“Not bad,” said Belis. She’d wound the top of the rope around her forearm, presumably so that the weight would be on her rather than Rhiannon’s stake. “Just keep going, one foot after the other. I’ll let out the rope slowly, but if you need to stop just tug twice on the rope. Tug once at the bottom and I’ll pull it back up.”
Her voice was encouraging. I took another step down.
I kept moving, walking down the cliff face. The rocks in front of me were layered sandstone and limestone, strong and easy to find footholds in. Above me Belis and Rhiannon vanished from sight as the smoky grey air closed over my head. I kept going, trying to ignore the rope burns on my palms. A few steps more and I felt my boots hit flat dirt. I gripped the rope, reaching out with my legs to check I hadn’t just hit a ledge. It seemed to be the base of the canyon. I tugged on the rope then let go.
I peered around me. The air was still murky but I could see tracks in the dust, too mangled to tell the number or even size of the feet that had made them. The canyon floor was only a few paces across, narrowing down from the gaping ravine at thesurface. I crossed over to touch the other wall. Belis had been right: there were handholds in the rock, a clear path to follow. I jumped as gravel slipped loose under my hands, clattering to the floor. The sound echoed in the quiet of the canyon.
I ducked back and pressed into the cliff face, trying to stay quiet. I could hear scuffling above me as someone, presumably Rhiannon, climbed down. The wind groaned through the base of the canyon, blowing dust into my eyes. I blinked hard, trying to clear my vision. A pair of boots appeared above me and Rhiannon clattered to the floor. She leaned on the wall to steady herself then tugged on the rope again.
“Have you seen anything?” she asked, her voice muffled by the dust mask. I shook my head.
“Nothing, just shapes in the wind.”
Rhiannon looked around. “Foul smells and foul humours. I do not think it will get better as we advance into the shadow.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” I said, glancing up to see if I could spot Belis climbing down the rope. I felt vulnerable down here without her. Rhiannon didn’t look as if she’d be much use in a fight. I realised with a jolt that until Belis got down here I was supposed to be protecting Rhiannon. I gripped the hilt of the sword Belis had given me, wishing I had practised with it more than a few times. I imagined what forms theshadowbittenwould take and peered desperately up the cliff.
Rhiannon tugged on my arm. “There’s something down here,” she whispered.
I leaned out onto the pathway, taking a few tentative steps. I couldn’t hear anything but the howling of the wind.
“Are you sure?” I hissed, turning back to her. There was movement in the shadows and I ducked, spinning away from the cliffs.
Something struck where my head had been, driving at the wall. I squinted through the dust, reaching for my sword.
An enormous serpent was rearing above me, black and silver scales glinting in the dim light. I stared up at the creature, pressing myself back against the canyon walls. It duckeddown and I saw the full horror of theshadowbittenfor the first time. Instead of the head of a snake, the creature had half retained the face of the human it had been, warped and stretched into something monstrous, eyes mad with pain and malice. Tufts of hair sprouted from between the scales on its neck, snaggled molars peppered the gaps between long fangs dripping venom.
I felt horror warring with pity inside me. This was what I had always worked to prevent, to bring souls to a safe place where they could rest, ready to pass on. The hideous creature before me would find no peace, would inflict terror on others. It shook its head at me, a lolling black tongue flickering out as its panicked eyes darted back and forth.
I pulled Rhiannon beside me, fumbling for my sword. I dropped it and it clattered to the floor. I cursed and scrambled forward to pick it up. It felt very small in my hand compared to the foot-long fangs of theshadowbittensnake.
“Where is that damned spear maiden?” muttered Rhiannon from behind me. “Isn’t she supposed to be fighting these things off?”
“I don’t think it’s going to wait,” I replied. “I’ll distract it. You run off down the canyon. Belis should get here before it comes after you.”
Rhiannon didn’t argue, much to my irritation. I knew it was my job to protect her but some sympathetic protests that we should stand together would have been nice. I towed her out into the centre of the path, keeping the sword between me and the serpent. It hissed at me, coiling its body up ready to loop over us. Saliva dripped from its tongue.
“Now!” I shouted. Or, rather, I tried to shout. The words seemed to dwindle to a whisper in my mouth. Rhiannon took off down the path. I held out the sword, praying that it wouldn’t slip out of my sweaty palm. The snake looked past me to where Rhiannon had run. I had to do something now to make myself the target. All my fine words echoed stupidly around my head, and my arm looked spindly and weak as I held the blade. I wasan idiot for getting myself into this situation, I thought. I had never been a fighter. All I could do was take long enough to die so that Rhiannon could get away. I remembered Belis telling me it was all right to fall down as long as I got up again, remembered her showing me how to hold the sword. She’d be disappointed if I didn’t even try.
The malformed face of theshadowbittensnake roared at me and I threw myself forward before I could let myself delay further. I tried to stab at the viper’s side but my sword skittered along the keel-backed scales, glancing off as if on plate armour. I did manage to distract the snake, however; it turned its head to strike at me again. I hit the ground and rolled, just as it lunged for me. I dropped my blade in the dust, hands too slippery with sweat to hold onto it. I pulled myself up to hands and knees, scrabbling around on the floor for it. The worm circled me, cutting off any retreat. Strange energy flooded through my body as any hope of escape was removed and I found the hilt just in time to bring it around. This time I hit the fang itself, using the momentum of the impact to swing me out of the path of the jaws. The reverberation jarred my arm and I staggered. The snake’s tail lashed into me, pinning me to the ground. I tried to stab at it with the edge of the sword, jamming it under the scales, but the snake hissed again and moved above me.
Venom dripped onto my face, viscous and foul-smelling. I coughed and tried to catch enough breath to snarl at the creature, determined to make a good show of defiance for Belis’s sake. I wondered if I would stay here after death, leaving my body for theshadowbittento feast on. I saw Belis’s face in my mind, strangely glad that she wasn’t here to see me so helpless.
The snake reared back for the killing blow, but a projectile hit it just under the eye. It screeched and turned towards this new aggressor. I peered through the mist.
“Over here!” called Rhiannon, throwing another stone. This one bounced off the snake’s neck, falling harmlessly to the ground. The creature lunged but I dug my sword back into the tail and it snapped at me again, unsure who to focus on.Rhiannon threw another stone and I managed to prise loose one of the scales, driving my sword deep into the unprotected flesh. The snake decided I was the greater annoyance and I saw it lunge for me again, jaws wide.
Belis leapt from the side wall, her spear in her hand. She landed on the snake’s neck, driving the javelin directly into the creature’s skull and through the upper jaw. The serpent thrashed wildly, its whole body scrunching up as it flung itself back and forth, crashing into the rocky sides of the canyon. Belis clung on grimly to her spear, riding the death throes of the beast. The snake kicked up so much dust that I could barely see her, nothing more than a flash of red hair in the gloom.
With a final whine the snake crumpled to the ground and was still, apart from the occasional twitch. I tiptoed forward, peering at the thick coils of flesh. Belis was standing on its back, tugging her spear loose.
“Next time I go first,” she said, glancing up at me. I swallowed and nodded. She pulled the spear out with a sickening sucking noise and jumped down. “You did well, though.”
I nodded again. My mouth was suddenly full of dust and my heart was skittering in my chest. I sat down heavily in the dirt.
“Hey.” Belis crouched next to me. “Are you hurt?” She grabbed my chin and turned my face back and forth, checking for wounds.
“No, I just – that’s the first time I really thought I was going to die.”
