by J. Stone
Grimacing at what she knew she had to do, Wynonna stepped forward into the darkness of the tunnel in the sewer wall. Without any light coming down from above, she now had to retrieve the matches from her pocket. Reluctantly, she stowed her revolver back in its holster, while she struck the match against the side of the box and illuminated the tunnel. Given the crude nature of the walls of this hole, she presumed that the naga had dug this tunnel for the purpose of making her nest.
Arriving at the end of the shaft, Wynonna found a larger section, again lined with more fabrics from above. There was, however, a small blood spattered hole to the side, where she saw a collection of bones as well as one human victim. They were unmoving, however, and Wynonna had to believe that they were dead. Seeing the amount of bite marks and limbs missing, she hoped so anyway. The one thing she didn’t see in this nest was the naga herself though.
Where it was, she couldn’t say, but given its absence, she decided to inspect the lair. Wynonna kneeled down, examining the collection of the naga’s possessions in the hopes of finding something that might give her a clue to the monster’s whereabouts.
Spending a few minutes sifting through the various trash this naga had collected for her home, Wynonna found one thing of interest. In a heap of what looked like treasures and trophies gathered from her kills, the vespari found a pile of silver coins, more than she’d ever seen in one spot. Grabbing them and shoving them in her pockets, she noticed something else amongst them.
This unidentified object was a thin silver rectangle with an icon of a building she didn’t recognize carved into it. Given the intricate nature of the silver, she had to assume it had come from someone in Alexandria. Regardless, she still wasn’t sure what exactly it was, but it seemed valuable all the same, so Wynonna grabbed it and shoved it into her jeans’ pocket to deal with later.
The carved silver rectangle wasn’t all she found though. In another section of the cave, one cleaner and more lived in, Wynonna found a sheet of paper. Something about it seemed familiar, so the vespari reached down and picked it up. Just before she could take a proper look at it, her match burned against her finger, forcing her to drop it. Cursing it, she drew another match and struck it against the side of the box.
This new light allowed Wynonna to see her own image staring back at her. It was the sketch that Spencer had drawn of her when she was recuperating in the Black Tea Tower. How it got down into the naga’s lair, she couldn’t say, but it seemed beyond strange to her. There was simply no way it was a coincidence that both she and her portrait would wind up there in that serpent’s nest.
Flipping the sheet of paper over, Wynonna discovered that the strangeness didn’t end there. On the backside of the sketch, she found a message.
Tarasi, Muzga --
This one has outlived her usefulness as well. Deal with her as you have dealt with the others. Keep the body and whatever you find on her, but I want her revolver for myself. It has what you might consider sentimental value for me. Return it to me in the usual location.
-- Azus
The names in the note made little sense to her, but she knew one thing - someone had set her up by sending her down to deal with the naga. Looking down to where she’d found the paper, she saw more. Picking them up, Wynonna saw three more sketches, each with their names at the bottom of their pages. Adrian Medina, Dirk Vidal, Sylvester Fiddick. The three vespari Spencer had mentioned. Someone had sent them all down there to die at the serpent’s hand. Upon this discovery, she heard movement behind her. Slithering. The naga was coming home. She folded up the sketches and shoved them in the pocket with her map, and she turned around, thinking how best to face this monster.
The returning monster threatened to trap Wynonna, and she had no good ideas on how to get out of there. The least she could do was use a bad idea and give her the advantage of surprise. The match still burning in her hand, the vespari kicked several of the blankets together and dropped the match on them, igniting the crumpled pile. They burned but only enough to cause a small fire and to cause a distraction, not so much that it would consume the whole room.
With the fire burning, Wynonna moved to the entrance of this room, skirting around so the incoming naga wouldn’t be able to see her when she came to put out the flames. Moving into position, she also retrieved her revolver and then waited for her target.
She didn’t have to wait long. The naga slithered into the cavern, whipping her whole body inside and converging on the burning fabrics. Stark pale, albino white scales covered the creature’s long serpent body, just like what Spencer had mentioned. Her tail coiled under her as she came to a stop, while her four arms grabbed at the unlit blankets, using them to suffocate and extinguish the flames.
