by C. T. Adams
I tried to describe it to Lucas, who was waiting patiently for some word. “It’s making some sort of weird sound—like a hundred crickets on angel dust. It’s got Pamela now, and the others are in some sort of webbing near the ceiling.”
Lucas went even paler. His skin had lost most of its natural tan. “It’s the nesting song. It is ready to lay eggs. The women are sacrifices for the children to feed on when they hatch. They’ll be alive, but paralyzed. That’s the connection we all missed. The ladies must all be pregnant. It’s the preferred food for the young ones and probably why Mila was killed, too; for her enzymes. The female spiders don’t need a male to breed if they can take the fluids of a pregnant Sazi.
No wonder Nikoli was so broken up. I remember Yurgi mentioning that Nikoli didn’t have any children.
“We can’t wait any more. We have to move.”
This time I held him back. “Just a second. Let’s see if we can find out more about it. Do you remember what they look like? Let’s make sure we’re dealing with the same baddie.”
He nodded. “The ones I fought stood about three foot high, but they’re about four foot around. Pale brown to yellow. Eight slender legs without hair, and armor plated body. The eyes are multi-faceted. Same one?”
I slid back into Sue’s mind. She was watching the spider inject Pamela with something from a fang. She screamed once and Sue started to cry. I pushed through her pain. Focus, Sue! We’ll get them. Lucas says they’ll stay alive until the eggs hatch, so we’ve got a little time. Just give me your senses so we know what we’re dealing with.
Sue closed her eyes briefly and then calmed a tiny bit. When she opened her eyes, we watched the spider move, as it wrapped Pamela in the same webbing as the others. Yep, pale brown, no hair—this was our baby. It glowed with an unearthly silver-grey light that fluxed and roiled. It wasn’t a color I’d ever encountered. The whole scene was something out of a particularly bad nightmare, or an H.P. Lovecraft story. This particular Sazi was definitely Cthulu mythos fodder. It made me wonder just how much fiction some fiction is.
“It’s the same one,” I replied to Lucas. “It’s wrapped Pamela in webbing.”
“Get Sue out of there. It’ll be back for her once the other is secure. It can smell a human at close to a mile. It won’t allow any witnesses to live.”
Get away from there, Sue. Lucas says it’ll be back for you.
Her voice in my head was calm, but determined. I won’t hide, Tony. I won’t leave Barbara, Asri and Pamela to that…thing.
It can smell you, Sue! You have to leave!
I felt her move toward the purse on her shoulder, as though I could see her. No, it can’t smell me. I sort of…well, borrowed Bobby’s cologne yesterday—it’s a form of teeth, like Lelya said. But I forgot to spray Pamela. That was stupid of me! No, I’ll stay here to watch until you get here. I’ll keep out of sight. She cut off contact, slamming the screen door in my face.
“She’s being stubborn,” I whispered. “She used some of the Wolven cologne and is keeping out of sight, but she won’t leave until we get there.”
Lucas pursed his lips and started forward again. “It might work. Jack and I hadn’t developed the cologne when we fought them. It shouldn’t recognize the smell. I hope she didn’t use it all. We’ll put on some, as well, when we get to her.”
We moved in shadows, keeping to the darkest black as we skirted ancient, decaying edifices that rose to greet a pale, unfeeling moon. Jeez—now I was thinking in Lovecraft-ese, not exactly confidence inspiring. Enough of that.
I listened for any sound as we slipped silently forward. We’d taken a few minutes back at the hotel to get ready. Now we were both wearing black, face camo and gloves. We moved silently as shadows. Lucas let me lead the way, following Sue’s direction and scent. I watched him move with lethal ease. Eyes and ears took in everything—even the scurrying of rodents didn’t escape his notice. He’d lowered his inner light until it was non-existent and had lessened his breathing until it was barely audible. I watched his nostrils flare for any hint of danger as the breeze drifted by us, pushing our scents back behind.
We both stopped at the sing-song rise and fall of the spider’s trill. The sound and the horrible smell made me shiver, and once again the terrors of forbidden, ancient gods tickled my mind. Natural instinct made me want to bolt and run. I struggled against the urge to leave. I couldn’t imagine what would it have been like to go into a spider den—to confront dozens, or hundreds, of these things who were eating your people alive and I wasn’t about to touch Lucas to find out.
