Nightshade (30 page)

“Calla.” I heard Shay’s fearful murmur just behind me at the same time that the scrabbling noise reached my ears.

My eyes darted around the space, but I couldn’t see anything moving in the blackness. The scratch of something hard on stone was getting closer. I whimpered and bristled. My eyes followed the light of Shay’s lamp as it moved back and forth along the tunnel floor.

I’d just taken another step forward when Shay’s cry of alarm pierced the tunnel. “Calla! Above you, move!”

I launched forward into the darkness, hearing something massive hit the floor of the tunnel behind me in the very space I’d stood just a moment before.

“Oh my God.” I heard Shay’s choked exclamation and I whirled around, snarling.

The brown recluse stared at me with three pairs of eyes that shone like pools of oil. Its long, thin legs were covered in silky, fine hairs and they quivered as the spider focused on its prey. I backed away, teeth bared, attempting to appear menacing despite my terror. The spider was enormous, almost the size of a horse.

Its abdomen pulsed as it watched me. I stalked from side to side, wanting to hold its attention. The spider skittered forward with startling speed. I felt the brush of one of its eight legs against my back as I barely darted out of its way. I circled, knowing that the arachnid was just behind me. I could hear the scraping of its limbs along the stone surface of the cavern. Heart pounding, I racked my brain for an attack plan. Wolves had no natural instincts about killing mutant insects. This creature bore no resemblance to the opponents I’d faced in the past.

I whirled to face the spider, having settled on an attempt to maim it until I found some way to strike a fatal blow. My abrupt about-face startled my attacker. Its first two legs reared up and I leapt, catching one of the limbs between my teeth and jerking hard. The spindly leg snapped in my jaws and I tore it away. When I hit the ground and faced it again, the six dark eyes glittered with agony. I stared at the immense beast, which twitched and quivered as it prepared to attack. Its silence was more terrifying than if it had been screaming at me.

The spider reared again, launching itself at me. I jumped to the side, but not quickly enough. I thrashed against the cold stone floor as the recluse pinned me down with two of its legs. I wrenched my neck, trying to fight back, snapping at its limbs and shuddering when the spider’s head descended toward my shoulder. The sound of my desperate struggle became a whimper when I saw its fangs. My jaws locked around one of its legs at the same moment the spider’s bite pierced my side.

A horrible thud was followed by a tearing sound and the squelch of gore. The spider bucked, releasing me, and I scrambled away. Pale, bluish liquid poured from large punctures Shay had made with his ice axes. With furious, determined strokes he brought the sharp spikes down on the spider’s unprotected back again and again. Maddened by pain, the recluse tried to turn on its attacker. I rushed forward and tore off another of its legs. The spider faltered. Its blue blood gushed along the cavern floor. The creature’s legs splayed and it collapsed. Shay ran to the front of its convulsing body, his jaw clenched as he brought the ice axes down between the spider’s center pair of eyes. The spider jerked one last time and then became still.

Shay drew a long, shuddering gasp and backed away from the corpse. His fingers wrapped tightly around the ax handles, veins bulging along his arms. I sniffed the air again and listened, but the signals of imminent danger had dissipated. I shifted forms and turned toward Shay.

His eyes widened as I abandoned my defensive stance. “Are you sure there isn’t another one?” he asked.

“No, it was alone.” I rubbed my back where the spider’s fangs had punctured my skin. I could feel a trickle of blood, but Shay’s attack had disrupted the bite. It wasn’t deep, but it ached.

“What is it?” He shuddered, gazing at the immense spider.

“A brown recluse,” I murmured. “You can tell because it only has six eyes.”

His eyebrows went up.

I shrugged. “We just finished a unit on arachnids in AP Biology.”

“Calla. That is not a spider,” he moaned. “Spiders do not get that big. What is that thing?”

“It
is
a spider. But it’s been changed by the Keepers. They have the ability to do something like this. Alter the natural world. The recluse must be the last line of defense for Haldis should something get past the Guardians.” But which Keeper had created this beast I didn’t know—or when they might come to check on it.

“Killing it might have been a mistake,” I said. “It’s another sign that we’ve been here.”

