Chapter Twenty-Six: Spider Hunting

I dropped through the hole first without a lantern to make use of [Dark Sense]. I thought I detected movement in the distance, but nothing large enough to be a threat was in the immediate vicinity. The tunnel was large enough for even the golem to move around with ease, which didn’t bode well for any of us. Valax spiders weren’t known for being wasteful, so if they had been the ones to dig these tunnels then there was a reason for it. A reason a bit bigger than the spiders Cynthia had led me to believe were crawling around down here.

If we were lucky, they’d just moved into some already-existing caverns they’d found. I knew that there was an entire abandoned civilization somewhere under the mountains that started just near Anford, and it was entirely possible these tunnels eventually connected to those caverns. I wouldn’t put my money on that, though. Always best to assume the worst case scenario until proven wrong. I summoned the golem and called the rest down, helping them through the hole one by one. Serena first, then Rhallani, with Noelle bringing up the rear.

I made sure to be a little extra handsy with the first two—something that earned me some very appreciative glares—but I was surprised when Noelle practically rubbed herself against me on the way down. Something had changed this morning beyond freeing her from the threat of Vald. Once we were done with our retrieval/rescue, I’d have to get to the bottom of it.

Now that our lanterns were bathing the tunnel in light, the presence of the spiders was evident. Thick layers of webs coated the stone in all directions. The ground underfoot was soft, but the webs weren’t sticky. “Keep a lookout for charged webs,” I told them. “Valax can give their webs any number of effects when they spin them, and they activate those webs by channeling mana through them.” I trailed my hand along the webs on the wall. Inert. “The smarter the colony, the more dangerous the effects.”

“Oh!” Rhallani gasped. “The spectacles! If they have to charge their webs, I’ll be able to see the magic.”

“Good thinking.” I conjured the case and handed it to her. “You’re watching the walls, then. I’ll take the lead since I’ve got the detection skill. Serena, you and the golem follow at a small distance. My shadows will keep me safe long enough for you to assist if we get ambushed. And whatever you do, stay away from the walls.”Rhallani donned her spectacles and the rest of us got in a loose formation. I summoned two leaf-shaped shortswords that wouldn’t be too cumbersome in close quarters but were still pointed enough for stabbing. I could see the goosebumps on Serena’s exposed flesh. “Which way?” she asked.

I pointed. “That way is downhill, so the party would have gone that way. Deeper means more nests.”

She groaned. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

I offered her a smile, then I started down the tunnel. We hadn’t made it far before Rhallani spotted something. A small metal tube with a hexagonal shape that set off her skill. “This thing has residual mana on it,” she said. She fiddled with it, then it slid apart to reveal a crystal vial in the center filled with a clear liquid. Whatever its purpose was, she was unsure.

“Looks like we picked the right direction. Come on.”

The tunnel’s descent turned deeper, but there was still no sign of movement. It wasn’t for a good two hundred feet before we came across their next clue. A single shoe, sliced open and webbed to the ground. Sort of. It pinged Rhallani’s skill as well, so I knelt down to take a look. It was wrapped in webs, but they hung loose. I could have easily picked the shoe up, but there wasn’t much point. It had been mangled beyond use.

“What happened?” Serena asked, crouching down next to me.

I did my best to ignore the way her skirt flared out when she did, giving me quite the eyeful. “Snare trap.” I pointed to a thicker strand of webbing that was darker than the surrounding strands. It led up to a patch of web patterned slightly different from the wall around it. “A smaller Valax sits there, hidden behind the webs in a tunnel just big enough for it, then when its prey gets nearby it channels mana through the right webs. The imbued webs flare up and get impossibly sticky, trapping whoever is unlucky enough to catch it.”

I looked down at the shoe. It was facing back the way we came. It was narrow, a good shoe for trekking but hardly broken in. Recently bought. Not something a fighter like Camden would wear. No, this was most likely Elisa’s. I took a quick trek back towards the entrance where the ground felt like it had a little more give. The others followed while I dropped to a knee and sent a tendril questing into the webs, willing it to thin and split until I could work it through the cracks in the ground underneath.

“Well that’s troubling,” I said aloud. I stood and felt Serena’s hand on my back.

She hadn’t gone more than a few feet from me since we’d dropped into the tunnels. “What’s troubling?” she asked.

“This was a pitfall trap, unless I’m mistaken.” Now that I knew what to look for, I could see the edges. I pointed them out, and the others stepped well back. “The spiders waited until she was on top of it and pulled the rug out from under them. Dropped them into a cavern below.”

The snare was one thing. Not too far outside the intelligence I’d been expecting. The pitfall was a little further, but the fact that they’d repaired the tunnel? That was bad. Very bad. It suggested the colony was a lot bigger—and therefore smarter—than any reports I’d seen came close to indicating. It was no wonder Elisa’s group had been caught unawares.

Serena twisted her spear in her hands. “That sounds bad. Should we retreat?”

