Page 113 of Of Serpents and Ruins
Two of the mirror-tails darted forward. The rings on their tails sparked, brightening in color. Bolts of light shot out.
I body-slammed one of the mirror-tails into the pit. It shrieked and looked at me with such betrayed eyes as it flew through the air. Guilt seized me. I had to race to the edge and peer inside just to make sure it was all right. It was. Down below, they all snarled and barked.
Kine snatched up another of the mirror-tails, moving with lithe grace. He looked like a baby snake stealing something from its mother as he darted past the basilisk.
The mirror-tails were light enough that they barely sank into the muck, but the trench walls were slick enough it offered them no way to climb out.
I chased after the last one until my water serpent form slipped away again, and I collapsed with all but one arm plunging into the mud. So, so gross.
Kine hurried to me and hauled me up. "Easy there, Bug," he said with a light laugh. "This mud isn’t the best for facials."
So disgusting.
Lorna and Arjax had transformed their feet so that their claws could twist and break the suction of the mud and allow them to run better. Back and forth they went, like this was some demented game of tag.
Even more mud slid into Mischief’s scales, slowing her further. She halted, uttering a deep guttural cough. The mirror-tail foxes all called out from the trench, their low voices keening and rasping. One clawed at the edge and almost dragged itself out, but Kine bopped it back in. Shrieking howls rose from the pit.
I cringed inwardly.
The basilisk shook, and her scales vibrated, making a shivering sound like a massive rattlesnake.
"She’s getting ready to change!" Lorna shouted.
The words had barely left her mouth when the basilisk’s form coiled and sprang into a long-bodied rooster with a great red comb and a serpentine tail. Glistening spurs clung to her yellow heels. Head cocked, she let out an ear-piercing cry, her wattle quivering.
"Crespa, she’s a sassy one today." Arjax dropped back into his human form, his stance broad. He spread his arms as he gestured toward her in a chastising fashion. "Come on now, Mischief. You know us. We’re just here to help." He stood between her and the pit of mirror-tail foxes.
The basilisk bobbed her head forward in a defiant gesture, her reptilian tail snapping around like a whip. She looked between Lorna and Arjax.
More shrieking howls swelled up from the trench.
She charged Arjax. He leaped back into his spinosaurus form, moving backward and luring her to the end. Lorna raced up behind her and sideswiped her.
The basilisk swung around, baring her fangs and trying to strike but missing. She shuddered and dropped back into the serpent form.
Back and forth they led the basilisk along the valley. The mud squelched beneath their claws, but she seemed to struggle with it more. She wasn’t meant to be in the mud like this.
Kine crossed over to me, half his body coated in the slick mud. He started to rake his hand through his hair then stopped, grimacing.
"Got an itch?" I held up that one hand that was somehow still clean and wiggled my fingers.
He chuckled then leaned his head to the side, indicating the spot over his ear. I gave it a light scratch. "Thanks," he said. "I hate messing up my hair."
His hair had emerged remarkably unscathed.
"How are we doing on time?" I asked, gesturing toward the sun with my head. "Can we make it to the Keening Pass if we get the spear and go?"
He glanced up, his brow furrowing. "If we can get it in the next two hours, maybe. But, Bug—"
"Is that a hard two hours?"
"It gets more and more dangerous the more time passes," he said reluctantly. "If we aren’t back at the ship within an hour, I wouldn’t recommend we go until after the sun rises. You don’t remember it, but it’s not the easiest of passages to navigate. At some points, it’s practically a death sentence."
"What matters is that we get this and go to the Ember Lord’s Crest as quickly as possible," I responded sharply. "We can't delay. If we hurry, we can save Brandt—"
"Let’s just see how long it takes us to get the spear and then cross that bridge," Kine said. "Hord and Cahji still have to navigate that labyrinth. Assuming everything went perfectly,they'll be on their way to the Crest now, but you and I both know that it probably isn't going perfectly."
I nodded, but I had made up my mind. We had made it here early, and we were going to salvage every scrap of time we could to get back to Brandt. The Keening Pass was fearsome. I recalled great boulders and rapid waters. But we could manage it. We were water serpents. I would draw the ship myself if need be.
