19

Fentress saw the serpent's approach in slow motion. It moved as fluidly as it looked, its body twisting through the air as it bared its fangs at her. She did what any sane creature would do. She turned and sprinted in the other direction.

She got one step before she smashed directly into a fat, mad-eyed shrew who had been behind her. Her already-battered skull crashed into his thick chest and she was knocked flat on her back in the sand. The unwitting maneuver saved her life. The serpent lashed out just above her, biting the howling shrew instead. The shrew made a few frantic strikes at the serpent's head with his weapon only to fall into stiff convulsions moments later.

The rough underbelly of the serpent loomed just above Fentress. He only had to lower his head to crush her completely. Not pausing to think, she thrust one of her daggers at the layered flesh. The point stuck in a scale, not moving past the tip. The serpent did not act as if he even noticed as he wrangled to extricate the writhing shrew from his fangs.

Fentress rolled out from under the serpent and dashed to her footpaws. The serpent would not fall to a dagger, but the weapons the shrews wielded were not much better. If only she had the Sword of Martin… Surely it would have hewn the snake's head from its body. But the sword had disappeared into the swamp; who knew where it was now.

The shrews and slaves panicked as the serpent dove amidst them. Forgetting the conflict, both sides struggled to run, pressing through the knotted crowd of creatures to put as much distance between them and the monstrous snake as possible. Fentress glanced around her and realized she was the only creature in a clear radius around the serpent. The serpent spat out the slain shrew and turned toward her. She backpedaled slowly.

He hissed. "Come hither, little one…"

Fentress kicked the sand, sending up a spray of granules into the yellow eyes. The snake recoiled with an infuriated, almost offended shriek. Fentress bolted again, although not for land.

She dove past Bristol and the three shrews guards locked in combat, dipping beneath their spears and swords. Leaping over Kennebec's sprawled form, she plunged headfirst into the lagoon.

It was cold as ice, as though warmth had never touched its inky blackness. She could see nothing under the surface but a faint hint of light from the moon above.

She let go of one dagger and clenched the other between her fangs. In the muffled world of underwater she heard a crash above. Undoubtedly the serpent knew water well. He lived in this lagoon, after all. But in water she could move quick and freely. She paddled to the bed of the lagoon, which was not deep. Thin strands of kelp and weed clumped together, providing camouflage as she trolled along the silty ground, propelled by her tail.

The serpent was large and thus displaced gallons of water with every movement. She could sense exactly where he was without having to see him. He was coiling through the depths, moving with the calculated, patrolling motions of one searching for something. He had lost her.

Making efficient use of her air, she plotted her next plan. The scales were strong and would take something very sharp and heavy to rend them. Exactly like the lizards in the swamp, with Alagadda and her vermin. Alagadda had only had small knives and daggers to fight, and yet she had managed to slay a few of the reptiles by gouging them in the eye. Fentress could do the same to the serpent.

Definitely.

Easy.

Oh dear, she was in trouble, wasn't she?

At the very least she had to move. Although she could hold her breath far longer than most creatures, she only had a minute or two more before she would have to surface again.

Something stirred beside her and she almost panicked. But as she squinted to peer through the veil she made out the beady black eyes of a fish, a kind she had never seen before. It was large and pale. Around it drifted others, a school of about ten or twelve, although that was based mostly on how many of them Fentress could hear rather than how many she could see.

An idea formed in her mind.

She lashed out her paw, slicing the nearest fish with her blade, cutting it horizontal across the body. The fish bolted in a frenzy, thrashing and flailing through the depths as blood streamed around it. The other fish took off and Fentress took off with them, propelling herself as fast as she could to keep up with the agile creatures.

The serpent moved even faster. Either sensing the movement or scenting the blood, it tore for the injured fish, passing directly underneath Fentress. She peered through the dark to try and see it, moonbeams catching on its scales and shining like oil. In the midst of so much darkness shone the pale yellow eyes of the beast.

She dove at the eye from above. Swinging her arm through the water she plunged the blade into the sickly jaundiced eye to the hilt. It was like slicing some kind of jelly dish cooked up by Friar Alger, except disgusting and hideous. The serpent reacted by whipping its head back and sending her hurtling through the water, spinning and tumbling and losing all sense of direction. Something tugged at her midsection, oily blackness swirling around her, nothing comprehensible.

The surface broke and air flooded into her lungs as she whipped into the air. The quiet of underwater was replaced with a rending, endless shriek that surrounded her from all angles. She tried to clamp her paws to her ears to shut out the sound only to realize that her paws were wrapped around something dark and wet and long. She was clinging to the neck of the serpent.

