Bone Lord 3

by Dante King

  Isu had told me to be wary of this Webmaven, that despite looking like an innocent young creature barely out of her teens, Layna had proven herself to be the deadliest of all the Arachne. I also knew spiders killed their prey with venom, and this sure as hell sounded like a brazen attempt at poisoning.

  “I’ll try some,” I said coolly, “if I watch you drink it out of the same cup first. And that goes for anyone in my party. If you want to give them any of this spider-root tea, you drink from the cup first.”

  “You have been warned to fear treachery from us Arachne,” Layna said, her smile broadening, a bright gleam in her gorgeous eyes. “That is wise counsel, to be honest, for many of us can be… sneaky. But if we wanted you and your friends dead, poison would not be how we would do it, trust me. You have nothing to fear from spider-root tea, and I will gladly drink from the cup myself to prove it to you.” She paused, and her eyes drifted toward my crotch, and she studied my bulge with an unabashedly eager and hungry gaze. “And you are such a magnificent specimen, far too magnificent a specimen to kill and eat. No, I would gain far more pleasure from you by keeping you alive and happy. Mm, I can only imagine what kind of pleasure you could bring.”

  I allowed my eyes to brazenly rove over her beautiful figure, taking in the pleasing sight of large breasts straining against the crimson fabric of her silk dress. Despite her stunning features, it was a challenge to look past the fact that she had a pair of sharp fangs in her mouth and four huge spider legs coming out of her back.

  “We’ll try the spider-root tea,” I said, snapping myself out of it. “But only after we’ve spoken to the Council of Aith.”

  “A fair request. Well, to return to the point, before I saw what I saw, I was coming here to inform you that I have called a meeting of the Council of Aith. They have agreed to see you tonight.”

  “Thank you, Layna.”

  “The council meets in the main hall of this palace. Any and all members of your party are welcome to attend with you, to help you to present your case to them, but nobody may enter the hall armed, not even with small items like daggers.”

  This immediately sent alarm bells ringing in my head. But even without magic weapons, my friends and I had a few tricks up our sleeves. I had my recently tested Plague Fists, Isu had her acidic mist, and Rami-Xayon could call on the power of Wind, summoning tornadoes and hurricanes. Friya could utilize certain Cold magic, and while Drok, Elyse, and Rollar wouldn’t be able to call on anything without magic weapons, they were all skilled fighters who could handle themselves, whether armed or unarmed. She hadn’t said no armor either, so I would tell everyone to armor up. Every bit would help if push came to shove.

  “I can abide by those terms,” I finally said.

  “Good. Look out of this window,” she said, leading me to the closest one. “You also have this view from your chamber. When the rising moon clears that tower, that is the time you will proceed to the hall for the meeting.”

  There were a large number of human-shaped spider cocoons hanging from the same tower.

  “A servant will escort you,” Layna continued, “so make sure you are ready at that exact time. Punctuality is very important to us. Arriving even a few minutes late will greatly anger the council and turn their opinions against you.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll be ready to go the moment the moon clears that tower. I want to ask you one more thing.”

  Layna’s fangs gleamed in the light as her smile widened. “Of course, Vance. Ask away.”

  “Those spider cocoons have people in ‘em, right?”

  Layna giggled like a schoolgirl, not quite the reaction I’d been expecting. “Yes!” she answered gleefully. “And I put some of them there myself! They’re bad people, and they deserved their fate. Don’t you also punish bad people?”

  “I’m a strong believer in justice.”

  “Ooh, ooh, me too, me too!” she gushed. “Tell me about the ways in which you’ve executed bad people! Tell me all the details, all the juicy, delicious details, don’t leave out anything. Tell me exactly how they died. What their faces looked like when you dealt out your justice. Yes, yes, tell me everything!”

  This cute girl had a taste for violence and blood, it seemed. Shit, well, I guess I did too. I didn’t exactly follow the paths of assassin and necromancer because I was a dyed in the wool pacifist.

