A Delicate Web (gxg) | ONC2020 |

12. reveal

"Time for you to go," I say, grabbing Gem's shoulder and steering her towards the door. She jerks to a stop, tearing my hand off of her.

"What the fuck are you talking about, Maud?"

Right now, Capital needs the Mamba. And I need Gem not to see him.

I try to reply, but the ground shudders violently and I grab at a table to catch myself. Through the massive, shining windows, I see the ground break open. Hot, burning red light spills out, washing the city in its glow. The sound of aerocars screeching to haphazard halts rings out.

The monster is awakened.

It appears slowly, forcing its and head and shoulders through the hole in the abandoned sector. Backlit by the hellish glow, it pushes through a web of illuminated cracks in the streets, every growl sending shuddering vibrations through the ground.

It doesn't look like any animal I've seen in my life. It is an eldritch horror, an abomination, an old god never meant to wake.

Its body is long and serpentine, rendered in bloody red light. It has ten pairs of leathery wings and countless sets of arms extending from the front section of its body, with more joints than a limb has any right to have. The hands end in wickedly sharp claws that are braced against the sides of the cavern, pulling its long, twining body from the depths.

Its head swivels, and I swear it looks at me.

The face is skeletal and too human for comfort. Its mouth is split in a wide, leering grin. Hundreds of sharp, glittering teeth of varying lengths bristle out of its mouth.

Beside me, Gem's breaths are shallow. I don't know when our hands found each other, but at some point they did, and I give hers a squeeze, feeling her heartbeat in her wrist.

"You need to leave," I say, my voice a soft whisper. I face her. "Please, Gem. Just listen to me."

The building quakes. A stream of debris trickles through a crack in the ceiling.

"Why? Maud, what's going on? We need to stay together right now." She holds on to my forearm with her other hand, eyes huge, chest rising and falling.

"I wish I could, Gem, but there's something I need to do..."

"What?" Her voice rises in pitch; trembles near the end. "What's more important than us getting the fuck out of here, Maud?" She's on the verge of shouting now. I can't think clearly. My head hurts.

I pull away, rubbing at the bridge of my nose. "Fine. Fine, I warned you. Wait here, okay? I'll be right back."

She sucks in a sharp breath, snatching at my arms as I try to leave. "Maud!"

"Gem, I promise!" I grab her shoulders. "I will be back before you can count to ten. I just need to grab something. Okay?"

She stares into my eyes, nods, and lets go. I hurry into my bathroom just as the mirror shatters with another tremor, sending shards of glass hurtling around the room. Avoiding them, I step out of my dress as fast as I can, fingers fumbling with the zippers and clasps. Puttong on my jacket and gloves and boots is clumsy business, but I manage, breaths trembling with every movement of the building beneath my feet.

I am ready for this. I have to be.

I tuck my helmet under my arm and glance downwards, looking at my broken reflection in the shattered glass. Then I swallow and step out.

Gem takes in my appearance in one glance. Her lips part.

"Maud..."

"I know," I say.

"I... you're him—her? the Mamba?"

"Yeah."

The ground rumbles, filling the silence between us. Over her shoulder, I see the creature heave itself fully out of the cavern. Its lower body defies gravity, tapering down to a snake-like tail that lashes back and forth and trails behind it in the air.

"I'm sorry, Gem, I gotta deal with this..."

"How could you keep this from me?" Her voice has suddenly risen in pitch and I blink, taken aback.

"I—I'm sorry, Gem, I know I should've told you, it was a dick move of me but..." I struggle to explain, struggle to justify my secretkeeping. "You just—you didn't treat me the way everyone else did, and I was worried you'd stop when you knew... I know that's not an excuse but of how we are now, but... I... I don't know, it's like—like I can be a different person and it's just so fucking freeing when no one knows me or expects anything from me—but I should've told you. And I'm sorry."

She presses her lips together, then sighs, her shoulders slumping, like she doesn't know what to say to me. She doesn't need to, though. The sense of betrayal in her eyes is clear enough.

Of course I would ruin the one good thing I have.

I look at the floor, then back at her.

"I'm sorry. But I do have to go deal with this. You should get out of here in case the building collapses."

Then I leave, forcing myself not to look back, keeping myself in a straight line for the door. I lift my helmet and slide it onto my head. The sound of my breathing filtering through the voice changer reaches my ears as I open the door, turn the corner, and leave the palace.

No one pays me any mind as I leave. They're too busy panicking—people shove against each other as they try to leave, not noticing me as I stride purposefully through their midst. I clench and unclench my fists, summoning a spark of power that tickles my fingertips. I can only hope it'll be enough. I try not to think about the fact that even if it is, even if I pull this off perfectly, it'll take everything out of me. Spells like this require every once of will and strength a person has.

I hop astride my aeropod and look back at the palace once more, hoping to catch a glimpse of Gem among the panicking waves of people. I don't see a sign of her, though, so I tear my gaze away and boot up my aerocar.

The monster is easy to head towards—it looms above the city, hands crumpling buildings beneath it like soda cans as it drags its floating body behind it, like the arms are only there to tether it the earth. Militia aerocars buzz in the air around it, getting swatted to the ground like flies. Bursts of fire course uselessly against its leathery skin. The ground heaves with every step it takes.

I force my aeropod into a steep ascent, ignoring the grating whine of protest, and when it's gone as far as the engines will take it, I leap off, straight upwards, and power up the thrusters on my boots.

They take a nauseating split second to start working, and I feel them catch me right before free fall. The aerocar falls away, disappearing into the storm of city lights far below. I don't watch it drop—the second I focus on anything but the creature, my stomach lurches into my throat and my vision wobbles, threatening to go black. I can't waste energy on other spells, like flight or levitation—I have to make do with what I have.

None of them, the militia nor the creature, bother to notice me, rising into the cobalt blue sky. Every breath I take shudders. For a split second, I wonder where Neilson is—but if he was there to wake this thing, there's no chance he survived. I have to focus on what's here, on what's demolishing Capital, my city—I square my shoulders and settle my breathing.