“Lockemet,” he replied in a would-be-calm tone. “I did not invite her to come into the cove, and neither did I invite them to come onto the grounds of the Evergreen Hall.”
“That is what you said about the other human wormling,” said the naga, the snakes hissing menacingly in Leah’s general direction. “You cannot continue this heresy against the laws set by our forefathers!”
“Lockemet,” repeated the Geezer, clutching at his cane in an attempt to look dignified. “Why have you brought Mekare to the surface?”
The enormous serpent swung its iron gaze upon the Geezer, who stared up at it respectfully, inclining his head in the smallest of nods.
“You have tested our patience for too long, Lockegeo, and Mekare shall decide how long you are to live.” replied the Lockemet, looking reverentially upon the sea-snake.
“But what about my successor?” asked the Geezer, staring at the Lockemet, who blinked back at him. The Lockemet considered this.
“You have had twenty-five years to train a successor Lockegeo, and now you are worried about one?” he made a disgusted sound. “The pegasi and the naga have grown impatient, Lockegeo. They are impatient with the lazy efforts of the humans”-he spat out the word as if it would infect him- “and the sloppiness with which you perform your duties!”
“Since when have you had contact with the pegasi?” the Geezer’s voice trembled slightly. The Lockemet sneered at him, revealing pointy, grayish-black fangs.
“Do you really think that the inter-magical races only speak to each other at that forsaken conference? How foolish you are, Lockegeo, even in your age. It is more then past time for the puny human race to realize what has been staring at them in the face since the beginning.”
Rowan had stopped, staring groggily at the naga as if half-asleep.
Sherman’s shock had begun to wear off slightly, and he had regained control over his knees. Leah had stopped gaping but looked extremely sick.
Why, oh why, had Sherman taken up this dumb bet?
This wasn’t the first time she had been in trouble from Sherman and Rowan’s foolishness when it came to bets. They had been friends since kindergarten, and even then Sherman and Rowan dared each other to do incredibly stupid things; sneaking out of the house at midnight to see if a ghost would rise from the graveyard, eating raw chicken, buying five-day-old sushi from the local café, putting ants up their noses…the list went on and on. Fortunately, with the mightily failed let’s-scare-the-neighborhood-butcher-act when they were nine, Sherman and Rowan had calmed down enough to think before taking on headstrong notions to heart.
But why had she allowed herself to be pulled into yet another foolish challenge?
Cold apprehension rushed through her body, making her numb with astonishment and foreboding. The unnatural position of the waters, Mekare, a bare whisper, almost, of the pegasi, the Lockegeo and the Lockemet….how had Elby known so much?
Questions flooded into her mind, unspoken queries lingering on her lips, frozen in her fright.
“The Lockezan is just as eager in this ploy as I am, Lockegeo, and the pegasi have grown just as weary of your eloquent mockery of out posts!” the Lockemet slammed his spear into the sand for emphasis. The rest of the naga –and the snakes on their heads- hissed their approval.
___________________
:edging away from sworddance: :O
Pronunciation guide, before anything else. Sowwy.
Locke: lock-ei. (Just add the modifying noun)
Pegasi: peg-ah-sigh
Mekare: Meh-kah-ray
*
Okay, onto some questions raised by sworddance.
She said that the sea-serpent, from my description, gave off an aura of wisdom, and this did not go with the fact it was threatening. :sweatdrops:
Okay. Just because a character is an antagonist, doesn't mean that they can't hold themselves with grace and be wise. Likewise, (no pun intended) all the selfish characters don't have to be evil, a character on the good side can be acting for self-preservation as much as the person on the opposite side. See what I'm getting at? Good? Mmkay. Something else she mentioned is that "I called Saya a 'sea dryad' and an undine, and then call the naga undines." As I believe I mentioned in part 1, an undine refers to any magical being that dwells in a watery habitat or has aqua-ish powers, as a salamander refers to flamish creatures, etc..
/end rant.
So...yeah. Blah.
Enjoy!
~Sumi
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