Fate's Hand

by Lynn, Christopher

  Rylan hunched down and prepared to jump away, but quickly realized he was at the turn of the cave. The walls were much more narrow and the ceiling more short. He looked back at the elk in distress as the creature lowered its head and charged antlers first. The massive antlers nearly filled the space of the narrow shaft. Rylan tried to move farther into the cave, but came face first into thick, sticky webbing. He panicked and tried to push farther in, but the mass of webs held him in place as the elk rammed his antlers into his back. He was slammed through the webs and the ground dropped out from underneath him. In immense pain, Rylan fell freely and tried to reach out to anything solid. He slammed against the far side of the pit and fell the last few feet to the jagged stone floor.

  Rylan laid still; everything hurt. At the very least, his right leg was broken. He looked up, focused his eyes, and tried to drown out the ringing in his ears. He stared up the deep shaft as a bright light and a deep rumble filled the cave. In the moment's flash, he saw several holes along the tall shaft just like the one he fell through, each one covered by a thick, white web that lit up like milk glass.

  The entire shaft was covered in spider webs.

  Rylan panicked and tried to pull his hand out from behind his back. He rolled his body slightly and accomplished the task, but stopped as he felt out with his fingers. He slowly relaxed his muscles and settled his back flat against the sharp stones. Rylan grabbed something from underneath him and brought it before his eyes, only to realize he wasn’t laying on sharp stone, but a massive pile of bones. His chest ached as he breathed.

  Ribs must be broken as well. Great, he thought.

  With his free hand, he pawed his belt for the troll blood vial. Another flash of lightning illuminated the shaft. Rylan froze as he saw a large spider silently lowering itself down the string of webs. Rylan held his breath and hoped the massive beast hadn’t seen him. The spider reached the shaft where he had busted through and quietly slipped into the opening. Rylan uncapped the bottle and wiped off the panther blood, then rubbed on the troll blood.

  He quickly realized his mistake.

  His body was trying to revert back to its human state when he applied the troll blood. The runes lit up immediately, covered in the new blood, trying to alter his form. The mix of transformations and the existing injury were too much, and he felt the floor spinning underneath him. His breath became sporadic as his bones cracked and tried to reform around the breaks. The elk screamed from somewhere in the cave as Rylan lost consciousness.

  Rylan woke up with a pounding headache and a spinning world. He tried to take a deep breath, but it felt like there was a massive weight on his chest. He slowly opened his eyes and remembered he was in trouble. His vision was blurred and covered by a layer of webbing. He was a pendulum, dangling upside down and spinning slowly at the top of the cave shaft. Rylan struggled against the webbing, but it didn’t budge. He bent his waist and wiggled, but stopped when he felt the web give, drooping slightly under the weight and movement of his struggle. He forced the web back as he arched his neck and looked down.

  Rylan was hanging a bow shot from the broken bones and rock bottom welcoming him at the bottom of the shaft. Trying to settle his breathing down, he looked around gingerly to take stock of his situation. He flexed his hands and felt his senses and quickly realized the troll blood was still on his tattoo. His sharp claws ripped through the first layers of the web.

  If I can break this cocoon free to break my fall, the impact won't kill me. Probably, Rylan thought. Unless I black out again, and the blood dries before I wake up. Or the spider gets hungry.

  He chuckled quietly. “Never can be easy.”

  As he bided his time and considered an escape strategy, he felt a light tapping starting near his feet and moving down his body. Hundreds of spiderlings began filtering down to cover his cocoon, slowly working their way into the webs.

  “Well, that makes this choice easier,” Rylan declared as he thrashed his body, using his sharp nails to rip through the spider's work. As soon as his body fell free, he slapped the tiny hatchlings from his body, then turned his shoulders so he would land on his back, clutching the troll blood vial with both hands against his chest. As Rylan tried to think of anything but spiders and broken bones, he smashed into the cave floor. Shards of bones and broken stone filled the air. When the sound of wind rushing past his ears died away, everything was silent.

