Page 46 of From the Mouths of Sirens

Eros and Rook followed her as she traced the Tellusun tributes’ path back from where they had emerged. They continued through the shadowed passageways in silence, their boots splashing through mineral-saturated water. With every step forward, Rook’s heart thundered in his chest.

“There.” Veila jerked her head toward the soft blue glow.

The three of them abruptly halted just before the opening of the adjoining cavern, tucking themselves against the wall. They listened for movement beyond the wall, waiting to hear any hushed voices. But there was no rustle of clothing or whispers to be heard. Veila gave a quick nod, and they inched cautiously around the corner. Rook caught his breath when they came into full view of the cavernous room. A sea of glowing orbs were scattered across the floor, bright with otherworldly light. They were impossibly smooth, almost transparent-looking in the soft blue glow.

“Hel,” Eros breathed, his mouth dropping open as he stepped forward into the cave. “There must be at least a hundred here.”

Eros dropped to his knees before a cluster of blue stones, reaching out a finger and tracing the edge of one. He wrapped his arms around one of the larger stones, cradling it as if it might shatter if he wasn’t too careful.

“Something’s not right,” Veila whispered, narrowing her eyes at the surrounding walls. “This is too easy.” She didn’t move from the edge of the passageway, her hand tightening around the curve of her sword pommel. Rook glanced around, taking in the shadows that framed the room. He had to agree. It felt as though eyes were upon them, watching them from all angles.

A thick tendril of sticky goo squelched when Eros pulled the stone away from the floor. A clump of silken threads lay empty where the glowing orb had sat, dented with the shape of the stone. A shiver went up Rook’s spine as he finally noticed the web of glistening threads that crisscrossed across the ceiling like an ugly tapestry.

“Hel’s teeth,” Veila hissed with horror. “This is a damned nest.” She stepped backward into the passageway, her eyes wide. “Get over here now,” she ordered Eros, unsheathing her sword. Eros quickly sprinted back to them, narrowly missing several clumps of blue orbs.

“That isn’t a bloody stone,” Rook whispered. “It’s an egg.” Eros held it out for them to see, his hands coated in glistening slime. There was only one creature that produced such eggs, only one beast that lived so far deep in the ground: the venomous Avgi spider.

“We need to get out of here,” Veila said frantically.

Before, Rook had been so focused on finding the stones that he hadn’t noticed the thick tangles of webbing knotted all around them. He realized now that they were surrounded by webs, plastered to the floor and ceiling.

There was a whisper of movement behind them, and the three of them instantly crouched to the floor. Rook dared to look around the corner, squinting into the glowing cavern. At the edge of the room, two figures emerged from a neighboring passageway and stumbled into the room. He froze.

Saoirse and her companion Aurelia stopped before the glowing spider eggs, their eyes round with surprise. The other Mer tribute had evidently not been well enough to compete in the second trial. Sudden trepidation crept along Rook’s spine as Aurelia crouched to the floor and picked up one of the orbs. She looked up at Saoirse, a grin on her face as she wrapped her arms around the egg and hauled it up from the ground.

“We need to leave,” Veila hissed, narrowing her eyes at him. “Now.” She reached down and tried to haul him up from where he crouched paralyzed on floor. But Rook couldn’t tear his eyes away from the pair of Mer tributes, watching in horror as a dark shadow emerged from the darkness behind them and crept forward into the light.

23

SAOIRSE

Saoirse watched as Aurelia picked up the beautiful glowing stone, anxiously standing guard. When the stone released easily from the floor, relief flooded her chest. Even without Sune, she and Aurelia had found the stone. They’d be out of the caverns in no time at all.

“Let’s go,” Aurelia whispered, standing quickly. The stone was sticky with glistening slime, strings of silk clinging to it from the floor. Aurelia wiped the stone clean with the edge of her sleeve, lifting an eyebrow curiously. “What is this stuff?”

Just then, Saoirse heard faint rustling from across the room. She jerked her head toward the sound, instantly on edge. She could see nothing but dim shadows and craggy juts of stone.

“Let’s leave,” she said hurriedly, taking a step back from the sea of glowing orbs. “I don’t like this place.”

A choking sound slipped from Aurelia’s mouth, her jaw going limp. She stared at something beyond Saoirse’s shoulder, terror in her eyes.

“What?” Saoirse whispered, fear suddenly crawling up her flesh. But Aurelia was paralyzed with shock, her lips twitching as she tried to form words. Saoirse slowly turned her head, looking behind her shoulder. Her blood went cold.

A huge, ugly beast crouched in the shadows, mere paces away from where they stood. Spindly black legs crept from the wall, unfurling from the darkness like hideous flower petals. The creature emerged from the shadows like a silent phantom, an enormous, bulbous body slowly illuminated in the light of the orbs. Saoirse couldn’t move, her eyes fixed to the monster that crawled towards them. Eight glistening eyes caught the light, each one as large as her own head. Two dreadful fangs jutted out from the spider’s red mouth, dripping with venom. The spider was covered in coarse black hair, making it appear even larger as it crept across the floor. She had heard terrifying stories of the giant spiders, who lived in subterranean caves in the Under Kingdom. She knew that to come across one was more than just deadly; it promised certain death.

Fear sliced through her body like a knife as the spider ambled over to them. Her hand instinctively reached for the sword at her hip. She slid the blade from its scabbard with an eerie hiss of metal that echoed through the silent chamber. The repulsive spider crawled towards her with predatory silence, its fangs clicking together as if readying itself for battle.

“Aurelia,” Saoirse whispered, her voice coming out in a rasp. “Run.”

As soon as she uttered the words, the world exploded into movement. The great spider lunged at her, shrieking as it snapped its fangs hungrily. Saoirse rolled out of the way, just barely missing the hairy front legs that darted out. The creature hissed as Saoirse swung her blade, retreating for a moment as the sword sang through the air.

Behind her, she could hear Aurelia clambering through the clusters of eggs. The spider abruptly jumped onto the ceiling with uncanny grace. It scurried along the ceiling and hissed, all eight of its eyes fixed on Aurelia.

She bolted towards them, horrified as the spider chased Aurelia through the room. It didn’t care about Saoirse, not when Aurelia sprinted through the cave with its egg in her arms.

“This way!” A voice cried from the opposite end of the room.

Rook.

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