Page 15 of Of Serpents and Ruins
The hoofbeats and thunder grew louder as riders crested the hill. Warriors on triceratops and parasaurs. Over a dozen of them.
They wore simple cloth and leather uniforms, dark blue, almost black, with red cord and ornate sashes that depicted interlocking water serpents of red and blue with silver and gold highlights throughout. Their dark bracers had scales etched into them, and the pommels and hilts of their bladed weapons had waves carved into their fluid designs.
Some of their faces looked more familiar than others. A statuesque woman in pale blue and bright pink strode out from the arriving warriors and into the fight. She cracked her knuckles and then her neck.
"Oh, Candy's here." Elias sighed with apparent relief. "Well, that may help calm Brandt. Those two are very close. Nobody gets Brandt the way she does."
Candy? My eyes practically bugged out of their sockets. Jealousy flared through me at the way he said that, a vicious heat that seared me in place, overwhelming my fear.
She looked like a princess in her shimmering garb. The leather and silk caught the moonlight and made it dance. Her long, pointed ears had interlocking gold chains that chimed in the wind. Excessive but pretty. And her silver-white and purplehair had been bound up high on the top of her head, giving her the most epic ponytail of anyone I’d ever seen. She wore a simple flared skirt with layers of silk, and the top portion was further accentuated with a dark-pink bandolier belt. Who was she to Brandt?
Like a dancer leaping across a stage, she became a pink and white serpent with a deeply curved crest tipped in magenta, softening in shade as it went down her back. "My turn," she said, her tone firm yet almost playful. Even her voice was beautiful!
Kine swiveled in her direction, narrowly missing another attack from Brandt. Brandt didn't even seem to hear her.
Candy swept up alongside Brandt and body-slammed him. He glimpsed her and tried to dodge, but the edge of her crest still clipped him a second time.
The newly arrived warriors formed a semicircle around Brandt and Candy. Their expressions were grim. None had their weapons drawn.
Kine shot away from Brandt and through the semicircle. He dropped out of his serpent form at once, gasping. The bloody wound in his side sealed up and vanished as his body shook.
I hurried toward him. This time, Elias didn't object.
Kine shook his head at me as I approached. "I'm fine…fine," he said, his voice shaking. "Don't get too close, Stella. The punji berry might not mask your scent if you get too close, and he isn't out of full bloodlust yet. It’s going to be a bit."
One of the warriors—the largest and most elaborately clad—stepped toward Kine. "You need medical attention?" he demanded, his voice gruff.
A sense of familiarity rushed over me.
I knew him. His name—Hoarding Muscles. Hoard of Muscles? He wore reptilian skull caps on each of his shoulders, and his black and orange hair had been shaved at the sides similar to Brandt’s but then combed and bound back in a singlethick layered braid. The long panels of his tabard reached past his knees. He looked a lot like Brandt. Perhaps a brother?
A heavy thud followed as Candy dodged and led Brandt to smash his face against one of the stones.
I winced out of instinct, cringing at the pain Brandt must have felt. He shook his head, slower now then lunged again.
"Careful, Candy," the familiar man called out, scowling. "We just want to wear him down."
"I know what I'm doing," she called back. She circled Brandt with easy confidence, her lithe body swaying. "Come on then, Brandt. Let’s get this wrapped up. We both know how this goes." She paused as she reached the point farthest from me, her crested brow lifting and her purple eyes seeming more human than before. She lifted her head in greeting even as Brandt hissed and coiled back to strike. "Good to see you again, Stella," she called out, her voice unfairly melodious even in serpent form. "I was afraid you weren't going to make it back. Can’t wait to catch up with you." It seemed as if she was smiling.
"Always such a charmer," Elias chuckled. "It's good Brandt has someone he's that close to. Candy is one of a kind."
"Is she your girlfriend?" I asked, praying that that was why Elias praised her so profusely.
He laughed at this, shaking his head. "Nah, she'd never have eyes for someone like me. Brandt's the one who's got all her attention these days."
My upper lip curled instinctively as I strode toward Kine. Whoever Candy was to Brandt and whoever I was to him, it didn't matter at this point. I needed to focus on my wounded friend or family member or whoever Kine was to me.
"Kine, you need help." I crouched beside him. I still felt off balance, more agitated than elated. My throat no longer hurt, but my heart throbbed. So many thoughts and feelings warred within me. That amber liquid had sobered me up fast.
Kine shook his head. "I'm fine," he said, his voice strained and his face pale. He gripped my hand, though it seemed more to comfort me than help him. He gave me a weak wink before he released and let his arm drop to his knee. "Don’t worry about me, Bug. Sometimes you’ve got to know when to let go."
From the way he teased me, I knew he wanted me to laugh, but all I could manage was a small smile.
The man who looked similar to Brandt helped Kine to his feet. "You'll need some good rest. You're lucky he didn't kill you." He paused as his gaze fell on me. "Damn. You really do look like Stella."
A few of the newly arrived warriors glanced back at me. Some raised their eyebrows. Others murmured back and forth. I frowned a little at this. "Well, I am a Stella," I said, folding my arms.
"Doesn't just look like Stella. SheisStella." Elias stood at rigid attention, his storm-blue eyes blazing.
