Rise of the Spider Goddess

by Jim Hines

Galadrion knelt and lifted Jaimus’s bulky body from the ground. Without saying anything, wordlessly, she walked away, vanishing among the trees.

  “Without saying anything, wordlessly…” Let’s all take a moment to appreciate that fine wordcraft, shall we?

  After watching her go, Nakor turned and walked up to Jenn. He studied the drying blood on her chin and the bruise that was beginning to form under her left eye. She flinched as he reached toward her.

  Plucking the three arrows from the tree, Nakor tossed them to the ground. Then he placed a hand on the side of Jenn’s face.

  Jenn winced. It stung where this man touched her, where Jaimus had hit her. Then she began to relax, for there was a soft warmth to his touch. She could feel the pain in her face beginning to fade.

  Once the last traces of Jenn’s injuries were gone, Nakor removed his hand and stepped back.

  She looked around warily. Keeping her eyes on Nakor, she slowly walked over to retrieve her dagger. It was laying among the undergrowth, next to Erik’s body. She stopped, studying the corpse that seemed so out of place among the green ferns.

  That should be “lying,” not “laying.” Though to be fair to 1995 me, I still have to look up the difference sometimes when I’m writing.

  Drawing a foot back, Jenn kicked the body viciously in the side. Angrily, she bent and grabbed her knife.

  “Where’s Jaimus?” she demanded, turning to Nakor.

  Nakor looked to where Galadrion had disappeared. “Dead,” he answered.

  “Good!” Jenn answered. She knelt and began searching Erik’s body, taking a small pouch of gold and stripping the rings from his hands. Once she was done, she spat on the body for good measure.

  Nakor watched impassively. When she had finished, she stood and glared at him defiantly, daring him to say anything.

  “Thank you,” he said. “That will make it look less suspicious.”

  Jenn was truly confused. She couldn’t understand what these people wanted. She had tried to steal from them, and been caught. But then they had let her escape. Apparently, they had only wanted her to lead them to her companions. Like a fool, she had done just that.

  But now what? What did they want with her? The one in purple had healed her face. Why? He hadn’t gotten angry with her when she kicked Erik’s body. Come to think of it, none of these people seemed to be angry at her at all.

  Then the reality of the situation began to sink in. Jaimus and Erik were dead. She was in the middle of the woods, and she was alone. While Jenn was an excellent thief, she knew next to nothing about surviving in the wilderness. Erik had always taken care of providing food and shelter, while Jaimus had provided protection. She was alone, miles from the nearest city. The crude hut they had been living in for the past few months only had enough food for a day or two. After that, Jenn would starve.

  Suddenly Jenn was frightened. She looked at the elf in front of her who stood patiently, waiting for her to speak. Disgusted with herself for her fear, Jenn grew angry.

  “What do you want?” she yelled.

  Nakor smiled sadly. “Nothing,” he answered.

  Galadrion approached them both silently, looking drained. Nakor sighed, knowing that Jaimus was now a bloodless corpse, his decapitated body lying somewhere in the woods.

  She looks drained? Hey, you should see the other guy! Thank you, thank you, I’m here all week.

  It had taken a long time before Nakor was able to accept Galadrion’s need to drink the blood of others. After a while, he had learned that without blood, Galadrion would eventually wither away and die. It was something out of her control, a driving instinct which she had no choice but to obey.

  It was rare for vampires to be able to control that instinct even to the degree which Galadrion did. She was able to avoid hurting those few whom she considered friends. Nakor had also learned that the disgust of normal people at the habits of vampires was nothing compared to the revulsion Galadrion had for herself. She hated being a vampire with a passion. Only a strong need to survive had prevented her from killing herself years ago.

  Seemingly intimidated by Galadrion, Jenn backed away. Then, without warning, she spun and ran off, vanishing into the distance.

  After she left, Whoo reappeared. “So much for remaining subtle.”

  “Well what were we supposed to do?” Pynne asked, materializing next to him. “We couldn’t just leave her alone in the woods. We had to follow.”

  “I know that,” Whoo said, sounding irritated. “But this is going to make it easier for someone to track us.”

