Simon could see three mounds falling back, just as Malcolm had said. But the other one was pushing forward of the coach, angling for the road far ahead. Kate saw it too. Her head shifted back and forth from the wave of flying grass and snow to the wagon path. She cracked the whip, trying to coax another ounce of effort from the team. The horses were laboring, with foam flecking their mouths and a coat of lather on the rippling flanks.
One of the lead horses stumbled. Kate shouted and let the reins slip slightly in hopes it could recover. The animal gathered itself well but swerved over into its mate. The back pair threw their heads in confusion. The coach skated to the side and the wheels bogged into the thick snow and grass. They rocked and lost headway. Amidst loud shouts and creaking wood, Kate wrestled the laboring team back onto the trail.
The furrow roared ahead of the carriage and darted into the road. A shower of earth erupted up into the air and a terrible snake-creature, seven feet tall, blocked the path in front of the spooked horses. Kate cracked the whip. The horses obeyed and drove straight onto the creature. It bounced off the broad chest of the lead stallion and disappeared beneath pitiless hooves.
The coach rocked, causing Simon’s boots to slip from their purchase and his legs flew out wildly. He kept his one-handed grip on the rail and Malcolm gave up his own hold to lock onto Simon’s wrist.
The carriage bolted violently into the air. Simon caught a glimpse of one of the wheels bouncing over a long, thick snake tail. He rose high into the air and slammed onto the roof. Malcolm kept his hold with gritted teeth, but he nearly went over the side at the same time. The coach crashed down onto all four wheels.
Kate looked over her shoulder. “Everyone alive—Simon!”
At her wide eyes, he looked back to see massive hands crawling over the rear of the carriage. Then a flesh-maned head peered up at them. The creature dragged itself up with claws sinking into the roof. Malcolm pointed his pistol and fired while off balance. Simon felt the discharge and heat on his back. The ball clipped the creature’s shoulder. It growled and pushed itself up on powerful arms. As the fleshy beast drew its massive tail up behind it, the coach sank back.
Simon braced himself with one hand and started to stand. His stick sword was still in his hand and once again he triggered the runic glow. The carriage rolled heavily and he braced himself like a man on a ship’s tossing deck. The snow whipped in eddies around them. He swung the blade with a hissing arc. The beast reared away, then instantly clawed at the man. Simon dodged, but his knee buckled and he toppled backward.
“Careful there.” Malcolm’s hand pressed into the small of his back.
Simon could’ve sworn the Scotsman gave him a shove forward as you would a mate in a pub brawl. The blue blade struck home in the creature’s stomach, biting deep. The thing screamed. Simon drew close and began to work the blade in the thick flesh. The scaly hide parted with a sizzle of reddish ooze. He felt scaly arms close tight around him. The skin of the creature was sandy and rubbed Simon’s face raw. The stench was unbelievable. He felt as if his ribs would shatter until he uttered the spell that turned him into stone. His breath stopped and his eyes were locked on the chest of the brute trying to crush him. The creature continued to try, but there was nothing it could do to hurt him. Then Simon actually felt warmth spreading across his head and shoulders; he had never felt anything while in a stone form before. The snake thing must have been drooling its corrosive spit on him.
The carriage jolted. Simon sensed that he and the creature were airborne. The world flipped around him. He felt steady bumps and jostling but no pain. The thing’s skin was replaced in his line of vision with the snowy ground. He expelled the last bit of breath as the simple spell and the stone skin relented. Simon gasped for air, fighting to move and get his bearings. He stretched to crack the hard slough covering him. The crumbling skin flaked away and he struggled to stand. A residue of acidic heat scorched his neck before he reached up and tore away the sizzling hard skin resting there.
The coach had continued down the path, where it entered the outskirts of a forest. Kate brought it to a clattering halt. Malcolm was already leaping off the rear. Kate was soon visible too as she jumped from the box and started running back.
Simon limped toward then, still fighting the aftereffects of his spell. His chest burned from the curse, threatening to drop him. He focused on Kate’s face as he lumbered through the pain.
As he ran, he took a quick glance back and saw the snake-creature rising from the snow. It angrily pulled the sword from its stomach and flung it aside. Then it glared at the fleeing Simon. It vomited onto the ground and plunged headfirst, diving into the dirt as if it were water. Then a great mound rose and chased after Simon down the rutted trail. Malcolm’s pistols thundered but merely sent balls flying into rumbling earth.