Jewels and Feathers (Race Games 3)

CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE

The weapons panel lit up in front of Vidar. He immediately leaned forward to hover his hand over it, but the tunnel ahead of them was so dark, it was difficult to see any threats. The only space they could see was where the headlights touched the stone. Muni turned on her high beams, and she could see the stone walls around them. The light caught on something, a shine drawing their eyes.

Eirik leaned forward in confusion. “What is all that?”

No one answered because none of them knew the answer. Something was familiar about it, but Muni couldn’t place it, not as it was. The way it caught the light, long strands of it across the wall, it was almost pretty. Every so often, within the stone itself, something would shine, as if jewels and gems were embedded there. It took everything in Muni to ignore them, to not give into the need to stop and dig one out to see how shiny the object actually was. Clearly, it was meant to enthrall. Was it a diamond mine? That would make sense.

Slowing down, Muni moved at a small forty miles an hour, not sure how the cave was going to twist and turn. Brin had the map, could warn her, but she’d rather no risk losing control in so tight a space. Plus, they didn’t know what sort of traps and tricks might be in here. It was better to use caution.

They were alone for now, no other cars around them. Only the rumble of the McLaren reached their ears, amplified in the closed in space. Vidar was staring intensely out of the windshield, his eyes on the darkness beyond the headlights. His hand remained over the weapons panel, as if he would need to press at a moment’s notice. Because Muni was so focused on where the light hit, she couldn’t see passed the light, her eyes blinded by it.

“Something moved,” Vidar commented into the silence. “Up ahead.”

“Slow down,” Brin whispered. “It could be another team.” He looked down. “The map doesn’t show locations, but the dragons are the team directly ahead of us.”

More and more of the shiny material covered the walls, until there was more shiny white than the stone, until it began to hang from the surfaces.

Eirik leaned forward and chuckled nervously. “This reminds me of that weird spider movie—”

“Shh,” Muni ordered, holding her hand up.

The McLaren rolled to a stop as Muni let off the gas. Pressing in the clutch, she dropped it back to first gear as they focused up ahead. The car idled, the soft rumble loud in her ears despite them at a stop. They all listened. At first, there was nothing. Only the silence of caverns.

And then Muni heard it.

There was a soft tap tap tap, clicking, and then sudden screams.

“I think I see light up ahead.” Vidar kept his voice soft. “Perhaps it’s the exit.”

Muni eased forward, oh so slowly, afraid what they’d find as they moved around the turn in the track, as the walls dripped with silk. It wasn’t the exit. Not even close.

Muni stopped again, her eyes wide. Ahead of them, the dragon’s Dodge Challenger hung from the ceiling by the silken threads. They were wrapped around the vehicle, holding it aloft even as the tires spun uselessly, and the dragons screamed inside. The silk was wrapped in such a way they couldn’t open the doors, but they tried their hardest to fire weapons from the car. Bullets bounced from the stone, one of them plinking into their side window, leaving behind an indent in the bulletproof glass and a slightly lighter medallion. It likely wouldn’t last too long with all the hits they were taking.

But that wasn’t what had Muni’s claws clenched on the steering wheel.

There, within the silk on top of the car, was a massive spider. It was bigger than the car, at least double its size. The clicking was coming from the fangs it dug into the metal of the Challenger.

Eirik recoiled into his seat in horror. “Get us out of here,” he whispered.

“It’s just one. We can take it,” Brin argued, though his voice was low, too, as if speaking too loud would draw the creatures attention.

In answer, movement came from the sides of the large cavern and Muni looked over to see more legs, too many. She looked between the mass of spiders moving in and the dragons hanging helplessly from the ceiling, still alive, at the mercy of these creatures.

“We can’t help them,” Vidar murmured, as if reading her mind. “Doing so will get us killed.”

She hesitated. “But they’re people.”

“Who we already know had a hit out on you and they wouldn’t do the same. Now isn’t the time to be noble,” Vidar argued.

“Muni,” Eirik breathed. “There’s more.”

Too many spiders. There were too many. Smaller spiders began falling from the ceiling as they used the silk like rope. Still, Muni didn’t step on the gas, not until a car came out of nowhere from behind and sped passed them. The goblins. Not even they lingered in the cavern.

“Get us out of here,” Brin commanded.

“Now, Muni!” Vidar shouted as the spiders began to move in, their furry legs tapping against the stone.

She stepped on the gas, the rear tires spinning out before grabbing the pavement, shooting them forward. But there were spiders in their path, blocking the way now.

Vidar slammed his hand against one of the buttons on the weapon’s panel. Flames shot from tiny modules in the hood, and the spiders ran shrieking away, the sounds and smell of burning spiders hitting Muni’s ears and making her grimace. The screams of the dragons followed them down the tunnel, but eventually the silk and the spiders fell behind and stopped, leaving them to travel through the caves in silence.

“I think I have a new phobia,” Eirik said, his eyes still wide.

“You and me both,” Muni agreed. “You and me both.”