Since I wasn’t quite ready to go all chemical warfare on their bug asses, I had to endure a very embarrassing perp walk into Brood central.

Rima, my nickname for Nels brother, since I couldn’t be bothered learning the rest, walked behind me, a smug smile on his face, and his spear tip poking into my back. At least I hope it was his spear tip, the dude was a little too happy to have captured a human if you ask me. Maybe apprenticeship worked on a points system? Like, catch a rabbit +1, catch a bear +4, catch a human +100.

Brood central, or just the Brood as Nel kept reminding me, was a five-minute walk from where Rima stuck me like a pig. One minute we’re walking along, me in front with the rest following behind to make it look like they were escorting the prisoner, and then the next minute Rima tells me to stop.

I bit back a growl when he poked me in the back again and only stopped from turning around to punch him in the face because I heard a loud smack, a yelp of pain, and Nel hissing at him.

“We are here,” she said, her voice a lot calmer when she addressed me. “Please, Human Just Haha, think before you speak and do not talk out of turn. If the Brood mother takes offense the rest will kill you without question and there is little I can do about it.”

I glanced around in confusion. This spot of the forest looked much like the rest. Trees everywhere, leaves and shit on the ground, a bush here and there. Nel must have seen my confusion because she walked up to stand beside me and tapped my shoulder. Once I looked at her she pointed straight up and following her direction, I tilted my head back. My mouth dropped open in shock.

Rope bridges, like the one I saw on the video back at Sanderson’s lab, crisscrossed above my head. They stretched from one tree trunk to the next starting twenty feet off the ground before fading from view amongst the dense green canopy. Occasionally a face would peek over the side of the bridge and flashback into hiding. Wooden ledges had been built into the side of the trees and along the thicker branches. I could make out the slated roofs here and there almost completely camouflaged in the foliage.

“The Brood watches. You should step away from the human, sister.” Rima cautioned from behind me.

“No, brother, it is you who should step forward. Stand beside him so the Brood will know our guardian apprentice has brought him here and will protect them.”

With a lot of grumbling and a few hisses from Tima, I ended up being boxed in from three sides. I felt my metaphorical hackles raise but smothered the feeling. If worse came to worse I was pretty sure I could make a run for it. I think.

“Now we wait,” Nel said to me, her gaze also locked on the colony above our heads.

“Wait for wh-holy crap!” I yelled in shock as something came hurtling down from above like a white meteor.

It hit the ground in an explosion of leaves and a muted thump. I prayed the spider had just gone splat because if he hadn’t then that was one bad mofo and I wanted nothing to do with him.

He hadn’t.

Uncurling from a crouch was the single most terrifying thing I have ever seen in my relatively long life. The spiderguy, or Denvii or whatever, that stood before me was tall, a good head taller than me which would put him at seven feet something. His broad, powerful frame was covered in intricate metal plating, thick overlapping slabs of the shiny metal covered his shoulders and chest before shrinking in size to look like little fish scales around his ribs and abdomen.

His spider legs were as white as his skin, which is to say bone-white, and armor covered the top of each one, a blade running along the metal covering the lower segments. Essentially each of his legs was swords. But because that wasn’t enough he had a sword that may have been better described as a meat cleaver strapped to his back and a spear in one massive fist.

That didn’t scare me though, I’ve faced a lot of thugs bigger and broader than me, what scared me was his face. It was a lot more..uhh...spidery. Twin mandibles poked out of his cheeks, looking uncomfortably sharp as they click-clacked in front of his mouth. His two human eyes were a pale red, almost pink, but the other four that were spread across his forehead were beady little brown things that shone with a wet sheen. His equally pale hair was done up in dreads and tied above his head in a bun. I almost went cross-eyed staring at all his eyes.

“What is this?” He asked. His voice reminded me of two boulders smashing together as his mandibles clicked irritably.

I opened my mouth to say “Web Head Robiticus, a rock band for the ages.” but thought better of it when Nel elbowed me in the side. I’m a smart ass and if someone asks a question, I don’t care how scary he is, I’m going to answer.

“This human threatened-” Rima started to say before Nel cut him off.

“This human saved my life while I was out gathering, Guardian.” I did a double-take when I saw a blush darkening Nel’s cheek as she looked at the rather large spiderguy. Her voice was softer than I had heard it.

The man’s eyes all blinked in rapid succession as he stared at me. It made his forehead look like it was doing the wave and it was all I could do not to blink back.

Or was he coming onto me with a not so subtle wink? I was half-naked, and I am quite sexy after all.

“You will explain.” He said to Nel before turning to Rima, completely ignoring me in the middle. “And you will skewer him if he so much as moves.”

Guess he wasn’t hitting on me. Phew!

“So, Rima, what’s his deal?” I asked, jerking my chin in the direction Nel and the Guardian had walked off in. They stood next to a tree some distance away, their heads bowed close together. Nel’s hands were waving about in explanation, occasionally accompanied by one of her rear legs.

“Do not call me Rima. My name is Rimatrastorama!” he hissed before his face morphed into a puppy dog smile. ‘That is Zavanrosiphra, the Great Guardian of the Brood and my master.”

“You might wanna wipe the drool off your chin there buddy.”

He actually did it! Haha!

