Chapter Six: Taylor. There's Nothing To Fear But Fear Of Snakes

Here is Chapter Six of Unities: Myths Brought Together.

There's Nothing To Fear But Fear Of Snakes
"What are you staring at?" Gary asked.

The man we'd run over, Rafe, was looking at Sabina when he heard Gary's question. "You... have a snake with you?"

"Shé's nice," Sabina said. "He wouldn't hurt a fly."

Technically, a Chinese vampire, an asura, an army of trolls, and a kraken aren't flies, I thought. Aloud, I said, "If you're afraid of snakes, he can probably just stay in Sabina's pocket."

"He's a little big for that," Sabina said. And it was true. The snake was small, sure, but he was still bigger than the average chihuahua.

"There's no need," Rafe said. "You've been very kind already; I shouldn't ask more of you. But please... for your own sakes, be very careful when it comes to serpents in the north."

My eyes widened. I don't know if anyone else noticed it, but an Ouroboros is a type of serpent. Did this Rafe guy know about our enemy? Was he like Melanie, a human working for the monsters? Or was he just a normal guy afraid of snakes?

The car stopped moving. Rain banged on the horn until it was clear we weren't getting anywhere.

"What's wrong?" Hailley asked.

The instant she asked, a weird feeling gripped me by the back of my neck. The power of Tyr, Guan-Yu, Indra, Bishamonten, and who knows what other gods there were, all telling me that there was danger. My hands tightened around my Nordic sword, Falinn Verkfall, when I saw the creatures coming up from underground.

They looked a little like hairless wolves with no necks. They had humps on their backs and really short tails. They were small, only a little bigger than Shé, but their were a lot of them, and they each had more teeth than Shé did.

"What are those?" Rafe asked. Only, none of us knew. Worse, it seemed like Rafe was one of those mortals who could see monsters.

"Sabina, keep Rafe distracted," I commanded. According to Jun, Sabina's wings, Yǒng de chìbǎng, could channel some of her power into those she enveloped within them. "Hailley, Gary, Shé, Kyūri, come with me."

"Distracted?" Rafe said before his head was encased in the Chrysalis Wings - Yǒng de chìbǎng.

When he wasn't looking, I flashed Hidden Strike out. Hailley pulled her staff, Pr̥thvī kī tākata, from her pocket. Gary drew his unconventional weapon, Hijōshikina. Shé and Kyūri came up as well, unarmed, but still strong.

Rain shifted the car into PARK, and the five of us jumped out to face these creatures.