He lifted one hand the slightest bit and jerked a finger to our right. I moved across the alley without a sound. Sue was hiding behind a dumpster near the window. I raised my head a bit to catch Lucas’s eye and moved my head and eyes toward the dilapidated metal box. He gave a short nod and then we moved forward together until we reached her side.
“Anything new?” Lucas whispered so low that I could barely hear.
Sue had taken the hint, and shook her head mutely. She spoke directly into my mind. It’s been spinning a lot of silk since it hung Pamela on the ceiling, but it doesn’t seem to be sticky. It’s been fluffing it in the corner near that balcony. I think it’s some sort of nest.
I nodded and relayed the information to Lucas, close to his ear. He looked up and around. He raised up a finger and moved it back and forth. Sue didn’t understand the question, but I did.
How did the spider get inside, Sue? Did it go through a door or the roof, or what?
She opened her mouth and raised her brows in understanding. There’s a hole in the wall in back. I saw it when I followed the spider after she took Pamela. It’s pretty small. The spider had to squeeze to go through and then reach back to take Pamela through. But by then she was paralyzed. I might have saved her if not for that.
I put a hand on her shoulder and winked. Don’t beat yourself up. This thing has taken down the best of the best. The fact that you’re still alive is pretty damn good.
She smiled and nodded. Lucas let out a small annoyed breath. Oops! I forgot to bring him up to date.
I leaned close. “There’s a hole in the back wall, but Sue says it’s pretty small. One at a time, I think, with Sue keeping watch on the mark?”
He blinked his eyes in agreement. He pointed to me and then to himself. He winked at Sue and squeezed her shoulder lightly, and then touched her nose. He pointed a finger at her and then at the window and then leaned close to her ear. “Keep in touch with Tony. If you see the spider leave, for any reason, let him know.”
As we were walking to the back of the building, I heard a noise to our left. I touched Lucas’s shoulder, but he’d heard it too. We split and dropped into the shadows, our weapons cocked and ready.
I smelled thick jungle vines and pain before I saw shadowy movement next to the building across the alley.
“What are you doing here, Agent?”
“We’re mated, Lucas. She’s in my head all the time now. I’d tried to ignore it, but I can’t. I know where she is and I know the trouble they’re in. I couldn’t just keep driving a frigging limo while she’s in danger!”
Even though Lucas gave him a disgusted look, his scent was pleased. Bobby noticed. It reminded me that we’d forgotten to spray ourselves. Lucas apparently recognized Bobby’s scent as well. I turned my hand inward and moved my finger up and down to imitate spraying. He shook his head in annoyance. He’d forgotten, too.
Lucas moved close to Bobby and we all returned to Sue’s side. She shook her head. No change. She’s still building the nest.
I opened my palm and moved my fingers in and out several times. Cologne? Did you use it all?
She shook her head and opened her purse. She handed me the small bottle. There was still plenty for us all. After I’d sprayed myself, I handed it to Bobby. He looked at the bottle and glanced at Sue with raised brows and annoyance before passing it to Lucas.
She had the good grace to blush.
> Lucas sprayed himself and then grabbed my chin. Before I could react, he tilted my head and spritzed some of the fluid directly up my nose. I struggled not to cough and sneeze.
Lucas held my nose closed and put his other hand over my mouth. I shuddered and tried to remove his hands so I could breathe. He leaned close and hissed into my ear. “Leave it! As we get closer to the spider, the scent can get too strong. The odor will disorient you. This will last about an hour. If we haven’t killed it by then, we’re out of luck anyway. It’ll have laid the eggs and we’ll be spider food.”
I held my breath for a second and the stinging from the cologne abated. When Lucas removed his pinching fingers, I could breathe again. I watched he and Bobby do the same thing to themselves with the bottle. I suddenly couldn’t smell a damn thing, as though I had a head cold. I rubbed my nose on my sleeve to remove the remaining liquid, and blinked wetness from my eyes.
