Taken: The Life of Uktesh Book 3 (6 page)

Uktesh would’ve swore she Stepped under the covers she moved so fast.  She was freezing and it took a long time for her to stop shivering from cold.  Talia said, “Thank you,” before he fell asleep.  He woke up to find his arm around her shoulders and his man bits quite ready to take her up on her offer last night. 

He lifted his arm off her, found that he also had to relieve his bladder, he pushed her shoulder and said, “Hey wake up.” 

She said, “I’ve been up for a while. Something kept poking me.”

He felt himself blush and said, “Where do I go to relieve myself?”

She misunderstood him and said, “I’m still willing.”

Uktesh said, “No my bladder, where to I relieve my bladder.”

She pointed at a bucket, “There’s a bucket in the corner.”

Uktesh said, “What if I had to relieve my bowels?”

She pointed at the bucket, “There’s a bucket in the corner.”

Uktesh sighed.
I miss the Isle de Tramonto.
He rolled over Talia and out of the bed.  As soon as his bare skin was exposed to the cold he regretted his decision to leave the warmth. 
You could always make it warmer too,
the evil thought popped into his head.  He pulled his loincloth to the side and began to relieve himself as he mentally fought with his darker side. 
No, I’m married, and I love Laurilli and don’t want Talia.

You might be married, but she’s probably dead. The dragon surely thought that she was, and you definitely do want her.

No I don’t!  It’s the morning!  This probably would have happened without her in the bed.

You can lie to her, you can even try to lie to yourself, but you and me, we both know the truth.

Damn it!
  Uktesh finished and readjusted the loincloth while he shook his fist at the wall.
Maybe I’m attracted to her, but that doesn’t mean I have to do anything about it!

There was no response and Uktesh Stepped back to the bed to get under the warmth of the covers.  He turned so that his back was to Talia’s and as he drifted to sleep his darker side thought,
it doesn’t mean you don’t.
  Uktesh woke up to find that Talia had wrapped herself around him and was snoring into his ear.  He first lifted his leg until hers slid off of it, then lifted her arm from around his shoulder, and lastly rolled slightly so that she was on her back and not on him. 

He fell back asleep only to be awaken by her leaving the bed,
it feels like I’ve only been asleep for a few moments
.  He sighed and stretched out.
Finally, the bed to myself! 
He heard the sound of her relieving her bladder and wondered if she was going to leave to wherever she stayed normally, or if she was going to come back to the bed.  When she finished she quickly got back under the covers and Uktesh scooted to the edge of the bed again, and faced the wall.  When he woke up again it was to feel of her lips on his cheek, “Thank you. I’ll see you tonight.” 

She was gone before he could ask, “Tonight?” 

He groaned and stretched out on the bed,

“I hope you’re not too tired,

I won’t allow my training to be mired.”

Uktesh groaned and saw the snake sitting in the corner. 
Sitting?  Standing?  Crouching?
  Uktesh yawned and said, “Training?  Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I beat your best, what more can you teach me?” 
Not to add both my arms are broken and in casts.

The snake whipped Uktesh with its tail,

“Of yourssself you are full,

like a ship with a leaking hull. 

Failure is what you will do,

if you don’t believe what I say to be true.”

Uktesh said, “Fine just stop rhyming. I’ll train with you.”  He wearily followed the snake man out onto the cold sand and said, “I just realized I don’t know your name?” 
Time to see if Talia was lying to me.

The snake replied,

“I have my own story,

but you may call me doctore.”

Uktesh glared and said, “Seriously?  What’s your name?”  The snake man raised his whip so Uktesh quickly added, “Doctore.”

The snake ignored his question and said,

“If power isss what you ssseek,

you yourssself mussst become meek.”

Uktesh felt like being snide, but instead said, “Yes, doctore.”

Doctore laughed a creepy laugh and said,

“The boy, from pain, can learn!

Now to sssee if without pain ignorancsse will return.”

  Doctore waited, but when Uktesh didn’t say anything the snake man said,

“I know you know the formsss one through four,

but do you know that there are more?”

Uktesh felt his eyebrows rise in shock, “More?  I know balanced, imperfect, perfect, and god.  Are you telling me there are more?”

Doctore said,

“The namesss change, the ssskill remainsss the sssame.

You know one through four by far the mossst tame.”

Uktesh said excitedly, “There are more?  How many?”

Doctore said,

“There are ssseven,

but beware the last may sssend you to heaven.”

Uktesh said, “There are three levels I don’t even know about?”  Uktesh sat down and said, “I’m going to need to name them real quick, obviously the last one is the god form, but what do I call after perfect?”

Doctore said,

“Five, sssix, and ssseven, true, titanic, and god.

To call them anything elssse would be odd.”

Uktesh said, “OK, but what should I call the one between perfect and true.”

Doctore said,

“Name what you know,

I would move along this show.”

Uktesh said, “Balanced, imperfect, perfect, true, titanic, and god.”

Doctore sighed loudly and said,

“The form before balancssed, what isss it called?

That isss the form that hasss you ssstalled.”

Uktesh said, “Before balanced, I guess it would be unbalanced.”

Doctore said,

“There you have them all.

Let’s begin before I fall.”

Uktesh began following the instructions Doctore gave him and he quickly formed a question.  “What do you mean all the forms are the same?  Please without a riddle or rhyme.”

Doctore asked,

“Can you make a sssoft third?