I stomped on the floor, causing her to flinch. It was sturdy enough. I couldn’t tell if it was rigged to fall again or not. “No. We fought Valax back in the day. Grimsbane made a deal with one of their queens, used her colony to control an entire mountain range.” I made my way back towards the shoe, then past it. “If we stay away from the eggs, the small ones won’t mess with us. Only the bigger ones are smart enough to be a threat otherwise.”

Rhallani shivered. “Yeah, Ren, that isn’t as reassuring as you think it is.”

That was true enough, I supposed. “Bigger ones come in small numbers, so we won’t get swarmed. That’s good because we don’t have any crowd controllers. Besides, bigger Valax mean more silk.”

Rhallani, who was walking with Noelle nearly pressed into her side, perked up. “Silk? Spider silk?”

“Valax silk can be incredibly useful if you know how to work it.” We passed the shoe. It’s owner had made it this far, so there was every chance she was still alive. As long as she’d survived that pitfall, at least. “Their bodies make the silk in pouches in the bottom of their abdomen, and they imbue it with specific types of mana when they spin it to alter it. Work that raw silk the right way and you can make clothes and armor with powerful effects.”

I heard scratching and saw that Rhallani was already writing away in the book I’d given her. I offered her a smile I didn’t feel. Every step deeper felt like more weight was being loaded onto my shoulders, but I couldn’t let them see that. I stepped closer to her and gave her a light pat on the ass. “Feel like scoring yourself some magic underwear?”

She bit her lip and looked at me with heat in her eyes. “Now that I know they exist, you bet your ass I do.” I smiled, then I conjured a short blade, still in its sheathe, and handed it to her. “Hopefully you won’t need it, but just in case you do.”

She looked like she wanted to argue, but instead she said, “you’re going to teach me how to use this when we’re out of here, aren’t you?”

“The basics. I should have already, but I didn’t think you’d want your first lessons to have such an audience.”She grimaced, then nodded. “Xara made sure I knew at least a little bit, but I hope you’re right and I don’t have to use it. Being that close to a spider…I don’t envy the rest of you. I know I said I wanted a combat class, but maybe a ranged one would be best.”

I kissed the top of her head. “Already ahead of you. I want that big brain of yours far enough back that you can strategize.”

She was clearly relieved to hear that. Serena stepped close to my other side. “I wish I had a backline class,” she grumbled.

It was so ridiculous I had to laugh. “No you don’t. You move way to beautifully to be wasted at a distance.”Her cheeks reddened, but her lips only barely curled upwards. I was beginning to think she more than just disliked spiders. I was searching for the words to reassure her when I felt [Horde Slayer] activate. Against swarming enemies like spiders, it was the perfect skill.

“We’ve got incoming.” I gave a few practice swings to test my strength. “Feels like a good number, too.” I wasn’t sure exactly what math my skill used when calculating enemies, but I knew smaller ones like spiders counted for less. At a guess, they had us at least three to one. As long as none of them were huge, we’d be fine.The golem and I took up positions in the front. I conjured two tendrils on myself and one on Serena, using the armor to do it from a distance. It emerged from the back of her hips like a tail, coiling around her defensively. She lowered her spear, but the tip of it trembled. Her jaw was clenched so tight I could hear her teeth grinding.

I swept my gaze across the walls. When you knew what you were looking for, it wasn’t hard to spot their hidey holes. I summoned a throwing knife and chucked it at one. I heard it impact, followed by a pained squeal, then two dozen spiders exploded out of hidden pockets in the walls. They ranged from a foot high to just under my knees.

They skittered towards us in a mass of black and yellow. Bulbous hairy bodies on long, thin legs. Serena let out a shriek, and I sensed her falling back. No time to check on her. The golem led the way, swinging its greatsword with long, wide swings that took out three or four spiders with each strike. They swarmed it, but their fangs and clawed forelimbs were harmless against its magically reinforced body. It just started stomping around and turning them to bright green splats.

I stepped in and cut the ones off its shoulders and back while my shadows stabbed at the ones swarming around my ankles. A few of them slipped past us, but Noelle leapt in front of Serena and dispatched them with ease. After the initial wave, four more emerged from hidden coves in the ground. These were twice the size of the rest, but they were still no match for me and the golem. It grabbed one and skewered another with its sword while I darted between the other two. My tendrils lashed out at the smaller one while I dove in with my swords and stabbed the larger one right in the face.

I turned to finish my second off just in time to see the golem use the spider in its hands like a bludgeon, spraying me with green blood while it slammed the two bodies together. I wiped the blood from my face and arched a brow at Rhallani. I hadn’t heard her give a single command. “Is it just me, or is your golem getting smarter?”

She just shrugged. “I told you it’s not like anything I’ve ever seen before.”

I looked to Serena, who had gotten to her feet and was looking down at one of the more intact spider corpses with a sick look on her face, then back to her. “Want to learn how to harvest silk sacs?”

