Samanatha felt her anger boil as, once again, she tripped over the ground in her way. Hot sand slipped in between her toes, making her growl in frustration.

"Don't be such a baby!" The demon beside her, name of Rocky Road snapped, smacking her over the head, "You should be grateful we didn't make you walk barefoot..... or naked for that matter.” Rocky laughed this aloud.

Somewhere behind her, Samanatha could hear a whimper from Mint, shivering at the thought walking naked in front of all these demons.

"YOU should be grateful I'm not free." Samanatha thought to herself. She would have screamed it had it not been for the gag in her mouth, cutting off all forms of speech. "Or I swear to God, I would kick your sorry ass to the moon and back. How did I get into this one?" She thought, closing her eyes as sweat dripped down from her forehead into her eyes. The hot sun beat down upon her beautiful body, free to touch any part of her it wished.

Samanatha had not planed to spend her day like this.... or any day of her life like this for that matter. Samanatha was a renowned demon fighter, known for taking on four or five demons at a time and coming back with their heads. That was how things had planed to go last night... until everything went out of line.

Everything had been fine, the demons were falling back like the cowards they were and she had the higher ground. She pulled out a sword, ready to finish what she had started... when she heard the sound of a horse whiny... and something hard and sharp came to the back of her head... along with darkness.

When she had woken she was naked and in chains, laying on the floor in a demon campsite, somewhere out in the desert. She was kicked to her feet and forced to dress in what looked like a thin red harem robe. It was light and flimsy and covered almost NOTHING on her body. Someone placed a beautiful blue lilly in her hair and ridiculously high shoes on her feet. She was then bound with robe and golden chain was placed around her neck. Someone shoved a gag into her mouth to keep her from talking.

"You belong to us now, huntress." One of the demons hissed, "And someone will pay a pretty penny for you."

Samanatha tried to snap angrily at her captor, but a female demon gave her a sharp smack across the face.

"I'd learn my place, if I were you, huntress!" she hissed at the young woman before her. "You have no idea what you are in for."

She was then placed in a line of other girls, dressed as she was, bound by rope and chains, ready to be sold as slaves.

"Put the huntress at the head of the line!" One demon barked, "She should be the first to go!"

Samanatha was shoved to the front of line and chained in as though she were some wild animal. She looked on in shock as she recognized two of the fellow travelers. Mint, a small angel with blue hair and Mindy a huntress Elf with long green hair. They were soon joined by other girls, robed and chained and attached to the group. Then, Rocky Road spoke up.

"It's a very long walk to the port, ladies," She laughed, "Enjoy this fresh air... you may not be able to smell it again for a long time.

With the crack of a whip and a muffled scream of a young girl, they started off across the hot sand and the blazing sun. All day long the sun had beaten down on them along with hot sand and the crack of the slave driver’s whip!

The only thing worse than being trapped in a demon slave caravan, being lead to a trade port where she would be auctioned off to the highest bidder, forced to do whatever it was her new master wished for the rest of her life, Samanatha figured... was the outfit she was forced to wear!

It covered nothing. It seemed to her it was only meant to outline her beautiful figure... cover maybe a little of her breasts and waist... but the rest was pointless. Samanatha would rather be caught dead than wear an outfit as tarty as this.

She found herself about to trip over her own feet again and stood up straight... only to find a sharp, intense pain on her back. The slave drivers whip smacked her again. She fought back the cry and the tears and she tried to spin around and give that demon a look of such incredible hate... but her chains prevented her.

"Get used to it!" The driver snapped, smirking at her attempts, "Your master will have free reign to do this all he or she likes."

"Hey!" Another driver cried, "Easy on the whip! No ones gonna pay for damaged goods!"

"AW, man, come on! They're Elves and Angels, they can heal themselves in time!" The guy cried back, demonstrating this by smacking his whip upon another poor girl whose skin immediately closed to keep the blood inside... but the pain remained.

"Too bad they can't heal themselves out of this one!" The three drivers laughed out loud.

