A Snake's Path (A Snake's Life Book 2)

by Kenneth Arant

  “That’s—The ship Lena and Fenris were on was shot down.”

  “What? How’d that—” Another cannonball slammed into the side of my head and my temper flared. “That’s it. Fin, take her to Hali.”

  “What’re you going to do?”

  “What do you think I’m going to do, Findral? I’m gonna eat them.”

  “You wanted to play hardball, right? Then let’s play.” Several cannonballs ricocheted off my scales, only serving to infuriate me further. Findral appeared next to my eye with an unconscious Ayla in tow. She nodded to me, then departed in a flash of blue fire.

  With the two of them gone, I no longer needed to hold back. I scanned the skies and noticed a group of black and green airships circling overhead and firing upon the golden Asgardian ships.

  I opened my mouth wide and fired a beam of magical energy at the enemy airship on my left, instantly turning it to ash. I quickly swept my head to the side, dragging the beam ninety degrees and slicing any ship unlucky enough to get caught in it. The ship immediately to my rear dropped out of the sky like a helicopter with its rotors damaged.

  I hissed at the realization that I’d missed a few ships entirely and they skirted around me in pursuit of the Asgardian ships. I snapped my mouth shut to cut off the beam, then aimed ahead of the ships and fired again. The beam quickly caught up to the fleeing ships, engulfing them in a wave of pure kinetic force.

  I cut the beam off after a second and surveyed the damage. Wherever the beam touched, destruction followed. My eyes locked onto a small stream of smoke rising from a spot a few thousand feet away. Survivors? But from which group?

  “Master?” I turned from the crash site to Findral.

  “Find Fenris and the others, Fin. Start over there.” I motioned to the crash site with my nose. “And... Pass along a message to Thor for me, would you?”

  “Of course, master.”

  “Thanks, Fin. Okay, here’s the message: Take care of them, whelp, protect them with your life or I’ll take it from you when I find you.”

  “Understood, and—be careful, master.”

  “Don’t worry about me, Fin.” I turned my head to see the lights of Asgard growing brighter as a golden shield began to cover it. “I’m far too hungry to lose now.”

  She disappeared in a flash of blue fire, and with a mighty flap of my wings, I began moving towards Asgard.

  Chapter 10

  THE FLIGHT TO THE OUTSKIRTS of Asgard only took twenty minutes, but since I was constantly being bombarded by cannonballs and fighting off airships, it felt like a much longer journey.

  I gazed upon the glory of Asgard for the first time, not as an adventurer or the father of the bride, but as an invader.

  And they’d brought it upon themselves.

  Situated at the direct center of a crowd of mountains that slowly orbited around it, as if it were the sun and the mountains were planets, was Asgard. It shined with a resplendent golden light, illuminating its surrounding like the star it pretended to be.

  As I drew closer, small bat-like creatures poured from the gaps in Asgard’s armor. At least, I thought they were bat-like until they started exhaling plumes of ice that peppered me like machine gun fire. That was when I recognized them for what they truly were: drakes.

  Unlike dragons, drakes were only slightly more intelligent than your average horse. Also, unlike dragons, drakes were pack creatures, and it wasn’t uncommon for the beast nations to domesticate and use them as war mounts. I’d visited one such tribe during my stint as an adventurer and seen the creatures up close and personal: A normal drake was usually between eight and twelve feet long, depending on the breed. Earth drakes were usually the largest, while water drakes were the smallest. However, their appearance was normally easy to spot. Their scale and eye colors varied by race, though I’d been told they always had pitch black wings and tails. Fire drakes were a combination of reds, oranges, and yellows. Water drakes were blues, purples, and greens. Earth drakes were browns and various shades of gray. I’d also heard tales of wind drakes being pure white, but I’d never seen one in person.

  I mention this distinction, specifically, because none of the drakes I saw were those colors. Every drake flying towards me was black as the abyss and, if my tongue was telling the truth, smelled like a corpse. And for the pièce de résistance, riding atop the drakes’ backs were Jötnar in their familiar suits of armor, wielding lances so large I doubted a normal man could even move them, let alone use them in combat.

