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“So why aren’t they attacking us?”
“Because we have not entered their lair.”
And I had no fucking intention of doing so. “Can they be destroyed by something like pest spray, guns, or even fire?”
“Not ordinary fire. Though they wear flesh, they are spirit in design. Witches would more than likely be capable of destroying them, but not someone like your uncle.”
Which meant I either had to ring Rhoan and warn him—and get the shit blasted out of me for interfering in his case again—or get rid of the damn things myself. Great. Just fucking great.
Can kill, Amaya said with an eagerness that had me shaking my head. Will enjoy.
No doubt. I glanced up at Azriel again, and he nodded a confirmation. “It will not draw our dark spirit to us, though. She obviously does not look after her young any more than the initial feeding.”
“So how come we were attacked at the club? She wouldn’t have had time to lay her eggs, let alone for the things to hatch. She was only the fill-in entertainer.”
“She may have been carrying some young on her. Do not some spiders do that?”
“None that I want to meet,” I replied, with another shudder. I drew Amaya and held her in front of me. Lilac fire raced down her sides, and her eagerness ran through the back of my mind. “Go for it.”
She did. Fire exploded from her tip and spread out in a deadly wash that consumed all that stood in front of it without actually burning the walls or ceiling. The fire alarms went off regardless, but their strident ringing was almost lost to the roar of Amaya’s flames. The thick web shriveled against the onslaught of heat, dripping in silver globules onto the carpet. The spiders tried to flee, attacking one another as they scrambled to seek refuge from the flames. Only there was no refuge—Amaya devoured everything. Web, spiders, furniture. Even Summer’s few remains fell victim to her hunger.
Soon there was nothing left. Nothing but scorched plaster and melted carpet. Amaya’s flames retreated back to the steel, and her roar became little more than a contented hum. If she’d been a cat, I suspected she would have been purring. Loudly.
I sheathed her, then rubbed my arms. It didn’t do a lot against the chill still invading my limbs. “Would she have felt the death of her young?”
“I do not know enough about her kind to say for sure, but it is a possibility.”
“Meaning she might not turn up for her performance tonight.”
“If she has more young to feed, she might have no choice.”
“Meaning it would be helpful if we knew more about the breeding habits of the Jorõgumo—if that’s what this thing is.” I bit my bottom lip for a moment. “I wonder if the Brindle witches can tell us anything about them.”
“Given they are the keepers of all witch knowledge, it is more than likely they could.”
“Then that’s where we’ll go next.” My phone rang, the abrupt noise making me jump. I took a calming breath, then hit the ANSWER button and said, “Mirri, what can I do for you?”
“You haven’t heard from Ilianna, have you?”
I frowned. “No. I thought she was supposed to be meeting you. Didn’t you have that date with Carwyn tonight?”
“That’s the thing—she hasn’t turned up.”
My heart began to beat a whole lot faster. “What do you mean? Has she backed out again?”
“No. At least, I don’t think so. She was pretty determined to hash everything out with Carwyn tonight.” She paused, and even through the phone’s tiny screen, her worry was evident. “Risa, I think something has happened to her.”
Chapter 9
For a second I swear my heart stopped. Just thinking that something had happened to Ilianna made my stomach churn so badly, it felt like I was about to vomit. Damn it. I couldn’t lose Ilianna. Not when there was a very real possibility we would lose Tao.
Panic surged, thick with fear, but I somehow reined it in and said, “Have you tried calling her?”
“Of course—”
“What about Tao? Or her parents?”
“Yes and yes. No one’s heard from her, Risa. She’s just gone. Completely and utterly disappeared.”
