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Athena glanced upward, swallowing hard. The revolting memories of the

  times she'd visited the Spider's inner sanctum overwhelmed her.

  An irresistible urge to flee compelled her to strain against the hybrids..

  Syph laughed. "It seems the human is reluctant to meet the Spider again." "Humans are notorious for their lack of social grace," Chanc said. Athena

  blanched when they reached the landing. Her eyes widened at the sight of the

  familiar door.

  "There's someone inside you might like to see again," Chanc commented

  as they crossed the landing. Athena assumed he meant the Spider. She tensed,

  her breath catching in her throat.

  "Here we go!" Syph declared, opening the door and throwing it wide. The

  two Hatchlings forced her inside.

  Athena involuntarily gasped as her eyes alighted on the repellent fiend

  perched on the web on the far side of the chamber.

  The Spider stirred at her arrival, shifting its body, those emotionless orbs

  boring into her. Chanc smiled. "Father says it is nice to see you once more." "Tell him to get screwed!" Athena snapped.

  Syph tittered. "You've got it backwards!"

  Athena was on the verge of panic. What had gotten into her? How could

  she have been so insane? Why had she volunteered to lead the Force to the

  Kingdom, knowing the risks involved as she did? She deserved the Moron of the

  Year Award for inanity above and beyond the call of duty!

  "Father wants to know why you have betrayed him?" Chanc asked. "Because he deserves to die!" Athena answered shrilly.

  "Father is very disappointed," Chanc said. "You were always one of his

  favorites."

  "Bullshit!" Athena responded angrily. "All any woman is to him is another

  womb he can use to satisfy his lust and create bastards like you!" "Be civil!" Chanc said sternly. "Or your demise will come sooner than it

  would otherwise."

  "Who cares?" Athena retorted. "Get it over with!"

  "There's no rush," Chanc stated. "Father ate a short while ago. He's

  saving you for breakfast."

  "Lucky me!" Athena quipped.

  "First things first," Chanc commented. "I told you there is someone here

  you'd like to see again." Athena didn't understand. "Who?"

  Chanc and Syph pulled her to the edge of the landing.

  "You do know him, don't you?" Chanc inquired, pointing downward.

  Perplexed, Athena ventured a look over the side. Amazement commingled with

  relief washed over her.

  "Havoc!" she cried.

  Sergeant Havoc was caught on the web. He was on his back, his limbs

  spread-eagled. "Ms. Morris!

  They got you too!"

  "Are you all right?" Athena called down.

  "I'm fine," Havoc yelled up. "Except I can't move?"

  Chanc smirked. The surface of the Spider's, web was coated with an

  adhesive substance. Anyone caught in the web was hopelessly trapped, doomed

  to die at the Spider's convenience. Only the Spider and the Hatchlings could

  negotiate the webbing without becoming stuck.

  "Hang in there!" Athena shouted.

  "You should convince your friend to cooperate with Father," Chanc said.

  "If he doesn't, Father may start nibbling on him soon." Chanc hoped he could

  attend the interrogation. One of the Spider's techniques for eliciting information

  from prisoners was diabolically clever and supremely effective. The Spider would

  have one of the Hatchlings pose questions to the captive, and every time the

  prisoner refused to answer, or if the Spider believed an answer was a lie, there

  was a dire price to pay. For every unanswered question, for every lie, the Spider

  would take a bite out of the captive. Not a big bite, mind, but a nibble, tearing

  off the prisoner's flesh in bits and pieces. Very few questions went unanswered

  after the first nibble.

  "Talk to your friend," Chanc urged. "Well leave you alone now." He moved

  toward the doorway, Syph following.

  Athena watched them leave, hearing the latch click and the scraping of a

  key in the lock. There was no way out!

  "Athena!" Havoc shouted.

  Athena glanced down at the noncom, wishing she could extricate him

  from the webbings. But he was 20

  feet below her, or thereabouts, and she had no means of reaching him.

  "Yes?"

  "What about you? Are you all right?" Havoc queried.

  "I'm fine," Athena replied, looking at the Spider 40 yards away. "So far." "Are the others safe?" Havoc asked.

