Page 111 of Of Serpents and Ruins
I glanced over at Kine, who nodded. He’d spotted them as well. If they were here, then the basilisk would be close behind.
Arjax and Lorna had disappeared completely. Whether into the edges of the forest or into another form entirely, I wasn’t sure.
The mirror-tail foxes crept forward, ears erect and twitching. They walked with such delicate grace. Part of my brain said they were just puppies. I wanted to pet one! The smarter part of me knew that they were dangerous predators in a symbiotic relationship with a ferocious basilisk. Petting them was off the table.
Lorna had told us to wait for the mirror-tails to either make an aggressive move or for one of us to spot the basilisk before we started gathering them into the trench. If we caught them before the basilisk made her showing, she might realize what was going on and upset the plan.
The foxes moved forward. Three pairs. Sparks glistened on the striping along their tails. They darted out. One pair investigated a bait trap. Another pair wandered the perimeter. The third stopped across from me. Their tails twitched.
Elias gave a sharp whistle. My gaze snapped up and around when something shifted and rustled, catching my attention.
There she was. The basilisk.
The enormous serpent was at the valley’s edge directly across from me, hovering over a rich blue flower of some sort.
I froze.
Wait. Wait. No. That wasn’t right.
I was looking right at the basilisk directly head-on…and I was fine?
No.
Those two foxes had their tails up, forming a frame. The basilisk had lined up with it perfectly.
They were directly across from me. That was my hair in the reflection. Ihlkit! The little bastards had tricked me. The basilisk was right over my head!
STELLA
My eyes widened, and my mouth went dry. Had she seen me?
No. Of course not. If she had, I'd be dead.
My breaths remained locked in my chest, my body rigid.
The mirror-tails directly across from me continued to hold their tails out, creating the mirror illusion. From this angle, I had an exceptionally good look at her. My gaze hinged upward.
It was much more terrifying from this vantage point.
The basilisk did not appear to have noticed me yet as she loomed out over the rock shelf that led to the valley. Her scaly underbelly was within arm’s reach. Her green-scaled hide was weathered and scarred with patches where the scales were duller than usual. A few of them appeared damaged. On the top of her head was a horned ridge similar to a crown. Just at the base of that crown was a white dot the size of my fist.
Her tongue flicked out as she tasted the air and swung her head back and forth. The low hiss that emerged from between those dagger-like fangs vibrated through the air into every cell of my body.
I held my breath as I glanced around. The mirror-tailed foxes continued their sinister illusion, framing the basilisk's reflection so she appeared to be across the valley.
Kine stared at me from the other boulder, his hand lifted as if to encourage me to stay put. Right. Like I was going to run with the basilisk right on top of me.
The basilisk continued to slide forward, its body suspended in the air over me. She paused, flicking out her forked purple tongue.
The wind changed. Oof. She smelled worse than the mud, acidic and foul.
Where were Lorna and Arjax?
Elias whistled again.
Yes, I knew the basilisk was right over me.
A pair of the foxes ran up near me and barked. The basilisk tilted her head and then reared up. The foxes twined their tails into a frame. Energy arced between the iridescent strips on their tails within that frame, forming a reflection. A reflection of me and the ground beneath the basilisk.