She screwed up her face, but she nodded. I pulled out the paring knife and sliced open the belly of the nearest Valax, felt around in its innards, then showed her how to pull it out and cut it free. She looked almost as green as Serena, but she took the knife from me with steady hands and got to work on the next one. I conjured up a bucket and tossed the first sac in. It was barely big enough to fill my hand, but they’d add up quick enough.

I twisted my fingers, feeling them pull the mana from the air, then whispered a few words that still sounded like gibberish to me. There was an almost imperceptible pull, and the guts and grime vanished from my arms. Rhallani’s brows shot northward. “Hey, that’s my thing!”

I just grinned at her. “Guess you’ll have to find a new thing. I’m a quick study.” Hannah had once taught me how to read and affect the flow of magic, and seeing Rhallani use her quick clean simple spell enough times had let me recreate it. I looked to Noelle, who stood nearby. “I need to have a talk with Serena. Give us a minute?”

She nodded, and I let Rhallani get to work while Noelle watched the walls for movement. When I got to Serena, I trailed my fingers along the exposed flesh between the breastguard and the skirt. She jumped at my touch, then gasped softly when I pressed my lips to the skin between her neck and her pauldron. “Are you alright?”

She didn’t answer right away. “When I was a little girl, I went out playing with some friends. We found a cave, and we dared each other to go in. I fell into a nest of spiders. Hundreds of them. I still have nightmares sometimes of how it felt having them crawling all over me. Dozens and dozens of painful bites. I was sick for two weeks before a healer made it out to check me over, and he said I was lucky to have survived. I thought I’d moved past it, but seeing the size of those things…”

I wrapped an arm around her and she let herself be pulled into me. “You don’t have to force yourself. I don’t want to see you suffer.”

She placed her hand over mine and leaned her head on my shoulder, not taking her eyes off the dead spider. “No. I can’t stand them, but I can’t stand the thought of this Elisa being trapped down here, scared and alone, either. I just—I just need to figure out how to not be afraid.”

I pulled her away from the spider and made her look at me. “No, that’s not the way to go. Fear isn’t a bad thing, Serena. Only two kinds of people don’t feel fear: idiots, and people who don’t have anything left to lose.”

She ran her hand down my chest. “And which are you?”

“A bit of both, sometimes,” I admitted with a chuckle. “But lately, neither.” I caressed her cheek. “I was plenty terrified the night I almost lost you. The trick isn’t not being afraid, it’s making sure that fear can’t control you. Though I’m probably not the best to advise you on this subject.”

She leaned into my hand and closed her eyes. “Why not?”

I rested my other hand on her waist and ran my thumb along her chin. She was starting to get some color back in her cheeks, which was good. Her desire to help people would always be stronger than her fears, so right now I needed to play on that. “When you live in fear for long enough, then you get used to it. I went from being afraid of every moment of every day to not caring enough about myself to feel so much as a worry.”

“And now?”

“And now I’ve got something I’m afraid to lose but that I care about enough to fight for. That’s something I haven’t had in a long, long time.” I rested my forehead against hers. “And I have no plans to give that up again.”

She pushed forward enough to press her lips to mine. It was a slow kiss, but a desperate one. “I don’t suppose you know some magic words that will make it easier, do you? Staying down here?”

“I can give it a shot.”

“Please?”

I kissed her again. “I need you.”

Her brow furrowed, but her lips quirked upward. “Me?”

“Yes, you.”

Her smile widened. “Why?”

“Because I’ve been in places like this before, and those weren’t happy times.” Her smile faded, but I gave her another quick peck. “I’ll live one way or the other, but if I had to choose I’d rather have you at my side. Things always feel a bit easier then.”

Her fingers traced my scars even over my clothes. “Okay,” she said softly. “Okay. Let’s go kill some not-at-all-terrifying spiders.”

I let her kiss me a bit longer, then we went back to where Rhallani was cleaning herself off. “The small ones, too?”

“Nah. Any smaller than those,” I pointed to the bigger four, “won’t have silk worth spinning.”

She nodded. “Noelle found this,” she tossed a bag to me. “Set off my skill, too.”

Noelle shrugged. “Smelled like the shoe.”

I ruffled her hair and she hummed. “One of these day’s we’ll need to see just how strong that nose of yours is.”The bag was full of odds and ends. Tools for fine metal work, small bags of springs and gears and other tiny pieces of shaped copper and iron and a dozen other metals I couldn’t name. There were also dozens of small, metal balls that weren’t much larger than the silk sac I’d pulled out of the spider. What their purpose was, I had no idea. When I shook one, I heard liquid sloshing around inside. Deciding it was probably best not to mess with the strange items, I banished the back into my storage.

“If this is Elisa’s, then it would fulfill Cynthia’s request. I think I’d still like to find the girl.”

