Spider's Revenge

31

I went back to sleep, safe and warm in Owen’s arms. And when I woke up again, he was still there, still holding me. And I knew that he always would be.

It turned out that I’d given everyone more than just a little scare — I’d been unconscious for the better part of three weeks. I slept through most of the next few days, only waking up long enough to endure round after round of healing from Jo-Jo.

Slowly, the gauze was unwrapped from my body and replaced by new layers of shiny pink skin. My voice lost its harsh, grating rasp and went back to its normal tone once more. I could have left my voice the way it was, like Sophia had done after Harley Grimes had tortured her. But I had my spider rune scars to remind me of Mab — I didn’t need anything else.

And that wasn’t all that Jo-Jo did. I also got longer, thicker eyelashes and a new set of perfectly sculpted eyebrows, since my old ones had been singed off. Jo-Jo even grew out my hair an extra inch so she could layer it into a stylish shag.

“No reason not to do a little maintenance while we’re at it,” Jo-Jo chirped before letting loose with her Air magic again.

Once the dwarf had fixed the majority of the damage, I started receiving visitors. Of course, my friends and family had all been in and out of Jo-Jo’s house ever since the night that they’d first brought me here. Still, I hadn’t wanted them to see me weak, helpless, and disfigured. They’d seen the horror show the night I’d killed Mab. I imagined that one time would have been plenty for them to stomach — forever.

To my relief, everyone had survived the battle in the courtyard. Xavier had broken several bones in his hands, pounding on the other giants and bounty hunters, while Finn had taken a bullet in the shoulder from another sniper during the melee. Owen had been bruised and banged up, with two black eyes, several sprains, and a dislocated shoulder from swinging his hammer. Eva, Violet, Warren, Roslyn, and Jo-Jo had all been hanging back, out of range of the courtyard, so they’d been out of the frenzied fray. Sophia had come through without a scratch, and Jo-Jo had eventually healed everyone else.

Bria, well, Bria had been burned, of course. Although her wounds hadn’t been as bad as mine, Mab had still horribly tortured my sister with her elemental Fire. Jo-Jo had healed all the outside damage. How much damage there was on the inside, only time would tell. But I thought that Bria would be okay. We’d survived the death of our mother and older sister, our long separation, and everything else. We’d get through this too — together. It would just take time, the way it always did.

Knowing that everyone else was okay was another burden off my shoulders. I didn’t think that I could have lived with the guilt if one of my friends had been killed. But all was well that had ended well, I supposed. For once, luck had smiled on me and mine. About time that capricious bitch finally came through for me.

One sunny afternoon, Owen carried me downstairs, since I was still too weak to stand on my own. Jo-Jo, Finn, and Bria waited for us in the kitchen. Sophia would have been here too, but the Goth dwarf was busy keeping an eye on the Pork Pit until I could get back on my feet.

Since I was still under the weather, Jo-Jo cooked, whipping up homemade tomato soup loaded with sour cream and cilantro, along with ooey, gooey grilled cheese sandwiches on some of Sophia’s soft, thick sourdough bread. It was one of my favorite comfort-food meals, and I felt my strength pick back up with every warm, cheesy bite.

While I stuffed my face, the others filled me in on what had happened on their end during the fight in the courtyard. I’d heard bits and pieces of it before, but Finn launched into a blow-by-blow account. My foster brother told me in bombastic, exquisite, and somewhat excruciating detail how Xavier, Sophia, and Owen had managed to heroically fight their way through the swarm of giants and bounty hunters and make it to Bria’s side, while Finn and Warren had laid down cover fire for them.

“I, of course, never had any doubt that we’d rescue fair Bria, but I thought we’d have to go through Gentry to do it,” Finn said. “But she handed Bria off to Xavier without a word, then vanished into the snow. She didn’t put up any fight at all. I was still going to put a couple of bullets through her head, though, just for all the trouble she’d caused, but that’s when I got winged in the shoulder by some sniper fire.”

Even though Jo-Jo had healed his injury too, Finn rotated his arm, wincing with imaginary pain. He looked at Bria to see if she’d noticed, but she hadn’t. Instead, my baby sister stared down into her half-eaten soup, a distant look in her eyes.

