Chapter twenty three
The serpent's tail lashed out, wrapping around Randolf's leg. With a quick jerk, it snapped his ankle bone. The crack echoed through the chamber, followed by Randolf's scream.
"That wasss for touching him," the serpent explained pleasantly. "Now… what sssshall we do about you trying to rape him?"
Another coil wrapped around his other leg. This time, the serpent squeezed slowly. Randolf felt his bones grinding together, felt his flesh being crushed like grapes. His screams reached a higher pitch.
"Yesss," the serpent hissed with satisfaction. "Sssscream for me. Ssscream like he would have ssscreamed if you had sssucceeded."
The serpent's head came down close to Randolf's face. Its breath reeked of death and venom. Its eyes burned with inhuman hatred.
"You know what I'm going to do to you?" it whispered. "I'm going to eat you. Alive. My venomsss won't kill you—it will keep you awake while my ssstomach digestsss you piece by piece."
"No, please—"
