Obsidian Ridge - Jess Lebow [41]
There was a strange feeling in this place. It was a sort of hopelessness, punctuated by a burning anxiety that it might be worse to live in a place like this than to simply die here. There had been a burlap sack over her head ever since she had woken up from that night in the slaughterhouse. But she knew when they had brought her to this place-wherever it was-because she had been filled with that terrible feeling the moment she arrived.
Leaning her back against the wall, Mariko took several large breaths, trying to calm and quiet herself. She tugged against the rope holding her hands together. It was loosening, but not enough to get her hands free. She was going to need something to cut through her bonds. Letting herself slip to the ground, she felt around and found a small stone. Gripping it in one hand, she touched it with the fingers of her other.
Closing her eyes, she spoke a few words, quietly, under her breath. Getting back to her feet, she tossed the stone to the ground. It glowed brightly where she dropped it, and the corner filled with a yellow-orange light.
The flagstones and bricks were worn and pockmarked. The surface of one whole wall was marred by long, irregular grooves. They looked as if they were scratch marks-the last remaining evidence of some clawed beast that had been cornered here and had tried to dig its way out. "Just what I needed."
The jagged bits of stone that had been torn away from the wall lay in dusty piles in the corner, and Mariko kicked at them, looking for one she could use. Finding one to her liking, she pushed the sharp chunk away from the others and sat down next to it, so she could reach. Then she went to work, sawing away the hemp that held her wrists together.
As she worked, a series of light tapping sounds began on the far side of the room. They came in irregular patterns, slower at first, then quicker and more frequently. The noises echoed off the walls, bouncing around between the pillars. Mariko couldn't be sure exactly where the sounds originated, but wherever they were, they were in the room with her.
Quickening her sawing motion, she gave her bonds another yank. The fibers that held her wrists slipped, and the rope snapped. Her hands were free, and Princess Mariko hopped to her feet, grabbing up the magically lit stone as she did.
Stepping out of the corner, she put her back to the closest pillar, taking cover from whatever was making the clicking noises. Peeking out from around the edge, Princess Mariko tossed the stone into the middle of the room. The glowing rock bounced to a stop atop a huge circular flagstone. The darkness peeled back from where it landed, revealing the rest of the chamber. The pillars radiated out from this single large stone, reaching for the walls and corners as they lined up across the room. Other piles of dusty stone littered the ground-each at the base of a pillar.
Despite the extra light, the princess couldn't find what was making the clicking sounds, and they continued, growing louder and more regular. They filled the whole room, seemingly surrounding her on all sides. Whatever it was that was making them was closing in.
Pressing herself against the pillar as tight as she could, she gripped the jagged stone she had used to cut herself free in one hand like a dagger, ready to fight. The light on the wall, cast by her magically lit stone, grew long spindly shadows. The clicking noises slowed, coming now from the opposite side of her pillar.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
The princess held her breath, and a tingle ran down her spine, as something cold and thin touched her hair and brushed against the back of her neck. Turning her head, Mariko swallowed hard as she gazed down on the brown, hairy tip of a giant spider's leg. It was hugging the pillar with all eight legs, each easily long enough to wrap around