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Not far from the bottom of the dune, Rallian stood as if he'd been turned into a statue. In front of Rallian was a huge snake, its head raised slightly off the sand. It almost looked like the snake was talking to Rallian, but Alex could see that Rallian was too terrified to speak or even to run away.

"Hold!" Alex yelled, rushing down the dune, his staff held out in front of him.

Alex was concentrating on the snake, but Virgil and the others must have thought he was yelling at them because they stopped at the top of the dune and did not follow.

Half running, half sliding through the sand, Alex prepared to freeze the giant snake if it moved to attack Rallian. The snake turned its head to look at Alex, and at that moment, Alex stumbled in the sand. He tried to get his feet under him, but discovered that there was nothing there. The sand dune had been hollowed out, and as Alex fell into the empty space, he realized it was a trap.