Venom and Earth Page 6

  “And you, get away. I’m sick of you trying to protect me. He did nothing wrong and all you did was abuse him. Fuck. Off.”

  Tears form in his green eyes and his lip quivers but he obeys, sliding down the bed ladder and skulking to his bed like a hurt puppy.

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” Marco mutters quietly.

  “I don’t care. I wanted everyone away from you; they’re all assholes. Disgusting assholes.”

  My boyfriend looks at me fearfully, taking my hand and entwining my fingers with his. “I’ve never seen you like this before.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me it wasn’t consensual?” I mutter, salty tears blurring my vision.

  Not able to look at me, he casts his gaze to his feet and shrugs. “I dunno.”

  “Did you think I wouldn’t believe you?”

  “No-one else did. They told me I should have enjoyed it. I didn’t want you to-”

  “You know me better than that, Marco. I would never have; I love you, for fuck’s sake.”

  Finally able to meet my gaze, he tilts his head up to face me, tears running down his cheeks. “Even with the…” he trails off, unable to finish his sentence.

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  Sniffling softly, he inches closer to me and buries his head in my neck. “I didn’t think you….” he trails off, wiping hot tears from his eyes.

  “It wasn’t your fault, and why would it affect what we have? I still love you; nothing has changed. I still want to be with you; you’re still the same person, you’re just hurting right now, and you need someone to help you. I… I’ll be that person… if you want me to.”

  He peers up at me, a smile growing on his lips. “Who else would I want? It would be weird if I snogged Wes.”

  Laughing softly, I run my fingers through his messy black hair. “We’ll take it slow, okay? We don’t have to do anything you aren’t comfortable with.”

  “The same applies to you, okay? I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable either.”

  “I know, but we can slow it down a bit, yeah? I’ll keep my top on from now on.”

  “No! I love your boobs!” He slides downwards so his head is in my lap and then pulls my shirt over his head. “They’re so cool!”

  “Hey!” I peer down my top to see his little face with a cheeky grin staring up at me. “Are you all snug down there?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I even saw a little bit of your ass crack last night when you were sleeping. That was a pretty nice sight until you farted.”

  “I did not!” I protest, pulling my shirt off his head.

  He breaks into uncontrollable laughter. “It fucking stank; I thought I was going to suffocate.”

  “You ass.”

  “But you love me!”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  * * *

  “I’m telling you, it’s a great idea.” Marco protests, his eyes gleaming as he tests the temperature of the water in the bathtub with his finger.

  “I don’t think so,” I roll my eyes in mock annoyance. “One person in the tub at a time.”

  “But come on, we’ll save water, time and energy… Plus we get to see each other naked, which, in my opinion, is the best part.”

  Stifling a laugh, I cross my arms and sternly say: “Marco…”

  “Fine, separate baths… But I want to wash you while you’re in there. Deal?”

  “Hmm… Deal.”

  His eyes light up as he rushes to the door and locks it before turning back to me with a large grin. “Go on girl, get naked.”

  Just as I’m about to lift my shirt over my head, someone knocks on the door. Marco sighs in annoyance and unlocks it before flinging it open and rudely saying: “Yes?”

  “Group meeting.” My blood runs cold as my brother steps in, Sadie and Mason awkwardly following.

  Glancing towards the tub, Sadie coos: “Fucking in the tub, are you?”

  “Shut up, bitch, before I drown you in it,” I hiss, making the water rise slowly upwards before sloshing back into the bathtub again.

  Mason shoots Sadie a warning glare before stepping in front of her. “We told Rocky about our tattoos, and he said we need to discuss it as a group.”

  “Now?” Marco crosses his arms in annoyance.

  “Yes, now,” Rocky shoots daggers at my boyfriend, silencing him. “This is important. We have two more members. There’s like, what, two left now?” he looks briefly at me for confirmation, and I nod, starting to feel guilty for how I spoke to him earlier. “And our companions are missing. Something isn’t right here. And the protectors aren’t letting anybody out.”

