• About twenty minutes into our walk from Heryle castle is when I realize the faults in my plan. The closest town to Heryle is Luniper -named after the rare tree growing there- but is about fifteen miles away. We'd escaped at about ten 'o clock am, and now its about ten o' clock pm. We've probably only covered about five or six miles. We have no water and no food- a mistake, considering between Heryle and Luniper is a vast desert. It's more barren than the bones in Heryle's dungeon. Only one plant can produce anything like water in the whole desert area. Its called the Calunctie Cactus- the liquid inside it is closer to milk than water. However, they're very, very rare. And, I haven't seen a single one since we left Heryle Castle. Not good, if you ask me.
    Night has already fallen and the air has become frigid. Our clothes are layered, so we arent very cold, but during the walk over, we were all sweating buckets.
    "What are we supposed to do now?" Kei asks quietly. I look at him steadily. He's a handsome boy- more like a man, actually. The age of adulthood in Izar is about sixteen, and he'll be sixteen in seventeen days. He's been going on about how he wants to defeat a Yarmla for his birthday and manhood. His sandy hair is slightly sticking to his face, and his neon, vibrant green eyes stare at me intently. They stand out miraculously against his darkened skin.
    I stare at him for a bit longer before looking back forward. "Why are you asking me?" I only ask that for the satisfaction of the answer.
    Kei seems to hold back a chuckle. "You're the leader." He's answered that question before. I ask it to remind myself of the position I have in their lives. It seems almost impossible to believe that someone like me could have such an important part of their lives.
    "I dont know." I say as casually as if I'm greeting him. His eyes grow incredolous and his mouth thinnens into a white line.
    "You... What?" He sounds abashed.
    "You heard me." I say softly, without malice. "I dont know what we're supposed to-" I stop. There's a faint... hissing. It reaches my ears just now, but I realize its been going on for a while. I narrow my eyes. Why does it sound so... familiar?
    I do a swift three sixty and scan the perimeter of the desert, but dont see anything suspicious. I look back at Kei, ready to call the sound nothing, when movement by Kei's foot catches my eye. My heart goes cold and I fear it might stop with fear.
    "Kei," I say slowly, calmly as possible. "Do not move. You hear me? Hum if you do." Kei hums as loudly as he can without moving, but I can see his surprise at my seriousness. Aspie and Ashtyn swallow hard a few feet behind. They'd been trailing behind us, Aspie on Ashtyn's back. Her ankle had begun swelling.
    But that wasn't the problem. Curled around the base of Kei's shoe was a sandy, beady-eyed serphent. It stared up at me, coiling around his shoe a bit tighter. Kei's breath hitches, finally realizing what's claiming his shoe.
    Its a Níðhöggr.
    A Níðhöggr is a serpent of the sand. Its skin camoflauges it with the desert floor, making it a dangerous predator. Its name means 'dreaded striker', for the fact that its skillfully blending scales make it impossible to see for more than three feet out.
    "What..." Kei says almost pleadingly. I want to tell him its okay, but I dont lie. If someone asks me a question, they'd better be prepared to hear the answer, because I wont tune it down for their sake.
    "Kei, around your foot is a Níðhöggr. Do you know what that is?"
    He whimpers. "No."
    "Its a venomous snake. Its poison will paralyze you slowly, starting from the fingers and toes, then lastly reaching your heart, lungs, and airpassage. I'm telling you not to move because if you show any form of resistance it will only speed the process."
    "Eva..." He whispers. Next to him, Aspie is silently crying, eyes locked on the snake, shaking her head slowly. Ashtyn's face is white. "What... do I do...?"
    "We wait for it to make a move." I say quietly, glaring at the snake. "Then I'll find a way to kill it. I'm not letting you die. Not yet."