Blood and Silver - 04 by James R. Tuck

Author:James R. Tuck
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp
Published: 2012-08-07T04:00:00+00:00

18

Larson was out of his chair, on the table, and laying across Charlotte. His legs hung limp off the edge, and ginger hair swirled across his eyes, sticking to blood running from a cut on his brow. One spider leg had clipped him in her convulsions, splitting the skin open over his eye. Defibrillator paddles hummed in each of his hands. Charlotte jerked and convulsed under him.

Kat stood by holding a syringe as long as my hand, finger-length needle gleaming wicked sharp. Her brow creased in concentration. Larson nodded in her direction. She didn’t hesitate, driving the syringe through Charlotte’s gray fur and breastbone. Once it was home, her hand flashed, pushing the plunger down. Clear liquid gurgled into the Were-spider’s chest cavity. Syringe empty, it was yanked out cleanly and Kat stepped back, out of the way.

“Clear!”

The paddles came down against Charlotte’s chest. The hum became a buzz, crescendoing into a loud, cracking ZAP! The smell of burnt hair filled my nose. Charlotte twisted up, torso raising off the table. Larson lifted up, riding the wave of her body. He jerked the paddles off her, breaking contact. Her shoulders slammed back down as the electricity stopped. She lay limp and boneless, like she had been spilled.

The heart monitor beeped.

Once.

Twice.

The long, uninterrupted beep was a small scream of anguish. That thin green line on the monitor cut with finality.

Larson started yelling orders to Kat in short, precise sentences; words clipped like gunshots. His hands pushed down on Charlotte’s chest, performing CPR. The heart monitor continued its one-note wail.

I stood at the end of the table. Charlotte’s lycanthropy washed over me. I could feel her slipping away. My power searched for her spider, dashing out, running to and fro inside her. I found it curled up on itself.

Shrinking.

Collapsing.

Dying.

Charlotte was my friend. She had stood shoulder to shoulder with me and mine to face off against that evil hell-bitch Appollonia. We were bound by bloodshed. Throughout the last several months she had taken in the spiders abandoned by Appollonia’s reign of terror and made them into a community. A family. After she had lost her babies to Ronnie, we had shared food and drink and laughter. Many, many nights over the last few months had been spent in the company of her and Tiff. I loved Charlotte as a dear, dear friend, one that could be called on when needed.

She was my friend.

She was mine.

And I would be damned if I was just going to let her go.

Reaching out, I touched her leg. Short gray fur prickled my palm. I pushed my power out, unfurling it toward her spider, coaxing it, calling to heal my friend. I felt it stir, valiantly flexing legs and trying to move. The room spun and my head swooned with it, feeling like it was going to be thrown off the top of my neck. I shut my eyes so I could concentrate on Charlotte instead of the sick sensation of vertigo. The theater of my mind opened up and Charlotte’s spider lay before me, strength spent.

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