Witching Bones: A Wild Hunt Novel, Book 8 Page 19

  She laughed, but it wasn’t a pleasant laugh. “Oh, girl. You have just made the mistake of your life. I cannot refuse to let you out of the deal, given the order comes from Cerridwen. But you owe me, and by the time I’m done with you, you’ll wish you had sold your house.”

  Apparently, my negotiating skills lacked refinement. “What do you mean? What are you talking about?”

  “You will see, Raven my dear. You will see.” And then, before I could stop her, she snatched the heart and stuffed it into her mouth, blood and gristle spewing out the sides of her lips as she gnashed her way through it. Queasy, I turned aside. But before I could say another word, the air shimmered around her and once again she vanished.

  I knew I was in trouble. I just wasn’t sure how bad it would be, but I wasn’t about to place any bets.

  I was still trying to decide whether to cancel my readings at the Sun and Moon Apothecary the next day when Raj came racing into the living room. Raj seldom raced anywhere, so I put down my e-reader and turned to see what he was up to.

  “What’s going on? What are you doing?”

  “Raj saw a big spider in the bathroom.” He blinked. Raj liked to sleep in the hall bathroom sometimes, curling up on the rug in front of the bathtub.

  “So? We get a lot of spiders. You know, those giant European house spiders. I’m not fond of them, but they don’t hurt anything.”

  The giant European house spider was common in the Pacific Northwest, often racing around the house during the late summer and early autumn months during the mating season. They were the second-fastest spider in the world, and had a leg expanse up to four inches or more. But on the plus side, they ate the venomous hobo spiders, and they helped keep the bug population down. I put them outside whenever I found them, unless they startled me so much that I swatted them first.

  “No. Raj has never seen a spider like this. It’s big.” He gave me a long look, and I realized that he really was nervous.

  I followed him into the bathroom. I was expecting to see a wolf spider, given they were as large or larger than the house spiders. They were also more fractious. But there, on the bath rug, was a freaking tarantula.

  My stomach lurched. I wasn’t fond of tarantulas, either. Granted, they weren’t terribly venomous—at least toward humans—but it shouldn’t be there. We didn’t have tarantulas in the area.

  “You’re right. That’s a tarantula, Raj. We don’t have those around here.” I stared at the cobalt blue body. It was pretty in a creepy way, but I wasn’t in the mood to deal with anything like this today. And how had it gotten in my house?

  “Raven take it away?” Raj shifted from foot to foot, sitting back on his haunches and shivering.

  “I’m not sure what to do with it. If I put it outside it will probably die. I wonder if it’s somebody’s pet.” I had a sneaking suspicion where it had come from, but I didn’t want to tell Raj, and I could be wrong. “I’ll catch it and then make a couple calls.”

  I hurried back into the kitchen, Raj following close behind me. Finding a mason jar and lid, and a stiff piece of cardboard, I returned to the bathroom. As I knelt near the spider, it recoiled, showing its fangs.

  “Okay, little guy, listen to me. You don’t belong here. Cooperate and you’ll stay alive.” I set the jar in front of it, at an angle so it could crawl in. Then, using the cardboard to propel it, I herded the spider into the jar. I brought the jar up, keeping the cardboard on top until I could screw on the lid. Then I carried it into the kitchen where I found a screwdriver to punch a couple holes in the lid. Now, what to do with the creature?

  I pulled out my phone, remembering that I had meant to text Kipa.

  hey, i had a situation with arachana. she’s pissed at me. she threatened me. will tell you more about it later but first, can you tell me what i should do with the tarantula that i just found in my bathroom?

  A few seconds later, Kipa texted back. tarantula? what the hell was a tarantula doing in your bathroom? did you catch it?

  yes. i caught it in a jar. i have no idea what it’s doing there, though i do have my suspicions. can you call me? or can i call you?

  unfortunately, i’m in the middle of chasing a goblin. i’ve got to go. just keep it in the jar for a little while and i’ll call back when i can.

  I sighed, setting my phone down on the counter. As I turned to the jar, staring at the tarantula, I had the distinct feeling that I was being watched.