I received nods all around and we started back down the tunnel. Occasionally Rhallani would point out another patch of magic webbing and I’d chuck a knife. I’d bought fifty, so I wasn’t too worried about sacrificing a few to the dark. I caught the occasional Valax, none much bigger than a house cat. Hardly worth the dagger we spent on skewering them. After two or three skittered off into the dark, I started to get worried.

“Why do they keep running?” Noelle asked uneasily.

“Probably because they know they can’t take us. They’re running for big brother, if I had to guess.”Serena made an uneasy sound, but when I glanced back at her she offered me a brave smile. We passed three burned out holes that used to be nests, and I knew we were still on the trail Elisa’s party had blazed. Then we made it to a larger room and Noelle made a noise that wasn’t far off from a growl. “I smell blood. A few days old, maybe. Below the webs.”

I took a look around the room. Round, low rocks prime for sitting, only two entrances visible to the eye, all in all it was a perfect spot for a rest.

Or an ambush.

“This is where things went wrong for them,” I said. I took a slow stroll around the room. I could spot at least four patches of web that could hide decently sized spiders, but the one at the center of the room was massive once I realized what I was looking at. It was in the center of the ceiling. “Any active webs, Rhallani?”

She was already peering around the room when I asked. “Nope. No magic at all, actually. Not even residual.”I frowned. Even days later, there should still be traces of the Valax’s traps. Then [Horde Slayer] activated. I glanced up at the hole above, but I saw no movement. “Rhallani, back the way we came. Quickly.”

She started to, but the webs under the tunnel we’d walked in through shifted. The cry was barely past my lips before Noelle was there, sinking her axe into the Valax that lunged out of the trapdoor. The golem moved towards a second so fast it was a blur, but I had bigger problems. Three spiders, each one standing nearly as tall as me, erupted from the webbing.

Their forelimbs were somewhere between spider legs and biological blades, and they whipped out at me in a frenzy as the spiders reared back with hisses. I rolled, trusting my shadows to keep me safe, and came up in a spot where two would have to go around the other to get to me. I attacked, trying to even the odds before they overwhelmed me, but one of the other two skittered up the nearest wall.

Just before it got to me, Serena arrived in a crash of gold and red. She hit it with an [Exalted Rush] dead center of the thorax, the crossguard on her spear caving the thing’s body in like it was made of ceramic. I slipped past the forelimbs of one Valax while she spun away from the one she’d impaled and engaged the other. Her spear kept it at bay while my shadows hacked away at the eyes of the Valax in front of me. Once they’d damaged enough to open a blind spot, I dodged in and slammed a blade into the joint where its limb met its bulbous body.

It shrieked in pain and lunged to the side. I ducked under it and came up behind, slamming a blade into its abdomen, then I ripped it out and stabbed again. The spider’s lifeblood spewed out like a fountain and it stumbled away before collapsing. I turned to help Serena, who had her spider impaled on the end of her spear and was holding it back.

It flailed angrily, but it couldn’t dislodge itself or get past the crossguard on her weapon. That also meant it couldn’t turn away from her, which made it easy for me to slam two blades into its abdomen and rip backwards, nearly tearing it in half as it was ripped off Serena’s spear. We were both sprayed in green, but I saw her eyes widen at something over my shoulder. Her mouth opened in a wordless cry and I threw myself to the side. I felt my shadows whip behind me in my defense just in time to intercept a heavy blow.

Just like I’d figured, the false ceiling was a tunnel meant for a spider much larger than the ones we’d seen. It’s body was the size of mine, which meant its long legs put it taller than me. “Flank it, make it choose!” I called.

I hurled my shorter blades at it and summoned something longer. It’s forelimbs, bladed legs that were longer than I was tall, slammed down at me in a flurry. I had to summon another tendril just to keep from getting made into mincemeat. It hissed, and I twisted just enough for one of my shadows to knock aside the stream of steaming web aimed for my face. I lashed out, but killing the other spiders had ended [Horde Slayer]’s effects. I couldn’t get close, but Serena could.

It jerked to the side, trying to shy away from her spear, but I circled around and made it choose. I was the one in its face, so it chose me. It smashed its way towards me, and it was only my tendrils lashing behind me once again that warned me it was pushing me towards another murder hole. I summoned a fourth tendril as one of my original two withered away, but not before I felt fangs sink into my calf.

My Resilience pushed back against the Valax venom, but that didn’t stop it from hurting like a motherfucker. I lashed out behind me with my foot, but the lapse gave the giant in front of me the opening to open a long cut down my chest. It was shallow, but enough to slow me down. I stepped closer to the spider, my blade flashing out behind me and catching something solid. The giant Valax wasn’t anticipating me to move closer, so its strikes missed me.

I was trapped between a rock and a hard place, but Rhallani came to my rescue. I heard her shout, even if the blood roaring in my ears muddled the words, and I felt the thumping gait of the golem grow closer. I willed my shadows to lash out and I twisted beneath the legs of the giant, putting all three of my attackers in front of me. One giant spider and two that stood as high as my waist.

