Page 177 of Infernium

She snorted, and something up ahead made a loud crackling sound that brought both of us to a halt. “Shit,” she whispered.

A flicker of light drew my eyes to a gossamer strand overhead, which bounced and stirred the leaves of the trees through which it was threaded.

Twisting back toward her, I raised the dagger up and pressed a finger to my lips to quiet her. When she nodded, I kept on through the trees, until we reached a small, straw hovel that reminded me of something out of a dark fairytale. From its thatched roof, the thin translucent strings stretched out in all directions of the forest around it. As if they all converged there.

“Jesus, that’s creepy as fuck.” Vespyr ran her finger over one of the threads, and I watched as it vibrated all the way to the hovel.

“Save him,” a detached voice whispered in my ear, and I twisted around toward Vespyr.

“Did you say something?”

“Yes, I said that’s creepy as fu–”

“Not that. Something else.”

Frowning, she shook her head, and I turned back toward the hovel.

“I know this place. I’ve seen it before.” My mind stretched to centuries before as I dipped into Lustina’s memories. “The widow in the woods.”

“What?”

“It was what they called the woman who murdered the boys. They called her the widow in the woods.”

Vespyr let out a mirthless laugh. “Well, that sounds absolutely inviting, doesn’t it?”

Something urged me forward, in spite of my guts telling me to get out of there. The only thing was, my guts had apparently forgotten that there was no exit the other way, and I suspected our only escape lay within that hovel.

Heart beating against my ribs like it wanted out, I crossed the clearing, and as we approached the open entrance, that lacked a proper door, I squeezed the hilt of Jericho’s dagger so tightly my knuckles burned. A candle flickered inside the hut, and as the two of us stepped through, my throat thickened, every cell in my body quivering, when I took in what sat in the center of the room.

The strands did converge within the hovel, creating a weblike structure throughout the interior. The strings were attached to the body of a woman clothed in a white dress made of cloth strips. Atop her head was a cone-shaped hennin, wrapped in the same cloth that covered her eyes. Blackened fingers, as if dipped in tar, swept over the nothingness in front of her, and she tipped her head back, as though listening.

Movement out of the corner of my eye drew my attention toward what looked like a mummified body, about the size of a child, completely cocooned in the threads. A muffled scream sent a shock of panic through me, and I snapped my attention back toward the woman, who settled again, her head lowered, as if she’d fallen asleep. With careful steps, I looked down to avoid stepping on the strands, which I was certain would rattle her awake. Using the dagger, I gently sawed into the cocoon, careful not to cut too deeply, and nodded at Vespyr, then to the woman, signaling for her to keep an eye out.

She nodded back and twisted toward the woman, as I continued to saw, loosening the threads of the cocoon to reveal a small hand. A torso. And finally the face of a little boy. Not just any little boy, but the one from my dreams. The one I’d so often chased through the corridors.

Wiping away tears, he sat up from the web, and eyes wide, he threw his arms around me, as though he somehow recognized me from the dream. The motion vibrated the strands, and I gripped his arms to make him still. Vespyr tugged at my arm, and I turned to see the woman sitting upright, her head sweeping back and forth, as if she sensed us there. She opened her mouth to reveal a mouthful of pointed fangs and let out a scream that carried a deep, guttural, demonic sound.

“Run!” Grabbing the boy’s hand, I yanked him from the webbing, and we hustled back toward the entrance.

It was no longer there.

Frantic, I scanned over the hovel, catching sight of a door behind the woman. “Fuck!” I pointed toward it, and Vespyr took the lead, chopping away at a strand that blocked our path.

The moment it was loose, more strands wrapped themselves around her arms and ankles, yanking her feet out from under her.

Vespyr let out a scream as the strands tangled around her.

I lurched forward, cutting them away from her body. Pain radiated over my abdomen, and I glanced down to see one of the strands coiled around my waist, so tight the thread cinched my gown and burned my skin. Still, I kept on with my sawing.

The woman let out another terrifying howl, and a second strand wrapped around my throat.

Tight bands dug into my neck, and I dropped the blade, clawing at them. My lungs burned for a sip of air, and I opened my mouth, desperately trying to capture one small drag of it.

Vespyr wriggled and screamed.

The boy clawed at strands digging into his legs.

Darkness closed in from my periphery. I was passing out. I needed air. Air!

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