The serpent spiraled upward screaming, his massive head within paw's-reach of her, her dagger still sticking out of his eye. The surface of the lagoon was an infinity below her, the serpent's body coiled and stretched to almost unbelievable lengths. On the beach she made out tiny figures flitting about. Around her the top of the forest spread out across hills and mountains, a sea of green. Far, far away, if it wasn't just her terrified mind, she thought she spied the belltower of Redwall Abbey.

"INJUSSSSTICE!" howled the serpent. "CRASSSSSS, CRAVEN INJUSSSSTICE!"

His head turned and his remaining good eye stared directly at Fentress, still grappling to hang onto the serpent's slippery body. She froze under his gaze and slid down as his coils twisted and curved—trying to curl around her. Her momentary lapse broken, she dug her fingers between the serpent's scales and heaved herself up, swinging and flailing her arms wildly to climb up his neck before he could crush her to death. The jagged edges of the scales cut into her paws, but she continued to climb, ignoring the pain.

The serpent shook his neck. "Sssstop! Sssstop! Go no further, I command you!"

Her footpaw slipped and her body lurched back. She tightened her hold on the scales, cutting deep into her paws. Rivulets of blood trickled down the serpent's neck. Clenching her fangs, she regained her poise and continued to climb, the head of the snake looming close, regarding her with fury, bafflement, and fear.

Reaching up, she seized the hilt of her knife and wrenched it out of the serpent's eye. The snake howled again and spasmed wildly, lashing his head left and right. Fentress, already only holding on with one paw, lost her grip.

She tried to contort her body in air so she could see the water as it rushed up to meet her but she hit the lake fast. Her world exploded around her, a melee of bubbles and rushing water and her own flailing limbs. She gripped the knife like a vise, refusing to relinquish it even as she thrashed water to froth. She had forgotten to breathe and now her body sang both inside and out. Blackness enveloped her.

No sooner had she righted herself and gained some semblance of positional awareness did the face of the serpent rise up in front of her, mouth wide open and fangs bared, one yellow eye and one swollen shut. She instinctively seized the thick part of one of the fangs to prevent it from impaling her—or even pricking her, as no doubt its venom would end her life faster than the snake's digestive processes. She swung the knife, in slow motion underwater, and dug it deep into the exposed pink flesh of the snake's upper jaw, where it had no scales to protect it.

The serpent spat her out but she clung to the fang, pulling herself in for the coup de grace as she stabbed furiously at his final eye, shanking it several times in quick succession before kicking herself away and paddling toward the surface. Her lungs throbbed for air. The endless coils of the snake undulated around her, whipping back and forth. She dipped under and over them, angling herself expertly with her rudder. The dim white haze of the surface loomed ahead. Every part of her demanded air.

She broke the surface with a massive heave of breath. If not for the sudden flood of oxygen she wouldn't have known she made it, as the only thing that filled her vision was the starless sky above her, as black as the water. She had emerged near the center of the lagoon. The shore, with all its critters piled upon it, was remote and distant. Fentress did not wait to catch her breath before swimming for it, lest her limbs go numb from the cold and render her incapable.

As she drew closer to the surface, the creatures came into focus. They were no longer fighting, or running, or doing much of anything. They were all watching her.

Sully burst from the crowd. "Fen! Behind you!"

Fentress wheeled around as the surface broke and the serpent came roaring into open air, both eyes empty.

"I cannot sssseee you…" he said, "But I can hear you, inssssufferable wretch!"

Fentress swam. She had dropped the knife long ago. Revolving her arms through the water faster than they seemed capable, she pushed herself closer and closer to shore. It felt as though she were swimming through molasses. Her arms turned and turned but she went nowhere, nothing drew any closer.

She didn't dare look behind her—she knew the serpent was fast approaching. Instead she went limp in the water, floating on the placid surface. The serpent crashed down beside her. She allowed herself to sweep to the side in his wake as he looped carefully back and forth in her general vicinity.

"Where are you, wretch… I can ssssmell you…"

His long body coiled through the water, testing every inch in search of her. His scales brushed dangerously close and it took all of her will not to fidget. She did not know what to do. Any second and he would touch her, and then what could she do? Without the knife, without another weakpoint to exploit, she was out of ideas.

On the shore, Sully hurled some small object—a stone—far to the side. It came down with a plop. The serpent tore off in the direction of the sound, its coils moving at once in a single fluid motion. As soon as it was occupied, Fentress threw herself forward, crashing through the water, inching nearer and nearer to the shore.

Sully continued to hurl rocks, landing them across the surface of the lagoon. Soon, other creatures emerged around her, throwing things as well—swords, spears, bits of rope, anything they could get their paws on. Objects rained down on the lagoon, landing to the left, to the right, anywhere other than where Fentress currently was. The serpent plumbed the water frantically, darting everywhere, shrieking in misery and frustration.

As Fentress came to the edge, Sully and a few other creatures reached out and helped onto dry land.