To not even hurt a bird?”

Uktesh thought about the riddle, “Yes!” He shouted excitedly, “I can make a perfect hit less hard.”

Doctore said,

“Third isss not perfect,

it is imperfect, correct?”

Uktesh thought about it and said, “Yeah, sorry I forgot. So what you’re saying is if I can make a third softer, I could make a second harder?  If that’s true then all my skills I’ve learned can be used in any form?  Then why do we have a Bull Rushes Down and a Hawk Soars?”

Doctore said,

“Sssame name, or different name,

isss the ssskill outcome the sssame?”

Uktesh thought about it and said, “Yeah, the both make you run faster.  So then I could do a fourth form Cresent Moon or a second form Palm Strike?”

Doctore said,

“Is power in the name or the ssstrike?

If you sssay, ‘name,’ you will take a permanent hike.”

Uktesh smiled at Doctore’s humor, but when Doctore raised a scaly eyebrow Uktesh said, “Strike, it’s the strike.  So I already know all the true, titanic, and god form strikes?  And does that mean that for three can be used for defense?”

Doctore said,

“Think back have you usssed all forms that way?

If you have or have not mattersss not if you lisssten to what I sssay.”

Uktesh asked, “How do I amp myself up enough to do a god form palm strike?”

Doctore held up a finger and said,

“God form is different from all othersss.

Only can be usssed once before it sssmothersss.”

Uktesh said, “What do you mean, it’ll kill me to use it?”

Doctore said,

“That isss the mossst likely outcome,

but could be that you change little or whole sssum.”

He gestured at himself.

Uktesh said, “Wait! You used to be human?  But you used a god form attack and were changed into a snake!” 
That’s what Talia meant!

Doctore made a hissing laugh sound again, and said,

“I was the bessst of the bessst,

I ssstood higher than all the ressst.

One hundredth match I was to be free,

a ssstrange desssperation took hold of me.

My opponentsss ten of the bessst to fight,

should have been hard, but possssible, right?

Wasss not to be, I fought hard, but early lossst my arm.

Then my leg, ssso god form I usssed, what wasss the harm?

My family wasss from a ssssmall town by the sssea,

generationsss by the sssea, thisss form wasss meant to be.

Attacked them, I did, in god form I did,

killed opponents all, but of my human body I was rid.

That wasss the end of my sssaga,

to be cursssed to live forever asss a naga.”

Uktesh felt stunned, “But it was do or die, right?  Better to win and live another day right?”

Doctore looked to the distance and said,

“I oncsse could have been a bloodlessss searcher,

a wife and child to love and nurture.

Now they are gone,

it ssso quickly went wrong.

Murdered becaussse of their husssband and father,

To them I was just a deadly bother.”

Uktesh said, “They killed your family because you became a naga?  Who?”

Doctore said,

“Asss I am I am ssstill mighty, far ssstronger than you.

He who killed my world isss ssstronger than me it’sss true.”

Uktesh asked, “Was it the Storm lord?”  Doctore nodded, and Uktesh said, “Why do you work for him?”

Doctore said,

“One day he will ssslip,

and there will I be with my whip.”

Uktesh said, “I’d like to help you.  Let’s train until I can use the titanic form easily. With that I doubt anything could beat me.”

Doctore said,

“Be careful pride is wrong,

unlessss you wish to live only in sssong.”

Uktesh nodded and said, “Gotcha if I’m not careful I may die by underestimating an opponent.”  Uktesh thought for a moment and asked, “How many people know how to use the god form?  How many have used it?”

Doctore said,

“Know how? Hundredssss I’m sssure.

Usssed it?  Maybe three dozen, but only one doesssn’t need a cure.”

Uktesh said, “Wait. You can use it without being changed?”

Doctore nodded and said,

“It isss far more than rare.

You would be more likely to walk on air.”

Uktesh smiled and said, “Gotcha. It’s a last resort only.  Hey, before your change, did you always have to rhyme?”

Doctore sighed and asked,

“Do you

need to?”

Uktesh smiled and got back to practicing; as much as his broke arms would allow.  He had a lot to learn and didn’t really understand how he was able to beat the best if they had someone as skilled as Doctore training them.

1. Is this my life now
   

Two months apart from Uktesh

Laurilli woke up and stared at the ceiling. 
Two months without him.

The dragon said,
you’ve got me at least.

Sure, what girl wouldn’t want a horny Wyrm in her head making comments about how attractive her mother is, or suggesting I look in the mirror for a little longer, or that Pamfilo looks uncomfortable with her shirt on.

If I knew where Uktesh was I would leave you in a heartbeat. At least he agrees with me most of the time, even if he doesn’t always admit it to himself.  Do you at least enjoy the fringe benefits of my powers?   You can Walk almost as far as he could already.

Sure those are great. I can go anywhere, with nowhere to go.  I can get anywhere instantly with nothing but time on my hands. 

At least the pain has gone away.

Laurilli touched the scar between her breasts.
That’s true.
  She’d seen Uktesh deal with injuries that had nearly killed him, and he never once complained about how much the healing process hurt.  She’d almost daily woken up screaming in pain for two weeks straight.  When that ended most had assumed that she was fine, if not ready to begin activities, and easily worn out.  The truth was that only in the past few days had she finally been able to breathe without pain.  If she breathed in deeply, there was a clear line of pain in her chest, but she tended to avoid testing her pain threshold.