Chapter 7Sasha

Chapter

Seven

SASHA

T he moment I spotted the cave and stepped inside the dark space, the male tore himself away from me, allowing himself to collapse onto the dirty stone floor. It was just as well, I thought with a frown. I needed to ensure the place was safe and free from any lurking predators. I ignored the instinct to check on him; instead, I pulled the satchel from around my shoulder and set it down. Then, I removed my leather jacket and dropped it carefully onto the dirty cave floor.

As first impressions went, it wasn’t bad. The opening was large enough to walk in without too much trouble and was partially shielded by an outcropping of rocks that looked as if they had fallen from a landslide or some such ages ago. The space just inside wasn’t overly large, but it would hold two adults who weren’t exactly friends.

One thing I hadn’t spotted was any evidence that something had been living in it for quite some time. Other than a small pile of bones in the corner, there was no fresh excrement or footsteps in the thin layer of dirt covering the ground. I wandered over toward a space in the back wall, just visible in the dim light that made it through the entrance.

That gap in the wall was wide enough to walk through, though I did have to duck my head for the couple of paces it took to get inside. The next room was dark but lit by some bioluminescent plant life that I had never seen before. It took my breath away as I took in the sheer beauty of the space. The plants lined the walls like ivy, crawling from the floor to the ceiling, covering at least half the surface. I immediately longed to add them to my collection back home but knew they likely wouldn’t live. Even if they did, they wouldn’t thrive the way they were in their current environment. It took me a long moment of staring wide eyed at how pretty it was to finally notice the humidity in the room.

I scanned the space a second time and then a third before I finally realized that there was a small pool of water toward the back wall. The room was twice as large as the first one, and even though there was a soft glow due to the plants, the water looked inky black in the darkness, making it hard to see. I took in a deep inhale, searching for the scent of sulfur, but all I smelled was the musty scent of dirt and the gentle fragrance of the greenery.

I walked over to the pool of water, a bubble of excitement filling me at the sheer luck of finding fresh water in the Underworld. In most cases, any gathered water would be more sulfuric acid from the underground rivers that gave the realm its undeniable stench. The rivers often bubbled up into small springs similar to the hot springs found on Earth. Only, instead of taking a nice, hot soak in what could sometimes be full of healing minerals, if you took a dip in one in the Underworld, you’d lose the flesh from your bones.

Fresh pools, such as the one in front of me, were rare and usually caused by runoff of the very occasional rainwater filtered through the rocks. That was why so much of the plant life in the realm was so dangerous. It had developed a carnivorous appetite in order to get the nutrients and fluids they needed to survive.

I crouched down in front of the pool of still water, wondering how safe it could possibly be. Even if the water was fresh enough to drink, there was no telling how deep it went or worse—if anything was living inside the depths. I could be sure that if a creature lurked under the surface, it wouldn’t be friendly.

Just as I reached out a hand to test the temperature and maybe a little taste, Max trilled from behind me in excitement before running past me to take a flying leap into the pool. All I could do was watch in horror as he flailed around in what probably was a form of swimming, though it looked more like he was having a case of the wiggles.

As I watched, my terror for the fate of my new friend slowly changed into hope. Nothing jumped up to swallow him whole, and he definitely wasn’t screaming in pain from having his fur melted away by acid. I reached out again and allowed my fingertips to brush along the surface of the cool water. It wasn’t ice cold, for which I knew I was going to be grateful for later. I scooped up a handful, bringing it to my lips and sipping.

Humans on Earth had to worry about horrors like parasites and other nasty things from the water out in the wild, but that wasn’t a fear demons had. Our healing abilities would destroy any parasites before we could be affected by them. If we did get infected, it would be so short lived that we would probably never even notice. I thought of the male in the other room. He wasn’t healing the way he should have, which made me think that it probably wasn’t a good idea to give him any of the pool water yet. Not until I hunted something that would provide enough nourishment to kick in his natural abilities.

Taking one last long look at the small pool, I stood to my feet. I was jealous of Max and would love to take a nice long soak in the water, but there were more important things to be done at the moment. There would be time enough to rinse the sweat and grime off of me after I fed the starving demon brother.

I didn’t see any other openings hidden under the trailing vines, but it was fine. The cave was temporary, only to give us shelter while the male healed and to wait out the soldiers who had no doubt noticed the breakout.

