The biggest snake grinned sharply. Once snapped, almost hit by the creature's muzzle.
________
'Shaa-zaakh ....'
'Shaa-khaaa ...!'
Taja said again and again.
"What are you talking about?" Raojhin was astonished while noticing Taja's sentence.
"I don't know ... I heard it in my head," answered Taja casually.
'Shaa-zaakh ... Shaa-khaaa ...!'
Raojhin repeated the same sentence, but instead the snakes turned violent, almost pecking Raojhin's body if he didn't dodge.
"Why didn't my words work?!" Raojhin was surprised that he had given up, didn't repeat the strange words and almost got his body pecked by the snakes around him.
"Who told you to come to this cave?" asked Raojhin in between threatened situations. His breath hitched as he took a slow step back.
"Princess Alingga," answered Taja.
"Impossible if she would have any intention of harming you!" replied Raojhin.
"Sssh ... don't make any noise Rao! I'm communicating with these snakes" Taja interjected.
Ssssssh ... Khaaaa ...!!!
The largest snake hissed loudly, stuck out its tongue, then snorted, its head tilted up so that Taja's height was too high.
"We apologize for coming to this place and not intentionally bothering you!" said Taja aloud. Returning the stare of the huge caterpillar in front of him.
Strange. The big snake seemed to understand Taja's words. Occasionally his head moves to the left and right, while sticking out tongue. But finally the snake hissed louder and bared its fangs.
Ssshaaaa ...!!!
"We're leaving!" Taja said again loudly. Reply to the body language of the snakes.
Raojhin's reflex was swinging the dagger since he was ready in hand.
"Don't attack!" Taja is late to hold Raojhin.
"How can I keep quiet? Snakes at my feet!" Raojhin was forced to slash with the dagger, injuring the small snakes entangled in his leg.
Raojhin moved too much. Some of the snakes were thrown by the dagger and kicking their legs. Provoke boisterous other snakes and attack back.
"Woe!" Taja can not do much. Before he had finished speaking with the biggest snake, Raojhin had already moved.
"Stop it Rao!" Taja shouted but was ignored by Raojhin. He continued blindly in all directions. Drawn the dagger and swung repeatedly until dozens of snakes were thrown.
For a moment, the snakes backed away at Raojhin's action. A little way apart, Raojhin hastily took wide strides to escape. One goal, a narrow passage there.
Shaaaaa ...!!!
However, a large snake moving nimbly almost grabbed Raojhin's body in an instant.
While Taja was busy dealing with the biggest snake since earlier blocking in front of him. The snake's behavior began to be aggressive. While Raojhin was busy swinging the dagger, more and more small snakes were sent flying by Raojhin's slashes and kicks.
Kaaaaargh ...!!!
The biggest snake in front of Taja, grinning sharply. Once caught, the snout of the snake almost snatched Taja's body. In a flash, the young man was no less agile in avoiding by turning, as well as infiltrating between the contortions of the snake's body, moving in a circle.
Taja jumped and rolled over and over again, he made the snake spin in an uncertain direction.
"Run, Rao!" Taja shouted at Raojhin as he was overwhelmed by the smaller snakes' encirclement. The attack of the dagger in hand was not enough to subdue the crowd of snakes.
'Alhirri ...!'
Taja screamed inside. Once again he threw white light from the clasped hands. The snakes could not stand the sting of the glare that emerged from Taja's fist. Alhirri's light glowed widely and made the hundreds of crawling creatures shuffle backward.
The snakes moved out of reach of Alhirri's dome of light. Not wasting the opportunity, Taja immediately pulled Raojhin. Immediately ran towards the only narrow passage at the end there. Stepping wide as fast as they could, Taja and Raojhin made their way to the narrow passage there. But the snakes chased them.
The walls shook violently. Collapsed when the largest snake hit the wall at the end of the hall. The two youths were not far enough from the snakes chasing him. Chasing large snakes behind the two young men kept running.
"Watch out ...!" Taja sped up his run. Behind, the snakes grabbed and grabbed fiercely. One collision of the snake's snout, once dodged, Taja was knocked out. The walls around the passage collapsed here and there.
"Agh!" Taja endured the pain, colliding body to the side of the ground. He fell down after a snake almost annexed him. The ground shook with crushed rocks around body blown away. Also Raojhin was not far from him, thumped hard on the ground.
"Aaarh ...!" Raojhin shouted holding back pain in knees. Both of them fell on the ground and were in pain.
