Dragonquest - Donita K. Paul [16]
Two hall guards charged into the garden with lances. The Creemoor lowered its round body to the ground and sprang at one of the guards, wrapping eight legs around the man’s body. Hindered by the tentacles lashing out at his spear, the second guard circled with his lance raised until he got an unobstructed opening. He thrust his weapon into the spider’s shiny black back. Thick gray fluid spurted out. The hall guard jumped away from the noxious fumes and horrid slime. The creature let go of his first victim and whirled around to attack.
Another guard ran up, pulled his sword, and slashed downward, severing a row of tentacles and three legs. The appendages writhed on the ground. With the soft critching sound of its pointed claws upon the gravel, the spider advanced toward the second guard.
Beyond this terrible skirmish, Kale saw Librettowit running from the mansion just as Bardon tugged at her arm.
“Wait!” She pulled away and ran out the door with her small sword drawn and ready.
A Creemoor spider thumped to the ground before the tumanhofer. Librettowit’s sword was longer and heavier than Kale’s, but the tumanhofer was only head and shoulders taller than his opponent. He hacked at the beast in front of him. The spider snapped at the tumanhofer. The click-click-click of the pincers plus the critch of its other legs on the gravel path made a muffled drumbeat over the background sounds of battle. Shrieks of terror, the clash of arms, and the grunts of both man and beast came from every direction.
Kale crept up to the Creemoor spider attacking Librettowit and jabbed her sword into the back of the creature’s head. Foul-smelling gray liquid squirted over her hand and stung. Despite the pain, she withdrew the sword and thrust repeatedly.
One of the spider’s tentacles whipped out and encircled her waist. The moonbeam cape hissed at its touch, and the tentacle jerked away. She sprang to the side to get away from the stench as well as the waving arms of the beast. Gymn and Metta swooped in and spit in the many-eyed face of the spider. Their green and purple saliva blinded the creature. It backed away into rosebushes and became entangled in thorny branches.
“To the tower!” yelled Librettowit.
She turned and saw Bardon combating two more Creemoors. She and Librettowit, along with the dragons, raced to his side. Battling the spiders, they inched toward the open door of Trell Tower. Each time they succeeded in felling a beast, another joined the fray.
Her arms ached, and her hand felt on fire. At least the long tentacles released her as soon as they felt the hissing burn of the moonbeam cape. Once a spider caught Bardon by his foot. Librettowit hacked away the thick tentacle. Twice Librettowit had to be rescued from the grip of a beast.
Turning toward the tower, the tumanhofer saw another attacking spider in his way. He charged forward, swinging his sword.
“One obstacle after another,” he grumbled. “This is why I prefer a quiet library!”
They killed three Creemoors in the fierce struggle and made it to the door. Bardon slammed it shut before another onslaught.
“Where’s Toopka?” The question wheezed from Kale’s throat.
Bardon answered. “I told her to climb to the top of the tower.”
“Oh dear,” panted Librettowit. He leaned against the wall and struggled to get his words out. “There are eight gateways at the top. If she goes through one, we’ll never find her. You two go on. I can’t just now.”
Kale sprinted to the staircase winding up the sides of the tower. The iron steps rang under her boots. Bardon’s footsteps echoed in a rat-tat-tat behind her. Light filtered through narrow windows placed at intervals up the climb. The wall shimmered with an eerie blue glow.
Metta, Gymn, fly ahead and see what Toopka’s doing. Keep her out of the gateways.
The minor dragons darted past, ascending the stairwell faster than the two o’rants could. Kale opened her mouth to call out a warning to Toopka to stay away from the gateways, but she had no breath to spare.
Her lungs strained, ready to burst. Her hand burned. The horror