“Who’re you?” the man asked, his voice hoarse with pain.
“Shane.” As she tried to get closer to see some of the others, she kept talking trying to keep him calm and awake. “I’m a scout. What’s your name?”
“Fallon.”
Son of a bitch.
What was he even doing out here? He should be drawing up battle plans, strategizing or whatever, safe in the confines of the encampment, not caught in a spinner’s web somewhere in the Lowland wilderness.
“I take it from your silence you know who I am.”
That was a stupid statement considering she’d told him she was Trateri, and every Trateri knew who Fallon Hawkvale was. Guess he was a little more out of it than she thought.
Lifting her voice a bit, she said, “Eamon, we’ve found our quarry.”
Damn it.
“Who is it?”
“Hawkvale.” Her voice was flat and unemotional.
There was a moment of stunned silence and then a low, “Fuck.”
That about summed it up.
“There are two others as well.”
The other two men were set further back in the webs and didn’t seem to be moving. Neither stirred at Shane and Eamon’s voices. She was afraid to shout in case the noise attracted a spinner.
The venom coated on the webs had most likely already been absorbed into their skin. It was amazing Fallon was as awake and alert as he was considering the amount of web wrapped around him.
“Can you cut them out?” Eamon asked.
Shea observed the threads skeptically, not daring to touch them. “Not unless we want to attract the whole nest.”
There was restrained cursing from Eamon. In any other situation it would have been funny given how quiet he was trying to be.
Shea’s skin itched with the need to get out of there. They were entirely too exposed. It was only a matter of time before their luck ran out.
She could always abandon Fallon and his men to their fate. Take Eamon and run. No one had to know they found the Trateri’s leader. That would be the smart plan – the safe plan.
Shea wasn’t going to do that though. No, she was going to try to save them just as soon as she figured out a semi decent strategy. She blamed her mother for this overwhelming sense of duty and responsibility to those who didn’t always deserve either.
But the only plan she could come up with meant someone acting as a decoy.
“Shane, wait ten minutes and then start cutting. If you can’t get the other two to wake up, leave them and get Hawkvale away from here.”
“I can’t-“
“You can. I’ll keep the spinners distracted while you work, but you won’t have much time before they’re on you.”
“Wait, Eamon,” Shea whispered as his shadow moved.
“Someone has to act as the decoy, boy.” Eamon’s voice was strong and firm. “Don’t worry about me. I’m Trateri. We’re not so easy to kill as you Lowlanders.”
Knowing that arguing with him was useless, she dropped her head and stared at the ground, wishing she could be honest with him about who she was, that she could tell him that he was an amazing leader and an even better friend.
Clearing her throat, she forced down words that might make her feel better but were ultimately useless. “They’re not overly fond of fire so setting their webs aflame might give you enough time to get away.”
She couldn’t see it in the dim light, but she knew he nodded before his shadow disappeared.
She whispered, “Good luck and thanks for everything.”
Her fingers found a loose thread at the bottom of her shirt and pulled nervously as the minutes crept by.
Seeing Fallon’s head sag, Shea made her way over to him and said his name softly. When he didn’t respond, she slapped him.
Fallon’s head jerked when she slapped him again. She needed him awake. There was just no way she could carry him out of here.
He lifted his head and shot a glare her way. It wasn’t very impressive as his eyes were unfocused and slightly glazed, but she shrugged in feigned sympathy just in case he did remember this later.
“Stay awake,” she ordered. “I can’t carry you so you’ll have to walk out yourself.”
He mumbled something indistinctly. Seeing that he was struggling to stay awake, she moved on to the other two. The first one’s form was small and misshapen. Even with the poor light she could tell pieces of him were missing, and there were black stains on the ground near his body. He was dead or likely wished he was if he was still conscious. Still, she reached out and felt his neck, flinching at the waxy feel of cold flesh under her fingers.
Dead. Poor guy. At least he wouldn’t have felt it.
The next man seemed to have all his body parts, but it was difficult to tell with the coating of white that shone with a star like beauty in the moonlight. The skin on his neck was warm, and she let out a gratified sigh when she found the pulse pumping strong against her fingers.
He groaned and struggled to move his arms.
“Sir, you need to wake up.”
When he didn’t respond, she felt her spirits sink. Eamon had been clear what he wanted her to do if anyone was unconscious when things got started. Biting her lip, she looked between him and Fallon and shrugged. If it worked for one maybe it would work for the other.
A crack filled the air and her hand stung from the slap, but besides a slight stirring and another groan he was silent. She slapped him again. He roused a little only to sink back into his bonds. What she wouldn’t give for some water right now.
Third time was the charm. She let her hand fly and then held her breath.
“Will you please stop hitting me?” a groggy voice asked.
“He did that to me too,” Fallon said tiredly.
“Guess he’s got balls then,” the stranger said as his eyes drifted shut.
Shea stepped forward, drawing her hand back. “Oh, no you don’t. Stay awake. There’s no way I’m carrying your ass.”
“Do not hit me again,” the man warned.
Shane snorted. His warning lacked oomph.
“Don’t fall asleep, and I won’t have to.”
“Balls.”
Not really. Just desperation.
“What happened?” Fallon asked, his voice sounding fatigued.
“You wandered into a spinner’s nest.”
“That’s not good,” the stranger said.
No, it wasn’t.
“What about Jason?”
“Who?” Shea asked, looking over at the dead man. She didn’t want to be the one to tell them their friend was dead. Nor did she want to have to cut him out of his web if they insisted on bringing his body with them.
“There was a third man,” Fallon told her.
She held her silence, wondering if she should just say she hadn’t seen him or if that would necessitate a search. Should she tell them he was dead or wait until they were safe?
Fallon shut his eyes as he said, “He’s dead, isn’t he?”
“Yes.”
He got quiet after that. Shea left him to his thoughts. She edged forward, trying to see out of the webs while listening for anything that suggested Eamon had made his move. Enough time had passed for him to get into position and set up. Had he started already? Perhaps he had and his distraction was being wasted while she hesitated.