  “Raj, be sure you tell Raven if you see anything else like this. And don’t try to eat them.” Sometimes Raj caught and ate bugs around the house. Normally I’d be fine with it, but I had no idea whether this was a magical spider, or just some ordinary tarantula that had somehow gotten in my house.

  It made me uncomfortable to have the creature sitting on my counter watching everything, so I found a plastic storage container that was big enough to hold the jar and set the jar inside of that, placing the lid ajar so that it could still get enough air. Then, I made quick rounds around the house, looking for anything else out of the ordinary. Satisfied that, at present, things were normal, I returned to my book, wishing Kipa would call back.

  An hour later, I heard a commotion from the ferrets’ room. Usually they were pretty quiet, so whenever I heard them chattering, I knew something was up. I headed toward their room. As I got closer to the door, a sense of foreboding came over me, and I rushed ahead, throwing the door open wide.

  Elise was standing up to the door of the cage, shrieking as Templeton and Gordon hid behind her. On the floor and on the walls was what I could only describe as a swarm of spiders. They were large and hairy. Not tarantulas, but wolf spiders, and there must have been close to a hundred of them crawling around.

  “Oh fuck.”

  I might not mind spiders but I sure as hell didn’t like swarms of anything. And wolf spiders could land a nasty bite on a person. They wouldn’t kill anybody, but their bites weren’t a breeze, either. I raced back to the laundry room, where I grabbed the vacuum, lugging it back to the ferrets’ room. I plugged it in and began sucking up every spider I could see. Some of them raced beneath the cage while others skittered along the walls, but I got as many as I could to clear the way to the door of the cage.

  I hurried to the closet where I kept the ferrets’ carriers that I used when I needed to take them to the vet. I checked inside to make sure they were clear, then quickly transferred Elise, Templeton, and Gordon into them. Then, carrying the carriers out to the dining room, I put them on the table and hustled back to their room.

  I did what I could to suck up as many of the spiders that I could see, and then carried the vacuum out to the backyard to my fire pit. I slogged through the snow, opening up the vacuum and gingerly tossing the bag into the brick pit. A couple spiders skittered across my hand as they tried to escape, and I shook them onto the snow. Holding out my hand, I focused on conjuring fire, a large, substantial fireball, and sent it zooming to the bag. It caught fire, flaring up, toasting all of the spiders. I shook out the vacuum, then hurried back to the house. I wasn’t worried about the firepit, since there was enough snow around that any stray sparks would be extinguished immediately.

  As I entered the house, Raj was on the sofa, pointing toward the loveseat. Dreading what I might see, I turned and looked. There was another cobalt blue tarantula.

  “Come on, Raj. Bring me your leash.”

  He raced off toward his bed and came back yelping, the leash in hand.

  “Raj doesn’t like spiders. There is a spider in Raj’s bed like that one,” he said, pointing toward the tarantula.

  “I’m sorry, Raj. We’ll get out of here right now.” I grabbed my purse, and tossed it on the floor when another tarantula crawled out of it. I upended it, shaking it out and then scooping everything back in that wasn’t a spider.

  By now, I could see several more blue tarantulas milling around the room. Grateful that the carriers were soft bags with shoulder straps, I slung the ferrets over my shoulder, grabbed my pu
rse and keys, made sure I had my phone, and took hold of Raj’s leash.

  We headed out the door. I knew exactly where we were going to wait. I’d gotten into Buck’s house without a problem earlier. If there were no spiders over there, that was where I was headed. Crossing the street, I looked back at my house, wanting to cry. Arachana had threatened that I’d regret not selling. Now I knew what she meant. Feeling at a loss, I led Raj over to the house and jimmied the door open again. As I entered, I glanced around. There was no sign of any spiders, and the house was quiet. Setting the carriers down, I slid into one of the folding chairs by the table to text Kipa. What the fuck was I going to do now?

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I was waiting for Kipa to text me back when my phone rang. The jangle of Black Sabbath’s “Lady Evil” echoed in the empty kitchen. It was my mother. I picked up immediately.

