sun.... In that white face her lips were shockingly red, thecolor of fresh blood. And the nails of her slim white fingers werecrimson claws. After a moment, he realized that both must be painted--astrange thing to him, for there was no such practice among beetle women.
She was clad in a coverall suit of much the same design as the greengarment Dworn wore according to beetle custom. But her garb was shinyblack, and in front, between the swelling mounds of her breasts, was anemblem he did not understand; the shape of an hourglass, in vermilionred.
She stood gazing at him, smiling a little with a curve of scarlet lipsthat revealed white, sharp-looking teeth. Dworn groped for his voice;but she spoke first.
"Patience, beetle," she said. "I'll attend to you in a moment."
The words had the accent of a strange speech, but they wereintelligible. Dworn stared uncomprehendingly at her, mumbled,"Who--_what_ are you?"
She moved nearer and stood smiling down at him. "Why, beetle, don't youknow?... I'm the spider who caught you."
"_Spi-der?_" Dworn fumbled with the unfamiliar word. "I don't--"
Her eyes too were black, very black and intense. She said slowly, "Youdon't know about spiders, beetle? Strange. It must be that till nowthere were none of our kind on this side of the Rim."
* * * * *
Dworn's aching head was not serving him well, but a part of hisintelligence functioned to grapple with the implication of her words."The Rim"--that must mean the Barrier, as seen from its eastern side.Then she, and others like her, must have come from beyond the Barrier. Awalking machine could descend by the broken path of the landslide.
But "spider"--the word rang some bell deep in his mind, somerecollection of childhood's fairytale bogeys perhaps, but he stillhadn't succeeded in grasping the memory.
He growled, "I don't know--but if you'd untie my hands, I'd show youwhat a beetle is."
She eyed him thoughtfully. Then she smiled, showing the sharp littlewhite teeth again. "Presently I'll free you. When it's quite safe. Assoon as--" Her hand dipped to a small black case secured to her belt,and came up with a diminutive gleaming object--a slender needlethrusting from a liquid-filled plastic cylinder fitted with a plunger."Do you know what _this_ is, beetle?"
Dworn glowered silently.
"When I've injected this fluid into your veins, you will have no will ofyour own left. You'll do what I say, and only what I say--for the restof your life, beetle!"
Dworn's eyes clung in unwilling fascination to the glittering needle. Hesaid through stiff lips, "Now I remember. Your kind is a legend among mypeople. The evil women who have no men ... who kill their male childrenat birth, and trap their mates from among the other races, and killthem, too, when they no longer want them.... _Spider!_"
His gaze collided squarely with hers, and she needed no skill to readthe loathing in it, rendered more violent by her beauty that he couldnot help but see.
Her eyes dropped first. She clutched the needle and muttered fiercely toherself, "But when you've had the injection, it won't matter. I'll say,'Love me!' and you'll love me, and 'Die!' and you'll die...."
Dworn stared burningly at the slim figure in black with the scarlethourglass on her bosom. He was alert again, and his mind was racing. Toall appearances he was lost--but something in the spider girl's mannergave him an unreasonable hope.
He said abruptly, "So. Why didn't you use your poison while I wasstunned? That would have been easy."
She looked away. "You ask foolish questions, beetle. Naturally, I had toprepare myself according to our customs. I had to paint my face and makemyself beautiful...."
He said inspiredly, "You _are_ beautiful."
Her reaction was surprising. She stood gazing raptly at him, lipsslightly parted the hypodermic forgotten in her hand. Dworn sensed thathad he been unbound, he would have had no trouble overpowering her.
She whispered, "_It's true, then!_"
And he realized forcibly how young she was--the painted lips made herlook much older, and the shadows--which he now saw were also paintedon--beneath her eyes. Only a girl, and if she had been one of his ownpeople he would have looked at her twice and more than twice....
But above their heads the great spider-machine's underparts gleameddully, straddling the sunken den. And the spell lasted only a moment.