With her target in position, Wynonna didn’t waste any time. She raised her revolver and prepared to fire. Before she could, however, a second naga, identical in every way, appeared through that tunnel, moving around to the other side and helping extinguish the fire Wynonna had started. There wasn’t just one naga; there were two. Twins. That was why they fed more. That was likely why the other vespari had perished. Spencer told her that naga were supposed to be solitary. The second, unexpected serpent had likely thrown the other vespari off their guard. Even she hadn’t thought to see two of the creatures.
This additional naga meant a change in her tactics. Still unseen by either of the creatures distracted by fire, Wynonna stowed her revolver back in its holster and instead chose to bring the spitfire into the equation. It was time to see just how useful Autumn’s incendiary ammunition really could be.
Aiming the shotgun at the closer creature’s back, Wynonna fired. The shell exploded out, and the naga’s scales combusted all at once. She screeched and contorted her long, slithering body, attempting to put out the flames. The fire burned inside her though, and she could do nothing but wail. The other naga, meanwhile, grabbed a hold of the burning serpent and slithered out of the room, dragging her through the tunnel.
Wynonna took the opportunity to reload the spitfire with another shell, and she started down the shaft after the twin nagas. She knew exactly what they now sought - water. The serpents were indeed smart, but she wasn’t going to let them escape her, nor was she going to flee them. Yes, there were two of the malevolent creatures, but she had a job to do. If Corrigan taught her nothing else, it was that a vespari never quits until the monster laid dead. She intended to do his memory justice by ending these twin nagas’ lives.
By the time Wynonna ran back through the tunnel, returning to the main sewer, both of the creatures had vanished. The ripples on the water’s surface told her that they hadn’t gone far though. The vespari approached the water, attempting to discern where exactly they hid. The light of the surface once more crept through the grates above, granting her partial vision of that underground area, but the water was murky and opaque. She could see nothing lurking below.
Sneaking alongside the stream, Wynonna aimed her spitfire down, but there was nothing, and the ripples had come to a stop. Further ahead, however, something rose from the water, sputtering and coughing. It was the naga she’d hit with the incendiary round, and it’s back looked mangled from the blast. She crawled from the water’s edge, clearly weakened and suffering.
Instinctively, Wynonna raised the spitfire, ready to shoot the creature once again, but the other naga burst out of the water and grabbed the vespari. As the serpent pulled her into the waters, she managed to pull the trigger, though the shot missed either of her targets. Instead, the incendiary round launched upward, striking some mechanical equipment and causing an explosion.
The flames of the resulting blast missed Wynonna entirely, however, as the naga pulled her under the disgusting, thick waters with her. Her hat flew off from the force of the pull, and as soon as the pair hit the water, the serpent released its grip on her, but she couldn’t see where it went. Unable to see anything in the murky water and unsure which direction was even up, the vespari released her grip on the spitfir
e, choosing instead to grab the revolver at her hip. She pulled it out and pulled the trigger. It was useless. Too much water had already flooded the parts, and the powder was too wet to fire. She shoved it back in its holster, now opting for the only weapon she had left - the runed dagger.
As soon as Wynonna gripped it in her hand, the naga returned in a violent clash. The serpent’s limbs wrapped around her, and her claws attempted to dig into the vespari’s skin. Her flesh was thankfully still thickened from the gargoyle kill she got upon entering Alexandria, but its effect had faded and diminished enough that the claws eventually broke her skin. Unfortunately, the revenant’s pain suppression essentially dissipated entirely, so she felt the full effect of the attack.
The naga swept through those tunnels, moving deeper and deeper into the waters, attempting to drown the vespari. Wynonna’s lungs burned, desperate for a single gasp of air, but there was none available to her down in those depths. If she wanted to see the surface again, she would have to fight back.