The golem caught one of the giant’s legs with its charge and the limb snapped like a twig. The beast hissed in rage and pain, and Serena darted forward and hit it with a [Flurry Strike] that left spouts of green blood spraying from its thorax. I brought my blade down on one of the smaller two before it could scuttle away and cleaved its head in two, then I swung for the other. Its forelegs stopped my blade, but the blow had enough force to tie them up long enough for my shadows to leave long, deep cuts on its body.

It limped away, and I whirled back towards the larger spider. It was down two legs now, and Serena had left a dozen wounds along its abdomen. I used my blade to sweep another leg aside, slamming the edge right into the spider’s upper joint. With its back three legs on one side down, its body pitched to the side. I plunged the blade tip-first into its head. It shrieked, its limbs flailing, then it went still.

[Level up!]

I stepped back, wiping some of the grime off me. Fucking spiders. I took a quick stock of the room. Serena’s spear had kept her out of range of the spiders, so she was fine. Noelle had blood dripping down her arm, but she seemed otherwise unfazed. Rhallani had already started cutting into one of the spiders on her side of the room with an expression that was equal parts determination and disgust, so I figured she was fine.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” I asked Serena.

She shot me a glare, then planted her spear firmly in the ground. She walked up to me and slipped her hands in through the hole the spider had sliced in my shirt. The moment her hands brushed over my skin I felt the warmth of her skill soothing the pain of the injury. Her eyes flicked up to mine and she pressed into me. “And if you even think about demanding I heal Noelle first, I’ll let her yell at you.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Now that’s something I’d like to see.”

Her glare returned, but I could feel her fingers trembling against my chest. “You did good,” I told her.

“That was the second scariest fight of my life,” she breathed.

“So far,” I added.

The flesh on my upper chest was already knitting closed, so she slid her hands downward and stepped close enough to rest her forehead on my shoulder. “I hate you.”

I wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “No you don’t.”

“No, I don’t,” she agreed.

“Any levels yet?”

“Two. Priestess level three already.”

“Not bad for a four way split. I leveled too.”

“Good. I need you stronger. I don’t mind healing your wounds, but I’d rather you not get injured in the first place.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” And I was in agreement. My tendrils were rapidly becoming a lifeline, so I pumped both points into my Primal bringing it up to twenty-two. It was likely my mind playing tricks on me, but I thought I saw my tendrils pulse slightly. “Any interesting skills?”

She reluctantly withdrew from me and I pulled my shirt closed. “Give me a moment.” I saw her eyes moving and knew she was reading her interface. She bit the inside of her cheek. “Another healing skill, some stat boost skills, a distraction spell, and—oh!” Her eyes widened.

I used Rhallani’s spell to clean the goop off both of us. “Something good?”

“It’s—well, it’s got an epigraph.”

I raised a brow and turned back to where Rhallani was finishing up with another of the smaller spiders. “Rhallani! Epigraph skill over here.”

Rhallani shot across the room like a bolt of lightning. “Tellmetellmetellmetell—”

Serena laughed, and I was glad to see some of the tension leave her shoulders. Before she did, though, she started healing Noelle who had followed Rhallani at a much more reasonable pace. “It’s called [Aura of Reinforcement]. It boosts either Resilience or Fortitude for my allies, based off my Divine stat.”

I let out a low whistle. “That’s pretty fucking good.”

“So I should take it?”

I clamped my hand over Rhallani’s mouth just before she could offer input. “They’re your skills, you take the one you feel is best.”

She chewed the inside of her cheek some more, then nodded. I felt a ripple across my flesh and knew my Resilience had just been boosted. She looked at me. “I want to protect the people I care about, same as you.”

I inclined my head. “A good instinct.”

Rhallani was buzzing with excitement. “What’s the epigraph say?”

Serena’s eyes unfocused. “Your presence alone inspires strength.”

She checked her stats and her eyes widened. “I’ve got ten more Resilience! That’s a massive boost for multiple targets!”

It sure was. Serena was just as surprised. “That’s half my Divine stat.”

“Could be as simple as half, could be a base plus a percentage. No way to tell unless we start putting points into Divine and see how the buff changes.”

She pursed her lips. “I’d like to get my mana pool bigger first. As it is I can only manage two [Exalted Rush] uses before I have too little mana to heal.” I handed her a mana potion, and she drank it gratefully. I didn’t want her to break into her pouch just yet. “I put a point into Will and another into Focus, and next level I can take a skill that will boost both even further.”

I nodded. “That sounds like a good plan.” I conjured the bucket of sacs for Rhallani and another knife, then I started cutting into the big bastard that had tried to surprise us.

I heard the sound of metal on metal and looked over to see Serena tapping the head of her spear against the forelegs of the beast. “Should I switch to Fortitude?”

“Resilience is probably better for now,” I told her, elbow deep in abdomen. “Valax venom is magical in nature. I can handle the blades, and even if I can’t an emergency use of [Shadow Stitching] can hold me off ‘till you get there. The venom is the real threat, and Resilience should help against their traps, too. Might make the difference between getting snared up or not.”