“Wait, that’s not funny...”
~*~*~*~*~

Mint didn't hold back her tears as they fell down her soft cheeks. She wanted nothing more than to break free, spread her wings and soar into the sky above with the other angels. Wouldn’t they be looking for her right now?

“God.” She prayed, “Help me get out of this. Help me find a way.”

But she could not. She had tried to cry, scream, give some cry of help, but the gag in her mouth prevented any such noise. The driver approached her.

"Don't be scared." Rocky Road told her, placing a gloved hand on her shoulder, "This is the least scary part."

In front of her, Samanatha had heard that comment and tried to give the driver a good kick in the shins... but her chains prevented her from making that move.

"Besides, with a body like yours." Mint felt the tears in her eyes as the driver placed her hand on her rear, "You should at least go to someone who will feed you. If I had the cash, I would take you for myself, little bird."

Mint struggled against the touch, but could not break free of her bonds.

Another demon driver came over and pinched Mint's rosy cheek, "She is quite the little catch!"

Mint began to cry as the demons poked and prodded her. Samanatha got a feeling in her gut that Mint was in for a lot of trouble when they got to the port.

"We've got to break free..."
~*~*~*~*

Mindy felt herself growing sick inside as they touched and fondled poor Mint in front of her. By God, if she had her weapons, the male demons would no longer have a reason to be attracted to women. Her Evlen ears could pick up the sounds of more screams and pains from the back of the line as more girls met with the divers whip. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine her home before she had been captured. Full of laughter and music.

But now there was no music... only laughter, horrible, evil laughter.

If she had her weapons, she would be the one laughing.
.~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The girls walked hour after hour in the hot sun as sand seeped underneath their shoes and they were poked and touched by demons. Samanatha felt herself growing tired, but she knew they wouldn't stop for at least another mile.  The port just seemed to be getting further and further away. She began to notice that the sun was sinking low in the sky. The slave driver noticed as well.

"It's getting close to nightfall and I can't see in the dark!"

"Liar!" The other male driver called, "You're just scared of the dark!"

"SHUT UP!" Rocky Road called, "Both of you!" She looked up at the sky, night was falling... but they were soooooooooooo close to their pay day. She felt her anger boil, but let it simmer and let herself remain calm.

"I've waited a few days... one more wont hurt. Besides, I need a nap." She thought to herself.

"Alright!" She called, " We’ll camp here for tonight. Tie the girls up outside and I'll set up camp." She looked at the ground before her and placed her hands together, muttering a spell under her breath. A dark black fire formed on the earth's surface... before splitting as she opened her hands and formed a very gigantic, very luxurious looking tent, similar to the one they had last night. The men stared.

"She's so useful that way." One of the men commented, not noticing that she was close enough to hear him.

"You come near me again tonight." She called as she began to kick off her shoes, "I will smack you so bad, you'll be feeling it past death.

There was a long pause.

"But I'm already dead!"

"EXACTLY!" Rocky Road called to them, "Now tie them up and get your buts over here! I wanna back rub!" She was about to enter the tent when she turned back and looked at the trapped girls.

“Good night, my dears. Any last words before you meet your fate tomorrow?”

Several girls tried to speak, but their gags prevented them from doing so.

“I didn’t think so.” Rocky Road commented and with a wave of her hand, she vanished into the tent.

Both demons rolled their eyes and broke the girls apart from their chains, but not their ropes. The two demons recited the spells they had been taught for this purpose and six large wooden poles shot out of the ground as though they had been waiting. The demons smiled and tied each girl to a separate pole. Chaining her legs and ankles to the pole, while tying her stomach to the pole with long cord. They smirked at the treasures that lay before them.

"We'll be rich before noon tomorrow!" One of them jumped for joy, "Come on, let's give Road that back rub before she goes nuts."

"Yeah, and I'm looking forward to a nice night of peace after all that whining. Enjoy the night air girls!" He called back, "Don't let the bugs and snakes bite!"

