The Serpent's Secret (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #1)(40)
His words melted a bit of the brain freeze that was paralyzing me.
“How are we going to get it without that thing noticing?” It seemed impossible.
“It’s impossible!” The talking bird was totally histrionic. “Impossible, I tell you!”
“We’ll let the python notice, that’s how we get the jewel.” Bringing his lips to my ear, Neel whispered his completely insane idea. I realized that it just might work. Problem was, if it didn’t, we’d all be snake chow.
“Are you sure?” I asked again, trying to keep my teeth from rattling.
“It’s the only way I can think of,” Neel muttered. “Believe me, if I could think of a better plan, I would have suggested it.”
“We’re all going to die, we’re all going to die,” Tuntuni mumbled, a yellow wing over his eye.
“Shut up, Tuni. Just stick to the plan.” Neel grabbed the bird and plunked him on his shoulder.
With a crooked smile he said, “Just don’t screw up, okay, Kiran?” And then Neel stepped into the light of the python jewel.
It took the serpent a minute to notice him. “Hey, snaky!” Neel waved his arms, distracting the snake away from me, and away from the jewel as well.
Then Tuntuni, who was now flying around in high circles near the ceiling, started singing a childish snake-charming song:
“Baburam Sapure
Where do you go, Bapure?
Come on, Baba, come and see
Snakes for you and snakes for me.”
As Neel had planned, the python hissed and turned away from the treasure it was protecting. It slithered rapidly toward Neel. I crept out of my hiding place and toward the jewel. I was supposed to grab it while Neel distracted the serpent. The problem was, Neel hadn’t calculated how much faster the snake would be able to travel over the muddy ground than I was. As I tried to run toward the jewel, my feet got more stuck in the cloying silt. No matter how hard I tried to urge myself forward, the ground didn’t seem to want to let me. Oh, this was bad. Very bad.
“Come on, snaky, is that the best you can do?” Neel taunted, even as the python gained ground toward him. “You need a little snake charmer to teach you a lesson?”
Tuntuni sang:
“These snakes are alive
In your basket they thrive
Bring me one or two
And I’ll beat them black and blue.”
So far, Operation Distract and Annoy was working, but at this rate, there was no way that I would make it to the jewel before the snake reached Neel. In fact, it was on him now, and even though he fought its parries with his sword, he couldn’t seem to injure it. Tuntuni carried on singing near the ceiling but seemed too afraid to help in the fight.
With a hiss, the snake almost knocked Neel over. I struggled to hurry, but the cavern floor’s muddy surface was like walking through molasses. My thighs burned from the strain of fighting to move faster and faster. But I hadn’t progressed anywhere near where I needed to go. At this point, I was still closer to Neel and the serpent than the jewel.
Then the snake grabbed a hold of Neel, wrapped itself around him, and began to squeeze. It was obvious how much stronger the animal was than the half-demon prince. Neel was struggling. He had kept a grip on his sword and tried to injure the python with its slashes, but the snake’s skin was unbelievably tough. The sword barely made a dent. Tuntuni, to his credit, made a few haphazard dives down from the roof, flapping his wings in the snake’s eyes, but he couldn’t break the python’s concentration now that it had its prey. Neel’s face got redder as the snake squeezed.
“Princess, do something, the slacker’s gonna die!” Tuntuni shrieked.
Save him!” Tuni yelled. “How am I gonna break it to the Raja if the prince croaks?”
Neel’s plan was based on the fact that pythons aren’t poisonous; they squeeze their prey to death. And he’d figured, as a half demon, he should be able to withstand a little squeezing until I nabbed the jewel. Problem was, neither of us calculated the silt floor.
I struggled to move, but every step was such an effort. Neel was still wrestling with the enormous serpent. Muscles of steel or not, how much longer could he stand this monstrous snake? There was no way I was going to reach the jewel in time.
Okay, that was a really dumb plan. Time for a new one.
In the struggle, the python’s tail flailed around the room. It landed with a thump right next to the spot where I was struggling with the cloying ground. I made a split-second decision. It was now or never.
I jumped with both feet on the python’s tail. Feeling my weight, the snake lifted up the back of its body, trying to dislodge me. But I just lay down, and slid down the snake’s body as if it was a huge Slip’N Slide. It was rough, slimy, and scaly on my skin but much easier than running through the muddy quicksand of the cavern floor. I landed with a thump about midway up the giant serpent’s body, and, trying to imagine I was doing nothing scarier than riding Snowy, I hung on for dear life with my thigh muscles. I reached back to my quiver and chose one of the “special” arrows Neel had made me prepare before we left his kingdom. He’d shown me how to attach a long, thin rope made out of a super-strong Thirteen Rivers material to some of my arrows. At the time, I couldn’t figure what I’d need them for. But now I was glad for his forethought.