  “Hey, what’s up?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell her what was going on, but if she was on her way over, I was going to have to. I had no doubt that Phasmoria would be just as happy as Cerridwen had been.

  “I’m standing in your driveway. I rang the bell but there’s no answer. Your car’s here. When will you be home?”

  I groaned, rubbing my forehead. “Come across the street, Mother. I have a few things that I have to tell you. Trust me, you don’t want to go inside my house right now, not before you know what’s going on.” I had visions of an old William Shatner movie, Kingdom Of The Spiders, running through my head.

  “Well, then. I’m looking forward to the story.” She hung up without saying good-bye. That was par for the course. I opened the door to find Phasmoria already standing on the porch, waiting.

  My mother, when she took human form, was a striking woman. Just over five-eight, she was muscled, with an hourglass figure a lot like mine. Her hair hung down to her waist, longer than mine, and it was black with silver streaks. She was wearing a pair of black jeans and a black leather jacket, and her features were chiseled and angular. In some ways she was a beautiful woman, and in other ways, she gave off a terrifying aura. I wasn’t exactly frightened of her, but even in her human form, any mortals who met her would feel a sense of threat or dread when they were near her. Needless to say, she didn’t hang out with humans much.

  I held out my hands and she took them. I didn’t kiss her—we weren’t familiar like that. But I squeezed her hands and nodded over my shoulder.

  “Come on into my temporary abode.” I let her into the empty kitchen.

  She glanced around, her gaze landing on the ferrets in their carriers, and then Raj. She liked Raj, although he tended to avoid her as much as possible. But she always brought him a special treat, and she always brought the ferrets treats as well. As odd as it seemed, my mother the Bean Sidhe was an ardent animal lover. That was how she had met my father. She met him when he was in dog form, and chased him to pet him. He had turned back into himself at that point.

  Phasmoria set down her purse on the table and turned to me, her arms crossed. “All right, what’s going on?”

  I felt like squirming, like the little kid who knew they were in for a scolding. “Do you remember when I asked you about Arachana?”

  She dropped into the nearest chair. “Oh, Raven. You didn’t?”

  “I may have.”

  “Why would you call on someone like that? I told you she was dangerous.”

  “Believe me, I had good reasons. Good intentions, I guess. But after we made a deal, Cerridwen chewed me up one side and down the other and told me to break it. I offered Arachana what I thought would be a fair settlement. She didn’t agree.”

  Phasmoria closed her eyes, shaking her head. “Well, that was stupid. But you’ve always been headstrong, to the point of being a pain in the ass. Well, then…tell me the whole thing. What did Arachana do when you told her you were breaking the deal?”

  Stuttering at first and nervous as hell, I told my mother everything that had happened, ending with the spider invasion in my house.

  She stared at me blankly, then shook her head and let out an impatient sigh. “Girl, you’ve really got yourself into trouble this time, haven’t you? Honestly. Sometimes I think you should move back to Connecticut, to live with your father until you’ve learned more about life. I don’t really believe that you’re old enough to be on your own yet.”

  “That’s not going to happen and you know it. I love Curikan, but Mother, I can’t move back home with him. I love where I’m at. I love what I’m doing. I have a life here, and friends, and a job that I’m good at. Yes, sometimes I do make mistakes. But how else am I going to learn?”

  We’d had this argument a number of times before, although never about quite such a volatile subject. Phasmoria might not be a helicopter parent in any fashion of the word, but she made her opinions known, whether or not I wanted to hear them.

  Phasmoria motioned to Raj, holding out his treat. He bounced over, took it, and gave her a quick lick on the hand before returning to the spot near the heating vent.

  “I suppose you need help to handle this? I mean, you aren’t going to sell your house, are you? That’s ridiculous and I won’t stand by and see you bullied by that old freak of a crone. She’s powerful, but I’m stronger.”

  “I don’t think the offer is still on the table, to be honest. I have no idea what she wants now, except cause me as much of a headache as possible.” I paused. Then, even though I didn’t want to, I asked, “Can you help me?”

