Alserah sat in the chair, looking bored, and several minutes slowly passed. Slowly, Kitania saw the goddess’s breathing slow slightly, and her eyelids begin to droop. Alserah’s eyes didn’t completely close, but Kitania tensed as she saw it happen, bracing herself for what was coming.
A flicker of blue light in Alserah’s eyes was the only warning before the spider erupted into existence. It was immense and brilliant blue, almost the color of the sky, and it filled almost the entire space between Alserah and Kitania, eight enormous, armored legs biting into the floor, its body covered in chitinous plating, and its eyes glowed a bright red. Then the dream spider screamed.
The scream was a psychic echo that reverberated in Kitania’s head, and she flinched as it hit her. Fortunately, her defensive spells muted it to merely be loud, rather than letting the scream entirely incapacitate her. From the corner of her eyes, Kitania saw several of the soldiers stagger, but she didn’t let it delay her. Instead, she lunged forward, spinning the glaive to build up momentum as she struck at its leg.
Before the blade could strike home, the spider jumped into the air, barely telegraphing its movements. It shot at the ceiling, and the entire room shook as it hit the ceiling and bounced off, letting out another, much more muted scream as it fell practically on top of Kitania.
“Hellfire,” Kitania muttered, hastily setting the butt of her glaive against the ground and bracing herself.
The half-asleep state Alserah was in was annoying, to say the least. Her mind felt like an immense weight had been taken off it, one she hadn’t realized was there, and it was like taking a deep breath for the first time in centuries. The problem was that she was still trying to throw off the elixir’s effects, and because of that, Alserah found herself watching what was happening and unable to do anything about it.
Alserah had never claimed to like spiders, and this dream spider was even more horrific than most she’d seen. It was certainly worth obliterating for that alone, but she hadn’t realized just how fast the creature would be, even with Kitania’s warnings.
The spider fell practically on top of the demon, and Alserah mentally winced as she saw the glaive shaft bow under its weight as the blade bit into the spider’s carapace. An instant later, one of the spider’s legs twisted unnaturally and kicked Kitania into the wall, the blade ripping out of the spider’s body and leaving an ichor-dripping wound behind as the demon dragged the glaive with her.
Alserah’s soldiers had shrugged off the mental scream by that point, and the dozen men and women lunged forward to attack, sending a surge of pride through the goddess as they struck fearlessly, their blades having a hard time finding purchase as they attacked the spider’s legs. The magi all started to cast, including Moira, and bolts of fire, ice, and lightning flickered across the room. The spider managed to dodge three of the five spells, and she heard it hiss as one bolt impacted on its side, scorching it.
Even so, the fight had only begun, and as the two heavily armored soldiers lumbered forward, the spider struck back. In moments, two of the guards were thrown into the walls like Kitania had been and several others had been pushed back on their heels while the spider began advancing on the magi. Only the cramped confines of the room were keeping it from practically dancing around its attackers, Alserah realized in concern, struggling to throw off the fog that was keeping her from moving.
Just as the spider was about to bite one of the soldiers, Kitania threw her glaive at it, yelling in demonic, “Pay attention to me, stupid spider!”
Purple light wreathed the glaive as it slammed into one of the spider’s joints, half-severing the leg and causing the spider to scream. The purple light extended from Kitania’s hands, Alserah realized, and the spider surged after her angrily.
Kitania whipped the glaive back into her hands, and as the spider attacked, the demon began using her acrobatics as she almost danced among its legs and fangs, dodging around the edge of the room as she led it away from the bulk of the soldiers and the magi. Alserah was a little surprised the spider hadn’t attacked her, all things being considered.
Moira went to assist one of the fallen soldiers while the others attacked the spider from behind, inflicting more minor wounds as they did so, except when the axe wielder managed to hit a leg and sheared a section of it clean off. The spider screamed again, staggering most of the elves, and spun around, particularly toward Hanrith. Kitania lunged forward as it did, but an instant later Alserah realized the spider had almost been waiting for that, and her heart skipped a beat as she saw what happened.
