Tallah [Book 3 Complete]

Luna prided itself on how quickly it learned new things. This skill had allowed it to survive the false mother's hunters, and to make friends of the humans, and even to navigate the human nest of the Rock.

And now Luna was learning again.

The first lesson was in pain. The sword cut into its lower abdomen, barely stopped by its crumbling shell, and passed through. For a weapon that looked so rugged and rusted, it had sliced through Luna's body as if the spider was made of silk. Luna learned it did not want more pain.

The second lesson was in how wide the gulf between its courage and its ability to make use of it. The beastman was fast and it was strong. It had moved before Luna had a chance to close its legs around the prey, driven by some danger sense that was almost equal to that of the Leuki. The lesson was in observing far more keenly before leaping.

Luna landed painfully, two legs tucked underneath it, unable to move immediately. A hoof caught it in the side of the abdomen and sent it rolling across the floor to crash into the ruined barrels of rotted grain. Luna did its best to protect its legs. Missing two was already a handicap that it barely overcame, another would be a catastrophe for its survival chances.

Then Luna learned that much of friend Vergil had rubbed off on it.

All its instincts were screaming to retreat, run, hide, seek protection. But the memory of friend Vergil, who never faltered and never, ever ran, propped it up against the wash of fear that assailed it. Its first strike had failed, but the battle was not yet lost. If it ran outside, it had only ruins to hide in, and the beastman unfriend could easily call its friends to corner Luna.

Through the haze of kicked up dust, the beastman stood stock still. Luna was braced for another blow, its whole body cringing in anticipation of a strike that was late in coming.

But the goatman did not advance. It hesitated, as if rooted to the spot.

A thick pheromone stink filled the air. Fear. Luna recognized its own. It was quickly overcome by the goatman's, so thick and desperate that Luna couldn't withhold its curiosity. It unwound its legs and regarded the creature.

A bleating scream filled the small room as the goatman eyes rested on the spider. It screamed again, the sound long and despairing.

Was it calling friends? Was it crying?

Luna didn't wait to find out which. It uncoiled fully, bits and pieces of its carapace peeling away as the cracked and shattered. The shock of pain was passed, the wound sealed with the fresh secretions coming from beneath its shell. Luna swept two legs through the piles of detritus. More dust, thick and grey and gritty, rose into the air, and Luna forced all its focus into camouflage.

Still, the goatman did not attack. It was bleating now, louder and louder, mournful almost. Was it sorry for hurting Luna?

How could that even be? The creatures had not shown any sign of intelligence before. Luna would know. It had studied the hordes as they crested the walls of the human nest, and it had seen nothing similar to the Kin in them, nor to the humans.

This one was… crying. It was a strange thing to witness, normally reserved for some of the humans who were grief-stricken. Luna did not understand the purpose or need for such a waste of water.

With the beast so distracted, Luna scurried back up the wall, hoping the thick dust might cover its escape. A quick shake dislodged whatever powder clung to it to mar its camouflage, and it immediately regained the advantage.

It probably hadn't needed to do that.

The goatman shook its head. It dropped the weapon and fell to its knees, bleating loudly. The sound echoed in the small room as wracking sobs shook the monster.

Luna's hairs stood on end, fear returning. Not that this creature would harm it. Pain, now that it had tasted it, was inconvenient but not immediately crippling. When the old human channeller had burned Luna, it had hurt much more than the blade cutting through it. This was nothing. This was easily ignored.

But it was afraid the beast was drawing friends.

Again, it moved into position behind the creature, and pounced.

This time the goatman did not react as Luna sank its fangs into its shoulder and injected the venom. It didn't struggle, merely fell to the floor, its long face a mask of misery covered in tears, snot, and a pink foam dripping from its mouth.

Luna moved quickly after that. It covered the paralysed prey in silk and wrapped it as tightly as it knew how. Then it dragged it up to the ruins of the attic, hiding it in shadow. It was no small task as the beast was no light load, but Luna managed.

Then it waited.

It waited for the dark to come and for the other unfriends to return.

The dark came. The beastmen did not.

Other creatures disturbed the night outside, but none approached the ruined hovel. When the goatman stirred, Luna bit it again and injected Knowing.

That took some preparation. Mother had gifted all the library spiders with a special gland behind their fangs. It held a special venom, one that only they could make, and one that Mother had used to impart her knowledge to all of the Kin. One bite, and there would be enlightenment and awakening. Even the dullest of the Kin could awaken with a bite, and become one with Mother.

Even the dullest, but not those whose wits had been stolen by the false mother. Luna had to remember this. This gambit could fail.

Luna did not give much to the creature. Only a drop. It didn't know if it would do anything, and the venom was too precious to squander. It refilled slowly. Luna had to sleep and to focus on refilling this sac. It didn't happen as easily and naturally as for its other two venom glands—one to paralyse, one to predigest.