  It would appear the Jötnar have decided to bring the attack to me. Good. I was tired of destroying their ships anyway.

  I opened my mouth and let loose a stream of condensed mana upon the drakes and their riders.

  I cut the beam short as I felt my mana reserves run dangerously low and my hunger made itself known. Damn it! I hadn’t eaten since we left the village and it was coming back to bite me on the ass. I need to run until I can find something to eat—No, I can’t do that. I shook my head and used both sets of wings to arrest my momentum.

  I hovered in place and watched as the drakes and the remaining ships began to circle me.

  My battle had only just begun. No way was I going to quit now... Then again, who says I have to? I closed my eyes, wincing as something stuck into my lower-left wing, but I remained focused on what I wanted to do.

  Alright, monster. You’re hungry, right? I felt a pang in my stomach as “it” voiced its agreement. Good, then eat your fill. Eat until nothing remains of this place, and all those who conspired to interfere with Ayla’s happiness are nothing but ash! My eyes opened, and with them, came the door I’d forced over my hunger.

  I screamed as the feeling of raw, unadulterated hunger slammed into me. A pain unlike any I’d ever felt erupted inside my mind. I wasn’t just hungry; I was on the verge of death. If I didn’t eat now, then I’d—a drake spat ice at my face. The ice acted as razor sharp daggers, peppering my scales with tiny holes as they punctured, but failed to penetrate deep enough to matter. However, it did shock me out of my mental spiral and help me find my focus.

  I released the first wave of my gluttonous aura. It shot out in a circular wave, devouring anything in its path without question or exemption. Drakes, ships, Jötnar, the ground far beneath me, all was devoured as wave after wave of aura poured out of me.

  *Ding!*Ding.*

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  Due to a combination of traits, a trait has evolved!

  Aura of Gluttony: Due to Gluttonous +5 evolving into Gluttonous +7 and your need for sustenance reaching critical levels, the Magic Eater trait and the Gluttonous trait have combined to create the Aura of Gluttony trait.

  *Note: this is always active*

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  A brackish green sphere surrounded me for an instant before winking out a moment before a hail of ice perforated my scales... Or, it should have. What actually happened was the ice dissolved while it was ten feet from my face.

  A feeling of dread came over me as I thought about the repercussions of the aura always active.

  *Ding.*

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  Name: Torga

  Race: Gluttonous Elemental Serpentine Dragon

  Classification: Tier 7

  Skills: Minor Stealth, Heat Detection, Supreme Gluttony, Supreme Durability up, Supreme Strength up, Supreme Growth, Minor Mental Resistance up, Greater Petrifying Gaze, Greater Acid Venom, Detect Concealment, Energy Breath, Superior Elemental Resistance, Fly, Puppet Maker, Body Possession, Magic Enhancement, Elemental Manipulation

  Traits: Aura of Gluttony +8, Growth +13, Strong Willed, Venomous, Aquatic, Winged, Immunity to Mind Control

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  I dismissed the pop-up, shaking the feeling away for the moment so I could focus on the here and now. I could worry about the rest later.

  A barrage of ice and steel came flying at me and I watched in horrid fascination as everything that came near me was dissolved and absorbed by the aura at
the exact same distance. As soon as something came within ten feet of me, it was done.

  Well, then. No sense in waiting around for the inevitable. Might as well make the best of this crapshoot. I flapped my wings once, then dove towards the ground to build speed. I ignored everything in my path and barreled towards Asgard.

  Now, I towered over the drakes, hell, I towered over the mountains around me. I wasn’t sure how long my body had gotten since before I evolved, though I was positive I’d grown even larger since the day I’d left the evolution shield. But Asgard was still larger than I was by a factor of at least two.

  I beat my wings harder, gaining speed with every passing second as I charged. I heard the roar of cannon fire and the cries of drakes as they moved to stop me from assaulting their ill-gotten prize.

