Beyond them, something shifted on the ground. A paw the size of an ogre’s mallet, covered in dark gray fur.
I spat a leaf out of my mouth and scrambled to get my feet back under me. Then I thought better of it and slowed my movements, not wanting to look like prey.
I raised my eyes to get a look at what had slaughtered my guards and discovered a creature with the low-slung body of a wolf—if wolves were the size of bison. Or had eight legs. Too many black, lidless eyes were crowded onto its face. Two hairy appendages extended from the sides of its canine muzzle. They twitched toward me. It snarled, lips curling to reveal a pair of curved fangs dripping with strings of dark, viscous fluid.
Behind it there were two more, and others were stalking in from the sides. Half a dozen? More? There were probably some I couldn’t see.
The rain fell harder, fat droplets trickling from the canopy of branches overhanging the road. Water slid down my face and neck. My panicked hair growth had knocked my hood off. I didn’t reach up to pull it on. Better to get wet than risk setting them off.
Whatever they were. “I’ve seen wolf spiders before,” I whispered, “but you’re the first spider wolves.”
There are rules about this sort of thing. There’s always a way to prevail, by being kind or clever or humble or brave. You can guess the answer to a sphinx’s riddle, outwit an ogre, bargain with a witch. But this was a creature I’d never heard of, not in all my travels. I was at a complete loss. And this time, I wasn’t likely to get three guesses to figure it out.
The monster nearest to me growled and scuttled closer. The motion was unnerving. Nothing that looks like a wolf should scuttle. I took an involuntary step back, my foot landing with a squish in the smashed vegetable mess that used to be a carriage.
“Nice, uh, doggie spider?” I tried. “Spoggie? Who’s a good spoggie?” It didn’t stop growling. The spiny hairs on its back stiffened like the hackles of an enraged dog. Calla would have had them all gazing at her adoringly by this time, eating pumpkin seeds out of her hand.
I slowly backed away, around the pumpkin and past the tree line, hoping they might lose interest once I was hidden from sight by the underbrush. Dead, damp plant matter squelched under my shoes. The spider wolves followed, slinking around the trees, low rumbles and high-pitched chitters emanating from their throats in eerie concert. I tripped and stumbled over the uneven ground, just catching myself before I fell.
One of them skittered nearer, its fangs protruding from its jaw, too large for its mouth. “My,” I said, “what big teeth you have.”
Leaving the road had been a bad idea. In my fright, I had forgotten that it’s dangerous to stray from your path, into theunknown. Hemmed in by tangles and thickets, I’d only made it that much harder to run.
Trying to be like Calla hadn’t worked. Jonquil, I imagined, would simply have done her lake trick. That was worth a try. Assuming the creatures were willing to stare at me menacingly for a few hours while I made the attempt.
Become water,I told myself.Become cool, clear, rippling, wet. Do not think. Be. Water does not think. Water does not—
The spider wolf leapt for my throat.
Traveling is horrible. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.
Chapter Five
The Mysterious Masked Men
I raised my arms in a futile effort to ward off the attack, and I was bracing myself for the agony of fangs piercing my flesh when a masked man in green grabbed the leaping spider wolf by the leg and slammed it into the ground.
It yowled. Or at least it did until he followed that up with a punch to its head that resounded with the sharp crack of breaking bone.
My mouth dropped open, and I stood there blinking in shock.
The man’s flame-red hair and pale skin, visible below the green domino mask, put me in mind of my brother-in-law, Liam. Who was this? Where had he come from?
“I could use some help here!” he shouted into the woods as another spider wolf jumped onto his back. Four pairs of claws ripped through his shirt, drawing blood.
“Can you hold it still, Sam?” another voice called out in reply. Both of them had accents like Liam’s, too. “Clem almost has a shot!”
“Hold it still,” the man in green muttered. He twisted around to make a grab for the monster’s body. “Maybe I should wrap it up and put a wee bow on it, too.”
Its fangs snapped at his face. They missed by only a fraction of an inch. His muscles bulged with strain as he struggled to hold the creature off. This was a beast capable of ripping the heads off my bone-solid, enamel-coated guards. I had trouble believing any ordinary person stood much of a chance againstit.
Nonetheless, he somehow managed to wrap his arms around it. He kept it pinned long enough for an arrow to come whistling out of the woods and bury itself in the monster’s ear.
In the meantime, I had done absolutely nothing but stand there, astonished. I pulled myself out of my paralysis as he dropped the creature to the ground. Behind him, another spider wolf poised to spring.
“Hey, ugly!” I shouted, scooping up a pile of rotting leaves and needles from the forest floor. It whipped its head around, and I hurled them at its face. It flinched back, dirt and detritus showering its unblinking eyes. That distracted it sufficiently for my rescuer—Sam, I supposed—to grab it around the throat and squeeze.
“Thanks.” He flashed me a brilliant smile. The spider wolf thrashed beneath him.
