The Treasure Hunter's Lady (29 page)

Chapter Twenty-four

A bead of sweat rolled between Abel's eyes, trailing down the bridge of his nose before dripping onto his shirt. For the first time in his life, he was terrified of a little bitty ring-neck snake.

Its tongue slipped out of its mouth, tasting the fear that no doubt surrounded him like a cloud. As slowly as he could, Abel reached for the knife at his side. The tiny head bobbed and black eyes blinked. The golden ring around its pencil-thin neck glimmered. No more than four inches long, it was smaller than one of his fingers, but still served as a scout for its master. In his opinion, the only good snake was a dead one.

Abel sank the knife right above the ring. Muscles danced and jerked, but the head rolled a few inches away and lay unmoving. An ungodly roar of anger filled the canyon. A few fist-sized rocks rolled down around the shelter they'd taken the night before.

Romy's eyes popped open and she sat up so quickly she hit her head on the ledge. She moaned and rubbed the sore spot.

“You might want to keep that Lighthouser handy.” Abel crouched, the knife humming in his hand like a tuning fork.

He watched her eyes widen when she saw the tiny snake body, a thin trickle of blood staining the earth in front of it. “One little ring-neck couldn't have been that much of a threat.”

“One ain't. Two or three dozen could be more than an inconvenience. A hundred, now that would be a real problem. But the death of one gives that scaly son of a bitch the idea that I'm just as serious about as winning this as he is.”

She fumbled with her gun, eyes skittering around the open space. “Bigger ones will come. And the venomous kind among them. Then what do we do?”

“Shoot them, stab them or step on them. Throw rocks for all I care. Just don't let any get close enough to bite you.” He kept Ten Horses' knife gripped tight in his hand. The air was still, the sun bright this morning. “He didn't send them last night because of the rain. They're cold-blooded. They have to be warm to move around.”

“Oh, dear,” she mumbled.

A slender head and long body seemed to ooze from the topside of the ledge. Big, round eyes watched them curiously. Abel wrapped his hand around Romy's, aimed and pulled the trigger. The black body exploded. What was left of it slipped to the rocky ground.

“How's that for warm?” he asked the stringy carcass.

The scent of blood tinged the air. Romy winced at the gore. “We're trapped here. It won't take long for the magnets in the gun to discharge if we can't turn it off a while. Then all we have is the knife. It wouldn't take more than a few minutes for them to overpower us.”

The woman is right, He Who Seeks. You cannot destroy all of my children. Nor shall you escape punishment for each one you kill. Surrender your silly stone knife. The lies Ten Horses spins are nothing but old stories. I'm waiting, but I will come for you, and if you do not give up, you will suffer that much longer.

“Not a chance in hell.”

Another snake appeared and Abel shot its head off. Romy uttered a little cry. He looked over his shoulder and saw she had her hands clamped over her ears.

“You all right, darlin'?”

She was visibly shaking, stark terror on her face. “That voice. It’s so evil. How can you stand to listen to it?”

Enough was enough. The knife felt glued to his hand and a burst of anger swept through him. “'Cause I ain't gonna have to listen to it much longer. Stay here. It wants me, it's gonna get me.”

“Abel!”

“Keep the Lighthouser ready. No matter what, one little head pokes under this rock, you shoot it.”

“Abe—”

He knelt next to her, pressed his lips to hers, smothering her protest and ducked out from under the ledge. She emitted a squeak of worry, but didn't follow him. Fresh determination coursed through him. He had to protect her and get the Diamond.

“All right you overgrown earthworm. Here I am. Straight from Texas, where we make hat bands and hair bows outta steers bigger than you.”

Hundreds of snakes, all species and sizes slithered up the canyon floor like a flood of flesh. Blacksnakes, rattlesnakes, water moccasins, garter snakes, milk snakes, copperheads and a dozen others he didn’t have time to identify spread over the canyon floor. It was impossible to take them all in. The musky odor alone was enough to make him gag. Their eyes glowed with unnatural light, seeming to stare right into him. Abel gritted his teeth and held his ground.