The girl straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath. "Why am Italking to a beetle? It's time--"
* * * * *
There was a clang of metal from somewhere in the room beyond. The girl'sface reflected sudden fright, beneath its painted mask. She spun roundand took two steps toward the inner door, but even as she did so, thedoor swung wide, and dark figures crowded through it.
The girl cried, with terror and anger in her voice, "What do you mean,coming into my Nest like this? You have no right--"
The interlopers were three in number, and all of them were women,wearing black garments like the girl's, with the red spider symbol onthe breast. The one in the lead was elderly, her hair wisped with gray,and her face was lined by years and passions; her eyes were flinty, hermouth thin and cruel. The other two were younger; one was a strappingblonde wench taller than Dworn, who moved with a powerful and formidablegrace; the other was short, soft-looking, with a child's pouting mouthand a queer, mad glint in her dark eyes.
The older woman said, "No right? You've had your own Nest for all ofthree months now, dear Qanya, and already you tell your Mother that shehas no right to enter?"
The girl quailed. She retreated step by step until her back was againstthe wall beside Dworn, and met the old woman's eyes with a look halffright, half defiance.
"But, of course, you have your reasons," the Spider Mother went onbitingly. Her hard eyes stabbed at the bound and helpless Dworn."Somewhere you managed to catch this, and bring him in without lettinganyone know, and paint your face and prepare the needle.... You chose toforget that in times like these there are others of the Family whoseclaim to a mate has priority over yours!"
"_That's_ true, Mother!" said the tall blonde energetically. The plumpgirl licked her full lips and said nothing.
"Quiet, Purri!" snapped the Spider Mother. Her eyes raked the girl Qanyaagain. "Well, and what do you have to say for yourself?"
Qanya's black eyes flashed. "I caught him myself," she blazed. "You'veno right--"
"No right, no right," mocked the old woman. "Why, I believe that, ifyou'd dared, you'd have blocked up the connecting tunnel so we couldn'twalk in on you. Who has rights is for _me_ to decide--and for me todecide whether you're whipped and sent back to the young girls'dormitory. Until I've made up my mind--" She turned and frownedthoughtfully at her two companions, jabbed a finger at the tall one."You, Purri, stay here and see that nothing happens to the catch, andmake sure our little Qanya doesn't misbehave. I'm going to my Nest andcheck over the Family ledger, to settle the question of who's first inline for a mate. We've got to be strict, now that the cursednight-fliers are everywhere and it's been so long since we trapped apresentable male." She eyed Dworn once more, and smiled thinly. "He's afine youth. Who knows? I might even take him for myself."
Dworn had no stomach for the compliment. Secretly, he was twisting hisbound hands behind him, trying to loosen the knots. Those knots had beennone too skillfully tied, and given time.... But he had to desist as thetall Purri strode near and stood over him. She cast a glance after theretreating backs of the Spider Mother and her other proteges, thendevoted all her attention to Dworn, surveying him in critical silenceand with a business-like eye for detail.
Qanya huddled against the wall; her dark eyes were enormous, and tearshad streaked the make-up on her cheeks.
Purri nodded satisfiedly. "He'll do," she said matter-of-factly toQanya. "The Mother should give him to me. It's a choice between me andMarza, really--" She jerked her head toward the door through which thedark, pouting girl had gone--"But Marza doesn't really appreciate amate. All she cares about is seeing how long she can t
ake to make themdie."
Qanya stared hotly at her. She said in a stifled voice, "You're a beast,and Marza is a beast, and--"
"Careful!" said Purri lazily. "If you say anything against the Mother,I'll have to report you." Arms akimbo, she looked scornfully down at theyounger girl's tearful face.
* * * * *
Dworn had been right about the knots Qanya had tied. They were slipping.He wrestled in silence, hoping for a little more time.... Then he wassickeningly aware that Qanya was looking
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