One of the guards, his English halting but his menace clear, pointed at us with his blade. “We watch the hourglass...and you.”
The words lingered in the heavy air as he and the other warriors retreated, leaving us with the serpents and the weight of the task ahead.
Roman’s gaze locked onto the largest serpent, a monstrous Inland Taipan. Her immense girth and the protective coil of her body told us she was guarding her brood—a queen among vipers. The torchlight gleamed off her scaled hide, an iridescent warning of the death she carried.
“We need her venom,” Roman whispered, his voice steady but firm. “But be wary, Olivia. A single bite...”
“Is enough to kill you, me, and everyone in this palace,” I finished, my eyes fixed on the serpent’s dark, watchful gaze. My voice was calm, but my stomach churned. “I’ve got it.”
The weight of our mortality pressed against me, suffocating and relentless, but I swallowed my fear. Failure was not an option—not when my children’s lives hung in the balance.
Roman took a measured step forward, and the sea of snakes parted for him. It was as if they recognized the predator in him—a fearless warrior whose heart pounded with the rhythm of countless battles. Yet, some dared to challenge him, rising with menacing hisses that sent shivers down my spine.
I stood frozen, my heart in my throat, watching as he approached the Taipan, his movements slow and deliberate. Every step he took felt like a defiance of death itself.
From the corner of my eye, a sinuous movement caught my attention—a Philippine Cobra inching closer. Its hood flared wide, its body poised to strike, a glistening harbinger of the potent neurotoxin it harbored, capable of rendering its victims lifeless in moments.
Panic clawed at my insides, urging me to flee, to escape this pit and its lethal inhabitants. But then, Lazarus’ words echoed in my mind—a lesson from a time that felt like a lifetime ago.
Face them without fear. They won’t hurt you.
I sucked in a deep breath, steeling myself against the rising tide of terror. Squaring my shoulders, I forced my legs to move, taking a deliberate step toward the cobra.
“I command you to step away from me,” I said, my voice steady despite the tremor of adrenaline coursing through me.
The cobra reared back, its fangs bared in a silent challenge, but it did not strike. For an agonizing moment, we were locked in a battle of wills. Then, as if conceding, the serpent lowered its hood and slithered away. Taking a cue from their fellow predator, the other snakes scattered, leaving a clear path between me and Roman. My chest heaved with relief, but there was no time to linger in this small victory.
“Good,” Roman called out softly, his voice cutting through the tension. His focus never wavered from the Taipan, and his movements were precise and calculated. “Keep control, Olivia. We have to finish this—quickly.”
“Quickly...” I repeated under my breath, forcing myself to focus on the task at hand rather than the perilous dance we performed with death. Each grain of sand slipping through the hourglass narrowed our window of opportunity. For Rosie, for Luna, for all of us—I would not falter.
“Olivia! Get the chalice!” Roman’s urgent shout pierced the air, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I spun around to see him wrestling with the Inland Taipan, a writhing mass of scales and muscle. His grip on the serpent’s throat was ironclad, but his arms trembled under the creature’s violent thrashing.
“Where is it?” My voice wavered, barely audible above the cacophony of hissing and the frantic thudding of my heartbeat.
“How should I know?” Roman shot back, grimacing as he adjusted his hold on the Taipan, its tail lashing like a whip. “But I’ve got one mad mama in my hands, and I’m not sure I can hold her much longer.”
My eyes darted across the pit, scanning the dimly lit space for the glint of metal that could only be the chalice. Time felt like a noose tightening around my neck. We had to find it—and fast.
My heart hammered against my ribcage as I cast my mind back to the sterile, controlled environment of Lee’s makeshift lab. He had mastered many dark arts, including snake venom extraction. His steady hands had demonstrated the delicate process of milking venom—a skill reserved for experts. We worked with precision tools and safety measures, contrasting this dank pit in the 16th century. I could still hear Lee’s voice—Never forget, Olivia, respect the serpent, for its bite is swift, and its gift lethal.
And yet, here we were, standing in the antithesis of that controlled environment—a pit swarming with serpents, each one a harbinger of demise. No gloves to shield our hands, no face shield to intercept errant venom sprays, and no lab coat to protect our skin. All the tools that should have been at our disposal were absent, leaving us with nothing but our wits and sheer nerve to rely upon.
“Focus, Olivia,” I whispered to myself, forcing the tendrils of fear to recede into the recesses of my mind. Rosie and Luna, their faces embodying innocence and trust, hovered at the forefront of my thoughts, stoking the fires of determination within me.
I pivoted on my heel, carefully avoiding the sinuous tangle of vipers that carpeted the stone floor. Like polished onyx, their eyes tracked my every step, a silent audience to this macabre ballet.
As I wove through them, a cold coil brushed against my boot. My breath hitched. My foot came down hard on something thick and squishy beneath the layers of scales. The snake beneath me jerked violently, its body contorting in a desperate escape bid. My muscles tensed, my balance wavering for a split second. But fortune favored me. I had pinned it just behind its venomous head, rendering its deadly fangs useless.
“Sorry, not sorry,” I murmured through gritted teeth. With a grimace, I pressed down harder, feeling the creature’s struggles weaken until it lay limp, another casualty in our quest for survival. My heart ached for the necessity of it, but there was no room for hesitation.
I continued to scan the pit, my gaze darting from shadow to shadow.
“Found it!” I exclaimed, spotting the chalice perched precariously atop a ledge carved into the wall. I hastened to retrieve it with renewed vigor, knowing full well that every second squandered brought us closer to the end of the hourglass’ patience.
Fear coiled in my gut like the serpents that surrounded me. Their venomous hisses filled the air, a haunting symphony of danger. Each breath I took felt like a gamble, the weight of their menace pressing down on me, threatening to paralyze me.
