Read Online Sword Sisters by Alex Bledsoe, Tara Cardinal - Free Book Online

just happened to live nearby: a monumental bug, perhaps, like the one before me now.
    The spider clung to the cave wall, its front pair of legs curled around the edge of the entrance, then dropped silently to the ground. It was as tall as my waist. I could see the individual hairs on its first pair of legs as they edged closer.
    It was mostly black with yellow patterns on its body. I got a clear look at the massive fangs. I smelled something acrid and stinging and saw thick fluid drip from the tip of one fang. When it hit the ground, it sizzled.
    “Maybe it’s only poisonous to gravel,” Amelia suggested.
    I tried to use my training. Assess the threat. Well, it was a big honking spider with venom that burned rock. So I’d say the threat was high. Examine the terrain. Flat open ground between me and the bug with only the X-shaped prisoner stand for cover. The gully wall behind us prevented any strategic retreat.
    “Any ideas?” Amelia asked. “Because running is looking mighty good to me.”
    “I don’t think we can outrun it,” I said, my voice already turning into a battle growl. “So let’s keep that as plan ‘B.’”
    “And what’s plan ‘A,’ then?”
    Determine strategy. If I attacked, I’d be at a disadvantage, so it was best to wait and let it make the first move. I’d have to hope that once the spider committed itself, it would leave an opening.
    Well, I was wrong about that.
    Spiders, I knew from observation, attacked in one of two ways: ambush from either a web or some other hiding place or a leaping charge. I should’ve realized at once that this one had to be an attack predator because its victim was left outside, not forced into the cave itself. If I’d realized that, I would’ve been ready for the leap. As it was, I was still sorting through the lessons Andre and Eldrid had drilled into me when the spider, weary of waiting for his dinner, jumped.
    My reflexes kicked in, and I jumped too. Right between it and Amelia.
    Amelia screamed.
    If you’ve never felt a spider’s legs wrap around your entire upper body, you can’t imagine how disgusting it is. The creature’s strength was enormous, and it pinned my arms with very little effort. My sword was caught against my chest, the point almost in my face. The spider’s rank odor filled my nose and made my eyes water. It was a miracle it didn’t knock me down, but I’d spread my feet in a battle stance, and that was probably all that saved me.
    Through my watering eyes, I saw Amelia swing her stick awkwardly, but with all her strength, at the beast. “Get off her! You hear me? Get off her now!” It had no effect.
    The thick black hairs pierced my exposed skin like porcupine quills. It wasn’t very deep but immediately caused a maddening itch. The abdomen was soft, pulpy, and disgusting as it pulsed against my knees. But the worst was the pain from the two enormous fangs as they sank into the meat of my shoulder. I’d been hurt a lot when I lived with the Demons but never like this.
    I screamed, this time in pain and real fear. It felt as if the liquid iron used to make swords was being pumped into my skin. I bit down on my sword’s tip, not caring that it cut my mouth. I couldn’t move, couldn’t see, couldn’t think. It began to efficiently wrap my feet in webbing.
    I pivoted, tore my boots free before the web hardened, and ran as hard as I could into the sacrificial crosspiece, slamming it between me and the wood. The legs gave a little although the fangs remained deep in my flesh. I drew back and slammed again, and this time, I was ready. I got my left arm free, grabbed the nearest leg close to where it connected with the body, and bent it backward. There was a loud crack as the exoskeleton snapped.
    The spasm of pain that went through the spider allowed me to get my right hand free as well, and I punched it hard right in its cluster of eyes. That made it release me and fall away. My sword fell as well, but I caught it with my