But maybe a drop would be enough. Maybe just enough for the creature to gain language? Or some semblance of coherence at least?

More shapes moved through the night. Some carried torches. Most only carried their stench, offal and blood. Luna did not try and spy what these figures were, but it did not dare move until they were well past. Instead, all its focus was on its captive.

The goatman was tied fast to one last supporting beam of the ceiling, its arms bound at its back with as much web as Luna could produce without fear of the hunger.

From the first venom, the goatman had woken easily.

From the Knowing, the goatman whimpered and cried in its sleep, shivered and burned. Its skin had turned sallow and pale, its muscles sagged, and its breathing came in ragged. Luna expected it to die.

But it didn't.

After the sun crested high over the horizon, the goatman awoke. And it regarded Luna with square-shaped eyes that, for the first time, promised intelligence.

Luna approached cautiously. More of its outer shell was breaking. It had spent the night peeling bits away.

"Do you understand these words?" it asked, voice kept low, mimicking the sing-song tone of the creature it had spied in the tunnels.

The goatman looked about, mouth agape, eyes wide. It struggled against its bonds, but made no real effort to rip free of them.

"Understand."

The word came out slurred. The goatman's eyes widened and its mouth hung slack, shock obvious on its animal face.

Luna would've danced for joy. It had worked! Now Luna could get information!

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But dancing caused itching. It did not dance.

"This one does not wish to harm you," it said. "This one only has questions. You answer. You go free."

"Not dead!" the goatman screamed.

Luna jumped at the sudden noise, and spurted web all over the creature's head, completely covering its nose and mouth and one eye.

"No, you can't do that. Please," it said as the creature struggled and its screams remained muffled. "If you make noise, you will force this one to kill you. This one does not wish to kill you."

That was a lie. Luna had every intention of killing the beast after it provided knowing. But not yet. It just hoped the beastman treasured its life sufficiently.

"Please do not struggle. And do not scream again." Luna flashed its fangs, but it doubted they were impressive enough to frighten its prisoner. Still, it tried.

Its web was stronger now. It struggled to tear it off the beastman's nose and mouth, every motion of Luna's small claws measured. It didn't want the goatman to bite it, so it remained skittish.

"Not dead!" the goatman said again, this time hissing the word. "Afraid. Afraid of hurting an Exalted. Beg forgiveness! Beg forgiveness!"

That surprised Luna.

"Forgiveness for what?" it asked.

"Harm. Sword. Cut. Not meant. You. Startled. Be forgiveness!" The beastman shook its head violently. "Not meant! Not meant! Not meant!"

The wound barely hurt anymore. Luna felt the soft tissue on its belly stretch as it moved, the carapace guarding it completely broken away. It was the only part on its body that didn't itch.

"This one is not upset. There is no Exalted here." Maybe it shouldn't have said that.

The goatman's eyes now regarded it with a new understanding, and a different kind of wariness.

"You Exalted!" it protested.

"Not Exalted," Luna protested back. "You will answer my questions. Yes?"

The creature did not struggle. It did not try and fight or wiggle out of its restraints. Even with its assessment rebuffed, it remained quiet and observant. It was compliant, which came as a pleasant surprise to Luna.

And the Knowing had bloomed inside it. It could speak! Luna had never given Knowing before. It would've preferred it had given it to friend Vergil but…

"Where are the humans?" The first question was the hardest, but Luna had to know. Not knowing friend Sil's and friend Vergil's and friend Tallah's fates burned just as bad as the wizard fire had.

"Humans?" the goatman inclined its head, mouth hanging slack. "No know humans."

"Those who nested there!" Luna pointed with a hind leg in the direction of the Rock nest. "There, where you attacked."

"Meat? Meat is gone," the goatman said.

Luna almost lunged at it. The sudden spike of anger and fear and desperation almost overturned its self control. It wanted, for a brief moment, to slice open the creature's stomach and pull its entrails out one by one.

"Gone as in dead?" it forced itself to ask.

"Gone. Ran. Over mountain. Gone."

The surging wave of relief was something Luna barely withstood. It sprawled to the floor, legs splayed out, eyes tightly shut against all instinct warning of danger. Its friends were gone… so they may still live. Not all was lost. The thread hadn't been cut, but it had snapped for distance. Maybe another portal? Friend Tallah would have ensured everyone had survived.

"How does one get away from here?" it went on after a long time of basking in renewed hope.

"Door," the goatman bleated.

"What?"

All of Luna's eyes stared into the goatman's, and the creature was shaking its head towards the lower level. "Door. Use door."

The creature was an idiot, as friend Tallah liked to say about those that did not know the answers to her questions. Luna only stared, taken aback by the absurd answer.

