Free Azra of the Burning Sands (Genesis Project) by Arlin Fehr Page B

harm hasss come to your lovely niecsse,’ the snake man hissed.
    ‘Kia, are you all right?’ Azra asked, ignoring the assurances of the sorcerer.
    ‘Yes, Uncle. The Sorcerer has given me protection, if nothing else.’
    The Sorcerer held out his arm and beckoned. The snake that had been following Kia slithered forward. Shakla bent down and let it climb up his arm. The snake wrapped itself around his neck, and he stood up.
    ‘My pet here hasss made sssure ssshe wasss sssafe,’ Shakla stated.
    Kia saw Azra looking at the snake.
    Shakla looked at Azra, and said, ‘Now, you have sssomething to do for me, Wyzard.’
    The flickering light of nearby torches gave Shakla’s scaly skin a gleam as he spoke.
    ‘What do you want from me?’ Azra asked.
    ‘Nothing but information. What do you know about a people called the Nehhom?’
    ‘The who?’ Azra asked in genuine surprise.
    Shakla hissed softly and his eyes narrowed to slits.
    ‘I sssee. They are a people who dwell beneath the wavesss. They came to thisss world three thousssand yehvs ago.’
    ‘I have no knowledge of any such people. And asking a desert bound noble about a people that dwell beneath the seas strikes me as a poor move on your part.’
    ‘Don’t try my patiencsse. We’ve disssucsssed why I want sssome one elssse sssearching.’
    ‘My kingdom hasn’t even been around that long. Kingdoms change hands very frequently on this world. Knowledge is lost and forgotten. Take the builders of this fortress for example, the Zhakim. Most of the common folk don’t have a clue who they were. Most historians only know the name of them! Only a few people know anything useful about them.’
    ‘Then you will asssk a question to one of thessse knowledgeable onesss on my behalf,’ Shakla said.
    ‘Why would I do that?’
    Shakla knelt down on the ground, and the snake unwrapped itself from his arm and started to slither towards Kia.
    Kia backed away a step, but the Raiders flanking her grabbed her arms and held her still. The Azra took a step forward, but was knocked down by one of his guards and held in a knelling position.
    Kia squirmed against the grip of the guards as the snake wrapped around her leg and opened its jaw. The snake’s fangs rested harmlessly on her leg. But she could feel the prick of the fangs nonetheless.
    ‘If you don’t, I will kill her,’ Shakla said.
    Azra was still struggling. Shakla looked at the snake. Its jaw tightened. Kia let out a pained yelp, more in fear than anything else... she’d seen how people died when bitten by this serpent. Azra stilled his struggles, and the snake removed its fangs from Kia’s leg, but stayed coiled around it.
    Shakla knelt down in front of Azra, and, with his long reptilian fingers, pushed his head up to face him.
    ‘I can asssure you. It would be a mossst unpleasssant way to die.’
    ‘Fine,’ Azra snapped. ‘What questions do you want me to ask?’
    ‘Find the home of the Nehhom.’
    ‘What if they aren’t here? What if your wrong and they never came?’
    ‘They came. I can feel what I am looking for, but it’sss exact location isss being hidden from me. The Nehhom will know where it isss.’
    ‘What are you looking for?’
    ‘You don’t need to know that little man,’ Shakla said dismissively.
    ‘Wait a myno. Just because I don’t know about the Nehhom doesn’t mean I would know about whatever it is you’re looking for.’
    Shakla stood up and glared at Azra for a long moment. A distant howling noise sounded as wind blew through the empty halls of the fortress.
    ‘You don’t need to know,’ Shakla said at last.
    ‘There is just one problem,’ Azra replied.
    ‘And what could posssibly be more important than the life of your kin?’ snarled, sounding like he was at the end of his limited patience.
    ‘If she doesn’t exit this fortress with me,’ Azra informed, ‘the King – her Father – is going to attack. You must trust me, when I say, Sorcerer... he will not stop until he