The Space Merchants of Arachne

by Wendie Nordgren

  By the time he had walked her to her door and secured her promise to have dinner with us the next night, I was aching and damp and becoming increasingly annoyed with Eliot.

  "Can we throw Eliot in a lake before we drive home?" I asked. Simon rested his forehead on his hands, with his elbows braced on his knees.

  "Can't talk right now," he said.

  "At least you can go to a brothel. My husband is a week away," I complained.

  "Thinking about you with Yukihyo isn't helping." Eliot had a stupid expression on his face when he got in the transport.

  He said, "You were right. She loved the flowers and the necklace. I hope mother and Gram like her. The two of you like her, right?"

  I said, "Yes, Eliot. I like her very much, but not as much as you do." Simon kept his forehead pressed to his hands. Eliot grew ashen when he realized the problem.

  When the transport stopped at Simon's house, he said, "I'll call you in the morning," and rushed out. Cass scrambled to follow before he shut the door. When we got home, Ethan and Sydney greeted us in the foyer, eager to learn how things had gone with Auria. Remembering what Simon had told me about Ethan and Gram, my face turned to flames, and I hurried to the lift. Thunderdrop played with his new transport while I called Yukihyo.

  "How did Eliot's date go? What's wrong?" When I told Yukihyo, he suggested a cool bath and promised to make amends upon his return. I took his advice, not that it helped much.

  Chapter Three

  My vid-screen woke me up which seemed to be becoming a habit. Not only Yukihyo, but also Phillip, and Hiroshi greeted me. "It appears your hours have shifted from ship time to that of whatever pleases her ladyship," Hiroshi joked or admonished. I couldn't tell which.

  "Well, Eliot did keep Simon and me out rather late with him on his date with Auria."

  Phillip said, "Describe the lady to me, Cupcake."

  "She's about my height with long black hair and warm brown eyes. I think she may be a year younger than me. Auria gazes upon Eliot with rapt adoration, and Eliot returns some very intense feelings to her." They seemed pleased by the information.

  "We have arrived on Malta. I will deliver your merchandise to Mr. Gregory and hang everything the way you would, were you here. I may call you rather late this evening," Yukihyo said.

  "I don't care how late you call, as long as you do." Phillip shoved Yukihyo over.

  "I'll take Ms. Laura her present in a few hours and tell you the details," Phillip said.

  "Maybe not all of the details, Phillip. Hiroshi, Simon and Eliot took me to one of their silk warehouses yesterday. May I hope to avoid such long separations from my family in the future?" Hiroshi gave me a sly smile.

  "There is more profit to be made closer to Arachne," he answered.

  "Be careful. Don't get abducted by any miners," I said.

  "What are you going to do today?" Phillip asked. I smiled.

  "Simon is taking me out to see our land!" Yukihyo pushed Phillip out of the way.

  "Please bring your blaster, Thunderdrop, and send me a message once you return," he said.

  "I will." I ended the transmission.

  I got dressed in my black pants and boots, a pink shirt, my belt, and blaster. I braided my hair and went down with Thunderdrop to find breakfast. Ethan and Eliot were surprised to see me awake and armed so early.

  "I hope the blaster is not for me," Eliot said. I threw my head back and laughed.

  "No, silly. Simon is taking me out to see the land you all gave me, and Yukihyo insisted I take my blaster. So, what did you send Auria today?" I filled a bowl with oatmeal.

  "Chirp." Thunderdrop blinked at me.

  "Okay, please come back when you have finished your breakfast," I said to him.

  "Chirp."

  "I ordered flowers to be delivered to her in two hours," Eliot said. "What do you think she would like?" he asked. I shrugged.

  "I don't know. I didn't have much of a chance to talk to her with your tongue down her throat." I smiled sweetly.

  "Perhaps she might enjoy a wrap to protect her from the coming rains," Ethan suggested.

  "That is an excellent suggestion, Father!" Eliot dashed away without touching his breakfast. I smiled around my spoon.

  "So, what do you think of Eliot and Auria as a couple?" Ethan asked. My heart melted when I thought of them as they had been at dinner.

