The Mage's Grave

  Chapter Sixteen

  Durima's head throbbed. So did her back. She didn't know why. Her memory was fuzzy, and growing fuzzier by the minute. Not to mention her arms ached, like she had been holding them in one position for too long.

  She wanted to go back to sleep, and she almost did, but then she felt someone poking her and heard a familiar voice whisper, “Durima. Hey, Durima. Wake up. Are you okay? Durima, please wake up. I'm scared.”

  Even that soft whisper was enough to make her head hurt. She rubbed the back of her head, but that mostly out of habit than out of conscious thought.

  “You're awake,” said the familiar voice, which belonged to Gujak, who sounded somewhere close by. “Or are you just moving in your sleep again?”

  Durima forced her eyes to open. It was much harder than it normally was. It felt like someone had glued her eyelids shut, but soon enough her eyes were wide open and she could see again.

  Blinking hard, Durima looked to her right and saw Gujak. That in itself was not strange. What was strange was how he was hanging upside down, his arms hanging beneath him, and how Durima was eye level with him.

  Startled, Durima looked up. Her short legs were tied together by a thick, grayish white webbing that hung from the ceiling. Gujak was also hanging from the webbing with a look of resignation on his face.

  “Wh-Where are we?” said Durima. Her voice was alarmingly weak. “How long have we been out? What happened?”

  Gujak gave her a weak smile. “Look down.”

  Durima did as he said. At least two dozen feet below them was an empty pit, which was covered with several thick layers of web. Though the webbing was the same grayish white as the webbing that held Durima and Gujak, a glowing purple liquid could be dimly seen pulsating through the web, like blood flowing through the veins of a mortal. Directly opposite them was a cavernous opening that appeared to be the only way in—or out—of this cave.

  She saw all of this thanks to a row of green lights running along the top of the walls. They were not very strong lights, but they were bright enough to allow her to see a good deal of the chamber they were in, although everything had a slightly greenish tinge as a result.

  “Webbing?” said Durima. “Have we been caught by some kind of giant spider?”

  “Not sure,” said Gujak with an awkward shrug. “It all happened so fast that I barely had time to put the gauntlet on my hand.”

  “What?” said Durima.

  Gujak held up his right hand. A shiny silver gauntlet completely covered his hand up to his wrist. Durima noticed tiny writing on the knuckles, but it was too small and indistinct for her to read, especially while hanging upside down in a dimly lit chamber.

  Durima shoved Gujak in the chest. “Idiot! Master didn't say to wear the gauntlet. He said we're supposed to get the gauntlet and bring it to him.”

  Gujak swung backwards from his webbing and almost slammed back into Durima, but she caught him with her claws before he could do that. After steadying him, she let go of Gujak and looked at him hard, wondering what his excuse was going to be.

  “I know,” said Gujak, sounding apologetic (as he should). “But I just didn't want to lose the gauntlet. I saw the thing coming and I wanted to at least make sure I had the gauntlet with me. So I slipped it on my hand and now … now I can't get it off.”

  Durima raised an eyebrow. “Can't get it off?”

  “It's stuck to my hand,” said Gujak, extending his gauntlet-covered hand and shaking it. “I can't do anything about it. It's like the gauntlet wanted me to wear it and no one else.”

  “That is the most ridiculous thing I have heard in a while,” said Durima. “You must have jammed it onto your arm too tightly or maybe some web fluid somehow got into it. Either way, it will have to come off once we get out of here and return to Master.”

  “If you say so,” said Gujak. “How do we get out?”

  Durima clicked her claws together. “Easy. I cut away our webbing and we fall onto the web below. We crawl across it to that exit over there, find out where the heck we are, and then retrace our steps until we're on Bleak Rock's exterior again.”

  Durima aimed her claws at Gujak's webbing, but then Gujak grabbed her hand. She looked at him in annoyance, but was astonished to see he had a grim expression on his face.

  “Don't do it,” said Gujak. “Falling on that web below is probably not the smartest move we can make.”

  “What do you mean?” said Durima. “That web looks thick enough to catch us.”

  “I don't doubt it will hold even if we fell on it at full speed,” said Gujak. “But that purplish liquid … I've seen it somewhere before, but on a much smaller scale.”

  Durima glanced at the webbing below them. The glowing purple liquid was as eerie as ever, but she didn't see anything dangerous about it.

  “There's this type of spider back on World's End called a lethal widow,” said Gujak. “It's not really common and generally hangs out in abandoned buildings or underneath bridges and the like. What makes it different from other spiders is that it embeds its poison directly into its webbing. That way, if something flies or crawls onto its webbing, the victim dies almost instantly.”