“I imagine it was Sydney who shot you, protecting the old woman’s back just as usual,” I said. “She might be young, but that girl knows what she’s doing when it comes to guns.”

“Why do you think Gentry helped us, Gin?” Owen asked. “Why do you think that she killed Mab’s giant and turned on the Fire elemental?”

I thought of what the bounty hunter had said to me that night in the woods outside Fletcher’s house. How she’d promised to take care of Bria for me until I could rescue my sister. And then how Gentry had nodded to me when I’d stepped into the courtyard. For whatever reason, the bounty hunter had felt she’d owed me something—

“She said it was because Gin gave the girl some cookies,” Bria said in a soft voice. “That’s why she helped me, not just in the courtyard, but with Mab too.”

I stared at my baby sister, waiting, just waiting. After a moment, she looked up, meeting my eyes. Pain flickered in her blue gaze — pain at everything Mab had done to her that long, long night. Once again, my heart ached for my sister, for everything that she’d endured because of my failure to keep her safe. But there was no blame in her eyes, no angry accusation directed at me, which made it hurt all the worse.

“Mab tortured me, you know,” Bria said. “She tied me down to a chair and used her magic on me — used her elemental Fire to burn my skin. She said she wanted to practice and make sure that she was ready to take on the Spider. And, of course, she enjoyed every second of it.”

Bria stopped and stared down into her soup for several seconds. Finally, she continued with her story. “But Gentry was there too, the whole time, all through the night. And when Mab was really hurting me, when she was getting close to killing me, when I thought that I couldn’t take any more, Gentry would distract her. Come up with some excuse to get the Fire elemental to back off, even if it was just for a few minutes. Mab left the room once, and I was able to ask her why she was still here. After all, Mab had paid her the bounty on me by that point. Gentry just looked at me. And then she said that she owed you for some cookies you’d given to her apprentice, Sydney. I didn’t really understand what she meant. Do you, Gin?”

I thought of the hunger and the delight that had filled Sydney’s eyes when I’d handed her the cookies — and the sadness that had etched Gentry’s face at my small act of kindness. Whatever had happened to Sydney or maybe even to Gentry herself, I’d helped alleviate it, just for that brief moment at the Pork Pit. It had meant enough to the bounty hunter for her to return the favor.

“Yeah,” I said. “I know exactly what Gentry meant.”

We were all silent for a moment, before Finn launched into the second half of his grandiose story, which focused on watching the end of the elemental duel between Mab and me from a safe distance. According to Finn, several of the bounty hunters and giants hadn’t been so smart. They’d gotten caught up in the elemental crossfire and had been killed instantly. Finn wrapped up his tale by telling how he and the others had retrieved my burned, melted body from the rubble and whisked me off to safety. He didn’t linger on that part. Couldn’t blame him for that. I didn’t want to think too much about it myself.

“Anyway, the next time you go off and kill the ultimate evil, remind me to wear sunglasses,” Finn quipped, taking a sip of his latest cup of coffee. “Because that elemental light show of yours almost burned out my eyes, Gin.”

“Sure,” I said. “I’ll stop and do that very thing the next time I’m fighting for my life against a Fire elemental with unimaginable power.”

“Well, that shouldn’t be anytime soon,” he drawled. “Considering that you killed Mab. Your Ice flames or magic or whatever they were did just as much damage to her as her Fire did to you. Once you were in Jo-Jo’s hands, Owen and I went back to the courtyard to make sure that she was dead. All that was left of Mab were a few bones — and this.”

Finn got up and retrieved something wrapped in a thick towel off one of the counters. He placed it on the table in front of me, and I carefully unwound the thick fabric, revealing Mab’s sunburst necklace. The symbol for fire.

Somehow, the necklace had survived Mab’s elemental Fire and had come through unscathed. The wavy golden rays looked as bright and polished as ever, and the ruby set into the middle of the design gleamed like fresh blood. But more disturbing than that I could hear the gemstone’s murmurs — its whispers of fire, heat, death, and destruction that were the essence of Mab herself. Enemy, enemy, enemy… that primal voice in the back of my head started muttering.