"No!" shouted the serpent. "Where… where… no… no…" His voice faded into the background. Everything faded into the background. Sully stood directly in front of her, talking to her, but Fentress could hear nothing.

She awoke on the deck of Kennebec's ship. Massive swaths of blanket were wrapped around her. She was dry, warm, and she could breathe, although her lungs ached. It was still dark, and the moon hung omnipresent above her.

She opened her mouth to speak but moaned instead. A shrew stepped into her line of sight. She squinted to make him out; it was Trego. Fentress tried to sit upright but the swaddling blankets prevented her.

"What's going on? Where's Sully?"

Sully blustered her way in front of Trego, shoving him to the side. "I'm right 'ere, Fen. Good to see you're awake, an' it only took you a coupla hours to boot." She crouched close to Fentress and gave her a hug. "I thought you dead fer shore."

"So did I," said Fentress. Her voice was thick and raspy, and it hurt to utter even those three short words. She coughed.

"You shouldn't speak too much, gotta get back yer strength 'n all. Battle ain't close to over, not yet it ain't."

Against her better judgment, Fentress spoke again. "You mean Kennebec's still fighting?"

Sully laughed. "Kennebec? He's dead."

"Dead." Fentress blinked. It was a good thing, of course. She was a little miffed she missed him receive his comeuppance. "That's a little… anticlimactic."

"Yeah, well. Luce did him in, actually. When she stabbed him. By the time Bristol took out his guards, he was gone. What in blazes you expect, though? Some big fight? That wasn't his deal at all. Not to mention you'd think you'd be sick a' fightin' what with how you tangoed with that snake."

"Oh, yeah," said Fentress. "I did that."

"I saw!" Sully said, jumping up and down. "It was crazy! Wow! We left him thrashing there in the lake, totally blind. No more lord of the realm for him, I suppose."

Fentress thought about what she had done. She still felt the ache, her paws cut from where she had tried to climb his scales. She held them up and looked over the deep lines.

"Well anyway." Sully was abuzz with activity, flitting to and fro, taking a warm wet cloth from the attendant Trego and pressing it to Fentress's face. "Don't be too anxious, Fen. You gotta keep warm or you'll catch a cold. Can't have you gettin' sick, not when things are really heatin' up—You know where we're goin'?"

"No," said Fentress. "I just woke up."

"A course, a course." Sully threw another blanket on top of her. Fentress tried to crane her neck to see over the deck. She could make out nothing but creatures, mostly shrews, running around the deck. "I'm askin' only for effect. We're headin' to the Guosim camp—that's where Luce says Alger an' the rest's cooped up."

Fentress tried to rise again. "We're going to save them?"

Sully pushed her back down. "Stay still I said! They're already saved. Luce's the new Log-a-Log now. It was her rank by rights since the ol' Log-a-Log was her father, an' then she earned it by Log-a-Log law by slayin' the creature that slew the ol' Log-a-Log in the first place. Guosim law's complicated as all get-up, but the takeaway's that she's doubly the Log-a-Log. All a' Kennebec's cronies, the one's still alive that is, well they weren't too many t'begin with. The rest was just ordinary Guosim like Trego who 'ad no choice in who they follow. Now that Kennebec's dead, well, the cronies is locked up where we slaves used t'be an' now Luce's runnin' the show." She paused. "Huh. Never really thought about it, that we was really slaves. Guess that'll be one to tell Laramie when all this's over."

Waiting patiently for Sully to stop her frenetic babble, Fentress piped up. "Where's Luce now? And Bristol? And all the others?"

"Calm down, calm down," said Sully. "They're fine. Bristol's asleep 'erself, as you oughtta be. Rest up, leave this to me. We'll need you in tip-top shape soon—Luce an' the Guosim are gonna help us take back Redwall."

"Take back—"

But before she could finish, Sully held a finger to her mouth. "Shh. Sleep. I know you gotta be tired. I'm tired an' I ain't even the one got flung halfway t'the moon by a giant snake. You'll get sick if you don't get yer rest. Shh."

Fentress tried to speak again but Sully would have none of it, mothering Fentress into silence. "There there," said Sully. "Close yer eyes. Get yer rest. There there."

Her voice was a rough as it had always been but the tone was soothing enough. Fentress's eyelids drooped—she was still sleepy. Maybe a quick nap…

"Thanks, Sully," she mumbled, sinking deeper into her blankets. "I'd be dead if it weren't for you."

Sully's paw tweaked Fentress's ear. "I'm just glad I wasn't completely useless, what with my busted ankle an' all. Now shh, go to sleep. I don't wanna hear another word outta you, not a single peep."

Fentress didn't speak. She rolled to the side, the warmth of the blankets pervading her. Her breathing slowed. As she drifted into slumber, she thought about Redwall Abbey. She dreamed about doing battle with Alagadda of the Many Blades, haranguing the weasel warlord with the gleaming blade of Martin.