Ghost Monkey, стр. 37
There was no one there on the first day. Even the animals stayed away, leaving only a handful of rodents rummaging around the undergrowth and a few insects chirping off in the distance. The silence exhausted Sugriva.
After a week of waiting, he heard slithering and rustling in the bushes off in the distance. He clambered up a tree and moved through the branches swiftly. As he closed in, the sound died off. When he was right over it, the movement took off away from Sugriva at incredible speeds. He landed on the ground and discovered a trail of thick blood, more like mucus. The slithering pattern was consistent with a snake, but it would have been over a meter wide, which was larger than any Fang aside from Ravasha. Based on the tracks left, there were three tails. Definitely not bandits or Fangs. Demons.
Yes, Sugriva. My kind are close. One sniff of you and they would embrace you as a brother. You wouldn't have to hide.
The scent made its way to his nostrils and Sugriva's eyes dilated. The verdant foliage took on a ruddy hue. He could see and smell the few animals around him. There was no desire to eat them, just to kill them all, to rejoice in spilled blood and broken bones.
"Sugriva?" The word came from a voice too sweet to be at Sita Falls. He made a fist, trying to hide his black and red nails, though the smoke they emitted was too thick to conceal.
When he saw her, she looked delicious. The slender neck would snap easily. The fragile wings would crack under his teeth. Fat and muscle mixed perfectly over the rest of her, and he knew it. Every nip of flesh would be celebrated over his tongue as much as when they made love. He licked his lips. That's right. There is a full meal, and she delivered herself. If you consume her, she will always be with you.
"Sugriva, it's Prisha. I heard you came out here, and I missed you so much. There's something I have to tell you."
She found him, and her hand touched his head. She stroked his cheek and brought him up for a kiss. The red faded.
"Hello," he whispered, then kissed her. "Why are you here?" Panic struck him as he thought of what he just saw.
"To be with you." She started to remove her shirt, but he stopped her, eyes darting as his ears strained to listen.
Maybe she wanted him more than he thought. Maybe she would be okay with the thought of running away. Fear was replaced with hope.
"Let's jump off the cliff together. You can spread your wings and fly us away from here. Find a small village, settle down, have lots of kids. We can protect them from the world and tell them all the crazy stories about their dad." Her skin felt like down and sent tingles through Sugriva's hand.
Prisha laughed, dimples forming. "I wish I could. I had something I wanted to tell you, Sugriva." She rested her head against his chest.
The slithering returned. Inaudible words left Prisha's lips, words Sugriva knew would break him, but at the time, that didn't matter. The rustling came toward them. "We need to run."
Sugriva seized his staff. Prisha sputtered, "Sugriva, you have to listen. Don't silence me."
A black monstrosity appeared out of the bushes, and three heads peeked over the foliage. One head looked like a skull. The other two were grotesque masks of demons with large fangs, wide eyes without eyelids, and red or black faces. They spoke in unison in a way that made Sugriva's ears shuddered. "So little food, but you two will do. Thought we scared them all off, we did."
"Run, Prisha." Sugriva didn't look back. He took his staff and ran at the abomination. "Tell your dad what you saw."
"No survivors," they echoed in unison. The skull transformed into a snake head, venom dripping down exposed fangs, then lunged after Prisha. Sugriva caught the creature's mouth on his staff, brought it down to the ground, and crushed its head underfoot. The other two heads howled. "You hurt our brother!"
"Was really hoping that was a kill," Sugriva muttered.
Prisha ran, her feet pattering toward the cliff. He prayed she was going to fly, and that she knew which way she was going. Otherwise they were both dead, and Jaya would be none the wiser.
A black mucus, similar to what was on the tree in Mibtha, formed into small needles. They jabbed at Sugriva, and the monkey kept shifting forms to make him a difficult target. When given the chance, he struck with his staff, bending and breaking the needles. Each successful hit was met with a hiss. The snake head shook, turned back to a skull, and joined his demented siblings.
"What are you?" Sugriva blurted out.
You know, the voice in his head said, trembling with excitement.
Every attack, every parry, was met with a blood lust. He wanted to feast on this creature and steal its power, but at the same time the thought revolted him.
"We are the Teen Brothers. Sewed together at birth by our overlord, we escaped his hell and now wander here. We are free. Free. Free!" The heads, on elongated necks, braided together in their glee. "You are the first to fight back. We will wrap you up, then swallow and digest you alive. We look forward to it. And the woman? She looks young. Breeding stock. Yes."
She is ours. We breed with her. We eat her. They cannot touch her. She is ours. The hissing in his head was disorienting, but going in the right direction. Sugriva allowed the rage to wash over him. His hands flexed, and the wood staff creaked under the strain. Then the crimson washed over his sight and