The Spider Queen

by Emma Slate

  As my heart thumped in frenzy, I kicked off my shoes and stepped into the fountain water, which was cool against my bare feet. My toes quickly grew numb, the water chillier than I’d anticipated.

  I scrambled up to the fountain and lifted my arms over my head to try and reach for the pearl in the angel’s hand. But the fountain was massive and I couldn’t even get to the second tier above my head.

  As I reached, arms outstretched, fountain water swirled around my ankles, causing me to look down in confusion. It was gentle, unobtrusive and magical, and I instinctively asked for its aid.

  No sooner had the thought entered my mind than the water turned into one massive wave and lifted me into the air toward the glistening pearl, suspending me right next to it. But when I tried to grasp the gem, my fingers encountered nothing but air.

  Frowning, I tried again, but there wasn’t anything there. A trick of light. An illusion.

  Take me.

  The voice was inside my head, and I whipped my gaze to the angel’s face. Its hand seemed to reach toward mine.

  The pearl—the ball of glimmering light—winked.

  As I reached toward the angel’s hand again, it moved and shoved my shoulders.

  I fell backwards, a cry of surprise escaping my mouth. My arms flailed as I instinctively grasped at the air around me. The fountain water that was holding me up disappeared, and then I was falling. I was going to hit the stone bottom of the fountain. But when I splashed into the shallow water below me, I didn’t meet stone. I was submerged, tumbling into an abyss as the angel’s face receded into the distance.

  I’d fallen into a magical portal that existed beneath the Bethesda Fountain.

  Starlight danced before my eyes and my lungs contracted with pain. My arms pushed through the water as I attempted to swim toward the surface. Or what had been the surface. But something was tugging me down.

  I glanced at my legs, but there was nothing there.

  Take a breath.

  There was that voice again.

  Was it the angel talking? The pearl?

  You don’t need air the same way a human does. Take a breath and you’ll see.

  The voice was gentle, sincere.

  It went against everything I knew, but I couldn’t hold my breath any longer and I gave in. The last few air bubbles in my lungs gurgled out, and then the water was still.

  I took a breath and water rushed into my lungs.

  Then I took another.

  And another.

  The dancing spots in my eyes disappeared and the pain in my lungs began to ease.

  I reached up to touch the sides of my neck. Nope. No gills. The tug on my ankles began again. I could take a hint—and now that I was no longer in danger of passing out from lack of oxygen I decided to follow.

  I briefly checked to make sure the bag across my body was still closed. I kicked a few times and dove. As I swam deeper, I had to remind myself to breathe. The murky silver water grew colder, but at least there were no deep-water creatures hiding among the algae.

  I swam for who knew how long and then I saw it. A glittering golden castle in the distance with a school of finned creatures circling it.

  Fear beat at my heart. Was I about to find myself among mythical shark-like beasts that would devour me on sight?

  As I drew closer, I could finally see them for what they were.

  Merrows.

  Hundreds of them, all with silver tails and long flowing hair of different shades of blonde, brown, and red. Some even look tinged with green.

  I floated for a moment, trying to take it all in. The golden underwater castle. The merrows. My ability to breathe underwater.

  One of the merrows detached herself from the hoard swimming around the castle to float toward me. Her silver eyes were solemn, and as she neared me I felt her pain as if it were my own.

  My breath caught as she reached out with webbed fingers and gently latched onto my hand. She kicked her powerful tail and swam toward the castle with me in tow.

  The sea of merrows parted, and we glided through them and stopped at the entrance of the castle. The door was gilded gold, shiny, etched with unique scrollwork and symbols.

  She released me and then gestured to the door. Just as she was about to turn away, I reached for her hands and grasped them, pulling her toward me.

  I took her pain.

  Her eyes widened in confusion and disbelief. The burdens lifted from her, and I felt her heart beat with joy instead of agony.

  She leaned forward and brushed her lips across my cheek. I dropped her hands. She twirled like an elegant ballerina on stage and kicked off, disappearing into the throng of merrows once again.

