Anne Bishop - Tangled Webs

“We could do that,” he said as she lowered her leg and backed him toward a chair. “Oh, yeah. We could do that.”

The ball of witchlight floated into the kitchen, followed by Rainier. He laid the two pokers and her stiletto on the kitchen table.

“The witchlight is dimming,” he said. “Did you check in here to see if there was anything useful?”

Surreal stared at the passageway, then looked at Rainier.

“I left them the other lamp,” he said.

“Left them the…You left them alone in there?”

His face hardened with the kind of anger that made her want to take a step back, but she held her ground. She had to. She outranked him, at least in terms of the Jewels each of them wore, and she had to show her faith in his self-control—even when it didn’t look like he had any.

“I’m your escort, not theirs. They disobeyed you. If they want to stay with us, we’ll give them what protection we can. If not…” He shrugged. “Their choice.”

She hadn’t expected Rainier to draw such an unyielding line. Of course, he wouldn’t have been that unyielding if the children had disobeyed him rather than her. But the Blood males in Kaeleer—especially the Warlord Princes—drew a hard line when it came to disobeying a witch unless she was asking for something they considered unreasonable.

“They’re children,” she argued, knowing it was pointless to argue. “We invited them to join us.”

“We made it easy for someone, but I think those children would have been part of this sick game regardless. How did they know this would be the night the Blood would be coming here?”

“No sign of workmen?” Surreal paused. Would there have been workmen? Or just the Black Widows? Would children just wait around an old house after dark unless someone had given them a hint that they would see something of interest? She wouldn’t have—unless she was meeting someone in order to kill him.

“All right,” she said. “Let’s see if we can find anything useful in here. A market basket, carry sack. Anything we can use to haul around what we find.”

She walked over to the sink. Water would be good. She had a jug of fresh water stored in her “personal cupboard,” a place created by Craft and power that allowed the Blood to carry things without being physically burdened with them. At least Lucivar couldn’t chew on her about not having supplies, and Rainier probably had a jug of water as well. Maybe even some food. But they’d have to use Craft to call in things from those personal cupboards, and she’d rather wait until there wasn’t a choice before doing something that would close another exit.

She turned both taps and waited. The water pipes clanked and gurgled—and finally produced a gush-and-trickle rhythm of rusty water that stank. Letting it run in the hope that she’d eventually get clear water, she started to turn away to help Rainier check drawers and cupboards. Then…

Plink-plink. Plink-plink-plink.

Tiny white nuggets fell from the tap along with the water, plink ing into the sink. Minerals in the pipes, knocked loose when she turned on the water?

Instead of being washed down the drain, the nuggets shifted and began to form a pattern. Began to form a tiny hand.

“Well, there was a carry basket here,” Rainier said as he closed a lower cupboard door and stood up. “But it looks like mice have been nesting in here for some time.”

Not mineral nuggets coming out of the faucet. She was looking at tiny bones. But how could mice get into water pipes?

Same way anything else could. They had help.

Maybe the main water supply wasn’t contaminated. Maybe it was just the kitchen pipes. Rainier had said mice had been nesting in one of the cupboards. If there was a bathroom in another part of the house, they might be able to get fresh water from there.

“No water we can use here,” Surreal said, moving away from the sink.

“All right,” Rainier replied as he opened a drawer. “We can—”

She yelped and leaped back, banging into the sink as large, hairy-legged spiders poured out of the drawer Rainier had just opened. He danced back, swearing, as spiders fell to the floor and ran in all directions. And as the spiders ran, they…giggled.

Surreal stomped on the one closest to her—and felt nothing under her boot. Saw nothing on the floor when she raised her foot.

Illusions that disappeared within moments of leaving the drawer. Just enough time to scare the shit out of anyone in the room.

She felt as if she’d been slammed against a wall. In a way, she had been. Under other circumstances, she would have created a protective shield around herself and known she was safe from the spiders. The tight muscles came from denying instincts and training by not creating a shield.

“You all right?” Rainier asked, his voice sounding sharp.

“Yeah.” No. The damn things giggled. “Is that all of them?”

Rainier approached the drawer and bent just enough to look inside. Then he took one of the pokers from the kitchen table and used it to push the drawer closed. “There’s one left in the back. Since it’s dining on a mouse, I think it’s the real one.” He looked around the kitchen and blew out a breath that might have been a softly muttered curse. “What in the name of Hell…?”

«It’s Tersa,» Surreal said. They were alone, so she wasn’t sure why she didn’t want to say the words out loud. Except that she really didn’t want to say the words out loud.

«What?» Rainier asked, following her lead.

«The spiders. The mouse in the glass. I’m pretty sure those spells were made by Tersa.»

«Are you saying Daemon Sadi’s mother is part of this twisted place? That she’s one of the people trying to kill us?»

«No! Tersa wouldn’t…» How much did Rainier know about Tersa? He must have met her, but how much did he know? «Someone must have tricked her into creating illusions for this place. She wouldn’t harm children, Rainier. And as sure as the sun doesn’t shine in Hell, she wouldn’t hurt Daemon.»

«So we’re going to run across things that are weird and creepy but mostly benevolent, while other things are really trying to hurt us?»

She hesitated.

«No,» Rainier said softly. «It won’t be that simple. By serving in the Dark Court, I’ve had the privilege of spending time with three of the most brilliant and creative Black Widows in the Realm. So I know, from listening to Jaenelle, Karla, and Gabrielle, that illusion spells and tangled webs can be layered and blended. It doesn’t matter what Tersa intended. A death spell hidden in one of her harmless illusions is still going to kill us.»

«I know.» Glad that Rainier had retrieved all the weapons, she slipped her stiletto into the sheath in her boot, then picked up the other poker and used it to pry open a cupboard. “Let’s see what else is in here.”

Spider, spider. Who found the spider?

Not so brave when someone crippled their power, were they? Not so brave, not so fierce, not so damnably arrogant.

Maybe he should base a character on the Surreal bitch. After all, even with danger all around them, the Blood would still be hot for some sex.

Landry Langston could have her for a lover while they were trapped in the haunted house. Hot, fast sex. She’d have to have a climax. Female readers expected that . Landry would get out alive, of course, but not be able to save her from the last trap. Would he regret her loss?

Or maybe he should show how cruel witches were when they used males. The witch in the story could use Landry, adding another level to his own torment as he tried to find a way out of the house and keep the people trapped inside with him safe. Then, when he had to choose between sacrificing himself in order to save her and getting out of the house alive, he’d be justified in leaving her to the fate she deserved.