  "I think they are adorable. Just wait until you see how she looks at Eliot. It's so romantic. If I start to cry during dinner, please kick me under the table. He's worried about Sydney and Gram. He wants them to like her."

  "But you like her?"

  "Even I can see how much she loves Eliot. Her love for my cousin made me love her. I hope she and I will become close friends. An added bonus I just realized is that she bakes."

  "It pleases me to see my son filled with new life."

  "It's good he's full of new life because he is not full of breakfast. If he ends up going to the bakery to see Auria, will you ask him to buy some of those pastries I had yesterday?" Ethan grinned at me. Something beeped. Ethan tapped a small vid-screen resting on the table between where he and Eliot had been.

  "Good morning, Simon."

  "Good morning, sir. I am calling to wake Teagan. She wants to go exploring."

  "She is awake, armed, and having breakfast. Come over as soon as you like." He ended the transmission.

  I started thinking about Hiroshi. "Ethan, there are a few things I can do to help out around your estate. Hiroshi kind of made me realize I'm being a lazy bum around here. I can clean, help in the kitchen, drive, or even learn to work in one of the facilities. I should contribute to the family in some way."

  "Thank you, Teagan. I will take you up on your offer. Once Hiroshi establishes trade agreements, I would like for you to try and recreate what you did on Malta and convince Laconians to offer our clothing in some of their stores. You may be successful at a few ports."

  "I would love to do that! I could go prepared with dresses to sell. I could wander around the first day and then go back the next day and see if I can garner any interest." I was so excited.

  "You have plenty of time to think about it," Ethan said.

  "Will Hiroshi only be trading for the family, or will he also be making his own deals?" I asked.

  Ethan smirked and said, "I think the more deals Hiroshi has going on at the same time, the happier he is." I thought of the gleam Hiroshi's eyes took on when he made a good deal.

  I said, "He's going to have fun." The sounds of footsteps and claws on wood flooring came closer.

  Simon said, "Good morning, sir. May I take my sweet cousin out for a proper look at her land?"

  "I suppose. I'm sure you will see to her safety. I would prefer that Teagan not be permitted to tire herself out, as we have a momentous evening planned, which I hope you will also attend."

  "I would be honored, sir."

  "Should I be here helping with the plans?" I asked.

  "Oh, no. My help will not be needed either. Will you have a communication device with you, Simon?" Ethan asked.

  "Yes, sir. Here are the tracking links on my transport and rollers as well." Simon handed Ethan a small rectangular device. Ethan touched the device to his vid-screen. "I also alerted security to our plans in addition to Eric's soldiers," Simon told him.

  "Very good. Please be back in time to be rested and dressed by six."

  "Yes, sir," Simon said. It was surreal listening to them, as if Ethan were the overprotective father I had always wanted, concerned about my safety and well-being. As I left my seat to go with Simon, I turned back and gave Ethan a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Then, I hurried from the room, so I wouldn't cry.

  Outside, Simon asked, "Are you okay?" I shrugged.

  "It was like having a real dad and a real brother in there, but I'm not going to think about it, or I might cry or something stupid like that."

  Simon had brought a long low transport with two four wheeled rollers on the back. Thunderdrop an
d Cass followed close behind me. Simon let me get inside without any help. He drove us down one of the paths through the trees.

  "Here we are, safe and sound nestled in between Alaric and Montgomery lands."

  "That's because their lands touch, and they each gave some to me."

  Simon nodded, "Yes, right in the middle. Your land is surrounded by theirs." Thunderdrop chirped excitedly. I opened the door, and he blinked at me from my lap.

  "Yes, you can go," I told him. He and Cass climbed up nearby trees, my trees, but kept me under their surveillance. I got out and closed the door. Simon unloaded the rollers by driving them down an attached ramp on the transport. Simon showed me how to use either handgrip to move forward, backward, turn, or stop.

  "Please, put this on," he said as he handed a helmet to me. I did.

  "Wow! What is this?" As I looked through the helmet's visor, information appeared in each top and lower corner, as if appearing on a vid-screen. I could see through the lines and numbers though.

