The sun was rising quickly in the sky as Rose paced impatiently waiting for Maric. She was eager to begin. Even though she had only spent a day in Maric’s company, lyrics and tunes were swirling around madly in her head. Rose felt the fluttering excitement that this would be her best work yet.

They left the horses in the barn. Maric said they were safer in there than out in the open. He made a show of barricading the barn doors. He had spent the last hour doing so, with Rose assisting whenever he asked, which wasn’t much.

“What do you think will happen?” she asked.

“That we come back to two dead horses. Worse, that whatever killed them is still here.”

Rose felt a shudder pass through her. “But, we will find the monster first, right?”

Maric turned to the woods. “I hope.” He glanced at Rose and scowled. “What are you holding?”

Rose had a scroll in one hand and a quill in the other. The inkpot was tucked away safely in her pocket, cushioned by rags to prevent the glass from breaking. “I plan on taking notes,” she said, flourishing the quill in her hand.

Maric grunted. “You will be lucky to be alive by the day’s end. Don’t forget why we are really here.” He pushed one last barrel into place before stepping back. The entrance of the barn was blocked by all manner of wooden pallets, barrels, wheelbarrows, and farm tools. It didn’t look like it would hold much back, but Rose kept that to herself.

“My ballad.”

“No, to kill a monster.”

***

It was a cold morning, the air piercing Maric’s nostrils with each breath and burning his lungs. The days would be colder from here on out, Maric thought, and the night’s worse. They were deep into fall and moving quickly into winter. The trees had already shed most of their leaves, which crunched softly under their boots. It was the only sound they heard, which chilled him more than any cold fall wind could.

They had left Samuel’s farm and were walking deep into the surrounding woods. Maric remembered what the barkeep in Pine Hollow had said. That Samuel had buried a clutch of eggs, black as coal, in the woods. Maric needed to see these for himself to confirm his fear.

The barricade he created around the barn wouldn’t hold for long. If what I think is haunting these woods is true, Maric thought. He hoped it wasn’t. Despite his sword, he was ill equipped. He would need a whole army behind him to fight what was coming.

Instead, he had a bard. Maric smiled grimly to himself. Jacques had the audacity to accuse him of trying to steal a kiss, or much worse. His cheek still felt tender but he would be damned before he checked to see if there was a bruise there. Hopefully there was to remind the boy of his humiliation.

After Jacques calmed down, he seemed almost apologetic, fixing them a cold breakfast of

stale bread and cheese and hot mint tea. Though, Maric heard no apology and wasn’t holding his breath for one. The boy was stubborn as a mule and Maric feared he would continue to dog his steps for many more days to come.

“You’re not my type anyway,” Maric said, breaking the silence around them and startling himself. He startled Jacques too, who was looking at the woods with interest as if trying to memorize every detail. Maric had forbidden him from bringing the scroll and quill with them and instead was happy to see that the boy had his hands ready on the hilt of his knives.

“You don’t like redheads?” Jacques said.

“I don’t like boys.” Jacques flushed at that. “You like what you like,” Maric continued. “But, I

can’t return your affections.”

Jacques sputtered, his face reddening. “I wasn’t expecting you to. I mean, I’m not attracted to you either.” Maric turned suddenly causing Jacques to stop short right behind him. Maric hadn’t realized that Jacques was walking so close, his steps were so light that his boots seemed to barely touch the ground, and now he found him chest to chest with Jacques. Jacques’s violet eyes crackled with anger and Maric found himself falling deep into them. They were beautiful, truly the boy’s best feature. When the boy laughed, they were light as lilacs, and when he was angry, like he was now, they were dark as the heart of a storm. Maric’s eyes dropped to his lips and Jacques’s tongue darted out and licked them nervously. Maric wondered how they tasted.

“I… I don’t like men either,” Jacques said as he stepped around Maric and continued walking.

Maric just shrugged and turned back around, but felt his heart beating hard against his chest as if he just ran miles upon miles.