"Rao, quickly run!" Taja screamed at Raojhin who was on stomach. Behind them, snakes were again emerging from the rubble of rock and dirt.
A head of the biggest snake, suddenly appeared from the crumbling boulder. The slithering creature moved nimbly to Taja and Raojhin had not fully risen.
"Run!" Taja shouted first to take a step away. Raojhin caught up and ran as hard as he could. He didn't feel all the pain in his body. They both ran fast, towards the river flow at the end of the mouth of the cave that appeared before their eyes.
"Jump!" Taja gave the signal. Just a few more steps to the river flow at the mouth of the cave.
With one wild leap, Taja and Raojhin threw themselves together into the stream. The ripple sound of water falling on a human body.
Taja glides nimbly in the depths of the water, his body easily carried by the river's undercurrent. Finally, Taja arrived at the surface of the water to be greeted by the bright sunlight. But there was no visible presence of Raojhin behind him.
For a while Taja waited a few moments. Around the banks of the river looked deserted. Completely Raojhin does not appear on the waterline.
"Unlucky!" Taja was annoyed. Even though he managed to get out of the cave under the river. Realized only he who managed to survive. But not for Raojhin.
No choice. Once Taja took a deep breath, then went back into the depths of the river.
Cavities around the mouth of the cave, scattered soil and crushed rocks here and there. Some of the rock walls at the mouth of the cave were destroyed. Traces of the struggle of man and snake. Taja returned to tracing the long cavity tunnel, towards the darkness of the cave's bowels.
"Raojhin killed this flock of snakes?" thought Taja, crossing the bodies of dead snakes, scattered everywhere.
"Raojhin!" Taja called out to friend. Hope nothing untoward happens. Every now and then a small snake would move, some would be stepped on and run away.
Taja chanted the Alhirri spell again until a circle of light filled the width of the belly of the cave. Alhirri's halo widened and formed a dome as well as a shield. All the snakes that lived around, inched backwards. The hissing sounds of creeping creatures, slashed with fear.
Taja stopped to walk. In front of him, the figure of the largest snake again appeared. Startling. It was also seen that Raojhin was tightly squeezed in the mouth of the big snake.
"Let him go, or I'll destroy your nest!" shouted Taja without fear anymore. Threatening without the slightest fear.
The huge snake only backed away by twisting its body, dodging Taja getting ready to shake the place with Alhirri's wisps of light growing stronger and bigger.
Raojhin looks a bit sober.
"Taja ...," Raojhin said softly and looked at who was coming to help.
"Don't ... care about ... me ...," he stammered.
"Go ... go ...," spoke with all his might, while Raojhin's body was half devoured by the big snake's mouth up to the waist. His stomach was squeezed, unable to move and looked very painful.
The big snake moved quickly, and immediately brought Raojhin to the edge of the abyss in the depths of the wide gaping belly of the cave.
"Rao ...!!!" Taja chases after the snake that was devouring Raojhin and in a flash the slithering creature disappears into the darkness of the abyss, vanishing from view in a blink of an eye.
"Nooo ...!!!" shouted Taja, but could not catch up with the big snake. Raojhin too was carried away by the huge snake which devoured him. Taja was left behind by the remaining snakes.
Upset alone, Taja almost throws Alhirri already growing in his hands. He didn't even think anymore if he would be buried with that place if it collapsed. He was almost desperate to hit Alhirri's energy into the abyss. But suddenly a bigger snake appeared from the direction of the unexpected darkness from behind Taja. A giant snake of the largest ever seen.
"Oh my God ...," Taja gaped as he raised eyes. Looking up at the head of the giant snake. Instantly the creature collided with Taja to bounce. Under such circumstances, the whisper suddenly appeared, disturbing mind inside again.
Taja ...!
Feeling dizzy and deafening in his head, Taja was in pain. Followed by a great buzzing sound. The light energy in Taja's hand immediately weakened and broke.
"Stop!" Taja tightly covered ears.
Taja ...!
The sound was shrill in the ears, increasingly making the dizzy.
Taja had not had time to rise from the ground. The giant snake was already in front of him. The snake's mouth gaped wide.
"Noooo!" shouted Taja muffled in the mouth of a giant snake. Once snatched, Taja's body was devoured.
"Ughh ...!"
Taja was squeezed at the edge of the giant snake's mouth, until he felt whole body weak and almost out of breath.
* * *