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I shook my head, stopping when more of my hair clung to the sticky strands.
“No,” I argued, not wanting to believe it. “You helped me in Kovit’s torture chamber.”
There was a silence and then a quiet laugh that made all the hairs rise on my body.
“I sent the bat who betrayed me on a wild goose chase,” he mused. “I bought myself time to get a body, to get the stone before him, to get my throne back.”
Bile rose up my throat.
“I won’t let you,” I growled.
He laughed again and I realized he had moved once more. I could not see him, nor feel his steps on the web. Despite his size, he moved around me with a feather’s grace.
“And how do you intend to stop me?” he whispered. “Sun, the great noc killer.”
His words turned into a hiss at the end and air brushed my shoulder from his breath.
I shrank away, shocked that I hadn’t felt him coming so close. I was breathing hard but otherwise, I could not move Still, but he would not kill me. He couldn’t or else risk ending his life too.
“You must know at least as much as I do about this spell. You know that we are tied together. That we cannot live or die without each other. You have been with us all this time–”
“Oh yes, I have been watching you... all four of you. Your little games. Your attempt at taking my last loyal servants from me… To make them yours.”
“I haven’t–”
“That ends today, Noc Killer.”
The sky was unexpectedly blotted out again, but for a moment I could not make sense of what I was seeing until I realized with horror, that Alhadya was over top of me. His legs surrounded my trapped body.
Something touched me, and I couldn’t hold still any longer.
I thrashed, fighting a losing battle against the webs as I was grabbed by claws and countless hands. Then I was being turned and wrapped and a scream tore from my throat.
All I could think of were the others, my nocs. The ones that he may be right about because I had no doubt that if they could see me now, they would do everything they could to save me. Even take on their own king.
“Kiar!” I shouted. “Bracken!”
And I must have been as much theirs as they were mine because even while my mind raced in terror, a few things were clear. First, I wouldn’t call for Clem because I did not want him to be harmed. He was too delicate to fight for me. Second, I believed in the other two. They could defeat any monster who challenged me. No matter how angry and frustrated I had been only moments before, I wanted them with me.
“They will not help you!” Alhadya snarled. “They are my servants, not yours!”
His hands became rougher, and he paused, squeezing my shoulders and whispering in my face, “you will tell me where Tsuki’s stone is, or your end will be slow and painful.”
“I’d rather die!” I spat and he growled, “So be it.”
His hands wrapped around my neck with crushing strength. My mouth fell open, gasping for air as pain shot through me. Suddenly, loud shout tore through the silent night and a streak of light dazzled my eyes.
Just as suddenly as it started, my body was launched sideways, my neck freed. I could not throw out my arms to catch myself, but the web caught me before I went far.
I blinked, coughing, trying to make sense of the moonlight that was filling the space before my eyes adjusted and my stomach dropped because that was not moonlight. It was Clem. He was clinging to Alhadya’s arms like he could stop him if he wanted it badly enough, and he was glowing.
“Clem!” I shouted hoarsely. “No!”
I wanted to tell him to run, to not be so brazen, but my breath caught in my swollen throat because I hadn’t seen Alhadya properly yet and he was just as horrific in the light.
He was huge, bigger than I’d even realized. His eyes were solid black, like the bug that he was. His teeth were fanged, his expression sinister.
Like most nocs, he was somewhat human in a way–a way that looked like he was wearing a human man as a costume because he was so violently unlike anything that could be natural.