  “If I were to tell you about every evil chump I’ve killed in the name of justice, we’d be here all night,” I said.

  “I don’t care,” she said, almost tripping over her words in her haste to get them out of her mouth. “Tell me about all of them. Every single one!”

  I had to chuckle. Her enthusiasm was infectious.

  “All right, all right, I’ll tell you about a couple of ‘em. I do still have to prepare for that meeting later, remember? I’ll give you one for the road, though. This one time, I was crypt diving. I’d just become a necromancer. There was this paladin who’d been hunting me, a pompous asshole from the Church of Light, had a stick shoved so far up his ass it was scraping the roof of his fucking mouth. Anyway, this goblin’s bell end came for me in his golden armor, with his golden greatsword—a walking stereotype, I know. . .”

  So I told Layna exactly how I’d kicked the paladin’s ass. She reveled in all the juicy details, seeming particularly delighted when I told her how, after killing him, I’d made his skeleton explode out of his fresh corpse.

  “I wish I could do that,” she murmured, “have bones burst out of corpses, watch all the blood and innards fly all over the place. Haha, who knows, it could get in the hair and eyes of the others still waiting to receive their pummeling! It must be a sight… a magnificent, delicious, awe-inspiring sight.”

  I thought I was already catching on to some signs that particularly interested me in girls of her type, so I told her a few more stories. It turned out I’d read the signs well: I swore she was dripping wet by the end of it. Her face was flushed, as was her cleavage, her nipples pressing through the fabric of her dress. She was breathing heavily, nibbling on her lower lip. I was sure that all I had to do was tell her about one more death, and that crimson dress would have flown right off all by itself, and she’d be on her knees, slobbering over my hard cock.

  As tempting as it was to try out this hypothesis, I had to stop. She had made clear that the Council of Aith would be greatly offended if my party and I were late. I didn’t want any unnecessary obstacles to stand in our path. Our objective was clear and singular: we needed to obtain passage through this city as soon as possible.

  “I’ll tell you more stories later,” I said, hating the fact that I had to stop here even though she was virtually begging for more. “I really have to prepare for the council meeting.”

  “Ugh!” she gasped. “You’re such a tease, Vance! You take a girl so far, then just stop. I’m not letting you leave the city before I’ve heard of every single heartbeat your hands have stopped.”

  With that, Layna turned around and walked away. My eyes remained locked on that firm ass of hers until she disappeared around the corner. I forced myself to stop thinking about going after her and ripping that dress off for a better look before I headed to my party’s chamber.

  “Lord Vance,” Rollar said as I walked in, “what’s the latest regarding the Council of Aith?”

  “The Webmaven has called on the council to meet tonight,” I answered, “and they’ve agreed. All of you are welcome to attend—but unarmed.”

  “Smells like treachery to me,” Rami-Xayon muttered, folding her arms across her chest.

  “It does seem suspicious,” Friya said.

  “I will go wherever you wish,” Anna said. It was strange to have her here, but she seemed more eager than any of the others.

  “They didn’t say no armor though,” I said, “so I suggest you all get armored up. We have our magical powers too, and besides, we can all handle ourselves well if it comes to unarmed combat.”

  “If you’re sure,” Elyse said, not
sounding sure herself.

  “Trust me.” I flashed her a confident grin. “I’m the God of Death. It takes more than a few extra legs sticking out of your back to take me down.”

  My party wasn’t as confident as I was, but they nonetheless obeyed. I wore my full suit of plate armor. In addition to protecting me, it also made me look suitably menacing, which wouldn’t hurt either. Just as I glanced out of the window and saw the moon clearing the top of the tower, there was a knock on the door: an Arachne servant.

  “Are you all ready to attend the meeting… my lord?” the servant said reluctantly.

  I looked back at my party. Grim-faced, they all gave me a single nod.