  “Almost?” said Durima in alarm, looking up at the webbing that they hung from.

  “Don't worry about this,” said Gujak. “If it was poisoned, we'd be dead already, though I imagine that won't matter if you went through with your plan to cut us free. That poison below looks like lethal widow poison, so we'd probably die if we fell on it.”

  Durima cursed. “What kind of spider produces poisonous and nonpoisonous webbing? It makes no sense.”

  “That's what I wanted to tell you,” said Gujak. “See, this giant spider came out of nowhere and knocked you out with one bite. I tried to fight it, but it was big and fast. One touch from its barbs and I was down for the count.”

  Durima shuddered. “Where is it now?”

  “No idea,” said Gujak. “When I woke up, I was hanging here and the spider was nowhere to be seen. Maybe it went looking to see if we had brought any friends with us.”

  Durima gulped. “Then we don't have much time before it returns, probably. Which means we have to act fast if we're going to get out of here alive.”

  “Alive?” said a feminine, slightly insectoid voice from within the cave opening before them. “You must be a blind optimist of the worst kind if you think you will be escaping my web alive.”

  Durima turned her head toward the only exit in the cave. She heard the sound of large, powerful legs walking across the earth, drawing closer and closer to them with each step until the creature emerged from within the darkness of the cave.

  The creature was a giant spider. It had eight hairy long legs that looked capable of smashing boulders into pieces, with a behind as large as said boulders. Its fangs glistened in the green lighting, while its dozen eyes looked far too intelligent to be the eyes of a mere arachnid.

  “That's it,” said Gujak, pointing at the giant spider. “That's the one that attacked us and brought us in here.”

  “Did it just talk?” said Durima, tilting her head to the side. “How can a mere spider, even a giant one, talk?”

  The giant spider made a strange clicking noise which might have meant that it was offended. “A mere spider? I am no mere spider, katabans. I am the Spider Goddess, Goddess of Spiders and Sleet. And you two have invaded my domain because you are apparently suicidal or my brother hates you.”

  “By the gods,” said Gujak, who was now shaking uncontrollably. “We are so, so sorry for invading your domain, great Spider Goddess. We were told no one lived here and that none of the other gods had claimed this island as theirs.”

  “Did my brother tell you that?” said the Spider Goddess in a sharp tone. “He was always an uninformed shut-in, brother was. I see he hasn't changed a bit since I last spoke with him what was it, three hundred years ago, maybe? I find time hard to keep track of these days.”

  “How do you know we work
for the Ghostly God?” said Durima. “We didn't say that.”

  “Because I smelled his scent on you two,” said the Spider Goddess, gesturing at them with one of her thick legs. “Oh, it's not something you katabans can smell, so don't even try. But we gods can smell each other right away.”

  Gujak had been about to sniff his armpit, but then he stopped immediately and tried to look nonchalant, although the look of fear on his face ruined the attempt for Durima.

  “I took over Bleak Rock about a year ago,” the Spider Goddess continued. “I didn't tell anyone, obviously, because I value my privacy and did not want any of the other gods coming here to bug me about this or that. I expected to run into the so-called 'Mysterious One,' but I haven't seen even one hint of his existence since I've been here. Either he left and will never return or he never existed at all. Either way, this island is now mine.”

  Durima gulped. “So what are you going to do to us, Spider Goddess? Will you let us go? Gujak and I did not mean to invade your domain. We were only looking for that gauntlet Gujak is wearing.”

  She gestured at Gujak's gauntlet-covered hand. “As you can see, we got it. So if you would only let us down, we will leave immediately and never come back to bother you ever again.”

  The Spider Goddess clicked her fangs together. “A nice offer … too bad I won't take it.”

  “What?” said Durima. “But we're not trying to trick you or anything. We honestly only came here for the gauntlet and nothing else.”

  “That useless piece of junk?” said the Spider Goddess, her twelve eyes flickering toward the gauntlet before returning to focus on Durima. “It doesn't do anything. That's why I left it where it was when I got here. I don't know who or what put it down here—maybe it was the Mysterious One—but I can't even wear it in my current form. I don't even want to know why my idiot brother wants it.”

  “Master—the Ghostly God—said he wanted it as a part of his plan,” said Durima. All her blood was in her head, making it harder to think, but she had to keep speaking because it was the only way she and Gujak could get out of this situation alive.

  “Oh, great,” said the Spider Goddess, rolling her spidery eyes. “Another one of my brother's great plans. How many has he done over the centuries? Honestly, he's the only one of us southern gods who spends more time acting like one of our northern siblings than ruling his domain. What a fool.”

