Spiderstalk

by D. Nathan Hilliard

  “Yeah, I guess. I don’t have much choice,” the boy muttered as they headed back down the hall toward the internal stairway. “Here take this.”

  He handed Adam a large, black automatic pistol.

  “Whoa!” Adam almost stumbled. “What the hell?”

  “Dude, she’s a Chieftain or something, right? You can’t just have me stroll up to her with a loaded gun. All kinds of bad crap could happen.”

  “Oh…right.”

  Adam shook his head as he stared down at the ugly weapon. He wondered if he would ever get used to a world where even teens handled these things with such competent nonchalance. Billy looked like any other boy his age, if you didn’t pay too close attention to his eyes, but Adam knew he had been raised in a world that had very different rules and expected him to be able to fight and kill at the drop of a hat.

  They ascended the stairs and headed back for his room, where he could see Cristobal now stationed outside the door. The other man straightened to alert as they approached.

  “It’s okay,” Adam reported. “He gave me his gun before coming up here.”

  “Yeah,” Billy added, “but he didn’t pat me down or anything. I ain’t got nothing else, but you might want to make yourself feel better on that score.”

  Cristobal nodded and proceeded with a thorough pat-down while the boy stood there with his hands on his head.

  “Hey, I didn’t know,” Adam protested at the look of reproach from the silent man. “I’m new at this okay?”

  Apparently satisfied the boy had no further weapons, Cristobal motioned for him to lower his hands and then gestured for Adam to open the door. Adam did as instructed and the three of them filed into the hotel bedroom where the rest waited.

  “Mister Clayton,” Olivia rose from where she sat on the corner of the bed. “It is honestly a pleasure to meet you again, and to see you are healthy.”

  It amazed Adam how he could leave this woman in a bathrobe and come back a few minutes later to find her perfectly put together. In a simple white jumpsuit with little ornamentation, she still managed to pull off that regal Egyptian princess air. Behind her, Aurelio and two other men Adam didn’t know loomed like palace guards.

  Even Billy looked impressed, and got the universal teenage look of a kid who had found himself in the principal’s office. He seemed at a momentary loss for words. Then Adam realized the boy was in exactly the same situation Olivia had been late Monday night…in a room full of people who would normally kill him without compunction. The fact he had put himself in this position willingly made Adam realize the situation that brought him must be dire. His eyes kept moving from man to man in the room in constant search for a threat.

  “Billy,” Olivia spoke in a calm, even voice, “we have a cease fire. Not to mention, I remember how you saved our lives at the theater. You have nothing to fear here.”

  “Uh, yeah...” He seemed to gather himself. “I mean, yes, ma’am….or…how should I address you?”

  “Since this seems to be an unscheduled and informal gathering, I think Olivia will do. Now please tell me what has brought you here at this time in the morning.”

  “Right.” Billy nodded again as he regained more composure. “It’s Maggie. I think she’s in trouble….I think she’s sick…and she’s about to do something that might get her killed.”

  This earned the boy a room full of puzzled looks.

  “I don’t understand.” Olivia sat down on the corner of the bed again, and motioned for Billy to take the only available chair. “What kind of trouble? And forgive me for asking, but why come to us? Why not go to your own Elders over this?”

  Billy sat down and spread his hands.

  “This is a little complicated, so I’m just going to tell it all at once, real quick. Then you can ask me any questions. I don’t have much time and I’ve got to be heading to see Maggie in about twenty minutes. Okay?”

  “Very well.” Olivia folded her own hands in her lap and became the very model of attention. “Please proceed.”

  “Okay, you remember how I was holding Maggie’s companion…Molly…from attacking you in the theater?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I was doing it by spirit talking at her as hard as I could. We don’t usually talk to other spirit singer’s companions, and never without permission. So Molly was really confused, and I was having a hard time holding her. Then, when Maggie got hurt, she must have lost contact with Molly for a second while I was still interfering. So Molly was confused, and she only knew Maggie was hurt and there was a fight going on. So she attacked me.”

