" Her long hair curled strangely around her body. Suddenly, he realized it wasn't her hair. A large black snake coiled about her waist. It slithered over her shoulders, its tongue flicking the air. Yellow eyes studied Stanton.
"You're-" he started to speak, but felt too stunned to continue. He raised himself up on one elbow, ignoring the dizzy feeling inside him, and studied her elegant face. He had heard rumors about the Dark Goddess, but he had never believed they were true. People once loved the Goddess of the Dark Moon and called upon her near the end of their time on earth to lead their soul through the passageway back to birth. But because the goddess was called upon only when people were dying, she became an omen of doom. Soon after people feared saying her name for fear of conjuring death. "

― Lynne Ewing , The Sacrifice (Daughters of the Moon, #5)