She nodded, then smiled softly to herself. “It is a pretty good skill. Especially for a frontliner since it affects me too.”

I finally managed to cut out the silk sac—it was three times the size of the others—and tossed it into the bucket with the rest. We cleaned up a little, I banished the bucket back into storage, then we continued down the path. Silence fell on our group after we left the ambush site behind. All of us watched the walls carefully, searching for any signs of movement.

We passed our first intact nest and I knew I’d been right about Elisa’s group. They hadn’t made it this far, which could be a problem. We reached a fork and I addressed the map I’d put together in my head. I led us down the path I hoped would bring us to the cavern I’d detected underneath the pitfall trap. If Elisa was alive, she would have been taken to the feeding grounds. A chamber large enough for even the bigger Valax to get into.

“So, I’ll just come right out and say it,” Rhallani said. “That was a really big spider.”

“Sure was,” I acknowledged.

“And a spider that size could cover a lot of ground.”

“Sure could.”

“And the trail’s gone cold.”

“More or less.”

Her and Serena exchanged a glance. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Well, I’m thinking we find another ambush site and hope the big hole isn’t in the fucking ceiling.”

# # #

Xara was exhausted. Every muscle she possessed hurt, but it was a good pain. The kind that came from pushing her body to its limits. It wasn’t every day she got to spar with foreigners, and the soldiers from Caywick had been a more than interesting challenge. They had an even worse opinion of demi-humans than those in the Elion Kingdom did, and they’d laughed when she’d been assigned to be their training partner. They hadn’t been laughing when she put a few of them in the dirt.

They built them small in the desert nation of Larisea, but they made them quick to compensate. They fought like vipers, and testing herself against them had been one of the best days she’d had in a while. Even if they were trying their damndest to kill the “big Arelim bitch” that had embarrassed them. Didn’t bother her none. The harder they came at her, the better fight she got.

“You were in rare form today,” Darcy, one of the other soldiers in her unit, said. An adorable little Lycanine with mottled ears and a tail to match. She eyed Xara, still covered in sweat and grime, and grinned at her.

“Want someone to help you de-stress?”

Tempting, and not the first time Darcy had offered. Unfortunately for the wolf-like girl, it would be the first time Xara turned her down. “Sorry Darce, I’ve got other plans.” She didn’t but it was the only way she knew of to turn the girl down without arising suspicion.

Darcy was hardly short, though she stood nearly a foot shorter than Xara. Once upon a time, Xara had considered her the perfect size. She just shrugged. “Suit yourself. Maybe next time.”

Xara almost felt regret watching Darcy walk away, purposefully swaying her ass and glancing at Xara over her shoulder with a wink. Xara just shook her head and headed for the showers. Most of the others were women, but a few men shot appreciative glances her way. She was taller than pretty much all of them, too. She grinned back at them, even after she’d ditched her dirty training gear and thrown a towel over her shoulder. She’d been a part of this unit for long enough that nudity barely even fazed her.

“Venetia, glad I caught you.” And just like that, her nudity fazed her very much. She turned to see their new captain, Sylvenna Pryce. Tall but slim, lean muscles and curves in all the right places, intense gray eyes and short cropped brown hair tied in a short tail. A scar on her chin and a slightly crooked nose.

Captain Pryce’s eyes flicked down to Xara’s sizable bust, no doubt noting how her nipples had grown very hard. “Captain. I was just heading to clean up.”

The Captain’s face gave nothing away. “You can do that later. Find some clothes and meet me at the officer’s ring for extra training.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

She looked Xara up and down one more time, then took her leave. Xara rushed to throw clothes on, trying to move as quickly as she could without it being too obvious. She grabbed an extra set of clothes and tucked them under her shirt, then scooped up her practice sword for show. She received some sympathetic glances from the others and forced herself to shrug them off.

No doubt it had gotten around that she’d practically embarrassed the delegation’s soldiers, and they thought she was being punished for that. Fine by her. She managed to wait until after she’d left the demi-human barracks behind before the grin split across her face. It was a good thing she’d turned down Darcy.

She went towards the officer’s ring, but rather than the training area she headed towards the personal quarters. She made sure nobody was watching when she knocked on one of the doors. It opened, and Captain Pryce quickly ushered her inside.

“You picked quite the time to show up,” Xara said while Sylvie shut the door and locked it. She leaned her sword against the wall and tossed her clothes on a nearby chair. “We’d better hope none of the ones with super sniffers picked up how wet I got when you started staring at my—”

Sylvie rolled her eyes, then sunk her hands in Xara’s hair and pulled her down for a kiss. Xara laughed into her mouth, sliding her hands down to cup Sylvie’s perfect ass and lifting her up to get a better angle. Sylvie groaned, wrapping her legs around Xara’s waist. “You smell awful. You need a shower.”

