Elina peered at the spherical objects in the light of the flare and could now see they weren’t rocks at all. “What are they?”
“Egg sacs.” Jack’s voice grew shaky. “Like the one I saw before.”
Dwight kicked the smaller shell fragments. “Then… I’m guessing these are bodies of the males. Maybe the ones who get eaten after mating or something.”
Elina shuddered. “Mating?”
Then the flare went out and darkness fell around them. Elina reached out for Jack, but the only sound was their breathing, echoing through the chamber.
Complete, smothering darkness hung on them like a death shroud. Then out of the inky black void, Elina heard the tapping sound she’d heard in the other chamber, and it sent a shiver through her body.
Jack lit another flare, and the brightness of its orange light filled the nesting chamber… with the exception of a large shadow that emerged from a tunnel on the far side. An enormous black shape hauled itself into the room.
The beast paused just outside the circle of light, clicking its fangs together as if trying to get its bearings. Or trying to locate its prey.
Elina fought to keep still, remembering what Vale had said about the creature’s being able to smell fear— sensing it somehow in its prey. She sucked a long, slow breath into her lungs and held it.
But at that moment the beast lurched toward them. Its armored legs pounded across the stones in great, jerky strides and its jaws opened in a deafening shriek.
Jack yelled, “Get back in the tunnel!”
They spun around and dashed the way they had come with the creature lumbering after them. Elina’s foot twisted on the shell fragments littering the floor and she tumbled to the ground. She felt a hand on her arm and saw Jack leaning over her, holding the flare.
“Come on!”
He tugged at her arm, trying to help her up, but it was as if time had slowed down as a huge, twisted shadow appeared behind them.
Suddenly Dwight leaped into the kirac’s path, holding another flare in one hand and a pistol in the other. He fired off several shots directly into the creature’s mouth, but the bullets only served to enrage it further.
The beast lifted one of its forelegs to strike.
Jack pulled Elina to her feet just as the giant queen impaled Dwight through his chest and pinned him to the ground. It reared up and hissed. Dwight’s limbs quivered as blood poured from his mouth. One arm reached frantically for his gun but instead found the canvas bag Jack had dropped in the scramble toward the tunnel. He clutched it as the beast wrenched him sideways with an angry growl.
“Jack!” Elina grabbed Jack’s arm and pointed to Dwight.
“Get out,” Dwight gasped, choking on his own blood. “Go!”
He lifted his hand and Elina spotted a round, metallic object in his grasp. She blinked. It looked for all the world like a…
She saw him pluck out the pin as the giant spider growled and pulled him into its embrace, sinking its fangs into his chest.
Jack darted forward to grab the bag, then took hold of Elina’s wrist and yanked her back into the tunnel as the explosion shook the entire cavern.
The roar was deafening and followed by a loud, steady rumble. She could feel the ground vibrating beneath her. Her mind gave way to terror as she realized she had escaped this horrible beast only to be buried alive under tons of rock. The roar of the quake seemed to go on forever. Dust filled the passage, choking her and stinging her eyes. She squeezed them shut and prayed as a strange peace began to fill her mind. Her heart calmed; her breathing slowed. If this was the end, then she knew her life—her
Elina lay in complete darkness for what felt like several minutes, wondering if she was dead. She was cold and wet and every muscle ached from her ordeal, yet she knew they weren’t safe yet. The explosion had collapsed the cavern behind them, sealing them inside the tunnel. Her ears still rang from the blast, and she lay in the cold mud. The vision of the enormous armored spider had been etched into her brain. That and her experience with the N’watu would certainly rob her of sleep for many weeks to come.
As her hearing returned, she could make out Jack’s steady, rapid breathing next to her, and she knew at least they were alive.
“Jack,” she whispered, “are you okay?”
She felt him stir beside her. “I… I think so. How about you?”
“I’m okay. Nothing broken.”
She could hear Jack feeling around the passage.
“Well, I still have my shotgun,” he said after a moment. “And the bag of flares. But I only have a few left and they won’t last long.”
“How… how did you even manage to find me?”
“It was Dwight,” Jack said. “He came down after Vale took you away and let the rest of us out. Apparently something gave him a change of heart.”
“He freed everyone?” Elina’s hope rose. “What happened to Javier?”
Jack didn’t answer right away. There was a muted pop as he lit one of the flares. Sparks flew all over in the cramped space and Elina’s eyes ached from the light, but she could see that Jack’s face looked grim.
“What’s wrong?” she said. “Where
Jack shook his head. “He came with us to save you. But he didn’t… I’m sorry. He was killed during the fighting.”
Elina stared at him. “Dead?” She ached as though a weight were pressing down on her shoulders. She had come all this way to find him. Now all the emotions she had tried so hard to control over the last few days finally broke through. She began to sob even as she tried to tell herself this wasn’t the time for crying.
After a minute she felt Jack’s hand on her shoulder. “Look, I’m sorry. I know it’s a shock—and I’m really sorry—but we have to get going; we’re running out of flares.”
Elina sucked in a deep breath and wiped her eyes, choking back her tears. She knew he was right. She could mourn for her cousin later. “What do we do now?”
They inspected the tunnel. The way behind them was thoroughly closed off. Several large boulders blocked the entrance, and they couldn’t move them.
Finally Jack sighed. “I think there was a side passage up here.”
They had to maneuver on their hands and knees, which was slow going, but after several dozen yards the tunnel split, and the secondary tunnel eventually opened into a larger chamber. They emerged and stood up. Jack held the flare aloft and looked around. Elina peered up at him. He wasn’t what she had expected. He was taller than she had imagined, for one thing. Taller than her by several inches and slender with short-cropped black hair, large brown eyes, and…
“Listen, Jack… thank you for saving me.” She looked down sheepishly. “But… why didn’t you tell me you were black?”
Jack blinked and looked down at his arms. “I am?”
Elina couldn’t help laughing. “I mean, after I said all those things?”
Jack raised an eyebrow and smiled. “I guess I didn’t think it mattered at the time.”
Elina shook her head. “It didn’t. I just—”
“And for the record, technically you never told me you were Hispanic.”
Elina laughed again. Despite all the horror she’d just been through, in her exhausted condition it felt good to laugh. “You mean my last name being Gutierrez didn’t give it away, or…”
She stopped as she saw Jack’s smile fade.
“What’s wrong?” she said.
Jack shrugged. “This place… looks a little familiar.”
Elina wasn’t sure this was a hopeful sign. “So you know where we are?”
Jack tossed the flare ahead of them. It flew up in a long arch and bounced to a halt in front of another