  I looked back to the door. There were two handprints carved next to one another.

  I placed my hands in the indented handprints. They fit my palms perfectly and a moment later, the doors swung inward to reveal a palace throne room. I swam through the open doors, my eyes attempting to take everything in.

  The floors were inlaid with iridescent mother of pearl and the walls were gold. I blinked, marveling at the rich luxury.

  I continued to kick forward toward the throne, where one lone merrow sat. He perched, elegant and refined, his eyes warm as they tracked me.

  His tail was thick and powerful, silver and glistening with shimmering scales. His chest and torso were well muscled, his blond hair tinged silver and green.

  The fins of his tail flipped up and then he was aloft, rising from the stone throne and darting toward me. He swam around me in one tight circle. I tried to pirouette, but I wasn’t as fast or as graceful. Air bubbles escaped my lips.

  The merrow smiled in mirth.

  Something about him looked familiar, but I couldn’t figure it out.

  He held out his hand to me.

  I took it.

  And then with a massive kick, he shot forward, pulling me behind him.

  Chapter 20

  We swam through a hallway of mirrors, but the glass wasn’t normal. As I looked at my reflection, I saw a vision peering back at me that wasn’t me at all. Instead, I saw a woman with a golden crown and cold, red eyes.

  I flinched in fear and focused on the merrow’s fingers linked with mine.

  There was another ornate door at the end of the hallway, and the merrow pushed against it. We went through the open doorway, and then we were in a wide, expansive ocean. We kicked up and up, the murky water turning cerulean blue, brimming with sea life and colorful coral. As we neared the surface of the ocean, I saw golden sunlight speckling the water.

  I popped my head out through the surface and grinned up at the sky, my face warming in the sunlit air. I licked my lips, tasting brine.

  “This way,” he said, startling me out of my reverie.

  My eyes flipped open to peer at him. His face was as golden as any California surfer, when moments ago it had looked tinged with silver.

  He dove again under the water, his tail cutting through the waves. I swam after him at a slower pace. He was already sitting on a white sandy beach by the time I caught up to him. I walked out of the water and twisted my hair, wringing the salty sea from it. My clothes stuck to me, but he wasn’t checking me out. His face was tilted up to the sun, a smile on his face.

  As I took another step toward him, I watched his silver-finned tail split down the middle and begin to form a pair of human legs.

  I diverted my eyes when I realized he was naked below the waist.

  His amused chuckle hit my ears, yet it wasn’t sexual or flirtatious. It was genuine mirth. “Don’t turn away on account of my lack of modesty.”

  The only man I wanted to see naked was Luc—

  A knife of guilt sliced me in my heart when I thought of the Prince of Darkness bound in Prometheus’s chains, and then I thrust him from my mind.

  My knuckles turned white as I gripped the strap of the bag holding the snow globe.

  Farther down the beach, I saw two-legged creatures running and playing in the water. Gol
den skinned, beautiful and naked, but their laughter was tinged with something I couldn’t quite identify. Yearning? Grief?

  “Other merrow?” I guessed. “Who somehow can transform like you and have two legs?”

  When I glanced back at him, he was standing. He’d found something to wrap around his waist.

  “Stella,” he said. “You are in Atlantis.”

  I blinked. “Atlantis? Then that would mean…I’m in the merrow after-life. But I thought no other magical creatures could come here! That’s what my parents told me, anyway.”

  He cocked his head to one side and then looked away from me to glance at his people who frolicked and laughed.

  I swallowed when I realized why he looked familiar. This merrow was the reason I had my gift, why I was an empath. “I know who you are. There’s an enchanted mural on the wall in the throne room of my parents’ castle. I know what my mother did to you. Had to do to you.”

  His eyes were steady, somber. “I’m glad to finally meet you, Stella.”

  “I—it’s nice to meet you too, Hunter.” I took a moment to study him. “Do you know why I’m here?”

  “Yes. You came for the pearl.”