  He lay there, still clutching the bottle, completely stunned until the troll blood began doing its work and mending his dozens of wounds. The pain of his bones being pushed back into place once again brought a reminder with it.

  Breathe, Rylan.

  He sucked in a lungful of air and dust and coughed hard. He gritted his teeth and tensed his muscles; his entire body throbbed. He could feel his muscles pushing against the rocks and bone, forcing them out of his flesh.

  A large shadow formed at the topmost tunnel. The spider began its descent, carrying a large animal in his mandibles. Rylan's blood began to pound as he tried to think of a plan. He quickly decided to let the spider come to him since he still needed time to heal. The spider pulled the animal up into the air and began spinning it around and wrapping it in its silk . Rylan's skin crawled at the thought of the spider doing the exact same thing to him earlier.

  The spider finished its work and ran a tether up to the top of the shaft to let the new cocoon hang next to the others. The spider then began inspecting the other cocoons, one by one. As it made his way across the ceiling, Rylan knew his time was short. He slowly reached out with his hands, looking for anything he could use to defend himself. He found what he could only guess was a hip bone in one hand and a femur shard in the other. When the spider finally arrived at his empty cocoon, it frantically looked around until it spied Rylan at the bottom of the pit.

  The spider began its descent.

  Rylan tightened his grip around the bones and stared on. The spider finally touched down and cautiously circled Rylan. The spider closed in and towered over Rylan. The man, almost fully healed now, sprang into action as the spider brought its arms down to collect its prey. He slashed across the first leg then began backing up, trying to keep his footing in the pile of bones. The spider quickly recovered from the surprise and scuttled toward Rylan.

  The man held the large hip bone up as a shield and searched frantically for a better defense. His eye spotted a flash of light from a skeleton in the corner. Rylan began circling around the shaft, the spider mirroring his movements. As Rylan neared the skeleton, he lobbed the hip bone at the spider, watched which way the spider dodged, then threw the sharp bone in. The hip bone smashed into the wall next to the spider as the smaller sharper bone plunged deep into one of the spider’s upper leg. The spider let out a shriek and charged.

  Rylan had already pulled the sword from the skeleton and was running over to a waist-high rock. Rylan jumped atop the rock, saw the spider coming in at full speed, and leaped to meet the spider in the air, thrusting the sword as hard as he could into the spider's carapace. He closed his eyes to shut out the blood spray as he felt flesh give way to steel. He landed on the spider, switched his grip, and dragged the sword through the abdomen. The sword sliced through the spider with ease and Rylan flipped forward to land in the pile of bones. He was showered with gravel and dirt as the the large creature fell on its back and shuddered violently, its large legs curling tightly around its chest as it died Chest heaving and muscles spent, Rylan stared up at the ceiling of the cave for the last time. .

  “I hate this place,” Rylan said to the dead spider.

  Rylan used his gecko blood to crawled out of the cave. It was almost light outside. When he cleared the blood from his neck, he admired his new scars and brushed off flakes of dried blood. His clothes and pack were ripped into pieces. He chuckled to himself, thinking about the look on Asher’s face when he'd see him. His mind then went to Val and Daria. His smile disappeared as he thought about how worried she would be about him.

  Rylan ye
lled into the morning sky. “I’m here!” By now, Asher would be looking for him, but between the rain and the rocky ground, Rylan would be almost impossible to track. The man started walking in the direction of their camp when he realized how tired he was. Rylan felt a pain in his side that made his stomach drop; he shouldn’t have felt any pain after the troll blood. He lifted his torn jerkin and looked at two large puncture wounds over his ribs. The flesh was black and purple around the wound.

  Poison.

  Rylan’s knees went weak and he had to lean against a nearby rock for support. He could hear rushed footsteps close by and yelled out once again. Asher came running up the trail, Val close behind him, both men sweating and panting hard. Asher arrived first and grabbed his brother by the shoulder to support him. Rylan lifted his shirt, showing the wound.

  “Cave spider.”

  Grim-faced, Asher drew his weapon. Rylan reached down and steadied his hand.

