“They’re bad,” Charlie said.
With the candles extinguished, Marius saw immediately what she meant. By the light of Charlie’s glow, the room was revealed for what it was. Skeletons sat at the table where no one had sat before, decaying in their seats. Skulls were stacked in every corner. The food on the table wriggled with worms. Thick cobwebs stretched across the room.
Horrified by the sight of the food, Charlie backed away and climbed off the table. A noise came from above, and she looked straight up. The cup she’d been using to extinguish the candles dropped from her hands and shattered on the floor. “Uncle Marius?”
Marius rushed forward, sweeping Charlie into his arms and drawing his sword. Above them, a spider the size of a small house dropped toward them, its fangs dripping. He tried to stab it, but the webs thickened around them. He could barely move.
He hacked at the webs, the spider growing closer. “Charlie, zap!”
Clap! Sparks flew into the thing’s eyes, and webs burned and fell away from them. The spider skittered away, hissing. Slashing at what remained of the webs, Marius ducked beneath the table, bringing Charlie with him. Bad idea. The space was littered with bones. Charlie screamed as the arm of a decaying man slapped her shoulder.
But the webs weren’t as thick here. He cut at the ones on the opposite side of the table between him and the far wall. “Look, Charlie! There’s an opening.”
A thump marked the spider’s arrival. Marius stabbed around the edge of the table, managing to lop off one of the creature’s hairy black legs. It screeched loud enough to hurt his ears, but he grabbed Charlie and bolted for the passageway. The space was narrow. He thrust Charlie through first and backed into it, stabbing at the flashing fangs that filled the doorway.
The spider couldn’t fit through, but it could shoot its webs at him. Glossy threads wrapped around his sword and climbed his arms. The creature braced its legs on the wall and tried to pull him back into its lair. He dug in his heels. Zap!
The webs gave way, and he collapsed into the narrow passageway next to Charlie. The scent of singed hair filled his nose. He shook burned web from his hands. Empty hands. Goddess help him, his sword was gone. He couldn’t complain too much. At least he was alive. But he mourned the loss of his last weapon, nonetheless. “Thanks, kid.”
“What now?” Tears streamed down her cheeks.
He drew her into a hug. “It’s okay. It can’t follow us.”
“I want to go home.” Her lip quivered.
“Me too. Good news is, we’re still alive, and there’s only one way to go.” He pointed down the long hall in front of him.
She wiped her eyes and took his hand. They started walking again.
After a long while, Charlie asked, “Are you going to marry Harlow?”
He choked on his own spit and coughed into his hand. It wasn’t the question itself that had set him off guard but the timing and the source.
“What made you think about that now?”
She shrugged. “Just wondering. I know you spend time with her sometimes.”
Marius thought about the question. He was already mated to her. Marriage was the obvious next step. “I don’t know. Haven’t asked her yet.”
“Are you going to ask her?”
“Maybe. If she wants me to.”
“Why wouldn’t she want you to?”
Marius shrugged. “Female minds are a mystery to me, Charlie, but I’ve learned it’s always a good idea to get Harlow’s permission before doing anything that involves her person.”
Their feet crunched on the debris. “If you marry her, can I be the flower girl?”
“How do you even know what a flower girl is?”
“From Colin’s wedding.”
Marius thought back. His brother had married the elf scribe Leena in a small wedding in a court in Rogos. “I don’t remember them having a flower girl.”
“Oh, they didn’t. But Mommy told Daddy that if they’d had one, I’d make the prettiest one.”
“Hmm. Well then, I suppose there’s no choice but to have the prettiest flower girl.”