  My heart began to thump. “Do you have it?”

  He shook his head. “No. But I know where it is.” He began to walk toward the ocean, and when he was waist deep, a look of calm came over his face. He may have been born human, but now he needed the sea. It must’ve called to him—like easing emotions called to me.

  He dove beneath the water and didn’t come up again. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs, and then let it out with a laugh when I remembered I could breathe underwater. I submerged and followed him down and away from the sunshine.

  We swam past the golden castle of Atlantis, which had massive turrets and ornate windows. As I continued to follow Hunter, the water grew colder and darker, but I had no fear. Finally, we came to the sea floor. Shafts of weak sunlight grazed the dark blue sand.

  He gestured in front of him. I frowned in confusion but dutifully swam forward.

  A stone altar covered in algae appeared through the muddy water as I drew closer. A glistening red egg the size of a beach ball graced the surface. I looked back at Hunter, but he gave me no indication of what I was supposed to do.

  I approached the egg cautiously. I placed my hands on the sides of it and waited.

  Nothing happened.

  Examining it from all angles, I found an opening at the top, large enough for me to get my thumb and forefinger inside it. It was fibrous to the touch, and after fiddling with it for a moment I accidentally peeled a portion of it down like I would a banana. I stripped the fibers off one by one, and when they hit the stone altar, they shriveled and dissipated, becoming one with the sea.

  All that was left in place of the egg was an iridescent pearl the size of a baby’s fist resting on a golden pillar. I plucked it from its resting spot and held it in my hand. The opaque swirls within the pearl began to move like wisps of smoke in a breeze.

  You know where to place it.

  It was Hunter’s voice inside my head, I realized.

  With one hand, I held the golden pearl and with the other, I struggled to open the pouch of the bag. I reached inside to grab the snow globe I had carried with me. There was a small indentation in the base of the dome, and I pressed the pearl to it. The orb absorbed the pearl immediately, and the crystal sphere flashed a brilliant pink and then went clear once again.

  I looked at Hunter. He smiled and with a nod at me, he gestured to the dome.

  With a deep, steady breath, I turned the globe upside down.

  I was sucked into the globe, and I could see Hunter’s hazy, diminished form through the crystal from the inside looking out, and then he disappeared as I was transported to my next destination.

  Chapter 21

  The air was cold and my teeth were chattering. I slowly opened my eyes, and my breath caught in my throat. I was staring at a near-black sky above me, so dark and remote that the stars almost looked close enough to touch. I raised my hand, trying to grasp at the flickering lights. But they were still too far away.

  With a measure of disappointment, I slowly sat up, so I could slip the dome into my bag.

  Only then did I get a proper look at my surroundings.

  I gasped.

  White, puffy clouds. Winged creatures lazily circling through the air. The sky streaked with golden stardust.

  I slid my knees up to my chest and tried to curl into a ball to contain whatever heat I had left in my body.

  One of the winged-creatures flew toward me. It swirled and turned its giant reptilian body, flapped its golden-scaled wings, and then landed.

  I blinked, never having seen a dragon before except in the ancient tomes that belonged in my parents’ archive room.

  The dragon dipped its head, but its eyes weren’t on me. And then it was shapeshifting, like Hunter had done to grow two legs instead of a tail, only this time, in the dragon’s place, stood a naked woman. Her blond hair covered her breasts and fell down her back to stop at the curve of her bottom. She reached down, grasped part of the cloud in her hand, and twirled.

  The cloud was now wrapped around her body. With her free hands, she grabbed her hair and threw it into a makeshift bun. She snatched another section of the cloud and used it to bind her hair.

  I stared at her in wonder.

  “Stella,” she said with a wide smile. “You made it. I’ve been waiting.”

  “For how long?”

  “Long enough.”

  She plopped down on the cloud in front of me. Her eyes raked over me and her smile widened. “I haven’t seen you since you were a baby.”

  I blinked. “You know my parents?”