Emotion filled me then, terrible, terrible emotion that this piece of the Fire elemental had survived. I snatched up the golden rays and reached for my Ice magic. It took only a second for me to coat the necklace in elemental Ice.

And then I smashed it to pieces.

I slammed the frozen necklace down onto the table again and again and again, happily watching the rays snap off one by one, their golden glow choked to death by my Ice. Finally, all that was left of the design was the ruby. I grabbed the gemstone in my right hand, wrapped my fist around it, and blasted it with all the Ice magic that I could bring to bear.

The gemstone shrieked as it sensed what was being done to it, but I blocked the noise out and poured even more of my magic into it.

A second later, the ruby shattered with a tiny wail, the pieces zipping out between my hands like shrapnel. I listened to the broken shards, but I couldn’t hear the ruby’s murmurs anymore — only silence. Sweet, sweet silence.

Everyone stared at me, shocked by my violent outburst.

“Gin?” Jo-Jo asked.

“I’m okay,” I said, breathing heavily. “I’m okay now that that thing is gone.”

Everyone watched while I dusted the Ice-coated ruby shards off my hand. Without a word, Jo-Jo got the broom from the corner and cleaned up the mess I’d made destroying the necklace. Once all the pieces had been thrown in the trash, I felt myself relaxing once more.

It was over now — finally, truly over.

“We also found something else interesting,” Owen said in a quiet tone when I’d regained my composure. “Something that I think you’ll like a little better than Mab’s necklace.”

He handed me another towel. Once more, I carefully unwound the fabric, revealing a sharp, slender weapon. My silverstone knife — the one I’d used to kill Mab.

“I thought you might want it back,” Owen said.

I nodded, staring at the metal. I must have done a better job of keeping it in one piece with the Ice magic than I’d thought, because the knife looked as solid and sharp as ever. My spider rune ring, the one that Bria had stored her magic in, had also survived Mab’s elemental flames. Bria had slipped it back onto my finger the day I’d woken up for good, and I hadn’t taken it off since. The thin band clinked softly against the knife as I picked up the weapon. To my surprise, the hilt felt cold in my hands — Ice cold.

“Your Ice magic is in the blade now,” Owen said, seeing my confusion. “I can feel it in there, just waiting to be used. It’s silverstone, after all. It must have absorbed your magic during your fight with Mab. Your other knives also contain your Ice power, although not as much as that one, the knife that you killed Mab with.”

“Well, I suppose that they’ll all come in handy soon enough.”

“What do you mean?” Jo-Jo asked.

I shrugged. “All of Mab’s men, all of the bounty hunters — they all know that I’m the Spider now. It won’t be too long before someone tries to collect on some kind of bounty or reward on me.”

“Correction,” Bria said. “The ones who lived know that you’re the Spider, but there probably aren’t as many of those around as you might think. You and Mab took out almost everyone in the courtyard with your magic. The coroner is still finding bodies out there. It’ll be weeks before they identify them all — if they can even do that to start with, given how badly everyone was burned.”

“And Owen, Sophia, Xavier, Warren, and I took care of some of the other stragglers we found out in the woods,” Finn said. “So mostly, there are a lot of rumors going around the underworld, but there aren’t that many people around to confirm or deny them. I’d say the damage and exposure to us is fairly minimal, all things considered.”

Well, that was something to be grateful for. It wouldn’t do any good for me to finally kill Mab only to have a dozen other people show up in Ashland looking to settle old grudges or create new ones. Still, despite the others’ words, I knew that sooner or later some of the folks who weren’t very happy with the Spider would track me down. But I’d be ready for them — the way I always was.

“The only one who might make trouble for you right now is Jonah McAllister,” Bria said in a thoughtful voice.

I frowned. “You mean that bastard got away? How did he do that?”

Jo-Jo stared at me. “Jonah McAllister might be a pompous little weasel, but he also knows how to survive. Don’t forget, he managed to keep his position as one of Mab’s number-two men for decades, something that wasn’t easy.”

