Page 23 of Monster Lover

Harlin shouted, “Give me a moment!”

Ghul Lykos snarled an unintelligible reply, sounding more beast than man, but renewed his own attack.

Fumbling through his gear, Harlin produced a crossbow and bolt. Loading and cranking the mechanism, he then placed a perfect shot right between the spider’s eight eyes.

The monster stiffened in stricken horror. Forelegs clasped the bolt biting into its brain and all its attention flew away from its present foes.

Both men launched an attack with their swords, hacking at the joints in the spider’s upraised legs until three out of four nearest to them had been severed. Hairy half-limbs twitched in grass, unaware they were unattached.

Harlin shouted and plunged his blade into the monster’s open jaws and drew the blade back out, now black and wet with the spider’s gore.

Ghul Lykos continued his assault too, and the flaming branch in his left hand lit the feathered shaft of the bolt aflame. Now the spider had a continual burning in its line of vision, rendering it panicked and blind.

“Help me!” called Daemona.

The monster tried to scuttle back and away but struggled on only five legs.

“Help me! I can’t move.”

“Where are you?” asked Harlin.

“Over here, in the cattails.”

“Don’t move! Be silent!” said Harlin.

“Why?” she asked.

The answer came lumbering over the top of her as the spider tried to retreat. She fought the urge to port away from under the hairy abdomen, not wanting to land in water and drown. She closed her eyes and prayed to the Goddess that the spider didn’t sense her and take a bite.

Daemona held her breath.

A clawed foot pressed down on her shoulder and hesitated before moving.

Something grabbed her shoulder and pulled her up. Daemona opened her eyes to look Harlin in the face.

“This is sticky,” he said, trying to release his hand from her webbed shoulder.

“Get me out of this.”

Harlin ran his dagger down her side as gently as he could, cutting away the powerful silk. “Don’t struggle, I don’t want to cut you, but I’m sure I’m cutting some of your leathers.”

“Just free me.”

A splash made her jerk and watch as Ghul Lykos continued his flame-prodding of the giant spider into the swamp. It was clear the monster didn’t care for the water, but it was wounded, blind, and fearful of the fire. It wallowed in the murk a few moments and went still.

“I hate spiders,” growled Daemona.

“Everyone does.”

She gave a slight smile of remembrance. “No, there was a boy in my hometown who loved them. He kept them as pets.”

“I’ll bet he never had one like that,” said Harlin.

Daemona grinned. “No, he didn’t, but I bet he would have liked to.”

Harlin grunted. “Well, you get some sleep. I’m sure it’s my turn for watch by now.”

“No, it’s all right. I can watch a little longer.”

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