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She shook her head. "No, they weren't. And for some reason, I didn't notice them."
"I can tell you why," Morio said. "I dug around a little in town, talked to a few people, put the pressure on where I needed to. Apparently the Hunters Moon Clan is resistant to moon magic, thanks to their infamous creator. Kyoka worked with the moon when he originally created the werespiders, and it gave them some sort of natural immunity that must have been passed down throughout the years. It also gives them the ability to navigate your wards, since you call on the Moon Mother to set them."
"Fuck," Camille said. "That bites. What the hell am I supposed to do, then? I'm not exactly Wonder Woman in a battle. I guess I'd better haul out my short sword and get in some practice."
"Did anybody else notice that Zach slept through all the commotion?" I asked, suddenly remembering that he was in the living room.
Iris paled. "Nobody should have slept through that racket."
"My thoughts precisely." I raced into the living room, the others close on my heels. Zach was lying half-on, half-off the sofa, looking a little green. I hurried to his side and quickly scanned his neck and arms. Sure enough, there they were, hard to see but not impossible. Two puncture marks on his neck. Tiny, precise, and all too real.
"He's been bitten! Do you think more than one of the Hunters Moon Clan showed up? Maggie!" I turned back to the kitchen, but Camille was ahead of me, Iris right behind her. I listened as Iris's door slammed open. Straining to hear what was going on, I searched for Zach's pulse.
"She's okay," Camille said, returning to the living room with Maggie resting on her hip. "She looks fine. And Menolly can't be killed. Not by poison, anyway."
"No, but they could stake her."
"Oh shit. I'll tell Iris to go keep an eye on her. How's Zach doing?"
His pulse was weak and racing, and I suspected shock. "I need a blanket. Toss me my cell phone, would you? I'd better get Chase and the medics out here right now. They're the only ones who can deal with an Earthside Supe." It flashed through my mind that we had to make contact with more doctors who could treat Supes.
While Camille went in search of Iris, I made the call to Chase and struggled to keep calm. Morio stood behind me, a cool hand on my shoulder. "What are we supposed to do now?" I asked. "Fumigate this place?"
He nodded. "Yeah, and it's going to require a pretty damned big can of Raid."
As I clutched Zach's hand, I prayed Chase would be in time. And just what could we expect next from the Hunters Moon Clan? With the demons on their side, who knew what they'd come up with to make our lives hell? Or to send us there.
* * *
CHAPTER 16
"I wish we could stay and help with Zach, but we'd better go convince Smoky to help us," Camille said. "Iris is downstairs with Menolly and Maggie. She's working on a protection spell against the spider poison."
"Just get back here as soon as possible. And try to think of something to do with the closet dude." I desperately wanted her to stay, but there was too much to do and too little time. The Hunters Moon Clan had just upped the ante when they decided to play their warped version of Home Invasion.
Camille and Morio were just heading out when Chase and his crew spilled through the door. He'd brought two of the OIA medics with him. One was Sharah, who was one of Queen Asteria's nieces. She introduced her partner. Mallen was pale and thin and barely looked old enough to shave, let alone be a healer, but with elves—even more so than the Fae—looks could be terribly deceiving. He was probably far older than any of us.
"Watch out for spiders," I warned them as they knelt beside the sofa where Zach still lay, unconscious and barely breathing.
"Elves are immune to their venom," Sharah said, giving me a faint smile. "You say he's a werepuma?"
I nodded. "With the Rainier Puma Pride. He was bitten by a hobo spiderling. We have one of their spies in the kitchen, trussed up in the closet."
As I stepped back to get out of their way, Chase wrapped his arm around my waist. "I've got some news about Goldenrod Road and Snoqualmie."
"Wait a moment," I murmured, wanting to hear how Zach was faring. Sharah and Mallen were taking his blood pressure, pulse, and checking out his heart. After a moment, Sharah said something to Mallen that I couldn't catch, and he handed her a bag out of their medic kit. She prepared a syringe and injected whatever was in it into Zach's arm. Another moment, and she gave him a second shot, and when yet another minute passed with no response, she glanced at Mallen, shook her head, and tried yet a third injection.
I was beginning to think that Zach would be the Hunters Moon Clan's latest victim when his arm twitched. He was coming around! But before anybody could say anything, his body stiffened, and he began to convulse. His eyes rolled back in his head as he began to shake, and foam flecked with bits of blood burbled up from his lips, dribbling down the side of his face. He thrashed wildly, and I leapt forward, prepared to help hold him down.
"Get out of my way," Sharah yelled at me, stopping me in my tracks. She turned to Mallen. "Glassophan—give it to him now!"
Mallen ripped open Zach's shirt while Sharah tore the top off of a sealed packet and pulled out a second syringe, loaded full to the top, armed with a terribly large needle. She handed it to Mallen who, swiftly, without the time to be gentle, stabbed it into Zachary's chest. I cringed as Zach gurgled. Mallen bore down on the syringe, pumping the serum into his system, then the horrible snaking began to slow and, abruptly, Zach stiffened and collapsed.
"Oh Great Mother, is he dead?" I stared at him, horrified.
Sharah pressed her stethoscope to Zach's chest, where a pool of blood slicked his flesh. She paused, then shook her head, a look of relief spreading across her face. "He's alive and should come around in a few minutes. I doubt if any spider venom can stand up to Glassophan."
"What is it?" I asked, kneeling beside her to look at Zach's terribly pale face. The foam on his mouth held a faint trace of pink. "Is he bleeding internally?"