Behind them, head as broad as a barn door, body pulsing smoothly under shiny multicolored scales—the biggest scale was the size of Abel's head—Uktena glided along the ground, pushing up rocks and leaving a winding trail in the earth behind it. The Serpent was a thousand sparkling colors and jet-black all at once, depending on where the light hit it. Two ebony horns sprouted from either side of its head, framing its flat face like those of a bighorn sheep. Long, sharp gray spikes protruded from its back, stopping a few feet before the tip of its tail.

Bright gold eyes with cat-like pupils stood out against the scales. Its gaze was keener and far more intelligent than any snake had a right to be. A row of teeth hung over its lower jaw and it was apparent that he was missing two. It would have been funny if not for its sheer size and obvious strength.

In the middle of its forehead the Diamond flared like a newborn star. The gem occupied the space between the horns, catching and bending the sunlight so that sprays of color fell against the canyon walls. It was bigger and brighter than any jewel Abel had ever seen. The beast was beautiful in a terrifying way.

Deep laughter rang out across the land. The hiss of serpents followed it and dread settled in Abel's stomach. But the knife flew up on its own, taking Abel's hand with it so that he was staring up the blade at the Horned Serpent.

Come to meet me at last. No more a man than the weak creatures who tried to kill me years ago. You see, my children, he kills your brothers, but he is nothing.

Several of the snakes reared back, like they might strike, but Uktena looked calmly at Abel. The snake appeared to be grinning.

I smell your fear, like the scent of a frightened rabbit. It courses through your veins with,
the Serpent paused and his pupils widened a fraction
, my poison and that of the knife. Ten Horses' magic battles the poison in your body.
The snaky grin grew and more sharp teeth came into view.
I wonder which will kill you first? Perhaps we need not battle at all. I have eternity to watch you writhe in pain while two great enemies combat inside you.

Abel forgot to breathe. Uktena was right. The knife's magic was killing him. Instead of sickened by it or feeling the pressure of his inability to find a cure, he felt almost relieved.

He smiled. “You could sit by and watch, but that's not your way, is it? You like the thrill of a challenge and it's been so long since one was sent your way.”

Uktena's eyes glittered.
You cannot win, He Who Seeks. Lay the knife at your feet, admit your loss.

“Not today.”

Uktena's mouth opened and its forked tongue slipped out.
You stand before me spouting brave words, but your spirit is already mine. With one thought, my mark will cover the small distance from its current position to your heart. Then you will be dead. All for naught.

“You don't want that. You said you want to see me suffer. So are you going to give your
pets
,” Abel spat the word with venom of his own, “permission to play with me? Make me weak and begging for death? You've watched me kill a few. I can take several more before they all get me.”

The Serpent King laughed; a low and dangerous sound.
You don't believe that I fear that old bit of stone and bone. What can it do to a god? While its magic fades, I grow stronger, year after year. Soon I will leave this prison Ten Horses believes he’s trapped me in and unleash my displeasure upon the world.

From the corner of his eye, Abel watched a bright green snake slide across the ledge shelf. It stretched out serenely, absorbing the warmth of the red rock. He remembered the vision of the fortuneteller in Bismarck. Maybe he should've asked her if he had a long, healthy future in store. Too late now.

“Let's leave your little babies out of this, then. Just you and me. We both know they're nothing more than fancy medicine to make you look meaner than you really are.” He took a step forward. The death knell of a diamondback rattler had him dripping sweat. The snake's mouth snapped inches from his boot, but met nothing more than air. Abel kicked gravel at it and refused to give ground. “Hell, Uktena, you couldn't even destroy the sun. What's that but a big ball of fire floating in the sky?”

Uktena bared black teeth in a snarl. Its tree-trunk-sized body pushed through and over the smaller serpents and it lowered its head mere feet from Abel's face.
Do the memories of the knife touch you, human? Can it tell you how I defeated Ten Horses and his entire tribe? They're damned for eternity, kept apart from the Spirit Road forever! No one will banish me from this earth. They cannot destroy me as punishment for creating me. The Great Spirit delivered a weapon they cannot use. What good is that? They cling to fragile hope if they send you to as their last chance.

