Servant of the Serpent (Serpent's War Book 1) by Jason Halstead Page B

few nights past in the Silverdust Tavern and hummed it as she danced.
    The trail turned back to her right, towards the river, and she followed it. Had a boar or a deer last traveled it? Could she sneak up on it and see it? She pressed her lips together and stopped humming. She was making too much noise if she wanted to sneak up on anything!
    Allie began to move more carefully through the countryside. She slowed down and watched the ground, putting her feet on bare spots or at least avoiding the bushes that would rattle if she brushed against them.
    She followed the trail into a small copse of the prickly desert pine trees without realizing it would make a good place for a large animal to bed down for the day. She moved slow, holding a couple of branches at bay to keep from being scratched. She stopped inside the tiny grove and spun in place slowly. The trees made walls around her and made her feel like she was in a room. A room without a roof, but the trees were tall enough to block the early afternoon sun and make her feel cozy and secure.
    She stepped on the fallen pine needles and crouched down to look at them. There were enough on the ground it softened the hard-packed dirt. The needles were still sharp, but she could handle a few pricks for the pleasure of how they felt under her feet. Cool and spongy, almost moist. She grinned and rubbed her hand across them.
    The loud caw of a bird made her gasp and stand up. Another bird answered, just as close. She peered into the trees ahead of her but couldn’t see anything. The birds continued and she began to hear sounds of wings flapping. More birds or the first two? They sounded big, crows or buzzards or something larger. Raptors, maybe?
    Allie’s eyes widened at the thought of seeing a majestic bird like a raptor up close. She moved between two trees and carefully pushed the branches away so she could slip between them and step out.
    The birds saw her and cried out in protest. There were three of them. Giant black winged birds with bald heads. Buzzards. They landed and shrieked at her, hopping back and forth to show their agitation. Two were on a fallen tree and a third on a half-dead pine tree. She sniffed the air but didn’t smell any rotting meat.
    “Nasty birds,” Allie scolded. “What are you after? Not me, I hope. I’m alive and well, thank you very much.”
    They cawed louder and one even hopped along the fallen tree towards her. Allie squawked and took a step back, poking her bare bottom on the pine needles. She yelped and jumped forward. The buzzard flapped its wings and flew back to a nearby tree.
    Allie rubbed her stinging backside and glared at the buzzard. Now that she had some extra room, she stepped up to the fallen log and squatted down to grab a branch that had been broken off when the tree fell. She had to twist and yank on it to snap it free, but when she stood up, she felt better for having it.
    “Want to try that again, dirty bird?” she taunted the buzzard.
    It squawked at her and flew off to land in another tree farther away. The other two birds eyed her and, after she took a few experimental swings with her branch, they took to the air to retreat as well.
    Allie grinned. “My daddy taught me to take care of myself,” she told the buzzards. “Now what’s got you three so interested?”
    She stepped over the log and saw the ground dropped away down a steep hill. It was a short drop, only about four feet, but it led to a dry stretch of ground that would be underwater in the spring. The river circled the tiny peninsula on three sides and then swept downstream towards Almont. All of that registered but went ignored. Her eyes widened and she let out a startled cry at the woman lying face down on the ground, her feet still half submerged in the river.
    She stood paralyzed for several seconds. Allie could make out the curved and pointed ears of the woman. She wasn’t just a woman—she was an elf! Was she dead? She had to be; the elves lived on the