  My heart pangs as I remember my missing companion.

  “Why aren’t they letting us out?” Marco asks.

  Unable to look at me, Rocky keeps his gaze locked on the wall behind me. “I don’t know, but we’re all stuck in here. No-one is telling us anything, but by the sounds of it all the cabins are in the same position we are. So, since we’re all stuck, we need to discuss what this markings business means.”

  “If you think I’m joining your little band of losers, you have another thing coming,” Sadie snorts. “We still don’t know if you’re telling the truth.”

  “Have you had any weird pieces of jewellery that you can’t seem to get rid of?” Marco asks.

  Mason stares at a silver ring with a sharp orange line running through it on his middle finger. “Yeah… And Sadie has that necklace.”

  Sadie fiddles with a bronze chain necklace with a pearl charm dangling below her neck. “So? I happen to like it, that’s all.”

  “Does it burn you sometimes?” I ask carefully.

  Mason’s eyes widen in surprise. “Yes! But only after I’ve had a weird dream of trekking through the snow on a mountain with Sadie, where I call her ‘Luminous’ and she calls me ‘Bonfire’.”

  “There you go; that’s the same dream everyone else has had.” Marco uncrosses his arms to hold my hand as Sadie’s eyes burn with anger. I squeeze his hand slightly for comfort as his gaze drops to the floor.

  “So, we still need to figure out why this is happening, and what’s so special about these markings,” Mason says.

  “The last two, Terrain and Opaque, are still unknown. Chances are if we’re all here they are too. We need to find them somehow,” Rocky pipes in. “Maybe put up posters, or create some sort of club, I dunno…”

  “Sounds as good an idea as any,” Marco surprises me by agreeing.

  My brother raises an eyebrow but nods curtly. “Right, if that’s settled then we’ll speak to Wes and see what we can do.”

  For a few moments, no-one says anything. Then Sadie snorts and exits the bathroom, pulling a confused Mason behind her. My brother stays behind, however, seemingly unhappy to leave me alone with Marco.

  “I’m sorry, Rocky. I shouldn’t have been horrible to you,” I murmur, unable to look him in the eyes.

  Rocky sighs and pulls me towards him in a hug. “It’s okay. I’m sorry too. I’m won’t interfere anymore.”

  I pull away for a moment, surprised by his change of heart. “What?”

  He pulls me towards him. “Mum made me promise that I would protect you from men, but now I see that she just meant men trying to hurt you. I won’t interfere in your relationships anymore. I might not approve of your choice, but I’m willing to live with it.”

  With tears forming in my eyes, I murmur: “Thank you.”

  Finally pulling away from each other, Rocky brushes a tear off my face with his thumb before turning to Marco. “Hurt her in any way and I’ll rip your dick off and make you eat it.”

  Putting his hands up, Marco replies: “Not planning on it. She’s safe with me.”

  Seemingly content with his answer, my brother nods curtly. “I’ll see you later, okay? I’ll keep an eye out for the protectors.”

  “Thanks. Love you.” I squeeze his hand softly, making his mouth curl into his signature grin.

  “Later; love you too.”

  With tha
t, he leaves and carefully shuts the door behind him, which Marco quickly darts forward to lock.

  “I really thought that would be the end of me,” He breathes, his eyes glittering. “But seeing as I’m still alive… Get in the tub.”

  8

  Chapter Eight

  Aqueous ducks his head as another Wyrm slithers past his prison, eyeing him carefully from the blanket of darkness.

  He didn’t know how long he’d been here, but it felt like a long time. Hazel was worried, he could tell. He never wandered off on his own, especially not for this long. This had been a huge mistake. The note that Exquisite picked up from the protector was too good to be true. It was a trap, set out especially for dragons that were looking for an adventure to fill their bleak days, or, in the case of him and his friends, to find Damayanti.