“Which makes him dangerous in his own way,” I murmured.

“But even he’s a little busy these days,” Finn cut in. “McAllister is a follower, not a leader. Word is that he’s trying to find himself a new boss to work for — without getting dead first. Last thing I’ve heard, he’s gone into hiding until things settle down in the city. It’s gang warfare out there on the streets. Almost a month after Mab dies, and every shark in the Ashland underworld is still going at it trying to grab as much power as he can.”

Bria nodded her agreement. “I know. Xavier and I have been pulling double shifts for weeks now.”

“So see, Gin? No one’s really even noticed your absence,” Finn said in a cheery voice. “They’re all too busy killing each other off right now to think about coming after the Spider.”

“Terrific,” I muttered. “Just terrific.”

But after a moment, I started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Owen asked.

I shrugged. “Nothing much. Just the fact I killed the most unkillable woman in Ashland, the strongest, most unbeatable elemental around, and no one seems to care because they’re all too busy mowing each other down in the street with machine guns. It’s just — funny.”

I laughed again, but the others exchanged puzzled glances. They didn’t understand what was going on. I laughed until tears streamed down my face, and my stomach hurt from the force of it. And then I laughed some more.

Irony. What a bitch.

I managed to quit laughing long enough to finish eating. Jo-Jo went to check on something in the salon, while Owen stepped outside to call Eva and update her on how I was doing. Their departures left me alone with Finn and Bria in the kitchen. The two of them sat at the table across from me, not quite touching, but obviously wanting to do so. Being alive had put me in a rather generous mood, so I decided to make things easy for them.

“So,” I said. “Exactly how long have the two of you been together? I assume that you’ve been going hot and heavy ever since that night at Fletcher’s house when the bounty hunters interrupted you. Am I right?”

Finn and Bria didn’t look at me or each other.

“Right,” Bria mumbled. “Although if it makes you uncomfortable—”

“Then Gin’s just going to have to deal with it,” Finn cut her off.

Bria stared at him in surprise.

“What?” Finn said. “I worked too hard and too long to get you into my bed to just cut you loose now, cupcake.”

Bria’s eyes narrowed. “Cupcake?”

“Cupcake.” Finn grinned at her. “Or would you prefer snuggle bunny?”

Bria’s hand drifted down to the gun on her leather belt, as though she wanted to pull it out and shoot Finn with it. Well, it was good to know I wasn’t the only one who occasionally had that reaction to him.

I looked back and forth between the two of them, surprised and more than a little pleased by the emotions I saw sparking in their gazes. Annoyance. Desire. Heat. And something a little softer and more promising as well. I thought they might have a chance of making it together — forever. Bria was serious enough to keep Finn grounded, while my foster brother was carefree enough to get my sister to lighten up. Something that she needed now more than ever to help her get over the horrors of what Mab had done to her.

“I’m going to have to agree with Finn on this one,” I said in a mild tone. “Especially since I’ve had to listen to him tell me how fantastic you are ever since Christmas.”

Bria stared at my foster brother with a little more warmth. “You think that I’m fantastic? I’m not just another conquest to you?”

Finn’s shoulders sagged, and he gave me a defeated look. “Geez, Gin. Talk about kicking a guy when he’s down. Now you’ve gone and done it.”

I arched an eyebrow. “What? I’ve let the world know that there really is a heart underneath that slick suit and shiny tie? We’ve all known that for a while now, Finn. No matter how much you try to hide it.”

“Curses,” Finn muttered. “Foiled again.”

I leaned over and rumpled his walnut-colored locks. “As for me, the two of you have my blessing — and then some. So go, get out of here and have some fun — together. You’ve been cooped up in this house long enough, worrying about me.”

Bria stared at me. “But what about before? That night at Fletcher’s house? Finn and I being, um, distracted was what led to this whole mess. My getting captured by Gentry, your almost being killed by Mab. How can you just forget about that? You were so angry about it before.”

I thought of what Fletcher had told me when I’d seen the old man in the Pork Pit. “You’re right. I was angry before. But we all make mistakes, even the best of us. I like to think that it all evens out in the end.”