I ducked back under the passageway and back out into the first room. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the pool room so I could clearly see what I hadn’t before down in the dungeon, even with the dim light of the torch.

The male was huge, just like his brothers. But he was in a very sorry state. His long black hair hung in stringy clumps around his face and the back of his neck as he sat hunched over against the rock wall. He was also extremely dirty. My gut twisted when I considered how much of the dark streaks on him was actually his own blood. The only clothing he wore was a pair of trousers that looked to be as old as I was. They were barely hanging on by the seams and were so threadbare that a hard flex of his thigh muscles would probably cause the material to disintegrate. I swallowed back the groan that wanted to erupt at the thought.

Fuck. My need for nourishment that had nothing to do with food was beginning to make me ravenous. I was more starved than I realized. Either that or the close proximity to my mate was making my situation a hundred times worse than it would be otherwise. I shuddered as a wave of heat washed over me, settling low in my belly, and then bit my lip in shame. The male hated me, and I couldn’t blame him one bit. The last thing I should even be thinking about was helping those pants along in their demise so I could have unfettered access to what I hoped was a massive cock. My vagina may have never experienced a cock inside it, but it knew what it wanted.

I squeezed my eyes shut at the intrusive thoughts, shaking my head for good measure. I strode quickly over to my jacket and swiftly put it back on and zipped it up.

“I’m going to hunt for food. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.” I opened my satchel and removed the remaining flowers that were definitely not looking as fresh as they had been. Soon, the petals would turn gray before crumbling to dust. The beelennya flowers were only good for several hours after being cut. I placed the flowers next to his leg. “You know, this communicating thing would work better if we shared names.” I knew he still had one of my blades with him, but I pulled another one out of my jacket, pretending I forgot he’d stolen one already. “I get why you don’t want to share, but my name is Sasha.”

When he again didn’t say anything, I nodded once, then strode out of the cave with a wet and bedraggled looking Max following on my heels. I stopped in the shade of the rocks guarding the entrance and looked out in the direction we had come from. I couldn’t see any movement, and straining my hearing didn’t bring the sounds of shouting or any horns blaring the alarm.

Once satisfied we were safe for the moment, I strode further away from the cave with my sword resting in my tight grip. I loosened my wrist and took a couple practice swings, circling the sword in front of me in a figure eight motion. I looked down at Max, who flicked his tail and moved his large, round ears in different directions.

“Alright, you’re the expert here. Where am I going to find dinner? The big guy in there needs to eat, so it needs to be a lot bigger than you.”

Max trilled at me and then began walking further along the rocky ground at the base of the mountains where we had settled down for shelter. Without any other bright ideas, I followed the creature, hoping he wasn’t going to lead me anywhere too crazy or dangerous.

I was unsure of how far we walked when Max’s ears suddenly twitched and then flattened against the back of his head. It was such an unexpected sight that I immediately went on high alert, freezing with my sword held out and ready. Max scurried to hide behind my boots. As brave and aggressive as he had been in the past, whatever he caught sight or sound of must have been something much too large for him to handle.

Cautiously, I crept forward, trying to strain for any sound. I didn’t need to be ambushed and have my entrails turned into out-trails by being too cocky. I may have been born in the realm, but the truth was, I had hardly left the dwelling I was born in. The only experience I had in the wilds of the Underworld was in the few days I spent wandering through the forest while trying to find the portal. Whatever deadly creatures made the realm their home were new to me.

I came up to a tree and used it as a shield, even as small and twisted as the trunk was, and peeked around the gnarled black wood. There, several yards away, was a creature that I could only describe as something a grizzly bear and an alligator would have had as a love child.

Its back was covered in dense brown fur, while its arms were covered in muddy brown scales. It had a long, scaly snout, with small, beady eyes and short, round ears sitting on each side of its head. Its body was massively large, hunched over with a long, broad, scaly tail at the base, tapering off to a point at the end. There were ridges running up the tail and into the brown fur along its back. I got the impression that the thing would be able to stand up on two legs, much like an Earth realm bear could. Likely very well, with the tail acting as balance. Standing up on two legs would give the monster plenty of opportunity to use those three-inch daggerlike claws as it towered over me. It had to be at least ten feet tall when it stood.

