Spider's Bite
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Kermit stepped back, away from the horror of what was in the cocoon and still tried to concentrate on getting information out of Emma.
"I thought Latrodect would have killed you after you helped us."
"I may have been part of Latrodect's plans during that time, but I had a higher calling. And I chose you to fulfill that calling."
"Yeah, I can see that. The Black Widow kills after she mates." Kermit stated with sarcasm.
"Oh don't be so cynical, Kermit. Didn't we have some good times?"
"You used me, Emma."
"I also saved your life."
"Too bad I can't say the same for you," Kermit stated and raised his desert eagle. The job was quick and hopefully painless. Kermit watched as Emma slumped to the floor and the cocoon fell from her lap, his face a stone mask.
"There was another way," Matthew stated.
"Not for her."
"Quickly, we must destroy the nest."
"You've got a match?" Kermit quipped, half-serious in his words.
Matthew pulled from his pouch a small container and poured it over the cocoon. The spider's inside reacted immediately and tried to crawl away from the liquid that had suddenly invaded their shelter. Some of the spiders that had been caught in the liquid's stream curled up their legs and death claimed them completely while others continued to struggle and hold onto life. Both men backed away from the wriggling mass.
"What did you give them?" Kermit questioned, his eyes going wide at the devastation.
"Raid."
"I thought Shaolin priests were above killing any living thing?"
"Sometimes you must cut off a finger to save a hand," Matthew replied.
What's that supposed to mean?"
"It was something Master Po said to my father." Matthew then raised his hand and the cocoon burst into flames.
"I thought your son was the only one who could do that."
"What my son does not know about me would fill an encyclopedia." Matthew stated. "We must leave before the others discover what has happened."
"Matthew, I still don't understand who Emma . . . was in relation to the Order." Kermit looked briefly at the now dead woman, if she could be called that. He could still see the black widow mark tattooed on her right wrist. "I know she was a member, but that's about it."
"She is one of many Mothers of the Order. She gives birth to the brethren. Without her, the Order could not survive."
"You mean there are more of them?"
"I do not know." Matthew replied. "This is the first experience I have had with the Order of the Black Widow."
"Oh great. I though you'd know more . . ."
"Just because I have not experienced their influence, does not mean I do not know about them." Matthew interrupted Kermit. "The Order split into several factions hundreds of years ago. Some continued to practice the old ways. Others mingled their blood with actual spiders when they would transform themselves. It was from that joining that formed the order we know today. Latrodect had hoped to create another Mother by changing Jordan McGuire. By giving Jordan the spider's venom, he had hoped to activate those abilities in her, but Jordan could not change into a spider because she was not truly of the blood."
"You mean Latrodect lied," Kermit stated.
"Jordan McGuire was the daughter of Madam Araignee, one of the order, but not a Mother. That much was true, but her father was not a brethren of the Order. For her to be of the true blood, her father would have also had to have been of the Order and born from the Mother. That is why Jordan McGuire was sent away, to hide the fact that she was not truly of the blood."
"How did Latrodect find her? And how is it you know more about this?"
"To answer your first question, I do not know. It no longer matters. To answer the second, the Ancient is very wise in many matters. We must leave before we are caught. The fire will spread."
Kermit and Matthew rushed from the room and back up the stairs to the main floor, only to be confronted by Kai Mow.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"
Continues with Part 37
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2002.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from
the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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