Free Tales Of The Sazi 02 - Moon's Web by C.t. Adams . Cathy Clamp

still smells human, Nikoli. I have not tasted human flesh for so very long. Humans fight so much harder because their fragile lives are so fleeting." She bowed again. "I am honored, my Alpha."
    Greeaat, I really needed a battle today with someone who craved human flesh. And just how old was she? I mean, Sazi laws had forbade killing humans for centuries. If she was that old, she was damned powerful. Not the kind of person I wanted to fight when I could barely see straight. The migraine was still hovering at the edge of my mind.
    Bobby held out a hand expectantly. I grudgingly placed my Taurus in his outstretched palm. Nikoli reached down and pulled a wide push-knife from his boot. He tossed it to me right when I blinked and then turned away. I grabbed it out of the air when I saw it sail past my eyes. I cursed when the silver blade burned my hand. Oh sure. Silver is an affront when I have it…
    A brilliant flash appeared in front of me while I was regarding my scorched palm. When I glanced up, Nikoli and Bobby had both retreated from the floor and I was now face to face with Asri's animal form. I didn't want to believe what I was seeing in front of me. I backed away instinctively. I had thought the term a euphemism but I knew now it wasn't. And I instantly knew where Asri was from.

Chapter 5
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    Three steps back took me about two feet away but it wasn't enough. A forked yellow tongue flicked from between her scaly lips and touched my cheek. It smelled of rotting meat and old death. "You taste human, too." she said as the tongue retreated to her mouth.
    She swished her tail so I could see the full length of her. Jeez! A normal sized Komodo Dragon is bad enough. They grow to about twelve feet. Asri was closer to twenty and her head stood to my thighs. That her tiny form could contain something that must weigh more than three hundred pounds amazed me. It also scared the shit out of me. I've visited Komodo. The dragons are nothing to be taken lightly. They're smart, fast and their bite is septic. That means if the dragon doesn't rip out your belly on the spot, you'll die from poisoning in a day or two. Then it'll just track you down at its leisure to feast on your corpse.
    "I don't suppose you've got human teeth in there," I asked as I circled further from her. She followed my motions slowly and deliberately with short arms that ended in six-inch long claws sporting a stripe of the same brilliant red as her nails.
    She smiled, showing curved teeth with jagged serrations. "What do you think?"
    "I was afraid of that." One interesting fact about dragons— it's the back of their teeth that will shred your flesh to ribbons. I turned suddenly and sprinted to one side. I remember reading that dragons aren't too good at corners. I hoped not to give her enough running room to do serious damage.
    "Stand still!" she said as we circled a third time.
    "I thought you wanted a challenge," I taunted. Right about then, Nikoli turned up the overheads and the room was suddenly ablaze in light. I screamed as the light hit my already ravaged eyes. Asri took the opportunity to lunge forward. The sound of her feet on the carpet reminded me of machine gun fire about a block away. I moved out of the way, but not in time to avoid one set of claws raking down my arm.
    "Motherfu— !" I drew in a sharp breath and instinctively clamped my other hand over the wound. My biggest problem was that the damage was to my right arm, so now I was forced to use my burned left palm to hold the knife. I wiped the blood from it and winced as the raw wound scraped across the fabric. Asri paused a moment to lap up the blood from the burgundy carpet as I moved to the side.
    "Yum!" she said, licking her snout. "I can't wait to take a strip of hide." Ah, Hell! That's right. I'd forgotten that's a standard Sazi punishment. They actually carve a strip of flesh from your body. Okay, I figured out my goal of the day. Keep all my skin attached. My injured arm was almost