I stared at Bobby for a moment. His normally ebony skin was like coffee with two creams. He swayed twice and had to catch his balance on the side of the building. Lucas shook his head angrily. “Mbutu, you’re in no condition to fight.” Lucas’s nearly silent words were terse. “Go home. We’ll manage.”
Bobby took a deep breath. He looked pale and wan, but determined. “I can’t, Lucas. I really can’t. Think what you would do if it was Tatya up there. I have to try to save her.”
Lucas shook his head. “They’re over forty feet up, suspended from a rafter by webbing. We’ll have to wait until we bring down the spider to get them.”
Bobby shook his head but smiled. He’d apparently already planned this out. I’d bet Asri’s predicament, along with a possible solution, was being projected into his head. Asri’s no slouch in tactics. “You forget, boss, I’m from a long line of a tree climbers, and nearly forty feet long myself. You get the spider—I’ll get the ladies. They’re all tiny. I can change forms, slither up, and tear apart the support webbing with my teeth. Then I’ll lower them down with my tail, change back, and bring them all out. Of course, you’ll have to keep it busy.”
Sue’s voice sounded pleased in my head. And I can use my silver knife to cut the silk. Then we can take them back to the healers. I bet it will work.
I shrugged my shoulders. It sounded like a good plan to me. Sue nodded as well. Lucas sighed. He knew he was outnumbered. He threw up his hands and shouldered his AR-15, filled with silver bullets that Nikoli just happened to have on hand. Oh, yeah—silver is a big affront!
Lucas pointed at Bobby with narrowed eyes and hissed, “Do not get in our way, Bobby. I won’t risk this thing getting out of the building to find another nest. I don’t want to, but I will put you down. Do I make myself clear?”
Bobby got a surprised look, but it hardened. He nodded once curtly. “Eminently. We’re all expendable—I get it.”
Sue’s face was likewise shocked. Her fearful eyes turned to me and I could feel her panic pound my heart. I pushed it aside coldly and shook my head.
He’s right, Sue. Learn this now—everybody is expendable when the prize is big enough. I accepted it a long time ago. The more useful you are, the longer you’ll live. But if you cause trouble, you won’t last. I would suggest you keep your head down. Don’t doubt that Lucas will put you down, too, if you get in the way. He’s already admitted he doesn’t expect himself to survive.
Sue glanced at Lucas, who had picked up the duffel and was taking a deep breath with closed eyes. He was centering himself. I do it, too. She turned her eyes to me and nodded more confidently than she felt in my head. I smiled and winked.
It’s okay to be scared, Sue, as long as you keep moving. It takes a lot of practice to go where only fools dare to tread.
She shook her head as I stood and moved to crouch next to Lucas. Not practice. It takes a lot of skill, Tony.
That too, love. That too.
I couldn’t resist anymore, and I knew the other two would do the same thing if they could. I grabbed her and held her close for a moment and kissed her slowly. I ignored the grumbles from the other two as I let my body soak in warmth and sunshine and the intense physical pleasure that rode over my skin and tore the breath from my chest.
She didn’t want to let go, but I finally pushed her back to arm’s length.
“But Tony,” she whispered, “What if…”
I smiled. “Then we had everything that most people can only dream of. Promise me that if anything happens to us in there, you’ll keep going. Start a new life far away from the pack and be just as strong and capable and happy as I know you can be. I want you to be a whole person, Sue. I want you to be my equal, and more. I’m sorry for everything I’ve put you through, and don’t want you to think I really meant the things I said last night. I didn’t. I swear.”
She threw herself back into my arms for a moment and I held her close. When we finally broke apart, there were tears in her eyes and a few stray ones had managed to find their way into mine, too.
The keening was growing faster. It was time to go. I nodded and gave the thumbs up sign to Lucas just before I put on the storm windows to close down the connection with Sue. I’d have to trust that she would be safe. I couldn’t afford to be two places at once.
Lucas and I moved toward the back of the building, leaving Bobby to find his own entrance in the front. When we reached the hole in the wall, I stopped Lucas, and threw open the screen door so that I could watch the spider through Sue’s eyes. It was still nest building, oblivious to our presence. That bothered me. I had to assume that there was a reason it was so confident in a location so close to wolf headquarters.
“We’ll move slow. Something about this set-up smells bad.”
