Page 91 of Venomous Lies
“You’ve got a big mouth for a witch with no skills or powers to protect yourself!” he yelled.
Thankfully, the darkness faded, but I could feel warm, wet blood pouring down my face. I staggered to my feet, dodging his grasping hands and jumping over broken furniture to try to get to the door.
But I wasn’t fast enough.
The door slammed shut on my hand hard enough I swore I heard bones break.
I screamed in pain and rage, trying to get my hand free as he put his whole weight against the door.
“Not so strong now, are you?”
I sensed movement on the other side of the door, a presence that felt… familiar.
It was the same thing that had called to me through the darkness, but sadly I had gotten turned around and ended up here.
Safety and warmth wrapped around me like a cocoon even as Thatcher ground himself against me.
“Maybe I’ll have some fun with you before I bring you to them. Seems like you have enough of a bite left in you to make it interesting.”
“I think not,” I responded calmly, my lips curled in a small smile despite the pain. “I have other plans.”
That’s when the presence leapt at the door, breaking it off the hinges. Thatcher screamed as I cradled my hand close to my chest.
My brain struggled to figure out what I was looking at. The supernatural that was attacking Thatcher wasn’t one I had ever seen before.
At least six feet tall, it towered over him. The creature had some kind of spider-like body and a wolf-like face. As I scooted around to get some distance, I could see one side of his face was heavily dotted with smaller blinking eyes. He was watching the necromancer he had pinned to the ground with his brown and grey legs.
The wolf-spider supernatural snarled at the whimpering man on the ground. When he did that, it showed off the spider fangs on either side of his muzzle, making him even more terrifying.
I scrunched my nose at the smell of piss that suddenly permeated the air.
“Get off of me!” Thatcher screamed, but the creature paid him no mind.
Instead, the wolf-spider looked around the room until his gaze landed on me. Dark red eyes stared at me, full of uncertainty and longing.
It washim.
This was the creature that I had felt through the darkness, so foreign yet safe.
What is going on?
“What—?” I stopped when his ears folded flat against his head.
“Thisthingcan’t talk,” Thatcher called out. “Now, save me!”
“Why would I save you?” I snapped, not breaking mystare with the spider. I swallowed hard then slowly stood up. “Will you let me leave?”
One ear swiveled a bit, but I didn’t get any other response.
But he didn’t move either. At least that was something.
‘Isla… We need to leave.’
‘I know, but there’s something about him?—’
‘We can figure it out later. You need help, and I don’t trust that Kazimir or the deal you made. You idiot,’he added with exasperation.
“Find me after,” I told him as I stumbled to the open doorway. “And do one thing for me?”
