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Chapter 1Moonbeams stabbed through cracks in the tunnel, filtering faint light. Sarah stared straight ahead as she sprinted. Don't look back.. please... don't...Her heart thumped with the urgent beat of a death drum.Tripping on a half-eaten prisoner, the young woman stifled a scream. Her strong hands trembled on the blood drenched ground as they caught her fall. The tunnel smelled like a closet full of dead rats.
“Ssssaraaahh... Ssssaraaahh...”
The hissing voices of her captors filled the air. “There issss no essscape..”
Shadows of a Ven'eelg and its prisoner danced on the floor ahead of her. The pair obstructed her way out. She glanced at the writhing reptilian tail. The Ven'eelg's sinewy arms looked human. Its torso looked like that of a human with grey-green body paint. The creature stood six feet tall. A thick chain linked its arm to its prey's neck.As the dancing figures moved into the faint light, she recognized the face of her cousin in its clutches. A lump formed in her throat.
Joey!
“Go for it,” whispered the man.
Her cousin yanked the chain that bound him to the Ven'eelg, driving his knee into its chest. Doubling over, the reptilian creature hissed furiously.
Sarah dashed behind the Ven'eelg, right out of the tunnel, and into an immense courtyard.
“Sssstupid human,” it hissed. The Ven'eelg sank its fangs into Joey's thigh.
Joey's body convulsed uncontrollably against the ground. His skin shriveled up, black venom oozing out of his eyes, nose and mouth.
No! Her eyes stung with tears.
Adrenaline pumping through her veins,Sarah charged as fast as her sinewy legs could carry her, right into the path of a Ven'eelg. Her heart jolted asshe slid to an abrupt stop.
“Where are you going Ssssarah? The masssster wantsss you,” it hissed. Its yellow eyes pierced right through her. Without warning, it sprang at her and spat a lethal black venom. Her heart jumped. Spinning around, she dodged the poison. The venom landed on a rock, swiftly dissolving it.The Ven’eelg's tail coiled up like a spring. Its fangs dripped with black venom.
She'd never forgotten their strength, having seen them rip off the arms of a fellow captive hours ago as its leathery snake-like tail squeezed the life out of a young child.
“Look at you. Your friendsss died in vain,” said the Ven'eelg. Its mouth curled into a smirk.
Something snapped inside her, awakening the warrior that slept within. “Enough!”
An odd calm came upon her as she picked up a large shard of glass that lay on the ground.
“Sssssilly Sssarah. Think you can essssscape? You'll fare no better than your friend Lily.”
Sarah turned on her attacker and stabbed the beast’s torso with the glass. “For Lily!”
Black blood spurted out. The creature doubled over and shrieked. A wicked satisfaction welled up within her. She lunged at the Ven'eelg again, thrusting the glass into its back. “For Joey!”“You vile human!” it screamed as it lashed its tail at her.Sarah fled, straight into the path of two others. “The massster isss not letting you go,” one of them hissed at her.“Don't let fear paralyze you. Keep your eyes on your goal and go for it,” her father used to say. I'll do you proud papa.Ven'eelgs swarmed the entire courtyard, like ants over spilled honey. Every possible route would lead her straight to these beasts.
Then it happened. An unseen force touched her head, making her entire body tingle. She stood there, momentarily shocked. A Ven'eelg sprang at her. Instinctively, she leaped away.I'm flying!! What's going on?!
Liberated, she soared in the air, like a bird freed from its cage.Grasping hands of the Ven'eelgs brushed against her as she flew over them. One such hand grabbed her gown, pulling her down.
“I got the human!” it cried.
Her heart pounded as she ripped her dress, leaving behind a shred of bloodstained silk.
Flying towards the clouds, she could see beneath her, a vast expanse of rubble. Ven'eelgs slithered among stones, overflowing from the castle ruins. A mountain range beckoned to her in the horizon.
“There's safety in the mountains,” her father always said. That was where she would go.
Then she faltered. Blood drained from her face. Her power of flight left as suddenly as it came. She screamed as she hurtled to the ground.
Sarah landed smack in a cluster of Ven'eelgs. She picked herself up, made an attempt to fly but fell flat on her face.A Ven'eelg sprang up and coiled itself around her. “The massster isss waiting for you!” it said. The stench of its breath nearly suffocated her as it tightened its grip. Sarah could not breathe. The world swirled around her until she lost consciousness. The familiar smell of decay greeted her. Opening her eyes, she found herself in chains again.
“You are coming with ussss, Sssarah.”
A Ven’eelg dragged her to her feet. Her heart sank as the reptilian monstrosity led her down the path towards the ruins.
I flew. Maybe I can fly again.
In desperation, she leaped, wrenching her chains from the Ven'eelg. That tingly feeling returned. Her heart throbbed with excitement as she flew off.
She raced towards the mountains, ecstatic. Flying... It seemed crazy. Still, it didn't matter as long as she could get away from those beasts. They were everywhere.
“Sssssarah'ssss esssscaped! Get her!”
Beads of sweat trickled down her temples as the temperature around her soared. The putrid smell of burning sulfur seeped into her nostrils. Glancing back, she saw a dragon, exhaling fumes of black fire, emerging from a tower several yards behind her.
“Come to me, Sarah,” it said, in a thunderous voice. “You belong with us.”
In the mountain right in front of her lay a cave. She felt it beckoning.
Sarah dashed towards it, suddenly bursting with strength. Her power of flight failed again and she fell, inches from the mountain ledge. Now panicking, she reached for the ledge. She missed.
“Got you,” it said as it swooped beneath her.
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