  Damayanti, Braith’s companion, sighs heavily against his shoulder, reminding him of her presence. They were thrown in the same prison, but he had not yet been mutilated like she had been. His eyes drift again to the two black scales sewn half-heartedly to the top of her head, where her horns should be. She told him that they had sawn them off while she was still awake and screaming, something about making trinkets for the super-rich. The Wyrms were also taking one horn from each dragon for themselves. It made him sick.

  A panicked scream ripples through the air, making the black dragon flinch. They were doing the same to Fortune. It had been too quiet for a while now; he guessed they were preparing to saw the horns off. Images of the process ran through his mind constantly.

  He did not want this.

  Squeezing his eyes shut in pure terror, he cast his mind to his companion. She must be so worried about him. What would happen when it was inevitably his turn? Would she be able to sense it through their bond? Asteroid stirs behind him, making him open his eyes and cast his gaze towards her. Her horns had been taken a few hours ago, and she hadn’t woken up since.

  He breathes a sigh of relief as the orange-footed dragon lifts her head up slightly to look around hazily. Chirps of encouragement from Cerberus tears his gaze away from the smooth scales crusted in blood on the top of her head. The brown dragon hadn’t had her horns removed yet either, and even though she was trying to look positive, he could see fear clouding her dark amber eyes. Everyone flinches as a white and gold dragon is flung into the room with them before the barred door slams shut. Exquisite lets out a pained cry and lumbers over to Fortune, nosing his snout softly.

  “I want the black one next.”

  “Oh yeah, he’ll fetch a pretty penny.”

  “Are you joking? His horns could be worth millions!”

  Aqueous tries not to listen as the men walk away, laughing to themselves.

  Damayanti noses his shoulder affectionately, growling about how it doesn’t hurt that badly once the horns are gone. Ignoring her, he squeezes gently past Fortune and Exquisite to check on the other dragons in the room.

  Some he recognises, such as Magma and Midnight, but others were completely new to him. They had all wandered into this trap looking for something or another, and now they were all powerless. Winter meets his gaze as he walks past, her scared whine making him stop in his tracks. He knew it wasn’t a good idea to approach the blue and white dragon after all she’s done to him and Hazel. He still couldn’t forgive her for helping Ray torture Marco and Hazel for information. Hazel could have died .But gazing into her beautiful icy blue eyes, he knew he couldn’t turn her away, no matter what Ray had done to Hazel and the others.

  After a small sigh, he settles down next to the terrified dragon, his heart skipping a beat as she presses up against him and nuzzles his neck. They tell each other it will be all right, maybe the men will get tired, but they know they are lying to each other.

  Casting a look over his shoulder he spots Damayanti staring at them with an unidentifiable emotion in her yellow eyes. Anger? Jealousy, maybe?

  The room goes silent as the door swings open and two Wyrms slither in, allowing him to get a better look at them. Their scales are a murky grey, and they have long, snake-like bodies with beady red eyes. Their mouths open in a harsh hiss, warning everyone to get back with their hundreds of long, needle-thin teeth. They looked nothing like the myths said they did; they had the long body of a snake but the head of a piranha.

  They approach Aqueous slowly, dragging out each second painfully. He cowers as they circle him, making Winter jump up and break away in fear. Once content that they can handle him, the two Wyrms wrap themselves around his small body, rendering him immobile. Knowing that resisting would be futile, he allows himself to be taken away by the two creatures. He locks eyes with his friends as he goes past, their eyes wide with fear.

  “He’s well behaved, ain’t he?” one of the men comments, patting his neck as he’s dragged out.

  “I told you; if we do it to enough of ’em then the rest will break,” the other man laughs.

  The other man looks unsure. “Let’s get those horns off before he decides to fight back, okay?”

  The black dragon is dragged to the middle of a room, towards a small table with a plastic box and a shiny yellow electric bone saw on top of it, with gloves and aprons strewn about the cold concrete floor.

  Fear rises in his throat and he tries to struggle as one of the men picks up the bone saw, but the Wyrms coil tighter around him, hissing in his ears.

  “Don’t worry, this won’t take long,” one of the men snorts, stroking the dragon’s curved black horns.

