Chapter 2—Zanzi
(Sena)
The deep vibrations of a growl thrummed in my ears and pulled me from unconsciousness. It was a predator’s warning sound, and my heart stuttered erratically in my chest. I took in a deep gulp of air to sedate the rapid rhythm the organ was beating to. Where was I? How had I ended up there? A hot gust of breath puffed across my face, tickling my eyelashes and nose. I clenched them tighter, refusing to reveal the beast behind them. Its breath smelled of smoke and meat. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell, but my gut rolled at the proximity. My mind reeled, trying to catching up, images playing over in my head right before I’d passed out. Oh shit! FUCK!
“Zanzi opka, Rays se keor fu’te.” Edik’s voice made my eyes slowly open.
“No, Senana is no longer yours; he is mine and only mine,” the zanzi spoke. Its deep calming voice creased my mind while it continued to speak to the natives in their native tongue.
The zanzi! Opening my eyes, I thrashed into a sitting position, instinctively digging my hands into the soil to crawl backward. I didn’t get far. I craned up to look at the large beast’s head—which was not far from my own—its hot plumes of breath wafting over my cheeks. As it began advancing its large muzzle toward my face, I clenched my eyes shut, my teeth grinding, waiting for it to rip into my soft flesh.
It gently nudged my cheek, a deep chuffing noise emitting from its throat. “You scared me. I thought the transfer might have hurt your frail body.” It spoke only to me, no longer physically speaking in its native tongue. A shiver raced down my spine at the invasion. The voice in my head was like a deep inflection, echoing in my mind. It wasn’t all words. Some parts were in images and other parts conveyed by emotions with a few human words, and some things just didn’t translate. The voice was male, or at least it felt male.
“I’m not frail.” The retort snapped out quickly and without thought.
“Rays, calm down,” Seth whispered harshly. The zanzi lifted its head, growling loudly in the older man’s direction. Seth quickly bowed his head.
“No.” Its response was petulant. A small puff of smoke emitted from the beast’s nostrils as it growled at Seth’s bowed head. “Senana will come back with me to my nest.” The beast shifted, its massive chest puffing out. “Aza will be proud I found my Tao so quickly.”
Sweating profusely, I started crab-walking backward a little more. It wanted to take me to a zanzi nest! My gaze darted around the field, looking at all the men lying perfectly still. I needed to find a way out fast or I was going to die.
Edik’s body stiffened and his head lurched up. “Itapa! L’nana su petka!” The native roared the words, an element of desperation in them. The zanzi rumbled low in its throat before the sound turned into some form of laughter, deep gruff noises that were almost hiccupped.
“You cannot stop me.” The beast’s dialect shifted, leaving the translation between the native and the zanzi. “Nitch su c’eska.”
Edik’s nostrils flared, but he didn’t respond. With the two so engrossed with each other, I took the chance to get my legs under me. They were still weak, but some of the feeling had come back and I was able to kneel on frail knees. Slowly, I stood, disrupting the tension between the two.
Ideally, running would be what I would do; logically, it wouldn’t get me anywhere. I was jiggered, and even in the foremost condition, I wouldn’t be able to outrun this creature. It was in my best interest to appeal to the creature and running was probably not going to accomplish that.
Standing was exhausting, my muscles cramping as if I had been working for hours. The zanzi didn’t move, just watched me with his cerulean gaze. I looked into its eyes and my body relaxed, my galloping heart starting to slow down. They were alluring. I wanted to get lost in their vibrant depths. What was wrong with me? I shook my head.
“What do you want with me?” I finally asked. The creature’s face contorted into what could only be described as an expression of confusion.
“You must know. You felt it. That’s why you came to me,” it said, bafflement dripping from its words.
“I wanted to touch you.” That explained part of it. I was careful to leave out the all-encompassing need to touch his mesmeric scales and see if he was real. I didn’t want to admit the lack of control to myself and definitely not to this beast.
A puff of smoke emitted from its nostrils before it pushed its snout into my chest, forcing me to grab onto it for balance. There was no shock like before, only the smooth warmth of its flesh beneath my callused hands.
“You are lying, Tao. You will learn to trust me.”
Body tense and hands clutching his scales, I didn’t move. What the hell did it want with me? I looked over my shoulder at Edik. The native’s garish face was pulled into a tight frown. He shook his head, averting his eyes. That sealed my fate—I was on my own, and there was nothing the natives were going to do for me.
The zanzi snorted irritably as my fingernails dug into its scales.
