Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Or in this case, her.
The thought sent a shiver down her spine but then she heard another soft groan from Drago and remembered that her Protector was still alive!
“Drago? Drago!” she exclaimed, rushing over to the iron chair to pat his cheeks again. “Drago, please wake up! We’re in big trouble here—please!”
Slowly, his eyelids came open.
“Fuck!” he groaned. He looked pale and tired. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Ls Prissa was just here telling me a crazy story about how she won’t let us go until Sheelash sucks away my youth!” Addie said quickly. “We need to get out of here now.”
Drago tried to sit up but his wrists and ankles were still strapped to the chair.
“Fuck me,” he muttered, slumping back down. “Why ‘m I so fuckin’ weak?”
“That’s my fault—I think I drank too much of your blood,” Addie said apologetically. “I didn’t mean to but I got so thirsty and…”
The words died in her throat and she forgot what she’d been going to say. A huge black shadow had fallen over the two of them. Turning, her heart in her mouth, Addie saw a sight that made her knees feel like they had turned to Jell-O.
Standing just a few meters from the throne where Drago was held prisoner was the most monstrous spider she’d ever seen. She’d been halfway expecting another cat-sized spider like the one in her room. Or, at worst, maybe a large dog-sized one. But what she saw took her breath away.
Oh my God! she thought, feeling like a scream had gotten stuck in her throat. It’s bigger than a car!
In fact, the spider was about the size of a Monster Truck—one of those huge vehicles on jacked-up tires that rolled over other, normal-sized cars at redneck events and crushed them as the crowd screamed in excitement.
Strangely, the worst thing about Sheelash wasn’t her sheer size—it wasn’t even the long, curving fangs that dripped poison on the flagstone floor or the wickedly sharp stinger protruding from her fat, hairy abdomen. No, the worst thing about her was her human head and face.
The head had long, lank hair that was greasy platinum blonde, just like the stripes in all the High Born Vargans' hair. Surprisingly, the features were normal and human-looking. The nose was petite—almost delicate—and the mouth curved into a perfect cupid's bow, spoiled only by the two long, sharp fangs protruding from under the top lip.
It was the creature’s eyes that startled and horrified Addie. There were only two of them—unusual for a spider—and they were placed on either side of the nose where a human’s eyes would be. But when Addie looked into them, she saw that they were completely blank. There was no comprehension in those black, staring orbs with their burning red pupils. There was no compassion or understanding or humor or wit.
There was only hunger.
Addie suddenly thought about what Drago had told her about his Drake.
“It’s Primal Drake—it has the mental understanding of an animal. Which means I can’t reason with it,” he'd said.
But this was the true meaning of Primal, Addie thought. The mindless hunger she saw in the giant spider’s eyes told her that there was no reasoning with it—no having a rational conversation. It might have a human mouth but it couldn’t talk or think or do anything but suck its prey dry.
All these years the Vargans have been worshiping it, Addie thought, feeling both disgusted and fascinated at the same time. Worshiping a monster and making it out to be a goddess when really it’s just a hungry, mindless thing. They’ve been sacrificing themselves for generations to keep it alive, to extend its life year by year when it doesn’t give a damn about them—it just wants to eat!
Somehow she had locked eyes with the giant Spider and now they stared at each other, neither of them moving. Addie felt frozen to the spot—she was sure if she tried to get away, Sheelash would be on her in a second. But she couldn’t just stand here all day, could she? She had to do something—what, though?
Addie licked her lips, which still had a metallic, salty tang, and opened her mouth. She wasn’t sure what was going to come out but when she spoke, her voice wobbled alarmingly.
“Shoo!” she said, waving an arm at the giant spider goddess. “Get back—go away!”
The perfect cupid's bow mouth opened, revealing even more of the fangs. They put the ones that Addie had so recently had to shame. Despite her certainty that the spider couldn't talk, Addie still had the impression it was about to speak. Instead, there was nothing but a high, menacing hiss—like the tea kettle shrieking of the silky spider in her room, but magnified exponentially.
Addie clapped her hands over her ears.
“No!” she shouted. But her words had no effect—Sheelash skittered closer, her fanged mouth gnashing the air.