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But it was too late.
He knew it as they reached the foot of the slope. Raider knew it too, because he slowed at the same time, turned at the same time.
They barely had time to throw down their gear and draw their swords before a black snake large enough to swallow a man whole shot out into the cavern.
Spikes ridged its head and ran down its back, but Seth had no time to observe anything more than that before the snake struck, six-foot fangs flashing toward him and Raider.
Seth swung his sword, catching the serpent’s mouth with the tip of his blade. Raider darted close to the thing. He slashed up at its throat with his scimitar, but the serpent’s heavy scales deflected the blow.
The serpent coiled away, hissing, its red, reptilian eyes calculating. A long red tongue flickered out from its lipless mouth.
“Go!” Raider shouted.
Ignoring that absurd command, Seth sidestepped, studying the partially coiled snake, its body twice the height of a man and too long to even fit fully inside the cavern. It stretched away into the tunnel from which it had emerged.
Raider barked, “Get the hell out of here!”
“I’m not leaving you.”
That was all Raider was going to get. Seth wouldn’t waste time arguing and wouldn’t damage his focus by glancing at Raider. And that was why he didn’t see what Raider meant to do until it was too late to try to stop him.
With a shout designed to draw the serpent’s attention, Raider went charging straight at it. The snake’s body tightened—then it struck. Raider dove aside.
Somersaulting, he popped back to his feet and leaped for the huge head. He managed to get a hold of one of the snake’s horns, but even with quicksilver encasing his hand, his grip lasted only a moment. The sand serpent whipped its head with brutal force, tossing Raider deep into the cavern and out of sight.
“Raider!”
Fuck!
Seth sprinted forward to take advantage of the snake’s turned head, hoping he could get his sword to its throat. Raider’s slashing scimitar had not pierced the scales, but a thrust from Seth’s straight blade might.
He didn’t get a chance to find out because the snake wound away so fast he could only make out a blur of motion. The sand serpent coiled and whipped around the cavern, its body too big to move freely but its coils gliding smoothly over one another.
Seth struck his sword as hard as he could into the scaled body. The sand serpent shrieked and whipped around, nearly ripping the sword from Seth’s grip before he could yank it free. A coil of the snake’s body slammed into Seth, sending him flying into the darkness at the edge of the cavern. He hit a wall and slid down.
Seth rolled to his side and staggered to his feet. Dizzied from the impact, he registered movement but couldn’t discern the source. He tried to get his sword up—
“This way!” Raider shouted.
Thank the gods!
Seth lurched after Raider, vision clearing as he tailed Raider through the cavern. Raider had all their gear slung over his shoulder, but he was still fast as hell. He had to be—and so did Seth.
The slither and rasp of the snake’s movement was fast approaching. Seth prepared himself to turn and fight. Barely any light reached him this deep into the vast cavern, but even blinded by darkness, he would rather face death than have it strike him in the back.
Then Raider shouted, “Here!”
He vanished into a black hole in the cavern’s wall. Seth lost him instantly. He looked behind for the snake. Its massive form shot through the dimness straight for Seth—
A hand, cool and metallic, grabbed Seth’s and yanked him into the blackness. A boom shook the tight walls that had closed abruptly around Seth.
Raider hauled at Seth’s hand, and Seth found himself scrambling blindly up a rocky slope. A shriek sounded from the cavern then a second boom shook the walls. Grit rained down from the passageway’s low ceiling.
Still scrambling, Seth tripped on the uneven ground. His fall yanked his hand free of Raider’s. Pain barked through Seth’s knees as he hit the ground.
Raider was there at once, scrambling over him. Desperate to see what was happening, Seth reached for the lamp hanging at his belt. He clicked it on.
Cool arcane light splashed over the rough stone walls of the narrow, upward-sloping passageway. The light bloomed across Raider in his brilliant red kaftan, blocking Seth’s view of the passageway’s opening into the cavern, putting himself between Seth and the sand serpent.