“Are you insane? What did you want to do with it—grab that bear skull and try to teach it to play fetch?” Shay asked.

“Good point,” I said. “But that doesn’t solve the problem.”

He didn’t reply, staring at the lifeless arachnid, face ghost white.

“Are you all right?” I took a step toward him.

“I really, really hate spiders.” He glanced at his shoulders, as if expecting the offending creatures to be crawling there.

A wry smile tugged at one corner of my mouth. “For someone who claims arachnophobia, you dispatched that thing quite nicely.”

I glanced at the axes that hung from his hands; blood dripped from the sharp steel picks. “Where did you learn to do that? You moved like a warrior.”

Shay’s pale face brightened a bit and he flipped the ice picks in the air, catching their handles easily when they dropped back down.

A sudden throb took my breath away. I put my hand on my side, surprised to find blood still flowing steadily from the wound.

“Let me guess,” I said, trying to ignore the pain. “You went through a phase where you wanted to be a ninja or something?”

He shook his head, blushing. “Indiana Jones. I liked how he could use whatever was around when he got into trouble. You know, versatile.”

“There’s an Indiana Jones comic?” I raised my eyebrows at him.

“Yep.” He kicked the corpse of the spider.

“Ah.” I fixed a teasing smile on him. “So you’re also handy with a bullwhip.”

He gave a noncommittal shrug.

I turned back toward the dark tunnel ahead of us. “Well, I guess that’s good to know for the future.”

With wary steps we moved forward; I kept my eyes off the bones that lay scattered along the floor. My hand massaged the spider bite at my waist. The blood had finally stopped, but the ache at the puncture sharpened and seemed to be spreading. I stumbled on loose stones and Shay caught my arm.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. It’s nothing, just hard to see.” I rolled back my shoulders, trying to focus on our progression into the darkness. The air in the cave seemed colder; it wormed beneath my skin. Even with the aid of Shay’s headlamp I was finding it difficult to see, my vision blurring more with each step. The ground beneath my feet lurched and I stumbled again.

“What’s going on, Calla?” Shay asked. “You’re not this clumsy. You’re not clumsy at all.”

“I’m not sure.” The darkness swam and I dropped to my hands and knees.

“Are you hurt?” Shay asked.

My limbs trembled. I was getting colder by the moment. “Maybe. The spider bit me, but I didn’t think it was deep enough to matter.”

“Where did it bite you?” He crouched next to me. “Show me.”

I opened my jacket and started to lift up my shirt but then bit my lip, hesitating.

He laughed. “I’m not trying to make a move, Cal. We need to see how bad it is.”

I nodded, pulling up the shirt. The bite was level with my lower ribs on the right side of my body. I strained my neck, but I couldn’t get a good look over my shoulder.

Shay gasped.

“What’s wrong?” I twisted further and caught a glimpse of my flesh. Bile rose in my throat.

“How can it do that?” His voice was tight.

I shook my head. “Damn. That’s right . . . I forgot.”

The trembling of my body had become shuddering jerks. “The recluse has a necrotic bite.”

“Necrotic?” Shay breathed. “It kills your flesh?”

“Looks like. I remember reading something about rapid tissue breakdown.” I closed my eyes against the wave of nausea that crashed through me.

“Oh God, Cal. It’s spreading; I can see it happening,” he groaned. “It’s like it’s eating away at you.”

I tried to smile but only managed a grimace. “Thanks for the update. I feel much better.”

“Why aren’t you healing?” He sounded panicked. “I thought that’s what Guardian blood does.”

“My own blood protects me . . . but not from everything,” I gasped. “Venom is tricky, and venom from an enchanted spider is something I’ve never had to deal with before. I might not be able to heal fast enough without help.”

“What can help?”

“Only another Guardian,” I said. “Pack blood.”

“Can we call Bryn? Or Ansel?”

“How fast is it spreading?”

He didn’t answer.

“I guess the answer is no, then,” I said. My arms couldn’t support my body any longer. I rolled back against the cave floor.

“Calla!” Shay wrapped his arms around me, drawing me against him. “Come on, there has to be something we can do.”

I shook my head. “There isn’t. Just get out of here.”

“No.”