The naga didn’t grip her arm, so it was free to strike at the serpent. Without her sight, however, she had to guess where to aim. Sweeping the blade toward one of the limbs that clawed into her stomach, Wynonna found one of the naga’s four arms. The blow was slow and clumsy, and the creature’s grip only tightened in her gut, pushing deeper inside her.
Trapped by the naga, isolated from air, and sluggish from the water, Wynonna grew frustrated. She wanted to scream, reminded of what it felt like to be a prisoner inside Petronila’s constant nightmares. She hadn’t found a way to fight back against the soul eater, but she refused to let a naga do it to her in the waking world too.
Gripping the hilt of her knife and channeling all her frustration into her arm, Wynonna swung again. This time, she felt a ripple in the water after her blade landed with a thunk inside the naga’s arm. A scream shrouded by water. Emboldened by this, Wynonna pried the weapon loose and swung again, aiming at the same spot. Once again, the blade struck hard, and the attack forced the serpent to release its grip on her.
The other three limbs still clutched her though, and she was growing short on breath. She had to move faster. Wynonna chose a different limb as a target, but the naga let go of her with one arm first, grabbing the vespari by the wrist and stifling her attack.
This, at least, gave Wynonna a clearer idea of where the naga’s body was. Contorting her body toward this point, the vespari used the serpent’s strength against her and jammed her boot into what felt like a neck. Their path through those murky waters diverted, and they both came crashing into a side wall.
Wynonna’s empty hand scraped the wall, and she felt the skin shred away, but the naga got the worst of it. Distracted by the boot to her throat, the monster had smashed head first into one of the walls. All three remaining limbs finally released Wynonna, and the vespari ignored the naga, swimming for where she believed the surface to be.
Rising to the air and gasping for breath, she found herself back above water. She wasn’t safe yet though, and her job still needed finishing. Spitting up a bit of disgusting sewer water, Wynonna took a couple more breaths and then dove back down under the water to find her target. The naga hadn’t gone far, and the vespari found that she was limp, floating slowly toward the surface when she found her. The collision with the wall had knocked the beast out, and now Wynonna took advantage of the situation.
She dragged her back to the surface, gasped for another fresh breath of air, and located a ladder nearby. Wynonna swam toward it, pulling the unconscious naga behind her through those dark waters. Upon reaching the ladder, the vespari climbed up them, releasing her grip on the naga and letting her float there in the still stream for the moment. Getting back to solid ground, Wynonna placed her knife down and leaned over the edge to grab the naga.
It took all her strength to get the creature out of that water, and she could now clearly see the serpent’s black blood dripping from her forehead. Her eyes remained closed, but two fangs still peeked out from her lips, dripping with a green, presumably toxic liquid. Wynonna ignored that and sat the monster on the walkway beside her.
Picking her knife back up, the vespari searched for a place to carve the Linac rune. Her stomach looked softer than the rest of her body, so Wynonna chose it as the place to start. She jammed the knife into the naga’s gut, prying off one of the scales. With the creature’s soft underbelly exposed, Wynonna formed the first edge of the rune. From there, Wynonna dragged the blade, doing her best to match the design of the Linac.
Pulling the knife from the wounds she’d already made, she had but one last piece to carve. It was an accent mark, separate from the rest of the design. Holding the tip of the blade over where it went, Wynonna raised it up, preparing for the final cut.
Before she could, the naga rose up and bit into the vespari’s neck, pumping her venomous toxin into Wynonna’s blood. The effect was near instant. She felt weak and drowsy, on the verge of passing out immediately. Not yet though. With only one piece of the rune left to carve, Wynonna jammed the blade into the naga’s abdomen.
The monster jerked back and contorted from the pain, shrieking all the while. Her screams echoed through the tunnel, as Wynonna fell back, fading out of consciousness.
***
When Wynonna woke, it was to the sound of movement. She reached for her revolver, but she was too slow. The second naga had returned, and it’s burned body coiled around hers. The serpent lifted her off the ground, constricting her between its scaly figure. The naga raised her vertically into the air and squeezed tighter and tighter.
