Introduction to Gprs and Edge by Lawrence Harte

Author:Lawrence Harte [Harte, Lawrence]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Technology & Engineering, Ebook, book
ISBN: 9781932813067
Publisher: Althos
Published: 2004-12-01T00:00:00+00:00

13

SOLOMON SHEPHERD

Nathan dropped the bag and pushed his candle into Daryl’s hand. “Hold this!” With a flying leap, he vaulted to the first limb and scrambled out to the branch that held the webbed captive. As it sagged under their combined weight, Nathan reached for the closest extremity. A claw stabbed at him, driving a sharp finger into his side. He batted it away, but the motion sent him sliding down the branch. Summoning all his strength, he lunged forward. Grabbing the captive in his arms, he dropped through two sets of thin branches, landing feet first and rolling to the ground with his load.

He jumped up and dragged the web-covered mass to a safe distance. His mother, Daryl, and Amber rushed to his side, holding their candles close. He found a mouth — a man’s mouth — the only part of the body exposed to the air. Using both hands, he ripped the hole wider. The strings were sticky and tough, but Nathan tore through them like a maniac.

“Shades of Frodo,” Daryl whispered. “He’s been Shelobbed.”

After just a few seconds, Nathan had cleared the stuff from the man’s face. Although he appeared gaunt and pale, his familiar jaw and cheekbones revealed his identity.

“It’s Dad!” Nathan shouted.

His mother cleared away a few loose strings from her husband’s mouth. “Solomon, can you hear us?”

He blinked, then opened his eyes wide. He pursed his lips to speak, but only a rasping whisper came forth. “Francesca?”

“Yes! Yes!” She ripped away a chunk of webbing from the top of his head. “Hurry, everyone!” she said, laughing. “It’s him!

It’s Solomon!”

While the others stripped away the cocoon, Amber set her candle close to Solomon’s eyes. “Have you kept your focus on the living world, dear Solomon?”

“I had no light to guide me . . .” His voice still carried a sandpaper grittiness. “But Scarlet gave me . . . gave me a song. Whenever I felt like I was losing touch, I sang it.”

Amber brushed dark bangs from his brow. “How did you become a victim of the spider tree?”

As Nathan pulled a sticky strip from his arms, Solomon winced. “While searching for a way out of this place, I walked into a cemetery. A girl, a blind girl, called for help from the branches of this tree. Half her body was already covered with the web. I climbed up to free her, but while I was working, the tree caught me. Of course, I couldn’t jump down until she was free, but by the time I pulled the last binding strands from her, the tree had already bound me so tightly, I couldn’t free myself. Then, a strange wind pulled the girl into a cyclonic swirl and dragged her away.”

“Was her name Felicity?” Nathan asked.

“Yes.” His eyes shifted toward him. “How did you know?”

“We’ve met.” Nathan smiled at his mother and tore a long strip from his father’s thigh.

His mother simply glowed. Her smile, her eyes, even her skin seemed to radiate their own light. “Cerulean’s taking care of Felicity, my love.

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