Page 17 of Villains and Vengeance
Perfect!
I shimmy up the web a little more slowly than usual with my decent haul and pull it up after me, going back to Siggy’s territory as fast as I can go, half worrying that maybe he tried to escape and Siggy got him, or she just decided to eat him even though I asked her not to.
When I get into the main cavern, I find Siggy in front of the White Bunker, staring at it like a crocodile waiting to lunge at a buffalo that gets too close to the water.
Uh oh.
* * *
Axel
I haveto admit as I look around the white sphere I’ve been detained in, that our plan worked out well in some ways, but not so great in others. I was trying to draw her out by walking around the tunnels alone, but I never imagined I’d actually get wounded enough to be incapacitated.Iwas trying to captureher, not the other way around. I can make this work to my advantage though.
I use my second, smaller knife from my pocket to cut the last of the web from around my ankles and tear away the silky bandage Victoria used to bind the wound on my leg. The skin has already knitted back together, so the danger of infection, a very real problem in the Mountain I suspect, has passed. It actually looks better than I thought it would, probably because of the arania silk. Not many know because arania are pretty rare these days, but their webbing has antimicrobial properties.
I look around the gauzy structure considering all the reasons she might have for keeping me alive when it would have been easier to let me die. Why did she bring me here? She must know that if she lets me go she’s as good as captured. Or am I just a future snack for her pet?
I wonder if the others are looking for me yet. They probably are, I decide, but I doubt they’ll have much luck finding me. None of us dreamed she’d be bunking with one of the most dangerous and ancient creatures, not just in the Mountain, but pretty much anywhere these days except for the darkest realms that few ever travel to now. She’s clearly made herself at home here with this arania too, judging from the set-up.
I knew she was up here somewhere. Jayce said her scent was everywhere, but that it was moresettledin Arania Alley, older scent mixed with the little trick she pulled yesterday. I just thought she’d found some small tunnel to lay low in, or something.
I figured I’d be able to triangulate her exact location sooner or later, but I didn’t count on those orcs ambushing me. The only other reason I can think for why Victoria would have brought me here instead of leaving me to bleed out is that she wants to use me to turn the tables in her favor.
Not if I can help it.
I look around the large, cocoon-like structure I’m inside. What did she call it? The White Bunker. There’s not much here besides a backpack, but I look through everything of hers, trying to glean any information that I can. There are some clothes, a can of beans and a few Twinkies along with a notebook, but not much else.
Mulling that over, I start looking for a way out and I find a slit in the silk, but when I pull it open, I’m met with six shining eyes and two unsheathed fangs.
I startle, scrambling back on impulse becauseGIANT SPIDER! I fall onto the soft floor. Holy shit! The arania is keeping watch, I realize. She’s making sure I don’t escape and tell the others where to find our only way out of here.
My knife in my hand, I peer out, but the monster doesn’t attack. She just watches me. I wasn’t lying when I told Victoria I’d killed these things before. But it’s been awhile and these things don’t go down easy. If I don’t have to tangle with this one, I won’t.
We stare at each other for a while.
‘I need to leave,’ I try.
Nothing. I don’t know what I was expecting, but Victoria was talking to this thing like it could understand her. I don’t see it though. Dumb humans. They’ll seriously convince themselves of anything.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see movement. The woman herself is picking her way through … are those bodies littering the floor?
This is a fucking graveyard. I’m sure as shit not joining those poor bastards down there!
She climbs up the web deftly to where the arania and I are watching each other. She grins at the arania before she sees me, her hand stroking one of its weird, short legs where the fangs were before. Looks like the danger sticks have retracted again now.
‘Thanks, Siggy,’ she murmurs. ‘Look. Got a good haul, but Dante—’
She notices me watching and tenses. But she recovers quickly.
‘Siggy?’ I can’t help asking with a quirk of my brow.
Her eyes cut to the arania. ‘Yeah. Short for Sigourney.’
At my blank stare, she rolls her eyes. ‘You know, SigourneyWeaver… because she’s a giant spider?’
‘Yeah, I got it. Clever.’
Her eyes move over me, noting my free hands. ‘Shoulda checked you for knives, huh?’