  “Yes. I came to your naming day ceremony, but after that, Thane and Poppy refused other creatures entrance to Purgatory in an attempt to protect you.”

  I nodded. It was why I’d been so lonely growing up.

  “How are they?” I blurted out, greedy for any information about them. “Have you spoken to them recently?”

  “I have not had any communication with either of your parents for some time now.”

  “Why?”

  “They are”—she paused—“unable to communicate with the outside world.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said with a shake of my head.

  “As soon as Lucifer realized they’d sent you to the mortal realm, he confined them to Purgatory.”

  “I have to get them out. I have to—”

  “Easy,” she said, trying to calm me. “When you find the three pearls—if you find them—then you become law unto yourself. You will break the bargain struck between your father and Lucifer for your mother’s life. It will nullify the spell he placed on Purgatory as well, freeing your parents.”

  I was light-headed when I thought of such a drastic undertaking. “I have one pearl.”

  “Good. Which one?”

  “The pearl from the merrow. I was in Atlantis.”

  Her eyes glistened with longing. “Atlantis. What a sight that must have been.”

  I nodded but refused to divulge more. For some reason, I wanted to protect the mystery. It wasn’t my afterlife to share.

  “I’ll take you to our pearl. We’ve been guarding it, and we’ve had to move it many times, but it’s safe.”

  “Um, how?” I asked, standing up and pointedly attempting to look over the edge of the cloud.

  She laughed. “I’ll fly you. On my back.”

  “Oh,” I breathed. “That’s—well—thank you.”

  The woman rose. “I’m Auri.”

  “Oh! You’re Auri!” I grinned.

  “Your parents told you about me, then?”

  I nodded. “Dad told me it was you who rained dragon fire down on Xan’s corpse.”

  “My claim to fame.” She winked and then pulled me into a hug. Her touch didn’t cause me pain.

  I caught the scent of her skin. Evening and starlight. Magic
and myth.

  She released me and took a step back. “Let’s go. The sooner you get the pearl, the closer you are to freeing your parents and freeing yourself. And then maybe Lucifer will finally be held accountable for what he has done.”

  A pang of grief blasted through me. Was Lucifer always so alone, so reviled? Had he shown me his true self, or was that part of his fabrication to ensnare me?

  Why did I miss him? Why did I miss his gentle teasing, his bursts of temper, his blazes of passion?

  Why did I feel like I knew him, yet not?

  “No,” Auri barked, her hand to my shoulder and giving me a little shake. “Do not fall for his spell on you.”

  My eyes widened. “How did you know?”

  Her mouth flattened into a line yet her eyes were bright with anger. “I, too, have succumbed to a fallen angel’s charm. It does not come without a price.”

  She turned her head and gazed out into the night. “We must hurry. He’s sent his minions. And they know where the pearl is.”

  I was riding on the back of a dragon, grasping lizard-like scales, and praying for dear life that Auri would rescue me if I somehow fell off her glorious shoulders.

  Flying with her was an adrenaline rush like none I had ever experienced.

  It was different when I’d flown pressed against Lucifer’s chest. My blood had been spiked with lust. I’d never felt so alive. So terrified of falling. He’d saved me because he needed me. Not for the same reason I needed him.

  The thought of his pain made tears fall from my eyelids. I had a vision of him in the forefront of my mind, of him bound in chains, struggling for freedom.

  The empath part of me felt his torment and I sympathized. The other part of me, the rational part of me, welcomed the anger.

  If I nurtured the rage I felt at Lucifer, then maybe I could remember that I wanted to own myself. I refused to belong to a man. Immortal or not. Fallen angel or not. I’d rather live my long eternal life alone than be a slave to someone else’s whims.

  I had to possess the other two pearls.

  Auri dipped through the sky, and my stomach leapt into my throat. My hands tightened on her shoulders where her wings met her back. There was a huffing noise, and it took me a second to realize she was laughing. She turned her head back toward me and snorted. A billow of blue smoke rose from her nostrils.