  “Yes, I remember.”

  “Anyway, in our laws that’s the worst of the worst. It’s a death penalty crime. If a companion attacks another of our people, then that companion’s person is held down and forced to watch as the other companions swarm and kill his own. It’s nasty. It hurts a spirit singer in ways I can’t describe.”

  “Makes sense to me,” Aurelio snorted from his place at the far wall. “If you can’t control the animal, it needs to be put down.”

  That didn’t seem to help matters.

  Billy’s face hardened, and it was with obvious effort he held his tongue. On the other hand, Olivia turned to face the hawk-faced man with a look of pure ice.

  “Aurelio, if you feel the need to make any further observations like that,” she stated in a gentle but deadly voice, “then also feel free to go outside on the balcony, where you are welcome to stay and make them at your leisure.”

  Aurelio flushed, and his jaw tightened, but he said nothing more. Olivia held his gaze a few seconds longer before turning back to the Spider Tribe boy.

  “Please, forgive the interruption and continue.”

  “Right,” Billy nodded and brought his attention back to her. “Anyway, they must have issued the verdict to Maggie as soon as they got back from the theater. I wasn’t there so I’m not totally sure how it went down, but I know she didn’t even have time to go to her own home.

  But I guess they also saw they had a problem. Restraining Maggie is a pretty tall order. And doing it while you kill Molly? That just ain’t gonna happen. So they put the whole thing on her. They shunned her…which means none of us can talk with her, spirit talk with her, acknowledge her, or have anything to do with her. She’s cut off. She’s kicked out of her house and has to live out in the woods all alone until she’s willing to bring Molly in and stand by on her own accord and watch it happen.”

  “I see.” Olivia leaned forward in obvious fascination. “And I take it this would also be very hard on a spirit singer?”

  “Yeah,” Billy nodded. “It would be like the world going quiet. All the other spirit singers would deliberately shut her out. Think of being in a room where a bunch of people are talking, but they have the power to prevent you from hearing what they are saying. All the conversations that you’re used to going on around you, and you being able to be a part of, just stop. You’re totally alone. All your friends, family…everybody…shuts you out. I don’t know how to describe it to somebody, but take my word for it, it’s bad.

  But this gets even worse, Maggie seems to have some kind of grudge with the Elders now, and she’s being as hard headed about this as they are. If she would listen to me and bend a little we could probably get the Elders to ease up on her a bit, at least enough to save Molly, but she won’t let me. It’s like she won’t take a damned thing from them now.”

  “I see,” Olivia murmured, then leaned back and steepled her fingers under her chin. “Billy, I can tell this situation distresses you deeply, even to the point of risking the wrath of your elders by maintaining a covert contact with Miss Weston, but I’m at a loss concerning what you want me to do. This is an internal matter for your people. It’s none of our business.”

  “Oh, just wait,” Billy sighed, “I’m getting to the best part…the part where this turns into a total disaster and becomes your business, too. Since Maggie doesn’t want anything from the Elders, she’s cooked
up another way to save Molly without them having any say in the matter.”

  “Indeed? How would she do this?”

  “By going over their heads. By taking her cause straight to the Great Mother.”

  “And the ‘Great Mother’ will intervene for her?” Olivia leaned forward again. “She involves herself in such matters?”

  “Not normally,” Billy shook his head, “but things ain’t normal. Right now, the Great Mother has a problem, and if Maggie were to show up to press her case while carrying that problem’s fangs over her shoulder as a trophy…well, then everything changes.”

  It only took a second for that to sink in.

  “Wait!” Olivia now came to her feet in obvious alarm, “You mean…”

  “Yeah,” the boy confirmed. “Maggie is about to go after the rogue.”

  Billy rubbed his forehead, then surveyed the room full of shocked faces before continuing.

