A WEB OF DECEIT
Ceinon sported a look of distress as he sat on his couch not far from his front door. He was eavesdropping on the events happening outside. The guardsmen were going door to door, searching for the celestials no doubt.
Quora entered carrying two chalices as he looked at her. She handed him one of the chalices and sat beside him.
“You needn’t worry Ceinon. You did the right thing.”
“I doubt our daughter would think so. She still refuses to speak to me.”
“She’s young and naïve. She’ll get over it.”
Ceinon looked at her. She always knew the right words to comfort him. He leaned closer, kissing her on the lips. Their beautiful moment was short-lived, however, as there was a loud knock on the door.
“Figures.” He said as he smiled at her.
He placed his chalice on a stone table and rose to his feet. The banging on the door returned.
“One moment.”
He opened the door. An Aphotriton guardsman, Tuhriks, stood before him, with three more in tow.
“We’re looking for the missing Celestial.” Tuhriks said.
“Well—you’re looking in the wrong place because it was I—who informed Ziddrais about him in the first place.”
Tuhriks keenly looked him in the eye, gauging whether or not he was telling the truth. Ceinon returned his glare. He had nothing to hide.
“All right. You all have a good night. And stay indoors.”
Tuhriks and the others moved along to the next home as Ceinon watched them. He shut the door. He briefly looked at Quora before looking upstairs.
“Ammaik!” He called out.
Silence was the response as he exhaled. He climbed the stairs, stopping in front of her bedroom door.
“Ammaik. Since when do you not answer when I call?”
Still nothing as Ceinon was growing irritated. He opened the door to find her room immaculate and empty. His eyes widened as the fear rose in his belly.
“Ammaik!”
<>
Bijeana exited Aphotriton accompanied by Ziddrais and two guardsmen. The kingdom was abuzz in their hunt for the remaining celestial. They crossed the bridge returning to the sticky jungle.
She walked with a lot more confidence this time. Having trained escorts with them made all the difference in the world. Each of the four Aphotritons held glowing stones to light every direction around them as the jungle sought to cover them in darkness.
Bijeana continued to lead the way until reaching her usual meeting place with Kahlo. It was eerily quiet and deserted.
“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” Ziddrais asked.
She glared at him as he recoiled. She didn’t have him come along just to question her.
“Kahlo. We are here. Where are you?” She called out.
“Has the harvest been prepared?” Kahlo said.
Bijeana and company burnished their stones in every direction, but there was still no sign of the Aranean emissary.
“Yes. Where are you?”
Bijeana moved the stone around once more only to see Kahlo standing before them—which startled her. She placed her hand over her heart—which was now beating so hard that it felt like it would rip through her chest.
“You tell us where they need to be and we will make sure that it is done.”
Kahlo smiled. “Your efficiency is to be commended. However, I’m afraid that will no longer be necessary.”
Bijeana and Ziddrais looked at one another, before turning back to Kahlo.
“I don’t understand.” She said.
“Circumstances have changed. My Goddess has decided to consider other methods.”
Kahlo slowly backed away from them until the Aranean had disappeared from view.
“What does that mean? Kahlo! Kahlo!” Bijeana said.
She waved the stone around once more as Kahlo was nowhere to be found. A hissing noise could be heard coming from the trees above them as they all pointed their stones skyward.
Hidden within the trees were four Sorungulas. Bijeana screamed as the evil beasts pounced on them. The guardsmen attempted to fight back with their daggers, but the darkness severely handicapped them as they were only able to use one hand—if they wanted to be able to see the vile creatures.
The Sorungula were bigger than they were. They also had talons on their hands, feet and tails. They relentlessly attacked the guardsmen, leaving Bijeana and Ziddrais defenseless. Ziddrais attempted to fly, but his leg was snatched out of the air as he was slammed back to the ground, knocking him out cold.
Bijeana got down on her knees—in the prayer position.
“Kahlo—I beg you. Please show us mercy.”
The two guardsmen screamed as the Sorungula chopped them down with their talons. Bijeana tossed her stone away. If this was the place she was going to die, she’d rather not see it coming.
<>
Orion groaned as he opened his eyes. Rio was looking down at him with a smile on her pretty face. This had to be a dream.
“Hmph. Good morning.” He said
“Yeah, not quite buddy.” Gordie chimed in.
Rio shook her head as Orion’s eyes grew larger. They were sitting in near darkness. He sat up and looked around.
“What happened?”
“The Aphotritons happened, that’s what.” Gordie said.
“We’re their prisoners.” Rio said.
Orion put both hands to his head, trying to make sense of this. His head was throbbing.
“I don’t understand. We were eating and then—”
“They ambushed us. That’s what happened.” June finally chimed in. She was sitting on the floor curled up.
“Well where’s Andrew?” He said.
“We don’t know. They just brought us down here and left us.” Rio answered. “Faldrine told us they’re gonna sacrifice us.”
“Faldrine. Who the hell is that?”
Rio pointed to the four eyes blinking in the darkness.
“Oh, this is just some extra strength bullshit!”
“That’s what I said.”
Gordie nodded as Orion turned to him. He sighed.
“So what’s the plan?”
The other three cadets remained silent. That was as good of an answer as he was going to get. What were they going to do? They’re only hope was Andrew and they had no idea where he was or if he was even okay.
To think that this was how their lives could end was something he’d rather not think about.