  "Those give you distance, direction, time, and if you focus on the bottom right, it will telescope in on what you are seeing." I tried it out on Thunderdrop.

  "Wow! This is so neat."

  Simon said, "Are you ready to go find your own water?"

  "Yes," I said enthusiastically. Simon drove off and through the forest. I followed carefully, not wanting to hit a tree. Thunderdrop and Cass followed us by swinging from lines of silk attached high in the branches. We drove by several beautiful tall trees. After two miles, I stopped my roller. Simon turned back around and pulled up alongside of me. I got off of the roller and pulled off my helmet. I walked around a few of my trees in my section of the forest and breathed in the air.

  "Simon, this is really mine?" He had taken off his helmet and followed me. At some point a blaster rifle had been attached to his roller and a small blaster similar to mine rested in a holster under his arm.

  He whispered, "It is in your full name in the Arachnean Land Registry. Look over there." Simon pointed, and I saw a very large spider, bigger than ZeeZee, clinging upside down on a tree. Suddenly, it jumped, struck down with its mouth, and then began to spin something over and over, as it covered it in silk.

  "What do you think that was?" I whispered.

  "Probably a large rodent," Simon answered.

  Frowning, I said, "Like a large rat type of rodent? Are there a lot of them?" Simon seemed amused.

  "The spiders keep them under control. Rats reproduce quickly, mature rapidly, and create a sustainable food source for the spiders. Unlike some lower spiders, ours are not carnivorous. They form family bonds, and sometimes, as with us, even with humans of Laconian descent." The spider had almost finished wrapping its catch. The spider was about the same size as one of the rollers. "She is a beauty."

  "How can you tell?" I asked.

  "Well, males don't get that large. She is unmated or she wouldn't be doing her own hunting," he said. Thunderdrop and Cass watched her intently as she carried her prey back up into the tree. They chased after her, completely forgetting me.

  "Where are they going?"

  "Cass thinks you need baby spiders filling your trees and wants to try to catch the female."

  "She is probably five or six times larger than Cass. What is he going to do with her?"

  Simon just smiled and put his helmet on. I did the same. We had gone maybe another mile when I heard water. Simon stopped and dismounted by some large boulders. Water flowed between the large boulders for many feet and then diverged into two streams with land in between that grew larger as the streams ran off away from each other. Sandy banks held all of the water away from the grass growing in the light that the tall trees of the inner forest would permit. I walked near the water and to the left, upstream. I put my hand in the water. It was cold. I saw a couple of fish swimming on the other side under the shade of a huge tree.

  "This spot is in the center of your land. We could build your house about a mile closer to the path from here. When the rains begin, the water levels rise, and you don't want to build too close." I stared at Simon.

  "My own house?" I asked. I felt my eyes spilling over, and I turned away, so he wouldn't see.

  "Well, if you want one. I would be happy with all of you living with me, and Mom and Dad have plenty of room. If Eliot marries Auria and they have children, it may become crowded there. I can't picture Hiroshi and Phillip sharing a room."

  I laughed and said, "Me either, Phillip makes a mess, and Hiroshi is very neat."

  "You might not want to stay on Tora all of the time. Talk to them about it when they get home. I'll bring us all back out here." My heart filled with joy. Having my family in my own home would be amazing. I wiped at my face and turned back to Simon.

  His attention was on something else. He motioned for me to crouch down. I did slowly. He pointed upstream to where a group of nine to ten deer drank from the stream on the other side. Simon reached my side without making a sound. A fat squirrel came out from hiding and dug in the ground near the largest tree across the stream. I thought this would be a perfect camping spot. Simon eased himself to the ground, and I joined him. We watched until they disappeared back into the forest.

  "Lord Montgomery, come in," a small voice said from inside Simon's shirt.

  "Here," Simon answered.

  "Several spiders are converging on your location. Are they a threat?"

  "No, they pose no threat," Simon told the soldier. "Stay very still, Teagan. They are curious about you." Thunderdrop and Cass dropped down to us on silk threads. Thunderdrop perched on my head. Unfamiliar spiders clung upside down to the trunks. Others sat on branches. They watched us. Sadly, I was less worried about the spiders than I was about lunch.

