Page 110 of Of Serpents and Ruins
"Our smell is different on purpose," Arjax responded. "Your beasts won't confuse us with the real thing."
I couldn't smell much beyond the scents of dark mud, fresh blood, rotting plants, and something a little more bitter.
"Are there really spinosauruses here?" I raised an eyebrow, not certain whether I was concerned or intrigued or both.
"Oh, yes," Lorna said, "but they don't come into basilisk territory that often, especially not a big gal like Mischief."
"Most don't go anywhere near Mischief. She's ornery," Arjax said.
"That's putting it mildly." Lorna clicked her tongue.
I climbed up on Buttercup's back, giving her a reassuring scratch along the top of her frill. She lowed again. "Yeah, I know, baby," I said with another pat. "We're going as swiftly as we can."
We were going to get that spear. Then we were headed back. We would finish before nightfall.
We started along the rocky path, single file. Kine brought up the rear while I rode along behind Lorna and Arjax. The two peppered us all with questions about our homes and families as well as what was happening with the curse and the Gola Resh. We brought them up to speed as best we could.
"How do you intend to slay the basilisk?" Elias asked from the back. The terrain inclined upward. "That's a fairly tall order."
"Oh, we're not slaying her," Lorna said, glancing at him with a sidelong grin that was quite perturbing in spinosaurus form. "We're catching her and milking her venom. She’s an old girl, so her venom has special properties."
"Milking a basilisk," Kine repeated, the trepidation apparent in his voice. "Why?"
"Sounds like that’s more dangerous than just slaying one," Elias said.
I hated to admit that I agreed. Somehow, it hadn't occurred to me that we were going to leave her alive.
"Definitely is," Arjax responded. "You can slay a basilisk from a distance if you know what you’re doing. Dragon fire dart right to the eye will pierce the brain and end one at two hundred yards if your aim is good enough, but Mischief’s an ornery, angry old woman, and we aren’t going to dart her with anything. We’re building a pinch trap. Won’t hurt her, but we’ve got to lure her in, bind her eyes shut, and then milk the venom."
Arjax ran us through the basics as we moved through the forest, pausing when his and Lorna’s footfalls were too loud, or repeating himself if they crushed a log or boulder. Not only did we have to lure Mischief into the valley but we were going to have to wear her out and then spring the trap to secure her. All of this would have to be done without looking her in the eye or getting caught by any of the venom leaking from her fangs or on her breath.
"And keep an eye out for the mirror-tail foxes," he added. "They run with the basilisks and help them spot and distract prey. They're not real dangerous on their own, but they can mess things up. Besides, we really don't want to hurt them. They’re basically her family. Or her pets. Depends on how you look at it."
Once we reached the spot, they set to work. The pinch trap didn’t take long for them to put together, and Arjax dug out a deep trench within seconds just by turning into a massive badger. Lorna put Buttercup and the parasaurs over into another little clearing a safe distance away.
Lorna smashed up a blue pill and sprinkled it in a circle. "Rels," she explained simply. "They keep predators at bay so they won't come near your pack beasts." She picked up some and wiped it on Elias’s shoulder. "They won't come near you either. You call out and whistle about what you see, right? Keep it simple, and don't make any big flailing moves even if you are safe back here. Basilisks hunt based on movement and sound."
Arjax strode along the edge of the valley, scanning up and down. Up above, birds called. Some darted and soared on the wind currents. The humidity intensified here. My hair tangled and curled around my neck despite the strap I’d used to tie it back. Horrible snarls awaited me tonight, but if that was the worst I endured, then I would be lucky.
"So what is the plan exactly?" Kine asked, stopping at the edge of the valley’s center where the lush grasses gave way to sludge and muck. Boulders rose at intervals like rounded teeth.
I cringed. The mud down here had an unpleasant odor. Some sort of biting bile burned my eyes, worse than excrement and vinegar. I sank down almost ankle deep.
"Lorna and I are going to wear Mischief out. Then we’ll lure her into the center, and we’ll spring the trap that’ll hold her in place. You two…" He gestured to Kine and me. "You just keep those mirror-tails off our backs. There’ll be six. Trap them inthat trench over there. Keep your head down around the basilisk and make sure your scales are tight if you shift. It helps if you keep your gaze soft so you can scan the area and not focus directly on anything. She's getting old anyway, so her vision isn't as good, which means she's not as fast to paralyze folks, but don't get sloppy. It’s important that we don’t kill any of the mirror-tails or wound them. They’re sneaky little bastards, though, especially when Mischief is in a bad state like this. Just remember they’re always trying to trick you so they can flush you out for her to catch."
Another plan that was all about tiring someone out. Great. I could manage that.
Arjax and Lorna put up bait stations at the end of the valley right before the mud slick. The trench was about fourteen feet deep by ten feet. The ground at the bottom was the same slick mud.
Each of us got into position. The air grew thicker and heavier. I crouched behind a boulder near the edge of the ridge that led up out of the valley, my hand resting against the coarse surface.
The air thickened. Something called deeper in the forest.
Then I glimpsed it. A mirror-tail fox.
The silver fox was approximately the size of a golden retriever but with distinctly foxlike features including a slender jaw, a triangular face, and high, pointed ears. Iridescent bands of color fanned out across the dual tails, catching the light and sending out prisms.
Another one appeared. Then another. They were bigger than I’d expected, and their eyes glowed an unnatural blue.
