Vipero the Snake Man Read Free

and pestle and set them down by Elenna’s side.Tom took out a handful of the dried herbs from his pocket and dropped them into the mortar. Then Elenna ground them into powder with the pestle.
    “He’s very ill,” she muttered softly, so only Tom could hear. “It’s lucky we came when we did.”
    “And it’s also lucky you know about herbs,” Tom said. He felt a stab of anger. “This is all the fault of the evil Beast. We have to stop it!”
    By the time Elenna had finished pounding the herbs the woman had returned with a bowl of steaming water. Elenna mixed the herbs into it. Then she raised the sick boy’s head and held the bowl so that he could drink the mixture in small sips. His mother looked on anxiously while Tom dipped a rag into the dish of water and bathed the boy’s forehead.
    Almost at once the boy stopped moaning and let out a sigh of exhaustion. His eyes closed, and his breathing became deep and even.
    Elenna gently lowered his head to the mattress. “He’s sleeping now.” She handed the bowl to his mother. “Give him the rest of that when he wakes up.”
    “Thank you.” The woman used her headcloth to wipe tears from her eyes. “He hasn’t been so quiet in days. I’ll fetch your water.”
    Tom and Elenna went to the door to wait for her. The other people settled down again, their glances more friendly now.
    A few moments later, the woman came back carrying a leather skin of water and handed it to Tom. She held open the door, and the baking heat of the marketplace hit them once more.
    “I’m sorry I was so unfriendly,” she said. “We’ve always welcomed strangers. But we’ve never known heat like this before. Times are desperate. Is there anything else I can do for you, to make up for it?”
    Elenna glanced over at Storm and Silver, stillwaiting beneath the tree. “We could ask her to keep the animals for us,” she whispered to Tom.
    Tom shook his head. He knew there was nothing more the woman could do for them.
    “No, thank you,” he said to her. “You’ve already done enough. We’ll be on our way now.”
    “Good luck, then.” She raised her hand in farewell as Tom and Elenna made their way back to Storm and Silver.
    “Why wouldn’t you ask her?” Elenna asked. “We agreed we can’t take Storm and Silver into the desert!”
    “We’ll have to.” Tom’s voice was shaking; he found it hard to control himself when he thought of what he had seen in this desolate town. “These people have
nothing
! We can’t ask any more of them. Besides, I’d rather risk Storm and Silver’s lives in the desert than leave them with strangers who have no water or food to give them.”
    Elenna nodded. “You’re right. We need to stay together. But it’s going to be hard.”
    Tom clenched his fists. “This is all Malvel’s doing!”
    Elenna nodded. “I wonder where the Beast is hiding,” she said.
    “I’ve no idea.” Tom gazed out past the houses to where the dunes of the desert rolled endlessly toward the horizon. “But it won’t be long before we find out.”

C HAPTER F OUR

I NTO THE D ESERT
    T OM AND ELENNA BOTH TOOK A DRINK FROM the waterskin. Then Elenna cupped her hands and Tom poured water into them so that Storm and Silver could drink. Tom fastened the waterskin securely to Storm’s saddle and put on his golden armor: the helmet, chain mail, and breastplate. Then, leading the stallion, he set out along the street that led toward the desert.
    A wall of heat hit them in the face as they left the shade of the last houses and stepped into the desert. The bare skin on Tom’s arms began to prickle and blister. He could even feel the hot sand through the soles of his boots. Fear stabbed through him.How could they bear this heat and still be ready to fight a Beast?
    “Cover up,” he called to Elenna. “The sun will burn our skin as badly as a fire.”
    He pulled his tunic down to cover his arms, and trusted that the magical golden armor would protect the rest of him.