Arachnophobia Warning: Although brief, this chapter contains written descriptions of a fantasy spider that may be unsettling for readers with a fear of arachnids. Reader discretion is advised.

  As Olethros howled off-stage in gibbering rage, Amos’s void collapsed with a hollow, reverberating whine, coalescing across the rough basalt tiles beneath my feet. Dark vapors then shot toward the walls, congealing into a solid, speckled gold and black floor extending over the spike-filled chasm. With a few tentative tests of my foot, I realized it was real—a literal levelling of the playing field.

  It’s no bluff. He’s risking everything to give me this chance.

  I won’t waste it, Amos.

  Walking onto the marble floor filled me with a strange sense of grounding. At first, I thought it was anxiety-induced burnout, but the flecks embedded in the stone sparkled faintly with each aura-filled step I took.

  “Marble is known for providing self-control and mastery of thought,” Raelana observed. “It’s a good insulator.”

  And the gold is a nice touch, too.

  “An electrical conductor,” Raelana corrected me. “And magical. But mixing them both makes it harder to dissolve with animus.”

  Wasn’t the floor in his library just like this?

  It finally dawned on me that Olethros had fallen silent, and the clacking of my bootsteps was very loud in the dead air. I stopped advancing, finding myself in the middle of the floor.

  He’s not gone. He’s listening from the shadows.

  Well, here goes nothing.

  First, I sheathed my sword against its silent but shaking protests.

  De-escalation would be best here, not escalation!

  “I’m not wearing the headband anymore, see?” I called, tugging it off my head and stuffing it into a cloak pocket. “You’re free to listen to every thought you can, if that’s what it takes to convince you. I’ll warn you, though, they’re a bit gratuitous.”

  And probably filled with doubt and contradictions. But that makes them even more truthful.

  “I need to have a heart-to-heart with you. Uh, that’s a saying, not a literal repositioning of the organs… What I mean is…”

  Whose idea was it to come without a speech prepared?!

  Fuck, it was me all along.

  Honestly, it was a conscious choice. I just knew that if I thought about it, wrote it, and refined it, it wouldn’t match what was on my mind at the time. I was a waverer, and any misalignment between my words and my thoughts would immediately deepen his paranoid suspicions.

  Too bad it was biting me in the butt now.

  “Look. Er. Listen. Both, I don’t know. I’m not here to kill you. However, before all that, I would like to start with an apology. I dismissed your concerns, misinterpreting your motivations. And for that, I am very sorry.”

  Despite the words coming from my mouth, I couldn’t bite into them with satisfaction.

  After all, didn’t he intentionally mislead me, too?

  Shit, what if he picked up on that thought?!

  It’s normal to feel both sorry for causing and angry about the outcomes of situations, right?

  “Focus,” Raelana warned. “Declare your intentions.”

  Right. I’m not here to retaliate. There are bigger problems, and I wasn’t too far off with that old crack about him needing to commit to global quality improvement.

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  “I need to talk to you about what’s been happening out there, and its overall impact on Speranza! Especially the resulting overabundance of ambient animus. It seems no one is safe from its negative physiological and emotional effects. Even other demons.”

  Even you.

  With nothing of substance to focus on, I chose to talk directly to his empty throne, focusing my gaze on the gigantic, horn-like spikes that rose from its back.

  “Now I’m not exactly sure what’s caused this toxic build-up, but I have a few educated guesses. I think if we maybe try to come to a mutual understanding… we might be able to team up and—”

  “Ambient animus?” came his high-pitched, pressured shout. “Like this?!”

  An overwhelmingly loud and continuous hiss came from behind me. Black steam billowed forth with a steady sizzle. I turned slowly, not because I didn’t know what was happening, but because I did, and I was clinging to the last shred of hope that I was wrong.

  This was one of those times when I wasn’t.

  Liquid crimson poured out from the smoky veil, some swirling and splashing before solidifying into glowing sigils in all cardinal and diagonal directions. I scrambled several steps back as the bloody magic circle completed its radius, its pulses intensifying.

  I swallowed audibly. “The floor’s been here not even five minutes, and you’ve already gone and stained it!”

  At least that wasn’t my blood.

  Yet.

