Web Master (#8 Shifter Squad)

by J. C. Diem

  “I’ll call for an ambulance,” the captain said and re-joined his people. Reece jogged over to the field to retrieve our van while we kept an eye out for spiders. Negotiating his way around the truck, he drove the van across the sidewalk and onto the road. He drove slowly to the center of town and we followed in his wake.

  Mark had handed his fully loaded flamethrower to Kala. She swept her gaze from left to right, searching for something to torch. “So, where are all the spiders?” she asked when we came to a stop. Apart from the crispy corpses of fried arachnids, the spiders were gone. So was the golem’s head. Only its inert stone body remained. It seemed that the piece of soul that was used to create them was stored in the main head of each golem. There was no need for their maker to teleport the body away.

  “The Web Master must have been watching us,” Mark realized. “He didn’t give us a chance to transport the golem’s head away this time.”

  I turned in a circle, searching for the culprit. I sent out my senses, but felt only the dead. The spiders weren’t just hiding or the telltale rustling of their legs would have given them away. They were gone and I hoped they wouldn’t be back.

  We couldn’t leave the stone body of the mammoth sized spider behind. We placed a few grenades in strategic places then ran for cover before it blew to pieces. Reece and I lifted the trapdoor that the spider had made while Kala and Flynn dragged half a dozen bodies out into the open. Up this close, we could see that dirt was held together with thick webs to form the lid. I wasn’t sure where the dirt that had been scooped out was. The golem must have dumped it elsewhere.

  “They’re still alive,” Kala said to Mark when she examined the bodies. We could hear their slow heartbeats and shallow breathing.

  “I’ll notify Captain Darnell,” Mark said. “I suggest you hide the golem in the hole.”

  It was a good idea, so we tossed chunks of sandy colored stone into the space where people had so recently been stored to be used as bait. When we’d cleared all of the stone away, we settled the lid of the trapdoor back into place.

  Apart from scattered dirt and a huge depression in the ground from the explosions, there was little sign that a war had been waged. Thousands of dead spiders littered the ground. It was impossible to hide the fact that the town had been infested. Webs still covered most of the buildings and vehicles. It was obvious that something unnatural had occurred here, but we couldn’t call in the Mind Sweepers to deal with this. It was unrealistic to wipe the memories of an entire police force and the miscellaneous gawkers who had caught glimpses of Gavenport.

  Mark returned a few minutes later with Captain Darnell, most of his officers and Dr. Salvador in tow. Mitchell examined the half cocooned humans then looked at the circle of dirt. He knew exactly what had happened and just how big the spider would have to have been to make a trapdoor that large. I met his dazed stare and willed him not to fall apart. Swallowing down his terror, he gave me a shaky nod to reassure me that he was okay.

  “Do you have an explanation for why so many spiders showed up in one place?” the captain asked him.

  Mitchell had pulled himself out of his shock enough to answer him. “As I’d suspected, some of these spiders were stolen from a nearby lab. It appears that someone has performed an experiment on the arachnids. They created a pheromone that drew other spiders to them. It caused them to band together and attack this town. Fortunately, it wasn’t long-lasting. The spiders seem to be gone now.” His scent reeked of untruth. I was pretty sure he’d just made that story up on the spot.

  “So, this won’t happen again?” Captain Darnell asked. He looked from the scientist to Mark.

  “It’s doubtful,” Mark replied. “But I wouldn’t rule it out altogether. This could just be the first experiment of whoever took the spiders from the lab.” Darnell frowned at the answer, but it was the only one he was going to get. We had no idea where the golems would strike next or which one would be used to cause havoc.

  With our mission over, it was time to leave. We skirted around the trucks that barred the view from new gawkers that had already turned up. A line of news vans were wending their way down the road towards the barricade. Fortunately we’d be long gone by the time they managed to get their equipment set up. I was amazed that they’d returned after seeing their colleague flee in terror.