If this was the type of creature I’d have to fight in the hunt for food, I’d have to second guess my sanity. I should have just grabbed the body of the vipreth that we’d encountered on the way to the cave.

I was about to back away slowly until we were far enough away to scurry back to our temporary home and just try to rustle up a couple more snakes with feet, when the ground trembled from behind me. I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw. Motherfucker . It was like that scene in that dinosaur movie from the 1990s when the guy was hunting one dinosaur only to realize he was actually the one being hunted by the whole pack.

I blew out a slow breath and steeled myself for what was to come. There was no escaping it. I doubted the beasts had lured me into a trap, but they were most assuredly going to take advantage of the situation.

I slowly turned around, careful to keep the tree trunk to my back. That was when I realized that whatever was behind me in the clearing wasn’t an adult. It was probably this creature’s baby, and momma was seriously pissed off.

The thing was standing on her hind legs and towering above me. If I had to judge distance, I would have to say it stood at least fifteen feet tall.

“Shit. I swear I had no idea that was your baby. I don’t want to hurt either of you. All I want is some nice, small furry creature that can feed one very hungry demon who hasn’t eaten in probably a year or two.” I didn’t know why I was rambling to the vicious murdery gator-bear. Maybe it was nerves, but I sincerely didn’t want to tangle with the mother or the baby. “I’d really like to leave now.”

My eyes darted up and down the gator-bear’s body, looking for weaknesses, and found absolutely zero. It was covered in thick, scaly hide that I was certain even my sharpest blade wouldn’t be able to penetrate. Literally, the only possible soft spot would be the eyes that were nearly three times my height. I was fucked.

From behind me came what sounded like a distressed call that was high pitched growl and sounded very urgent. When the mom’s head turned to look, I chanced a glance over my shoulder. A ferocious roar shook literally everything around me, including my brain. I couldn’t blame her because I was incensed as well, and it wasn’t even my baby.

While mom and I had been having our little standoff, a six-pack of what resembled hyenas with horns had crept up on the baby gator-bear, and it looked like they were about to attack en masse. The ground shook as dirt and other forest debris went flying through the air as the momma charged past me and into the small clearing. With another ear shattering roar, she swiped her giant claws at the nearest horned monster, sending it flying until it hit a tree with a resounding crack. I wasn’t sure if the sound was from the tree breaking or the creature, but I was rooting for the tree to still be standing.

With teeth, claws, and even its tail, the momma gator-bear tore through the pack of horned hyenas as they screeched in anger and pain. But they were nothing if not determined, continuously going back for more. Their fighting had moved them several feet away from where the baby lay curled in a protective ball. I was glad to see it wasn’t in any danger from the fierce battle until movement caught my eye.

Creeping slowly through the vegetation on its belly was the horned hyena that had been tossed into the tree trunk, and its bright red eyes were trained right on the cowering baby.

“Oh, hell no,” I growled. I ran forward, ready to defend the baby. The monster must have been so focused on its prey that it didn’t hear me approaching from the side. I might not have been able to use my sword against the gator-bear’s defensive armor, but there was no such protection for the horned hyena.

Just as the monster pounced, I brought my sword up in an arc while it was still midair. It landed on the baby, making it squeal in fright as it scrambled desperately to get free. As soon as it was clear, it took off in the direction of its mother. It may have been covered in the blood and guts of the creature that was about to attack, but it was completely unharmed.

Another roar that shook the world around me had me freezing in place. The momma gator-bear had finished dispatching the remaining horned hyenas and was back to glaring at me.

I kicked over the heavy creature, showing the wound on the belly. “I swear I was only protecting your, ah, cub. I still don’t want to fight. I only wanted to help. See?” I gestured to the dead creature at my feet. The momma looked down at her baby, then at the dead creature, then finally back at me.

I held my breath as she dropped down to all fours, still taller than me by a good five to six feet, then turned and walked away from the carnage. I was so relieved that I escaped becoming gator-bear poop that I dropped to my ass, not caring I was sitting in a pool of warm blood.

A trilling sound came from the trees, and I glanced over to see Max hesitantly edging closer, his eyes darting wildly around as if expecting another ambush.

“Enjoy the show?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. I ruffled his soft black fur when he climbed into my lap. “You know what, I don’t blame you one bit for taking off. That shit was scary.”