bound by flames and shadows ch2

ch2 Bond by Flames and Shadows. following Zeek's Mom and Dad and their run-in with Daeva.

Chapter_2 ZUUL AND RUTH KADESH
155 year later
Zuul Kadesh
pulling my bow from behind my back and placing an arrow in it. Creeping forward, drenched in sweat. My wife 3 steps behind me, sweat dripping as she pulled her sword. The moonlight highlighted the maw of the cave. Creeping under the tree's twisted canopy. Trying not to disrupt the ankle-deep water, we saw glinting light off black scales. Beginning to hear heavy breathing. We both inhaled sharply at the sight of the form sleeping before us.
I whisper. "Same as before."
Ruth Kadesh. "Time before? Which one?"
Zuul. "I don't care, choose one. I just want them all dead."
Seeing out of the corner of my eye that, she went to the right. I went to the left, passing by the back of the behemoth monster. Stepping out of the water. Crunch! I had to be careful. It's hard to see, not much moonlight deeper in the cave. Hope my wife is ok.
Ruth
Trudging through the thick mud. I need to remember to thank my husband. Taking me to the one place my new boots shouldn't have gone. Need to keep my mind on the task. My boots are still ill-fit for the stealthy mission before me. Stepping out onto dry land. Squeeeeeaaaaak- my right boot moaned under my frail attempt at breaking them in under such intense circumstances.
Well, that will not do barefoot it is. My new boots have been removed and lost to the darkness; I can hardly see the deeper in. I move slowly, feeling every step. The back feet are massive there, as wide as I am tall. This one's way bigger than any of the ones we've killed. The scales on this one are the blackest things I have ever seen. Hope this works. We never killed one this large.
SNAP
My heart jumps into my throat, coming to a stop, and I hold my breath. The large feet move, cutting off my escape. As the massive bulk of flesh moves. Biting my lip. Trying hard not to scream. Hope! It didn't wake up. I hate this part.
Zuul
I hear loud noises. It makes me stop and hold my breath. The beast stirs. I dropped to avoid being pinned to the wall as the monster stretched his back against the cave wall. Forced to crawl under the scale-clad backbone, I continued deeper into the darkness. I can smell burned flesh and wood. I can only assume the beast let some poor soul feel its fiery breath. I can make out the back of the head. I crawl around to the front.
"Crap, NO!"
Ruth
Moving slowly into the ominous darkness. Walking past and hearing the beast's stomach. Sounds like it will die hungry. The smell in the cave is horrible. I Must keep moving. Can't let the unpleasant smell stop me, stretching my arms to feel along the cave walls. It's slow-moving. Seeing into the dark is hard. Wait, what's this? It's warm. Doesn't feel like a rock. It is smooth one way and flakey the other. Did it just move? I can't see. What? What is this? My arms were forced down and pinned. No! I woke the dragon!
Daeva: "My, my, what do we have here. A luscious morsel. It is nice to be able to have breakfast in bed. What's this? Oh, two-course breakfast."
Zuul. "Let her go!"
Ruth. "Run! Take care of Zeek, our son. I love you both."
Daeva. "This is delish. Two love birds left their son to kill me. Only to end up never seeing him again. Oh my, I tore your clothing? Oh well, never does taste good anyways."
Ruth
Must stay calm. If I can only get my sword arm free.
Daeva. "Ooh! a will to live! I like that in my prey. Make it even more fun when I swallow them."
Ruth. "I got more than that. We're not going to be your breakfasts.
Daeva with a giggle. "Really. I must see this. I will even give you back your sword arm."
Ruth. "I'll make sure I don't disappoint."
Daeva giggling. "Oh, my, what a strong swing you got there. Let me try."
Ruth. "No!"
Daeva. "One swipe of my claw. Clothes gone." "Your wife just looks ravishingly delectable. Naked"
Zuul
releasing two arrows in rapid fire. At the dragon's right eye. She blinks; they just bounce off. Trying again desperately trying to save my struggling wife. Seeing her clothing falling to the ground, blood drips from her. She says something, but I don't hear it. Must free her. Hearing the sword clatter to the ground. Beginning to see better. Sun coming up. No. Son, wakening, up. I run with tears of hate welling in my eyes to the weapon. I grabbed it. I ran to the closest part of the dragon. I start to hack upward on the scales.
Daeva screams in pain, "You worm. Oh, your mate is going to suffer for causing me pain. He even drew a spec of my blood. Impressive!"
