Chapter 2

Lily Galloway of the Beast-Taming Sect arrived late.

Her sect were the best there were at bending spirit-beasts to their will, and they took the top prize at the trials year after year, so she looked down on everyone.

I hadn't guessed she was Mike Swanson's sworn partner.

Word was, the moment she heard June Newman had eaten his hex-worm, she took it badly.

She wove a spell-sign, and June whipped around and came diving straight at me, beak first.

Katherine snatched me up, leapt into the air, and landed right behind Lily, her blade pressed to Lily's throat.

"Your sect taught you beast-taming so you could hurt the innocent?"

Seeing June, old as she was, knock herself out cold against the stone for no reason at all, I got so mad I chimed right in.

"That's right! Bullying a four-year-old, and you're not even ashamed!"

Lily wasn't ashamed. She was proud of it.

She was sure Katherine wouldn't dare strike a killing blow, and she even pressed half a step forward.

"So what if I kill this little beast?"

"The Alchemy Sect threw a four-year-old into the trials. That alone means they don't care whether she lives or dies."

"My darling Mike is above lifting a hand against you women, but his hex-worm was destroyed because of you. Getting even for him is only right and fair!"

With that, she wove another spell-sign.

The valley went silent for a few seconds. Then a thousand-year serpent demon, its mind gone, came barreling straight at us from far off.

I looked closer. Wasn't that Grandpa Serpent?

At first Katherine could just barely hold her own.

But Lily played dirty. She used a command token to call up a thousand small snakes, and they closed in on us from every side.

Disciples from the other sects wanted to step in and help, but she threatened them right out in the open.

"Anyone who interferes is making an enemy of the Beast-Taming Sect."

"After all, the one thing there's no shortage of around here right now is snake demons."

At those words, no one dared move again.

Katherine fought a bloody path clear, trying to carry me out.

But Grandpa Serpent coiled around us and wouldn't let go, dragging us all the way back to his lair.

We were about to be swallowed whole.

Katherine pushed the sword hilt into my hands, meaning to fly me out on the blade.

I shook my head as hard as I could and said I could think of something.

But there was no time for her to listen. She flung me clear.

"Piggy, I know you can talk to spirit-beasts, but Lily's got him under her control. There's no way out except to run!"

"I'll hold it off as long as I can. Long enough to get you out..."

Before she finished, she was swallowed in one gulp.

I froze where I stood, my eyes gone red, and yet my feet didn't take a single step.

Watching Grandpa Serpent thrash in his frenzy, I hurried and yelled at the top of my lungs.

"Grandpa Serpent, if you don't wake up right now, I won't play matchmaker for you with Grandma Serpent over on Western Mountain anymore!"

At that, Grandpa Serpent jerked to a stop and slowly turned his head to look at me.

He seemed to have just woken, and he smiled at me.

"Piggy! How did you— urk... blegh, ptooey!"

Before he could finish, Grandpa Serpent nearly choked to death and spat Katherine right back out.

He scratched his head with the tip of his tail, completely baffled.

"Piggy, how did this little girl get stuck in my throat?"

Seeing Katherine lying on the ground without a twitch, I thought she was dead and burst out wailing.

Turned out my crying was so loud it actually woke my sister up.

She opened her eyes and saw me red-eyed and hiccuping through my sobs, coiled up in the arms of a great serpent-demon king.

She rolled to her feet at once and wove a spell-sign to come save me.

But the next second, she just stared, dumbstruck.

Grandpa Serpent didn't have a moment to spare for her. He nudged the top of my head gently with the tip of his tail, hurrying to soothe me.

"Did Grandpa scare you just now?"

"We can't let Grandma Serpent on Western Mountain hear about this, or she'll get the wrong idea and think I'm a wife-beating snake..."

"There, there, shush now, Piggy's not scared."