'Not positive, but I've heard of such things. Big snakes. They coil themselves in the branches overhead, waiting to drop down on their prey.'
Max swallowed loudly. 'And . . . what do they eat, these . . . serpents?'
Cornelius considered for a moment. 'Oh . . . pretty much anything that's slow-moving,' he said. He rode on for a few moments before elaborating. 'You see, they hang there, some distance up, and they fix their gaze on whatever's passing below. But if it's moving too quickly, by the time they've fallen from the heights, their prey has passed. Then they have the irksome task of slithering all the way up the tree again on an empty belly. So you see, if you move briskly enough, you have nothing to fear.'
'I see . . .' Max actually picked up his pace dramatically for several steps before something dawned on him.
'Just a moment! This is another of your stories, isn't it?' he cried. 'Like that yarn you spun me about the grundersnat on the road to Keladon. Just a callous trick to make me hurry!'
Cornelius's baby face split into a huge grin. 'You should have seen your face!' he cried. 'I've never seen anything so funny in all my life.' He threw back his head and laughed heartily.
'Cornelius,' said Sebastian, puzzled, 'you shouldn't make jokes about things like—'
A sharp cracking sound from under the front wheels of the caravan startled him. He glanced over the side and saw that they had just passed over a scattering of dry white sticks. He looked closer. No, not sticks . . . bones . . .
Cornelius suddenly stopped laughing. Sebastian turned back to look at his friend. The little warrior seemed frozen in his saddle, staring up into the trees in apparent astonishment.
'Cornelius?' said Sebastian. 'What's wrong?'
And then, with heart-stopping suddenness, a huge snake came hurtling down from the forest canopy, striking Cornelius and knocking him clean out of his saddle.
CHAPTER 2
COILS OF TERROR
Sebastian sat there, rigid with shock, staring down at the enormous serpent that now had Cornelius gripped in its mighty coils. It was as long as six ponies standing nose to tail, a great green and grey creature with black zigzag markings running the length of its scaly back. Cornelius was struggling desperately to escape but his arms were pinned to his sides and all he could do was lash out frantically with his little legs. Phantom, meanwhile, was lying on her side, snorting and kicking in sheer terror.
Sebastian's mind was a blur and his muscles seemed to have lost all their power. He hated serpents, and this was the biggest he had seen in his entire life.
'Young master!' It was Max's voice that brought him out of his spell. 'You must act quickly – he'll be killed!'
Sebastian nodded. Somehow he willed himself into action.
He leaped down from the caravan, reaching for his sword as he did so, and ran quickly towards the writhing, twisting coils, his arm raised to strike.
'Stay back!' snarled Cornelius through gritted teeth. 'No sense . . . in both of us . . . being killed!'
Sebastian ignored that. He brought the razor-sharp sword down in a hissing arc, thinking it would cleave deep into the serpent's flesh; but the blade just struck sparks off the creature's diamond-hard scales and glanced off. Sebastian stared at the sword stupidly for a moment. Then the serpent's tail came swishing round in a heavy half-circle and struck him hard in the chest, knocking him backwards. The forest floor slammed against his shoulders, driving all the air out of him, and an instant later he felt the serpent's pointed tail slide around his middle, gripping him so tightly that he cried out with the pain of it.
Then he was being lifted through the air, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that the serpent was pulling him ever closer to its open jaws. He was afforded a terrifying view of a pink glistening throat and a wriggling forked tongue, fringed by rows of fangs that dripped colourless venom. His arms were free but he had lost his sword and could do nothing but make his hands into fists, and be prepared to go to his doom punching with the last of his strength.
He was dimly aware of a bellowing sound somewhere below him and realized that it was Max, making angry buffalope noises, but what good could he do while he was
still hitched to the caravan? There was a band of steel tightening around Sebastian's chest; he could no longer get his breath and the serpent's huge mouth was opening to receive him.
Is this how it is to end? he thought. What a stupid way to die!
Then a feathered stick seemed to sprout magically out of the serpent's eye. A great shudder ran through its body and it thrashed its head wildly, one needle-like fang missing Sebastian's face by the width of a finger. The loop around his chest loosened dramatically and he was able to snatch in a gulp of precious air. He caught a glimpse of Cornelius's apparently lifeless body tumbling downwards through the creature's winding coils and he opened his mouth to shout. But then he was flung through the air as though he had no more substance than a puppet, and he slammed into something hard, probably the trunk of a tree.
He had no time to dwell on the matter because blackness was overtaking him and he could fight it off no longer . . .
