Khiara said nothing but matched him stride for stride. Annon felt the presence of inquisitive spirits in the air, curiously reaching out to him with their minds. He tried to encourage conversation, but none of them responded. They flitted away in the darkness, timid as bats. He wondered if the black robes they wore had daunted the spirits. The light rain turned into flaky snow. He shivered.

It was nearing midnight when they reached the top of the pass, which opened into a vast intermountain valley. There was a lake ahead, the waters shimmering in the darkness, black as a void and full of crushed rock around the edges. A shrine made of white marble rose from the side of the road near the placid waters of the lake, forming the headwaters that became the river they had followed. The shrine was a series of four arches, each capped with a turret. The road there was surrounded by boulders blocking the way. A fetid smell lingered in the air, rising up from the foul waters below. This was unexpected for the waters along the river had not contained such a scent.

The path began to descend toward the shrine before winding around one side of the lake. As they approached, the smell grew stronger. The place reeked of decay. Erasmus stumbled on the wet stones and went down. He grumbled a curse and rose, patting his backside. The way down was treacherous and slow. They all had to be careful.

The outline of the shrine grew brighter as the moon appeared through a gap in the clouds at last. The snow turned into a slushy rain. The lake looked black.

“Is this Basilides?” Annon asked in a whisper.

“No,” Lukias responded. “That is on the other side of the lake. This is a place we can rest until dawn. There are no servants here. It is a hostel only.”

As they neared the floor of the valley and the structure, Annon heard a sibilant hissing, two threads bouncing off the rocks at odd angles. The voices he heard amidst the shushing noise were in his mind. It was impossible to determine the source.

Yes, I smell them too. Delightful to have visitors tonight.

Quite delightful. Vaettir blood as well. Delicious.

One is a Preachán, though. Tainted. You may eat that one.

A pity. We will do riddles for the Vaettir girl though?

Riddles will do.

“Hold a moment,” Annon warned the others, listening to the discussion with growing horror. He did not want to alert the creatures that he knew their thoughts, but he feared they were blundering into a trap. They were some sort of spirit creatures. He dared not speak to Nizeera in his mind, lest they overhear him.

The sibilant hissing grew louder, making the others halt.

“Where is it coming from?” Erasmus asked. “Sounds like air passing through a vent. Is this crater volcanic?”

The voices spoke audibly this time. “Welcome to Basilides,” said one.

“What questions do you have for the oracle?”

“I love questions.”

“Quiet now, I am talking to them. You have journeyed a great distance. What are your questions?”

It was a trap. Annon knew it in his blood. Lukias stepped forward. “I am Lukias of Kenatos. We seek—”

His words were interrupted when an enormous reptilian head swooped down from a nearby boulder and swallowed him whole.

Annon stared in shock and horror. One moment Lukias had been standing there, just a few paces ahead. He could see the creatures now, their enormous lizard-like bodies a mix of white with black splotches. They blended in perfectly amidst the rock and snow. There were two of them, both perched on boulders on each side of the path heading to the shrine, as large as wagons with enormous bulging tails. They had held perfectly still, their eyes lidded shut. The one who ate Lukias flicked out a long fat tongue across the ridge of his mouth.

“What are your questions?” the other one hissed, more insistent this time.

Pyricanthas. Sericanthas. Thas. Annon’s hands began to glow blue, bringing a rush of warmth into the frigid mountaintop.

The voices switched to his mind.

He’s so polite!

Yes, he’s a Druidecht. They’re very polite before we eat them.

Bhikhu are polite too. I thought this one was supposed to be a boy.

I don’t like Bhikhu. They taste like grass.

The cat is yours though. You can have her.

That is very kind of you.

“Nizeera!” Annon warned, but she had heard the voices as well and launched herself away.

The second lizard-creature lunged for her. Annon stepped forward, sending out a blast of fire into the massive head. The flames enveloped it in a wash of color and scorching heat. The creature snapped its jaws at Nizeera, but the cat had bounded out of its reach, hissing in fury. The flames swirled from Annon’s hands but did nothing to the creature.