A chill penetrated her legs. All of them. Arachne twisted out of her spot and slashed through a whole batch of ghosts.
One of her legs didn’t react in time with the other three. It pulled back before plunging straight through her exoskeleton.
With a growl, Arachne reached behind herself and tore the offending limb from her back at the joint.
Sawyer let out a small chuckle. “Self mutilation? I hope you are prepared to tear the rest off.”
Arachne was moving before Sawyer finished a single word, running straight at him. Whatever he was using to control and tether the ghosts had to be on his person. Nothing big and obvious. He was a slim man wearing slim clothing. There were no bulging pockets on his jacket or his pants.
Something smaller then.
He had a gold ring around his ring finger and a silver necklace with a pendant on the end. Both were possibilities. Unfortunately, the ghosts could be tied to a flat card in his pocket as well.
A wall of ghosts appearing in front of Arachne had her skidding to a stop. While she could disrupt them, charging through that many would be foolish.
“Des, my sweet honey, be a dear and collect that leg for me.”
Through the hazy wall of ghosts, the little girl’s eyes went wide. With slow, jerky movements, she stumbled forwards.
She felt a sudden pressure to her left. With a snarl, Arachne jumped to the side.
An expanding gust of air caught her at the edge of its blast, sending her off-balance.
Arachne flailed her limbs around her to disrupt any ghosts that might take the opportunity to invade as she regained her balance.
In the short moment her eyes had wandered to Des, Sawyer had pulled out a… spinal cord? He had it aimed straight at Arachne’s chest.
A glowing ball of electricity crackled on the end.
Normally, Arachne would ignore such a pathetic threat. The nuns’ lightning was far worse and she had been hit by that without much trouble.
Arachne dove out of the way, rolling on the floor before jumping to her feet. Her limbs whirled around her to keep the ghosts at bay.
The lightning thundered past a split second too late.
If her limbs started spasming, it could provide opportunities for the ghosts.
Arachne wasted no time in planning her next move. The wall of ghosts still surrounded Sawyer.
They weren’t around the little girl.
Moving, Arachne gripped her arm and yanked her back.
A light snap came from the girl’s shoulder as Arachne flung her through the wall of ghosts. Whatever had been holding the arm to the rest of her body had broken. Arachne found herself the proud owner of a freshly unstitched arm.
Not what she had intended. Still, it was the perfect thing to swing around without risking any possession.
Following in the wake of the girl, Arachne charged in. She batted away ghosts with the girl’s arm while bobbing and dodging the various air-based attacks Sawyer sent her way.
His smile slipped. It didn’t quite make it to a frown or even a neutral expression, but it definitely lost some of its wideness.
Arachne’s own grin appeared on her face, mirroring his former smile. If there was any contest in their grins, she was beyond certain that her best would beat his. Her teeth were just too perfect.
She clamped down on his ring hand. Her sharp claws shredded the meat and bone. With a tug, the whole hand tore apart.
The ghosts did not stop. Rather, they increased tenfold. They shook and jittered as they lurched towards her.
Taking the scrap of flesh from Sawyer with her in one hand and the girl’s arm in the other, Arachne used her mighty legs to catapult herself to the edge of the elevator landing.
Arachne lowered the makeshift club, assessing the situation. The limbs on her back kept in constant motion to protect from any unseen ghosts from behind.
There were too many. Just too many. Arachne found herself wishing that she had dragged some backup up the elevator shaft. They would have just gotten possessed, but tossing their possessed body at Sawyer might have disrupted the ghosts long enough for her to dive in and tear out the man’s throat.
For a moment, she actually entertained the idea of taking a step backwards and falling thirteen stories to the ground. She had seen the demon-golems and had no desire to become one–even if her actual consciousness was off in the Void.
But she couldn’t do that. Nel was the thing that would save Eva. If she backed off, Sawyer would collect Nel and undoubtedly escape before anyone could catch up to him.
No. She had to hold out long enough for the others to put the pressure on Sawyer. To force him to flee without reclaiming Nel.
Arachne gripped the detached arm in her hand. A thin strand of thread wove itself around the arm’s wrist. Her thread. Thin as it was, Arachne was beyond confident in its durability.