One of the spider’s legs twisted on itself as it redirected, one of the hardened tips of its legs rushing at Kitania like a battering ram. The demoness hastily interposed the haft of the glaive before it hit her, but Alserah flinched as she heard the deafening crack of the leg slamming Kitania into the wall. The haft of the glaive snapped, and there was a visible dent where Kitania had hit the wooden surface, along with a fair amount of blood dripping from the demon’s chest.
A firebolt hitting the joint between the spider’s leg and abdomen caused it to shriek as it pulled away, spinning back to the elves as they cropped yet another of its legs, visibly slowing the monster. Its fangs were practically dripping venom, and the elves scattered as it lunged forward, targeting the axe wielder. Alserah’s blood chilled slightly as she saw that, feeling the fog around her starting to give way. If the spider managed to hit the man, its maw was so large that it might rip him in half, and she couldn’t help her admiration for how long Kitania had managed to delay the beast. Even so, it looked like she wouldn’t be in time, and—
There was a flash of purple and silver, then the spider screamed, staggering as the head of the glaive bit into one of its eyes, and Alserah would’ve frozen for an instant if she’d been able to intervene. The man took the moment to flee, and Alserah saw Kitania wavering, on one knee as she gasped for breath, her lips dripping blood and her chest partly caved in, while her left arm looked like it was both broken and dislocated. The demoness could obviously barely move, but at her gesture the glaive head ripped through another of the spider’s eyes, carving through its head viciously.
The monster staggered again, turning to face Kitania, and as its maw opened again, the demon threw the other half of the glaive into its mouth, causing the creature to choke for a moment.
That moment was just long enough, as Alserah finally broke through the fog, shaking off the drugs as she stood, blinking and raising her left hand. Her bow manifested instantly and she drew the string, an arrow of scintillating energy appearing from nothing as she did so, and she angrily took aim, hissing to herself.
The spider seemed to sense it the moment that Alserah loosed the arrow and it tried to skitter backward out of the arrow’s path, but that wasn’t enough to save it, Alserah thought murderously. The spider didn’t have time to dodge, and the arrow curved in midflight to ensure it hit where Alserah had aimed. The arrow drilled into its body, and Alserah quickly looked away as the arrow exploded inside the monster, banishing her bow again.
A rain of blue-green gore splattered across the room, and Alserah grimaced at the horrific smell, along with the damage that’d been done to the floor and walls. The room would definitely need repairs, and soon.
“Thank you, My Lady. That was… unpleasant,” Moira said, bowing her head slightly as she looked up from the soldier she’d been tending, who was gingerly beginning to move again.
“That it was. Everyone, I want you to ensure that you haven’t been struck by the spider’s fangs. If you find that you have, let us know so we can deal with it immediately,” Alserah said, glancing at the twitching remains of the spider before adding. “Once that’s done, I want you to look for the fangs. They’re to be carefully transported to the alchemists, who will destroy them. Do not think of keeping them.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” most of the soldiers chorused, and Alserah turned her attention to Kitania, who had slumped against the wall, taking quick, extremely shallow bre
aths, blood bubbling up each time she exhaled. Alserah considered for an instant, then approached the demoness, who had the presence of mind to smile slightly, which looked oddly horrifying with the blood dripping from her lips.
“You don’t look like you’re in good shape,” Alserah said softly, slightly surprised that Kitania had managed to make a last attack at all. She also couldn’t help a little more admiration for the woman, as she hadn’t had to take so many risks.
“Punctured… lungs…” Kitania gasped out, shaking her head as she continued laboriously. “I’ve had… worse.”
“I’ve seen you in worse condition, yes,” Alserah replied, a hint of amusement bubbling up inside her, along with just a little guilt. If she hadn’t called for Kitania to watch, she wouldn’t be in the position she was. The demoness didn’t really owe Alserah anything, and yet she’d just gone through a lot of pain to keep any of the guards from being heavily injured. It was entirely possible that without Kitania being present there would have been several people badly injured or killed in the process. After a moment, she asked, “Would you like healing?”