  “Hm…” he said sarcastically, bending over to study the ground. “Judging by all the dead bodies, I’d say someone was here recently!”

  Pynne rolled her eyes at Whoo’s performance. “Go get your arrows.”

  As Whoo flew to retrieve the three arrows he had used, Nakor tapped Pynne on the shoulder. After a quick whispered exchange, she vanished.

  Whoo turned around, inspecting the arrows one at a time and replacing them in his quiver. “Where’d Pynne go?” he asked.

  Nakor nodded in the direction Jenn had run. Then he turned to Galadrion.

  “Are you ready?” he asked softly.

  She nodded.

  Whoo faded out of sight once more, and they resumed their journey to Nakor’s home.

  I don’t remember why exactly they’re going back to Nakor’s home as opposed to going…well, pretty much ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD. But I’m sure I had a good reason!

  * * *

  Jenn swore to herself as she stumbled over a tree root. She looked ahead, making sure that Nakor and his witch companion hadn’t noticed. They continued without stopping, and Jenn sighed in relief.

  After fleeing from Nakor, Jenn had been forced to face the fact that she didn’t know how to escape from the woods. She had thought for a few minutes before deciding that her best chance probably lay in following Nakor, hoping he would lead her to a city. So for the past hour, she had crept along, keeping Nakor and Galadrion in sight and trying not to be noticed.

  It’s possible the author may have been projecting just a wee bit of White Knight Syndrome onto his purple-cloaked elf.

  Jenn shivered. The sun had finished setting about ten minutes ago. With the sun gone from the sky, heat was quickly vanishing as well. She cursed herself for not stopping to grab supplies from the hut she and the others had been staying in.

  Up ahead, Nakor and his friend had stopped. Jenn snuck closer, trying to hear what was being said. Once she was close enough, Jenn huddled down in a ball next to a tree to listen.

  “If we light a fire, it will serve as a beacon to anyone trying to find us,” the witch was saying.

  “We need the heat, Galadrion,” Nakor replied.

  The witch, Galadrion, shook her head. “Would you rather freeze or be stabbed in your sleep?”

  Nakor paused for a moment. “What if we build a fire in a pit? That way the light might not be as visible.”

  “That might work,” Galadrion answered. “But how are you planning to dig this pit? Unless you packed a shovel without me noticing.”

  Even from a distance, Jenn could see the grin on Nakor’s face. He knelt down, placing his hands on the earth. Gradually, the dirt melted away under his fingers, sinking into the ground. Soon, the hole was several feet deep, at which point Nakor stood back up and gestured with one hand.

  “Your pit, m’lady.”

  Galadrion sighed. They took a few minutes to gather deadwood from the forest floor. Then Nakor conjured a small flame to light the fire. The light was still visible, but much less so than an above-ground blaze would have been.

  Jenn looked on, enviously, as Nakor stretched out beside the fire, pulling his cloak around himself. Galadrion walked away, gathering more firewood.

  Feeling cold and thoroughly miserable, Jenn closed her eyes and tried to sleep. After a minute, she sighed and opened her eyes again. Every time she moved at all, goosebumps raced across her flesh. Sleep was not going to come e
asy this night.

  This kid is a hardened thief and killer who’s been living with thugs for years. She has a hut where she’s been staying. And yet the only thing she can do is shiver in the cold and look longingly at Our Heroes and their fire. Clearly this book was written before the discovery of consistent characterization.

  “They’re not bad people, you know.”

  Jenn jumped up, her dagger instantly ready. She looked around, trying to find the source of the voice.

  “Put that away, I’m not going to hurt you.”

  Uncertain now, Jenn hesitantly returned the dagger to its sheath. “Who are you?” she demanded.

  A small being, barely three feet tall, appeared in front of her. It was a female, with thin pointed ears and long silver hair. But the most remarkable thing to Jenn was the pair of large, moth-like wings that spouted from the woman’s back. “My name’s Pynne.”

  Jenn just sat there, wary of this woman who could appear and disappear at will. She had little experience with magic, and it tended to frighten her.

  “Nakor and Galadrion,” Pynne continued, “They’re nice people. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you shared their fire.”

