Arachna

Chapter 17: Are You Ready to Talk About...

Caleb stood proudly in front of the church with a satisfied smirk that didn't leave his face, even as he slid into his black car and drove away.

When he was gone, Lance climbed into the passenger seat of the police car. Malcolm, George, Derek, and Kaela pressed against each other in the back. Eric drove.

The stench of rotting flesh filled the car, and Eric opened the rest of the windows, which only welcomed the new smell of burning trash.

Kaela requested a pain pill, and Eric took the bottle from his jacket and tossed it to her. She swallowed one then offered one to Lance. "For your leg."

He yearned to grab the bottle, take a handful, and forget about the world for a while. More and more, he missed that sweet relief. Still, he managed to refuse them.

Kaela fell asleep minutes later. Derek nodded off soon after, and Malcolm frowned at the window and muttered to himself. It sounded like some kind of formula.

"Were you really telling the truth?" Lance whispered, glancing back at the group.

Eric was silent for a moment as he aimed a lingering stare into the rearview mirror. "George, do me a favor and cover your ears, will you?"

George raised an eyebrow but followed the request anyway. Malcolm grinned and mimicked the action. "Yes, of course. Blocking out the noise should help me think."

Eric surveyed them with another glance at the mirror before muttering with a sigh, "Yes, I was telling the truth."

Lance rolled his eyes. "And is that all you have to say about it?"

"I will give you answers once we are somewhere more private."

With an annoyed snort, Lance leaned his head out the window, just to breathe in some night air, bitter as it was. The moon cast its soothing light on his face. He gripped the cane loosely and rubbed the smooth metal handle with his thumb. He traced every crevice and indentation in the carving. A wolf's head. His thumb rubbed over the cold metal eyes, the ears, the snarling mouth.

"Why a wolf?" The question came out before Lance could stop himself.

Eric smiled and glanced down at the cane. Finally, a question he seemed willing to answer.

"The wolf is a symbol of loyalty and perseverance." His smile widened. "It's a reminder to have both at all times."

Lance hummed. "You weren't loyal to me, though. Dropped me off like I was a broken toy."

"You're right," Eric said. "I wasn't loyal to you. And that's why I chose that carving. Every time I hold that cane, I know it's a wolf's head I'm holding onto. It's a reminder of what I did and a warning not to make that mistake again... or try not to, anyway. It's good to stay with my pack, and I'm working on it."

There it was, that rare sincerity that hid somewhere within Eric. Underneath the instability of his actions, his mind seemed perfectly fine. All a show, a performance for them, to look unpredictable to friends and enemies. Lance scoffed as he thought about it, then scoffed again as he considered just how fake that sincerity might be.

"Trying to stay with the pack, yet you left us behind to go to Agni and put me in charge?"

Eric smiled again, but it wasn't the taunting grin nor the wicked smile like the snarl Lance ran his thumb over.

"I did say 'working on it'. Besides, leaving was as much for you as it was me." Eric stole another glance in the rearview mirror. "I was curious to see how you would be as a leader. Should anything happen to me, I need someone willing to take my place. I told you this." His voice was barely a whisper, and even Lance had trouble hearing it.