Abyss - Book Five (Man x Man)

Chapter 19

Sleep, glorious sleep that finds me so rarely in today's times. More often than not, I lay there awake or drift in and out of what could hardly be considered a slumber. Sleeping beside someone, or better yet, cradled so carefully against a warm, strong frame had definitely had its benefits. 

I feel like I've barely closed my eyes when I'm awakened by a distant metallic clang. It's not the noise that woke me, truthfully, it was the cold chill of my companion leaving the bed.  When I sit up, my suspicions are confirmed as I rub my eye with the back of my hand sleepily, "Come back to bed. It was probably one of the guards, security is at an all-time high by your own command."

 My words fall on deaf ears, he inhales slowly as he nears the door and his hand raises to silence me as he listens. I flop back onto the bed and run my fingers through my hair, groaning at the intrusion on my meager hours of sleep. Sometimes, having a lycan as a bodyguard was more unbearable than wondering what was out there. 

He tenses and I hear the distant echoes of screams down the hall. 

His panicked voice interrupts my inner monologue, "Get down!" Verando hisses across the room, and quicker than I can comprehend, I obediently leap off the bed to duck down behind it. The doors fly open, one exploding off one of its hinges and clambering to the floor with a loud bang. The gurgling grumble of the reptilian growl curls from the creature's throat as the spiny lizard head enters the room.

 At first, I fear it's a dragon but I note the lack of legs from the small crack of visibility. Blood droplets spatter on the floor, I hear the sickening thump of the body in its jaws dropping to the ground and its tongue flickers as it tastes the room. A low raspy hiss emits as it scans and the snake-like body coils as it slowly slid across the tiles. 

Looking in the small gap between the heavy comforter and the floor, I can see the spines as they grab across the tile. A wyrm possibly? 

I try and steady my breathing, though from my studies I know their sense of smell and hearing aren't' the best, they rely mostly on their sight as they have vision much like a snake. My eyes search but it's too dark to see my male companion, I can only hope he will just hide until it leaves but those dreams are dashed as I focus and spy a yellow eye glaring back at me. 

The hiss intensifies as the nose roots under the bed and I leap backward only for the creature to screech as it jerks it's head upward. I catch the glint of the blade as he strikes the scaley beast for the second time. The wyrm's body arches, nearly the height of the ceiling as it hisses in a threat, gaping jaws threatening to devour my warlord as he blocks with his blade.

 I make the mental note to never give him crap about carrying that sword ever again. 

"A little help here?" Verando grunts at me, smacking the beast's head away as it breathes fire down on the floor. 

I blink myself back into reality and extend my hand, calling water from the bathroom, I toss it like a sharpened javelin and get a thunderous roar in return as the dragon-like snake snaps at the ice shards. It throws its body across the room at me and I thrust my hands up to form an ice barrier, blocking out the flames. 

I see Verando swing his blade, finishing the job of severing the beast's body into two parts. It shrieks, recoiling on itself and hardly missing him with its teeth. His body disappears into its open mouth, I shove out of my ice barrier and douse the room in water to put out the flames. I ready my ball of ice, rushing to his aid but the snake's body goes limp as I near its head.

 I see he's put his sword through its top jaw and out its head.  Kicking the creature off of him, he grimaces at the blood and saliva that coats his naked form.