43 Chapter 43 Web of the Arachnae (2/2)

No one laughed as the spider drew closer, preparing to pounce on Luan's tree in the back of the group. Vonn took his time aiming, before letting loose a bolt from the crossbow. It hit the spider's eye, but seemed to bounce off. With a muffled curse, Vonn reloaded the crossbow and prepared a second shot.

This time he aimed for the mouth, waiting for it to attack, before letting loose the bolt down the throat of the monster. Its fangs slid off the outer branches of the tree, and Mikey swung his axe at one, missing and almost falling off his branch. Getting a better grip, he glared at the spider as it paused in its run.

Vonn quickly reloaded the crossbow for the third time as the spider lunged in his direction. Gia screamed as he let loose the bolt without getting a chance to aim. The spider bit off the entire top of the tree, exposing both Vonn and Tom for the spider's next attack. The tree they were in whimpered in pain and dived in front of Luan's tree as the spider went for a second bite. Missing its mark, the spider tried to overcorrect but slipped in the increasing rain, giving Vonn enough time to reload the crossbow yet again.

Waving her arm to try and distract the spider, Gia questioned her sanity when it noticed her and turned her way. Clinging to her tree with a high-pitched whimper, Gia closed her eyes as it lunged her way. Her tree shook, and she opened one eye to see everything above her head was gone.

The spider spat out the wood, giving Vonn another shot into its mouth.

There was a bright flash that caused spots to dance in front of Gia's eyes, quickly followed by a loud crash of thunder. The stone cliffside beside them began to crumble and collapse, raining loose pebbles down onto them as the trees they were riding on picked up their pace. Glancing back at the spider, Gia saw it disappear under the collapsed cliff and breathed a sigh of relief.

With rain pouring down around them, they stared out over the rocky coastline ahead of them. Climbing down out of the trees, Gia turned to Luan.

”We wouldn't have made it without you!” she exclaimed, giving the elven girl a hug.

”I wouldn't be alive, if it wasn't for you!” laughed Luan, returning the hug. ”You are my mom, after all. I just wish you could stay in the forest. I think I would like having you and Vonn as my parents.”

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”I'm sorry, Luan,” said Elisen, glancing back into the forest. ”We must go. The Mystics have several more of those spiders on the way. They will be safe from them, being outside of the forest, but we will not.”

”Alright,” nodded Luan, giving Vonn a quick hug as well before turning and diving back into the forest behind Elisen.

Vonn turned and looked at Gia, taking her hand. She wiped away a tear, and turned away from the forest. Even if they weren't in the forest, they still didn't want to be close enough for one of those giant spiders to consider them for supper. None of them breathed a sigh of relief until they had followed the coast around a bend in the cliff wall, cutting off the view of the forest entirely.

”I'm going to miss her,” said Gia softly, holding Vonn's arm as they slowed their pace to something more comfortable.

”Me too,” said Vonn.

”We need to find somewhere to wait out this storm,” said Tom, pulling his cloak tighter around him.

”Your father's right. Help me look for a cave or something,” said Carla.

”What about that?” asked Mikey, pointing ahead, where a small cleft in the wall formed a small waterfall.

As they drew closer to it, they could see that the way the rock had split, formed a natural hollow that was dry from the lashing rain. Getting everyone up to it was difficult, and they found that they weren't the first ones to have used it. Piles of bones and bits of fur greeted them as they piled in.

”Do you think the owner of this cave is going to mind?” asked Carla, pausing at the sight of the bones and fur.

”They're old, Carla,” chuckled Vonn. ”I don't imagine anything's been in this cave in a while. In fact, if I build a fire, it should deter anything that might be seeking shelter.”

”Good idea. That will also give us some heat to get the chill out of our bones,” said Tom, settling down and shivering. ”Carla, dear. I think I have splinters in places I can't seem to get out on my own. Would you mind helping?”

Rolling her eyes, Gia moved to help Vonn gather some of the drift wood that had collected along the rock wall as Mikey groaned behind her. They were safe and sound, and past one more obstacle on their trek to a new home.