The Prince of Light

Chapter 12

I ran through the ferns. Chase tackled me and I fell with a thud.

"Shh!!!" He said. "They are attracted to sound as well as light, stupid. Move quietly." He got off of me and pulled me up. We moved more quietly now. I went around a fern and saw a green woman. She was at least 7 feet tall and had flowing black hair. Battle armor covered her chest. Her lower body was.....well it wasn't a body at all. It was a snake tail. Her hands were glowing blue and ghostly. Her eyes were a golden orange and snakelike. I jumped back behind the fern. It was the Naga shaman. I turned to Chase.

"What do we do?" I said in a barely audible whisper. He looked around the corner and jerked his head back fast. He shook his head.

"This is the only shaman they have. If we beat her, we can win. But I have no idea how to fight her." He whispered back to me. I thought for a moment.

"What if I distracted her and then you shoot her from behind?" I suggested in a whisper. He thought on this for a moment. A slow smile spread across his face.

"You know, that is just crazy enough that it might just work." He said. He slipped an arrow into his bow. "This is a special arrow. It can pierce scales. It is perfect for our mission." I nodded.

"Any suggestions on how to best distract her?" I asked. He thought again. He shook his head.

"No. Not really. I mean, just dodge and try to get her to turn away from me. That's pretty much it." He said. He clapped a hand over his mouth. He hadn't whispered that time. We peeked around the fern. The shaman was gone. I turned to Chase.

"Uh-oh." We both said at the same time. A scaly hand grabbed my neck and lifted me up. The same happened to Chase. A hissing sound sounded in my ears. I struggled and kicked but I couldn't break free of the grip. A soothing voice that you wouldn't expect a snake lady to have sounded out from her mouth. It was like caramel. Sweet, sticky, and soothing.

"Don't struggle. Just relax and come along." I felt drowsy. "Sleep, young ones. I will keep you safe." Chase started to snore slightly. "Sleeeeeppppp......" The voice trailed off as I passed out.

I came to as a nasty smell swept up my nostrils. It reeked like dead, rotting fish and garbage. I gagged and coughed. I looked around. I was in a small hut filled with, (Yep. You guessed it.), garbage and rotting fish. I tried to move but my hands wouldn't budge. I turned the best I could. I was tied to a pole. I looked across the room. Chase was still out. He was also tied up.

"Chase." Nothing. "Chase." I said again. Still nothing. "CHASE." He stirred slightly, then nothing. "CHASE!" This time his head jerked up and hit the pole.

"Oww." He complained. Then he sniffed and started gagging. He coughed and said in a raspy voice. "What, what the heck is this stuff?" He asked.

"Fish and garbage." I said. At that moment, the shaman came into the tent. She smiled. She had two wicked fangs.

"Welcome to our camp, boys." She said in that voice again.

"Why are we tied up?" I said, fearing that I knew that answer.

"You two, you are our captives." She laughed and slithered out.