Page 6 of The Zagorath
Fucking hell.
Chapter
Five
Dahtao’s tongue swept over his lips as he watched a tall female step out from the dwelling. His nostrils flared as he drew her scent in, and he growled quietly with delight. His treasure had emerged on her own. Though still very small compared to him, she was taller than the other females that had been fleeing through the woods. He had glimpsed her only briefly before she had hidden herself, but he recognized her. His cock strained and throbbed now, as it did then. He quivered with need, but he did not go to her… not yet.
Instead, he watched her as she progressed slowly, step by step from the entrance across the wooden platform. Her eyes blindly searched for the darkness, looking for the danger that was coiled in wait in the thickest of shadows. His bloodlust, and the whispers of the forest, were dulling, quieting beneath the onslaught of desire that throbbed through him, shaking his being. It was a sensation like he had never felt before. Nothing had ever silenced the dark whispers of the forests. Not even sleep could drown them out entirely. He was unable to resist their demand for blood and decay—their hunger for life sacrificed and wetted upon their mass of gnarled roots. Nothing except… her.
His tails curled, one of them hooking around his ankle while another slid upward between his thighs to curl around the engorged length of his cock. It squeezed reflexively in response to the tingle of pleasure that swept through his lower spine and the sensation quaked through him, forcing him to bite back a snarled moan. Her scent was engulfing him so that he could practically taste her on his tongue. The musk of her trepidation was exciting, speaking to the hunter within him, but he wanted so much more than that pale flavor. He wanted her stretched upon the forest floor, panting, her limbs sweaty and her musk sweetly drenching his flesh.
Dahtao shifted his weight impatiently and swore he felt it the moment her feet touched the ground. He was so connected with the soil of the forest that it danced over his senses. He disliked that her feet were covered. He wanted to feel the sensation of them bare, brushing over his senses as she took one step and then another. She froze in place, her eyes wide as she quickly looked around. One of the fahgor shifted eagerly within the branches above him and he snarled silently up at it. It hissed back at him in turn but complied with his demand.
His gaze flicked back to the female and his belly tightened with excitement. She had ventured another few steps forward before stopping again. Her chest heaved with every deep, nervous breath so that her breasts bobbed enticingly. She shivered and her gaze swung sharply to her right as two fahgor shrieked and rose from the tree, their wings beating loudly as they returned to the depths of primordial forest. Her small tongue nervously wetted her lips as she stared after them and a soft expletive fell from her lips. She withdrew a step, and he tensed, preparing to pounce, but she seemed to reconsider her retreat and halted once more in place. Tension drained from him now that she was no longer attempting to flee and he cocked his head as he watched her. She was considering her options.
Come closer, he silently purred.
A little closer and he would be in position to pluck her up from the ground without terrorizing her with the hunt and chase. Many denizens of the forest, and a great many forest lords, enjoyed claiming what was theirs in such fashion. It was not what he wanted. He did not wish for her to be screaming unless it was from pleasure. He just wished to move her to a location of his choosing where he might properly worship her and demonstrate his devotion so that she would know in truth that he was truly hers. Night flowers kissed by the moonlight would suit her far better than the blood slicked along the ground where it drenched the roots and was smeared along the trunks of the trees. Such would not make a pleasant bed for her. There were no soft, fragrant herbs that he tucked within his own bedding for the pleasure of their sweet smell.
He wrinkled his nose at the dark, bitterly metallic scent of spilled blood. He lifted a hand and touched where it was already crusting on his lips and face. It was coated thickly on his hands, too, and had been sprayed liberally along his chest and belly. Growling softly to himself, he lifted his waterskin from his side and uncorked it. He doused himself with the contents, taking care to wash off every bit of blood that stood out to him, not once taking his eyes off his treasure. Letting the empty waterskin drop back to side, his gaze continued to follow her as she inched slowly over the ground, reluctant to put any great distance between herself and the dwelling. She was cunning, and clearly quite intelligent. He acknowledged that as he absently tore sweet clover from the ground, crushing the herbs as he rubbed its spicy-sweet scent into his skin.
Her head turned and she seemed to peer at something a short distance away from the dwelling. She trembled with excitement, and he frowned. His head craned and he peered at one of the strange, boxy chariots. Its design was unfamiliarto him, but he understood its purpose as he had witnessed for himself how the one foolish male thought to escape him by that means, even if his chariot had looked different from this one. Dahtao shifted his weight forward as he watched her turn toward it, suspicion filling him. His lips peeled back from his sharp teeth, and he crept forward at an angle, mirroring her movement as she turned towards it.
She would not escape. There would be no escape for either of them now.
Chapter
Six
The front door had opened only just enough to allow Liv to squeeze through the small opening left for her before it was slammed shut and locked firmly behind her. She glanced back at the door for a moment, momentarily startled and somewhat amused in spite of herself. They were really willing to abandon her out there if things didn’t go well. Shaking her head, she crept slowly forward, listening carefully as her eyes blindly scanned the surrounding dark forest.