Zuul
Slam!
A large, clawed foot came slamming down. I had to dive roll out of the way. Coming back up and running around, avoiding the dragon's grabs and swipes. I ran past the wound and hit it as hard as possible with the sword. Hopeful to hear my wife drop to the ground.
Seeing her clawed hand coming at me. I duck out of the way. My clothes flutter with the air movement as it passed. I continued to run and hacked at the wound again. A loud billow of noise comes from the dragon. The sword gets stuck. Forcing me to leave it.
Ruth. "Run out of the cave. TRUST ME!"
Zuul
Must think about that. Then it snaps, knowing what she wants. I drop and roll, just avoiding a swipe. That might work. Running and angling to pass the wound, dive for the sword and grab it. My entire body weight slams into the sword. The sound of the dragon is deafening in the cave. The sword jerks from the wound with a wet rip and a Dull wet plop. I hear something else. As I raced back down the way we entered, movement caught my eye as the massive dragon began to move, keeping pace with me and seeing daylight outside the cave.
Bursting into the ankle-deep water. Braking for the thickest group of trees. I hear splashing; I can't look back as I enter the tree line just in time to listen.
Daeva "Roar! The thrill of the case. I will eat you, my little morsel. Don't you fear I don't chew prey like you."
Zuul
I duck behind a tree and lean the sword against it to rest and regain my breath.
"Oh crap!"
Pulled so hard that I turned around just to have a wet kiss planted on my lips. A short time passed, and I realized what was happening. I jumped back excitedly.
"you're free! And... naked.?"
Ruth. "Thank you. For pointing that unknown fact out. Would you like to stand there looking at me, or are you going to offer your shirt?"
Zuul
I take off my shirt and hand it to her. I took her by the arm and ran.
Daeva. "You're not leaving so quick?"
Ruth. "Yeah, we have better offers for breakfast."
Jerked by my husband in time to feel the shirt tail rip. We stay in the thicker plant life. He was running and dragging me as I fell and stumbled after him. My bare feet take a pounding from all the rocks and sticks. I yell. "Have to stop. My feet are on fire."
Zuul
I pull my wife behind me. Dodging trees, ducking limbs, and jumping over rocks.
"stop!"
hearing the wings of the dragon overhead. The twisted canopy of the tree is the only thing stopping her from grabbing us. We stopped at a fallen log. Ruth sits and looks at the bottom of her feet.
Ruth. "Well, that explains the burning."
I look. The bottoms of her feet are bleeding. She seems to be running on a bed of freshly sharpened swords. I look around, seeing what we could use for her feet. In an instant, I was jerked, and I stumbled and almost fell behind. My wife grabbed my arm and ran. I gained my footing and looked back to see green liquid fire fall from above the trees, pouring into the water and exploding.
Ruth
Though the tops of the trees. Could see the dragon rear her head. I saw a yellow-green glow coming from within her maw. Grabbing Zuul, we took off running. Could feel him almost falling as I dragged him along. The heat from the inferno prickled me behind us. Feet burning, must keep going. I can see the edge of the thick plant growth. I turn to the left, dragging Zuul along. A yellow-green truant of fire hit down, exploding as it hit the water. I flipped around and ran only to have a pillar of yellow-green flame come down before me. I feel a strong pull and almost fall on my naked butt.
Zuul
I stop Ruth in her tracks and feel her stumble. I keep pulling her to ward off the open field. We can make it to the next thick brush area if we run.
"Ruth. Get your feet under and get ready to run."
I can feel her gain her footing. Together, we ran into the clearing. The best guess is that we have about 100 yards to go. We hit the clearing, looking up to see the dragon going the other way. I can hear her call out.
Daeva. "There are my little treats."
Ruth
My husband drags me. Seeing what he wants to do. I gained back my footing. We run into the clearing hand in hand, at a full sprint. Looks to me like we have about 100 yards. I can cover that distance in about. 20 seconds, which is about 2 seconds slower than my husband. The dragon turning around is coming at us. Trying to keep up and not fall. I can see the dragon has made its turn, and we have only run about 4 seconds into the field, which is a little less than a quarter of the way there. I could clearly hear the dragon talking to us. The worst part is seeing her gain on us. I yell!
"We need to RUN faster! Let me go! Save yourself!"