He took in a deep, ragged breath and unclenched his fists and followed Jacques deeper into the woods.

***

It didn’t take long for them to find the black eggs that Samuel had buried, or what remained of them. Egg shells as dark as obsidian were strewn all around the forest clearing. Rose stepped carefully into the opening, followed by Maric.

“The damned fool buried them too close to the farm. And,” Maric looked at the hole that Samuel must have dug. It wasn’t even half a foot deep. “Not nearly deep enough.”

“Is it what you suspected?” Rose asked as Maric picked up a shell. She did the same. It was thick, much thicker than a regular chicken egg. And, from the piece that she held, which was the size of her hand, the eggs were much, much bigger. It reminded her of an egg that Athena had bought once when they traveled through the Golden Desert. Athena traded three barrels of water for an egg the size of Rose’s head. The egg shell was white, different than the one Rose held now. It took Athena several strikes with a hammer to crack the egg open and the whole caravan ate omelets for breakfast that morning.

Rose had asked Athena what laid eggs that large. Athena grinned, her teeth sharp, and said griffins.

Now, Rose held the black shell up to the sunlight. It glistened, as if covered with thousands of tiny diamonds. “It’s beautiful.”

“And, it’s worth a fortune,” Maric swore and dropped the shell he held. “It’s a basilisk egg. Eggs,” he corrected, standing up and narrowing his eyes. He peered into the shadowed woods around them. “It is used in potions.”

Rose followed suit. The forest floor was covered in egg shells. There must have been at least a dozen. And, they all hatched.

It wasn’t until that moment that Rose noticed all the toads. Their dark brown and black speckled skin camouflage them perfectly among the fallen leaves. They sat silently watching Maric and her with their bright yellow eyes. Rose swallowed and backed up out of the clearing. Maric, noticing the toads, did the same.

The toads’ eyes followed their movement, but they did not blink or croak. They did nothing at all but stare.

Rose whispered,“What are they waiting for?”

“Legend says that a basilisk is born from a cockerel and it is the toads that hatch them.” Rose’s fingers itched to write down what Maric said. Who had ever heard of such a thing?

In the distance, a high pitched scream shook Rose from her thoughts. “Daffodil!”

***

Rose ran after Maric as they crashed through the woods. Maric reached the barn first, his sword drawn. Rose clutched a knife in each hand but stopped abruptly when she saw what was attacking the barn.

Her first thought was that Maric was right to put up a barricade. Though, shoddy as it was, the barn door was still closed and the creatures were scratching along the edges trying to get inside. Rose could hear Clover and Daffodil crying out, their screams deafened by the excited screeches from the monsters. Maric had left the horses in their stalls and Rose could hear them banging against the barn walls trying to escape. What they didn’t know was that it was much worse outside than in.

Rose’s second thought was that the monsters were kind of cute. Several cat-sized creatures were frantically clawing at the edges of the barn with their feet, which were clawed like a chicken. They had the body and face of a chicken too, but something was strange. The feathers that she expected to see sprouted between large, glittery black scales. And, its most prominent feature was a snake-like tail that whipped back and forth violently. At the end was a sharp barb.

All the creatures stopped and turned to them when Maric bursted out of the woods with Rose closely following behind.

“Watch out for the tail! It’s poisonous.” Maric shouted over his shoulder. The basilisks began charging at Maric and he rose his sword high and with one cleave cut three down. This seemed to enrage the others as a high, sharp screech pierced through the air as they jumped onto Maric as one. Rose rushed forward and swiped one off of him, the basilisk turned it’s glare at her and for a moment Rose froze.

Her whole body went numb and her fingers loosened, dropping the knives. She couldn’t swallow, couldn’t breathe. She tried to scream but only a soft strangled noise escaped her lips.

