Chapter 63
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
Briar
“GIZZI!” I screamed at him.
A second later, he burst out of the hole with something in his mouth. He dashed through the limbs of the tree, rapidly descending until he leapt from one of the lower branches and dashed over to me.
“Zephyr, come back down. Gizzi’s found one!” I called.
Zephyr joined us as Gizzi dropped the spider at my feet. The second it hit the ground, the creature tried to scamper away, but I took the jar and spoon from Zephyr and scooped it up.
The spider’s legs clinked against the glass as it sought to break free, but it couldn’t get any purchase on the smooth surface, and its legs weren’t strong enough to shatter its container. I lifted the jar to examine it more carefully.
The back of the spider looked exactly like a silkfang; all its markings were the same, as were its size, fangs, and the eight eyes on its head. But when it rose to click against the glass, it exposed its belly… and that is where the truth lay.
“What is that?” Zephyr asked as he hovered over my shoulder.
“A snake beneath a full moon,” I replied.
“It’s the mark of the night casters; they bear it on their right hand and have a pentagram on the back of their left hand.
The day casters have a pentagram on the back of their left hand and a sun on their right.
They materialize after the casters bind themselves to the moon or sun gods.
Since I’ve never gone through the binding ritual, I’m not entirely sure how it works. ”
“So, this thing is… or belongs to… the night casters?”
I jiggled the jar, hoping to irritate the spider. I succeeded in doing so when it flipped onto its back; its legs kicked in the air, and something secreted from its belly.
“It does,” I confirmed.
When the spider righted itself, smoke came from the bottom of the glass as whatever it secreted started to eat through the jar.
“I don’t think it’s a poison,” I murmured. “It’s more of an acid.”
“Did you get any of this on you?” I asked Gizzi.
Rising onto his hind legs, Gizzi opened his mouth to reveal dozens of bleeding blisters inside. “Oh gods,” I blurted before switching back to speaking with him telepathically. “We have to get your mouth cleaned out, right now! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
Gizzi whimpered in response.
“Oh, the poor thing,” Zephyr said. “How do we help him?”
“I need you to go to the healer’s room and gather some lavender, helichrysum, rosemary, peppermint, and chamomile right away. Also, bring a container to put it in.”
“What about that thing?” Zephyr asked, pointing at the spider; the glass continued to melt.
“I’ll take care of it. But I need those oils right now.”
Gizzi whimpered again.
“It’s okay,” I assured him. “I’ll have you cleaned out and feeling better soon.”
As I said this, the spider hit the ground. Before it could run away, I snatched it up and shoved it in my pocket. Almost immediately, my leg started burning. Gritting my teeth, I ignored the discomfort as Zephyr flew out of the room.
He returned far faster than I’d anticipated with a small pot filled with the vials of oils I’d requested. As Zephyr set it on the ground, the spider freed itself from the hole it had created in my pants.
My leg burned, and my skin sizzled as I focused on making a cleansing potion for Gizzi. Knox had barred me from making any potions when the roses started dying, but I didn’t care about his orders right now.
Before it could get away, I snatched the spider up and put it in my other pocket.
“You’re hurting yourself!” Zephyr exclaimed.
“I’m fine. I’ll put a poultice on it later.”
“I’ll get another container for it,” Zephyr said and flew away again.
My hand trembled, and my skin sizzled as I poured the oils into the container before stirring them with my finger. When the healing properties of the oils caressed my flesh, I poured some of my energy into them to strengthen them.
When I finished, the soothing properties of the oils clung to my finger as I removed it from the pot. The spider broke free again when I set the mixture before Gizzi.
“Can you get some of this in your mouth? Don’t swallow it; just let it sit there so it can help heal the blisters.”
“I can try.”
The pained tone of his voice was more intolerable than my burning legs. Still, I scooped the spider off the ground as Gizzi stuck his head in the pot and opened his mouth.
“That’s good,” I said as I rubbed his fur. “Thank you for catching the spider, but you should have released it the second it started burning you.”
“I did it for you.”
“I know, and I love you for it, but you shouldn’t have done that to yourself.”
“You would have done it for me.”
“Oh, Gizzi.”
The spider struggled in my fingers. When it released more acid, my thumb sizzled and burned, but I didn’t let it go. Its wretched poison or acid or whatever it was could burn me to the bone, and I wouldn’t let it go.
When Zephyr returned with a metal container, I placed the spider inside. He slid the lid closed, blocking my view of the creature. Its legs ticked and scratched against the metal container as it sought to break free, but so far, the container was holding.
“Is this what’s killing the plants?” Zephyr asked.
“Yes, and I suspect there’s a lot more than one.”
“You said silkfangs were good.”
“This isn’t a silkfang. It’s a gorman.”
“What is a gorman?” Zephyr asked.
Gizzi gasped when he came up for air. He gripped the side of the bowl and blinked up at me before ducking his head again.
“Casters create gorman to do their bidding. They can look like anything, but they’re usually so small they mostly go unnoticed. They can contain the poison or acid of the spell used to create it, but most often, they’re used to spy on others.
“The gorman has a connection to the caster who creates it; they can relay what they hear in real time to their creator. So if the casters are listening, they know what’s going on and that we’ve discovered their secret.”
“Oh,” Zephyr breathed. “That’s creepy.”
And then, as my words sank in, it hit me like a hammer between the eyes. Unable to stop myself, I fell on my ass from where I was kneeling beside Gizzi. Sitting there, I stared at the metal container as I recalled the silkfangs in the tunnels of No Man’s Land.
No one would ever suspect the coveted spiders of being the enemy. They were good, and this was an environment conducive to their reproduction and growth… and so was No Man’s Land.
That’s why I hadn’t questioned their appearance in Wildwood, and they’d already made thousands of webs in the tunnels of No Man’s Land before I arrived. But if gorman mixed in with the silkfang already in the tunnels, I never would have noticed.
They could have been listening and reporting to my mother and other casters every detail of Seth’s and my plan. And there might have only been one gorman there… hers.
“This is how she knew,” I breathed.
“Knew what?” Gizzi picked his head up again; oils dripped from his face and into the bowl.
“This is how she knew all my plans about running away with Seth,” I whispered. “She had a gorman spying on me.”
“Holy shit,” Zephyr breathed.
“Where’s Knox?” I scooped the metal box off the ground before shoving myself up. “I have to see him now.”
“He’s in the dining hall with the other shifters, Bertie, Ridge, and some sprites. They’re still trying to figure out how to save the roses.”
“I know how to save them.” I tucked the metal container under my arm. “We have to kill every last gorman in Wildwood.”
“I’m coming with you!” Gizzi cried.
It would be a waste of time to argue with him. Instead, I scooped up the bowl of healing potion and carried it with me as Zephyr flew ahead.