Several girls whimpered even more. The demons laughed at this and entered the tent and closed the drape, but not before Samanatha heard from one demon.

"Wait... are you serious about the snakes?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Most people tend to associate snakes as evil creatures for that seductive nature and their nasty attitude. They are put as demonic creatures... but most snakes don't really care for that. They are not really mean creatures. They just prefer to live a life of solitude and peace on their own.

Halios was a desert snake traveling home after his meal of rat. He was a middle aged snake, with a rather handsome pattern on his back. He was a quiet snake, preferring to live alone. He never liked to be disturbed by humans, thought they were troublesome creatures, but on occasion, he would find a quite human from the port up ahead who just stared at him and he back at it. No screaming, no running, just peace.

He was slithering across the desert... when his tongue picked up a taste in the air. A taste he didn't find very much.

"Tearssss." He whispered, "Sssssomeone is crying."

Lifting his agile head, he looked up and saw the beautiful tent with the glowing lights and the wooden polls sticking up from the ground.

"Odd." He hissed, "No one comesss thisss way. But why would ssssomeone be crying?"

Wondering what in the world was going on, he slither over. He was close enough to see what was going on... and was shocked at what he saw.

Six young female humans. Bound and chained to poles as though they were bait for creatures. Some were crying, others in total silence. Halios had never come across a slave caravan before and was confused. Most humans he saw ran free or stayed in big packs, but were never chained up alone. He slithered up to one girl, dressed in red and tapped his tail to her foot.

~*~*~*~
Samanatha felt the little tap and looked down. A snake was looking up at her. She felt a shiver pass though her, but it came and went. She wasn't afraid of snakes, but this one seemed strange.

“Is he.... have I lost my mind? Is this snake trying to talk to me?”

~*~*~*

"Good evening," He hissed in English. He head heard enough english from some humans and other animals to be able to speak it. A little, at least, he preferred his own tongue, "May I asssk, what issss going on here?"

The girl said nothing and Halios repeated his question. But when she did not answer him again, Halios began to wonder if this girl was shy or just plain rude. He was about to leave when he noticed the moonlight shining down upon the girl. There was a gag in her mouth.

"No wonder sssssssshe can't talk." Halios said and carefully began slithering up her body to get to the gag.
~*~*~*~

Samanatha was amazed at how soft the snake's underbelly felt on her skin as he slithered up her scantly clad body. It wasn’t rough and scaly like the reptile demons she had fought before. When the snake came to her head, he went beside her ear and pulled on the strap of leather to remove the gag. Samanatha took several deep breaths in and smiled at the creature.

"Thank you." She said, "I have no idea who you are, but thank you."

"My name is Haliosssss" He said to her, giving what to her seemed like a snake like bow." "May I asssk, what issss going on here?"

"You've got to help us!" She said softly with great haste, "This is a slave caravan. We are all prisoners of-"

"Ssssstop." Halios cut her off, "My.... human tongue is not very good. I do not understand."

Samanatha's smile fell to a frown. So this snake could only understand so much english. Franticly, her mind began to race.

"How can I explain...." She looked around and looked over at the girl dressed in green.

"Mindy, is it?" She thought, "Can't elves speak animal tongues? Maybe she can..."

She looked at the girl in green and gave a gentle bird whistle, just enough for her to get Mindy’s attention.

Mindy looked over and saw Samanatha with the snake on her shoulder.

"Tell him what's going on." She whispered softly, trying not to alert the guards to the fact that she was free, “He doesn’t speak much english.” Then she turned back to the snake and gave him a nod.

"Go free that girl over there, she knows how to speak your tongue. And really, thanks for your help." She told him. Halios understood the gist of  what Samanatha had just said and slithered over to Mindy. He slithered up to her shoulder and released the gag the same way he had done for Samanatha.

"Thank you." She whispered in his own language, “That feels so much better.”

"You speak my tongue?" He asked in shock.

"Yes, I’m Evlen." She told him, "Listen,I don’t have much time to explain and  we need your help. This is a demon slave caravan, bound for the port a little up ahead. We are all up for sale as slaves. You have to help us get out of here. We don't have much time."

