[Image: Nate, a donkey and two women.]
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She collected a small black bag from her pack. When she opened it, Nate saw a number of shiny steel instruments. Most of them had sharp edges. "Come and watch this, Nate," she said. Swallowing a lump that rose up in his throat, Nate inched forward.
Aunt Phil had been right about the goggles. She made two tiny snips at the side of the basilisk's head, so small Nate didn't think the beast would have noticed them even if it had been awake. Next came a few efficient stitches, and the goggles were in place.
While the basilisk was belly up on the table, Nate snuck a peek near its tail, then frowned in puzzlement. "So which is it, Aunt Phil? A boy or a girl?"
"Neither," Aunt Phil said as the Dolon laughed.
Nate glanced back at the tail again. "Neither? How can that be?"
"Basilisks are like mules, Nate. A product of two different species, a cockerel egg hatched by a serpent. They cannot reproduce and so are, for all intents and purposes, without gender."
Just then, the basilisk twitched on the table, then shuddered. "Everyone get back now," Aunt Phil ordered.
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The beast yawned and tried to slither off the table. It was clumsy still and managed to roll off, looking surprised when it landed. It shook its tail and hissed. When none of them ran away, it cocked its head, as if puzzled. "Careful, there," Aunt Phil told Nate. "It will take a bit for the chloroform to wear off."
The basilisk tried hissing again. When still none of them fled, it seemed to grow bored and lurched off into the depths of its cave.
Aunt Phil turned to Nate. "Our work here is done."
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Chapter Eighteen
T hey set out early the next day for the Niger River to meet Jean-Claude. Nate could hardly believe three days had passed. Hopefully, the boat would be fixed by now.
He yawned. They had stayed up late the previous night, celebrating the capture of the basilisk. He, Aunt Phil, the weasels, and even Greasle had been given a place of honor. There had been dancing and they'd roasted a goat and half a dozen chickens for the feast.
Which reminded Nate of a question he'd been meaning to ask. "Aunt Phil, isn't a cockerel a rooster?"
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"Yes, Nate. It is."
"But I thought it was the hens that laid the eggs."
"Ah, excellent question. Mostly, you are right. However, very old roosters sometimes develop an egg. It is extremely uncommon, but it does happen. It is even more unusual for a serpent to find the egg and sit on it long enough to hatch it. That is why basilisks are so very rare."
"Huh," Nate said. There was so much he had to learn if he was going to be a beastologist.
They rode in silence for a while longer before Aunt Phil spoke again. "I've been thinking, Nate. Something is very wrong. We must make all haste back to England."
"What do you mean?" Nate asked.
"I believe the man at the oasis was the same one who freed the basilisk. He has known with uncanny accuracy the exact location of two very hidden beasts."
"How could that be? I thought we had the only copy of The Book of Beasts."
"True. There are other bestiaries, but they don't contain copies of the Fludd maps necessary to find the creatures. No, the only other source of that information is The Geographica."
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Nate frowned, thoroughly confused. "But you said my father had the only remaining copy."
"Precisely. I have to believe that your father's and The Geographical disappearances are related to this stranger's sudden knowledge of where to find the beasts."
Nate sat up straighter on his donkey. Aunt Phil had said "disappearance," not death. As the tiniest drop of hope appeared in his chest, all his weariness left him. "So now what?" he asked.
"So now we find some answers," Aunt Phil said. "I'd like to start with that lawyer you spoke to, and your Miss Lumpton as well."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Nate said. He slapped the reins and urged his donkey forward. As if sensing Nate meant business, the donkey cooperated and broke into a trot. Aunt Phil looked startled as Nate flew past her on the path to the river.
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[Image: Nate, Greasle, Aunt Phil and two donkeys.]
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NATHANIEL FLUDD'S GUIDE TO PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS
Bamako : the capital of French Sudan.
basilisk : a creature born of a cockerel egg, incubated by a serpent or a toad. Known for its poisonous gaze and breath. Also called the king of serpents.
basil-sack : a bag or sack made entirely of rue fibers, which neutralize the basilisk's poison enough to allow the creature to be transported.
[Image: The basilisk.]
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[Image: Dhughani.]
Dhughani : the descendants of the Songhay Empire who care for the basilisk.
Dolon : the spiritual leader of the Dhughani people who is responsible for taking care of the basilisk.
equator : the imaginary line that bisects the globe and divides the world into the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
Florian Fludd : Mungo Fludd's great-great-grandson. The beastologist who returned to Africa and helped a small band of refugees from the Songhay Empire relocate to the Bandigara escarpment.
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Isidore Fludd : a son of Mungo Fludd. The first Fludd to visit Africa and make contact with the Songhay Empire.
magnetic north : the magnetic north pole, where compass needles point.
navigating furrows : the furrows dug in the ground in the early days of flying to help pilots navigate large land masses that had no identifying features.
[Image: Niger River.]
Niger River : a river in western Africa, the third largest on the African continent.
Prince Henry the Navigator : a prince of Portugal who lived from 1394 to 1450 and founded a famous school of
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navigation. Was the force behind much of Portugal's early discoveries in Africa.
rue : an herb that is widely known to neutralize many types of poison, including the basilisk's.
Sahara : the world's largest desert, covering most of northern Africa.
[Image: Sahara.]
Sahel : the portion of Africa that borders the Sahara Desert.
sniggle : a pole and hook used to coax beasts into or out of caves and nooks. Most widely known for its use in catching eels, beastologists have found many more uses for it.
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[I mage: Songhay Empire.]
Songhay Empire : sometimes spelled Songhai. One of the largest African empires, it existed from the fifteenth century to the end of the sixteenth century.
Sudan : a geographic area just south of the Sahel that spans the African continent.
Sunni Ali : the ruler of the Songhay Empire from 1464 to 1492.
telegram : a method of communication using Morse code to send a message through the wires that is then translated into words.
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Timbuktu : important city famed for its gold and riches during the medieval Mali and Songhay empires.
true north : the geographic North Pole.
Wadi Rumba: a small outpost in Arabia.
weasel : a small, long mammal in the same family as mongooses. Playful and a good hunter. The natural enemy of the basilisk.
[Image: A tree.]
The Basilisk's Lair (Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book 2) Page 7