Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder

to control the predator’s will, but our minds were too incompatible.
    Even though I could feel its intentions, I couldn’t direct its movements.
    I wanted to avoid killing the snake, but I could see no other way. Once dead, I
    should be able to cut my way back into the trees.
    “Hello. Is someone in there?” a man’s voice asked.
    My struggle with the snake had seized all my attention. Cursing myself for
    forgetting the man, I directed my mind into the tree canopy and encountered the
    well-protected thoughts of another magician. But Warper or Story Weaver, I
    couldn’t tell.
    “Has the snake got your tongue?” He laughed at his own joke. “I know you’re
    there. I felt your power. If you don’t belong in the jungle, I’ll gladly let the snakes
    have you for dinner.”
    “Snakes?” I asked. His speech patterns sounded familiar. Not Daviian. Not
    Sandseed. I hoped Zaltana.
    “Your necklace snake has sent a call for help. You might kill this one and
    untangle yourself, but by then its kin will be here to finish the job.”
    I scanned the jungle canopy and, sure enough, I felt five other snakes moving
    toward me.
    “What if I do belong in the jungle?” I asked.
    “Then I’ll help you. But you’d better make a strong case. Strange things have
    been happening lately.”
    I thought fast. “I’m Yelena Liana Zaltana. Daughter of Esau and Perl and sister to
    Leif.”
    “Common knowledge. You have to do better.”
    Soul mate to Valek, the scourge of Sitia, I thought, but knew that wouldn’t help
    my case. I searched my mind for a bit of information only the Zaltanas knew. The
    problem was, since I had been raised in Ixia, I knew only a few things about my lost
    clan.
    “I could send you on a wild-valmur chase, but wouldn’t it be easier if I gave you
    a piece of sap candy?” I held my breath, waiting.
    Just when I was convinced I would have to cut my way out of the snake before
    its brothers arrived, a low drumbeat throbbed. More beats followed. The vibrations
    pulsed through the snake.

    The snake relaxed. A gap appeared above my head and a green painted face
    smiled down at me.
    He extended his hand, which was also camouflaged. “Grab on.”
    I clasped his wrist. He pulled me from the snake’s net and onto a solid branch.
    Relief puddled in my knees and I had to sit down.
    The man’s clothes matched the jungle’s colors and patterns. He placed a leather
    drum on the branch and played another song. The snake unraveled and disappeared
    into the jungle.
    “That should hold them off for a while,” he said.
    From his clothes and dyed-olive hair color, I knew the man had to be a Zaltana. I
    thanked him for helping me.
    His answering nod reminded me of someone. “Who are you?” I asked.
    “Your cousin, Chestnut. I was out on patrol when you were here the last time so
    I didn’t get a chance to meet you.”
    After living in Ixia for fourteen years, I had finally returned to a home I hadn’t
    known existed. It had been such an emotional whirlwind, and I had met so many
    cousins, aunts and uncles it was unlikely I would have remembered him even if I had
    been introduced to him.
    Seeing no sign of recognition on my face, he added, “I’m one of Nutty’s
    brothers.”
    Nutty’s stories about her siblings had been humorous and I remembered a game I
    used to play with her against her brothers before my kidnapping.
    “How did you control the snake?” I asked.
    “I’m a snake charmer,” he said as if the title explained everything. But when I
    failed to respond, he said, “It’s part of my magic. The necklace snakes are very hard
    to spot. Not only do they blend in so well, but also they mask their life energy. Even
    if you’re able to sense the other jungle animals you probably wouldn’t feel the
    snakes. Not until it was too late.” He rubbed his hands together in appreciation.
    “They usually hunt alone, but if one gets into trouble it can call to the others with a
    low sound we can’t hear.