<>
The Sorungula were ravaging the carcasses of the defeated Aphotriton guardsmen. Kahlo watched them from a distance. Their victory gave her great pleasure. After all, they were her cousins.
She turned around and walked towards her Aranean brothers and sisters. They were holding Bijeana and Ziddrais. She gestured for them to follow her.
“Come—our goddess awaits.”
She led them through the caves as they were joined by three Sorungulas. She stopped upon reaching Sirina’s lair in the darkness. Bijeana awakened to discover that she and Ziddrais had been kidnapped.
“Ahhh!” She screamed.
Kahlo forcefully grabbed her mouth, squeezing it tightly. She could feel the bones of Bijeana’s face concaving from her grip.
“You will respect the Goddess when you are in her home. Do you understand?” She whispered.
Kahlo brought her free hand to her lips indicating for Bijeana to be silent. She slightly nodded as Kahlo’s grip made it practically impossible for her to move her head. Kahlo released Bijeana’s face—her talons had left visible deep marks on her cheeks. All four of her eyes had begun to tear.
Kahlo turned back to the darkness and stepped forward, kneeling before it.
“My beautiful, merciful Goddess. We have returned.”
For a brief moment all that could be heard around them was Sirina’s rhythmic breathing.
“Was my message received.” Sirina asked, still hidden in the shadows.
Kahlo turned back to the soldiers and gestured for them to bring the two Aphotritons forward.
“Yes, although I thought you may prefer to deliver it yourself, my Goddess.”
Sirina’s breathing stopped as silence took over. Kahlo gulped. She was not used to abject silence from her goddess.
Within an instant, movement could be felt coming from the darkness. The caves closest to the shadows shifted as well. Sirina was enormous and any movement she made could be felt throughout her entire subterranean kingdom. Her leaving the shadows was a rare occurrence.
Her huge spider legs appeared first from the shadows. They were soon joined by her head and body. She was a thirty-five-foot spider-morphic goddess. Sirina the Harvester, mother of the Araneans.
<>
Bijeana was horrified looking at this awful demon. She looked at Ziddrais—he was reacting the same way.
Sirina’s face was surprisingly radiant, but everything else about this creature was terrifying. She had large talons on the end of every leg, along with a bulbous lower carriage, presumably where she would birth her scion. The carriage fluctuated with each breath the demon took. Something was inside her right now.
“Why are you doing this? We’ve done everything you’ve asked.” Bijeana said.
Sirina moved a little closer as Bijeana recoiled. The demon smiled at her.
“The why is in the language that you use. We don’t ask you to do anything.”
Two of Sirina’s giant legs reached out and snatched Bijeana and Ziddrais away from her Aranean children. The two Aphotritons screamed once more as Sirina brought them up to her eye level.
“My benevolence ends now.”
With her right hand, Sirina shot webbing from her fingertips. She covered Ziddrais’ face first before fully mummifying his body in her webbing. He struggled to extricate himself but it was all for naught. Once the webbing had fully encased him, he would no longer be able to breathe.
“Please. There must be another way.” Bijeana pleaded.
“Unfortunately for you, my children need nourishment.”
Webbing shot from Sirina’s left hand, this time beginning with Bijeana’s lower legs as she worked her way up to just below her nose and four eyes. She would no longer be able to talk.
Sirina tossed her and Ziddrais’ body to the ground before disappearing back within the darkness. Kahlo rose to her feet, making eye contact with Bijeana one last time.
“You needn’t worry. They won’t take long. I promise.” She said.
Bijeana’s screams were muffled by the webbing as she could feel the ground shift around her. More Aranean soldiers along with Sorungulas were surrounding them. Their fangs and talons were even sharper up close. They were going to ravage her.
Bijeana closed her eyes for the final time.
<>
Severus stood on his balcony overlooking his kingdom below. From this elevation he could see a great distance into the jungle. The twilight radiated over it. He slightly turned back to his chambers, a look of remorse in his eyes.
This would be the last time he ever felt this way. After the Araneans would receive their sacrifice, the clock would reset again. They could no longer go on like this. The day had come for Aphotriton to devise a new plan. One that didn’t involve living in fear of the terror that lurked below.
They had driven them beneath the surface before and they were more than capable of doing it again. When he next saw Bijeana, this would be his decree. Change had arrived in Aphotriton and it would be for the better.
He stepped back inside his balcony, stopping in his tracks once he saw Salm in his chambers alone. His beauties were nowhere to be seen.
“Salm? What is the meaning of this?”
He was not amused as Salm looked uncomfortable.
“My Lord.”
He swallowed and took a moment.
“Bijeana has disappeared. Along with Ziddrais and two of my guardsmen.”
Severus put his hand to his head as the air from his nose breathed into his palm.
“They still haven’t returned.”
This was the last thing Severus expected to hear. He had sent Bijeana to broker the deal with the Araneans for the Harvest. Something she had done every year without fail and this was the first time she had not returned.
“Would you like me to search for them?” Salm said.
Severus put a hand in the air, indicating for him to stand down.
“Leave me. I need to think.”
Salm lowered his head.
“As you wish.”
He turned around and headed for the exit. Severus stood there trapped in a foggy haze like the sky above them during the day. For as much as he desired to free his kingdom from the tyranny of the Araneans—if the evil ones had graduated to abducting his minister and her protection, then their situation had escalated into something that perhaps even he—was powerless to stop.