On the other side of Odarth, the Light Elves brought bright magic. One Elf took to the trees, and, looking very similar to Legolas from The Lord of the Rings, shot arrow after arrow, as quick as a gunslinger shot bullets from a six-shooter.
Arachnids took the arrows, but kept coming. E’olin had no trouble finishing off the weakened soldiers with his magic. A burst of light here, a burst of light there, and the bodies piled up beside him.
Maria scanned the rest of the battlefield from atop Odarth, looking for the others. After a moment, she saw Claire and Tabby back to back, swinging at oncoming Arachnids. Their swords clattered together, and just as it seemed that one of the girls was losing their footing, the other would cover for them, and right back on top they’d go.
It was easy to find Sherlock and Gelbus, because Sherlock’s barking was as loud as the green and yellow of Gelbus’s hoodie. He and the Gnome zipped between the legs of Arachnids, weaving in and out of the dark figures. Maria laughed as two Arachnids swiped at them and missed, coming together to butt heads with a clonk that she could hear from her perch.
She would’ve helped them, but more Arachnids were climbing the dragon. Maria blasted them with a burst of magic that left her feeling drained; lightheaded, she began to work on the webbing that was wound around Odarth.
Suddenly, she felt a great heat baking off her mount. Flames spewed out of Odarth’s mouth in a colossal roar, and a rush of Arachnids that had been coming straight for them were turned into piles of ash. Maria couldn’t believe her eyes. She would probably never get used to the concept of a real, fire-breathing dragon.
More Arachnids were coming up Odarth’s tail.
“Fuck you, guys. Seriously,” Maria mumbled.
Swords clashed together, but Maria had learned her lesson not to get close enough to allow one of their claws to grab her. She slashed one across the armor and booted it off the side of the dragon. The other she vanquished by shouting a spell she didn’t know she possessed; another incantation she’d subconsciously picked up from her grandfather. The Arachnid launched high into the dark sky, lost amid the outcropping of trees.
Maria took a deep breath, but there was no time to rest. She hacked at the webs until Odarth was released from her gossamer prison, nearly passing out from the effort.
She climbed up to Odarth’s horns and held on for dear life. To the lair, she urged weakly.
More Arachnids came for them, shooting webs, but Odarth burned them to crisps before they could land on their intended target.
Slowly, they made their way across the battlefield. Maria tried to scan for her family, but saw only smoke and the dim embers of the eyes of more Arachnid soldiers.
Do not harp on them, Maria, Odarth soothed. They will be okay. They have more heart than any warrior I have slain.
Maria nodded, mostly to herself.
When the next wave of Arachnids hit the dragon, both Odarth and Maria were ready. The animal whipped her tail, sending the spiders in every direction. Those who made it up the dragon’s back were quickly cut down by Maria’s sword, which had begun to glow blue with her magic.
Odarth took flight once they became overwhelmed, and came down on top of the Arachnids with bone-crushing force.
Once the smoke had settled and drifted away into the night, Maria looked out over the battlefield. Spiders lay in crumpled balls. Fire burned low on the ground and in the trees.
It was chaos, but it was victorious chaos.
The first wanderer she saw was Gelbus, but the first she heard was Sherlock, his bark unmistakable.
You did it, Maria! He ripped through a haze of smog and pounced on her, licking her face.
“We did it,” she corrected.
Gelbus had a few scrapes on his face, and the scraggly hairs on his chin were all but singed away, but otherwise he looked all right.
Joe, Tabby, and Claire returned next. In both of the girls’ hands were the heads of Arachnids, still dripping with gore. It was the perfect picture of insanity, seeing them with their kills. Maria would never have expected that in a million years.
“Where’s yours?” she asked Joe.
“Left it back at home,” he replied. They hugged. “No, it’s just not my style.” He was still covered in gore, though; his jeans were beyond bloody, soaked in the dark life force of the Arachnids.
E’olin and Frieda walked toward the group, and Frieda informed Maria that one of her sisters, Asia, had fallen, moving on to the next stage of life; to the dark witches, death was not the end.
“Asia went doing what she liked most: burning those spider-bastards to ashes,” Frieda said.
They held a moment of silence for her.
The Light Elves had suffered no losses. In fact, their group was the picture of health. Their weapons, armor, skin, and hair were spotless, unsoiled by the damaging effects of war.
The wanderers and their allies gathered at the entrance of the Widow’s lair.
“It’s not over,” Maria warned.
“We know,” Gelbus said, stepping forward and putting one hand, covered in sticky blood, on Maria’s.
“Yes, Maria, we know,” E’olin echoed.
“You will have to do this last part on your own,” Frieda informed her. “For Gloria and I have seen it in the flames.”
“That I’m victorious?” Maria asked, hopeful.
“Wouldn’t that be nice to know,” Claire mused. She tossed her trophy Arachnid head into the air and kicked it like an NFL punter. It sailed through the night and landed with a distant thump. “See if you can beat that, Tab.”
“Not yet,” Tabby whispered and punched Claire. “This is important.”
Glumly, Claire nodded.
“We have not seen whether or not you are victorious, but we have seen you going into the Widow’s lair with Odarth at your side. There, the greatest of battles will be fought,” Gloria said.
“There, the true war begins and ends,” Frieda added.
Maria sighed. “So be it.”
She tried to say her goodbyes to everyone,
