Serpentine Love Read Free Page B

chance
to meet Isaac Lois, an expert on snakes and allegedly the only man
who was rumored to have seen an inagimi in Kenya. Perhaps, this was
the break he was looking for?
    After sparing one glance for the thugs
lying on the road, he called an ambulance. Having no intention to
be questioned by curious medics, he sat in his car intending to
leave the area before anyone arrived.
    His cell phone rang, jarring him out of
his dream. “Hello?” he said. Few people had his number.
    “ Archan here,” a rough voice
rasped back. “Report your progress.”
    Despite the warm night, Arya felt a
shiver of cold run up his spine. How the hell did Archan manage to
contact him on a cell phone from another world? The vibrations of a
spell seeped through Arya’s hand even as he held the phone. Archan
was indeed a potent wizard to use magic to access the technology of
this world. An ambitious man, his ultimate goal was the
inagimi.
    “ I’m close,” he reported.
“There is a man, Isaac Lois. He might’ve useful information that
could put me on the right path. He knows more about snakes that
anyone else in the world. I shall be meeting him in person
tomorrow.”
    “ Has he ever come in contact
with an inagimi?”
    “ My source said he once
accidently divulged some information regarding the inagimi at a
herpetologist conference, even going as far as to claim he saw one.
Later, he backed out and claimed he was joking. I believe he saw
one, or knows where to find one.”
    “ I need results…and soon,”
Archan said, imperious even at a distance.
    “ You’ll get them,” Arya
promised, a cold fist around his heart as he contemplated the mess
he would be in if he did not deliver. Although not desirous of
immortality, he also had no wish to die at an early age. He had
entered into a contract with Archan for money, but now it was
matter of life and death. Archan wouldn’t tolerate failure another
time. Just this once, Arya could not afford to make a
mistake.
    Maya Lois was the key; he needed her.
She was his access ticket to Isaac. As he heard the distant click
on the other side when Archan switched off, Arya understood that he
was running out of time--fast.
     
     

Chapter
Four
     
    Maya Lois was an enigma, Arya decided.
She was cool, calm and collected…and yet, underneath that tranquil
exterior lurked a passionate woman, one who was not afraid to speak
her mind or stand her ground.
    She was beautiful, too. He would have
had to be dead not to notice the smooth mahogany of her skin, the
perfect teeth beneath perfectly sculpted lips and the curly black
hair that threatened to spill from the bun she so carefully made at
the back of her head. No wonder he found it hard to stay focused on
his mission when he was in her presence.
    Today, he was determined to ignore her
charms.
    At seven sharp, he rang Maya’s
bell.
    “ Come in,” she yelled from
inside.
    Opening the door, Arya walked in.
“Wow!” he said. The house décor reflected the owner in every way
possible. Snake—shaped ornaments, snake lamps and even a glass bowl
shaped like a coiled snake on the coffee table showcased her love
for her chosen career. “You’re really into snakes, aren’t you?” He
laughed.
    “ It’s my life’s work,” she
said. “Are you sure you’re a writer?”
    “ What?” Arya stared at her.
Did she suspect something?
    “ Just a thought. Aren’t all
writers supposed to be nerds, with their noses into books or
research papers…or whatever it is that writers do?”
    “ Aren’t all snake handlers
supposed to be sun-baked with snake bites all over
them?”
    “ Touché!” Maya smiled as she
took the car keys off the bronze snake peg. “We’ll take my
car.”
    “ And what do I do with
mine?”
    “ You’ll call the rental
agency and tell them to pick it up.”
    “ You seem to have thought of
everything,” he said as they stepped out. She turned to face him.
Outside, in the warm sunlight, her skin glowed like dark honey.
Unable to