Halios felt himself grow even more confused. "Humans sell their own kind?" He thought, "What a messed up species."

"I can try to help you." He said, "What do you need?"

"I need you to free us." She whispered, "Can you do that?"

Halios looked at the ropes holding Mindy and her companions. They were too thick for him to chew through, but he could undo the knots and then pick the chains with his fangs. He slithered down and wrapped himself around Mindy's stomach, using his head and tail to undo the knots at her waist and then untying the ropes at her knees and wrists. The ropes fell to the ground softly, making almost no noise. Finally he was able to go down to the chains.

“Be quick and quiet.” Mindy hissed, “If those things make noise, we are all dead.”

Halios picked at the chains with his fangs as fast as he could and Mindy made sure she kept the chains from making any loud sounds. Finally, she jumped loose from her pole. She looked at the other girls tied up and knew she had to be quiet or they would be caught.

"Thank you." She said gently, "Go free the girl you were talking to before and I'll get the others."

Halios nodded and one by one, the girls were free of their bonds. Halios had to go back and forth, freeing the chains since no one had a lock pick, but finally, everyone was free. As a group, they moved quietly away from the tent, trying to keep their feet light on the sound.

"What now?" Mint whispered. " We have to do something or they'll catch us."

"No they won't." Samanatha whispered, anger burning in her eyes. All though out today she had been poked, prodded, bound, gagged, forced to walk across a hot desert in almost nothing and finally tied to a pole. She’d had enough of this nonsense, "They're gonna get theirs!” Her mind began to cook up a plain to get the others out of here. “Anyone who's an angel come here."

Three girls, including Mint stepped forward.

"Can you guys fly the others out of here quietly? Go somewhere safe until this is all over?" She asked.

They nodded, closing their eyes and silently making their wings appear. They fluttered and shimmered in the light of the moon, but made no sound. The other girls each went over to an angel and held one tightly for when they would take flight. Mindy was the only one without a partner. Samanatha had not moved.

"Come on!" She whispered, "They'll come to check on us soon."

"No they won't." Samanatha whispered, "They are gonna get theirs and they are gonna get theirs now!" She looked down at Halios and asked, "Any friends of yours deadly?"

"Ssssome." He hissed, catching on, "I'll be right back!"

Samanatha nodded and motioned for the other girls to fly, carefully to not make a single sound. She watched the other girls fly off into the sky and summoned a weapon to her hand. The nearest thing was a whip that had been used on her earlier. It would work for now. She saw Halios coming back with several other snakes. A few sidewinders and a cobra. She looked at him and nodded.

"Perfect." They started for the tent and pushed aside the long drape. Only to find Rocky Road getting a back rub by two demons and another demon passed out on a pillow. Road saw Samanatha at the door and jumped to her feet.

"How the hell did you get out!?!?"

"I have my friends." Samanatha shrugged and motioned to Halios. “Get her.”
~*~*~*~*~*

*The Next Day*

Samanatha found herself on horse back with Halios on her shoulder almost amazed at how quickly the night had passed.

“Time does fly when your kicking demon ass!” She said to herself.

She was currently teaching Halios to hiss proper english as thanks for what had come around last night. It had been a fight to remember.  With several demons out there being chased by poisonous snakes, it had been Samanatha vs. Rocky Road. Not at all pleased by this, Road had made the first punch, but Samanatha had jumped out of the way and Halios had wrapped himself around Road’s feet, causing her to fall. Samanatha had quickly restrained her and wrapped her in thick cord. This morning, they had left a very angry Rocky Road dressed as a Harem girl and tied to a pole out in the desert for the Evlen troops to pick up later. Samanatha found herself at peace again.

"Now to find Reed and get back to work," She thought, "And get OUT OF THESE FREAKEN HAREM CLOTHES!"

“What did you jussssst ssssay?” Halios asked.

“Pal, you are better off, not knowing.”