Page 53 of In Darkness Forged
The moment it touched his palm, it began to glow with a dim white light.
“Damnation.” He shook his head, eyes closed. “The witch drained me of nearly everything. But this will have to be enough. Take the blade.”
Aislin curled her fingers gingerly around the hilt.
“The magic will slice through the silk, but it will also slice through me,” Talyn cautioned her. “Be careful.”
Moving almost mechanically, Aislin grasped one of the sticky silken loops, slid the tip of the dagger beneath it, and pulled.
It parted without a sound, almost without effort, and a tiny seed of hope took root in Aislin’s heart. Two more strands, and then Talyn sat up, eyes glowing dimly, jaw clenched. His shoulders flexed, and the remaining loops of spider silk fell away.
Plucking the dagger from her fingers, he made quick work of the bindings around his legs and lurched to his feet, steadying himself for a moment against the wall.
Like Aislin, he still wore his weapons, but his pack was nowhere to be seen. Which meant they had no food. No way to cook, no salve for their numerous injuries…
Wait. The bundle the old woman had dropped…
“I think I know where your pack is,” she hissed.
Talyn nodded and moved towards the opening of the cavern, slicing through the imprisoning strands with one quick motion. He peered into the corridor, muttering a quiet curse as he saw the bones.
Aislin followed, trying not to look at the grisly evidence, and gestured with her head toward the place where she’d first awakened. “On the floor near the table.”
Talyn had just taken a cautious step through the doorway when Aislin heard something that nearly stopped her heart—the sound of shuffling footsteps in the dark.
“You were right, my Crow,” a creaky old voice hissed. “The food is awake. Yours and mine. We must make haste!”
Talyn snatched his pack from the floor and darted back out into the corridor. “This way,” he muttered, reaching out and grabbing Aislin’s hand.
His fingers wrapped around hers, almost shockingly warm after the chill of the cave, and then he was pulling her after him into the dark.
It was too fast. They were careening down the passageway, and all Aislin could do was run and hope that her feet landed in a safe place. Her ribs ached, and her head pounded, but at least she was not alone.
Talyn had found her. Or maybe she had found him, but what did it matter?
The horror of what might have been choked her for a moment, but she swallowed it and continued on.
A few steps later, a stone turned under her foot, and she bit back a cry of pain.
“What is it?”
“I’m fine,” Aislin gasped. “Just don’t stop.”
They didn’t, and yet, she felt eyes on her back. Sensed a malevolent presence growing nearer.
“Talyn, I think—“
She tripped. Something snared her ankle, but Talyn still gripped her hand, and for a moment, it was as if she were being torn in two.
Aislin reached down to free herself and felt a silken rope. Looked behind her and up, up…into a forest of gleaming red eyes.
She couldn’t even scream. Screaming required breath, and all of hers had been driven out of her by the fall and by sheer, unnatural terror.
Talyn let go of her hand, and for the merest instant, she thought he meant to abandon her. But then his sword swung up, glowing weakly in the darkness, and in the dim light, she saw his face.
He’d turned to confront the creature that had snared her, his lips drawn back in a silent snarl. Amber eyes narrowed with rage as he attacked, leaping past her to slice at those many jointed legs.
The creature sprang backwards, and Talyn followed, aiming his blade at the cluster of eyes. One of them winked out, and Aislin heard a hiss just before the sword’s glow began to dim and then winked out entirely.