Page 31 of Tattered Huntress
Heart hammering, I swung the rope out to loop it around the snake’s head. The first time I missed, but I stayed calm and tried again – and the second time the rope caught beneath the snake’s jaws. I pulled tight, forcing its head backwards. It gave a loud grumbling complaint as I yanked as hard as I could, directing its head away from the fleeing men.
‘I’m sorry that we disturbed your sleep,’ I said, though I had no idea if talking to the creature would do any good. ‘But you can’t eat them, not today. Anyway, they’re all muscle. They won’t make much of a meal.’
The only response I received was a vicious hiss. I looked towards the black-clad trio and saw that they had almost reached their SUV. Ignoring the pain as the rope chafed against my hands and rubbed my flesh raw, I prayed. Five more seconds. Just five more seconds.
Unfortunately for all of us, the snake had also realised that its opportunity for a meal was sliding away. Its head jerked against the rope I’d looped around it, and it made a last-ditcheffort to lunge for the men. Its long body slid further from the cave until it was fully outside, its tail lashed from side to side in a renewed bid to knock me off, and its head thrust forward to snap at the three men.
I strained against the rope, hauling it backwards as best as I could, but I was losing my grip. I could feel it slipping through my hands. Between the sweat running into my eyes and the snake’s head blocking my view, I lost sight of the men. When I heard the roar of a car engine a second later, I knew they were inside their vehicle and already escaping. I exhaled. They were taken care of – now I only had to worry about myself.
Unable to cling on a moment longer, I released the rope. Immediately, the snake lashed its tail towards me yet again – and now I had nothing to grip onto. The tip of the tail smacked into my ribs and I felt a piercing jab, then I was flying through the air until I landed in a clump of sharp gorse up the hill to my left. Now, as far as the snake was concerned, I was easy pickings.
I wheezed, doing my best to ignore the acute pain throbbing through my body. As I scrambled to my feet, I tried desperately to think of any magic that would help me. Water wouldn’t be any use: snakes like water. Fire could set the undergrowth alight and cause more problems than it would solve. And the snake belonged to the earth, so commanding the ground to open up wouldn’t be a good idea. All that was left was air, but there was barely a wisp of a breeze to work with. This would be touch and go.
The snake swung around until it was facing me. Its head rose up and swayed from side to side and its tongue flicked out in anticipation. This wasn’t simply about a snack now; it wanted revenge.
I shivered and tore my gaze away. If I could manipulate theair currents sufficiently, I could use them to push me further up the slope out of the snake’s reach.Come on, Daisy.Come on.
I turned and concentrated on the air, coalescing as much of it behind my body as I began to half run, half stumble upwards. All I had to do was release my control at exactly the right moment – but the snake was right there, right behind me. I had to move.
I tightened my stomach muscles and, with a whoosh, threw all the magic I possessed. Within a heartbeat, a massive gust of cold wind propelled my body upwards. Now my feet were barely touching the ground – but I still had to put as much distance between myself and the snake as possible.
There was a narrow crevice to my right. Maybe I could squeeze inside the gap and keep away from the snake’s fangs. It might work…
I jumped, using the last of the air magic to throw my body forward between the sharp, black rocks. Pressing my spine against the rear of the shallow fissure, I raised my hands instinctively to ward off the snake’s next attack.
Its glittering eyes drew closer and I felt its hot breath against my bare skin. Huge, yellowing fangs dipped towards me, testing to see whether they could reach inside and snatch me out. Realising it couldn’t get to me that way, it hissed – but its tongue remained a danger. If it coiled that around any part of my body, it could drag me out. Hell, that tongue alone probably had enough power to break my neck if it struck in the right place.
A voice drifted up from below. ‘Oi! Bella!’
The snake’s eyes narrowed a fraction. It flicked out its tongue then stretched beyond the edge of the rocks surrounding me to scrape it against my legs.
‘Bella!’ Whoever was yelling sounded sterner now. ‘Back off.’
I stared at the snake and the snake stared at me.
‘I will count to three,’ the voice shouted. ‘One, two?—’
The snake flicked its tongue towards me again, but this time I had the strange feeling that it was simply trying to get in the last word. My stomach twisted as I tried not to retch at its breath. Then its head vanished and I felt the ground shake as it twisted around and slithered away.
I held my breath. When it didn’t reappear, I poked my head out and peered down. At the foot of the hill, next to a battered Jeep and what appeared to be the carcass of a sheep, a man was patting the snake’s head and murmuring what might have been endearments or a gentle admonishment – from this distance it was impossible to tell.
The snake – presumably Bella – looked irritated but, after a long moment, she lowered her head, snatched up the dead sheep and retreated to the dark maw of her cave. A second vehicle appeared and made a beeline for the fourth man in black who was still prone on the ground where I’d left him. Two uniformed paramedics jumped out and ran to his side.
It was over.
Hester appeared in front of my face, her tiny wings flapping. ‘We found help,’ she burbled cheerfully. ‘That man’s the ranger for this area. He’s not very happy that you woke the snake up, so we should probably get out of here before you’re arrested or something.’
I grunted and wiped my forehead.
‘Ew.’ Hester peered at me. ‘Is that sweat? Ladies aren’t supposed to sweat.’ She sniffed. ‘You should glow.’ I scrunched up my face. ‘What?’ she asked.
‘I’m trying to remember when exactly I told you that I was a lady,’ I said.
Otis floated into view. ‘You’ll alwaysbe my lady, Daisy.’
Yeah, yeah. I forced myself to smile: it was either that or collapse into a blubbering heap.
‘Your body is vibrating in a most bizarre manner.’ Otis waved his tiny hand at my waist.
