The sound that had seemed so far away at first was now echoing from every direction, closing in on me.
Realizing it was already too late to run, I quickly recast my invisibility spell—broken earlier when I stepped on that spider—and pressed myself flat against the wall, slipping into the narrowest corner I could find.
Just as the last traces of magic settled over me—
THUD!
A heavy impact trembled through the ceiling, and a massive shadow loomed over my head.
…Something was coming down.
Sssslide…
The shadow lowered itself with a slow, dragging motion that made my skin crawl. Only when it reached the floor did I finally get a clear look at it.
A spider—no, something like a spider—easily over three meters tall.
Its body bristled with thin, jointed legs, each one moving independently. On its back unfolded wings shaped like those of a giant moth, scales fluttering softly. And most unnervingly… where its head should have been was the face of a woman.
An Arachne.
