Serpent by Kathryn Le Veque

appearance.
    “What in the bloody hell is that noise out there?” she demanded, but kept speaking before Penelope could answer her. “Alec tossed me in here and told me to stay with ye. Me own son tossed me about like an ale-house wench! Now, what is all of the madness about?”
    Penelope grasped her Aunt Jemma and pulled the woman over to the brazier, which she then toppled onto its side to douse the embers. Jordan saw what her daughter was doing and quickly pushed dirt upon the coals to quench them. Even Jemma kicked at the dark, moist earth as they hurriedly buried the coals, but she was more interested in what was happening.
    “Penny?” she urged. “What has happened?”
    “I am not sure, Aunty,” Penelope said honestly “I was on watch at the north perimeter of the encampment when something roared. Did you hear it? And then it seemed as if the entire marsh came to life because the water was churning and this… this head came out of the water.”
    Jordan and Jemma looked at Penelope as if the woman had gone mad . “Head?” Jordan repeated, incredulous and apprehensive. “What kind of head?”
    Penelope thought back to that terrifying moment; in truth, she was frightened, perhaps more frightened than she had ever been in her life. She struggled against that fear, an unfamiliar sensation.
    “I do not know,” she said, listening to the shouting about camp grow closer . Horses seemed to be all around them. “It was big and… and silver, I think. It looked like the head of a horse. Or a snake. Oh, I do not know what it looked like, exactly. It was difficult to tell in the moonlight.”
    The thunder of hooves was right outside the tent now and the side of the tent suddenly caved in. Penelope pulled her mother and aunt out of the way of the folding fabric and then leapt in front of the pair, broadsword lifted, as a man burst into the collapsing tent. She thrust violently at the figure onlyh to be met with a block of greater power. It was dark so it was difficult to see who she was engaging, but after a short and panic-filled moment, Penelope realized she was looking at her brother, Thomas.
    “’Tis me!” Thomas hissed, shoving her broadsword aside. Another dark de Wolfe son only a few years older than Penelope, he reached down for his mother. “We must get to the horses.”
    Penelope grasped her Aunt Jemma and followed her brother from the partially-collapsed tent. “What is happening, Thomas?” she demanded.
    There were horses all around and men shouting as they exited into the cold and bright night. Several soldiers ran past them, nearly knocking Jemma over, and the woman cursed loudly. Penelope was trying to help the woman along, glancing over her shoulder towards the northern perimeter as they fled. She could see a line of men, and knights on horseback, and as she watched, a very large creature with a long neck and a snake-like head reared up and roared into the night. She could see the silver moonlight reflecting off of long and terrifying fangs. It was too astonishing to believe.
    There was tangible terror in the air as the four of them raced to several horses that were tethered near a small copse of trees. The ground was heavy with moist earth and wet grass, making it difficult to move quickly and not slip. By the time they reached the horses, more men were rushing in from the road to the south astride steeds that were fast and lightly armored. Penelope watched the men rush past them, trying not to feel an inordinate amount of confusion . For a knight, confusion could be deadly.
    “Thomas,” she called to her brother as the man moved to help his mother mount a skittish horse. “Who are these men?”
    Thomas launched his mother onto the back of the horse. His gaze moved to the group of men who were fending off whatever hellish creature was upon them, helping The Wolfe’s men in their fight. He shook his head, genuinely puzzled, but nonetheless focused on what he must do. Like his father and