  Mitchell drew Kala aside to speak to her in what he mistakenly thought was privacy. “I don’t know what really happened here, but it’s pretty obvious your boss wanted you to keep me away from the town.” Her gaze cooled a little and he hastened to explain. “Believe me, I’m not complaining. I just wanted to let you know that I could have helped. You didn’t need to keep me away as if I’m a child.”

  “Mitchell,” Kala said with more patience than I’d expected from her, “you’re a smart guy, but you have no idea what’s really out there. Our job is to keep people safe from the sorts of things that we deal with.”

  He searched her eyes and realized she was telling him the truth. “Then I guess I owe you my thanks,” he said with a smile and lifted her hand to his lips. “If there’s ever anything I can do to repay you, just let me know.”

  “You already have,” she said with a grin. “Several times.” She kissed him on the cheek then linked her arm through his.

  Most of the male police officers watched her as we headed across the field. “What does that geek have that I don’t?” one of them asked forlornly.

  “I suspect he has a rather large…IQ,” one of his female colleagues answered slyly. That brought sniggers from everyone within earshot. Thanks to accidentally spying on Kala, I knew exactly how big the entomologist’s IQ was. I could confirm that her guess was correct.

  Reaching our vehicles, I took a bottle of water out of my backpack and washed the ichor from Zeus’ muzzle. Mark had brought a bowl along for him and I poured the rest of the water into it. Zeus sent me a grateful look then guzzled it down. When the bowl was empty, he clambered inside the van. He was much happier now that he didn’t have that awful taste in his mouth.

  Kala took her bags out of Mitchel’s van then gave him a final kiss. He offered his hand to Mark. “It was a pleasure to work with you and your team, Agent Steel.”

  Mark shook his hand and his expression was as dry as his tone. “I’m sure it was.” Kala sniggered quietly as she dumped her bags into the back of our van. “Thank you for your assistance,” he added.

  “I didn’t really do anything,” Mitchell said with a shrug. “This was way beyond my area of expertise.” That was an understatement. With a final salute, he climbed into his vehicle and drove away.

  “Let’s head back to the base,” Mark said when we were all seated in our van. “I’m going to take the longest shower in history.” He looked down at his filthy suit and ruined shoes. “Then I’m going to burn these clothes.”

  We were all dirty, covered in goo and smelled like smoke. Lying at my feet, Zeus sneezed and tried to cover his nose with a paw to block the smell. Kala was the only one who didn’t reek. She wrinkled her nose, but wisely remained silent during the long drive back to our compound.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  When we’d all showered, we gathered in the living room. Kala had made coffee and mugs were waiting for us on the coffee table. We took a seat on the bland couches. Mark was the only one missing. The kitchen door opened a few minutes later and he stepped inside. He was clean and was wearing a fresh suit. A flamethrower was slung over his shoulder. He smelled strongly of smoke, charred fabric and melted rubber from his shoes.

  “I thought you were joking when you said you were going to burn your clothes,” Flynn said.

  Mark shrugged unashamedly. “Not at all. It was actually quite therapeutic.” Maybe he’d helped to purge some of the horror of the mission from his psyche by torching his clothes.

  “Reece told me about the huge tarantula that you kicked to death,” Kala said. “Have you conquered your fear of spiders now?”

&nb
sp; “Not entirely. But I don’t think I’ll run screaming when I see one now.” He smiled and headed to the armory to return the flamethrower.

  “Has he ever actually run screaming from a spider?” I asked when the door to the main hallway closed behind him.

  “Nah,” Flynn replied. “He’d never let himself lose his cool like that.”

  “Was the spider really the size of a Chihuahua?” Kala asked me.

  I nodded and shuddered. The spider golem had been far larger, but it had been made by magic. The fact that nature could create an arachnid that huge was frightening. “It was so big that I heard it splatter when Mark kicked it.”

  “Ugh!” Her whole body shivered in disgust. “I’m kind of glad I missed the battle now.” She grinned in an abrupt change of mood. “Plus, Mitchell was pretty fantastic in bed.”

  Flynn held up his hand. “Please, spare us the details.”