  "Spader is dead," Athena informed him. "And Kraft disappeared. Thunder

  was hurt pretty badly."

  "What happened?"

  "We were ambushed," Athena disclosed.

  "And the others?" Havoc inquired.

  "They're okay," Athena said.

  "Don't tell me where they're at!" Havoc cautioned. "The Spider can

  understand us."

  "What?" Athena stared at the gigantic mutation, bewildered. All those

  years she'd spent in the Kingdom, and only now was she learning some of the

  best-kept secrets! She'd never known the Spider could comprehend English. But

  how was she supposed to know? The guards had never confided in the women.

  And the Hatchlings, on those few occasions when they had escorted her to the

  Tower, had never uttered a word. Why? she wondered. What purpose did they

  have in keeping the Hatchlings' vocal ability a secret?

  "If that son of a bitch comes after you," Havoc yelled, "watch out for its

  mouth! It shoots something out of its mouth!"

  More new information! The Spider had never shot anything at her. When

  the women were summoned to the Tower and raped, the Spider simply took

  them on the landing, holding them down while forcing their legs apart. But what

  about this mouth business? She vaguely remembered studying spiders in school.

  One type, if she recalled correctly, was known as spitting spiders. They

  possessed a pair of large glands enabling them to squirt a sticky thread at

  prospective victims. Perhaps the Spider was endowed with such glands. "Don't worry, Ms. Morris!" Havoc called up encouragement. "We'll get out

  of this mess okay!"

  "I hope so," Athena said, feeling obligated to respond that way although

  she was extremely skeptical. Blade and Grizzly probably knew she was in trouble,

  but what could they hope to do about it? Even if they deduced she was being

  held in the Tower, the two of them couldn't hope to defeat all of the guards, the

  Hatchlings, and the Spider, and then rescue her.

  Could they?

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  "I don't like this waiting!" Grizzly groused in a hushed tone. "Neither do I," Blade whispered in response.

  "Then why don't we go in now?" Grizzly asked.

  "You know why," Blade said. "We don't go in until sunrise." He glanced

  over his left shoulder at the ridge to their rear. "It won't be long." They were crouched behind a duster of boulders bordering the field to the east of the Kingdom. The Tower and the huts were clearly visible in the spreading light afforded by the arrival of dawn. Birds were chirping in the forest around them.

  Grizzly stared into the woods. "I still think we should have jumped those seven turkeys earlier." "I didn't want to advertise our presence," Blade explained. "They might have been looking for us, but they didn't know we were this close to the Kingdom."

  "But if they can track by scent, like I can, then they'll pick up our trail at the cliffs and come aft
er us," Grizzly noted. "They'll show up here sooner or later."

  "Hopefully later," Blade said. "And by then they'll be too late. We go in shortly. We know Athena and Havoc are in there, because that's where their scent-trails lead. If they're alive, they might be in the Tower."

  They waited in silence for the sun to appear.

  "There's something I'd like to ask you," Grizzly whispered after a time. Blade glanced at the bear-man. "What?"

  "Why didn't you send me instead of Havoc?" Grizzly inquired. "Send you where?" Blade responded innocently.

  "Don't play games with me!" Grizzly stated. "You know what I'm talking

  about! When you first spotted the Hatchlings, you sent Havoc to keep tabs on them. Why him? Why not me?" "Havoc is a skilled soldier," Blade noted. "I didn't expect him to get captured."

  "That's not what I meant and you know it!" Grizzly said, peeved. "You know that most mutants have heightened senses. We can hear, see, and smell better than humans. So why did you send Havoc to watch the Hatchlings when you could have sent me? My senses are just as good as the Hatchlings'. So why send a human to do a mutant's job?"

  Blade shrugged. "It seemed like the right decision at the time."

  Grizzly studied the Warrior for a moment. "I'm beginning to see through you," he said appreciatively.

  "Oh?" Blade remarked, arching his eyebrows.

  "Yep," Grizzly affirmed. "You've got more upstairs than I gave you credit for. You're one clever son of a gun."

  "You think so, huh?" Blade said.