“Shay, you need to get off the mountain. If anyone finds you up here, they’ll kill you.”

“I’m not going to let you die in this cave,” he snapped.

“You don’t have a choice. There’s nothing you can do.” The pain that racked my muscles began to subside but gave way to a creeping numbness all the more terrifying.

“Yes. There is.” I tried to focus on Shay; even through the fog of sickness his fierce tone startled me.

He shrugged off his jacket, pulling his sweater over his head and ripping off his white T-shirt.

“What are you doing?”

“You have to turn me, Calla,” Shay said. “Hurry, before I lose my nerve.”

He shivered and I knew it was as much from fear as the chilly air.

“No.”

“We don’t have time to argue.” He repositioned himself so my head was cradled against his neck. My body had grown so cold that his warm, bare skin felt like it was searing my own flesh. “Make it so my blood can heal you.”

“You’re insane,” I murmured. “I can’t do this. It doesn’t matter what happens to me. Leave now. Just make a run for it. You’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, right. If you die, I’m as good as dead,” he argued. “You know that. I need your help.”

“I haven’t ever turned anyone,” I said. “It could go badly.”

“Come on,” he snapped. “A bite and an incantation, that’s what you said. How hard can it be?”

He cupped the nape of my neck, pressing my face into his shoulder.

“Please, Calla.”

The scent of his skin, crisp and sharp as a glacial pool, wrapped around me and cleared the haze of my mind. My flesh suddenly shrieked with renewed pain, desperate for healing. I dug my nails into his bare chest, drawing blood. He tensed but didn’t pull away. My canines sharpened. Shay gripped my shoulders and molded my body against him. He gasped when his hands dug into fur, his arms around a white wolf. I sank my teeth into his shoulder. He drew a sharp breath. His muscles tightened, but he remained still.

Blood gushed from the deep punctures in Shay’s flesh. He moaned and his eyes rolled back. He swayed a bit as he clung to me. I shifted into human form, raised my trembling arm to my mouth, and bit into the soft skin. I pressed my wound against his parted lips. My strength was sapped; I could barely hold myself upright. I struggled to keep my mind clear and my body from shaking as I chanted in an ever-weakening voice.

“
Bellator silvae servi.
Warrior of the forest, I, the alpha, call on thee to serve in this time of need.” The cave floor seemed to be rolling beneath me. Shay’s face blurred and contorted as I tried to focus on him, hoping I’d gotten the incantation right.

A ripple of energy passed through Shay. His arms dropped from my waist and he fell back against the cave floor. He became very still, drew a shuddering breath, and in the next moment his entire body convulsed. He screamed.

No longer able to control my limbs, I dropped to the ground alongside him, trembling and fighting to remain conscious. Muscles quivering, he twisted and writhed next to me. His face contorted as he was slowly divided from one essence into two. Once only human, Shay’s being parted into wolf and mortal: two selves, fully Guardian.

Another minute passed, and then another. My eyes were open, but I couldn’t see anything or move. Breathing had become difficult; dark waters rose up to swallow me. The silence of oblivion pooled in the cave.

It’s too late.
I let my heavy eyelids close.

A quiet whimper echoed in the blackness. Fur brushed against my skin; nails scraped on the stone floor.

My lips parted and I tried to speak. No sound would come.

Something warm and soft pressed against my open mouth. Hot liquid trickled along my tongue, gathering, pouring into my throat. It had a sweet bite, like wild honey.

“Drink, Calla,” Shay whispered. “You have to swallow or you’ll choke.”

I forced the muscles of my throat into action, struggling to get the blood down.

“That’s it,” he said, stroking my hair. “Don’t forget to breathe.”

After a few painful swallows I could drink steadily. Sensation returned to my limbs. First came the pain, but it slowly ebbed. My vision cleared and the cave stopped vibrating beneath me. I pushed his arm away and sat up.

He clamped down on his punctured skin. “Is that enough?”

“I think so,” I said. “Take a look.”

I lifted my shirt again and he nodded. “Yeah. It’s definitely healing up.”

He swallowed, looking away. “Not pretty to look at yet, though.”

I quickly pulled my shirt down. “If the healing has started, I’ll be fine.”