Chapter Thirty-Four

 

The War Rages On

 

Annaleah felt needles of despair pierce her heart as it became more difficult to brush the spiders off of her. Her arms were growing heavier and less flexible, her thoughts muddied and fuzzy. She realized with a profound despondency that she had once again been bitten by the poisonous children of the Jorogumo. She looked upon Nephlia, thinking to herself that she didn't even feel the bites.

The Jorogumo laughed, a high pitch screech of lunacy, her kohl lined eyes wide and maniacal. She held Annaleah's gaze with her own as she advanced slowly, in her half spider and half woman form.

"You wouldn't have felt my babies bite you this time, Annaleah," Nephila spoke, coming closer. "The only ones allowed to bite you are the smaller ones. Too bad for you the smaller of them are the most poisonous." She threw back her head and cackled, opening her arms as she did so. On the ends of her fingers were what looked like elongated, sharp metal claws.

"Do you like them?" the Jorogumo asked, once more appearing to have looked within Annaleah's mind. She held her hands out for her to see. "I had them specially made. These are no ordinary nail guards, dear. They are made to rip flesh and sever limbs. They are rather pretty aren't they?" Nephila paused for a moment to admire them, then looked Annaleah coldly in the eye. "They will look even prettier eviscerating you."

Annaleah looked for her dropped sword to defend herself, willing strength back into her poisoned body. Now she found she couldn't even lift her arms. Her breath was heavy in her lungs and took effort to draw in. A tiny spider ran across her face and disappeared into her long hair, sending waves of revulsion through her, but she could do nothing to remove it. Her eyes still cooperated, however, and she looked helplessly at the Jorogumo as she breached the final distance between them.

"Oh now, Annaleah, why such despair?" taunted the spider demoness. "Oh, I bet I know. You are about to die and there is no one here to help you. No Gabriel, no Marchosias, no Michael and no... what do you call him in his human form, Professor?"

Annaleah hadn't thought of that before, but now she did wonder where her friends were. She wanted to tell Nephila that this was a war after all, that had the spider queen not thrown such a low blow and poisoned her like this, she would have been able to fight her without having the help of her friends.

Nephila cocked her head, as if to hear what Annaleah was trying to say. "What's that, dear? Cat got your tongue?" More crazed laughter followed, further filling her soul with sorrow. Nephila was now right in front of her, smiling in victory. She ran the blunt end of one of the nail guards down Annaleah's cheek, wiping away a tear that she was unaware she had shed.

"Goodbye, Otherling. I can't say it's been nice knowing you." The Jorogumo raised her arm high over and behind her head in a blow meant to kill. Her fingers were spread wide, and Annaleah couldn't help but look at the gleaming metal nail guards which seconds from now would be tearing her flesh apart.

Annaleah, knowing she was about to die, thought of the Professor, and how she wished she could at least kiss his lips just once. In one final burst of hope, she tried once more to force her body to move, but was rewarded with only searing pain for her efforts.

"I'm sorry Sebastian," she said to him in her mind, the anguish of never seeing him again more raw than the fact that she was about to lose her life.

"Oh don't worry about Sebastian," the Jorogumo told her, hand paused in the air, "I plan to kill him too. You can reunite in the after world."

Her hand came down in an arc, and Annaleah, resigned to her fate, cried one last tear.

Suddenly, from the right, a large white creature leapt from the shadows and attached itself to the throat of the Jorogumo. Annaleah realized she had seen this beast before. The horrendous creature that Satanael had called Tantibus held Nephila's throat in its jaws. Blood poured out around its pale mouth as it shook her. The surprise and alarm in the dying demoness' eyes was almost enough to elicit pity from Annaleah. Almost.

As the nightmare creature worked its jaws to sever Nephila's head from her neck, it arched its scorpion like tail and stung her repeatedly. The huge, torn wings of the white, scaled beast opened and closed in the air, fighting for leverage. Finally, with a growl of determination, Tantibus shook his mighty jaws and severed the head of the demon spider queen. The empty eyes stared in horror at nothing now, the mouth frozen in a silent scream. The head spouted a dark scarlet liquid as it rolled over the war ravaged ground before being crushed under the giant cloven hoof of a demon engaged in battle. Tantibus, still in killing mode, fell upon the Jorogumo's body, attacking her where she had fallen.

Instantly, the spiders swarming over Annaleah turned to ash and began to blow away in the winds of the war.

"Crazy bitch," Annaleah heard a masculine voice say as her consciousness began to fade. "I told her to stay away from you."

Annaleah, blinking her eyes an attempt to remain conscious, struggled to turn her head to see who had spoken.

"Did you forget me so soon, Annaleah?" Into her field of sight stepped Satanael, his long red hair flowing out as if it were engaged in an aquatic dance.

Annaleah, her strength now gone, didn't even try to answer. She felt herself begin to fall as the poison overtook her body. Satanael moved quickly and caught her in his arms. He lifted her easily, and began to carry her off to the path that led to the clearing.

Through heavy eyes, Annaleah looked up into a face which looked handsome, even though she knew the creature which held her was the embodiment of evil itself.

"Well now, Annaleah, it isn't every day that one gets saved by the devil himself, now is it?"

As the last remnants of consciousness slipped from her, she heard him laughing.