When he came to his senses, somebody was holding his head and lifting a skin of cool water to his lips. He swallowed gratefully and instantly felt it restore a little of his vitality. He let his eyes focus and saw that a young man was looking down at him, his face expressionless. He had handsome if rather cold features, piercing green eyes, a long aquiline nose and a neatly tended brown beard. His long straight hair hung to his shoulders and he was wearing clothes made of animal hide. Seeing that Sebastian seemed largely uninjured, he allowed himself a thin smile, but there was no real warmth in it.
He helped Sebastian to sit up. Sebastian looked down the track and saw that the mighty serpent was dead, its vast coils motionless. He saw also that the plumed stick protruding from its eye was an arrow. The powerful bow slung across the man's shoulder confirmed that he must have been the archer.
'Cornelius . . .?' asked Sebastian.
'Your friend is fine,' said the young man. 'But he is seeing to his pony. She's in a bad way.'
Sebastian took in the news, knowing what it must mean; but first he needed to express his gratitude. 'It seems we owe you our lives,' he said.
The man shrugged. 'I have been after that old serpent for an age. When he's up in the trees, I can't get a good enough bead on him. The eye is the one vulnerable spot and your aim has to be perfect.'
'I'll try to remember that,' Sebastian assured him, 'should we encounter more of those beasts.'
'You won't see another like him. He was the king of all the forest serpents and as old as time itself. I dread to think how many unwary travellers have ended their journey in his deadly grip.' The young man seemed to remember something. He bowed slightly from the waist. 'Forgive me,' he said. 'I have not introduced myself. I am Adam. I live in this forest with my sister, Leonora.'
Sebastian nodded. 'And I am Sebastian Darke. My friend is Captain Cornelius Drummel, formerly of the Golmiran army.' He heard a cough from across the clearing and saw that Max was looking at him meaningfully. 'Oh yes, and that's Max, my' – he hesitated, knowing that he had had problems introducing Max before – 'a buffalope,' he finished awkwardly.
He got carefully to his feet, assuring himself that there was no permanent damage to his aching ribs. He looked along the trail and saw Cornelius kneeling beside the prone figure of Phantom. 'Excuse me a moment,' he said, and walked across to stand beside his friend. Cornelius was stroking the pony's head and talking to her in a low voice. He glanced up at Sebastian, who was shocked to see tears trickling down the little warrior's face.
'Is there nothing that can be done?' asked Sebastian quietly.
Cornelius shook his head. 'Her leg is broken,' he said. 'And besides' – he pointed to a pair of livid puncture wounds in Phantom's neck – 'the serpent's fangs struck her as it came down. It was trying for me and found her instead.'
'I thought you had invented that story about tree
serpents,' said Sebastian.
'So did I. But there is nothing in this world that you can invent that is not dwelling somewhere in the shadows. If I had been more watchful and not so intent upon scaring Max . . .'
'You can't blame yourself,' reasoned Sebastian. 'And perhaps the bite's not fatal.'
Adam had wandered over to stand with them. He shook his head. 'That old monster had enough venom in him to kill a herd of ponies,' he said bluntly. 'But it's slow-working. She'll be in terrible pain.' He reached down and put a hand on Cornelius's shoulder. 'If you want, I'll put her out of her misery.'
Cornelius shook his head. 'No,' he said. 'She's my responsibility. I'll do what has to be done.' He reached into his belt and withdrew a short dagger. 'Wait for me by the caravan,' he suggested.
They did as they were told. Max was waiting impatiently for some news.
'What's going on over there?' he wanted to know. 'Is Phantom injured?'
Sebastian nodded. 'Fatally so, I'm afraid.'
'Oh no, tell me that's not so. Not Phantom. She's such a good-natured creature. Isn't there something that can be done for her?'
'Cornelius is attending to it,' Sebastian told him.
Max's eyes widened in realization. 'But surely—' He broke off at the sound of a brief whinny from Phantom. 'Oh dear,' he said. 'What a pity. She wasn't much of a conversationalist, but she had a very sweet nature. I was only just getting to know her.'
There was an uncomfortable silence, which was finally broken by Adam.
'So . . . Mr Darke, what brings you into the forest of Geltane?'
'Please, call me Sebastian. We . . . we're just passing through. We have business in Ramalat.'
'Business?' Adam put his head slightly to one side, a strange gesture which put Sebastian in mind of some kind of alert animal.
'Er . . . yes – just something . . . we have to do . . . at the port.' Sebastian didn't want to say too much about the reasons for their journey and he hoped he didn't sound too evasive.
'It's a long path through the forest,' observed Adam, 'and there's not much light left. I'm heading home now. Perhaps you'd like to camp there for the night? We have fresh water and a good fire – you'd be welcome to join us.'
Sebastian opened his mouth to decline the offer, but Max got there before he had a chance to speak.
'It sounds good to me,' he said. 'It'll be useful to have a skilled archer with us, in case anything else comes visiting in the night.'
