Sacrifice of the Widow_ Lady Penitent - Lisa Smedman [97]
Even in their weakened state, fighting the chwidenchas with a sword would be futile. The fist-sized “heads” of the spider-things were buried deep at the center of the creature. The legs would have to be hacked off, one by one, in order to do the creature any real damage, and the legs could regenerate.
Still floating above the wounded spider-things, Cavatina pressed her lips to the horn a third time, knowing that she might be inviting disaster. The magical horn was meant to be blown only once each day. Unleashing its energies more than that could trigger an explosion that could knock her senseless at the very least or snap her neck at worst, but Cavatina had not been invited into the ranks of the Darksong Knights by being unwilling to take chances. Anyone who fought demons for a living had to be bold.
She blew—and a third wave of sound shuddered through the chwidenchas, pulverizing them. They collapsed, twitched once or twice, and died.
Halisstra, meanwhile, was still battling the chwidencha that had attacked her. She knocked it away with a sweep of one powerfully muscled arm, but as soon as it stopped rolling it sprang at her again. It landed on her back, knocking her to the ground. Its legs sawed against her body, scrabbling for a hold.
Halisstra was not so easily beaten. She rose, wrenching the creature over her head to the front of her body—a move that tore deep gouges in her shoulders. She sank her fangs into one of the chwidencha’s legs. The chwidencha tried to push itself free, but Halisstra’s own spider legs held it fast, crushing it against her chest. She bit it again and again, working her way in toward its center, where the legs joined—and at last a deep shudder ran through the chwidencha and its legs fell limp.
Cavatina drifted to the ground beside Halisstra. “Bravely done.”
Halisstra, eyes gleaming, hurled the lifeless chwidencha aside.
Cavatina moved closer, her hand raised. “Those wounds. Shall I try to heal—”
“No.” Halisstra’s voice was harsh as she flinched away. “Lolth’s pact will heal me.”
Cavatina lowered her hand. She walked to the chwidencha that was bound by the web and levered it onto its back with her sword, exposing the throbbing ball of flesh that was the thing’s head. She skewered it with the point of her sword. The weapon sang in a joyful tone as the chwidencha died.
“Hard to believe these were once drow,” Cavatina said as she pulled her sword free.
Halisstra’s head came up.
“Created by Lolth, just as you were.” Cavatina moved to the second chwidencha, levered it over, and thrust again, ensuring that it was dead. “Each leg was a person who angered Lolth in some way. They were transformed by fell magic and bound together to create a creature that knows only pain and hatred.” She moved to the third, flipped it, and drove her sword home. “We do them a favor by killing them. Among the legs might be some whose ‘crime’ against the Spider Queen was to contemplate the worship of some other deity, perhaps even Eilistraee. Some of the souls we free may go on to dance with the goddess in her domain.” She turned to face Halisstra. “Which proves that there’s always hope, no matter how grim things seem.”
Halisstra either missed the point or deliberately ignored it. “You’ve hunted chwidencha before.”
Cavatina nodded. “Among other things.” She nodded at Halisstra’s wounds. Already they were closing over. “Are you able to continue?”
“Yes.”
They continued toward the spires of rock and soon were among them. Cavatina could see that they were, indeed, petrified legs, most of them snapped clean and flat at