  “It’s alright brother, it's dead. I saved the day,” Rylan said, then faltered and slid into Asher’s arms.

  Drask sat in his study, trying to block out all sounds of construction outside and focus on the task at hand. He had wasted dozens of spells and potions on himself trying to gain the feeling back into his hand. The potion he was using at the time was designed to enhance his focus. He meditated on the sensation of metal spikes, hoping to feel their prickling. Frustrated, he finally opened his eyes and looked at Yusar. The red wizard was rolling a spiked steel ball across Drask’s right palm. Yusar was still in deep concentration, putting just the right amount of pressure across Drask’s palm. The devil prince slowly curled his fingers around the ball. Blood ran in streaks down the sides of his clenched fist.

  “Prince, you are only making it worse!” Yusar said as he pried Drask’s fingers away. The demon prince let go and dropped the ball, his blood dripping on the wooden tabletop.

  “Nothing?” Yusar asked.

  “Nothing. And I’m getting tired of it. What other potions did you make up? Let’s keep going.”

  Hours later, after Drask had retired for the night, the devil prince sat at the end of his bed, trying to calm his nerves. His concentration was broken as he heard Arihem draw his weapon.

  “Something is coming, Prince.”

  “I was wondering how long it would take them,” Drask said, rising.

  The door opened to the sound of wings flapping. A small brazier flipped over and the imp’s invisibility was canceled. The imp tossed something into the fire as Arihem’s blade pierced his chest and skewered him in the air. The imp coughed and flashed a bloody smile as he turned to ash. The room filled with the smell of rotting flesh and trash as the brazier on the floor flared to life. Drask calmly placed his hands behind his back and tried not to gag at the familiar stench. Before long, the fire took the shape of a large smiling face.

  “Hello, brother,” it bellowed. “Ah, and Arihem. I thought you would be smarter than to get mixed up with the young blood.”

  Drask cleared his throat and forced a smile.

  “What brings you to my tower, brother?”

  The face smiled back with genuine mirth. “Father is angry. You shouldn’t have gone behind his back. He wanted me to tell you all will be forgiven if you just end this fatuousness and return to the abyss.” The large fiery face narrowed its eyes. “With that book and your human hand, we can do great things, brother.”

  “Please, go tell our father that I will stay right where I am. You may all sit back and watch—and rot—for all I care. This is a new era. I would just as soon grab the book with my left hand and ascend to the waiting heavens before I would turn it over to the great and mighty Lord of flies. King of trash and decay!” Drask finished with a flourish, raising his hands high above his head. He slowly lowered his head and looked back to the enraged face.

  “I am better, brother. I always have been. I always will be. Tell father to do what he does best: fail.” Drask blew softly on his fingers and extended his hand, activating a spell that extinguished the flames with a mighty wind. He sank into his chair and looked at the red coals across the floor.

  “Was that wise, my Prince?”

  Drask turned his attention to the hand.

  “ I will never go back.”

  Daria’s heart sank immediately when Val and Asher entered the cave carrying Rylan. They gently laid him down next to the fire.

  “What happened?” Daria asked.

  The three crouched over Rylan as Asher shook his head and told her what he knew.

  “We don’t have anything to treat a spider bite,” he said as he appraised the wound. “Especially one of that size. The only thing keeping him alive is the troll blood.”

  Val jiggled the bottle. “He doesn’t have much left. Is there a town nearby?”

  Asher shook his head.

  Daria jumped up.

  “Wait, did you see the spider?”

  “No.”

  “Do you think you can find it?” Asher was impassive until his eyes went wide as the idea hit him. He grabbed an empty vial from his pack and sprinted away.

  “What just happened?” Val asked. “The spider, it should be immune to its own venom. I doubt it will reverse the effects, but it could stop it from injuring him further.”

  Val smiled and hugged his sister. “Great thinking, Daria!” When he released her, he saw tears at the edges of her eyes.

  “It’s okay, sister. You may have just saved his life.” She shook her head yes and hugged him once again. This time even tighter.

