vanishing around a bend.
Iskursu pulls me back to him and slithers down the moss-covered rocks on the side of the falls.
As we approach the pool, the heat of the sticky blood on me grows unbearable, and I shift in his embrace. “Let me down.”
“No.”
“What? Why? I can walk to the pool.”
He takes us directly into the water, heading for the center. “Iskursu…” The water gets deeper and deeper until my dangling feet are submerged. “What are you doing? There could be—”
I say no more because he dunks us under the water. Its chilliness envelops me, and I shriek, wiggling in his embrace. He keeps me trapped against him as the currents pull my hair from what’s left of their braids, forcing the strands to fan out everywhere. Between my hair and the whirling water, I see nothing else.
Then his hands are on me, moving me in his hold so our chests align. My breasts are pushed into him, my legs fall on either side of his tail, curling around his hips. It’s what I’ve always wanted, always dreamed about late in the darkest hours of the night. But my need to breathe grows heavy, and though I like being so close to him, I start to struggle.
Then there is a rush. And not towards the air. I’m disoriented, and all I know is that we’re moving fast—really fast, still under the water—and it’s getting darker by the second. The daylight vanishes, and now it’s pitch black. I’m freezing.
I pound at Iskursu’s chest, and we finally emerge. I gasp, flinging away. “Are you trying to drown me!” I shout, pulling my hair from my face—which is hard to do while plastered to his body and desperate for air.
He still doesn’t let me go. “No,” is all he says.
“Well, you almost drowned me,” I snap. But the rocks… Shiny.
There are electric-blue sparks upon them, and the sight has my lips closing up. I stare at the strange light in wonder.
Iskursu carries me out of the water and onto a landing. I don’t even know when he finally releases me. The blue sparks are bugs, I find, and they’re making this place glow blue. It’s so beautiful.
It’s not until I hear the crackle of fire that I’m able to look away. Iskursu is feeding a campfire pit fresh logs with his tail.
“What is this place?” I ask, glancing beyond him to the rest of my surroundings.
“My den,” he answers.
My heart thrums.
His den. His… home.
There are dozens of hides draped everywhere, each meticulously placed on the cave walls and ledges. They thicken in a circle around the fire. In the back, there’s a distant beam of light, and above is a hole where the smoke drifts up as jungle vines fall through. But there is also a large basket, one attached to the opening with a thick braided rope.
To climb maybe?
Where the light hits is a barren spot. There are large primitive tables on one side made from stacked rocks. A dead gorilla lies on one of them. There are no hides there, but those that are curing and being stretched. Clay pots and woven baskets line up around the space, all in sets of threes, all from biggest to smallest…
I catch Iskursu’s eyes as I continue my perusal. He’s watching me. I glance away and turn full-circle.
Behind me is a large pool of water, glistening despite our disturbance and mirroring the blue glow-bugs above. Like a magical starfield… It beckons me to jump back in and swim with the water stars.
“Nagas don’t make their nests in caves,” I mumble, pulling my attention away from the water and back to Iskursu.
“Caves are all this naga knows.” He cocks his head. His long black braid falls to the side. “Caves provide protection and…”
“And?”
“And are a good place to hide.”
I purse my lips. “From me, I’m certain. Why bring me here then?”
He doesn’t answer. He just stares at me.
“Why?” I ask again, demanding he speak.
“It is close by, from where I sssaved you.” He slides his long tail around the fire, curling it on the ground near my foot. “Are you hurt?”
Wishing he would elaborate, I know he won’t. In our long history of hunt and evasion, Iskursu was never much of a speaker, at least not with me. Milaye once told me she was teaching him our language… but that was so long ago…
Patience is not one of my virtues, nor one I care to have… but with Iskursu, it is all I know. I