Maric kicked the basilisk and Rose watched as it flew and smacked hard against the side of the barn. Instantly, she was freed and picked up her knives. “Don’t look into its eyes. They have some kind of power-” Another basilisk launched itself at Maric and he sliced down and hard, cutting it into two. The reptilian tail kept twitching as if trying to strike a foe it could not see. Rose danced backwards away from it.

Rose felt a fear grow inside her causing her to falter in her steps, but she was still able to cut two more down, spinning and kicking and slashing at the air, the basilisks falling in their steps around her.

More came from the woods, following the screams of their siblings. Rose felt a strange stab of guilt. They were just babies. They were just animals. They didn’t know what they were doing.

In short order, there were only two basilisks left and they watched Maric and Rose warily from the top of the barn. They must be the smarter ones of the clutch, Rose thought. Despite being caught in the gaze of one, the fight against the basilisks was easier than Rose had thought it would be. Carcasses of the monsters were strewn around them. A quick glance at Maric and she could see that he was uninjured, though winded like herself. She gulped in a breath of fresh air. If Maric hadn’t killed the basilisk and freed her from its spell, she could have died.

“Why don’t we just let them go?”

Breathing hard, Maric said over at her. “We will need to kill them all. If we let them live, they will keep breeding until the whole area is overrun. And, we don’t want them to grow into adults. They become much-”

A dark shadow fell on them. Rose felt her skin prickle.

***

A terrifying screech rang in Maric’s ears. He turned quickly to see a basilisk nearly the size of the barn standing behind him. No wonder the smaller ones took shelter on the roof. This was their mother. Or father, to be exact.

“Run!” Maric yelled, pushing Jacques out of the way of the basilisk. The boy stumbled but then found his feet and ran off. Maric planted himself and clutched his sword with both hands. He kept his eyes lowered to the ground. If the young ones could freeze a person in their steps, an adult could paralyze them for life.

Maric watched as the basilisk danced from one foot to another, it’s large orange beak thrusting forward towards him. He slashed away at each jab causing the basilisk to rear up in fury. Taking advantage of the moment, Maric threw himself towards the ground, slashing at the basilisk’s legs, which were as thick as a tree trunk. He cut away one of the basilisk’s claws, causing it to cry out in pain, and to stomp down violently.

Maric rolled away, the ground shaking underneath him, from the remaining claws, each one as long and as sharp as a dagger. The basilisk turned suddenly and swung its tail. The tail seemed to move independently of the rest of the beast, snapping back and forth in front of Maric’s face, it’s stinger stabbing into the ground around him and kicking up dirt into his face. With another wide swing, the basilisk’s tail knocked hard against Maric’s wrist, causing him to drop his sword. Another whip and his sword flew away into the heavy brush.

He had never faced a basilisk before. There were stories from other hunters and survivors, though none truly prepared him for this moment. It was more powerful and much faster than he had imagined. Each strike to the ground caused it to shake, leaving Maric unable to find his footing. He rolled beneath the monster’s feet and knew he could not keep evading the attacks forever.

Maric always knew that he would die this way- fighting some kind of monster. As he laid there with the basilisk’s tail whipping about in the air, he thought this was as good of a way to die as any other. His only regret was that he would die facing the backside of the beast. It was almost humiliating. He could see his tombstone now. Maric Landry the Monster Slayer. Death by Being Sat On By A Basilisk.

At least the boy would have his ballad and I will live on in song, Maric smiled to himself wryly. The smile froze on his face as his eyes fell on a sight that turned his blood cold.

Jacques was screaming like a banshee and running at full speed at the basilisk with both knives raised.

***

Rose watched from the farside of the field as the large basilisk attacked Maric. She cheered him on silently as he slashed away at the monster, but watched on in horror as his sword was knocked away. Without a second thought, Rose snatched both knives out of their sheaths and ran screaming across the field. The screaming caught the basilisk’s attention, and a brief glance upwards, she saw that the two younger ones were watching her with interest. She felt her feet begin to slow and tore her eyes away from them.

Remember what Maric said, Rose hastily looked away. Don’t look them in the eyes.