Zuul
My wife's cries to go faster ring in my ears; I can't go any quicker without losing her. Can I live? Knowing I left the love of my life to die. The answer to that is No. Having to confront my son with the horrible truth of her death. Can't bring myself to let her go. Tears start to form in my eyes. Realizing I can't save my wife and therefore can't save myself because I would be forced to relive this moment throughout the rest of my life. The thought would end up killing me. Having to explain to my son how his mother died. Would tear me apart and send me spiraling downwards, which would only lead to my death by my own hands.
Ruth
He tries to hide it as we run. I can see the turmoil in my loving husband as tears fall down his sweat-soaked cheeks. Tears form in my eyes, blurring the incoming dragon. The thought of my son growing up on the streets tears my heart in two.
"I'm not going to give up!" shouting
Tears flowed down my pal cheeks.
"Pull hard... drag me... if you must... our son needs us! We can't die!"
Zuul pulled hard. I managed to stay on my feet for a short time. I tripped and lost the fight with gravity. Struggling to push off the ground with my feet, and best I could tell, bouncing along the wet ground, we were almost halfway there. Trying to get my feet back under me, I could go for about ten strides. I was looking forward when black-clawed fingers wrapped their way around Zuul. Watching this in horror and feeling something wrapping around my body.
I let out a scream. "Nooo!"
I could hear Zuul shout, "Let us go!" As he was lifted off the ground by the enormous black, scaly clawed hand
Zuul
Legs pumping, lungs burning, as they sucked air. Feet pounding the ground. Nine seconds to go till we are safe. Something squeezed around my torso and thigh. I was lifted off the ground. I looked down; I had a huge black-clawed hand wrapped around my body, lifting me into the air. Arms pinned to my side. I could see my love dangling from the other clawed hand, her red hair blowing in the wind.
With a devious laugh, Daeva said, "Oh, the Poor murders love birds couldn't escape. Don't worry; we will get to know one another inside and out. Oh, my little snacks, how rude of me. I need to tell you my name is Daeva."
Zuul
I could hear Daeva talking. I try not to listen to her as she mocked us with her words.
I shouted, "Don't listen to her, my love."
Ruth
It was the longest ten minutes of my life. Before we were back and dropped to the rock floor of a vast cave, this caused me to hit my head hard on the ground and knock my breath out of me. I could hear Daeva saying something, but hitting my head on the ground caused a ringing in my ears, which muted everything. I could see her fanged-lined mouth, which I could fit in moving when she was talking. I couldn't make out what she was saying. I look at Zuul. I could tell he was having the same problem.
Zuul
I land with a thud. My vision goes bleary. I hear footfalls come from what would be the back of the cave. Even the fact I do not see clearly. I can tell there is a second dragon. This one seems smaller and red and black, and I can hear it speak.
Little Dragon "MOM! I thought we had talked about this."
I can see Daeva backhand the small dragon, and the small dragon stumbles back with the hit.
Daeva: "We have! I told you, Asani! You will eat what I give you, or you will not eat! Your father was killed. His laws no longer hold. He is not here to corrupt you any longer. It is bad enough you had him for 155 years of your life. You are a dragon, and I say humans and all two-legged are on the menu as I am the queen of these lands. Soon, the 2 legs will serve me and all dragon kind. If you don't eat them. They will kill you. They are nothing more than backstabbing, murderous little rodents that deserve to die.
Since the dragon king is no longer living, all plans are a go. It is amazing what good planning will do."
Asani
Yeah, those 155 years were the best years of my life. All I get is bruises, burns, scars, and yelled at. Once I figured out who killed my dad. If I don't go mad first, I will get my revenge and try to bring my mom around.
Daeva: "Choose your appetizer, the male, Zuul, or the female, Ruth."
Zuul
I turned to Asani to see what she was going to do. I see her reach out her clawed shaking hand and-
Daeva: "Stop, I want them both. You can go hungry for back-talking me."
Zuul
I turn and notice an evil look coming across Daeva's face as she grabs me in one hand and my wife in the other. I could not avoid her catching me because I was still out of breath. She picked me up, and I could see my dear wife lifted by her other black-clawed hand. Daeva brings us up to eye level; I can see a toothy grin appear on her monstrous face with teeth the size of my forearm and a mouth my wife and I could fit inside without a problem.
Daeva cackling wackily. "What comes next is my favorite part as I slowly break you two of all hope. One of you will have the pleasure of slowly disappearing into oblivion. The other one will watch and listen to them scream for help."
Ruth's shaky voice. "Let us go, you monster!"
Daeva. "I'm the monster!? You're the one who came to kill me. What have I ever done to you and your type?"
