“Rynthea, are you okay?” I ask as she marches around me with her hands on her hips and her head thrown back, most likely still digesting the fact that she was almost melted alive.
“I’m fine. It’s all right.” She drops her head and reaches for her scythesword, gripping it tight in her hands. “Let’s keep moving.”
An inkling of relief takes hold of me, but as Algar follows her, I swear I see something slink away behind a tree ahead.
“Right. It’s guiding us this way.” Algar points blindly as he looks at the sphere. He advances, peering around warily with the sphere cupped in one of his hands.
But a stiff breeze drifts by, stopping me in my tracks and causing the hairs on my arms and neck to stand on end. Rynthea raises her scythesword, like she, too, felt the sudden change in atmosphere.
Someone is watching us…or something.
Just then, a sharp hiss fills the air, and Rynthea swings around just in time to cut through a massive snake.
No, not just a snake. It is an enormous serpent with sharp, jagged scales protruding all over its body like a deadly suit of armor. Its bloodred eyes are split with vertical pupils that look right at us.
“Behind you, Thane!” Rynthea shouts.
Chapter 50
The moss-green serpent coils and strikes at Thane, but he ducks in time and plunges his sword through its center. Three more emerge from the forest, and all the breath escapes me as they coil rapidly around the trees, spiraling toward the canopy.
At first, I can see them.
And then they disappear, as if they have become part of the bark.
“They can change color to camouflage.” Thane growls as he stands before me with his sword. “They’re probably going to a higher vantage for a better strike.”
“Backs together,” Rynthea orders.
The four of us press our backs together, scanning our surroundings. Leaves rustle and branches snap. To my right, I can see bones scattered around the base of the trees. I grip the hilt of my dagger tighter, heart pounding, really wishing I knew how to better protect myself. This dagger stands no chance against snakes this size.
“Rynthea, to your left,” Thane calls.
Rynthea grunts as she gives the handle of her scythesword a twist and slices through a wide-mouthed serpent diving out of a tree.
“Oh shit,” Algar whispers behind me.
“Duck, Zaira!” Rynthea hollers, spinning around. I drop and roll just as the tip of her blade pierces through the head of another serpent. Her scythesword catches in its chin, and she yanks it upward, splitting its head in half.
A short distance away, another hiss breaks the air. Only this hiss soundsdeeper, louder. Like it comes from a creature twice the size of the serpents.
I don’t want to look. But I can’t help myself.
As Thane and Rynthea cut through one more serpent, I spot something with six glowing yellow eyes staring at me from a dark gap in the jungle.
“What. The fuck. Isthat?” Algar’s face loses all color as he backs away.
The creature stalks toward us. Its foot is as big as an elephant’s, with claws as sharp as the dagger I carry. Its body is a muddy brown except for its scaly chest, which is a putrid yellow. Its massive head has the nostrils of a snake with rows of teeth three times bigger and sharper than a shark’s.
Slimy drool drips from the corners of its mouth as it steps out of the shadows and hisses.
Oh shit.
It’s one of those creatures that was sleeping on the wall near the platform steps. All six of its thin-slitted eyes blink at me and Algar as we back away with our hands raised defensively.
I’ve never tasted true fear before. Not until this very moment. It’s an acidic, sharp taste—one that coats my tongue and accumulates so much it could clog my throat.
“Uh, friends?” Algar calls in warning.
