Miranda askedhim what it was like being a Llanllean spider and as he rambled on,she wondered what it would be like to make love to him as a spiderherself. Female spiders were usually larger and more deadly thanthe male and often after copulation they would try to eat theirmates.
Would she beovercome with female spider hormones and attack him. What would itbe like to lay hundreds of eggs and then wait for them to hatch?Young spiderlings usually ate their brothers and sisters untilthere were only a couple left. Could she bear seeing themcannibalize each other or did it happen differently withLlanlleans. She would have to find out.
Then she beganthinking about Tigerlilly. It was so unfair of him to make a babyout of her little finger. It would have been much better to do itthe normal way. Why did he have to make himself a little crystalbody? She couldn’t wait until he could make a new body for himself.Perhaps he could add some enhancements, a really big …’
‘Mandy ... Miranda, are you listening to me. I’ve been savingsomething special for you. I know who your father is.’ He saidthrough their mindlink.
‘What ... what did you say?’ she asked suddenly feeling alittle embarrassed at the tone of her thoughts.
He then went onto tell her about the various stories that he had heard about hermother and finally about Darkmantle’s toe. She was shocked and alittle confused.
‘But my toes are same as everyone else’s aren’t they.’ shereplied.
‘Darkmantle swore his toe shape ran in his family line andyours looked the same.’
‘Okay I suppose that proves it. If he’s happy I guess I shouldbe too. Who is the Llanllean then? Him or mother or both ofthem?’
‘That I can’t answer yet as I haven’t seen their spirit aurasbut remember they may also have had their spirit auras changed todeceive any people capable of seeing them.’
‘Yes I guess so.’ replied Miranda feeling a littleexasperated.
‘It’s all so confusing with everyone being manipulated andtheir true identities hidden.’
Now she knewwhy Prendergrass had acted the way he did. He thought she was hisdaughter. Darkmantle was her father. What a terrible thought. Whata terrible tragedy for her mother and father, both thinking theother had been unfaithful and hating each other so much when theywere just innocent victims in a Mentarin game.
She wassuddenly no longer an accidental participant in whatever the gamewas that the Mentarin were playing. They had deprived her of afather and a real mother. She was no different to the rest of theElendari. She had been used and abused by the Mentarin and she wasangry about it, incredibly angry. She was no longer fighting justfor Aquitain, now the fight was more personal.
If Darkmantlewas her father then she was born on Moonmist and as such she had agenuine claim to the throne. If they needed a vengeful Queen tounify them, then they would get one in her. The Tempest Queen. Theywould remember her for hundreds of years after she died.
‘Mandy, are you alright?’ said Aquitain at her sudden silence.He had noticed the change in her heart beat and her stride hadbecome more purposeful and hurried.
‘Yes Tain! I’ve never been more alright.’ she said but hecould tell something had changed. She had made adecision.
After fiveminutes total silence where she fantasized over what she was goingto do to the Lord of the Mentarin when she caught him, sheremembered that she had kept a special bit of news fromAquitain.
‘Tain, there’s something I haven’t told you yet. I saw Zephiraand Alpha?’
‘What! Why didn’t you tell me before.’ he said with a panickyvoice.
‘Well you’re not going to like what has happened at all.’ shesaid. ‘Remember I told you about that horrible bitch that calledherself Lash. Well that was Zephira. Prendergrass blocked hermemories and gave her a new identity. Even worse, she was sleepingwith Darkmantle, my father.’
‘By the Powers, Mandy, that’s terrible. She’s my cousin andshe was ... my best friend for the whole of my life.’ saidAquitain, ‘and I was just beginning to like that bastardDarkmantle. What about Alpha?’
‘That’s the strange thing! It didn’t talk to me. It washanging around her neck like a pendant on a chain and it lookedlike it was coated all over with silver.’
Aquitainmentally went through a list of possible silver coatingeffects.
‘That may not be that bad. They have probably coated it tostop any communication between it and anyone else. At least they’renot dead.’
He rememberedsomething that he had heard about Lash. Prendergrass had said atthe ball that she had joined the lizards in capturing Argenta. Hetold Miranda and together they began to work out what must havehappened.
Ishteth theYith High Priest had some deal with Darkmantle to jointly captureArgenta. Ishteth had blocked Alpha and given Zephira to Darkmantleas a gift. Darkmantle had got Prendergrass to give her a newidentity and then used her as both a fighter and sex slave. Theyhad somehow got Snowbelle out of the way and worked out a way tocapture Argenta. Zephira had stayed at Argenta with Ishteth duringthe ball. Ishteth had again dominated Zephira, eliminatedDarkmantle’s troops stationed there and captured Argenta forhimself.
‘But why would Ishteth want Argenta?’ asked Mirandathoughtfully.
‘I can answer that.’ said Aquitain. ‘I heard from someone thatIshteth said that Mudrun used to belong to the Yith and they wantedit back again. I’ll bet they are going to open a permanent gatebetween Argenta and the Yith home world. That way they could use itas a staging area to bring in unlimited Yith troops and supplies.Through it they could capture the whole of Mudrun and later perhapsMoonmist as well.’
‘By the gods, that’s a terrible thought Tain. There justaren’t enough people on Mudrun to defend it against even a fewthousand Yith. They could take over the world in weeks. We’ve gotto warn the Druid’s Council. Maybe they can work out what to do.’replied Miranda.
‘And