  From the circle’s center rose a familiar obsidian carapace, quivering with unholy anticipation as eight long, slender legs spoked free from their confines, tapping the marble.

  I froze, fear seizing control and tearing away any further crass retorts.

  Its head was the last to rise, with its dozen violet eyes all trained on me.

  “Rachel!”

  I couldn’t breathe, let alone respond.

  The giant spider jumped forward and flashed its mandibles high overhead, spittle dripping from both. Yet still, not even a single muscle fiber of mine twitched.

  “Your amulet!” Raelana barked. Grab it!”

  Amulet?

  Oh, yes, I’m wearing a necklace!

  As soon as my attention shifted, I found my fingers shooting for the amulet’s clasp. Light burst forth from the locket along with the well-wishes of my friends back in Chairo.

  “I believe in you!”

  “Save Speranza!”

  With its encouragement, I leapt back again, pulling Faith in front of me just in time to stave off a streaking shot of spittle.

  “Hey now,” I addressed the spider, who was rearing up on its hind legs to strike. “I’m not looking for a fight here—”

  “Destroy all demons!”

  “Slay the demon king!”

  Unfortunately, the amulet kept ringing even though I tried to close it tightly, adding those wishes that weren’t exactly altruistic.

  “Eternal suffering to Demonkind!”

  You’re not helping my point at all!

  “Rachel,” Raelana shouted as it swung its weight back in anticipation. “Try aiming for its dorsal fin!”

  Dorsal fin? It doesn’t have a…!

  Oho.

  I drew and swung the Will of Euphridia in one swift arc.

  “Amity Bolt!”

  A wave of bright golden light rippled forward, striking the illusion dead center and ripping it apart as if it were made of tissue paper. My victory was short-lived, however, as hidden behind it was an advancing swarm of tentacle-like vines. They lashed out from the magic circle, each one aiming at me.

  I caught the first one with a downward slash, severing it before it could grab my foot. Bright red ooze poured from both cut ends. Another went to wrap itself around the shield, and I found myself scraping it off in a sticky frenzy. A third struck my head, but a dodge-spin-and-strike removed it from play.

  “I find you in violation of our contract, Captain Raelynn Lightbringer,” Olethros’s cold, disembodied voice intoned as the vines continued their assault, faster now. “And for the record, you’ve done a terrible job representing your case.”

  Even though his words weren’t the ones I wanted to hear, they were at least rational now.

  Maybe… Just a little more and I’ll get through to him.

  However, I was starting to have trouble following all the attacks, lengths of vine blurring in every direction, and the floor sticky with their leaking sap.

  “If you would just reconsider the facts of—”

  Flaming pain shot through the back of my right hand. The snake that had recited my dark pack had resurfaced, driving its fangs through my gauntlet and deep into my flesh beneath.

  “Aah! Stop! Stop—”

  My entire right arm began to numb, though I did my best to hold onto Will. Several more vines lashed out from the left, binding my leg and shield after I failed to dodge. Pulled off balance, I stumbled, with more vines taking advantage of my fall. One particularly deft tendril carefully dislodged my shield before pulling it back into the abyss with a triumphant spiral.

  “Please—”

  A vine wrapped around my mouth. Though I bit into whatever woody fiber it was made of, it did not flinch or give way.

  “Up here,” Olethros called from his throne, reappearing just to motion to the mass of tendrils. “I’m not getting the answers I need.”

  The vines wrapped and pushed me skyward with agonizing slowness. The Will of Euphridia dropped from my numb fingers, clanging against the marble far below.

  Now fully bound and suspended, a slight downward glance revealed a column of dark vapor rising. It overtook me, dimming my vision and paralyzing the lower half of my body.

  Or maybe it was poison from the serpent.

  It doesn’t matter. Everything’s ruined now.

  I failed to convince him of anything.

  I never even saw his hand lash out to grasp my neck.

  “Speak—by thought or by word—how to fix Naught. I will relieve you of your wretched Purpose, so that I will never suffer your vile presence again!”

  So, he got half the message. How humorous.

  “You think…” I mumbled weakly as his fingers clenched around my throat. “You can do everything… yourself… Let me at least tell you… Just how wrong you are.”

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