Finn gave me a strange look. “That sounds like something that Dad would say.”

I just smiled at him. “Yeah, it does, doesn’t it?”

Then I fixed them both with a hard stare. “Just don’t ask me to take sides when the two of you go at each other. Okay?”

They nodded, then looked at each other. Finn waggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, and Bria snorted. But she couldn’t stop a grin from curving her lips. Two minutes later, they both made excuses to leave. I only hoped they managed to make it to Finn’s apartment before their clothes came off.

At that point, Jo-Jo strolled back into the kitchen and announced that it was time for me to go back to bed — whether I wanted to or not.

“I didn’t spend the better part of a month putting you back together again for you to wear yourself out the first day that you’re up,” the dwarf announced.

Owen was still busy with his phone call, so I let Jo-Jo help me back upstairs. The dwarf stayed with me, even going so far as to tuck me in herself — something she hadn’t done since I was a girl. She smoothed the covers down and stepped back. Jo-Jo stared at me with her clear, almost colorless eyes, and a soft smile creased her middle-aged face.

“I’m proud of you, Gin,” she said. “So very, very proud.”

“Why? Because I finally killed Mab?”

Jo-Jo shook her head. “No, not because of that. I’m proud because you finally believed in yourself, Gin. Because you finally fully embraced your magic. The way that the purest, the strongest elementals always do in the end.”

For once, Jo-Jo’s words didn’t make me shiver with unease. Instead, I sat there and thought about them. The dwarf was right — and wrong too. Yeah, I’d finally embraced my power, finally used it the way that it had always been intended to be used, finally dueled and defeated Mab with it. But it wasn’t just my magic that had helped me win — it had been Fletcher too. The old man’s training, all the years of his molding me into the Spider, shaping me into a weapon — that was what had ultimately let me kill Mab. My magic had just been the means to the end. Fletcher was the one who’d prepared me to face the Fire elemental all along.

I told Jo-Jo as much, and she smiled again.

“Fletcher might have given you the tools, darling, but you’re the one who used them. Don’t ever forget that.”

Something in her tone made me look a little closer at her. “What do you mean, Jo-Jo? It’s over now. Done. Finished. Mab is dead. And if she somehow manages to crawl out of her grave, I’ll put her right back down in it again.”

The dwarf stared at me. “But your life isn’t over, Gin. You’re not through being an elemental just because you killed Mab. You’re still growing, as a person, as an elemental, which means that your magic will keep on getting stronger.”

My mouth fell open, and I struggled to come up with the right words. I’d never given much thought to what would happen after I killed Mab — mainly because I hadn’t figured that I’d be around afterward.

“You mean — you mean that I’ll have even more magic in the future? Even more than I did in the courtyard?”

My voice fell to a whisper. I’d been so busy just being grateful I’d survived, that everyone I loved was in one piece, that I hadn’t thought about the future — certainly not about my magic, what it might do, or what I might be able to do with it.

Jo-Jo nodded. “You will. You’re a very special person, Gin, in more ways than one. Your magic is strong, but so are you with that iron will of yours. It’s served you well, and it will continue to do so.”

I just sat there, digesting her words.

She hesitated. “But I have to tell you that I still see darkness ahead for you, darling, some dark days, some tough times.”

I shrugged. “I figured as much. Because now, I’m not only the Spider, but I’m the woman who killed Mab Monroe too. Every elemental who wants to prove herself will be looking to track me down and take me out. In a way, it’ll be even worse than the bounty hunters. They only wanted to turn me in — they didn’t particularly care if I was dead or not.”

“Yes,” Jo-Jo said. “I suppose that it will be worse. But it’s not just elementals looking to prove themselves. There are a lot of bad people out there with a lot of bad powers. And, darling, you seem to attract that sort of trouble like honey does flies. But we both know that you’ll be ready for them — no matter what. And that I’ll be here to help you, every step of the way. Me and Sophia and all the others.”

I reached over and squeezed the dwarf’s hand. “You’d better believe it.”