Lucas nodded and responded in a similar whisper. “I was thinking the same thing. It’s too confident. Either it’s stupid—which I doubt—or it’s booby-trapped the place.”
I raised my brows. “Or there are more of them than we think. There could be guards.”
I could see Lucas shudder and take a deep breath. “I would rather not believe that. But let’s load up every spare pocket with ammo, just to be safe.”
I wish we would have had the time to go back to the apartment for my military camo. The pants have pockets all down the legs. They’re incredibly useful. But the jeans were what I was wearing, so they would have to do.
I had Lucas hold onto my legs so I could stick my head inside and recon the place before we crawled inside. He could pull me back out quickly if there were problems. It looked clear, which—again—bothered me. I tapped my left foot twice, which was the signal that everything was okay. He let go of my legs and I shimmied inside the building, slow and silent. The interior was pitch black, but we couldn’t afford a light. Once I was standing, I listened for any movement, but there was only the sing-song wailing in the next room. I stuck a hand outside the wall and gave the thumbs-up. Lucas pushed in the duffel and then slowly worked his way inside until he was standing beside me.
We couldn’t afford to speak, so I was surprised to hear his voice. But then I realized it was all in my mind—literally. I winced a bit, because his intrusion into my head was painful.
I don’t do this often, Tony, but it’s an ability that most pack leaders have. It’s part of the package. You won’t be able to answer back, though. Let’s move to where there’s a little more light so we can see hand motions.
I nodded and stepped forward, but then stopped suddenly and put a strong arm across Lucas’s chest to halt him in his tracks.
He put a hand on my shoulder. What is it? Did you hear something?
I shook my head. It wasn’t something I heard, it was something I saw—or sort of saw. I tried to focus my eyes as I peered into the darkness.
Yep, there it was again—glowing fragments; ribbons of something pale and silver right in front of us. I took a deep whiff before I remembered it was useless.
I took Lucas’s hand off my shoulder and put mine on his. I pressed down, which is the universal signal for “stay down.”
I moved forward an inch, and then slid sideways along the faintly glittering line of luminescence.
When I got to the adjoining wall, I swore silently. It was a goddamned web! It covered the whole room from wall to wall. Now that I was looking at it from an angle, the glowing ribbons formed a pattern I recognized. I reached down carefully and felt along the floor until my fingers found about half of a brick. I pressed it against one of the radialing strands. It stuck to it and I couldn’t pull it away. Nor would the webbing budge from the wall, even when I pulled sideways on the brick with all my strength. Just fucking wonderful! No wonder she could be confident—and we’d nearly walked right into it. I was starting to be grateful for my second sight.
I returned to Lucas, who was standing right where I left him. I had no choice—I leaned over and whispered into his ear. “It’s a web, right in front of us. You’ve dealt with them before. Is there any way past?”
The hiss of air from him told me he was swearing internally. I heard him reply in my head and I winced again. No, damn it! I should have remembered! It was how they caught all the eagles. These are Sazi webs, meant for Sazis. Once you’re stuck, there’s no escape. I hope Bobby isn’t already trapped.
Something clicked in my head. If it was a Sazi web…
I leaned and cupped my hand to his ear once more. “Would silver cut the strands? I’ve still got Nikoli’s push knife.”
Lucas started. I don’t know. We never had any in the jungle. But you’ll have to try it. I can’t see the damn thing. And, be careful. They usually had noisemakers attached, like bells or hollow sticks to tell the spider when the web was full.
I nodded and removed the silver push knife from the boot sheath. I inched along with my back to the wall once more, being really careful not to touch the thing. When I got to the right angle, I eased the knife in front of my face and pressed it against the glowing strand just under where the brick was stuck. There was a hiss and a small wisp of smoke floated up. The strand released from the wall and the web sagged a bit. There was a small sound above—probably the noisemaker Lucas had mentioned, but it wasn’t loud enough to be noticed over the spider’s trill. Unfortunately, the smell might bring the spider just as quickly as noise would. I knew what burning silk smelled like. I used the knife to release two more strands along the wall and a couple on the floor, so that one corner was free, but the integrity of the web remained. Still, there was no way we could get under the web without being trapped, unless…
