Evolution (Demon's Grail Book 2) (22 page)

Emilia

It's just like the great palace I saw in my dreams.

Stepping forward, I feel a cold chill in the air as I look around at the vast gossamer walls. For a moment, I'm filled with stunned wonder at the thought of other spiders having once ruled this place, of the vast empire that ruled from Karakh. This palace was the seat of such great power once, and it will be again. I've read the Book of Karakh over and over, of course, and I know every story by heart; now, for the first time, I'm seeing where those stories took place. Ahead, for example, there's the vast spiral staircase upon which Emitus the Wise is said to have delivered his speech against the Annabites, and a little further up there's the huge stained glass window built by my grandfather Arachnos the Elder. I knew those stories were true, but still, to actually stand here now....

I'm home.

I've never been here before, at least not that I remember, not since I was a child and I was whisked away to safety just minutes after my birth, but...

I'm really home.

With tears in my eyes, I turn and watch as Skellig and the hooded creatures follow, with the spider armies close behind. As heir to the throne of Karakh and daughter of the great Arachnos, I was given the honor of being the first living being to cross this threshold, but what really matters is that the spider race has found its home again. This moment is the seed from which our empire will return. I know it's wrong, but I can't help feeling proud. I never thought I could lead an army, but with Skellig's help I've managed to bring my people home. If only Keller could see me now...

“There is no need to wait,” Skellig says as he steps closer to me. “All that is required is one drop of spider blood on the ancient web, and your father will receive the strength he requires to return to us from the void.”

I turn to him. “It's that simple? That's all I have to do?”

He nods. “Ever since Karakh was hidden, the web has been waiting for this moment.”

“Where
is
the web?” I ask, turning and looking around. My heart is pounding with anticipation. Finally, I'm on the verge of meeting my father in the flesh. I've been waiting all my life for this moment.

“This way,” I hear a voice whisper in my mind, and I realize that Father is already reaching out to me. “Hurry, Emilia. I am ready to return.”

Hurrying across the hallway, I make my way up the staircase until I find a small stone altar set beneath the stained glass window. Part of the altar has been cut away, revealing the frailest, oldest web I've ever seen in my life. It's exactly how Keller described it, and again I'm struck by a sense of sorrow that he didn't manage to survive long enough to come here again. Still, he always told me that he had faith in me, and I can't shake the hope that in some way his soul might be able to see me now, on the brink of victory.

“Is this...” I pause, stunned that the web could have survived. I've read about the ancient web, of course, but to see it, and to know that it survived all this time, is a miracle that I can barely comprehend. It looks so fragile, as if the faintest breeze could blow it away.

“The ancient web was spun by the very first spiders,” Skellig explains as he joins me at the top of the stairs. “Every king has a duty to add to the web. The section you see before you now was spun by your own father, and one day you shall add your own section after ascending to the throne. For now, however, the web acts as a conduit. One drop of your blood will be enough, and your father will be able to step out of the void and join us here.”

“But...” I stare at the web for a moment, before turning to Skellig. “Blood?” I say finally. “Are you sure that's
really
what I'm supposed to do?”

“Do not delay, Emilia. Your father awaits.”

“But the Book of Karakh always said that blood should
never
touch the ancient web,” I point out. “It's very clear about that fact!”

“Not in normal circumstances,” he replies, his eyeless sockets filled with crackles of energy, “but these are
not
normal circumstances.”

“But Keller once told me that blood on the ancient web was considered a heresy.”

“Keller was a foolish old man,” Skellig continues, “and he clung to old ways of thinking. He read the texts so often, he refused to even contemplate the possibility that they might contain certain inaccuracies. You must free yourself of such constricting orthodoxy, Emilia, and rise to this occasion. It is your destiny.”

“Are you saying the Book of Karakh is wrong about the web?” I ask cautiously.

“I'm saying that your father is waiting for you,” he replies, taking my right hand and holding it toward the web. “Royal blood must be spilled.”

“This goes against everything Keller ever told me,” I whisper, feeling a growing sense of concern. “He always said the ancient web was the source of the spiders' strength, that it shouldn't be -”

Before I can finish, I feel a sharp pain in the palm of my hand and I look down to see that Skellig has sliced my skin. He quickly turns my hand over and squeezes tight, and a moment later several drops of blood fall down onto the section of web. I pull away, but it's too late and I watch as my blood stains the strands. Finally, to my horror, the web starts to shrivel until finally it falls away, leaving nothing behind.

“What happened?” I whisper, taking a step back. “Was the web supposed to disappear like that?”

“It was,” Skellig replies, with a hint of anticipation in his voice. “Tell the gathered masses that Karakh has been reclaimed. Tell the remains of the spider species that they are home, and that they fought well. Tell them that their efforts are greatly appreciated.” He turns to me. “Tell them that we shall remember their sacrifice.”

Turning, I see the spiders waiting at the entrance to the palace's great hall. Some are in their human forms, but most are in their pure, spider bodies. I know they're waiting for the moment of victory, to be told that we're home and that our empire is about to rise again, but there's a sense of growing unease in the pit of my belly and as I take a step forward I realize I can hear a faint rustling sound all around. Looking up, I see that the gossamer walls are starting to shrivel and blacken, just like the section of ancient web. It's almost as if the palace of Karakh itself has suddenly become infected by some kind of darkness.

“What does this mean?” I ask, turning to Skellig as patches of dead web start falling to the ground like burned snow. “Why is Karakh starting to crumble?”