  “You’re such a prude,” she accused.

  “I am not!”

  “Now, now, children,” Mark said as he opened the door. “No fighting or I’ll send you both to bed without your supper.”

  Kala sullenly slumped back against the couch and her bottom lip pooched out in a pout.

  “She started it,” Flynn muttered.

  Mark rolled his eyes then rounded the couch and sat down between them. Kala sidled over and he slid his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her in and kissed her on the forehead. She shot a triumphant look at Flynn, who flipped her the bird. “I saw that,” Mark said without turning his head.

  “Sorry, boss,” Flynn mumbled contritely. He didn’t protest when Mark pulled him in for a quick hug as well. As a reptile, Flynn wasn’t as prone to showing his emotions as Kala was, but even he needed affection sometimes.

  Reece watched their interaction with a small smile. He’d always felt separate from them and, in a way, he had been. He’d kept himself aloof because, deep down, he’d believed he didn’t deserve their love. His own parents had treated him horribly. He’d grown up with a wall around his heart. The wall was gone now and he was finally letting himself be a part of the mixed pack who had been his family for the past eighteen years.

  Kala reached forward and picked up the mug of coffee that she’d made for Mark. She handed it to him and he took it with a nod of thanks. She might be a terrible cook, but she made the best coffee I’d ever tasted. We discussed our options as we drank our beverages.

  “Each time we take one of the golems down, the Web Master will just teleport them away and reconstruct them again,” Reece said. “We’re trapped in a cycle that we can’t escape from.”

  “Why doesn’t he just send them all after us at once?” Kala asked.

  “According to what the zombie said, he doesn’t have enough power yet,” Flynn said.

  “We need to infiltrate the EERI compounds in Idaho,” Mark decided. “It’s highly suspicious that six of them are in such close proximity.”

  “Do you think the Web Master is using one of them as his base?” I asked.

  He shrugged a shoulder, being careful not to spill coffee on himself. “We won’t know until we get there. From the way they’re positioned, the central base is probably the most important one. We should concentrate on it first.”

  “How are we going to spy on them without them knowing about it?” Flynn queried. “If we send in a drone, they’ll just shoot it down and then they’ll know we’re investigating them.”

  “Lexi could send in a dog to be her eyes and ears,” Reece suggested.

  Mark looked hopeful for a second then shook his head. “EERI probably knows that she can control dogs by now. They’ll probably shoot it on sight.”

  I involuntarily tightened my grip on Reece’s hand. He winced when his bones creaked. I wasn’t thinking of using Zeus, he told me.

  I know, I thought sheepishly. The thought of something bad happening to him scares me.

  He squeezed my hand in return. I know it does. We won’t let anyone hurt him.

  “It’s a pity I’m not an alpha,” Kala said. “If I was, I might have been able to control cats like that crazy werebird in Texas can control birds. They probably wouldn’t be expecting us to use a cat as a spy.”

  The shifter she was talking about was an alpha were-eagle who had lost her sight a long time ago. She’d taught herself to be able to link with birds so she could see through their eyes. The talent that had come to me so easily had taken her years to master.

  Mark seized the idea and turned to me. “You can control other shifters,” he reminded me, as if I could ever forget. “Is it possible for you to control a cat through Kala?”

  The thought had never occurred to me. “I have no idea.”

  “Would you be willing to try?”

  I looked at Kala for her reaction to becoming a guinea pig. She shrugged. “I’m up for it if you are.” She must trust me implicitly if she was willing to let me take control of her without question. If our situations had been reversed, I wasn’t sure if I’d have been as accommodating.

  That’s because you’re an alpha, Reece explained. We’d never willingly let anyone else take over our minds. He wasn’t talking about our ability to control each other. Neither of us would ever purposefully hurt our other half. I doubted it was even possible for us to put each other in harm’s way now.

  “Where are we going to find a cat way out here?” I asked. We were miles away from the closest town.

