Page 49 of Queen Takes Blood
Hersize. The queen.
My heart thudded heavily as she came closer. A hairy limb moved just a handspan away, near my head. As thick as a sapling. Soft silk ripped apart.
I didn’t dare move a muscle to turn my head. Through the fluttering silk covering my face, I saw two of her legs rising off the ground. Holding something round. Itzcoatl’s head. :Pretty. Trophy.:
She scurried away, the faint scuttle of her legs helping me judge how large the cavern was. A faint melodic sound filled my head, almost like she was humming with pleasure as she decorated her lair with her new trophy.
While she was occupied, I squirmed frantically, testing the bonds pinning my arms. Something poked into my back, a hard gnarled bump in a root. Silk tangled on the barb, shifting some of the loops around my arms. I could wriggle my fingers, working my hand free of the strands. I risked a bigger flop, using my whole body like a worm on a hook, pulling at the thicker web wrapped around me. When I finally felt air on my bare arm, it was all I could do not to weep with relief.
I twisted to the side, feeling down my hip, working my fingers beneath the sticky web. My knife was still in its sheath. It took another eternity to get the blade free.
I’d never been so fucking glad to feel the carved wooden hilt on my palm.
The humming came closer, warning me of her return. I froze, pressing my arm tightly against my side. I wasn’t sure if she’d notice whether the webbing covered me or not, but I assumed any movement would draw her attention.
:Feast.:
The hairy leg was back in sight, making my heart quiver in my ribcage. I tightened my grip on the blade, desperately trying to pinpoint a target through the fluttering silk. Striking her leg wouldn’t kill her. It wouldn’t even cripple her, not when she had seven others. Her abdomen would probably be the best place for a killing blow, though I didn’t think she’d let me get that close to her vital organs. Not when she intended to eat me. Maybe one of her eyes? Would that kill her? How many eyes did spiders even have?
Tearing silk, stretching apart and pulling. I could feel the vibration in the strands wrapped around me but my body didn’t move. She lifted something again from the tangled webbing, but I wasn’t sure what it was. Until I heard the sound of crunching.
:Bone. Blood. Good.:
Evidently Itzcoatl’s head was for decorating. His body was for eating.
More ripping. My stomach heaved, my mind all too easily filling in images of her tearing into his soft belly. Though something fell, fluttering back and forth like a leaf. Another piece. His clothing, I guessed, confirmed when something heavier fell across my chest. A leather belt. Knife and sheath still attached. But that wasn’t what held my attention.
A pouch was tied to the leather.
Thoughts flickered through me rapid-fire. He’d lit a torch. Using something quicker than a fire drill. Flint. Two hard strikes.
Burn the webs.
She would likely be able to survive any kind of blow I could deliver with my knife. It just wasn’t big enough to do serious damage to something so big and powerful as her. But fire...
If she didn’t have a way out of this cave, and the webbing was as flammable as the cobwebs out in the main tunnel, then I could burn her to a crisp. I wouldn’t even have to work my entire body free. Just my other arm. Enough to strike the flint.
Ever so slowly, I lay the blade down beside me and eased my right hand up my body, minimizing my movement. I worked the pouch open and felt its contents. Cold metal. A chunk of flint, one edge sharp enough to cut.
With the same slow, incremental movements, I shifted my other arm free of the webbing. The loops and strands fell away more quickly now that I had my other arm out. I wrapped my left hand around the flint, easing the chunk around so the sharp edge faced my other hand. Metal in my right. Both arms folded gently over my chest, almost like I was sleeping.
I pictured the movements I needed in my mind. Remembering the sound of the flint being struck. A harsh blow. Sparks flying. I wanted them to go downward to light the webbing around my body. She’d pulled me along the tunnel—so those ropes might still be connected to her body, or at least close to where she was feeding. Itzcoatl had struck the flint twice. I might need to do it several times. Hard, quick strikes. As many times as it took. I wouldn’t have long.
Was there enough webbing in this room to ensure she went up in flames? I couldn’t really tell but the outer tunnel had been thick with webs. If this was her lair, her safe place, then I had to assume she’d wrapped the whole chamber in silk.
The crunching stopped. Heart pounding, I strained my senses, listening for the faint rasp of her legs. Movement, a dark shape looming near. Something tapped lightly at my feet. Up my legs to my knees. My thighs. My stomach. Hairy legs on either side of me.
Goddess, help me. Guide my hands. Help me light the flames of destruction to bring vengeance to House Tocatl.
Faint tickle along my arms. The brush of fine hairs. Something tugged on me hard enough to lift my back from the ground.Closer, I gritted out in my mind.I can’t let her escape. One shot.
I heard short clicks, and the silk wrapped around my chest fell away in a soft whispering glide. She’d cut me partially free rather than tearing her web. Another layer, thicker cording cut loose. A gentle tapping continued along my midsection. Almost like she was stroking me. Soothing me.
The silken layer over my face slowly dragged away, revealing Queen Tocatl crouched over me. It was too dark for me to see much beyond her immense size. Two small arm-like appendages around a darker spot I could only assume was her mouth. Something glittered higher on the mountainous slope above me. Eyes, I assumed. Too far away for me to try and stab them if that had been my goal.
The black hole opened briefly, revealing a third arm-like thing in the center. Fangs. Three of them. Just like the goddess statue.
My heart stuttered in my chest, an eternity between beats. I took a breath, filling my lungs fully to power my muscles. My legs were still tightly bound, which helped center me. I couldn’t run or fight yet. I wasn’t hurt. I needed her to come as close as possible.
