All of a sudden, something tugs my thread.
The air is knocked from my lungs. There’s enough tension in the thread to keep it taut. My Fated One is near, but when I follow the direction of the thread—
It points straight up into the skies above my head.
Bitter disappointment stings in my chest, and my confusion knows no limits. How can this be? Surely it’s some sort of mistake. I have long suspected my thread of fate to be broken, given its ashen color and frayed thinness. The impossible direction that my thread now points all but confirms my worst fear.
Is there something wrong with me?
Am I destined to be alone?
Out of the corner of my eye, something moves. Its silhouette is large and unfamiliar, shifting in front of and behind palm trees just to my right. Whatever it is, it moves with alarming speed. I’m only able to catch a brief glimpse at a time.
The winding tail of a serpent.
The body and legs of a stag.
The sharp, twisted horns and head of a bull.
The single red eye at the very center of its face.
An abomination.
My horse neighs frantically, tugging against her reins as she anxiously shifts her weight. The creature crawls forward from the underbrush, its dreadfully pointed teeth and razor-like claws now in full view. Its growl is deep, so loud that it feels like it’s shaking the earth on which we stand. The beast steps forward slowly, its unfeeling eye trained on me.
“Hu… man…,”it rasps.
I’m frozen in fear.It can speak?
“Filthy… human…”
If I run, it will give chase. If I stay, I’ll be devoured. The only option I have is to fight, but the monster is twice my size and no doubt thrice as strong. My heart springs up and lodges in my throat when the beast gets low to the ground, preparing to pounce.
I’m trapped. There’s nowhere to run.
A part of me wonders bitterly if my luck has run out. If I have used up all my good fortune surviving the battlefield, and now my time is finally at an end.
The beast lunges toward us with a snarl, fangs and claws bared for a killing blow.
I bring an arm up to protect myself. Its teeth pierce my forearm, jaws snapping shut like a spring trap, dragging me off the back ofmy horse. I land with a harsh thud against the jungle floor. Branches snap under me, their splintered ends jabbing my back. A scream rips from my chest as I feel skin and muscle tear, the sticky warmth of my own blood soaking into my clothes and staining my flesh red.
The beast is close enough that I can smell its rancid breath. It yanks and it shoves, attempting to wrest my arm free from its socket. Death seems determined to claim me this day. The more I struggle, the more my vision blurs around the edges, giving way to murky darkness.
And then something even more terrifying happens.
Above, a deafening roar.
It frightens the birds from the trees and sends small critters skittering away. The sound spooks my steed, who rears back with a panicked whinny and kicks wildly at the beast before us with her front legs.
A shadow falls over everything around us, and something plunges from the sky.
The air whips through my hair and slices my cheeks as a great hulking creature arcs down and snatches the beast by the throat, pulling it off me. The red-eyed beast struggles only for a moment before its body goes limp. It dies with a pathetic whimper, suddenly lifeless on the jungle floor. Standing above it, its hunter feasts on steaming flesh, ripping through pelt and muscle and bone with rows of jagged ivory teeth.
The silence that follows is fragile.
I can’t stop shaking, every inch of my body trembling. My racing heart pounds loudly in my ears. Whatwasthat bull-like creature? Have I gone mad? Slowly, I sit up, finally registering what just happened. I’m unprepared for the majesty of what I see.
My savior is serpentine in form, with four strong legs and five claws on each foot. The scales that cover every inch of its body are a rich emerald green that shimmer beautifully in the golden lightof the setting sun. The mane that lines the back of its head and trails down its back looks as soft as springtime grass, flowing gently in the passing breeze. Its body is so large that it rivals the height of the trees, practically shoving them out of the way to make room for its intimidating presence.