  “She says she thinks she knows where it’s hiding, and she’s going to try and tackle it in about an hour. Now you see why I’m willing to come to you guys for help? This just became a lose-lose proposition. Either Maggie is about to get herself killed or she’s gonna blow the peace treaty all to hell when she’s the one who kills the rogue and presents her fangs to the Great Mother.”

  ###

  “This is an outrage!” Aurelio fumed as the black-clad group walked toward their vehicles in the dark morning parking lot. “You can’t do this on your own authority! You have to contact Chief Antonio and the Elders!”

  An early spring mist thickened the predawn dimness through which they moved. It added a spectral quality to the outdoor lights, converting the world into a soundless stage of fog and wet asphalt they alone seemed to inhabit. The only sign of life was the distant taillights of Billy Clayton’s Camaro as he waited in his car for them.

  “No,” Olivia marched in front of the group, “Antonio would simply forbid this for all the wrong reasons, thus forcing me to violate orders and do it anyway. I am merely cutting out an unnecessary exchange of communication which would do nothing but cause hard feelings later. We have to act in order to preserve what we accomplished last night.”

  Adam worked hard to keep up, trying to mind the slick asphalt while struggling to decide who he agreed with most at the moment. He knew from experience Olivia had probably considered more angles to this mess in the past five minutes than the rest of them would manage in the next hour. But at the same time he couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy for Aurelio’s concerns…even if he detested the man.

  They were about to go confront his worst nightmare all over again.

  Olivia had suggested he remain behind, but he told her it wasn’t going to happen. If she were about to go get herself shot by that maniac, then it would only be after the woman had killed him first. At least he wasn’t alone in his misgivings.

  “You’re serious!” Aurelia ranted. “You’re actually worried that one wounded, possibly sick woman is going to kill this monster all by herself? The boy doesn’t even believe it! He’s only using the possibility to scare us into going and trying to save her. Since she’s currently a criminal with her own people, we’re all he’s got! Hell, let the monster eat her and good riddance!”

  Apparently even Olivia had her final straws.

  She stopped and rounded on the tall man. This time the anger on her face was plain to see.

  “Aurelio,” she hissed, “allow me to take sixty seconds to point out how stupidly wrong you are. First of all, you have never seen this woman in action and you have no idea what she is capable of. She is as psionically powerful as Grandma Lilah and, based on the trajectory of her one-handed throw of Officer Kwan at the hospital, she can bench press a mid-sized Buick. The injury you mention is massive skin abrasions and lacerations caused by a device that should have left her in pieces…And she wasn’t even stunned! She is unbelievably tough, highly trained, and her tenacity is a frightening thing to behold. The chance she might be able to pull this off is far too high to risk.

  Furthermore, if you had bothered to read my last report you would know that ‘boy’ you are so quick to dismiss happens to be the son of Amos Clayton. This means he’s a strong candidate for Chieftain one day…and from what I’ve seen, he would make a very good one. So diplomatically speaking, respecting and acting on his concerns in this matter should be considered an investment in future relations. And since you have your own ambitions for that position, you would be well advised to think of such things instead of shooting off your mouth about matters you don’t understand and giving unnecessary offense.

  And for the record, I’m not ordering you to accompany me on this. Membership in this mission is on nothing but a volunteer basis. Truthfully, the idea of you being anywhere near Maggie Weston makes my stomach hurt. She is as volatile as she is powerful. But there aren’t very many of us and, depending on what happens, I may need every hand I can get.

  So make up your mind. Either go back to your room, or start focusing on the mission at hand.”

  Even in the dim parking lot lights, Adam could see Aurelio darken and clench his fists. He worried for a second the man might actually take a swing at her. His hand loosened on the handle of his cane and he surreptitiously slipped his thumb down to the stun button. The knowledge this man had the advantage of height, weight, reach, training, and fully functioning legs wasn’t lost on him. If things turned violent he needed to drop this guy with his first attack, and use his second to make damn sure he didn’t get back up. He just hoped if it came to that, Cristobal would be able to handle the guy’s two hulking sidekicks.