“After… them…” Kitania gasped, closing her eyes as she kept breathing. “Passing… out… now…”
Alserah’s eyebrows rose slightly as she saw the demon’s head slowly slump over. She didn’t know many people who could pass out on command, and she winced as she heard a popping sound from Kitania’s chest. She quickly turned away, not wanting to watch the demoness heal. Even as old as she was, it didn’t mean she wasn’t squeamish about some things.
Looking at Moira work, along with another mage with the gift of healing, Alserah glanced around before speaking. “Moira, I want you to tend to all the injured, then see if you can’t make Kitania’s injuries less… severe. We know that she’ll heal on her own, but I’d like it to take less time if possible.”
“Yes, My Lady,” Moira said, bowing her head and beginning to move slightly more briskly.
Alserah saw Hanrith gingerly pick up the remnants of the glaive’s haft and the portion attached to the blade, looking at the two pieces with a grim expression on his face. They were both dripping with the dream spider’s ichor, and more of the haft had been damaged by Alserah’s arrow, but they were still reasonably intact.
“Do you find those interesting, Northwind?” Alserah asked, stepping closer as she tried to ignore the stench. It was hard, but with the weight off her mind, she was willing to deal with that.
“The spider snapped an enchanted polearm like it was a twig. I was assured that the enchantments on the walls and floor could take the full force of an ogre’s strike without a mark, too,” Hanrith replied, and looked at Alserah soberly, looking down as he continued. “Your Grace, I just… I underestimated the spider by far. Even when Kitania warned us about it, I was skeptical. I’m startled that it’s leg didn’t go entirely through her.”
“That must be her defensive spells in action. I doubt that if any of you had taken the same blow, even with those spells, that you’d still be alive,” Alserah replied, glancing around the room yet again, then shaking her head. “You also aren’t the only one who underestimated what it might be capable of. That was twice the size of the one that Kitania had seen before, or all but twice its size. I’m startled it didn’t try to attack me immediately, to be honest, since I was the greatest threat.”
“True enough, Your Grace. As to it not attacking you… maybe it thought that you were poisonous, since you drank the elixir?” Hanrith suggested, dropping the pieces of the glaive with a sigh. “Either way, she probably saved me a lot of pain. I’m going to have to thank her, I suppose.”
“You aren’t the only one. I hadn’t realized just how much of a weight on my mind it was until now, but it’s… liberating,” Alserah said, and took a deep breath before smiling and glancing over at Kitania again. “The ambassador to Estalia has a message book, yes?”
Alserah was pretty much certain that the lady who’d been dispatched would have a message book. The enchanted book would copy text to its twin every sunrise and sunset, and was convenient to have with messengers or ambassadors. They were also unfortunately rare due to how hard it was to make so many sheets of enchanted paper.
“She does, Your Grace,” Hanrith replied, bowing his head slightly. “Do you wish for me to send her a message?”
“Yes. Despite the method of her arrival, Kitania has been a great help to me. As such, if she is Estalia’s daughter in truth, I wish for the ransom demand to be eliminated, and would like for Estalia to send agents to retrieve her,” Alserah replied, coming to her decision at last. Hanrith blinked, then nodded.
“As you say, Your Grace. I will have the message sent as soon as possible. The afternoon is set aside for Lady Azalea to send her messages, so it will be sent just after midnight,” Hanrith replied, bowing deeply this time.
“That will work perfectly,” Alserah said, stepping around a leg of the spider as she continued. “Now, I’m going to thank the soldiers for their assistance, then I would like for you to organize the disposal of the spider’s remains, Northwind. The room will take a great deal of cleaning and renovations before it will be usable again, but it must be done.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” Hanrith said, standing at attention for a moment, then turning to get to work.
For her part, Alserah was looking forward to being able to feel emotions without being in pain. So she gave the first soldier a smile as she spoke to the injured man. “Thank you for all that you did. It would have been difficult to do this without you.”