  A large spider stepped to the ground. It paused. Then, it took a few more steps and paused again. Slowly, it came closer. I could see our reflections in its eyes. It blinked slowly at us. The spider wasn't as large as ZeeZee, but it was a lot bigger than Cass. Its black eyes reflected the pink of my shirt and the bright red of Simon's hair. "Hello," I whispered. "I'm Teagan. He is Simon. The baby spider on my head is Thunderdrop, and he is Cass." The spider clicked at me. Thunderdrop moved in my hair. "Thunderdrop, does he want to be friends?"

  "Chirp." I decided to hold out my hand. The spider blinked. Then, he slowly moved a feeler toward my hand and touched me. A few of the others came to us and touched my hand.

  "I'm sorry. If I had known you were out here all alone, I would have brought you some toys to play with. Simon, can we go back to the toy store tomorrow?"

  "Of course, we can. I think Cass and Thunderdrop could teach your new friends how to play." I smiled.

  "So do I. My goodness, how many are out here?" Simon rubbed my back.

  "I'm not sure, but I need to get you back to the rollers and home to the Alarics or risk getting into trouble." I held out my hand again to another spider.

  "It was nice meeting you all, but I have to go now. Maybe I can come back and see you here tomorrow. Is that okay? How come they don't talk like Thunderdrop and Cass do?"

  Simon said, "They have not interacted with us before. They may decide to learn." I ran my hand up Thunderdrop's front leg.

  "Are you ready to go, Thunderdrop?"

  "Chirp." I stood and brushed myself off.

  "When Yukihyo comes home, he has promised to take me camping out here. I think this would be the perfect spot." We walked along the stream and back to the rollers. Our new friends followed us along the ground and through the trees. I picked up my helmet, and a spider dropped down in front of me from a high branch by a thin line of silk. He was almost as large as ZeeZee. He blinked at me and dropped a cocoon at my feet. "Is this for me? Did you go hunting?" I held my hand out to the spider. He came closer, blinked at me, touched my hand with a feeler, and backed away. I crouched down and tried to make a big deal of the large dead rodent that he had given me. He clacked at me and climbed halfway up a tree trunk. Thunderdrop and Cass both chirped at the larg
e spider. I opened the storage box on the roller and put the still warm bundle inside.

  Then, Simon led the way back to the transport. Some of the spiders followed us the entire way. Thunderdrop clung to my back possessively. When we arrived at the path and slowed to a stop, Simon motioned for me to stay put. He drove his roller up onto the bed of the transport and then walked down to me.

  He said, "Take the cocoon out and hold it in your lap in the transport if you really want to make him happy. He still watches you." Carefully, I did as Simon suggested and tried to hide my true feelings about the dinner my new friend had provided for me. While I got inside with our spiders, Simon loaded my roller onto the back with his. Simon got in and drove us slowly back to the Alaric estate.

  "Are you driving slowly so they can see where we are going?" Simon nodded. When we were finally in front of the house, Ethan walked out and opened my door.

  "What did you think of your land?" he asked.

  "It's beautiful. I love the trees, boulders, and stream. We saw deer and lots of spiders." Ethan saw the large bundle I carried.

  "What's this?" he asked Simon.

  "One of the larger males dropped it at her feet. Some of them followed us all of the way back here. Teagan won't ever have to worry about her safety while she is on her land."

  "Why?" I asked.

  Ethan said, "The silk spiders on your land have taken a liking to you and have accepted you. Anyone who tries to hurt you in their presence will suffer this creature's fate." I thought about the Parvac soldier who had shot me twice and tried to kill me. Ethan caught my eyes with his and nodded.

  "Chirp chirp."

  "Sweet cousin, I will see you this evening. The boxes you will find on your bed are from me." Simon kissed my cheek, got in his transport, and drove off. Ethan opened the door for me while I carried my fifteen-pound bundle inside. One of the butlers took it for me after he closed the door. Thunderdrop blinked at me and Ethan, and followed the butler.