It was not a man speaking, nor a woman. It was a serpent,
coiled about the branch of a tree a little above the level of
Timou’s head. It was jet-black above, with an intricate pattern of
gold worked into the scales of its throat and belly. Its head was
tapered and graceful, its eyes golden, slit-pupiled like the eyes of
a cat, utterly unreadable. Its tongue, when it spoke, was long and
black. Its delicate fangs were as long as Timou’s thumb.
~ An excerpt from the book ‘The City in the Lake’ by Rachel Neumeier