The man’s mood obviously improved as he smiled and nodded, replying, “Thank you, Your Grace! I was only doing my duty, but your thanks are a blessing.”
That made Alserah laugh softly, and she turned to continue her work, sneaking the occasional glance at Kitania, who now had a soldier tending to her.
Alserah would have to thank Kitania later.
Chapter 18
Kitania groaned softly as she stood up, her arm and chest still aching. In some ways, being hit in the chest by the dream spider had been worse than the incident with the ballista, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. She was somewhat surprised she’d gotten any magical healing, considering her regeneration, but Kitania was thankful that she had. From the look of the light outside, it’d been at least four hours since she’d been injured, and she still hadn’t fully healed. It was mostly moving the ribs back into place, she suspected, plus the sheer damage done throughout her torso.
She could walk now, though, and that meant that she wanted a bath. Her mouth still tasted faintly like blood, even though Kitania had washed her mouth out a dozen times, and she felt grimy.
“I hate dream spiders,” Kitania muttered, shivering slightly. She’d thought she was about to be bisected by the spider when Alserah had stood at last, and the goddess had obliterated the creature in a single shot. Sure, she’d expected the goddess to be able to kill it instantly, but she hadn’t appreciated being drenched in spider guts. Not that she’d ever say that to Alserah’s face.
She looked herself over, making sure she was at least somewhat decent. Someone had washed her off and changed her into other clothing, more of a loose gown considering her injuries, so she wasn’t too badly off. Then she opened the door and looked at her guards. They looked back at her, obviously shocked at her appearance.
“I don’t suppose I’m allowed to go to the bathing room, am I?” Kitania asked hopefully. “I’m in desperate need of a bath.”
One of the guards looked at the other, and the woman stared at Kitania for a moment before asking incredulously, “You’re already moving? How?”
“I heal quickly. You should know that, though,” Kitania replied, frowning at the guard unhappily.
“Well, yes, but when they brought you back, you—” the guard began, but stopped when her partner elbowed her in the side. She paused, then shook her head as she said. “No, you’re allowed to bathe if you want to. I just can’t believe you’re fine alr
eady.”
“Fine would be putting it a little too strongly. I still ache, and that isn’t something I want to experience again,” Kitania replied, and she stepped out to head down the hallway barefoot. Her shoes hadn’t been in the room with her, which made Kitania suspect that they, like the rest of her clothing, had either been disposed of or taken to be cleaned. If it were her, she’d probably clean them, but she normally didn’t have the resources of a nation to call on. They’d probably burned them, which was a bit of a waste, in her opinion.
The guards followed Kitania, and soon enough she reached the bathing room. Gathering the supplies she needed and filling the tub took a little longer than she liked, but at least the bathing room didn’t have many others in it at the moment. The handful that visited did give her a few odd looks, but Kitania ignored them, instead quickly settling into the tub to relax for a minute. She’d clean herself soon enough.
“They said that Miss Kitania was taken to her room, but that she had blood all around her mouth, and her clothing was in a horrific state, with even more blood and tears in it.” Cecilia continued her explanation, shaking her head in disbelief as she added. “Then there was what looked like huge spider legs getting taken through the halls, and a bunch of guards whose armor looked like Miss Kitania’s clothing. None of them were injured much, so I’m guessing that she did something foolish.”
“Mm, did they increase the guard on Kitania? Or is she in the same situation as before?” Niadra asked, adjusting her necklace and looking herself over critically. While she hadn’t arranged the dinner for that night, she didn’t want to disappoint her parents, even if she wasn’t interested in the courtship of any of the families she was dining with.
“Ah… nothing has changed that I’ve been told about. The soiled clothing was removed from her room, and that was the last I heard about her,” Cecilia admitted after a moment, looking a little unhappy. “I’m afraid that, despite the obvious issues that occurred, those involved have been surprisingly quiet about what happened so far. Perhaps Her Grace got angry with Miss Kitania?”
Mortal Gods (Mantles of Power Book 2) Page 15