Zuul. "I may not have been alive for this, but we heard the story of when you moved to this island. How everything became messed up. Animals started to talk and have extreme magical capabilities. Before, dragons, elves, humans, and the rare unicorn could talk and think. Now we have sadistic animals that threaten our lives if we even leave the city."
Daeva "Well, be that as it may. I still must eat. Do I not? Oh, good, my meal is ready; let's have a lick."
Zuul
I could see Ruth's fear in her eyes as Daeva brought her up and licked her from feet to head, leaving a thin coating of dragon drool all over her.
Daeva: "Simply delightful!"
Zuul
I can only watch and scream at Daeva as she enjoys tormenting my wife with her purple tongue wrapping around her kicking bare legs. I could see an evil smile cross Daeva's tooth-lined maw.
Ruth
I can hear my love screaming at Daeva to stop. Tears slid down my cheek as the purple hot tongue slid up from my feet and across my face. The sticky saliva smells horrible. I can make out in the short time between licks that Daeva is enjoying herself. I scream as she does this. So many things are racing through my mind at this point. I can feel her tongue wrap and slide up my two legs. I kick them apart. It does not take Daeva too long to get both of my legs wrapped and held tight by her tongue. I can feel her pulling my legs toward a tooth lined maw. I can see the gaps between the clawed fingers as I slide through them. Everything seems to be moving in slow motion. My arms are free. I grab the last claw finger as I slip free from the grasp of her scaly black hand. I see substantial white teeth go by and grab for one to hold on to. Only to have my hand slip. I rest in a humid, soft, purple, flesh-lined cage with ivory bars slamming shut.
Zuul cries screaming "NO! EAT ME! NOT HER!"
Zuul
I see Daeva's tongue capture my wife's legs. A mixed bag of emotions flooded me, giving me newfound strength. I scream and struggle in vain in the giant hand of Daeva, who just seems to let out a giggle. I watched as she drew my loving wife into her massive mouth. I saw her lying there trying to escape as Daeva's massive teeth closed, cutting off her escape path. I could hear my wife scream. I could imagine her thrashing around inside of Daeva's mouth. I listen to monas of evil pleasure escaping from Daeva. She got pleasure from feeling my wife struggling and watching me as I slowly fell apart.
I scream. Voice cracking. "Daeva spit her out! Let us go; we're sorry we ever came here!"
I could see a smile cross her scaly lips as these words left my mouth. I lose all control as I see Daeva tilt her head up and audible.
Gulp!
I see her neck bulge, and I can clearly hear my wife screaming as she travels down Daeva's throat. Through my whaling and tear-flooded eyes, Daeva opened her maw right before me. I saw my wife slip over the back of her tongue.
Ruth
As the darkness enveloped me, the tight, humid walls of Daeva's throat pressing in, I could feel my world closing in. The air was thick and stifling, filled with the acrid smell of bile. The powerful muscles squeezed every inch of my body, making breathing hard. I tried to push out, to slow my descent, but the slick, muscular walls gave no purchase.
I heard Daeva's heart's rhythmic, thunderous beating in the oppressive silence. It was a constant reminder of the monstrous life force surrounding me. Memories of Zuul and Zeek flashed before my eyes--the laughter, the love, the moments we shared. I clung to those memories, feeling their warmth even as the cold reality set in.
'I will not give up,' I thought, a final surge of determination filling me. 'For Zuul, for Zeek, I will keep fighting until my last breath.' The sounds of my own ragged breathing and the distant, ominous gurgling of Daeva's insides were my only companions. Every beat of her heart was a countdown, but I refused to surrender. I would hold on, no matter what.
Through the muffled darkness, I could hear Zuul's desperate screams and Daeva's mocking voice, distorted and echoing around me. 'My, how delightful she was. I can still feel her move around; it's like someone giving me a gut rub from the inside. Oh, don't worry, she will continue to live for a short time, at least until I don't want her alive anymore. That is the beauty of magic and being a dragon with unlimited amounts. Daeva's voice echoed in my mind,
Zuul
Daeva drops me to the floor. I fell in a heap. All will of life drained out of me as I fully heard the muffled screams of my wife from within the belly of the savage brute before me. Who seems to get pleasure from causing such pain?
Daeva's head turns slow
'Ah, my dear delectable readers, you're wondering how it would feel sliding down my wet, tight throat? Well, I can tell you, it's a scream. Perhaps you will be next?'"