Uktena's words sank in and a flood of memories that didn't belong to Abel crushed him. He saw the ceremony that raised the Horned Serpent from the muddy Missouri River, shining and glorious. The chief and medicine men armed Uktena with the strongest colors of the earth to make the demon bold and fearless. Gave it thick, hard scales so that nothing could defeat it. They gave it words to trick Mother Sun and venom to make her weak.

Ten Horses, dressed in his sun-bleached buckskins and long black braids with red cloth twisted through them, made the Serpent a promise. If it defeated Mother Sun, who threatened the land with drought and famine, the King of Serpents would rule all the tribes. The power of the water already belonged to it. But Uktena was already convinced of its own greatness and made others like it, the ancestors of snakes everywhere. It fought the sun as it promised, but during the battle, it lost again and again. In its fury and shame, it cursed the humans and flooded the earth, leaving the tribes stranded on high ground. A thousand times more terrible than the sun, it devoured them like fish in the sea.

That was until the Great Spirit sent a giant eagle to deliver the bone knife to one of Ten Horses' descendants and told him to find the warrior who could undo his vile creation. One by one, the bravest warriors of the tribe went forth and tried to kill Uktena. Their fear fed the Serpent. It killed them in any manner of ways. Some he crushed to death, some he snapped up like rodents. Others it allowed its minions have. But they all died with screams on their lips and terror in their hearts. The Serpent grew stronger with every soul it consumed. Finally the warriors trapped it in the canyon, a dry lifeless place until they could find a man with the strength to kill Uktena.

One more soul to tip the scale in my favor.

Without warning, Uktena struck. On sheer instinct, Abel slashed the knife across the Serpent's nose. Uktena drew back with a hiss, shock registering in its all-too-human eyes. Tarry black blood welled from the gash. A horrible rumble came from the Serpent's throat. It shook its head, causing droplets to splatter Abel and the ground.

Curse you! You and that damned knife.

Abel staggered. Pain burned his chest, right at the tattoo's head. He gritted his teeth and crouched, eyes on his enemy. His mind whirled with the images of defeated warriors. The Horned Serpent licked blood from its nose and rose in the air, towering above everything. It swayed back and forth, flicking its tail like an annoyed cat.

The scarlet scales around its neck pulsed. Abel didn’t need to count to see it was the seventh ring. That was where the snake’s heart lay. Well out of his reach. His only chance was to make Uktena mad enough to attack again.

“What's the matter? Got a little scratch? Need to slither back to your cave and lick your wounds?”

A howl echoed through the canyon, sending rocks down around them. The ground shook as Uktena lunged faster than Abel could see. The knife led him, allowing him to roll away, just under the rock ledge. Uktena's big head struck it, pushing against the stone. The snakes rushed up beside him, forming a wriggling wall.

Get back. He is mine!

The snakes retreated, but not far enough to give the feeling of safety. Behind Abel, Romy's breath came in short pants. He glanced over his shoulder at her, gave her a tight smile. The Lighthouser in her hands shook violently. He doubted she even realized she still had it.

Uktena's snout was inches from the knife in Abel's hand. He flattened his stomach against the red ground and jabbed the Serpent again. Another scream of pain and Uktena drew back. Abel clenched his hand around the knife handle and buried his face in his elbow to keep from showing his own anguish.

A shadow passed in front of the rock. Uktena's gleaming golden eye came level with Abel's head, just out of knife's reach. Some ancient language, a curse or a taunt speared Abel's thoughts. The knife jerked in his hand, reaching out for another chance at tender snake flesh. The cuts on the black hide were already turning a sickly grayish, an indication that the knife's magic was working. With enough cuts and nicks, the magic might even immobilize the snake.

Scared like a rabbit.

“Smart like a porcupine,” Abel shot back. The creature's heart was still too far away for him to ever get a chance to pierce it. He'd have to face Uktena again. Maybe climb right up those spikes to the red scales and pry them up.

He eased back from the opening and bumped Romy with his leg. She reached out and grasped his calf, squeezing tight.

“Hey, darlin'. You doin' all right under here?”

She stared at him, obviously not enjoying his attempt at normal conversation. She licked her lips and peered out at the snakes surrounding them. “You have a plan?”