Free tmp0 by Veronica Jones Page A

woman.

    “ She’s
killed some of your best warriors,” She agitated further. “What
are you going to do about it?”

    He
groaned. It was just like Arachnianne to make an enticing opportunity
look like gold, then mold it into a deadly entity that would consume
him no matter the path he chose. She was not only their creator, but
a trickster to boot.

    “ Arachnianne,
sooner or later immortality can take a toll on one’s soul. It
brings me to my knees and I can no longer bear it. You know this
better than anyone here. Why do you taunt me so?”

    “ It’s
like a slap in the face when one of your finest creations turns on
you. You’re telling me I failed, that I’m not perfect.”
She hissed. “How dare you.”

    Unshaken,
Gwar ignored his creator’s temper tantrum. If she struck him
down now, perhaps he could find some semblance of peace. Most likely
she’d turn him into a lower life form, making him live for an
infinite period of time.

    “ I
know your fear, Gwar. But I won’t use it against you. Your
destiny is with the girl, but you must do me this favor and change
her mind against my beautiful creations. Once you’ve
accomplished this task, you will be human and shall never hear from
me again.”

    “ Give
me your word, Arachnianne.”

    She
nodded and smiled. “You have my word.” With that, she
disappeared as quickly as she appeared, leaving Gwar to ponder his
thoughts.

Chapter
Two

    Maryland,
several weeks later

    Abigail
stretched while inhaling the sweet aroma of cranberry spice candles
before plopping down on the sofa and enjoying a lazy evening at home.
The weekend was here and she planned on being a couch potato at
least for one night.

    Propping
her feet on the ottoman, she tightened the sash of her red silk robe
before picking up the remote. While flicking through the cable
channels, a little black dot caught her attention. It moved, and her
worse fear came to life. A
damned spider!

    “ Oh
no, not again!” She groaned. This was the fifth time this week
she’d seen a spider in the house. Sure enough, a black spider
the size of a nickel was sitting there. Watching her, no doubt, or at
least that’s the way she perceived it in her mind. This lone
spider had found the time in his schedule to stalk her when she was
alone.

    She
rose off the sofa and hurried into the kitchen to retrieve the can of
Bug-Be-Gone. Sure, she could squash him with her shoe, but hell. What
a mess it would make. Her skin crawled and nervousness settled over
her as she gripped the can in her sweaty palms. Her heart thundered
against her chest and the palms of her hands became moist.

    “ Not
enough room in my house for both of us. I hate you little bastards!”
The spider appeared to study her movements and scuttled to the left.
Anxious, she aimed the can and sprayed, unleashing a large fog of
the magical mist into the blinds.

    The
defenseless spider began to run, but she chased it relentlessly with
the spray. “Oh no you don’t! Little motherfu…”

    Once
she was sure it was dead, she stopped spraying. She coughed a few
times and fanned the air around her, refusing to open the window.
There were probably more waiting to get in.

    Just
then, she heard a key rattling in the door and smiled. Oh thank God
for small favors. Her roommate was the master of ridding their home
of bugs. He never killed them, just captured and released them
outside.

    Harrison
crossed the threshold and started choking. “What the
hell,Abigail!” He stormed past her, opening the blinds and the
windows. “You’ll kill us both.”

    “ Don’t
open the windows. They’ll come in if you open the windows.”
She shivered while imagining more of the tiny eight-legged pests
invading her sanctuary. The mere thought of seeing several spiders at
a time made her flesh crawl.

    Harrison
rushed toward her and snatched the can out of her hands. “You
know this shit is dangerous, right? Your phobia’s gonna be the
death of us.” He muttered with