Gloom Rising (The Book Wielder Saga 1) by Sean Davies Page B

ponytail. Where her thin waist ended, however, a huge spider’s abdomen began with black and pink stripes the same colour as her mask. Eight long thin legs held her up, each divided into three segments almost as long as Winston, and the very tips were armoured and bladed. She was armed with a serrated obsidian long sword that she was casually resting on the palm of her spare hand.
    Clattering up the hill behind her was a swarm of giant forest spiders. They looked like real world spiders but the smallest was the size of a dog, the largest was the size of a pony, and they were dark green and covered in moss and bristly hairs. They stopped just behind the Demon like an old army in formation, chattering their mandible jaws and awaiting the order to charge.
    The rabble of Freaks at the base of the hill had grown to quite a sizable mob, and they continued to come out of the forest, avoiding the parts that were still on fire. They started swearing and cursing, but the Demon hissed and shook her masked head. They all started shouting more abuse and getting riled. One went to attack Winston, and the Demon struck with one of her legs, stabbing it straight through the stomach. She swung her serrated blade half-way through its neck and sawed the rest of the way through.
    Then all hell broke loose. The spiders charged and leapt into the Freaks, bashing and biting, and the Freaks chopped and tore. The Demon strode above all, killing with casual indiscriminate grace. Winston ran and ran, and didn’t stop until he reached the inn. He trod quickly but carefully up the stairs, put his hand on the book, and warped back to the real.
           Back in the real world, he sank exhaustedly to the floor and panted heavily. Veronica was leaning against the wall reading one of Gregory’s experiment textbooks. She dropped the book on the floor and went to help Winston.
    “What happened?” she asked, concerned.
    “Had a couple villages worth of Freaks come after me,” he said, still breathing heavily. “Then a spider Demon and a bunch of giant spiders fought them.”
    Veronica was stunned. “How did you get away?”
    “It was so strange. It was like the Demon was protecting me, so I took my chance and got out of there as fast as I could.”
    “I said there was something significant about you,” she said strangely.
    “What do you mean by that stuff?”
    “I’m not sure. I just get a sense that you have a big part to play in the things to come.” She shook her head quickly. “It’s hard to put my finger on – some crazy Blood Magic induced psychic vision stuff. Let’s forget about it and have a nice evening.”
    Gregory entered the room. “You’re back! How did it go?”
    “Absolutely crazy that time,” Winston said as Veronica helped him up. “Got you something good though.” He produced the amber eye and handed it to Gregory. “It’s an eye from a ‘dead’ Deathscythe tree. Thank you for helping me into the Shadow Circle.”
    Gregory was speechless. “Wow, you really are something else, Winston! I’m going to have fun researching this beauty.”
    “That’s not all.” Winston put the case on the table and opened it up. “After the tree was dead I was free to gather as much as I could carry.”
    Gregory’s eyes went wide. “Half a case of Nightmare Nettle and half a case of Deathroot. There’s a fortune’s worth of root in here. You better take some of it back to Lucius or he’ll have my head!”
    Winston went to the toilet and washed his face in the sink with cold water. He looked in the mirror and made sure he was clean. His clothes weren’t that terrible, and looking dishevelled in the Open Vein club wasn’t a bad or unusual thing. When he came back into the room, Gregory had divided the contents of the case into various containers. He handed Winston a medium sized silver case.
    “There’s well over half of the Deathroot in there,” Gregory began. “There’s also some Nightmare Nettle and a couple of