'Oh, you'll be safe enough in our cave,' Adam assured him. 'No beasts dare approach it. My sister is a powerful woman.'
'Cave?' murmured Max apprehensively. He looked suddenly as though he had made a terrible mistake. 'Oh, well . . . I'm not sure we're used to sleeping in caves.'
Adam laughed. 'It is better appointed than most caves you'll encounter. And you needn't worry yourself. As a beast of burden, you'll be sleeping outside.'
'A beast of . . .?' Max looked quite affronted and Sebastian sensed that he was about to say something uncomplimentary; but just at that moment Cornelius came trudging towards them, his face grim, his shoulders hunched.
'She's gone,' he murmured. 'Poor Phantom. I didn't know her long, but she was a fine ally.'
'Yes,' said Max, trying to be supportive. 'And so' – he searched for a suitable recommendation – 'polite. You know, at feeding times she always used to stand aside and let me eat first.'
Cornelius gave him an accusing look. 'Did she have any choice in the matter?' he growled.
Sebastian stepped in to defuse any argument. 'Cornelius, Adam here has offered to let us camp the night at his cave. He says there's fresh water there.'
Cornelius shrugged, clearly too depressed to consider such an irrelevance. 'Whatever,' he said. 'Just as soon as we've finished burying Phantom.'
'Burying her?' Sebastian stared, but Cornelius was already clambering into the back of the caravan. His reply came from amongst the jumble of equipment that was stored haphazardly there.
'Well, you don't expect me to just leave her lying around for the carrion beasts of the forest, do you?'
'Umm . . . no. No, I suppose not.' Sebastian turned to look at Adam. 'I'm sorry,' he said. 'We'll be as quick as we can. Is it far to your . . . cave?'
'Not so far,' said Adam. 'And please don't worry – take as long as you need. I quite understand.'
A couple of spades came flying out of the back of the caravan and Sebastian went over to pick them up. He had never dug a grave for a pony before and had no idea how long it would take.
It was early evening when they finally set off. Sebastian found that his arms were aching: it was a long time since he had done that kind of hard manual work and the forest floor had been matted with thick roots and the bones of earlier victims. Cornelius had insisted on digging the grave deep enough to prevent lupers from unearthing the remains, and as they descended through the layers of earth, they continued to find bones, which gave some indication of how long the giant serpent had been preying upon unwary travellers along this trail. Sebastian thought how close he'd come to adding his own remains to the grisly collection and he couldn't suppress a shiver of revulsion.
When they had finished, Cornelius stood at the grave for a long time, his head bowed as if in prayer, though Sebastian was pretty sure he didn't believe in any of the old gods. Then he put Phantom's saddle and bridle into the wagon and they all set off.
Cornelius had opted to ride in the back of the caravan, where he sat hunched and silent throughout the journey. Adam walked alongside, striding at such a speed that Sebastian was obliged to keep slapping the reins against Max's haunches in an attempt to keep pace with him. Max seemed to have slipped into a sad reverie of his own, and for once in his life had absolutely nothing to say. Sebastian occupied himself by throwing a string of questions at Adam.
'May I ask how long you have lived in these woods?'
'Oh, off and on since we were children.' Adam kept striding onward as he spoke, moving with an agile grace. 'From time to time we have tried other places, but we seem destined to keep returning.' He glanced up at Sebastian. 'Not far now,' he said. 'Leonora will have a meal ready for us.'
'We have provisions,' said Sebastian. 'You're welcome to take whatever you want from them.'
'No need. The forest provides us with everything.'
'Yes, but your sister won't be expecting extra mouths to feed.'
Adam smiled strangely. 'Of course she will,' he said, and walked on.
Sebastian was puzzled by this remark. 'But . . . how could she know?' he persisted.
'Leonora is special,' said Adam. 'She has been gifted since birth. She sees and hears things that others cannot see.'
'You mean she's a witch?' said Max, speaking for the first time in ages. Sebastian winced and Adam looked far from pleased.
'That is not a word we care for,' he said coldly. 'But she has special powers. She can look into a man's future and see what awaits him there.'
'Sounds exactly like a witch to me,' said Max. Sebastian could have slapped him. Had he no gratitude?
'You'll be able to judge for yourself soon enough,' said Adam. 'The cave is just round this next bend.'
CHAPTER 3
LEONORA
The track curved sharply to the left, and they emerged into a small clearing where a cliff of grey rock reared upwards from amidst a tumble of vegetation. At one point a constant trickle of water came cascading down and splashed into a shallow pool before overflowing and plunging down a rocky slope beyond. There was a low arched opening in the rocks, and Sebastian could see into the illuminated interior, where the cloaked figure of a woman was sitting in front of a low fire, her face turned away.
Sebastian Darke: Prince of Pirates Page 2