“Karakh was built by the first spiders,” he replies, with more and more energy crackling beneath his skin. “They had the temerity to place their palace directly on top of the ancient ruins they found in the mud, as if they thought they could seal off the world that had come before them.” He turns to me, and there's a growing sense of anger in his voice this time, as if he's been holding back for so long. “Then they erased all mention of the demons from their history books, and they pretended we were just a myth. They thought we would never return.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, trying not to panic. “What demons? What ruins?”

“Behold the fall of Karakh,” he continues, stepping toward me. “Like Gothos, it turns to dust. And behold, too, the final fall of the spiders. They, like the vampires and
all
the other species, serve no further purpose. Before, there were only demons. It shall be that way again, once the prophecy of the thirteenth demon has come to pass.”

He reaches his hand out toward the far side of the hall, and when I turn I see to my horror that the spider army is starting to wither and die. Rushing forward, I hurry down the steps, but by the time I reach the first of the soldiers they've already begun to crumble. Wide-eyed with horror, all I can do is stare in shock as every single one of my beautiful spider warriors falls to ash, their agonized screams filling the air as they die. Within seconds they're all gone, and there are tears in my eyes as I drop to my knees and start desperately sorting through their remains, hoping for some sign of life.

“What have you done?” I shout finally, turning to Skellig and seeing that he and the others of his species have gathered at the foot of the steps.

“How does it feel, Emilia,” he asks, “to be the last of your species?”

All around, the walls of Karakh are disintegrating now, with more ash falling to the ground. It's as if death itself is spreading through every web that was ever used to build the palace, and when I look down I see that even the floor is starting to die.

“Gothos had to fall,” Skellig continues, “so that Karakh could be found. And now Karakh must fall, so that
our
home can be found, and so that
our
species, not yours, can rise again from the depths of history.”

“No!” I shout, stumbling to my feet and rushing forward, only for a sudden, vast pain to strike my head and knock me back down. When I try to get up, I realize that the pain is familiar: my father is reaching through to me from the void, but this time he's stronger than ever. “Help me!” I scream, as the pain gets worse, filling my body. “Father, we've been betrayed! These creatures used us! Father, you have to stop them!”

“I do?” my father's voice asks, echoing in my mind. “Really, Emilia? And why, after everything that has been achieved, would I want to stop them now?”

Raising my head despite the pain, I look at the stairs and see that they've fallen to dust. The air is crackling all around, shimmering with an intense field of energy, and a dark figure is starting to emerge from a ripple of light. Feeling a burst of hope, I realize that Father is returning, just as he promised. There's still time to save Karakh, to fight the demons and save our species.

“Help me!” I scream, crawling forward and reaching out toward him with a trembling hand, as tears stream down my face. “Father, they've destroyed our home!”

“Karakh has fallen,” he replies. “The army of spiders is no more.”

“We've been tricked,” I continue, forcing my way through the pain as I crawl on my hands and knees toward the center of the hall. For a moment, I feel as if I'm about to pass out; finally, however, I manage to look up and open my eyes, just as my father steps out of the void and towers above me. I blink a couple of times, trying to make out his face, and after a moment I reach up to him with a bloodied hand. “Father, please,” I gasp. “You can't trust these creatures. They've been using us!”

“The demon race existed long before the spiders and the vampires,” he replies, staring down at me with a face similar to Skellig's, “and Emilia... I am
not
your father.”

“It was necessary to lie to you,” Skellig explains, standing nearby. “We had to resurrect the last dead demon, the last of the holy twelve. Since you never met your father, it was easy to fool you. Easier, even, than any of us anticipated.”

“No,” I stammer, “it
was
my father, I heard his voice, he spoke to me from the void and he told me -”

“Your father is long dead,” the figure above me says firmly. “He died along with your miserable spider empire. You heard
my
voice.”

“No,” I whisper, “that can't be true. Keller -”

“Keller was a fool,” Skellig says, interrupting me. “He'd actually met your father many years ago, and even
he
allowed hope to cloud his judgment. Like you, he believed he was serving your father once again. Like you, he was so desperate to see the spider empire rise again, he didn't stop to think that perhaps he was mistaken.”

“No!” I scream, trying to get to my feet but feeling burning hands pressing down on my shoulders, forcing me to the ground. “My father's alive!” I sob. “He's waiting in the void! He's coming back!”

“Your father is long dead,” Skellig sneers.

“No,” I stammer, “he's not. He's coming back, he's in the void...”

“Everything worked as planned,” Skellig continues, stepping closer to me. “The vampires were destroyed at Gothos and the spiders have now fallen too. The werewolves, meanwhile, are no threat whatsoever. The original three upstart species have been destroyed, and now
we
can return to our rightful place. The palace of the demons can rise now from beneath the ruins of Karakh.”

“And the thirteenth demon shall be called forth,” adds the creature that I once believed was my father. “Remember, that is why we are here. Our glorious task has only begun.”

Turning, I look around and see that I'm surrounded now, with twelve of these demonic creatures standing in a circle. One by one, they slip their hoods away to reveal burning bodies filled with energy that seems to be bursting out, and the pain in my head is so intense now, I can barely even think.

“We are mentioned in the myths of every species,” Skellig explains, tilting his head slightly as he smiles. “Now it is time for those species to realize that we are not a myth at all. Our grail is here beneath Karakh, and now there is nothing that can prevent us from rising again. The demon empire has returned.”

With that, he reaches down and places a hand on the side of my face, instantly filling my body with a wall of pain that burns through my soul and leaves me screaming as more hands cover my face and I collapse into darkness.