“Son of a b—” I was cut off abruptly by a large mane-tipped tail wrapping around my waist and hoisting me up into the air. Everything tilted for a moment, making my stomach roll nauseatingly. “What the f—put me down! What the hell are you doing?” I yelled while thrashing and pulling at the prehensile appendage. Without responding, it dumped me unceremoniously onto its back right between its two massive wings. Quickly, I grasped for purchase, hanging onto the long mane that traveled down the zanzi’s spine. My gut churned when I looked down. It wasn’t that I was afraid of heights, but I wasn’t too keen being on a carnivore’s back. Just a personal preference.
“Be still, Tao. I don’t want you to fall.” The light inflection of the voice made me even more agitated. The damn thing was laughing at me. I was going to fucking lose it if the damn beast didn’t put me down.
“Put me the fuck down!” I demanded.
“Hold tight, Tao.”
“Oh shit!” Its muscles tensed underneath me and with a sickening dread, I realized what the creature was planning on doing. With a massive surge of force, it launched into the night sky, wings flexing powerfully around me, bringing down strong drafts of cold wind. I couldn’t see or hear anything past the thundering of chopped air, but I could imagine the chaos below.
I looked down at the quickly fading leeri fields, my gut cramped. “Where are you taking me?” I choked out through the lump forming in my throat. It didn’t answer, instead flying onward, toward the sky. I clutched at the mane tighter, my thighs like a vise grip. How was I going to get out of this?
The zanzi didn’t level out; it was flying higher and higher, getting closer to the clouds with each thrust of its massive wings. My skin stung with the cold, my lips and ears already beginning to turn numb, my head becoming dizzy.
It occurred to me then, through the freezing cold and thin air, that I was riding a dragon. A fucking dragon. I lifted my head up quickly and my eyes snapped open to gaze at my surroundings. A hysterical laugh rose from my chest as I watched the landscape rush underneath us. When we reached the first clouds, I released my death grip to skim through the white fluff. It parted easily through my fingertips. I couldn’t feel my limbs anymore; everything was painfully numb and I was having a hard time breathing. Through all the discomfort, I could admit that this was amazing. The light of the Niptik moon bathed everything in its azure breath. I’d never felt so close to paradise.
A deep rumble resonated from under me, making the zanzi’s whole body vibrate. Was it purring? That brought me back, and I realized how fucking cold it really was. I’m pretty sure that my adrenaline had probably burned off, because I couldn’t think past the extreme ache in my limbs. I laid flush with the zanzi’s back, trying to chase some of the warmth. My hands were stuck, clutching desperately to the beast’s hair. A massive shiver contorted my body as we went even higher into the sky—the cold-dark-thin-air sky. I spent those moments of breathlessness watching the Indiku land pass under us like a woven quilt. Black spots formed in my vision, making dots in the scenery below. My lids began to droop. When had I become so tired? Did it matter? I was riding a dragon; I’d wake up soon. Another soft chuckle emitted from me. Rhyan would never believe this.
“Ca…can’t b-breathe…” I slurred, feeling myself slipping away for the second time in the same night.
I woke screaming and clutching my chest, taking in deep gulps of air to relieve the pounding in my sternum. It had been so real, I’d thought it had really…
Chuffing sounds made me turn, falling on my side awkwardly only to see the scale-lined belly breathing beside me. I groaned and let my head drop to the ground, a severe headache starting to pulse behind my eyes.
“Tao, are you awake? I am sorry. I did not know you could not breathe and you were so cold…” The words were an emotional onslaught that made my brain pulse behind my eyelids. It had really happened.
I scrambled up into a sitting position only to get dizzy and lay back down. “Stop, just stop! Why the fuck did you take me! This wouldn’t have happened if you had just left me in the leeri field,” I barked out, clutching my pounding head.
A keening sound filled the cavern we seemed to be occupying. I lifted my head enough to realize I wasn’t in a cavern, but instead secured under the zanzi’s massive wing, tucked away from the night’s cold against its belly. I wasn’t even slightly chilled in the simple protection. Its wing was a thick membrane that allowed only the slightest blue light from the moon to penetrate. Through it, the small blood vessels were a visible roadmap, leading to all the bones throughout the appendage. I startled when his large snout prodded my belly, the whining sound emitting loudly from it.
“I’m sorry, Senana.” There was desperation in those simple words that I didn’t understand. I sighed roughly, leaning into the beast’s side for warmth. I couldn’t begin to understand why this creature wanted me. My body still hurt and it would be a miracle if I didn’t have frostbite. I did know how to deal with the zanzi at the moment. It had already proven it wasn’t going to eat me, but I still didn’t know what it wanted with me.
“Why did you take me?” I asked, pinching the bridge of my nose to relieve the headache pulsing behind my eyes. The likelihood of that happening was slim to none. The creature’s keening stopped, but its muzzle stayed next to my belly, blue eyes looking at me expectantly, as if I should already know.
