Touch of Fear ▸ House of Anubis [2]

chapter thirty-four. house of webs

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            The next task is something that looks like a laser grid off some spy show. There's strings covering the room and at the next wall is a drawing of what appears to be a spider web. So...this is some kind of human sized spider web?

            "No way," Fabian breathes.

            "This just keeps getting weirder," Nina speaks for all of us.

            "I'm detecting a definite theme in here," Amber remarks.

            Fabian stares at a carving on the wall. "Neith."

            Anubis speaks for the first time all day, startling me. Ah, Neith. You may be just slightly dead.

            "Wha—who's Neith?" I question.

            "The spider-headed weaver goddess of war," Fabian answers.

            Well, not just war, there were a bunch of other things, but war may be the most relevant to this web you're standing in front of. She was also the goddess of fate. Seems things do often boil down to fate.

            "Weavers of war," Alfie says. "Yeah, 'cause those two go together really well."

            "Look at that spider over there," Nina says, pointing at one of the walls. "It looks like an indentation. I think something goes in there."

            "I'm hoping not a giant spider," Amber states.

            Look, I'm Australian. I'm from Sydney but even there you run into some things, so I know about spiders. I even know about large spiders. But I swear to God, if we have to put some kind giant spider a third of the height of the wall in that indentation—and not to mention how we get past these strings! On spy shows, they, like, decapitate you or something.

            Fabian reaches his hand out to touch one of the strings, but pauses and remarks, "Weird."

            I look closer at the strings, noticing that there appears to be some kind of liquid dropped all across the strings. Yeah, might be smart not to touch it, Fabian.

            "That's where we have to go," Nina says, gesturing to the web on the other side of the wall with her torch.

            "So, let's go then," Alfie decides, and before we can stop him, he puts his hand on one of the strings, probably planning to lift it up and go under it. But he lets out a cry of pain and pulls his hand back. "Ah, that really hurt!"

            "It's like a bee sting," Amber says, looking at the injury on his hand.

            "Or a spider bite," Nina suggests grimly.