  Fortunately, it looked like sanity was going prevail.

  “As you wish, halba,” Aurelia managed to push out between gritted teeth. “Do you want me to drive the van or the station wagon?”

  He indicated the car and the large black vehicle Antonio had left behind after returning to Houston with the Elder.

  Olivia, acting as if the altercation had never occurred, considered the vehicles before her with a frown.

  “I would prefer to simply take the van. Since it is one of the vans we use on raids, it is designed with trouble in mind, while Cristobal’s station wagon is not.”

  “All six of us? It’s a big van, but there are weapon lockers and a big first aid trunk taking up room in there. Those things are designed for four people, although we can make it five by having somebody sit on the equipment trunk.”

  “That’s true,” Olivia mused aloud. “But it still leaves us one short.”

  She pondered the situation for a second before speaking again.

  “Adam?”

  “Yes?” he growled.

  He had an idea who the odd man out in this situation was going to be, and he didn’t like it one bit. If she thought he was going to meekly stay behind while she put herself in danger, then she had another think coming. He had lost all the people in his life he intended to. He wasn’t going to let it happen again without a fight. And to fight, he had to be there where the fight was.

  Olivia must have detected the tone in his voice because she gave him an odd stare. She studied him for a second or two, and he met her eyes with a level gaze of his own. He didn’t intend to back down one inch on this. Not this time. She obviously saw it and issued an exasperated sigh before favoring him with a fond, if irritated, look.

  “Since you insist on being in this mission, would you mind going up there and asking young Mr. Clayton if you can ride with him? That would solve our room problem without having to bring Cristobal’s station wagon into the equation.”

  “Me? Ride with the Spider Tribe kid?”

  “You’re the only one who could,” she responded. “He’s taken a huge leap of faith tonight out of desperation, but in his eyes we’re all still enemies who were willing to kill him only three nights earlier. You, on the other hand, are an outsider…with only a superficial involvement in our war. There is no history to create a personal animosity between the two of you.”

&nb
sp; Adam regarded her with suspicion, but couldn’t deny her logic. Once Olivia had agreed to this endeavor, the kid had high-tailed it out of the room as fast as he could without being rude. It was a grim reminder of how serious the depth of enmity between these people was.

  “Okay, that makes sense,” he shrugged. “I guess I’ll give it a try and see if he’s willing.”

  He wanted to give an “I love you” before turning and walking away, but with her being in her role as Chief, or whatever her title was, he didn’t want to embarrass her. Especially since she had possibly found a way to give him what he wanted. So he left it as it was, and headed for the car idling at the other end of the parking lot.

  It didn’t take him long to cover the distance, and felt relieved to see the driver’s side window roll down at his approach. That was a good sign right there.

  “Yeah?” Billy looked up at him. “What’s up?”

  “It seems,” Adam shrugged, “they only have room for five back there, and Olivia sent me to ask if I could ride with you.”

  “Ride with me?”

  The boy looked surprised.

  “Yeah, will that be a problem?”

  Billy studied him for a second.

  “Well, I can’t read you no more…which, no offense, is actually sort of a relief…but it means I’d need to know if you’re armed.”

  “Right,” Adam spread his hand. “I don’t have a gun, if that’s what you’re worried about. My cane doubles as a stun gun and can shoot tear gas, but you can keep it on your side of the car while we drive if you want.”

  The boy looked at the cane with interest, then back at Adam.

  “It’s cool by me,” he shrugged. “Assuming you don’t mind the company.”

  “Nah, you’re alright in my book. Hell, I owe you one from the night at the theater. Well, I owe you two, actually.”

  “Yeah, you do,” Billy laughed, “but I wasn’t talking about me. Look through the little side window at the back seat behind me, and then tell me if you still want a ride.”