Once Betrayed Never Forgotten

Chapter 48: A Glimmer of Hope

Yes! That’s it! Our way out.

clinging to the cave wall about fifty feet away, a long ribbon of shining copper

Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpse a long, unnaturally straight line cli slightly obscured by a tangle of long, thick tree roots clinging to it.

It’s a water supply pipe. I’m sure of it. I’d bet money on this pipe being the water supply channel for the entire town, bringing water from the lake up to the surface. Which means that if the roots and vines clinging to it are strong enough, it might be possible to climb all the way up to the surface.

To freedom

Above me, the serpent is poised for another strike. As silently as I can, I roll off my back onto my knees, and crawl backwards.

I feel a loose stone under my hand and I pick it up, my heart stuck in my

my throat as I hurl it against a stalagmite several feet away. With lightning speed, the creature swivels its head in the direction of the sound and lunges for it, glinting white teeth snapping over the column of stone and breaking it off in its powerful jaws.

That confirms it. This thing uses sound to hunt not surprising given that it’s blind.

It roars with fury as it realises t

that it has b

been tricked, and reels back into the lake, spitting out fragments of rock into the churning water.

Mircea, thank god, has finally stopped crying. She’s curled up in the foetal position on the lake shore, her eyes screwed shut. All I can think is that she’s probably reliving the horrors of her childhood memories she must have fought hard to suppress, now tearing fresh wounds though her shattered mind.

“Luka,” I speak silently to him through the mate bond. “Do you see that metal pipe covered in tree roots over there?”

1 point towards the far wall of the cave, and he turns to look at the spot, his beautiful silver eyes flashing with realisation as he follows the line of the water supply pipe upwards, towards the cave’s ceiling.

“A way to the surface,” he replies directly into my mind.

I’m about to reply when I hear the slithering of the vast serpent to my left, as it uncoils its scaly body and slides over the lake shore, swaying its head blindly from side to side in search of its prey. I slide back silently until I reach the wall of the cave, and I press my back gratefully up against the cool hard stone. As quietly as I can, I rise to my feet, begin to slide along the wall, keeping my back pressed up against the stone. I don’t know if my theory is correct, but if this thing uses echolocation to find its prey, then it relies on the sound bouncing back to it. If I’m pressed right up against the stone, then maybe I’m disguised in a way, camouflaged.

“Where are you, my scrumptious appetiser?” The serpent whispers, blindly tasting the air with its forked tongue.

“Why doesn’t it just shift into a form where it has eyes and can see?” I ask Luka silently through the mate bond. “It didn’t seem to be blind when it was taking on the appearance of the little boy.”

“Because that would make it vulnerable, Luka says. “The Vodoshny will only shift out of its serpent form as a last resort.”

“Well, maybe we should force it to need a last resort,” I reply. “This cave seems really echoey, plus the creature obviously has super sensitive hearing. Maybe if both of us stood on opposite sides of the cave and started screaming at the top of our lungs we could confuse it…

“It’s worth a try,” Luka replies. “You stay here. The second I get the opposite side of the cave, let loose. Got it?”

I nod my head.

Luka dashes away on all fours, faster in his wolf form than any human. Despite Luka’s graceful and near silent footfalls, the serpent’s enormous eyeless head immediately swivels on the gleaming scaled neck, following Luka’s movement along the shoreline.

“There you are…” the creature hisses, just as Luka reaches the far side of the cave, the lake now between us.

As the serpent rears up, ready to strike at Luka, I begin to scream at the top of my lungs.

The serpent snaps its head back to face me and lunges in my direction – and at that moment, Luka begins howling.

The sound echoes through the cave, and I continue to scream as loud as I can, adding to the cacophony. The sound bounces off the cave walls, a

1/3

Chapter 48 & Glimmer of Hope

whirlwind of noise. The serpent reacts violently, confused and panicked as it retreats back into the water, thrashing about wildly.

With no other choice, it does the only thing it can do in that moment to get its sight back – it shifts into human form. It swims to the edge of the lake, transforming as it reaches the shallows. The creature shrinks and contorts before the black scales become absorbed beneath olive skin. This time, it has taken the form of a young woman with long dark hair and brown eyes. The dark curls tumble down over her pert breasts, barely hiding her modesty as she rises up out of the water, dripping wet.

The young woman looks like….

“Mircea,” the serpent woman hisses, its dark eyes alighting upon the cowering figure on the lake shore. “Daughter. Come to me. How big you’ve grown!”

“M.. mama?” Mircea murmurs, looking up

Yessssss…..” the creature hisses, extending its arms in her direction, beckoning her.

Mircea rises shakily to her feet, stumbling forward.

NOW. This is our chance.

I kneel down and grab the biggest, sharpest rock I can lift- and then I hurl it at the creature’s head. It doesn’t connect in fact it lands several feet away – but it provides the distraction we needed. In that split second, Luka is on the creature. Sensing the impending threat, the creature attempts to shift out of its weaker human form and back into its serpent form, but it’s too late.

Lukas jaws, powerful and lined with glistening silver fangs, clamp down with unrelenting force on the creature’s head. There’s an immediate and sickening crunch, a cacophony of splintering bones.

“Mama” Mircea screams as she lunges forward, but I grab her and hold her back.

Despite its head being crushed between Luka’s powerful jaws, there is still some life left in the terrible monster. In a last ditch effort to save itself, it begins to shift back into its serpentine form, rapidly expanding in size, skin giving way to black glistening scales. Luka holds on even as the creature thrashes around in its death throes.

Black, foul–smelling blood sprays into the air in a gruesome are as Luka’s jaws continue to exert pressure, mercilessly crushing the life out of the

monstrous creature.

With one final, bone–shattering bite, Luka releases his hold on the serpent’s crushed head. The once–threatening creature now lies lifeless, a grotesque, nightmarish tableau of black blood, shattered bone, and twisted scales.

Mircea is shuddering and weeping in my arms, inconsolable.

“That wasn’t your mother, Mircea,” I murmur softly to her, holding her. “Or your brother. That creature was using their forms to trick you. To hurt you.”

“I… I know…” she whimpers, sniffling as she wipes away her tears. “I’m sorry I lost control like that. I just never expected to face that thing again.”

She sighs deeply, gathering herself as she walks over to the creature, kicking its rained head to check that it really is dead

“Now that the immediate threat is dealt with, let’s tackle the next problem,” I say to Luka through our mental bond, gazing over to the ancient copper pipe, the connection to the surface world. The pipe itself must be at least three feet wide, and some of the vines wrapped around it are about a foot in diameter – probably sturdy enough to use as footholds. Still, it looks like an almost impossible feat, a vertical climb that would take me at least an hour.

“Do you think we can climb up that thing?” I ask him.

“You probably can’t… but I can,” Luka says, flexing his sharp claws and digging them into the rock, baring his teeth in a wolfish smile. “Hop on. Both of youTM

He kneels down, lowering his height to about my waist.

It takes me a second to catch on. Then I grin, climbing up onto his back with my legs on either side, like riding a horse. I wrap my arms around his broad muscular neck, surprised by the softness and warmth of his silver fur coat. Mircea follows suit, climbing on behind me and wrapping her arms around my waist.

“Hold on tight,” Luka growls as he rises and lunges forward, racing across the shoreline towards our path to freedom. “We’re going up.”