  With an ironic grin, Jenn said “You weren’t aware, then, that I tried to rob them?”

  Pynne rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know. I was there. Remember those invisible spirits?”

  Jenn’s eyes narrowed as she realized what Pynne was saying. She was young enough to be extremely sensitive about being embarrassed. “You tricked me!” she accused angrily.

  “Well, technically Whoo started it. He was the one who spotted you taking Nakor’s pouch.”

  “Who?” Jenn asked, confused.

  “Whoo,” Pynne clarified with a grin. “He’s a friend of mine. Another pixie, like me.”

  Just be glad I didn’t try to work in a “Whoo’s on first” joke.

  Jenn was still suspicious. “What about Galadrion? My knife just bounced off of her. Is she a witch?”

  Pynne sighed. “No, Galadrion’s not a witch. Galadrion is, well, special. She understands what it’s like to be alone,” she added.

  Jenn’s habitual mistrust of others battled against a more basic need, the need for warmth.

  “I promise you, you’ll be safe.”

  She looked back, to see Galadrion lying down opposite Nakor. Her chest gradually rose and fell as she slept. Peering closely, she could see the small form of Whoo, also asleep by the fire.

  “They’re all asleep anyway,” Pynne said. “If nothing else, go take a few minutes to thaw yourself out.”

  The need for warmth won out. Hesitantly, Jenn walked up to the fire, followed closely by Pynne. Timidly, she knelt down, holding out her hands to warm them. When nobody moved, she sat down, being extremely careful not to make any noise.

  Pynne watched in amusement as Jenn slowly allowed herself to lay down in front of the fire. She relaxed visibly as the warmth began to thaw her frozen body. Within minutes, she was asleep. Pynne chuckled quietly to herself, then flew over to land next to Galadrion. “When did you start sleeping?” she whispered in amusement.

  Galadrion opened her eyes. “Nakor figured she’d be too afraid if anyone was still awake.”

  Shaking her head, Pynne settled down to sleep.

  Chapter 5

  Jenn opened her eyes. Confused, she tossed aside the purple cloak that was covering her. As the memories of last night came back, she sat up and looked around. Galadrion was gone, and the pixies both continued to sleep soundly. Nakor was sitting on the other side of the fire pit, munching on a small apple as he watched her.

  Her dagger was out in an instant.

  Nakor put a finger to his lips. “Quietly,” he whispered, nodding at the sleeping pair, “they’ve had a rough couple of days.”

  “I just wanted to get warm,” Jenn whispered back. “That’s all.” Realizing where the cloak had come from, she tossed it to Nakor. He grinned, and set it to one side.

  “Want an apple?” he asked, taking one of the small red fruits from a pile at his side. Without waiting for an answer, he threw it at her.

  Instinctively, she brought up a hand to catch it. Without taking her eyes off of Nakor, she took a bite.

  “They’re a little overripe,” Nakor commented, finishing his apple. “In another few weeks, they’ll all be gone.” He tossed the core into the woods and grabbed another apple.

  It was then that Galadrion returned. She was using Nakor’s backpack to carry the berries she had gathered. Carefully, she placed the pack between Nakor and Jenn, then backed away and sat down.

  Jenn looked warily at Nakor. Hesitantly, she moved closer and warily began to nibble the wild blackberries Galadrion had provided.

  Today we shall eat nothing but FRUIT! Because nothing ruins an epic battle for the fate of the world like constipation.

  Nakor looked back at Jenn. “What do you think,” he asked, “is it time to wake the pixies?”

  Unsure of what to say, Jenn just stared at him.

  “Pynne was out late last night,” he continued, “so we’ll be nice to her.” He picked up a berry and bounced it off the back of Pynne’s head.

  Instantly, she vanished. A moment later, one of the apples floated into the air and launched itself at Nakor, who ducked aside with a grin.

  “I thought you were going to be nice to her,” Jenn said, confused.

  “That’s right,” Nakor replied. “She gets to wake up Whoo.”

  Pynne reappeared and flew over to Whoo, pausing once to glare at Nakor. Stopping a few feet away, she began to move her hands in an odd pattern.