"How to follow the humans?" it tried again.

"Door. Then forest. Then light."

That made no sense. There had been a light that had taken the humans away? How? Where to reach it? But if Tallah had used a portal, then the creature would not know of it.

It went on with the questions, latching on to the next piece of knowing the goatman had unwittingly provided.

"What is Exalted?"

This time the prisoner cringed back, suddenly afraid.

"Exalted. White Mother. Exalted."

Luna was no mother, but Mol'Ach had spoken of mothers. Mol'Ach had been vaguely Kin-like.

"Is this one like Mol'Ach?" Luna kept prying, trying to understand what the beastman had seen.

"No. Yes. No." Its answers bordered on absurdity. "Mol'Ach mother. Mol'Ach higher than Exalted. Mol'Ach master. Mol'Ach master of all."

Could this be used to Luna's advantage in any way? It scratched absently at a spot of carapace on its back, a claw gouging a rent in it until it could then start dislodging whole plates off. Each that made Luna feel better, so it set to this task while still regarding the prisoner.

And the prisoner regarded Luna. And said nothing. Did not struggle. Did not speak. It only waited as Luna began dutifully moulting. Maybe if it gave in to the instinct, the itch would go away and not bother it again, and then it could focus on more important tasks.

Now it had time to think, and one tantalising opportunity was presenting itself: the creature had thought Luna one of its masters. Or maybe something sufficiently close, until the spider had rejected the idea. That could be useful but maybe not with this creature.

Luna pulled off a piece of old carapace from its front right leg and immediately felt the leg expanding, much longer than before, much thicker. It was covered in spiky hair and the claws tipping the foot were far larger and sharper than before. Now it finally stopped itching.

Moulting was not painful. It only itched and then stopped. But it was sticky. Luna missed the water barrels of the human nest, the ones in which it had taken small dips to quench its thirst and clean its shell.

Once finally out of the constricting, crumbling shell, Luna realised it would no longer be able to ride wrapped around friend Sil's midriff. It was not that small anymore. Now, if it simply stood, it would be almost taller than friend Sil's knees. The hair covering its thorax and legs was bristly, almost like thorns, and still growing. Without the itch, Luna could feel itself still growing.

Would it grow larger if it ate the beastman?

Part of Luna recoiled at that. No. No more eating the creatures of the Cauldron. One had been too many already, given the changes. But one had given it enough energy to fight a second and now plot for long-term survival.

"Do you obey?" it asked the passive prisoner once all its shedding was done.

"Obey. Obey. Obey," came the immediate answer.

Something was stirring withing the creature. Luna hadn't felt it before. All its focus had been drawn into the itching. Now that it was finally free of it, a different feeling emerged.

Like the connection it had shared with friends Sil and Vergil, this was also a tiny, unseen string that bound it to the creature in front of it. It was stretched taut.

There was a kind of power in this binding, something that hadn't been there before. If Luna focused, it could feel something shared with the beastman, and something shared back. Though… what?

It found the answer deep within the Knowing. It had to look for it, dig after it, and explore the new Knowing Mother had gifted on departure.

Luna had felt blessed when mother had given her venom and shared her vast Knowing. There was so much of it that Luna had never dared plumbing all its deepest depths.

Things floated through Luna's mind. Many things. Many of them unconnected, singular, solitary nodes that needed more context to form a web. This revelation was one such node, made important because Luna also found it within itself.

Mother had gifted Luna with Knowing.

Luna would never dream of disobeying Mother.

Luna had gifted the beastman with Knowing.

Would it obey Luna as unquestioningly?

"Do you obey this one?" it asked, drawing closer. It raised a claw and began slowly slicing down the cocoon of web.

The beastman still did not move. It only watched and thought. Something was happening behind those square irises.

"Obey," it finally said after a time. "Obey Mother? No! Obey you! You I obey!"

"What 'mother' did you obey?" Luna continued its work, neatly freeing the beastman of most of its bonds.

"Mother. But you now. You mother now!"

That was enough to prove what Luna felt: Mother had imprinted on Luna, and had given Luna means to survive. Luna had not been left to wonder the world entirely alone, after all.

The Knowing was knowledge. And it was obedience. Wrapped into one. Mother had not said this. If Luna offered Knowing to a human, the Kin would gain an ally.

Mother was crafty. Mother had learned from the false mother's abuse. It had learned not to allow the Kin be helpless again.

As the goatman came to its feet, Luna knew what it would do next.

"Bring another of your kind," it demanded as it retreated into the shadows. Disobedience was not something it worried about, now that it felt this new connection grow. "Bring just one."

Because one could become two, then three, then four, then many more.

"And bring food," it added as the goatman jumped down into the room. "Bring as much food as you can carry."