  "I knowso," Grizzly stated. "You correct me if I'm wrong. The way I see it is this. You knew you were taking a chance by sending Havoc after the Hatchlings because of their superior senses. You could have sent Thunder, but even the Flathead can't match a mutant. And you could have sent me, but you didn't. I've been wondering about that ever since. And do you know what I figured out?"

  "What?" Blade whispered.

  "You didn't send me because you don't trust me," Grizzly said. "You know how I feel about mutants and humans. You didn't think you could rely on me to get the job done. You thought I might turn, go over to their side. Am I right?"

  "Wrong," Blade declared.

  "Oh, yeah?" Grizzly responded skeptically. "Then why didn't you send me?"

  "I didn't want you killed," Blade informed the mutant.

  Grizzly did a double take. "Say what'"

  "I didn't want you to do something foolish and get yourself killed," Blade mentioned. "You're right about one thing, though. I know how you feel about mutants and humans. You have a low opinion of most humans, but you've set mutants up on a pedestal. Our conversation at the cliffs confirmed your attitude. You were all too ready to justify the atrocities committed by the mutant army of the Doktor."

  "What's all this have to do with getting myself killed?" Grizzly queried.

  "You're too willing to give mutants the benefit of the doubt, even murderous vermin like the Hatchlings," Blade answered. "If I had sent you after the Hatchlings, there was the chance you might not perform up to par. You might have been careless because you might have attempted to contact them, to talk to them, to find out if they were really as bad as Athena claimed." He paused, "I was concerned the Hatchlings might take advantage of your gullibility and kill you."

  "Why should you care what happens to me?" Grizzly asked gruffly.

  "You're a member of the Force now," Blade observed. "I'm responsible for your life. Besides," he smirked, "I kind of like you. I'm hoping we'll become friends." Grizzly stared at the buildings beyond the field, his forehead furrowed. "Well, I'll be!" he muttered. Blade gazed at the ridge behind them, pleased to note the brilliant golden glow pervading the atmosphere. "Okay. It's not nighttime anymore. The Hatchlings won't have the advantage. We're going in."

  "What about these?" Grizzly questioned, pointing at the M-16, pair of pistols, and the boot knife lying at his feet, Athena's discarded weapons, found when they had searched for her.

  "I'm surprised they left those behind," Blade remarked.

  "The Hatchlings might be like me," Grizzly said. "I don't like using guns and knives much, not when I have my claws."

  Blade nodded at the pile. "Hand me the M-16."

  "You're going to use two?"

  "The more the deadlier," Blade punned.

  "Here you go." Grizzly handed the rifle over.

  Blade checked to insure die magazine was fully loaded, then clicked off the safety. He was as ready as he'd ever be. In addition to the two M-16's, he had two 45's under his arms, his Bowies on his hips, and the Panther survival knife under the belt circling his back.

  Grizzly had an M-16 and his claws.

  "All right," Blade stated. "The orders are simple. Except for the women prisoners, Athena, and Havoc, take down everyone and everything you meet. Got it?"

  Grizzly nodded.

  "Then let's go." Blade rose from concealment and calmly walked to the field, to a well-defined path leading toward the center of the valley.

  He took the path. Grizzly dose on his heels.

  A number of figures were moving near the huts.

  Blade gripped the M-16's a little tighter.

  "Ms. Morris!"

  Athena's head snapped up, her eyes opening in shock. She had dozed off! How could she sleep at a time like this! She remembered sitting down on the landing to rest during the quiet hours preceding daylight, fatigued by the hardships of the night before: the ascent of the cliffs, being taken prisoner, and her confrontation with the Spider. She sat with her legs curled under her, her left arm braced against the landing for support.

  "Ms. Morris!"

  Athena slid to the end of the landing and peered down at Sergeant Havoc. She realized the entire chamber was illuminated by a diffuse light, and she glanced to the left, at a small window high up on the wall. The stars were gone, replaced by an azure sky. Dawn had arrived.

  Sergeant Havoc was striving to break free of the adhesive coating the webbing. He had spent the night struggling, without any success, and he was caked with sweat.

