The men panicked, trying to get away from the snakes. Drake pulled out his revolver and dropped to one knee, ignoring the hornets that buzzed around him, trying to draw a bead on the slender serpentine targets in the swaying yellow light.
Thunder roared directly overhead. A long flash of lightning suddenly flooded the room, spoiling his aim. Drake fired and missed, and waited for the snakes to strike.
They didn't strike. They were moving away from him, retreating to the rat hole from which they had emerged. One of the adders slid quickly through. The other began to follow, then stopped, half in the hole.
Sorensen took careful aim with a rifle. Drake pushed the muzzle aside. "Wait just a moment."
The adder hesitated. It came out of the hole and began to move toward them again....
And there was another crash of thunder and a vivid splash of lightning. The snake turned away and squirmed through the hole.
"What's going on?" Sorensen asked. "Is the thunder frightening them?"
"No, it's the lightning!" Drake said. "That's why the Quedak was in such a rush. He saw that a storm was coming, and he hadn't consolidated his position yet."
"What are you talking about?"