  “We’re ready,” I said. “If you’d be so kind as to take us there now. Come on, people, let’s move!”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I made sure I displayed all my confidence as I marched into the huge main hall of the palace. I didn’t have to do much acting; even though we’d had to leave our weapons outside, I was sure I’d be able to kick ass if it came down to it. One blow from my Plague Fists packed enough power to knock the heads off of any of these spider-looking motherfuckers.

  The impressive main hall had 30-yard-high vaulted ceilings supported by ornate marble pillars. Gargantuan, intricate stained-glass windows glowed with the light of the full moon outside. Layna sat on an equally enormous throne overlooking the hall while four stern Arachne sat on either side of her, on smaller thrones arranged in a semicircle, a level below Layna but a level above us. We were requested to stand on the floor below them.

  “State your name and the reason you are appearing before this Council of Aith,” an Arachne man demanded in a reedy, nasal voice. Like all the Arachne, he was tall, skinny, and long-limbed. While there were streaks of gray in his black hair, his face looked youthful.

  “I am Lord Vance Chauzec, God of Death,” I boomed. “And I am here to request passage for my army through your city. I ask nothing else of you—no gold, no supplies, no alliances—but to pass through Aith on my way elsewhere.”

  “You understand that such requests, humble as they may seem, are not granted lightly.”

  “I understand this,” I said, doing my best to stay cool and collected despite the Arachne’s blatant arrogance and the haughty sneers his compatriots were firing at me and my friends. “When I have explained what my intentions are once my army and I have traveled beyond your fair city, you will understand why my request must be granted.”

  “I hope you realize,” the Arachne said with a mocking grin, “that every traveler who comes here begging for passage tells us the exact same thing. All think that their reasons are of great importance. We, however, as you may have gathered, usually disagree. You are no different. Whether you be god or mortal.”

  While the snooty fuckbrain was saying all of this, a thought popped into my head. How the hell had my uncle and his followers convinced this Arachne Council to allow them passage through Aith? Sure, Rodrick was a smooth talker, an expert in flattery and a first-class liar, but those things alone would not have been enough to convince this council. It sounded like they had already made their minds up about our case, yet somehow, they had let my uncle and his followers stroll through? It would be an understatement to say I was suspicious.

  “You will allow me to present my case?” I asked, keeping my composure.

  “Go ahead, Lord Chauzec. We are all ears.”

  So I did—I told them my whole story in painstaking detail, even going back to the moment I became a necromancer and defeated Bishop Nabu, making sure my tone was calm and reasonable. Needless to say, my mention of Isu made the council exchange a few surprised looks. I did not, however, tell them she was right here in the hall with them. As before, she had her hood pulled low over her head, covering her face.

  Despite their snooty attitude, the Arachne Council listened carefully. While I could see worry etched plainly across Layna’s face as I explained the dangers facing Aith if we didn’t reach the Blood Temple in time, the members of the council remained stony-faced. When I finished relating my insane journey, they whispered among themselves for a long while. Eventually, the one who seemed to be the speaker turned to me.

  “As is our custom, we will discuss the matter among ourselves this evening. You will have your answer tomorrow.”

  Suddenly, Isu stepped forward. “No,” she stated, “you will give us your answer now.”

  “How dare you?” the Arachne man gasped. “Such an act of disrespect and insolence cannot—”

  Before he could finish his sentence, Isu threw her hood back, revealing her face to the Council of Aith. They all jumped up from their seats, their jaws all but hitting the floor. Above them, Layna—who had known all along that Isu was here—looked on with a smirk. She and this council seemed to have butted heads a number of times in the past, and she seemed more than happy to see them making fools of themselves.

  “She has returned,” a council member gasped. “The Great Queen of Aith has returned!”

  “It cannot be,” another murmured.

  There was a larger-than-life statue of Isu in the hall, so not even the most self-serving of these wretches could deny it was her standing before them.

  “I wrote the law stating the Council should take a night to deliberate over important decisions,” Isu said, “so I have the power to overturn it. And that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

  The Arachne council huddled together, arguing in hushed, urgent tones. There seemed to be two opposing camps, one with a clear majority. Still gathered together and whispering, they voted—the arrogant speaker’s side won. He turned and fixed Isu with an icy stare, his mouth curved into a mocking sneer.