  Those four words were incredibly difficult for me to say. I hated asking my parents for help. I always felt so young and so stupid when I did. And almost always, it was because I had leapt before I looked. And this time was no exception.

  Phasmoria smiled, looking oddly pleased. “Of course. I will do everything I can. I’m not about to see my daughter homeless on the streets just because of a greedy spider queen. How do we get in touch with her?”

  At that moment, the door opened and Kipa came rushing through, yet another cooler in hand. Before he noticed Phasmoria standing there, he pulled me to him and gave me a long kiss.

  “I got here as quickly as I could. I brought another heart. Let’s contact Arachana. I’ll give her all the gold she wants if she’ll leave you alone. Don’t argue with me. I’m not about to let you sell your house or be driven out. I have plenty of money.”

  Before I could say a word, Phasmoria stepped forward, tapped Kipa on the shoulder, and held out her hand.

  “And you must be Kuippana, I assume? I’m Phasmoria, Raven’s mother. It’s good to meet you, Lord of the Wolves.”

  Kipa turned around, very carefully and very slowly. He stared at my mother for a moment, and then accepted her outstretched hand.

  “Madame Valiant, I’m honored to make your acquaintance.” He gave her a subtle bow, definitely discernible as a mark of respect.

  All the banshees used the title of Madame Valiant in public. It was an honorarium granted to them by the Morrígan, and even the gods used it.

  “Lord of the Wolves, well met. So you are my daughter’s beau? I would love to hear how you met, when we have more time.” She glanced at the cooler. “I assume you had your part in the situation with Arachana?”

  He nodded. “It was my fault from the beginning. Raven was just trying to help save the life of one of my SuVahta. I involved her, not realizing what was going to happen, and she got caught in the crossfire.”

  “So I understand. Collateral damage, you might say. I guarantee you this, Kuippana. If I had known she was talking about herself when she first asked me about Arachana, she would not be in this position, regardless of your friend’s difficulties. I would have outright forbade her to have any dealings with the creature. The ancient Ante-Fae are treacherous, and most of them have ulterior motives and work on private agendas. You do realize that Arachana is closer to being one of the Luo’henkah than one of my own kind.”

  The Luo’henkah were forces of nature, elemental beings captured in an immortal form. They were the spirits inhere
nt within the elements, the seasons, or creatures.

  I turned to my mother. “That would make sense. She seems so alien.”

  “When you asked about her, I had my suspicions something of this sort might happen, so I looked into her background. Arachana helped Grandmother Spider weave the world thread, but then they had a falling-out. Grandmother Spider turned her out of her service, exiling her. Arachana is nearing the place where she’s almost immortal. Some of the Ante-Fae do make the transition, you know. Some of the most ancient ones. They become forces outside of the reach of mortals of any kind.”

  “We saw one of the Luo’henkah born last month. The Cailleach birthed her. Lady Brighid gave her the name of Isella, the Daughter of Ice.” I bit my lip. Sometimes I could get myself in a shitload of trouble without meaning to. If I had done more due diligence, I would have found out the true nature of Arachana’s power.

  “Then you are familiar with just how strong these beings can be.” Phasmoria crossed back to the table, sitting down as she stared at the cooler. “You have brought a heart to summon her?”

  “Yes, as I told Raven, since this was my doing, I planned to offer the full amount of gold Arachana might ask for from your daughter. I’m so sorry that I got her involved in this.” Kipa looked more remorseful than I’d ever seen him look. He knew my mother was a Bean Sidhe and what havoc she could wreak, even when it came to the gods.

  “Oh, she’s not getting gold. Not from Raven, and not from you. She will get a fair settlement, yes. But she will get nothing more. I will warn you both, however, Kuippana—you seem just as reckless as my daughter—neither one of you will ever have anything to do with Arachana again. Do you both understand?”

  The sight of my mother scolding Kipa almost made me laugh, or it would have if this hadn’t been so serious.

  “I understand,” I said, nodding. “I give you my word.”