I slipped a knife through my belt and slung a gun over my shoulder. Not a gun with bullets, though. They couldn’t always penetrate the hide of a shifter, so I’d opted for a long-distance taser gun. High volts of electricity knocked anything down. When the team was bristling with weapons—especially Caspar, who had three gun straps criss-crossing his chest, his pockets bulging with . . . grenades?—Rebel Leader waved us forward, Reagan taking point.
The overprotective part of my nature balked at seeing her petite frame in the lead, exposed to whatever lurked in this tomb of a place, but I didn’t pull her back. I knew the action would undo the progress we’d made but an hour earlier. Surprisingly, the mansion had been deathly silent as we’d crept inside. Had Mordecai hired a new butler? I wondered what their shifter form would be. Maybe an elephant with venomous tusks.
Once we were down the stairs leading into the mines, I readied my gun. Security had probably tripled since the great Fae escape. But as we inched toward the Green Room, we found nothing. Absolutely nothing. Chills prickled my flesh.
Something wasn’t right.
I was about to break our code of silence—convince Rebel Leader we were walking into a trap—but Reagan was already entering the large cavern, slipping from my sight. Panic tightened my chest and I pushed past a stunned Akeno, mouth opening to call her back. My fumbling caused a domino effect, the twins pitching forward onto Rebel Leader. In a tangled rush, we spilled into the soaring green cavern, clutching at our clanking weapons.
Several yards ahead, Reagan whirled, hands on hips. She eyed us, arching an eyebrow. I shrugged sheepishly, moving to join her. As a unit, we made for the far wall, pulling out thick burlap sacks to hold the crystals. If there weren’t any loose pieces left out like last time, we’d have to search the place for a hidden cache. That or it was pickaxe-wielding time. Adrenaline hummed in my veins and I had the strongest urge to bolt across the large space. Too open. Too exposed.
Too quiet.
Trap. Trap. Trap, my mind screamed.
From behind came a resounding thud!
Weapons clicked as the team swiveled toward the noise. At the sight that greeted me, my face blanched. In that moment, as the gangly creature rose to its full height, I would have rather faced a rock slide. Or a horde of angry guards. Or a dozen Bushies. But this?
I raised a trembling finger, pointing at the . . . at the . . . “S-spider,” I stuttered.
“No kidding, genius,” Caspar blurted, unslinging two guns, one in each hand. “Stand back. I’ll pump the sucker full of lead.” Sporadic gunfire popped from his waving weapons, ricocheting off the floor, the walls, the . . .
“Caspar!” My limbs unfroze and I lunged for the crazed lunatic, jerking the guns from his hands. “The crystals. The bullets are rebounding. You’re going to hit us, you blundering idiot. You don’t even know how to shoot!”
“I do too!”
“Video games don’t count,” I snarled, and he looked at me like I’d mortally wounded him.
The spider skittered closer, hissing out a laugh. I cringed as the long, black legs made a clicking noise similar to that of high-heeled shoes . . .
No way.
“Jocelyn?” I swallowed the bile climbing my throat. The spider, taller than any of us, raised two legs and brought them together as though clapping. A shiver that felt way too much like crawling baby spiders shook my entire body. “Crap. I was hoping you’d be a seal.”
Hissing again as though I’d insulted her, she leapt into the air and landed a few yards in front of us. The group scattered, Micah yelling as he pulled free a sword he must have snatched off Mordecai’s study wall, “A jumping spider? Really? Come on!”
Jocelyn ignored them all, her multiple black eyes focused on me. I dropped Caspar’s weapons and unslung my taser gun. I had no idea if the electricity would work on this hideous creature, but I’d give it my best shot. One glance at Reagan beside me and I knew she wasn’t going to take that risk.
“Let me try something before you go all lion on me,” I said to her. “Jocelyn and I have a score to settle.”
She nodded, as if she personally understood how I felt, but didn’t back away. My jaw clenched. I would have to be right about this. And quick. The giant spider that resembled a house-sized black widow scampered toward me. As I dove out of the way, a tiny whimper left my mouth.
“Heard that!” Malachi shouted.
“Tarik’s afraid of spiders!” Micah chortled.
“Shove off, guys, or I’m sending her your way!” I grunted, leaning back as a sharp leg swung over my head. She hissed, snapping her pincers together. Pincers? Venomous ones? My eyes flicked upward, and I almost dry-heaved at the sight of her bulbous red and black underbelly.
I aimed at the disgusting creature, volts of blue electricity sizzling against her shiny body. Jocelyn shrieked and reeled back, ramming a leg into my stomach. I wheezed, forcing myself to a stand, and sent another bolt arcing through the air. One of her eight limbs buckled.
“Aim for the legs!” I yelled, ducking as another one darted toward me. The men surged forward, most with blades in their hands, slashing at a furious, hissing Jocelyn. Two more of her legs gave out and relief crashed through me. She could be defeated. I wouldn’t become her next meal. Wait, what did she eat? I threw up a little in my mouth.
I was about ready to send a bolt into her face—which would hopefully blind her temporarily—when she jumped straight up, latching onto the cavern’s ceiling. Several of the men groaned. I heard Caspar mutter, “Anyone have a very long broomstick?”
Out of the corner of my eye, Reagan crouched, her expression focused. “Don’t,” I warned,
