To Wake a Dragon - Naomi Lucas Page 0,2

are breeding—” A low hissing sound cuts me off. “Haime, don’t move!”

She stops, turning to me.

I hold my finger to my lips and her little eyes go wide. The hissing gets louder, as I shift my spear to my right hand and slowly pull the dagger from my belt. Haime takes a step toward me as I quietly move to her side. She gently sets down her satchel and brandishes her smaller spear.

“It’s a naga,” I tell her. Nagas roam the Forbidden Jungle and are perilous when cornered. They’re worse if they have eggs nearby, for then they set up defenses to protect themselves and their nesting grounds. But this wasn’t a nesting ground. I’m sure of it. I only hear one hiss amongst the foliage.

“Not a snake?” Haime whispers.

“Listen to the inflection. It’s deep, raspy. Snakes don’t sound like that.” The hissing is close by and getting closer, coming from a grouping of large bushes ahead of us. I motion for Haime to keep backing up until she’s behind me. The leaves rustle, and I brace for the naga’s appearance. Highly intelligent—debatably even sentient—an adult naga could sometimes be reasoned with. With an offering of meat. “If it attacks, Haime, I want you to run. Understand?”

“I can help,” she whines.

“No, not against an adult.”

“But—”

“No buts.”

The rustling grows louder, and Haime falls silent. Twigs snap, and a frog scurries out from under the bush. I’m holding my breath as the branches part and the gleam of dark eyes appears between the leaves. Solid black, they stare at us. They’re small, I realize, my brow furrowing.

The hissing heightens, and the bush shifts to reveal the naga entirely—a youngling. A male youngling, due to the lack of breasts. His tail slides forward and lashes out in warning. There’s fear etched across the boy’s dirty face.

I lower my weapon. “Are you alone, little one?”

He bares his teeth and snaps at me.

I take a step forward, free palm extended, disarming. “It’s okay,” I coo. Peering about, I don’t find any sign of adult nagas with him.

“Milly, what’s going on? Is… is he okay?” Haime says.

“I don’t know. Just stay back.” I focus on the boy, who’s pressed farther into the brush but still watching us—watching Haime. I shouldn’t try to help him, but he’s a child, no older than her, and even if he is a naga, it hurts my heart to think he’s all alone.

“Can we help him?” Haime asks.

Without answering, I put my dagger away and reach out to the boy. “It’s okay,” I say again. “You’re okay. We won’t hurt you.” Yet I know he could still hurt us.

His eyes shift to me, and he hisses loudly. I take another small step forward. There is now a softness to his gaze. Perhaps he will calm—but thunder sounds and he startles.

“No!” I cry as he slips into the bushes and vanishes.

“Wait!” Haime runs past me and dives into the brush.

“Haime. Stop!” But she’s already crashing through the plants ahead. I take after her as the first raindrops fall from above. “Haime! Don’t!” She doesn’t listen, doesn’t stop. My eyes dart every which way, searching everywhere for her trail.

“Please wait!” She calls out ahead.

“Haime!”

Soon after the noise of pursuit stops and my trail goes dead. I scream for Haime, but she doesn’t answer, my only response to the whoosh of rain falling upon the leaves around me. No, no, no. Backtracking, I search for signs of a trail but am only led back to the thick clearing of grass and brush, the place where I’d lost my ward.

Heart hammering, I yell for Haime again, my panic increasing by the second, turning full-circle. I swipe out my spear to push back the overgrown leaves and vines. I beg for any clue to where she’s gone. My sandals begin to stick as mud gathers at my feet. Soon, any tracks will vanish.

The storm will wipe her trail clean.

I scream louder, desperate for a response. I pivot again when I see it—a large cropping of mossy rocks, tucked between arching roots from a nearby tree. But it’s not the rocks that pull my attention, it’s the ancient remnants of a naga nest and the pit in the ground behind it, hidden between the rocks. I surge forward and crouch at the pit’s entrance. Has she fallen? Was the boy bait?

“Haime!” I shout inside it. It’s deep, I realize, ducking in. Deeper than just a pit. It’s a hole—a cave entrance.

“Milaye,” Haime calls back to me, her