Page 131 of The Spider Queen
Just a second,I intoned.The third ward is on the side of the cliff—and it has to be at least a hundred feet off the ground. How the hell am I supposed to get to it?
Climb the cliff, I suppose.
Oh, sure. Just climb the cliff. Little problem. I don’t have climbing gear. Nor do I wish to plummet to my death.
He sighed.You don’t need climbing gear.
Thane—
Use the silk.
Silk? What silk?
Your silk.
“What the fuck?” I yelled.I have silk?
What do you think that was back in the hotel room—you spun your silk and trapped Hunter. And then the battle you had with the golden wasps. You spun silk then, too.
I thought you did that for me… I thought you gave me your anger and strength to protect me.
No, Poppy. That silk was yours.
I definitely hit my head on a rock when I fell into the ocean, right?I peered at the cliff, terrified but intrigued, too.Go go Gadget Spidey Silk!
Thane laughed.I loved that cartoon.
How do you know about Inspector Gadget?I demanded.
How do you? That was way before your time.
So is Casablanca, mate. You don’t ignore the classics. Besides, they made Inspector Gadget into a crappy movie.
You are full of surprises, Poppy.
Enough with the flattery. Help me figure out how to spin this silk.
You already know.
Um. No, I don’t. Both times, it just appeared.
Nothing ever just appears. You have to call it.
“Call it,” I repeated. I thought back to what Hunter had said about Anita finding me singing gibberish. But it hadn’t been gibberish at all. I’d been calling for silk, and it had saved my life. The only other time I’d called the silk was to stop Hunter—to protect myself.
When I called it, I was afraid.
You don’t need to be afraid, or feel some other extreme emotion for it to spin. It’s just not second nature to you yet. One day it will be.
How do I start?
What do you intend to use the silk for? How do you envision it helping you?
I frowned in thought. I wanted a sturdy rope that would secure around my waist, so if I lost my footing, I wouldn’t fall and die. I’d never scaled a wall before, and the last time I remembered climbing a rope was for gym class back in elementary school. This was a cliff! How was I going to scale it?
It’s easier than you think.
I don’t—
