Ash (76 page)

Louis was behind Delphine. Ash stretched back and put a hand on the robe-covered knee. He wasn’t surprised to find Louis trembling, and although his strange face was hidden in the shadow of the hood, the investigator knew his expression would be one of fear.

‘You going to be okay, Louis?’ he asked quietly, shaking the young man’s knee gently to comfort him.

‘Of course I will, Mr Ash,’ came the response, resolution in his tone.

‘Please, call me David.’

What would happen to the monarchy when the truth about Louis was discovered? Ash could have wept for him. A poor, unfortunate son who had been turned away out of fear of public opinion.

‘David,’ said Delphine, ‘I’ve just had a thought. Move over, will you?’

She shuffled down the steps to share the one he occupied.

‘What is it?’ Ash’s mind was still elsewhere, his reaction automatic.

‘What if there’s no way through to the cave on the shoreline? What if the roof has fallen in further on?’ She gripped his arm.

‘It certainly isn’t blocked completely, the draught is too strong for that. But anyway, what choice do we have? We can’t just sit here; when the castle collapses it could take the whole cliff with it, us included.’

He sighed, but could not look away from her imploring eyes. He decided that now probably wasn’t the best time to tell her about the mass of cobwebs that dammed the tunnel from wall to wall, ceiling to floor.

Meanwhile, the rats scurried by them, leaping down the steps in a constant, bustling line. They seemed to be in a tearing hurry. Maybe they knew something he didn’t.

Ash, Delphine and Louis continued their long, hazardous descent, becoming accustomed to the cave-water stench, their masks covering their faces again. Ash led the way, lighting up the tunnel with the wide beam of the Maglite, then Louis, and finally Delphine.

A few cobwebs had begun to appear now, although gossamer thin, hanging from the ceiling. Ash brushed them away with a flick of the long-barrelled torch, dreading what he knew lay ahead.

Even this far below the castle they could feel an occasional vibration followed by a small roof fall of dust and pebbles, an indication of what was going on in the building above: burning timbers falling, stonework collapsing. It perhaps wouldn’t be long before the whole structure would crumble in on itself. If that were to happen, Ash feared the zig-zag tunnel they were in might collapse with the impact. Here and there wooden crossbeams held up the sagging roof, while other stout-looking stanchions propped up crumbling walls; but these supports were themselves ancient and rotting in places, bending from the strain in others. Just how much longer could they do their job with all the pressure bearing down on them from above?

He endeavoured to keep Delphine and Louis moving as swiftly as possible, but the going was as rough as ever. Then the Maglite’s beam picked out the obstruction he had feared most. Before them lay the huge tangled cobweb, black with centuries of dust and matted in places where water had dripped from the ceiling.

‘
Oh God!
’ Delphine cringed.

Louis stood as if paralysed.

Ash washed light from the torch over the sickening mass, looking for weak spots, but so dark and interwoven was the web it appeared as solid as the rock that surrounded them. He watched a stream of rats disappearing eagerly into the mass via a small hole at floor level, but, as far as he knew, rats had no fear of spiders. He concentrated the beam of light so that it penetrated further into the huge cobweb. There were things moving inside, some of them fat and bulbous, working their way through the strands, searching for food. His flesh crawled as if the furry-legged creatures were actually on him. Smaller spiders also crept through the mass of entwined strands but well away from bigger ones, for whom they might provide an alternative meal. He’d never heard of cannibal spiders before, but then never had he come across a web like this.

Delphine was pointing her own smaller torch at the horrendous mass before them. ‘There’s no way I can go through that, David. I’m . . . sorry, I’m . . . s-sorry, but I just can’t do it.’

Ash turned to face her. ‘We’ve no choice, Delphine.’ He tried to keep his voice calm but confident. ‘It can’t extend far’ –
how did
he
know?
– ‘and we’ll be on the other side in seconds. I’ll cut a path through and you and Louis can keep close behind me.’

‘No, David!’ She was panicking. ‘Those big things, as big as crabs – what are they?’

‘Only spiders. They can’t harm you,’ he added.

‘You don’t know that! I’ve never seen spiders as big as those – how do we know what they’re capable of?’

‘Well, we can’t stay here and we can’t go back. Eventually, we’ll have to make our way through. We can move fast. Our clothes will protect us.’

‘Speak for yourself. Louis only has his robe and I’m wearing a skirt. None of us has gloves. Why can’t we just wait here until it’s all over?’

The ceiling settled above them, sending down small rocks and dust as if right on cue.

‘Don’t you see?’ Ash almost pleaded. ‘Apart from the dangers up there, the tunnel’s unsafe. We’ve been lucky so far, but if we don’t move on from here . . .’ He left the sentence unfinished.