  “Why won't you let us go?” said Durima. “The Ghostly God made it very clear that we needed to get the gauntlet to him right away. If we delay the delivery, it will mess up his plans and he will be angry with you.”

  “You think I care whether my brother is angry with me or not,” said the Spider Goddess with a strange clicking sound that Durima realized was a laugh. “I don't. We've never gotten along. Even during the Godly War, when we fought on the same side, we didn't work well together. If he gets angry at me now, so what?”

  “What are you going to do to us?” said Gujak with a gulp.

  “Eat you, of course,” said the Spider Goddess. “You two will be a warning to any of the other gods who are thinking of sending their servants to Bleak Rock. If they think they will lose their servants, then that will give them yet another reason to avoid this island and everything associated with it.”

  “I didn't know gods ate katabans,” said Gujak. “I thought they only ate humans and aquarians.”

  “We usually don't eat katabans,” said the Spider Goddess. “But today, I think I will make an exception. I haven't had much to eat today, so between the two of you, I think I will have enough to tide me over until tomorrow.”

  “Please, Spider Goddess,” said Gujak, putting his hands together pleadingly. “Don't kill us. We'll do whatever you want if you'll just let us live.”

  The Spider Goddess paused. “Well, I suppose there is one thing I'd like for you two to do for me.”

  “What's that?” said Gujak, looking both eager and relieved to find out that they might live after all.

  Then the Spider Goddess made a dangerous clicking sound with her teeth. “Stay still and let me eat you without a lot of fuss.”

  Without further ado, the Spider Goddess took off across the webbing below. Despite her size and bulk, she crawled across the net-like web below with the speed and grace of a seasoned runner. Durima realized that the Spider Goddess was heading for the back wall, the one she and Gujak were closest to, and there was nothing she could do about it.

  “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” said Gujak in between deep, shuddering breaths. “We're gonna die, Durima, we're gonna die.”

  Durima wanted to moan and whine with Gujak, but with the Spider Goddess almost at the back wall, she knew she didn't have time for such luxuries. She reached out with her geomancy, trying to form a pillar of stone from the back wall, but then her magic rebounded into her again and she pulled her arms back to her body.

  “Ow,” said Durima under her breath. “Forgot about that.”

  “Now we're really gonna die!” said Gujak, putting his hands on his face. “This is it. There's nothing we can do. Our lives are over and I didn't even get to do everything I wanted to do before I died. Good bye, cruel world.”

  By now, the Spider Goddess had reached the base of the back wall. The Goddess of Spiders and Sleet was only seconds away from them, which meant that they had only seconds to live, seconds to figure out how to survive.

  Durima looked around at their surroundings, trying to spot anything she could use to help them escape. All she saw was webbing everywhere she looked, useless, stupid webbing that wouldn't help them in the slightest.

  Then her eyes fell on the gauntlet on Gujak's hand. The gauntlet looked as boring and useless as ever, yet there had to be something valuable about it if Master had ordered them to get it. It had to do something, probably something amazing, but it didn't seem like they could use its powers, whatever they might be.

  Not like we have any other choice, Durima thought, glancing below, seeing the Spider Goddess rapidly climbing up the wall toward them.

  Durima grabbed Gujak's arm and pulled his gauntlet toward her face. Gujak immediately stopped going on about how they were all going to die and looked at her in shock.

  “Durima, what are you doing?” said Gujak in a panicky voice. He kept looking between her and the approaching Spider Goddess. “Have you lost your mind? The Spider Goddess is going to kill us and you're admiring my gauntlet?”

  “I'm not admiring it, idiot,” said Durima, twisting and turning Gujak's arm to see the gauntlet from as many angles as possible. “I'm trying to figure out how to use it.”

  “Use it?” said Gujak. “How do you know it will be able to save us?”

  “I don't, but do you have any better ideas?” said Durima. She squinted at the text carved into the knuckles, but in the dim green light it was impossible to read. “Whatever it does can't possibly be as bad as what the Spider Goddess will do to us.”

  “But what if Master finds out and gets angry?” said Gujak. “He didn't say we're supposed to use it!”

  Durima quickly glanced down again. The Spider Goddess was only a few feet away now, which meant it was now or never.

  “Then I'll take full responsibility for whatever happens next,” said Durima. “Now shut up and help me figure out how to—”

  The clicking of the Spider Goddess's fangs—which were far too close for comfort—made Durima look around Gujak. The Spider Goddess was now clinging to the wall behind them, so close that Durima could literally smell her horrible, unwashed body odor. The goddess smelled like a mixture between seawater and webbing, a scent that assaulted Durima's nose like a battering ram.