The sun was setting on the horizon, leaving bands of color in its wake, but the forest itself had quickly darkened to an ominous, impenetrable ring around the cabin that made her skin prickle with her rising unease. It seemed that night fell far more quickly in the midst of the woods than she was accustomed to.
Her skin prickling, she froze in the middle of the porch, her breath catching. She was frightened to breathe when every inhalation and exhalation sounded unnerving loud to her ears. The woods beyond the porch were quiet. Way too quiet.
There was no response at all to her sudden appearance on the porch. Nothing rustled within the bushes or trees. No luminous glow of eyes watching her. It was like the woods were empty,but not just empty of monsters but every hint of life. It was unnatural. Even in the city, the night teamed with the sounds of insects and urban wildlife. But the woods, which had been heavily populated with the sounds of nature, was eerily silent as if everything was huddled fearfully, waiting as death made its rounds.
Liv swallowed and slowly moved to the porch’s edge, her eyes dropping to the ground. Although it was growing increasingly difficult to see, she could just barely make out the dark shapes of fallen bodies strewn everywhere. She was grateful she couldn’t see them clearly. The scent of blood was thick in the air, and she didn’t really want to see evidence of how badly they had been torn apart.
Of course, if they didn’t get out of there, that could easily be their fate as well.
The reminder made her feel nauseous but also got her moving again. One step at a time. She squinted in the direction of the road. She could see the darker shadows of the cars in the dim light but couldn’t determine whether there was any damage to them from her current distance. She glanced back toward the forest uneasily.
Still nothing.Fuck, that was creepy.
Descending the stairs one step at a time, her chest burned with the need to breathe and yet she couldn’t seem to draw in a single breath, far too conscious of the creak and groan of the stairs beneath her feet. It wasn’t until she had both feet on the ground and glanced hastily around that she finally gave in and breathed in slowly. The eerie silence encompassed her, but nothing moved. Her ears strained to pick up sound as she continued to strike out from the cabin. The trees loomed just ahead of her. The branches swayed slightly with the breeze, the leaves rustling with little sighs. She didn’t have to go out very far before she was in position to make a clean break for the cars. Shecould feel eyes on her in that moment as energy crackled in the air. Slowly, she lifted a hand and sketched a ward into the air in front of her, feeding her energy into it.
All she needed was a little more time. She needed to check out the cars. The ward shimmered in the air at the surrounding atmosphere shifted, distorting and bulging against its protection. Though she heard nothing, she felt a vibration of a low, menacing growl roll over her as she turned toward the parked cars. It was now or never.
With a burst of energy, Liv sprinted forward as the surrounding air seemed to split, and the void of silence was filled suddenly with a cacophony of overlapping sound, muffled by her ward. Shrieks cut the air but folded back in retreat as a monstrous roar quaked the woods. Her ward bloomed, the energy expanding, thickening. It vibrated, pulsing as she raced toward the vehicles. Almost there. Her head lifted, swiveling as she looked around hastily for attack from the air. The bat creatures weren’t there. Their screams sounded distant now, but the ground seemed to tremble with a far greater danger rushing toward her. Her ward trembled and then cracked, expending its energy in an outward blast that brought on another roar from the monster, this time rattling with rage.
Fear tightened her throat, pushing extra adrenaline through her legs to close the remaining distance between her and the nearest car. Her hands slid over it, running over its door and terminating abruptly when she came to its crushed roof. Hissing a curse between her teeth, she sped around it, heading for the next car. The car behind her squealed and groaned as something sharp collided against it. The sound was deafening but was followed by the combustive sound taking briefly to the air and crashing, the crunch of metal piercing the air as it rolled and spun along the ground. She didn’t dare glance back at it but darted in the opposite direction, her eyes skimming theremaining vehicles with a desperate aim of taking stock of their condition as she ran by them, taking care not to put any more of them between herself and the monster pursuing her.
Her gaze roved over them briefly as she passed. Two other vehicles appeared to be totaled but the remaining two appeared operational as far as she could visually ascertain. She cursed as she took off once more, this time fixing her path directly for the cabin.
Something skittered out of the path of her feet, startled out of hiding but she didn’t have the time or luxury to stop and examine what it was. She stumbled over her own feet, slowly down minutely before regaining her balance and racing at full speed again. It was probably a racoon. Gods, please let it be a racoon!
The air grew heavy with presence and panic surged anew through her in response. It was getting closer. She turned her head very slightly as she rounded another vehicle and from the corner of her eye, she could see the dark outline of its massive form as it barreled towards her. Fuck! It wasn’t just any creature; it wasthemonster—the nightmare that had emerged from the woods, its claws slicing through people like blades through the skin of a grape. She tasted bile in the back of her mouth. The cabin loomed ahead of her, but not close enough. A tiny sob escaped her. Her legs were burning, and she could feel the muscle in her side beginning to cramp. She clutched a hand over it.
