Qrow.

Chapter 48 | The Spider and the Clown

Felix stopped dead in his tracks as a thin iron wire struck down in front of him. Another cast behind him, followed by another and another. Within seconds he was trapped in a demon's spider's web. It didn't really scare him. Even though these strings could easily slice him into tiny pieces as a vampire, they couldn't kill a spirit.

Apollo walked in slowly from the shadows, "I'm done playing your childish games. Honestly, I would've never thought even Jasper would stoop as so low as to enlist a coward like you."

He crossed his arms, daring to sass such a powerful demon, "Coward? You think I'm a coward because I was running? You're even dumber than I thought." 

Drawing out the dagger Jasper had given him earlier in the night, he sliced through the strings with ease. Only a blade crafted by a very powerful magic user could do such a thing. Really, it shouldn't have been much of a surprise that one of Jasper's men had such a thing. Regardless, it did stun Apollo momentarily. 

Felix vanished again and ran towards another direction of the house. His opponent knew exactly where he was. It was just a matter of catching him. That's one thing that he'd learned easily in his years of drifting; How to slip through the cracks. Felix ran down the Play Pin ward, noting the bodies unconscious around him. He didn't stop, though it did set him uneasy.

Friday technically had put herself out of the fight. She'd cried herself to a point of exhaustion, laying asleep on top of Micah. Ghost was awake but had been using the time to regenerate his energy. He decided seeing his son in trouble was enough of a reason to throw himself back into the fray. As Apollo came down the hall, Ghost jumped in front of him and opened a tear. 

He might've been able to catch himself from falling in, if it weren't for the fact that Joy had just come to. The dark elf struggled to her feet and used the last of her energy to shove him through. In the process she fell through too but she really didn't care. The portal lead out from the newly painted portrait of Loki. Apollo fell down at least thirty feet before crashing to the ground. 

The black and white tiles of the entry way shattered around him. Joy stood up, thankfully unharmed since he'd broken her fall. She thought he'd been knocked out. Imagine her surprise when he suddenly grabbed her ankle. 

"Enough!" He yelled, his body becoming disembodied, "I was trying to be merciful, but I am done with this game of cat and mouse!"

Joy felt a wave a nausea wash over her. Her heart rate increase drastically, causing her to fall to the ground like a snowflake in the winter. Pulling away his hand revealed a nasty bruised mark on her skin, looking almost as if she'd been bitten by a spider. Having heard the commotion from down the hall, Beau rushed into the scene. His eyes were instantly drawn to Apollo's hand. There was a small opening on his palm, resembling a mouth with fangs. 

"What did you do to her?" Beau questioned, kneeling to help her, "Please, at least tell me so I can treat her." 

"The bite of a red-legged widow. It's not deadly but she'll feel like she's on her deathbed for a week." The mouth on his palm closed shut, only to be replaced with another. He used both hands this time, releasing a smoke into the air. "This is a vaporized version of the venom of a Brazilian Wandering Spider. In a gas form like this, it is not deadly, but it will still temporarily paralyze it's victims." 

"Why didn't you just do that from the start?" He questioned, feeling his body get heavy.

"We need the prince awake and alive. I know now that he's locked away in the armory, meaning this toxin won't be able to reach him." Apollo explained.

Beau tried to fight it as long as he could. He could feel his wings going numb first and his eyelids getting heavy. "It won't... Affect spirits."

"I know." He sourly responded, seeming pretty peeved by that fact.