  Asher came running into the cave, vial in hand. He was covered in dirt and several cuts. He kneeled next to Rylan and grabbed one of blankets nearby. He cut and quickly ripped the blanket into several strips. He placed a strip tightly over Rylan’s eyes and another loose rag to cover his face.

  “This is going to hurt, brother,” he said softly as he began wiping the troll blood off Rylan’s neck. Rylan’s body began to revert back to his human form and the three could see the venom causing him more pain. Asher put several drops of spider blood on Rylan’s neck and turned to Val and Daria.

  “He hates insect blood. The changes are too strange. His eyes will hurt the entire time it’s activated. He would rather die than let you see him like this.”

  The covers across his face moved and bulged with the changing facial features. Four thin, sharp legs began sprouting from his back. All six of his arms slowly curled up across his chest, as he finally finished the transformation.

  “For Rylan’s sake, don’t remove the rags,” Asher said. Daria began tending to his cuts as the man just sat there looking at his friend in deep thought.

  “I was thinking, Asher. We should take him to Jerib. The wizard, or druid—whatever he is. I think he can help. He's closer than any town, and he went out of his way to help me once before,” Val said.

  Rylan stood up before Daria finished patching him up.

  “Let's go. Now.”

  It took the group almost six days to reach Jerib’s cabin. It was a constant battle of renewing the spider’s blood on Rylan. Asher was the only one to feed Rylan and asked privacy from Daria and Val. They respected his wishes, but wanted to help more. They passed over a small knoll as the trees gave way to Jerib’s cottage in the distance. Asher set down the stretcher and looked to Val.

  “Run ahead to tell the man we’re coming. Daria, can you please grab the other side?” Asher poured more spider blood on Rylan’s neck as he whispered. “Hold on.”

  Val sprinted down the hill and across the small brook next to the barn.

  “Jerib! Jerib, are you here!”

  Val realized that the animals around the cottage were calm and quiet, unlike the first time he visited the place. He ran over and entered the cabin, only to find it empty. He ran to the barn and found Jerib’s horse, Gabby, startled and alone. Asher and Daria came up with Rylan.

  “Let’s get him inside,” Val said.

  They found a spare bedroll and placed Rylan on the floor. Daria quickly went
to work, getting fresh water and looking around for medicine. Val, feeling helpless, went outside and hollered Jerib's name.

  Night fell on the cottage. They sat around the hearth eating a small meal from Jerib’s kitchen. After the fire died, the three finally fell asleep, exhausted and frustrated. It wasn't until the small hours of the night that the door to the cottage opened. The three jumped up to their feet and armed themselves as Jerib lit a small lantern next to the door and shined it on them. When he saw Val, he smiled.

  “Thank you for the welcome, but I do live here,” he said, in a warm jesting tone. Val walked over and embraced the man as Asher stirred the coals and placed another log on.

  “I thought something bad had happened to you,” Val said.

  “Oh, forget all that. I'm just glad to see you're okay. And this!” He looked over to Daria and held his hand out. “Your sister!”

  Daria walked over and took his hand. “My brother said without your help he would have been walking circles in the woods. Thank you. But I’m afraid we must ask for your help once again.” She stepped aside to reveal Rylan on the floor with Asher kneeling next to him, replacing the spiders blood.

  Jerib kneeled on the other side of the man. Asher uncovered the spider bite. Jerib looked at the wound and shook his head in understanding, but as he took in the additional legs and protrusions under the covers, his face belied his disagreement.

  “This is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. That is the bite of a giant cave spider. I can easily heal that, but it seems to have had a different effect on this young man—he is actually turning into a spider.”

  Asher gave out a sigh of relief. “Please, sir, just prepare the cure for a normal bite, and I will explain the rest.”

  “It’s unnatural,” Jerib said the next morning, as the group ate a breakfast of berries and apricot bread. A small chipmunk was sitting on the table being fed by Jerib.

  “Humans and animals are not supposed to…” He trailed off as he selected the right words. He watched Asher, thinking he would offend the man, but continued on. “…join.”