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As Conor neared the tree, the smallest turned to him. It was clear there would be no repeating themselves. Ella had the eyes of the valkyrie again. She looked like she had conjured from far within her the unerring confidence that if it came to it, she could kill these three beasts, eat their flesh and leave no left-overs. Conor prayed it would not be necessary since, on this occasion, he knew she was wrong.

He took his first grip of the tree and the charred oak flaked away. Reaching again he jumped but failed to get purchase on the first solid branch. Back at the base he looked up, expecting Ella’s hand to be reaching down to pull him but she was still above him, staring out into the eyes of the first. He saw her right hand behind her back, gently massaging the handle of the knife as it pointed down from the fat of the hand by her pinky. She was ready to plunge it straight into that enormous eye. She would not look away to help him, she had her prize.

Just as he was about to begin the climb again he felt the smallest serpent lightly press its head under his foot. He steadied himself as it moved slowly towards the first branch. He felt it now as his left hand got a good grip on the branch close to the trunk. He pushed himself gently to roll on, though the serpent did most of the work. He rose again to the second branch and a moment later stood by his sister. His hand grasping for the steak knife he had tied between two belt buckles with his shoelace belt. Ella had worn a shoelace belt back when she had been into skateboarding, so they all did.

Now he saw them, he realised that he’d expected, from their colouring, that they would somehow look more beautiful than they truly were. They were thick, ugly things. Conor stared closely at the small one. It stared back, unblinking. Conor remembered from some biology class that snakes too don’t have eyelids. No, that’s not it. They do, but they are clear. Their eyes are inexplicably always closed but always seeing. Neat trick, he thought.

Ella, still without breaking eye contact with the largest of the three, spoke -

“Found them.”