She was nearly at the basilisk when it reared up and stomped down hard causing the ground around them to shake. Rose fell, her knives skittering away as she hit the ground hard. She could taste blood in her mouth from where she bit her lip. The basilisk raised it’s clawed foot again and Rose curled up covering her face.

“You stupid boy!” She looked up to see Maric’s furious face rushing at her. He grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder and began running deep into the woods. Rose could hear the basilisk crashing through the trees behind them.

“I told you to run!” Maric yelled as Rose bounced up and down against his shoulder.

“You… needed… help!” she said between breaths. Even though she couldn’t see Maric’s face, she felt his glare. He was not a man that easily admitted when he needed help.

“Now, you’re going to get us both killed.” They entered the clearing where they had found the basilisks’ egg shells. Maric tossed Rose to the ground, knocking the breath out of her chest for a moment. They could hear trees being uprooted. They didn’t have much time.

“We need a-” he began, scouring the area around them.

Rose dug into her boot and pulled out a knife, this one long and thin like a needle, and tossed it to Maric. He caught it deftly in one hand and raised an eyebrow before the basilisk burst through into the clearing, rearing up in a loud screech. Rose slapped her hands to her ears.

***

I’ll need to ask him where he got this from, Maric thought, as he clutched the hilt of the stiletto knife in his hand. It was a rare weapon, one specially used by assassins. As Maric turned to face the basilisk, his skin crawled thinking about who he was turning his back to. What did he know about the boy? Only what Jacques and the barkeep had told him, which amounted really to nothing. He would have to have a long conversation with Jacques when they survive this- Maric watched as the basilisk reared up again, it’s talons glistening in the morning sunlight- if we survived this, he corrected.

The knife was long and thin and glittered menacingly in the sun, but a poor replacement for his sword. He will have to get close to the beast to do any damage, much less kill it. With a quick glance over his shoulder, Maric was pleased to see Jacques hiding behind a large tree on the far side of the clearing. At least the boy learned his lesson.

With this in mind, Maric threw himself at the basilisk, deftly evading each strike of the beast’s beak. The monster was enraged, its feathers standing on end, and its tail whipping back and forth in fury. It screeched loudly causing the forest floor below his feet to tremble.

Maric closed the distance between them and thrust out the knife. The point of it disappeared into the feathers of the basilisk and it screamed out in pain, but when Maric pulled out, the wound seemed to disappear. Maric cursed to himself, it was an assassin’s weapon, which meant it was only really effective in one part of the body.

Maric looked back at the basilisk, but to his surprise, it wasn’t looking at him. It peered off to the trees and Maric briefly wondered what it was looking at when a sharp whistle of a rock flew by his head and hit the basilisk square in the beak. It cried out in anger and began rushing towards the trees. Maric saw Jacques waving at him and pointing at his own head before turning his attention back to the basilisk. Maric’s blood grew cold when he saw the boy go still and his hand limp, dropping a rock to the ground, as if transfixed.

Damn that boy!

Maric ran after the basilisk, but he was too late. The basilisk raised its tail and struck. Jacques went flying and crashed against a tree. He didn’t get back up.

Maric pivoted in his tracks and ran over to Jacques as the basilisk followed close behind him. He could feel its hot breath on the back of his neck, but he reached Jacques first. Maric threw his body over the boy, flipped over quickly, and stabbed the basilisk through its cheek and into its brain- the only place the stiletto would be effective. The monster screamed out in pain, reeled, its large wings kicking up dried leaves and dirt into the air, and fell over dead.

Maric gasped out in pain and exhaustion as he went over the monster, which twitched violently. Maric lifted the knife and stabbed it again in the head a few times for good measure before returning to Jacques’s prone form.

He was sure every bone in the boy’s body would be broken, but that wasn’t his greatest fear. If the boy was poisoned…

Maric’s eyes fell onto the boy’s leg. His trousers were sliced open and covered in blood.