Xara dug her fingers into Sylvie’s cheeks. “And what exactly do you think I was doing when you found me buck naked in the barracks?”

Sylvie smiled. A smile that never failed to make Xara feel weak in the knees. “Not a demi-human shower. One with actual hot water.”

That made Xara pause. “What’s the occasion?”

Something flitted in Sylvie’s eyes, and Xara set her down. “Sylvie?”

Sylvie looked away. “Shower first, then we’ll talk. Go on, you’ve earned it.”

Xara stepped back, suddenly uncertain. “Will you be joining me?” Sylvie hesitated just a second too long. “Ah, I think I get it.” She took another step away from Sylvie. “If you want to stop, then all you have to do is say so. I understand not wanting to get caught with an Arelim.”

“No!” Sylvie’s eyes widened in panic. She grabbed Xara’s hands before she could put any more space between them. “Gods, Xara, not that! I just…” She kissed Xara’s knuckles. “Go get in the shower, I’ll be there in a minute.”

Something was bothering her. Something bad. “The others might notice if I take too long.”

Sylvie just shook her head. “I pulled a few favors. You’ve got the night off. Tomorrow, too.”

What the shit? “Fuck, Syl, who died?”

Her nostrils flared. “Nobody died, but I’d really rather have this conversation after you’ve had a nice, hot shower. Please? For me?”

Xara hooked a finger under her chin and kissed her despite the tight feeling in her gut. “Fine. For you. But for the record, you’re kinda scaring the shit out of me.”

She couldn’t help but notice that Sylvie didn’t try very hard to reassure her, but she stripped down and headed for the private shower anyways. She cranked the heat up as far as it would go and groaned at the feeling of the near-boiling water on her aching muscles and bruises. She hadn’t been in for long before she felt Sylvie’s soapy hands lathering her up. She turned the heat down a little, aware that her secret girlfriend didn’t like her showers quite as boiling as Xara did.

They took their time cleaning every inch of one another. Xara in spite of whatever news Sylvie had, and Sylvie because of it. Xara went to turn the water off, but Sylvie just stepped between her and the faucet and spun her around. Before Xara could complain, Sylvie’s fingers started working into Xara’s sore muscles. Her protests ended in a moan while Sylvie hunted down and worked out every knot on Xara’s body.

Only after Xara was practically begging for mercy did Sylvie finally turn off the water and grab towels for them both. Once they were dry, Sylvie led Xara by the hand to her bed. “Sit,” she commanded.

Xara did so, but when Sylvie tried to sit next to her, Xara pulled her onto her lap so that they were face to face, Sylvie’s wonderful legs straddling Xara’s. With their height difference, it put them perfectly face to face, which was always something Xara appreciated very much. Xara ran her hands up and down Sylvie’s sides. “Now will you tell me what the big deal is?”

Sylvenna rested her arms on Xara’s shoulders, linking her hands behind the taller woman’s head. “Before I say anything, I need you to know that I’m here for you. Fuck the Accords, fuck convention, and fuck the rules.”

In spite of herself, Xara’s grip tightened on Silvie’s hips. “Alright.”

“Rhallani left the capital.”

Ice cold fear ran up Xara’s spine. “She what?”

Sylvie ran her hands through Xara’s hair. “She found something she thought was important, but your dad didn’t want to look into it. She slipped out when he wasn’t looking, hired a group to take her north. She’s been gone for almost two months now.”

“No, don’t tell me—”

“Your father received a notice from the Pens in Listone,” Sylvie continued. Xara’s arms went limp. She swayed, but Sylvie just pulled her in tight. “She was charged with assaulting a lord. Rhallani’s been indebted, Xara.”

“No. No!” She tried to stand, but Sylvie had wrapped herself tightly around the larger Arelim. There were tears in Xara’s eyes. All she’d done, everything she’d taught Rhallani, and the first time she’d left the capital this happened? “She can’t be. I’ll go up there. I’ll talk to dad, I’ll get him to—”

Sylvie trailed her hand down Xara’s spine. “The lord claimed her. This went down a little over two weeks ago.”“Fuck. Fuck, Sylvie! And I’m just now hearing about this?”

“I found out last week. I was going to tell you, but I knew how you’d be. I knew you’d want to run off and help her, and I also knew you’d need information.” Sylvie pulled back so she could wipe the tears running down Xara’s face. “His name is Zaren Nocht, and until he showed up in Listone there’s nothing on him. Some kid who apparently owns a shitload of land in the city.”

“I’ll kill him. If he puts a fucking hand on her, I’ll put him in the ground.”

“I know, baby,” Sylvie brushed Xara’s hair back with her fingers. “He popped up in Anford the day before yesterday.”

A faint hope flickered in Xara’s chest. “He’s—”

“Headed south. Here, to Amesseria.”

