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“Oy, I wouldn’t put it that way.” Nahla tries to play off their private conversation with a wave of her hand in my direction. “It was nothing really.”
“None of your concern anyway.” Alek’s tone is hostile, but that’s pretty much been his attitude since he and his men joined us.
“There it is.” Oliver points straight ahead of us.
“You weren’t overexaggerating when you said it was a shack,” Nahla says. “In fact, that’s being generous.”
The wooden structure in question looks like it’s been abandoned for years. Vines have practically grown over every inch of the outside.
“Was the door open when you found it?” I ask, noticing it’s the only part of the building not covered with foliage.
“No. I had to paw off some vines so I could open the door.”
When we walk into the one room structure, Nahla immediately sneezes from the gathered dust that covers everything.
“It looks like it’s been abandoned for quite a while,” she says, looking around at the made cot against the right wall and iron fireplace against the left. There’s a small round table in the middle of the room with one chair on the floor, tipped over on its side.
“I was hoping there might be a trap door or something leading to the fae base of operations,” I say, studying the dusty wood floor but not seeing any signs of a door.
There’s a loud thump on the roof that shakes the unstable structure, raining dust and dirt down on us.
Oliver jumps in surprise. “What the hell was that?”
“It sure wasn’t a squirrel, I can tell you that much.” Nahla walks forward a few steps to stand closer to me and Oliver for added safety.
Alek takes two steps toward the door but sees something past the threshold that stops him dead in his tracks. Suddenly, he runs toward the opening, causing the already dilapidated structure to shake as he slams the door shut.
“What’s out there?” I ask. “What did you see?”
Alek leans his back against the door, adding his weight to make sure it stays closed. Two black tipped legs punch holes in the wood on either side of Alek’s head. If they weren’t so large, I would say they were spider legs, but that can’t be.
“Help me hold the door!” Frantic, Alek turns and presses his hands on the door, bracing his feet apart to get as much leverage as possible. The creature on the other side starts to slam its body against the wood, causing the creaky old shack to wobble on its foundation.
“What’s out there?” I ask as we all run to help Alek.
“It’s a spider, but not like one I’ve ever seen,” he says with a shake of his head. “That thing could eat one of us whole.”
“What are we going to do?” Nahla asks, her eyes wide with fright as the spider punctures another hole in the door. This time it barely misses the top of Alek’s head.
“I don’t know,” Alek says, “but I’m open to hearing suggestions that don’t get us all killed.”
“One of us needs to draw it off,” I say. “Once it’s distracted, the others need to run back to the pond. It seemed safe there.”
“Any volunteers?” Alek laughs harshly, not expecting anyone to willingly risk their lives for anyone else.
“I’ll do it,” I say.
“Let me do it,” Oliver says. “You’re needed. I’m not. The only person who would miss me is my dad.”
“That’s not true,” I tell him. “I would miss you. I’m king, so I outrank all of you.” I let go of the door and take two steps back. “I’m going to yell at the spider to get its attention, but when you hear me yell ‘now’, open the door and run away from here as fast as you can.”
“Be careful,” Oliver beseeches me. “Your mother and Ivy will skin me alive if you die out there.”
I smile grimly because I know he’s right. “For your sake, I will do my best not to die.”
Not wanting to waste any more time, I run to a broken-out window on the left side of the room and climb out of it. With quick feet, I sprint about ten feet up the side before I turn to face the front of the house. My breath catches in my throat. Fear like I’ve never known before crawls up my spine as I stare at the monster.
The spider is covered in black and brown fur. Its body is as big as the shack, and its legs are twice the length of its body. If I ever told someone I saw a creature that size, they would call me a liar. Without seeing it with your own eyes, I would call someone with a story like that a liar too.
