Free Spider's Lullaby by James R. Tuck Page A

Fuck you.
    The katana raised over my head.
    â€œTo hell with you and your deal. You should never have come after me and mine. This is the price you pay.”
    The curved blade flashed down, driving through the heart of the man tattooed on the demon’s back. It sliced through skin and spine to crack into the floor beneath. The tattoo of the Kensai writhed, screaming under his prison of demonskin. The Oni contorted, writhing like a bug pinned to a board. Corrupted yellow blood welled up around the sword and began to flow up the blade. It soaked in, sucked into the black steel as the sword began to drink down the demon. My power kicked to life and I felt the sword exult as it drank in the Oni’s essence. The demon’s cries were drowned out as the cursed blade sang out, reveling in the demon blood. It sang my name. It tugged at me, begging for more.
    I jerked my hand off the handle.
    The connection broke like spun glass.
    The blade continued to absorb the demon. The body twitched and convulsed, shrinking back into the Kensai. With one last shudder, the transformation was complete. The Kensai lay still. The sword stuck out of his back, blade biting into an expanse of bare skin. The demon backpiece was gone.
    I stumbled back. Pain swelled in my chest as my adrenaline evaporated. Exhaustion of exertion dumped me on my ass. Arms and hands came from behind, holding me up. I turned. Tiff was on one side, Ronnie on the other.
    Tiff pushed magenta hair out of her face. “Are you okay?”
    I waved away her concern. Moving my hand made my chest pulse and ache. “I’ll be okay.” I reached out for both of them. “Way to kick ass, ladies.” Both of them blushed. Ronnie turned her head away from the praise, Tiff grinned at me.
    Ronnie looked over both of us, brown eyes glittering in a mask of smeared mascara. “Thank you both for rescuing me.”
    Tiff shook her head. “It’s what we do for family.” The two girls shared a look and a nod.
    â€œHelp me up and we can get the hell out of here.” Both of them put hands under my arms, trying to lift me.
    That’s when we heard the egg sac full of murderous, supernatural spider babies rip open.

14
    The spiders fell in a rain of hunger. Hundreds of them poured out of the hanging egg sac, spilling onto the body of the Kensai. Each spider was the size of a quarter. Tiny bulbous bodies with long spindly legs. They were translucent white. You could see through their skin, their insides visible as if through a fogged window. They skittered and swarmed over the body under them and began to feed.
    I could feel them through my power. They were a mass of hunger. Their venom burned my skin, acidic and poisonous. Tiny legs plucked along my power as they ran back and forth, devouring flesh. Murder pulsed off them.
    Pushing to my feet, I grabbed Tiff. “Go get Charlotte. Without her these things will kill everything they can.” She nodded, turned, and ran down the corridor of crates. As I watched, the flesh began to disappear from the Kensai. Ghost spiders crawled up, devouring, leaving behind only bone.
    My mind raced. Guns were not going to work on these things. I could stomp them, but they would swarm over me, taking me down quickly. I started looking around for something to crush the spiders with. Ronnie was watching the spiders eat, horrified.
    My hand clamped on her arm. “Run. Go. I’ll take care of them, but get the hell out of here!” She turned to me, eyes wide. White showed around her entire iris. She made no move to run.
    Dammit.
    My fingers scrabbled at the Velcro straps holding the bulletproof vest on. They pulled away with the sound of tearing fabric. I jerked the vest off and folded the two sides together. Slapping at the Velcro, I tried to make a flat pad I could use to squash as many spiders as possible. My chest locked tight with the effort and pain, vision blurring as my fingers fumbled. The skittering