  “You abandoned this city and cursed us,” he said. “And as much as some of my esteemed colleagues believe that your return heralds the coming of a new golden age for Aith, more of my colleagues disagree. Even though you were once a great ruler, the best Aith has ever had, according to the old legends, you committed the worst crime a ruler can commit. You cursed and abandoned us. You could say the good and bad balance each other out, but you would be wrong. In our esteemed opinion, it is far more prudent to avoid another curse than gain the possibility of a new golden age.”

  “I did not abandon you!” Isu roared. “I only cursed you fools because you abandoned me. You forced me to abdicate in favor of that airheaded Lucielle. She ran the city into the ground and destroyed all of the progress of my rule with her obnoxious vanity and self-obsession. This same malady spread to the people of Aith, who, after swallowing that moron’s false promises, threw me out. That’s why I cursed you. You abandoned me, you foul, lying toads!”

  “We can argue all night over the details of who did what to whom at what minute of what day,” the speaker muttered, “but those facts are lost in the mists of the past. What matters now is the present. You are no longer a goddess, are you, Isu?”

  The fire raging in Isu seemed to die down somewhat, and she scowled with impotent wrath.

  “No,” she hissed. “I am not.”

  “Then everything else is moot, is it not?” the Arachne man said. “You do not have the power to lift the curse. Therefore, you do not have the authority to stroll back into Aith as if you own it and force us to change our time-honored laws. Even if you once wrote those laws. You no longer have any power here, Isu. If you continue to act as if you do, things will not go well for you and your friends. We will present you with our decision tomorrow. That is the last we will say on this matter. Now leave this hall, all of you.”

  I had half a mind to jump up onto their platform and beat their asses with my Plague Fists, but we were still attempting to get what we needed through the diplomatic route. As frustrating as that was, it was still a lot easier than turning this disagreement into a war. A war would cost too much time. Navigating this web-riddled city while trying to fight hordes of Arachne and their spider minions would be a monumental effort. By the time we would be finished, my uncle would have accompli
shed his task.

  “Very well,” I growled through gritted teeth. “We look forward to hearing your decision tomorrow. Thank you for hearing us out, and thank you for your hospitality.”

  It pained me to say these things to this arrogant asshole—the old me would have flung a throwing star into his eye after what he’d said to us, and how he’d said it—but the new me was wiser, which ultimately meant less impulsive.

  I bowed, turned on my heels, and strode briskly out of the hall. My party followed in silence. I could feel Isu’s cold wrath pulsing out from her core. I was impressed, though, that she too had kept her cool. Perhaps the former goddess was also learning the value of self-control.

  Though we were all feeling somewhat dejected when we returned to our chambers, none of us planned to mope. Some of us were more concerned about what happened than others though.

  “Drok tired, Drok want to sleep,” was all Drok had to say on the matter. He missed his wife, I figured. He’d only had the chance to see her for a short time, then had to leave Hothgrum again. He was sleeping at the far end of the chamber—thankfully next to a window, so he wouldn’t stink out the entire room.

  Rollar was perhaps least inclined to sit and wait.

  “I smell treachery,” he muttered, balling his big hands into tight fists. “I do not trust these Arachne, Lord Vance. Not one bit. We must set up a watch tonight. We cannot allow them to slip daggers between our ribs while we sleep.”

  “I agree.” Elyse’s eyes flittered nervously from side to side, as if the very walls were watching her and listening in on our conversation. “There is evil at work here. I can sense it. A deep and dangerous evil.”

  “They have us in a very vulnerable position,” Rami-Xayon muttered, a dark scowl on her pretty face. “Your army is locked outside the city gates, and we are surrounded by tens of thousands of enemies. If they decide to launch an attack on us during the night, I’m not sure how easily we can fight them off.”