Chapter Forty-Eight
The Spider lived in a charming yellow house with a swooping roof ending in upturned points, a well-tended garden, and a veranda.
Her guards patrolled discreetly, keeping to what shadows they could find—especially those who relied on the shadows for true concealment.
It looked as if Bara hadn't shared his double-lined cloaks with her.
The cloaked guards were the first to fall. And their fellow guards didn't notice. I suppose that was the downside of being invisible.
Once they were handled, the Raltven returned to us, and we separated to close in from all sides.
The rest of the guards were taken down just as quietly and left in comatose heaps among the flowerbeds.
Then we entered, our footsteps silent. Sudar reported the Spider's location in the northern room on the top floor.
Still, we cleared the first floor first. Then the second.
The Tyasmorans waited outside, watching all the windows.
We signaled to them as we left each floor.
I led the way to the third floor, with Vas directly behind me.
So, I was within reach of the landing when the stairs gave out.
The wooden planks folded and fell, dropping my crew into a narrow pit.
I grabbed a post on the balustrade, and Vas grabbed my leg.
The crunch and thud of the rest of our group landing echoed up seconds before their cries of pain.
I cried out too, but in strain. Vasren weighed too much for me. I looked down at him. “Crawl up. Hurry!”
He looked at my trembling arms. “No time. Go, Kat!” And then he let go.
“Vas!” I shouted as he fell.
A grunt came from below, but it was too far down and too dark for me to see.
“Go!” Vasren roared.
I hauled myself onto the landing and pulled my daggers. Up ahead was a single door. Through it, I could hear soft laughter.
“A human has entered my web again?” The Spider laughed harder. “Come then, little human fly. I'm starving.”
I wouldn't go rushing in despite her taunts.
It was obviously what she wanted. Instead, I went to the doorway and stopped.
The Spider sat on a chaise lounge in the center of the room, posed with her pink silk dress flowing around her.
The sight of silk sent a tremor through me, but I didn't think it was magical.
Behind her was a loom, half-strung with a silk panel.
To her right was a table full of magic paraphernalia.
A rack on the wall held spools of thread—over forty of them.
They made my jaw clench. How many bones did it take to make a single spool?
The wall was a graveyard of stolen magic.
To the Spider's left was a window. Ruspo peeked over the sill and winked at me.
Unaware of the voyeur, the Spider grinned at me as I entered the room. “What happened to all your strong men? Did your poor Dragon fall down?”
“A pit isn't going to stop him for long.”
“No, but the poisoned barbs lining it will.”
I blanched as she laughed again.
“Don't worry. It won't kill him. It won't kill any of them. They're of no use to me dead.” She pouted. “It might have killed you, though. I may have hoped for that.”
“You're not getting away this time. Do you know why?”
“Oh, go ahead. Entertain me.” Her wings shivered happily as she spread her hands out to the sides.
“Because of those children. Because of their families. Because evil like you doesn't get to win. I'm here to ensure it. That is my purpose on this planet. That is why I was given this mind. It's why I was given a Dragon mate. And that means the Gods are backing me.”
She frowned. “Mating a Dragon only gives you their immortality. Nothing more.”
“You're wrong.” I stepped forward. “It gave me some of Vasren's strength too. It gave me a connection to him.” I motioned at the silk on her loom. “A bond that is stronger than any you could ever weave. And he gave me one more thing that you will never have.”
The Spider got to her feet. “Oh? And what is this one last great thing, little human fly?”
“Love. Real, soul-deep love that will never betray me.”
“Oh, great Gods, you're adorable!” She burst out laughing. “How fucking cliché. Love?” her voice went taunting. “Oh, yes, I'm terrified now that I know you have love empowering you. How could I ever conquer that?”
“You've just proven my point. Love can't be conquered, and it's not a cliché.
Loving Vasren has sharpened my mind, honed my agility, and, above all, it has given me a reason to win.
Sometimes, that's all you need—a reason to fight, survive, and triumph.
Even when I'm faced with a monstrous bitch like yourself, all alone, I'm not afraid because of him. I know you're going to die today.”
“You will be the one to die, and it will be slowly, human!” the Spider screeched and launched herself at me.
I spun and jumped. Clung to the rafter. Dropped upon her. Slice—a wing fell. The Spider screamed, this time in agony. But she recovered quickly and dove for me. As she did, Ruspo burst through the window.
With a roar and the explosion of glass, the Tyasmoran man came into the room spinning.
His leg caught the Spider in the gut and sent her tumbling away from me.
She hit the table of spell components, steadied herself, and grabbed a bowl from it to fling the contents at Ruspo.
He shouted and covered his eyes. But even as he fell back, Sion and Yesmic came in through the broken window.
They fell on her together as I helped Ruspo to the side.
“I can't see!” Ruspo shouted, his hands swiping at his eyes.
“Stay here and stay low.” I turned to help the others, just in time to see an explosion that sent them flying toward the window.
Sion went through the opening, taking out some of the framework, but Yesmic hit the wall.
He fell to the floor, unconscious. Even as my heart beat faster, I remained calm, moving through the path my mind had laid out.
The map I'd made before entering the room guided me so that I could focus on the Spider.
I stabbed her low in the back twice in rapid succession.
She screamed and shoved me away. I rolled up onto my feet and kicked out her knee.
The Spider stumbled. I jumped, aiming a kick at her head.
She spun and flung powder at me as she screeched a word.
Darkness fell over my eyes. But I didn't panic. I went still. I listened.
“Boss?” Ruspo called out.
“Shut up, Ruspo!”
He went silent.
A creak. I waited. A swish. I waited. The scent of ozone came. Then I felt the air move behind me.
Back kick. It hit something soft. The Spider grunted. I spun toward the sound and struck out with a dagger. Met air. Sliced. Met flesh.
“I'm going to cut you into little pieces and force your mate to consume you!”
“He already consumes me!” I lunged and took her down.
The Spider rolled, knocking my blades out of my hands.
I felt something drip onto my face as she pinned me. Bucking, I tossed her, but she was back in a second, pinning me.
“Stupid human fly,” she hissed. “You'll pay for my wing!”
I heard another creak and grinned. “No, bitch. You're gonna pay for all the pain you've caused. Because there's one more thing the mating bond gave us.”
Vasren roared before the Spider could respond. I felt movement atop me, and then her weight was gone. Dragon immortality surged through me, its rapid healing bringing back my sight with perfect timing.
There he was, my beautiful mate, bleeding from several places but still glorious.
He lifted the Spider by the throat and snarled in her face, “It gave us each other. We are one. And that means nothing can keep us apart.” He bared his teeth in a snarl, and I felt his intentions. He was going to kill her.
“No!” I shouted. “Don't kill her, Vas.”
Vas scowled at me over his shoulder.
I stood up, my plan shifting as vengeance filled my heart. But it wasn't my vengeance. “This is not our kill. Just hold her for me.”
“What the fuck, boss?!” Ruspo snarled.
The Spider gurgled as Vasren's hand tightened.
“Look at that loom!” I pointed at it just as Sion flew back into the room and Yesmic groaned. “Are those your dead, Ruspo?”
Ruspo stared at the loom and then at the thread. “No, boss,” he murmured.
“No, they're not mine either. I can't face their families knowing I took this from them. As much as I want to kill this woman, it's not right.”
“What?” Yesmic shook his head as he got up. “What are you talking about? Please tell me we aren't turning this fucked-up piece of shit over to the Talons?”
“No, we're not doing that.” I narrowed my eyes at the Spider. “Someone gag her and bind her wrists. She is going to get exactly what she deserves.”
The Spider's eyes went round, and her remaining wing fluttered uselessly.