  Asgard was a large city with three ascending levels, which served to separate the city into three districts. Although I didn’t know which district served which purposes, I was fairly certain the castle at the center was where Thor lived.

  The castle itself, while being extremely large in its own right, was nothing compared to the nine towers surrounding it. Each one stretched over five hundred feet into the air and was topped with a glass dome from which light trickled out. They were truly a sight to behold.

  Forget the Asgardians, Sarah would kill me if she knew what I was about to do to them.

  I twisted my body into a corkscrew and tucked my wings into my side to reduce wind drag and dove towards the center of Asgard. I aimed my head at a circular building with an open ceiling, the kind that reminded me of a baseball diamond from back home, and accepted the pain that was to come as a matter of course. However, I’d forgotten about just how... effective my new ability was. Almost without effort, my aura devoured anything I came into contact with: I devoured the golden building and a dozen or so unlucky Jötnar who happened to be training in the center of the “diamond” in the few seconds it took me to fall past them.

  Unable to stop myself before I crashed into the mountain, I braced myself for impact, only to be surprised when my aura moved and devoured the mountain beneath Asgard as I fell through it, creating a perfectly circular hole. I passed completely through the top of the mountain and came out the other side.

  I looked back at the hole I’d fallen out of and almost started hyperventilating. The mountain Asgard had been built around now had a gaping hole through the center of it, and the mountain itself was beginning to crack and crumble due to the structural weakness I’d caused. Okay, note to self: Be extra careful when landing. I don’t want to fall through the damn planet.

  Twin roars of epic proportions ripped me out of my thoughts. I twisted my head to face the sound and felt my heart skip a beat. Two dragons, twins in every way except eye color, crashed into the ground beneath me. They were easily over a thousand feet long, with thin cat-like bodies, pale blue scales, and massive black spikes covering their backs. I could guess what they were: If the Jötnar’s taste held true, then I was looking at a pair of Ice Dragons.

  One of the two dove past me, its birdlike wings allowing it to move faster than I could react. It clung to the underside of the mountain as if it were defending its nest, elegant body hunkered down in a defensive posture with only its head exposed. Its spikes seemed to vibrate as they stood on end, turning the dragon into a giant blue porcupine.

  Meanwhile, the other dragon let out a low hiss and charged me.

  Shit. I twisted out of the way of its jaws, returning with a bite of my own. It dodged away, dancing out of the range of my fangs.

  I took a moment to glance around at the airships and the drakes. They were being too quiet for my liking and I didn’t want them ambushing me while I was trying to fend off the dragons. What was left of the airships landed on one of the surrounding mountains and appeared to be watching the fight. Meanwhile, the drake riders seemed to have gone AWOL, disappearing from the battlefield entirely.

  A tidal wave of magic and icicles formed in the air all around me. I had just enough time to widen my eyes before the icicles shot towards me accompanied by a sonic boom. I didn’t get the chance to react before the ice perforated my scales as easily as a hot knife slices through butter. Though luckily my aura dissolved them just as easily.

  Guess that’s what I get for letting myself be distracted. I exhaled a breath, making sure to focus on the fire aspect of my mana as I did. I sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled quickly. Fire exploded out of my mouth and shot towards the ice dragon, who was standing on top of one of the other floating mountains.

  The dragon danced out of the way, casually leaping over the fireball as if it were an everyday occurrence. For all I knew, it very well could’ve been. However, I made sure that I was on top of the dragon the moment it landed.

  I launched myself at it, sinking my fangs into its left shoulder and slamming my full weight into it. We tumbled through the air for a bit, before crashing onto the ground. I used my length to my advantage by wrapping my tail around the creature’s back legs and using my body to pin it to the ground.

  I opened my mouth and created a ball of condensed mana. This battle was about to end—but then a pair of blue forelimbs latched onto the upper and lower portions of my mouth and forced it shut. I glanced over at the second dragon in time to get an eye full of ice.

  “When we agreed to help the Ice-Kin take this pathetic rock,” the dragon beneath me said, “I never imagined we would run into a creature such as yourself,” the second dragon said, finishing the first’s sentence.