Something solid and meaty smacked into the back of my head and I staggered forward. Twirling around I saw the lizard reposition itself and trying to look up at the trees above, all innocent-like. I eyed it’s tail and considered having a quick tussle but just shrugged instead.

“Apprentice!” The Guardian barked from the distance, his voice unbelievably loud. “Control your mount!”

“Yessir!” Rima yelled back, coming to attention. His spider legs folded up to neat triangles behind his back. A spider salute I guess?

The next five minutes passed slowly. Tima curled up around Rima and I, her head near his feet and her tail circled near mine. Nel and the Guardian, Zavan, continued to talk. It looked like it was going okay. Her hands weren’t waving around as much and he would nod occasionally before looking back at me.

I had tried eavesdropping on the conversation but grew bored rather quickly. She was just telling him how I had been awe-inspiring in my rescue of her. Okay, she hadn’t said awe-inspiring, but she meant it.

Rima had just let out a jaw cracking yawn when the other two came back. Quick as a whip Rima went ramrod straight, his previous slumped form looking awake and ready. I hid a smirk behind my hand.

“Human Just Haha,” Great! Now she had him calling me that. “Is what Nelzarastorama told me correct?”

“I have no clue what she said to you so how could I know what is correct or not,” I said with a shrug.

Thin lips pulled back over teeth a tad too sharp as he smiled at me. “Oh, I think you were listening. You have a habit of cocking your head to the side when you focus on a sound. If I am not mistaken, and judging by the fact that you are still standing even with a hole through your stomach, you are more than just human...”

I just blinked back at him slowly, neither confirming nor denying anything and eventually, he nodded to himself. “It looks like Nelzarastorama was wrong: you are capable of thinking before you speak.”

Nel blushed in embarrassment when I cocked an eyebrow at her. Rima was smiling. Even the damn lizard was making a weird sound, a mix between a hiccup and a cough, that I think was meant to be laughter.

“I will escort you to the Brood Mother, Nelzarastorama and my apprentice will follow. You attacked one and through those actions, the other. This, you will answer for.” His eyes turned hard as he finished speaking, his body almost vibrating with violence. I met his gaze and felt the corners of my mouth quirk up in an easy smile.

I don’t intimidate.

“Bring him!” He barked at Rima before turning and springing from the forest floor to latch onto the tree next to us. Nel cast one last glance at me before turning to follow and Rima reached out for me.

“You ain’t carrying me, bitch,” I growled before flooding myself with energy and following the other two. I may have overcompensated as I flew past Nel, giving her a wink as I went, and landed hot on the heels of Zava. My hands crushed the wood effortlessly to get a grip and my feet dug into the bark. The Guardian looked back and I got the pleasure of seeing his eyes widen in shock before it went back to an emotionless mask.

His speed increased but I kept pace. My limbs blurring as I scrambled and hopped my way up after him. I wasn’t pulling as much energy as I had during the fight, but I was still worried I might run out before reaching our destination and just fall off the tree like some dead bug.

To get my mind off that I started to hum incy wincy spider under my breath. My humming stopped though when we passed the lowest bridge and I caught my first sight of The Brood. As a group, they had skin tones ranging from Nel’s warm chocolate to Zava’s corpse white. Hairstyles and body shapes were just as varied as where the spider part of them that I could see. I nearly fell off the tree when I saw a human with a spider's head. I shit you not! No spider legs and anything, just a spider's head. BAM! Right on top of a human body. I’m going to have nightmares about that for weeks.

One little kid sat on the shoulders of its father with its spider legs draped down the man's back and watched me climb past. A pair of weird pincer-like things on either side of its mouth clicked at me. I wondered if heritage helped decide what part of them changed or if it was completely random. I looked down, ignoring the dizzying heights, and met Nel’s eyes. Thank god it had been her I met in the forest. I may have accidentally killed the one with the bug head.

Nel matched my smile before she laughed and looked away, a blush creeping across her face again. It took me a second to figure out what was so funny. I was still wearing my leaf skirt. Poor woman.

The further up we traveled the less Denvii I saw though the buildings were larger, making use of the thicker foliage. Rope I know thought of as webs connected branches and trunks in dizzying, and very complicated, patterns. Some of the clusters were so thick It was almost a wall of white.

Zava jumped from one trunk to the next, his body flying through the air in a graceful arc. I flared power and followed, wood splintered under my feet as I shoved off and I flew through the air like a fucking missile before smacking into the other tree hard enough to make the whole thing shake. Which is saying something, considering the size of it.

The canopy was deserted of structures and webs though I saw shadowy figures flicker amongst the thick leaf cover around us and knew we were being followed. Zava stepped onto a branch as wide as a hover-car and made space for me to follow.

“This is known as the Monarch Tree. Above us lies the Brood Mother’s nest. You will not speak unless spoken to. You will not move unless given permission. You will not draw upon your power for I now know what it looks like. Hear me and hear me well Human Just Haha, you are about to do what no human has ever done before. Talk to the leader of a Denvii clan.” He stopped to see if I understood the situation. I did and nodded with all the gravity it deserved. “Good. Nelzarastorama has vouched for you as she believes Aeris has a plan for you. If the Brood mother allows it then you may visit with Saza and she will guide you.”

“If she doesn’t”

“Then we will descend on you in a wave, for when one shakes we all shake. We are of one strand.”

He said the last like it was some sort of mantra or code or something. I guess maybe it was.