  “There are bound to be feral cats in the area,” Mark replied. Excited, he quickly finished off his coffee. “There’s no time like the present,” he urged us and stood. Learning about the abilities of supernatural creatures was one of the perks of the job for him. In another life, he’d probably have been a scientist.

  We gulped down our coffee as well and took turns rinsing our mugs in the kitchen. Not even the prospect of discovering a new talent could shake Mark from his insistence on cleanliness.

  Zeus followed us for the mile long walk down the driveway, but he remained inside the gates. I didn’t want him to accidentally scare the cat away once we found one. He watched us dejectedly as we entered a thin stand of trees. Our bases were all in remote locations with enough animals for us to hunt during a full moon. This place was no exception. A hungry shifter would go to great lengths to feed when we were in our beast forms. Anything that walked, crawled or flew was food to us.

  “Okay,” Kala said and rubbed her hands together. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Just stand there and look pretty,” I said.

  That made her grin. “That’s not going to be much of a challenge. That’s my natural state of being.”

  Her amusement faded when I touched her mind. We hadn’t bitten each other to renew our link in a long time. It suddenly occurred to her that she could feel us far more strongly than usual. She hadn’t been here when we’d discussed this previously. She picked up from me that it might be because of Laurylayne’s blessing.

  Slipping inside her mind, I found the part of her brain that I used to communicate with dogs and took control. Werecats were different from werewolves, but we were similar enough for me to be able to reach out with her senses. Dimly, I sensed a feral cat some distance away. Reece slid his hand into mine and my power was suddenly boosted.

  “Whoa!” Kala said when we felt tens of thousands of felines all across the state. Sensing us as well, they turned in our direction. A mixture of feral and domestic, all were poised on the edge of coming to us. If she’d been an alpha, we probably could have made contact with every werefeline in the state as well. Our power wasn’t as strong this time, probably because we didn’t have any cats nearby to help enhance us.

  “It’s just like what happened with the dogs,” Flynn said. With our boost of power, his link to us was strong enough to pick up on what was happening. I was glad that we wouldn’t have to renew our bond. When Reece and I had become part-vampire, it had made us far more dangerous. Our bites were deadly to other shifters now. Our venom would kill our friends
quickly and horribly. After watching Gareth Carter die from my bite, I couldn’t stand the thought of my friends’ organs failing like that.

  Pulling my power back in, I focused on the nearest cat. I called to her and she obediently sprinted through the woods towards us. Completely wild, the tabby had never been in contact with humans before. Despite this, she trotted over to Kala and rubbed against her legs as if she was a family pet. Kala bent to pick her up and the cat began to purr. She had matted hair and was riddled with fleas, but she allowed herself to be stroked as if she was tame.

  “Now we’re going to have to call you fleabag,” Flynn said to Kala. She made a sour face and hastily put the cat down.

  “See if you can use Kala to see through the cat,” Mark instructed me.

  Closing my eyes, I delved into Kala’s senses. Images of Mitchell flooded into my mind. “Eww,” I complained. “Can you please concentrate?”

  “Sorry,” she said with a grin and made an effort to focus. Using my strange power, I sensed the cat’s mind. Without my link to Kala, I wouldn’t have been able to manage it. I had nothing in common with felines at all. While I could control other species of shifters, I couldn’t control their counterparts without assistance.

  Just as I did with dogs, I used her to link with the cat. A moment later, we were seeing through her eyes. Taking over the feline’s mind completely, I made her walk to the closest tree and climb halfway up it. Looking around, I saw us and then our compound in the distance. The cat’s vision wasn’t as sharp as mine, but it would do the job.

  When I released the cat’s mind, she started and looked around warily. Realizing she was being watched, she hissed at us in warning then slid to the ground and slunk away. She disappeared into the grass without a trace, following her own trail back to her home.

  “It worked,” I confirmed and extricated myself from Kala’s mind, much to our mutual relief. I didn’t mind being permanently linked to Reece and always knowing what he was thinking and feeling, but I could definitely do without seeing Kala’s sex life in such explicit detail.