  "Hi," Athena greeted him. "Sorry I fell asleep on you." Havoc was frantically heaving his body from side to side. "The Spider!" he shouted. "The Spider!" Athena looked up, recalling in a rush the words of the Hatchling named Chanc the night before: "Father ate a short while ago. He's saving you for breakfast."

  Dear God!

  The Spider had not budged all night, had stayed perched on the web on the opposite side of the chamber, apparently in slumberland.

  But as Athena stared at the massive monstrosity in stunned horror, she saw it was moving now. Coming straight toward her!

  The figures were men in black, four of them, each armed with, an automatic rifle. They had formed into a straight line between the huts and the field, facing the huts.

  "Rise and shine, bitches!" one of them yelled.

  Blade was 20 yards from the row of guards when the door to one of the huts opened and a weary woman clothed in virtual rags emerged. The Spirit had smiled on him so far. The guards, engaged in rousing the women to another day of grueling labor, had not noticed the approach of the two Force members.

  A second, then a third woman stepped from the hut. They started to form a line of their own. This must be the typical morning ritual, Blade realized. He leveled the two M-16's in the direction of the guards, the stocks pressed against his sides,

  "Move your asses!" one of the men in black bellowed. "We ain't got all morning, you know!" The door to another hut to the left opened, disgorging four more women.

  Blade was within 15 yards of the guards, their backs toward him.

  One of the women in line spied the approaching giant and the mutant, and she craned her neck for a better view.

  Women were coming from several huts now.

  Blade reached a point ten yards from the quartet of men in black.

  "What the hell are you looking at?" demanded the spokesman for the guards, gazing at the woman craning her neck.

  Nine yards.
>
  The head guard turned, wanting to discover the reason for the woman's odd behavior. His mouth went slack at the sight of the big guy in the black leather vest and the hairy bearish mutant.

  "Son of a bitch!" he blurted out, trying to bring his rifle into play. Alerted by the head guard's exclamation, the attending trio began to rotate. Blade shot them. All four. He squeezed both triggers simultaneously, sweeping the pair of M-16's in a tight arc fromright to left. His slugs stitched patterns across their chests, rupturing blood vessels, spraying crimson from their thrashing forms. They danced and tossed for a full five seconds, while the barrage lasted, and then toppled to the ground. Some of the women were screaming. Others had dropped flat at the first sound of the M-16's. A few were fleeing.

  "Take cover!" Blade commanded. "We're here to rescue you!" He was grateful none of the women had been hit. Several bad been standing dose to the four guards, in the line of fire. He would have preferred to avoid imperiling their lives, but he hadn't had any choice. "Take covert" he repeated. Grizzly came up on Blade's right scrutinizing the dead guards. "I think I'll go take a nap. I don't see what you need me for."

  Blade ignored the jest, making for the Tower, walking between two huts.

  A guard abruptly appeared around the hut to the right, rifle in hand.

  Grizzly sent a half-dozen rounds crashing into the guard's head, flinging the man in black to the dirt. Where are the Hatchlings? Blade asked himself. The hybrids should be counterattacking soon. How many were left? he wondered. Initially, Athena had said there were 19. He'd slain one, and so had Grizzly. They'd found two more, dead, on top of the ridge, possibly terminated by Sergeant Havoc. Which accounted for four. And they'd seen seven Hatchlings climbing the ridge, heading at a rapid clip for the cliffs, undoubtedly sent to apprehend them. Four and seven made 11. So there should-be eight Hatchlings somewhere in the Kingdom.

  But where?

  A huge door at the base of the Tower suddenly opened, providing a partial answer. A pair of Hatchlings charged from the Tower, rifles in their hands, firing on the run.

  "Look out!" Blade cried, throwing himself to the left, diving for the ground, the Hatchlings' rounds narrowly missing him.

  Grizzly had already shifted to the left, crouching and firing from the hip. The foremost hybrid was hit in the face, its dark orbs dissolving in a shower of lethal lead. The second Hatchling went to fire at the giant, but it neglected to verify the weapon was off of safety. In the few seconds required to recognize the mistake, it died.