  I was wrenched off the first dragon and thrown bodily across the plateau. My aura dissolved most of the rocks as I tumbled over them, causing a relatively smooth crevice to appear in my wake. When I finally stopped sliding, I was lying on my back with my wings pinned at an awkward angle. I cursed as I rolled onto my stomach and lifted my eyes to stare at the dragons. “I’m going to enjoy eating you. It’s been a long time since I got a two for one deal.”

  “That’s our line,” they said simultaneously.

  “God, that’s creepy. Does that come from the inbreeding or did it take practice?”

  Their spikes vibrated in sync with one another as their tempers flared. “Watch your tongue, snake,” the first dragon began.

  “I’m going to tear it out and eat it in front of you.”

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Sarcasm and snide remarks are kind of my 'thing,'” I joked. “Besides, I don’t think you could. You’d have to take the Jötnar’s dick out of your mouth first, and you wouldn’t want to disappoint your masters now, would you?”

  “You’ll die for that!” they yelled. Together they rushed at me.

  “Funny.” I glanced up at the gaping hole in the center of Asgard. “I thought I was supposed to do that anyway.”

  They leaped at me with their talons extended. I twisted my body out of the way of the first dragon’s talons, but the second’s stuck in my side. I wanted to yell at the burning cold that began to permeate my body, but I settled for sinking my teeth into the first dragon’s neck.

  I lifted the dragon off its feet, then slammed it on top of the one stuck to me, tearing its talons out of my side and temporarily stunning them.

  I focused on the earth beneath them, then forced bands of stone to rise out of the ground and wrap around them.

  They screamed, and they yelled, but the bands prevented them from moving. I smiled down at them. “Thanks for the meal.”

  *Crack*

  I stopped moving at the sound of stone being broken. I quickly scanned the bands holding the dragons in place, but they were holding solid... Then I looked up and saw that Asgard was falling apart. A crack had formed around the hole I created, and that hole was beginning to spread outwards and affect the rest of the mountain.

  Cursing, I pushed off the ground, leaping up to the mountain and using my wings to hover in place. I focused on the earth element and tried to fill in the cracks before they could permanently damage the structural integrity of the city. My
stomach throbbed, and my magic failed to activate. Damnit, I’m running on empty here! I sucked in a deep breath, desperately trying to pull in as much ambient mana as I could, but for some reason I was pulling in much less than normal. Then I looked down and saw the problem: The twin dragons were also absorbing mana, and they were doing so at an astounding rate.

  I tucked my wings in and dove towards the dragons. I landed next to their heads, then sunk my teeth into the one I’d already bitten and ripped its head off with a single strong pull.

  “No!” the remaining dragon yelled. “You’ll pay for that. You hear me? You’ll pay!” It struggled fiercely, thrashing about with its tail and forelimbs as it fought to break free from the bonds that imprisoned it.

  *Crack*

  My eyes widened as the stone bands cracked.

  Shit. The dragon exploded into motion. Using its sibling’s body as a distraction, it threw the corpse at my head, and I ducked out of the way. When I looked back, the other dragon was gone.

  It got away, I hissed.

  I pushed off with my tail and floated up to the mountain. I briefly entertained the idea of trying to save it again, but why bother? The Asgardians were dead, killed by the Jötnar and turned into ghouls. I would be doing them a favor...

  I looked around at the hundreds, possibly thousands of Jötnar running around in a panic and smiled. “Hear me, mighty Jötnar,” I began. If my words reached them, they didn’t show it as they continued running for cover. “My name is Torga. I’m sure some—well, most of you know why I’m here.” I saw the mountain shift slightly, which wasn’t a good sign. “You have invaded this kingdom, killing its citizens, and raping its culture.” I felt my stomach leap into my throat as the mountain began to fall out of the sky. “Well, I hope to god you enjoyed it. Because you’re not going to get the chance to do it again.” The eastern and western sides of the mountain fractured and fell away from its main body seconds before Asgard itself commenced to tumbling through the sky as it plummeted over six thousand feet to the ground below.