Zina glanced down at the soft sounds from the floor next to her feet to see that Goldie and Dusty had awoken, and were gazing eagerly at the cracking egg, their yellow eyes wide, their coins clutched in their front paws.
“Oh,” Hector said, glancing down at them. “Aren’t you guys cuties? You should meet my Ruby – you’d get along like a house on fire. Which, on second thoughts, is probably why youshouldn’t.”
If Goldie and Dusty understood anything of what was being said to them, it didn’t show: they scampered about on their back legs, falling over every now and then, as they tried to get a better look at what was emerging from the egg.
“Another dragon, do you think?” Trent asked, cocking his head, as they caught a glimpse of some shiny scales within.
“Maybe,” Zina breathed, leaning in closer. It was just as her nose wasalmosttouching the egg itself that it finally broke apart completely, revealing the creature inside. “Oh!”
Zina leaned back in surprise, as a small, silvery-scaled snake writhed free of the broken pieces of its shell. Zina tilted her head, looking for wings, but she couldn’t see any – just three sets of tiny legs, which didn’t look big enough to support the creature’s weight. When it opened its eyes, they were dark, liquid and huge – they reminded her of a seal’s eyes.
“What are you?” Zina asked it softly, leaning forward again. “I don’t think that’s another dragon…”
“Nope,” Trent confirmed, leaning down next to her shoulder. “No wings. And six legs.”
Goldie and Dusty didn’t seem to know what to make of the newcomer either – they blinked their big yellow eyes, heads turning first one way and then the other as they apparently tried to puzzle out what they were seeing.
“I know what that is,” Hector said after a moment, during which the silver snake wiggled its way free of the last of its shell and then sat, blinking up at them. “That’s a basilisk.”
“A basilisk?” Euan asked, turning to him. “You mean… the thing that can turn anything to stone with just a look?”
Hector nodded. “Yeah – but from what I read, they have towantto do it. Just looking at something won’t do anything. It’s a self-defense mechanism they can use, but it won’t happen unless they intend to use it.”
“Probably just as well,” Trent murmured. “Otherwise all of us would be statues right now.”
“Yeah,” Hector nodded. “The info I got was a bit confusing and muddled up, but it seems like it’s something they have tolearnhow to do – like Ruby with her healing powers. Though I wouldn’t do anything to startle this little fella – or lady – they might get a fright and not realize what they’re doing.”
“Righto, well, I’ll keep that in mind,” Trent said. “No sudden movements around the basilisk.”
“How d’you know all this, anyway?” Rhys asked, turning to Hector.
“I was trying to find out more about Ruby and what to expect as she gets older,” Hector explained, as Zina reached out to gingerly stroke the basilisk’s surprisingly soft scales. “So I was looking through some old books about ancient shifters and things like that. I read all sorts of stuff – about dragons, basilisks, unicorns, all those kinds of things. Still didn’t find out much about alicorns, though. So I guess Myrtle and I are still flying blind a bit there.”
As Zina petted the basilisk’s side, it blinked its huge eyes at her, before letting out a soft purring sound.
“Oh – it sounds a little bit like a kitten,” she said in surprise. As the purring sound emanated from the basilisk, Goldie and Dusty seemed to feel a little more confident, and climbed their way up to it, nostrils twitching as they sniffed at their new companion.
Evidently, they didn’t seem to mind what they smelled, because Dusty opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, licking at the basilisk, like a cat grooming a kitten.
At this, the basilisk’s purring sound grew evenlouder –which Zina hoped meant it liked the attention, and that they would be friends.
“So… we’ve got Goldie and Dusty the dragons, and… Untitled, the basilisk,” Trent said. He glanced at Zina. “What do you think we should call them?”
Zina frowned. “Not sure.” She looked down at the silvery creature again, trying to think of what kind of name might suit it. “Quicksilver? No, that’s silly.”
“No, I like it,” Trent said. “Sounds like a fast horse.”
“I guess so,” Zina said, smiling. “Not sure this little one will be winning any races with those tiny legs, though.”
As she spoke, Quicksilver finally seemed to figure out which way was the right way up for its body, and wiggled its way onto its belly. In the next moment, quick as a flash, it had slithered its way up onto Zina’s lap, curling itself up and making itself at home, just like a little kitten.
“Whoa! I guess youarefast after all!” Zina said in surprise, as Quicksilver blinked up at her, clearly content. “I wonder what you eat? Dusty and Goldie seem to like everything, so hopefully you’re not fussy either.”
“Oh, I can tell you that, easy,” Hector said. “Basilisks eat stone.”
Zina looked up at him in surprise. “Stone?!”
“Yeah – regular old stone. I can go grab a few pebbles from the carpark if you like – I’m sure Quicksilver’ll love ’em. But that’s literally all they eat. No idea if they have a preference, or if some stones are like, breakfast stones and others are dessert stones, or something like that.”