“Tao Oliris,” it said, as if that was the answer to everything. To me, it just sounded like native words that weren’t translating through our strange connection. I needed some definitive answers about everything that had happened earlier. Later though, after I got some sleep. Maybe my head wouldn’t hurt so much.
I looked down into its cerulean eyes, the constant movement in the iris strange but captivating. “I have no idea what that means.” Again, I rubbed at the bridge of my nose, trying to chase the pain away. I didn’t open my eyes. Lying against the welcoming heat, I forgot about everything and chased sleep. Sleep would make everything better.
“I will explain when we are safe in the nest,” the zanzi insisted.
“Somehow, I doubt that,” I muttered before falling asleep.
Warmth surrounded me—protecting me from the chill that would normally wake me in the coldest morning hours. I sighed, rolling closer to the radiant heat. It was usually cold in the cottages, and I was thankful for the reprieve. For a few minutes, I could pretend I was home in my bed, with Rhyan, the past few years never happening. Something nudged me in my lower back, almost rolling me over with the force.
“You should wake, Tao. We need to leave before Bizi rises.”
For the second time in the last twenty-four hours, I opened my eyes, breathing like I’d run a mile. In those first few seconds, it was one flash of reality after another. I remembered the pitki and then the zanzi landing in the field, but there was a gap where I didn’t remember what had happened, only bits and pieces. Another soft nudge to my side brought my attention to the zanzi’s inquisitive blue eyes. If I was lucky, it would explain what the hell is going on.
“You almost killed me?” I snarled after a few moments. The zanzi shifted beside me, its swirling blue gaze shifting between something over my shoulder and my eyes—a nervous gesture—odd for such a large predator.
“And nothing! No answers? How you know my name? How you can speak my language? Why you are taking me to a nest?” My jaw clenched throughout my little outburst, fists balled in my lap as I stared up at the blue reptile.
“We need to get to my nest. It’s not safe out in the open; it’s why I woke you, Tao.” It nudged my side, urging me to stand. I sneered and pulled away from its muzzle, slowly standing on my own. My muscles protested, stiff after sleeping on the cold, hard ground. I spied around the little cave we had inhabited for the night. It was barely a shelter on the side of a small mountain. We weren’t even out of the tree line, but that didn’t mean anything. With Indiku trees being four times the size of average Earth trees, I could be as far as two hundred feet in the air without even reaching the treetops. No way to escape.
A large movement beside me snapped my attention back to the beast. It stretched its wings out while standing on all fours, the whole process reminding me of a feline after it awakens from a long nap, spine arching and tail thrashing until it is fully aware. This was the first chance I’d had to really look at the zanzi. The early morning light of Oliris shimmered off the different shades of pale blue that decorated the creature’s body. From the top of its crown to where its wings join its back, a heavy mane of light blue fell in soft array. My hands tightened when I remember my death grip on its soft hair the night before.
I let my inspection continue passing over its massive body. Two ivory horns twisted around the top of its skull and turn to deadly sharp points at the tips. Its tail was large and tapered off with a tuft of blue mane at the end. It wasn’t exactly what I had expected a zanzi to look like so close, different than the dragons from human stories, something softer, not quite as many horns and spikes. Although smaller than I would have expected, it was still pushing close to thirteen feet in height. If I was being truthful to myself, I would have admitted the creature was beautiful, in an odd way.
“Do you like what you see, Tao?” That soft impressionistic voice licked at my conscious. It’s weird how its speech felt like words, when it was much more. It took me a moment to process what it had said before it finally sunk in.
“You’re an alien. I’ve never seen anything like you before.” And I hadn’t ever seen anything like it before, not outside of a movie or a book.
Those same hiccupping growls emitted from beast as it pushed its muzzle into my belly, the warmth of its breath soothing my cold skin under my shirt. “You are funny, Tao. Let us go before Bizi rises.” It crouched low, offering me help onto its massive back. I look at the ledge again, weighing my possibilities of escape. As it was, my options were pretty slim. With an irritated sigh, I pulled myself onto its back by the flowing track of mane down its spine.
“How far away is your nest?” I asked, my thighs tightening around the zanzi’s torso. Shifting its weight back onto all fours, it peered at me over its shoulder, baring its teeth in an expression that resembled a smile. It made my gut churn seeing rows and rows of sharp fangs so close.
“Not far. We’ll be there before Bizi rises… Tao, could you not squeeze so hard…hurts,” it said in a choking breath. Quickly, I released some of the tension in my legs and felt the zanzi take a large breath beneath me. All of this wasn’t making any sense. Why would this creature take care of me? Why wasn’t it throwing me around? Something told me I wasn’t going to like its nest very much.
Without warning, it launched off the mountainside, large wings buffeting the air with huge drags that pulled us high into the sky. My legs return to gripping painfully and my hands wrap into large blue clumps of mane as I held on for dear life.