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“Asharee, make for the ramp. It won’t fit in the tunnel.” As he passed by the alley of a building, someone stepped out.
I knew that dark hair and face. Oriz? I eyed him with puzzlement, for I didn’t understand how he could be here.
“Duck!” Even as Daksh’s lips moved, I dove to the side, and the gob of thread missed me.
The spider hadn’t given up. But at least there were three of us to fight.
Daksh had yet to turn and see we had a new blade to help.
Only it turned out Oriz wasn’t on our side. With the pommel of his blade, he knocked Daksh’s head hard enough the King dropped.
“Daksh! No.” I lunged just as the spider spat some silk. My feet got caught in the stickiness, halting me from going to his aid.
Tweet.The whistle came from Oriz, who was standing over the King’s limp body. It drew the notice of the spider, which spit a gob of goo that enveloped Daksh.
I had to help him. I stopped straining against the webbing and crouched, hovering my hands over it. There had to be a way to free myself.
What of magic? Only I didn’t have anything I could use to infuse with intent and render it less sticky.
Unless… I could treat the goo itself as a potion and give it purpose.
I closed my eyes and thought,You’re a web repellent. I even added a little prayer just in case.Goddess, if you’re listening, I could use your help.
I suddenly jolted forward as the hold on my feet released, meaning I could run for Daksh, hidden behind the bulk of the spider. I didn’t care. This time I dove under its body without hesitation, and when I plunged my dagger, I did so vigorously. The splash was as gross as expected.
The fact the gutted arachnid landed on top of me? Yeah, I didn’t predict that.
By the time I regained consciousness, I’d been placed in chains and Daksh was gone.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
PALLA
It had been a day since we lost Asharee and the King.
A day since I’d lost my best friend.
I’d failed her as her personal guard. Failed her as a best friend. Failed at being a hero. I did more harm than good. I wanted to give up.
Only I couldn’t.
If Asharee had survived the roof tunnel collapse, then that meant she was out there somewhere, possibly alone, scared but pretending she wasn’t. I’d always admired her courage. And she’d always been there for me. I could do no less for her. I had to find her. Unfortunately, that meant dealing with a fractured party.
After the cave-in, the lot of us couldn’t agree on a course of action. The giants sported wide eyes and expressions that had them grumbling they wanted out. Even if they had to dig. A very concise Jrijori told them he’d kill them if they so much as rubbed too hard against a wall because we had no idea just how deep we were and the tunnels were obviously unstable.
Kya informed us she planned to use the next exit to extract Qynn. To which Qynn told Kya in no uncertain terms that she wouldn’t be abandoning the mission. Kya wasn’t happy and sulked.
The King’s men thought we should try and complete the mission, because as Aber claimed, “It’s what his majesty will do.”
“Will? We don’t even know if they’re alive.” Kya pushed from the wall in her annoyance, leading to a few of us holding our breaths. I could understand her desire to leave.
Qynn offered the rebuttal. “We survived. Why not the King and Asharee?”
“If they did, that means Asharee is heading for the First Jewel.” My conclusion. I didn’t really care what everyone else did. I would do whatever it took to find my friend.
The option to leave appeared after walking long enough my feet wanted to fall off. The narrow side tunnel displayed the exit symbol. I saw Kya and the giants eye it. None even went inside to explore. They remained with us as we kept walking.
Not long after, we hit a junction. We could keep walking straight or turn. The symbols showed directions, according to the King’s men. Keen and Aber appeared excited as they pointed to the dots and conversed with Jrijori and Qynn. I didn’t do so good with writing. It was all just squiggles to me. I let them come to a unanimous decision about which tunnel to take, and right or wrong, within an hour, we did end up somewhere.