  Jenn’s eyes widened as the largest dog she had ever seen materialized in front of Whoo. It was five feet tall at the shoulder, covered in short, bristling black hair. It had huge white teeth, and glowing red eyes.

  She looked at Nakor and Galadrion, who were watching contentedly. “Pynne’s an illusionist,” Nakor whispered.

  Nodding as if this explained everything, Jenn turned back to watch.

  The dog knelt down in front of Whoo. Moving forward until its nose was mere inches from Whoo’s ear, it let out a quiet growl.

  Whoo stirred. Muttering something incomprehensible, he opened his eyes and turned to stare directly into the mouth of the dog. Letting out a high pitched yelp, he disappeared.

  Pynne giggled. The dog stuck out its tongue in an astonishingly human expression, then vanished.

  Jenn laughed once. Then, as if frightened by her own outburst, she became silent.

  A moment later, Whoo appeared again by the pile of fruit. As if nothing had happened, he calmly started munching on some berries.

  Pynne looked over at Jenn. “As you’ve probably gathered, that’s Whoo,” she said, pointing.

  Jenn nodded.

  “And you’ve already met Nakor and Galadrion,” Pynne continued. “I told you they were safe.”

  She leaned closer to whisper in Jenn’s ear. “Honestly, most of the time they’re not bright enough to be dangerous.”

  Jenn grinned in spite of herself. She was still uncomfortable with Galadrion, but she was beginning to like this small pixie.

  Pynne started to say more, but stopped. She looked over at Galadrion, who stood up suddenly. Cocking her head, she said “Someone’s coming.”

  Instantly the pixies were gone. “If anything happens, try and hide somewhere.” Nakor said, looking at Jenn.

  Then he glanced at his cloak, still lying in a pile by his side. Thinking quickly, he kicked it into the fire pit. Then he dumped the berries after it, hoping to conceal the purple cloth that would be a sign to anyone searching for him.

  “Nothing suspicious here! Just an elf out for a leisurely cloak-and-berry burning.”

  “Pynne,” he hissed, “I need a black cloak now!”

  A number of editors would mark me down for that last line alone. Because how does one “hiss” the word “Pynne,” exactly?

  Instantly, he was garbed in a heavy black cloak, similar to his purple
one. Nakor grabbed the hood and pulled it over his head, concealing his face.

  Galadrion had just finished kicking ashes over Nakor’s cloak when they heard the voices.

  “I told you I saw something out here last night.”

  “Okay, fine,” said a second voice. “so you saw something. We still don’t know who they are.”

  At that point, they emerged into the small clearing. They both looked like mercenaries, probably from the same group that had been at the temple earlier.

  “You were supposed to get here last night,” Nakor hissed angrily before either of the men could speak.

  This time there’s at least a few “S” sounds in his hissing.

  The two men stopped, taken aback. The larger of the pair, a tall man with a black beard, stepped forward. Trying to gain control of the exchange, he said “We’re looking for an elf and a woman.”

  Nakor rolled his eyes. “Don’t you think I know that? Why do you think Olara stationed us in the woods to begin with?”

  Confused, the second man stepped forward. “You were stationed here by Olara?”

  Nakor looked at Galadrion, a pained expression on his face. “What kind of fools had Olara started hiring?” he demanded. Galadrion shrugged in response.

  “The woman is supposed to be a demon of some sort,” the bearded man said. “How do we know that’s not her?” He pointed at Galadrion as he spoke.

  “For that matter, how do we know you’re not an elf?”

  Whipping his hood down, Nakor stepped forward. “Of course I’m an elf. Half of Olara’s priests are elves, you fool!”

  Swallowing hard, he asked “You’re one of Olara’s priests?”

  Nakor’s eyes narrowed. “That’s right, and this woman is one of her more talented wizards.” He turned to Galadrion. “Pass the nice man an apple, would you?”

  Whoo, picking up the cue, grabbed an apple and threw it at the man, who grunted as it bounced off his chest.

  “Now who are you supposed to be?” Nakor demanded angrily. “You obviously weren’t sent to relieve us.” He turned to mutter to Galadrion. “Olara probably just decided to leave us here. If this is the kind of help she’s got, I don’t blame her.”