  “She's here!” Gujak said. He looked at Durima with pure despair in his eyes. “We're dead for real!”

  “You speak too early,” said the Spider Goddess, the anticipation in her voice so evident that Durima could practically see it. “You still have a few more seconds to live, after all.”

  Even though it was probably useless
at this point, Durima kept looking over Gujak's gauntlet. No matter how hard she looked, she didn't see anything to indicate exactly what the gauntlet did. As far as she could tell, it was nothing more than an unusually shiny metal glove, and nothing more.

  It made Durima think, for a moment, that this whole mission was a hoax. That the Ghostly God had sent them here knowing they would be killed by the Spider Goddess. That Master had known that the gauntlet was powerless and so had sent her and Gujak here as the punishment for their earlier failure at North Academy.

  That's exactly the sort of thing Master would do to us, Durima thought as despair began to climb up her spine. Send us on a 'mission,' only for that mission to turn out to be nothing more than our punishment for daring to fail.

  She had no time to dwell on that depressing thought, however, because in the next instant the Spider Goddess launched herself off the wall directly toward them. There was no way to dodge, no way to avoid the Spider Goddess's attack.

  Yet despite the despair that was gradually smothering her hope, Durima's instincts kicked in. She shoved Gujak's gauntlet in the direction in the Spider Goddess even as Gujak cried out in fear and terror. Durima did not expect this to do anything, but as they were going to die anyway, she saw no reason not to do it.

  The Spider Goddess was unable to change her trajectory. Just as Durima wondered what it would feel like to be eaten alive by a goddess, the Spider Goddess collided with Gujak's outstretched gauntlet-covered hand, and stopped.

  Literally. The Spider Goddess halted in midair like a giant was holding her. She went completely still and rigid, her twelve eyes unfocused and confused. Her smoky, sickening stench washed over Durima like a tidal wave, but the katabans was so taken aback by this sudden, unexpected turn of events that she didn't even notice it.

  “What … is this?” said the Spider Goddess in a trembling tone Durima had never heard in a god's voice before. “Why … do I feel … like … like …”

  The Spider Goddess gave off a huge, shuddering sigh. Her whole body shook like the earthquake from earlier. Her teeth began clicking madly and her eyes suddenly became refocused.

  “No!” the Spider Goddess cried. “No! What is this? The pain … by the Powers, the pain …”

  Before Durima's horrified eyes, the Spider Goddess's legs began disintegrating. Starting from the tips, the Spider Goddess's legs slowly dried up and turned into dust. The disintegrating effect slowly made its way up the Spider Goddess's legs to her body. It was like watching a crumbling stone statue, but far more terrifying because the Spider Goddess was sobbing.

  “No,” said the Spider Goddess. “No … I can't … this isn't possible … please … let me live …”

  Her begging and pleading did not appear to touch the disintegrating effect. If anything, it seemed to goad it, because the disintegrating effect sped up. In less than a minute, all eight of her legs were gone and her underbelly was halfway gone. Her behind went next, the dust falling to the webbing below like snow on a winter day.

  Although the Spider Goddess's body was almost entirely gone, she managed to fix all twelve of her ugly eyes on Durima and Gujak. The hate and fear in them was completely unlike anything Durima had seen in the eyes of a deity before. Durima had been looked upon with contempt and disappointment by Master and other gods in the past, but the look in the Spider Goddess's twelve eyes—obvious despite their spidery appearance—was so far removed from what other gods had looked like that Durima was actually afraid.

  “You … fools …” said the Spider Goddess, her voice little more than the echo of a whisper. “What … have … you …”

  She did not get to finish her sentence because the disintegrating effect reached her head. In the next second, the last remains of the Spider Goddess fell onto the webbing below, leaving little evidence to show that she had been there at all.

  Both Durima and Gujak stared with horror at the spot where the Spider Goddess had been. Neither of them moved or said a word. Durima even forgot to breathe for a moment. Her heartbeat quickened, which was the only sound she heard in the whole chamber.

  Then, as automatically one of the automaton children of the Mechanical Goddess, Durima reached for Gujak's gauntlet. Gujak didn't protest or even seem to notice when she grabbed his arm and brought the gauntlet as close to her eyes as possible. She wanted to read what was written on the knuckles, to see now if she would get an explanation of what just happened.

  Most of the text was still faded, and the poor lighting did not help, but there was one word on the middle knuckle that was as clear as possible. Durima was surprised she could read it, seeing as the gauntlet was clearly an ancient object, but read it she did.

  The single, solitary word written on the middle knuckle in Divina, was this:

  God-killer.

  ***