Page 217 of The Spider Queen
“No. It’s better if you stay where you are.” He placed his hand on my head, and I felt an instant chill. It seeped into my scalp, down into my veins, and rushed through my blood. I began to shiver, and I pulled my arms and legs up to curl into a ball.
“Close your eyes,” he said.
I did as he suggested and pressed my cheek to my shoulder. It brushed against something soft and warm—a fur pelt, I realized.
My spiders pulsed.
They’d wrapped me in warmth the only way they knew how. I was grateful for them. Even when I was alone, I was never really alone. Not anymore.
I felt the mage’s hands inside my mind. He was foreign and unwelcome; I was cold from his magical touch. He corralled my emotions, separating out what was mine versus those that belonged to others. He scooped them up and placed them in a glass cube and set it down in the corner of my mind. He turned the lock, and the cube shuddered. It flickered with his magic trail.
The relief was instant. My emotions were mine again.
“Better?” The mage’s hand dropped from my head, but he didn’t take a step back.
“Yes. Thank you.” I paused. “Why do I still feel you inside my mind?”
“Because it’s my magic. I can teach you to compartmentalize the emotions—among other things. Then you’ll have no need of my magic.”
Poppy!
“Go,” the mage said urgently. “Go now.”
Chapter 42
I darted for the trees, focused on one thing and one thing only.
Find Thane.
Protect Thane.
Fight by his side.
The forest was thick, and I couldn’t follow a straight path. Branches sliced at my cheeks and arms, air pumped through my lungs, but no matter how fast I ran, I couldn’t seem to find my way.
Poppy!he called again.
Where are you? I can’t find you!
Change, Poppy.
I instantly ground to a halt. I listened to the stirrings of the night. Critters scurried to their burrows, birds snuggled down into their nests. Only the nocturnal few were out. Blinking eyes peered at me from safety.
Reaching down into that other part of myself, I unlatched the lock that held my spider self back. It rushed forward, took over, and we became one.
Suddenly, I could hear and see things I couldn’t with human attributes, and I was graceful and elegant in a way I could never be on two legs.
I made it to the other side of the forest. The clanging I’d heard in the distance was the sound of swords. I watched in utter bemusement from the woodland’s edge at the battle in the valley below.
Winged angels fought against horned demons. Four-legged beasts fought other four-legged beasts. Creatures in the sky—dragons clashing against the backdrop of the three moons.
I could see Gabriel, the fallen angel who’d met us in the woods, fighting a red ox-like beast that stood on its hind legs. Gabriel thrust his sword into the animal’s side, causing it to roar and then collapse. The fallen angel turned, his face dripping blood, his wings flaring behind him as he ran into the fray.
The night was lit with fire and stars. I looked around with spider eyes, trying to find Thane. Suddenly, the clouds shifted, letting starlight shine.
Thane’s back was to me. He parried, his sword gleaming in the moonlight. He whirled and his opponent came into view.
I knew who it was. It was Xan, Thane’s fraternal twin. He held a short knife in one hand and a long blade in another.
