Chapter 63:

Chapter 63:

calculated something in the back of my head for me. Judging from the number of footsteps, there were either three arachnids at best, or twelve bipeds at worst. For the first time in my life, I was hoping for spiders.

What kind of messed up situation has you hoping for spiders?

This was life or death. There was no time to be coy. Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

Get ready to cast slow and use the doorway as a chokepoint. I shouted, glancing behind me to make sure Jinny was still good to go. Her mouth had firmed in determination, and the golden light of the spell already glowed at the tip of her wand.

Cover me. I communicated to Talia, tagging the with urgency. She didnt hesitate, shielding me with her body as I went to work. My hands were shaking as I groped in the dark, looking for the invisible monster that Jinny had just accidentally flattened. My fingers tightened over a thin piece of carapace that resembled a neck. I hauled the creature upward, awkwardly and tried to cling on while it squirmed in my grip, held in my off-hand, looking for anything that resembled a weak point.

Its body lit up. It had an oddly oblong body, a rotund and bloated abdomen, followed by the long neck and strangely shaped head. The worst part was the arms. Two massive, scythe-like appendages that sent a chill down my spine. And its entire body was highlighted in gray.

There are too many for me to protect you, Talia snarled. Move!

The skittering from the outer chamber was growing louder. I dropped it immediately, drawing back as the noise of somethingprobably one of the scythed appendages sliced through the air where Id just been standing.

I darted back into the narrow passage, back pressed to the outside wall.

What was that? Jinny asked.

No weak points. Hopefully, theyre stupid. Thats the only way were going to survive this.

How do you know?

Just trust me.

Intuiting what I intended, Talia pinned the downed bug. She grunted in pain. Long red slash marks appeared, marring her coat. Her growling grew more fierce, and she whipped the creature in her jaws around.

The skittering grew closer still.

Now? Jinny asked.

Not yet, I said through gritted teeth. It was possible to see their footstepsthey were moving quickly, and every time their legs touched the ground there was a small puff of dust. But it was minuscule. Entirely too easy to miss.

A pebble rolled at the entryway, less than a foot away from us.

Now! I yelled. Talia released the bug and skittered back into the entryway, just in time.

A flurry of golden sparks emitted from Jinnys wand. They filled up the entire entryway, in a kaleidoscope explosion of would-be stars. Seconds later, the sparks were disturbed as the first bug stopped, locomotion suspended by the spell. The sparks continued to dance as more bugs ran into the halted ones, making vague outlines.

I pulled my crossbow, the mechanism whirring as I plugged bolt after bolt into the suspended bugs, making sure every outline had at least one.

Its not going to hold much longer! Jinny warned.

I finished with the twelfth bolt, unsure if Id gotten them all. Still, the majority were tagged now with a bolt around center mass, making them infinitely easier to track. Do you have anything big that wont blow back on us?

Unsurprisingly, it was difficult, using on something I couldnt see. The crossbow bolts in their mid-sections provided a focal point, but there was a certain feedback I was lacking. I reached out to the bugs behind, rather than the ones closest, letting Talia handle them.

I sent them an image of three bodies, two human, one canine, utterly picked free of flesh by the time they arrived, tagged with hunger. Some of them resisted, but enough bought into the manipulation that it didnt matter.

Talia sent a similar image to the ones in front, only reversed, with the bugs now ravenously pushing at the back climbing over them and getting at us first.

A chorus of shrieking followed as several bolts at the front rotated in place, and the bugs began to scuffle.

Deciding it was worth the risk, I took the stairs two at a time, arriving at the top. Thankfully, the platform itself appeared to be empty. There was no sign of anything visible, or additional footsteps that I could detect.

Talia ran by me, tackling a particularly enterprising bug that realized there were two sets of stairs. I watched as the bolt plummeted from the high platform, disappearing out of sight.

Keep watch on that side. I commanded, and she positioned herself at the pinnacle of the opposite stairway.

Jinny had already reached the center of the platform and stood near the edge, her face pale.

Wheres the exit! I yelled. A bolt leapt at me from three steps below, knocking me down. It hit far harder than Id expected, and would have flung me clear off the platform if I hadnt managed to catch myself. I toggled off, and found it infinitely easier to get leverage.

I threw the bug off the stairway and aimed a kick at another rising bolt, sending it crashing into the others.

Jinny was pointing across a vast expanse of open air to the other side. An endless void once considered. I think there are two invisible paths. Or one, rather, with two possibilities

I drove my heel at another bolt, feeling more than a little alarmed as it appeared to fall out of the bug as it plummeted.

This isnt sustainable.

Then whats the problem? Poke it and see if its there.

I tried that. I also tried throwing some debris onto it, poking it with my toe, everything short of taking a jump.

My mind raced. Then well lure one of the bugs up.

How exactly? Talia said.

Thought about that. If we let one up, I think thats it. And with the way debris wont even stick, I dont think the bugs would. There are no buttons, no tells. Just two invisible bridges. Maybe if we had time, we could figure it out, Jinny said.

Theres got to be a way. I felt my heart sink. Talia yelped from across the platform. More of them had started migrating to her stairway. An invisible blade slashed against my leg, sending me to one knee. I placed both hands on the floor.

There is. Just like flipping a coin.

The most important aspect of test taking is to pick an answer and move on.

Dont!

If this doesnt go my way, tell Nick Im sorry. And I wish Id gotten to know you better. Jinny gave me a perfect smile, as if she was relaxing on a beach far away, as if everything was going to be fine.

And then she stepped off the platform.