The Gates of Night_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [45]
It was a snake.
A pillar of dark stone stood on the shore, and a serpent was wrapped around it. It was the largest reptile Pierce had ever seen, with jaws that could swallow a wolf—or a man. Its coils were deep black banded with uneven crimson stripes, and the sight reminded Pierce of the disturbing mark on Daine’s back. It took only a moment to evaluate its potential as a threat. Lei had pushed herself to her limits. Pierce had only one arrow. To fight such a monster in their current condition was an invitation for disaster.
“You still do not understand the ways of this world,” Xu’sasar said to Daine. The wind caught her silver-white hair, and she seemed to be shrouded in a cloak of moonlight. “Just as the great boar provided passage to this place, surely this serpent is the key to our next challenge.”
The drow warrior was still a mystery to Pierce. Her talents were impressive and somewhat disturbing. Pierce placed great faith in his senses, and it was troubling to deal with someone who could so easily elude him. And while Pierce might have fists of steel, Xu’sasar’s skills at unarmed combat clearly exceeded his own.
She is no longer unarmed.
Pierce could feel Shira indicating a point in space, and he let her guide his eyes. Xu’sasar held her right hand low and close to her side, and had casually placed her body between the others and the object she held … but Pierce caught a glimpse of a curved point of ivory.
“What is it that you hold?” he said.
Guilt was not an emotion Xu’sasar seemed to feel. Her expression was utterly innocent as she raised her hand. The object appeared to be a primitive double-bladed dagger. It might have been carved from the claws of some great beast, two curved spurs sharpened to hold an edge and joined.
“Where were you hiding that?” Daine said, surprised.
“I hide nothing,” Xu’sasar said. “The spirits gave me this gift as a reward for my courage, and to meet the challenges of the path that lies ahead.”
“The spirits did this,” Lei said. “And when was that?”
The dark elf turned to fully face Daine, ignoring Lei’s question. “I have shown you the way. The bridge awaits.”
“I know you fought a giant boar with your fists,” Daine said. “But do you really want to attack that serpent with a little knife?”
“That would be an act of a fool,” Xu’sasar said. “To fight such a creature, I should want a longer weapon, one with which to hold the creature at bay and force open its jaws.”
“Right, which means—Flame!” Daine swore.
The double dagger expanded in Xu’sasar’s hand, a leather-wrapped shaft of bone extending even as the claws on each end stretched into long, flat blades. Xu’sasar shifted her grip, and now she was holding a double-bladed halberd. The claw-like blades merged seamlessly into the haft.
There is great power in that object. Shira’s thought came before Pierce had even formed a query. I cannot see it fully at this time, but be certain—it has strength beyond the bones of any mortal creature. It may be impervious to physical harm.
“Yet this is meaningless,” Xu’sasar said. The polearm twisted and melted in her grasp, and an instant later she held a three-pronged wheel of bone in her hand—a bone variation of the wooden throwing weapons they had seen the drow use before. “I would no more fight this creature than great Vulkoor. Do you know nothing of the spirits? This is surely Ko’molaq, the Keeper of Secrets. We must buy our passage with our words.”
“So you want to talk to the serpent?” Daine said. “I—”
Lei grabbed Daine’s shoulder and pulled. “She may be right, Daine.”
This surprised even Pierce. Since their arrival in Thelanis, Lei had seemed unwilling to accept anything the drow girl said. It was clearly difficult, but she pushed the words out.
“Xu’sasar, your people have a tale of this? The serpent by the river?”
The dark elf clicked her tongue.
“That’s what this is,” Lei said. “The realm of stories. I don’t know if some force is shaping the realm to match her expectations, or if one of her people journeyed through Thelanis