Xara didn’t know what to do with her hands, but Sylvie just guided them to her rear. “I know, Xara. I know.” She reached up and trailed her fingers along the metal collar Xara wore. The one that marked her as little more than property of the military. She’d chosen it, but it had never felt as stifling as it did now. “It isn’t fair. None of is. Tell me what you need.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what to do, Sylvie. How can I help her? It wasn’t—it wasn’t supposed to go like this.” Xara was always supposed to do her time in the military, earn some coin, then be able to take care of her and Rhallani both. Now Rhallani was owned by some stranger, and there wasn’t a fucking thing she could do. She tried to fight them, but the sobs came anyways. “I don’t know—”

“Shh, baby, it’s okay.” Sylvie guided Xara’s face to the crook of her neck and stroked her back calmingly. “Rhallani sounds like a smart girl. She’ll be okay.”

Through her anger and her rage, Xara clung desperately to Sylvenna. “You don’t know what it’s like to be demi-human. Do you know how few people are like you? How many humans have look at me like I’m little more than an animal? What do I do if he’s one?”

“We’ll figure something out.”

“There’s nothing to figure out!” Xara’s grip had tightened to the point where it must be painful, but Sylvie didn’t complain. “I’m powerless! There isn’t shit I can do!”

“There’s something I can do, though,” Sylvie whispered.

Xara froze. She pulled back, not sure she’d heard right. “What?”

“My sister. She’s an adventurer. S rank. We’re close, and I could probably convince her to buy out Rhallani’s bid.”

Xara felt like she’d been punched in the gut, but that flicker of hope still remained. “You never told me that.”Sylvie looked away, then forced herself to meet Xara’s gaze. “Well, I was working up the courage to.”

“The courage? Why?”

“Because I planned to ask if she could buy out your bid, not Rhallani’s. I wasn’t sure if you’d say yes.”

For a full ten count, Xara forgot how to breathe. “I thought the plan was for you to get promoted high enough that I could be assigned directly to you.” Sylvie was currently her commanding officer, but then Xara would essentially be on loan to her. She’d have much more power in what Xara did and was given.

“That was before.”

“Before what?”

Sylvie stared into her eyes unblinkingly. “Before I got an idea of what it was like to be demi-human in the military. I can’t stand the thought of how you have to live, and I know you’re considered too strong to be without a Patron.”

“Things have always been this bad, Syl.”

“Maybe, but before I wasn’t in love with a demi-human.”

If she hadn’t been literally wrapped up in Sylvie, Xara might have fainted. “You love me?”

Sylvie kissed her. “Of course I love you, you muscle-headed idiot. And it’s going to kill me to not be able to be there for you like I want to in the coming weeks, so for tonight and tomorrow, I’m yours. All yours.”

Despite the anger and pain rolling around in Xara’s gut, she couldn’t help but smile like a fool. “You really love me? An Arelim?”

That earned her an eye roll, but it also earned her another kiss so it was well worth it. “Yes. I, Captain Sylvenna Pryce, the human, am hopelessly in love with you, Xara Venetia, the Arelim.”

Xara’s hands began questing. Exploring every inch of the woman she’d come to know. That she’d come to know and love. She knew she needed to say as much. “Well I’m just as in love with you.” Sylvie’s hands started moving as well. Xara wanted nothing more than to let the touch of her lover distract her, but she couldn’t let her mind wander. Not yet. “You’d really ask your sister to help save mine?”

Sylvie pushed herself up on her knees and gently shoved Xara onto her back, crawling so that when she laid down her breasts pressed into the taller woman’s sizable bust. “I already did. I figured I’d rather you be mad at me but have your sister safe than the opposite.”

Xara pushed Silvie’s hair back and pulled her down for a kiss, then groaned when she felt Sylvie’s hand between her legs. She spread them open, and she felt fingers slip inside. “And before you go getting in your own head,” Sylvie said between kisses, “I’m not doing this to get you to love me or indebt you to me or any of the other worst-cases you’re already contemplating. I’m doing it because I love you, and your happiness is my happiness.”

Xara bit back a moan and tried to put her own hands to work, but Sylvie just snatched her by the wrists and pinned her arms above her head before resuming her ministrations. “Oh gods,” Xara breathed. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

Sylvie leaned down and nipped at her neck. “You endured. Now that they’ve been kind enough to lead me to you, you’ll never be rid of me.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Xara closed her eyes and let Sylvie have her way with her. She did her best to let every touch, every kiss, every lick, every bite chase away the fear of what her sister was going through. For the rest of the night, Sylvie did everything in her power to make Xara forget. It worked for a time, but by the time they fell asleep wrapped up in one another Xara’s mind had wandered to every horror story she’d ever heard of demi-human’s and cruel Patrons.

If she’d assaulted him, then surely he’d want revenge over her. Why else claim her? But Rhallani was strong. Stronger than anyone gave her credit for. Xara would put her trust in Sylvenna, and not just because it was the only option available to her.

She just had to hope that when she was reunited with her sister, the damage wouldn’t be too much to come back from.