There was good food and a lot of dancing, and after they had their fun, Mari and Rezran sat on the cliffside outside of the training area. They watched everyone celebrating down below, with Rezrans coils wrapped around her, and her head resting on his shoulder. She had never felt so at peace before.

"So when you become Chieftain, what will I be?" she asked with a slight chuckle. She was genuinely curious. If she could keep her job as a jeweler, she would be quite content. She wasn't sure she was "second-in-command" material.

Rezran chuckled. "You just...do what you want to do. If you want to be a jeweler, then be that. If you want to stay and give me twenty children, then that works too."

Her mouth dropped open. "Twenty children?! That is way too much. No, fifteen is my limit." she said playfully, causing Rezran to laugh loudly. She playfully nudged him and he nudged her back, before comfortably curling around her once more. 

"Whatever it is you wish to do, I will always be by your side to support it." he said, looking at her with a warm gaze. 

She met his gaze once again, moving closer. "Then I look forward to the days to come." she spoke, before meeting his lips with a kiss. She knew, from this point on, that every day with him would be an adventure.

THE END.