The vespari screamed, feeling her bones crack and break inside her. The naga did not kill her though. She simply mangled Wynonna’s body to the point of infirmity and released her in a quick drop. She fell to the ground hard, smashing her head against the wet stones that made up that part of the sewer.
The naga moved her long, slithering body all around to one side and looked down at her prey. Wynonna tried to move, but her body failed her completely. Attempting to move one of her broken and mangled arms, all she managed to do was aggravate the damage. She screamed from the pain, and tried not to move any further. Her body, however, moved on its own, shaking involuntarily from the extreme violence brought upon her.
Wynonna cut her eyes up at the naga, who seemed to be enjoying the sight of her in pain, a sharp, forked tongue flicking out and back inside her mouth. When the monster had its fill of seeing the vespari so damaged, it finally grabbed her by the leg. Lifting the limb up, the serpent began to slither through those sewers, dragging Wynonna behind her.
Her leg cracked from being straightened out, sending a fresh surge of mind-shattering agony throughout her body. The naga ignored her echoing screams, continuing to drag her through those tunnels. Wynonna couldn’t determine where they were going, too engrossed with the pain flooding her whole body. Eventually, however, the surface changed from stones to bricks and finally to the blankets where she’d first found the nest.
The naga dragged her into the tunnel the twin serpents had dug and down into the cavern they called a home. Dropping her there, the monster then coiled its body into a ring around Wynonna, looking down on her but not touching her. She paused a moment before reaching down and grabbing the vespari’s arm with all four of her hands. The naga then slapped her tail over Wynonna’s body pressing her into the ground and holding her down.
With a strength the vespari wouldn’t have thought the naga to possess, the serpent ripped Wynonna’s arm clear from her body. Blood spurted from the wound, and she screamed from the pain. She thought that the experience would mercifully allow her to pass out of consciousness, but she stayed awake. Her senses, in fact, seemed heightened.
The naga, meanwhile, unhinged her jaw and placed Wynonna’s limb into her mouth. She made a series of disgusting gurgling sounds, as she choked the arm whole, bit by bit down her throat. Wynonna had no choice but to watch, as the naga devoured a piece of her and crushed her broken body under her weight.
The vespari wished for death in that moment, but it refused to come. Instead, the naga swallowed the arm completely and leaned down to look into Wynonna’s face. Her forked tongue slithered out from her bloody mouth again, and she smiled.
“Release me,” a familiar voice said from the naga’s mouth.
Wynonna recognized it, and she breathed a sigh of relief. “Petronila!” she spat.
The serpent’s face shifted to that of the soul eater. “Release me!” Petronila repeated.
“Never,” the vespari replied.
The soul eater grimaced and her appearance shifted back to that of the naga. “Very well,” she said. Gripping Wynonna’s remaining arm with her four limbs, she added, “Then, we shall continue with the pain!”
***
Jerking out of Petronila’s dreamscape, Wynonna turned to the side and vomited immediately. The contents weren’t just food. Her puke partially consisted of the dark green toxin the naga had pumped inside her body. The regeneration must’ve found a way to work it out of her bloodstream. Her limbs felt weak and slow, but she could still move, and they were still there. Her hands felt like a chilling frost had overtaken them, but there was no cold to have frozen her. The poison just made her numb, but she resolved herself to fight its effects. She stretched out her fingers and rolled them back into a fist. It took effort, and she wasn’t at her best, but she would make it work. She wasn’t finished yet, and now that she was free of Petronila, she could focus on her job.
Wynonna looked over to see the naga’s body coiled and crumpled, her knife still jutting from its abdomen. There was no sign of the sister creature that she’d struck with the spitfire. It certainly hadn’t returned to coil around her like it had in the soul eater’s dream. Forcing herself upright, the vespari crawled over, reached out to the knife’s hilt, and pried it from the serpent’s dead body. The rune had worked. The creature wasn’t coming back from this.