She’ll try to convince me that the Boa isn’t a problem and Zaku will take care of it. I shake my head.
And if Zaku can’t? If Zaku dies trying?
Wrapping a wet kitchen towel around my hair to help cover my scent, I take the soil from the pot of one of the inside plants and mash it into my clothes. A bot comes out of the wall to immediately start cleaning up my mess. I continue to rub the dirt everywhere, masking what I can of my scent whileshooingthe robot away.
Creeping towards the entryway foyer, I pull my pistol out.
At the door, I pause to mentally prepare for every outcome that might happen once I cross the threshold, checking once more that my gun is fully loaded. I’m not afraid, just anxious.
Open the door, duck out, and run.
Lifting my hand to the handle, I pause to wipe my sweaty palm on my pants. Once it’s dry, I turn the handle and push against the door, slowly opening it.
Something glints on the floor and I look down, letting the door fall closed without exiting as I see what it is. Squinting at the long, shiny object, I reach down with my fingers to pick up a golden strand of Krellix’s hair.
Raising it to my eyes, something large comes straight for me from the forest. Streaking my gaze to the naga suddenly there, the Boa is upon the door the next instant. Ramming into the glass with his body, I stumble back several steps as his hands come up to grip the door’s frame and glare at me.
Gasping, I lift my pistol and take another step back. “Back off!” I quickly shout.
Yellowish-brown with thick patterning down his tail much like Krellix’s, the Boa otherwise looks nothing like the Copperhead. Instead, he’s meatier, thicker, and rounder. Bulging with muscles, the Boa is packed with them, his chest broader than even Zaku’s. Though Zaku is the largest male out of all the nagas I have seen, the Boa is right behind him in mass, perhaps even more so.
Softer features than the other nagas as well, the Boa’s size extends to every single part of him. Trying not to notice his slit, I can only imagine what kind of monstrosity is hiding behind it.
Heart hammering, remembering what almost happened to Daisy, I take another step back. “Go away,” I shout louder. “I will shoot!”
“Where is my brother?” he growls, showing off his sharp fangs.
I shake my head, my brow furrowing.
He hits the door with his fist. “I know you know.”
“I don’t know anything about your brother.”
“Liessss!” He slams his fist on the glass again, making it tremble. “I will take you as a trophy once I get my answers!”
I drop to my knees and lower my pistol, bringing forth my rifle instead and peer through the scope. Aiming my weapon at the naga, he lifts on his hands and leans away from the door.
“I don’t know where your brother is but he’s not here,” I say loud enough for him to hear, my voice filled with warning. “If you so much as try to come in or break down that door, you’ll have your head blown off so fast you won’t finish another thought, don’t even try me.”
He jerks forward, showing off his dripping fangs. The door rattles and I tighten my grip on my weapon, calling out to the bots, hoping the house hears me. “Get Zaku!” I order. If he is home and I missed him returning earlier, the bots will know.
The Boa rears back and slams his shoulder into the glass, making me jump as I pray it holds steady. Righting my weapon, a calmness takes over me, keeping my aim on him. “Don’t do it,” I warn.
With his yellow-brown eyes on me, he leans back as he brings his tail inward, readying to beat it against the glass when, behind him, several more figures come racing out of the trees. My gaze temporarily shifts.
Krellix, slicing through the yard, launches at the Boa. Zaku comes tearing through the lawn right before him, pouncing on the yellowish naga first. The Boa rips Zaku off of him as Krellix tackles him back to the ground. Zaku recovers quickly and comes racing back.
In a tangle of tails and limbs, the three nagas barrel into one another, claws swiping furiously in every direction.
“What’s going on?” Daisy yells as she runs down the hallway and across the room to me.
I drop my weapon and swivel to face her. “Go back to the kids! Now!” I shout. “And lock yourself in.”
Her gaze lands on the fighting trio outside and her skin turns ashen.
Standing and heading her way, I spin her around and lead her back to the hallway. “Go.”
“But Zaku?—”