  “Where should we take the scales from?” the other asks.

  “One of the shoulders, like the rest of ’em.” The first man motions with the saw impatiently.

  Aqueous cries out in pain as one of the Wyrms hooks its teeth into his shoulder and tears off a large jet-black scale. The Wyrm dives in again and flicks off another scale, hissing enthusiastically as it makes a loud ‘pop’.

  “Good boy. Now for the horns.” One man grins and turns the bone saw on.

  The roar makes Aqueous flatten his ears and squeeze his eyes shut as the saw comes towards him. For a few seconds, nothing happens until a hot searing pain burns his forehead. His screeches can barely be heard over the sound of the saw.

  After an agonising minute has passed there’s a clang as his horn drops to the floor. He opens his eyes to stare at his lost horn, which has a lopsided cut at its base. A muffled cry escapes his lips as the other man uses a large piece of sandpaper to rub down the small stump on the top of his head.

  “There we go; not so bad, was it?” the man taunts, waving the saw once more. “One down, one to go.”

  Once satisfied that his stump has been filed down as far as it will go, the man stitches one of the scales over the stump, making Aqueous flinch at every prick until the man is done.

  “There we go. Looks passable,” he comments.

  “Yeah, but fuck that. We’re gonna make so much money outta this. Can you believe it? Two thousand per horn? We’re gonna be rich!”

  The black dragon growls darkly as the two men laugh hysterically, but he is quickly hushed by the Wyrms, who lick at his remaining horn with their thin tongues.

  The saw roars to life once more, making Aqueous squeeze his eyes shut and yelp in fear. The same searing hot pain burns through his forehead, his throat too hoarse from the first round to make anything more than pained gurgles. Finally, the other horn drops to the floor and his other stump is being filed down.

  “Good boy. You’ve really made this horn farm some money.”

  “I hope we can get out of here before we’re caught; I heard they raised the prison sentence for poaching,” the other man mutters as he sews the other scale onto Aqueous’ forehead.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll be long gone before they even notice. Sacha and Tony will be helping us later; then we can have two dragons on the go. I’m glad the Wyrms have some trick to prevent these things from using their elements, or we’d have been fucked a long time ago.”

  Aqueous had wondered why he hadn’t be
en able to conjure any water since being captured; he thought that he had forgotten. But now it seems the Wyrms were even more dangerous.

  Relieved that this nightmare is over, he slumps over as the Wyrms coil around him again and drag him back to the cold, dark prison.

  He’s surprised he managed to stay conscious throughout it all.

  As soon as he’s thrown in the prison cell, Cerberus rushes up to him, nuzzling him softly and muttering in his ear. Unable to keep his eyes open much longer, he succumbs to the darkness of sleep.

  9

  Chapter Nine

  It’s now midday and there is still no word about the protectors. Everyone expected them to come back hours ago, but they haven’t. I don’t really care about that right now; I want to find Aqueous.

  “Maybe they’ve finally fucked off?” Marco’s voice interrupts my thoughts.

  “Huh?”

  “The protectors. Maybe they’ve realised they aren’t doing any good and have gone home.”

  “Something tells me that isn’t very likely,” I sigh, stroking his hand.

  “I wish it was. I miss spending time with you.”

  “I miss spending time with you too.”

  I kiss him lightly on the cheek before I’m yanked down the bed. Before I can protest, my brother simply says: “Protectors.”

  Rocky snatches my stuff off Marco’s bed before herding me to his own, just as the metal door swings open and three suited men step inside.

  The entire cabin goes silent as the three men glare at everyone in the room, eyes darting to spot any unorthodox behaviour.

  “All of the missing dragons have been found and they are safe. We have also moved all the other dragons with them to assist.”

  They found him!

  Joy fills my heart until I notice the dark smiles the protectors are wearing. Why have they moved all the dragons?

  “Can we see them?” someone nearer the front asks.

  “No. We will look after them until further notice. There has also been another…finding.” The three men glance at one another before continuing. “A former student has unexpectedly returned.”