Page 15 of Villains and Vengeance
My demon eyes can see well in the low light and I note confusion on her face.
She opens her mouth and I grab her by her shirt, switching our positions so her back is against the wall.
‘Don’t you dare talk, human,’ I growl, shaking her. ‘I don’t want to hear your honeyed lies. Everything that comes out of your mouth is deception.’
I wrap my hand around her throat and push her against the rock. She winces as the back of her head smacks into it, then her eyes widen as she looks past me.
The arania has come.
I demon up and grab the homemade knife Iron gave me this morning, but she grips onto my shoulder hard with one hand. The other she raises in a ‘halt’ gesture and I frown at her.
‘It’s ok,’ she manages to choke out.
It’s a second before I realize she’s not talking to me, but the arania that’s behind me.
I chance a look over my shoulder and freeze at the extended fangs that are almost touching me.
I turn back slowly to glance at Victoria who’s still staring at the monster.
‘No,’ she says weakly and I feel the fangs break the skin of my back.
My limbs go numb almost immediately and I fall to the floor, conscious but unable to move.
I watch as she picks herself up off the wall, rubbing her neck where my hand was.
‘Not this one,’ she says, moving in front of me.
Is she seriously trying to protect me from it? She’s the one who brought me in here to die!
‘I’m serious, Siggy. Not this one. I know you don’t get it, but I can trust you, right?’
To my shock, Victoria reaches out and strokes the damn thing like it’s a pet.
‘We can’t leave him here either. He’ll tell the others where I am. Can you bring him to the bunker? He’s too big for me.’
She leaves me there on the floor, moving down the tunnel.
The arania picks me up with the short, stubby legs near its mouth and follows and I wonder if the bite is making me hallucinate all this because there’s no way this human girl has tamed one of the most terrifying of the ancient monsters, has she?
I’m brought to a massive cavern and I can see Victoria ahead, climbing into a vast web that’s everywhere. The arania follows and I see a white ball suspended right in the middle. I’m deposited inside on a bed of soft, white silk. An infinity torch is switched on and I see Victoria in the light.
If I could smirk I would. Her clothes are filthy and her hair doesn’t look like it’s seen a brush in weeks. Considering how put together she was when she was with us, not a hair out of place and always in designer clothes, seeing her like this gives me a sense of childish satisfaction. It’s not enough, not nearly. But it’s a step in the right direction.
‘Welcome to the White Bunker,’ she says. ‘I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop her from biting you. But the paralysis is only temporary. I don’t know exactly how long it’ll last though. She doesn’t usually store her food for long enough for the venom to wear off.’
She looks like she’s thinking something through. ‘It’s been a while since she ate actually.’
With that, she climbs out of the white cell, leaving me to attempt moving to no avail. I don’t know how long it is until she comes back, but when she does, her arm is wrapped in web silk.
She has some more in her hand and I tense as she comes over to me. She uses my knife to cut my pant leg and looks at the wound.
‘Looks like it’s already healing pretty good. Perks of being a demon, huh?’
There’s a jaded weariness in her tone that I never heard during the time we knew her before and I wonder how long she’s been here.
She wraps the white arania silk around my leg tightly and loosens the belt.
‘Don’t worry. It’s fresh silk. It’ll stop infection from setting in before it closes. You’re welcome,’ she mutters, sinking into the side of the cell and closing her eyes.
