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“Did our savior have to be a spider of all things?” She shivers in revulsion but starts her climb up the creature’s body.
Once all four of us are sitting on the spider, she stands and crawls through the forest away from the oncoming inferno. When we reach the mountain wall, the real test of my plan is put to the test.
“Hold on!” I warn everyone. “Grab as much of her fur as you can so you don’t fall off.”
“Fall off?” Nahla asks hotly. “What do you mean, fall off?”
I don’t have to answer her question because the spider is already starting to make her ascent up the wall.
I can only imagine what the four of us would look like to someone observing us from a distance. Four adults, hanging on for dear life to the back of a spider as it crawls up a mountain. Not even in my worst nightmare would my mind have come up with such a surreal scenario.
By the time we reach one of the holes and make it through, my arms are aching from not only the strain of holding on to our ride but my previous injury from the bats.
We all climb off the spider. I for one feel thankful to have my feet on solid ground, and from the way Oliver is kissing the top of the mountain, he is too.
Without any further acknowledgement of our existence, the spider crawls away, seeking a new home to spin her web in and raise her little spiderlings.
Exhausted, I collapse to the ground. The cool stone against my back feels good and the fresh morning air clears the remaining smoke from my lungs.
“That was crazy,” Oliver says, sitting down beside me. “How in the world did you make friends with that thing? I mean, I realize you saved her young but still. She could have eaten you afterward instead of saving us all.”
“I suppose you never know what’s going on in the mind of anyone, human or animal . . . or is it arachnid? No matter what form the life is in, it can always surprise you.”
“Are you all right, Damon?” Nahla asks, bending over me to peer at my wounds. She makes a face that tells me they certainly haven’t added to my natural handsomeness. “We really need to clean you up, but we’ll probably have to get off this mountain to do that.”
“Don’t worry about me.” I close my eyes. “I just need some rest and then I’ll be good to go.”
I hear the others discuss something with one another, but I’m too tired to care.
As I drift off to sleep, the last face I see is Ivy’s. She’s just a figment of my imagination but my desire to see her again will help me make it off this mountain and back by her side. I wish I could tell her that I’m alive and that everything will be all right. However, that wouldn’t be the truth. All I can do is hope she doesn’t worry about me too much, and that she’s safe.
Chapter 10
I’m jolted awake by the sound of screaming. Even though I’m bone tired after my ordeal with the spider and her young, I sit straight up, searching the immediate area for the source of the loud and eerie sound.
“What was that?” Oliver asks, scrambling to his feet from his spot next to me. He turns his head quickly from left to right, searching for the source of the shriek.
Nahla and Alek look at each other. Their exchange of glances tells me they might have knowledge about who or what made the sound.
As the warm mid-morning sun continues to rise in the east, I force my aching muscles to help me to stand and face the others.
“What are the two of you not telling us?” I demand to know, watching their expressions carefully for subterfuge on either side.
“Why do you assume we’re keeping something from you?” Alek raises his head defiantly as both he and Nahla stand from their lounging spot against a large boulder for shade.
“Because you both look guilty about something,” I state. “We saw the two of you whispering to each other earlier, and that little exchange of looks tells me you know exactly what made that sound. What are you hiding from us?”
“It’s all his fault,” Nahla says, pointing her thumb in Alek’s direction.
“Where is your loyalty, woman?” Alek looks at her in disgust.
“I never liked you enough to give you my loyalty,” she replies, equally disgusted. “Besides, I have no idea what kind of creatures you stole from down there.”
“Stole what from who?” I glance between the two pirates. “I guess I shouldn’t feel surprised but for some reason, I do.”
“Is it really stealing if it’s something that was left unprotected and out in the open?” he questions, as if what he did shouldn’t be considered theft.
“What was it?” I’m quickly losing my patience. “Show it to me.”
