Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 55964 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 280(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55964 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 280(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
“Do not be frightened of the spiders,” the god at my side says. “They will not harm you. They are extensions of us.”
“Y-you control them?” I cling to his sleeve, relieved he hasn’t pushed me away. I stare after the terrifying creature as it retreats in a flurry of legs. Horrifying.
“Control? No. They are an extension of us.” He shakes his head. “Like a hand, or a foot.”
I stare at him, surprised. I don’t entirely understand, but who am I to question the gods? “So if I see a spider, it’s one of you?”
He inclines his head. “They will never harm you.”
That makes me feel a lot better. I release his sleeve, and I’m chagrined to see that I’ve twisted the delicate fabric in my grasp. I smooth it out with my touch, biting back the apology that springs to mind. He doesn’t want me constantly apologizing. He wants…well, I don’t actually know what he wants. They’ve never had an anchor before, and I’ve never been one. We have to get used to each other. “I’m not always like this,” I tell the Spidae in a soft voice. “I just need to get my bearings and then I won’t be quite so…”
I don’t know the word. Afraid? Timid? Frantic to please?
“I know,” he says simply. “Eat your food.”
When he doesn’t move, I pick up the web-covered pod the spider laid on the floor nearby. I find a knife and carefully cut the pod open, finding fresh peaches. Ravenous, I grab one and bite into it, the juice dripping down my chin. I bite back a moan, devouring the fruit as quickly as I can, and then tearing into the next one. The rush of sweetness helps abate my hunger, but I pick up a third one and bite into it, famished. “Faith mentioned an anchor eats a great deal,” I comment as he watches me eat. “I’m going to need more than fruit. Some meat. Eggs. Flour for bread, if you have it.”
“I will see what I can do,” he says. “For now, eat your fruit.”
I cut off a slice and offer him a bite. “Would you like to taste?”
The Spidae’s mouth curls with a hint of revulsion as he gazes down at the fruit. He stares at it for so long that I think he will refuse, but then he leans forward and takes the slice from my fingertips, his mouth grazing over my sticky skin.
I bite back a gasp, because I didn’t expect that. It wasn’t sexual. I don’t think he knows how to be sexual, or is particularly interested in that. But his hot, wet mouth on my skin sears through my mind.
The Spidae chews, his mouth open and his jaw moves so awkwardly that I’d laugh if I wasn’t terrified of his response. He looks as if he doesn’t know what to do with it now that he has it in his mouth. “Good, right?” I cut myself another slice and chew it quickly, then swallow it and touch my peach-sticky fingers to my throat, reminding him of the next step.
He manages to swallow, a grimace on his face the entire time. “I did not enjoy that as much as you.”
“But you tried it,” I remind him. “It’s good to try things that we’re unfamiliar with, don’t you think?”
“Why?”
“So you learn. So you grow as a person…” I trail off as I realize who I’m talking to. He’s not going to grow as a person. He’s a god. But he wants me to teach him about humans, right? Eating is one of the basic drives. So I cut another slice off of the divinely sweet peach and lick the juice off my fingers. “Mortals have to eat constantly. Might as well take pleasure in it.”
“And do you like pleasure?” he asks, watching me lick my fingers.
“Of course I do.” I give him my best coquettish smile.
In response, he stares at me, his eyes narrowing. I get the impression he knows I’m trying too hard with my answer, and he’s displeased, but it’s out there now. I can’t change it. I manage a wider smile and keep eating.
“If you see one of the spiders in your room, tell it what food you would like, and it will bring it to you if at all possible,” he tells me. “We are not used to permanent guests, so it will be a novel experience for all of us.” His words are dry with a hint of amusement.
I choke on the slice of peach, my stomach tightening. Permanent guest. So it’s not my home, then. I’m just a guest. It’s their home and I’m just…visiting? But I keep smiling, because what else can I do?
Four
After I scarf down the peaches and wash my hands and face, he continues to show me around the tower. There’s room after empty room as we head up the ramp that leads to the top of the tower. The tower itself seems divided into multiple rooms along the exterior wall of the tower, and only a few, circular rooms along the interior. I manage to peek inside one of the interior rooms, but it looks empty of everything but cobwebs. There are far more of the exterior rooms, though, and each has a bed and a window in it, along with other accoutrements. When we pause in one, I recognize the fireplace.