‘I-I can’t!’

He heard a note of hysteria in her voice and he pulled her in to his chest. The Maglite was pointing at the dripping ceiling.

‘Delphine, you’ve got to trust me. I’ll get us through this. And there are a few tricks we can use.’

Her tear-blurred eyes looked up at him, despairingly unconvinced. ‘Tricks?’

‘D’you have your glasses in your bag?’

The question confused her for a second, then she nodded her head in comprehension.

‘Good. Put them on, for a start – they’ll protect your eyes.’

Delphine rummaged through her small leather shoulder-bag and drew out a brown spectacle case. She quickly snapped it open and her fingers took out the black-rimmed glasses.

Ash smiled; rather than making her look donnish, she seemed more vulnerable. ‘You’ll be in the middle, between Louis and myself. If that’s okay with you, Louis,’ he added, looking in concern at the robed figure.

Louis nodded his head, the movement barely visible inside the hood. ‘Of course,’ he murmured nervously.

‘Okay, we’ll keep it tight,’ said Ash. ‘A Delphine sandwich, right?’

She managed an unsure smile.

‘But first . . .’ Ash opened the flap of his weathered shoulder-bag and yanked out a clutch of glow sticks. He gave three to Delphine; she looked up at him expectantly and Ash was aware that just giving her something to do was at least holding her fear in check.

‘Now, I want you to crack them and hurl them into the web as far as possible. Let’s give the bloody spiders a scare while lighting up the place for ourselves.’

He did exactly what he’d told Delphine to do, cracking the sticks and allowing the chemicals to mix and create coloured lights. Red, lime green, yellow – a dazzling display. Pulling his arm back, he tossed the first stick as hard as possible into the tangled mass. Delphine followed suit.

‘Good!’ Ash encouraged. ‘Keep ’em near the middle so we’ll have a path!’

Soon the great mass was lit up like a Christmas tree. It would have looked quite pretty, except for the exposed silhouettes of the creatures scuttling in confusion through the interlaced silken horror.

When she saw them, Delphine backed away in dread. ‘I can’t!’ she screamed at Ash.

‘We’re not done yet,’ he responded calmly, shining his torch on to the line of vermin running along the base of the wall, passing fearlessly into the flossy barrier.

Kneeling, he grabbed the long tail of a passing rat, lifting it into the air at arm’s length as it squealed and thrashed. He flung it as hard as he could into the tangled mesh. Pausing momentarily, the fat black silhouettes suddenly moved fast towards the entangled rodent. Ash had no desire to watch the fierce battle that ensued between three huge spiders and the terrified animal, the attackers rushing forward through the mesh of their own creation, nipping at the rodent, then backing away to allow another to perform the same manoeuvre. He guessed there was venom in their bites.

Meanwhile, he’d grabbed another rat and, as it protested and wriggled in his hand, he placed the torch on the tunnel’s wet floor, pointing directly at the other rats to blind them. He snatched at another with his free hand, this time holding it by its shoulders, avoiding the frenzied gnashing teeth, while the rest scattered. He jumped up and threw the squirming animal deep into the tangle then, still holding the first rat by its scaly tail, he swung it in a wide loop over his shoulder and launched it straight into the feverish storm he’d already caused inside the terrible barricade.

As much as he cared for Delphine, he knew he had to be strict with her.

‘Hands around my waist,’ he ordered as he dragged her back from the position she’d retreated to. ‘Pull yourself tight against me, and pull that scarf over your head and cover as much of your face as possible. Your glasses will protect your eyes but let me be your guide – don’t let go of me whatever you do.’

He beckoned Louis closer.

‘Louis, you’re going to bring up the rear, keeping as close to Delphine as possible. Take her torch. Pull your scarf up over your nose and the hood around your face. Remember, you’re bigger than the spiders are.’ Ash indicated the struggling beasts behind him with his thumb.

Turning, he widened the Maglite beam a little and backed closer to Delphine. ‘Remember, keep against my back as tight as possible. That goes for you, too, Louis – stay as close as you can to Delphine. If you see anything coming towards you, try and blind it with the light.’

Ash reached under his jacket and drew the combat knife from its sheath. Hauling in a deep breath of foul air before pulling up his biker’s muffler, he held both the weapon and the torch out in front of him.

With one last cry of ‘Hang on tight, here we go!’ he pushed his way into the huge black web.

Ash slashed with the knife in one hand and thrashed with the long-barrelled torch in the other, cutting a surprisingly difficult path through the compacted mass. He hadn’t realized just how tough the major strands forming the foundation would be, for they seemed to become more impenetrable the further he advanced. Nevertheless, he fought his way through, his strikes becoming more desperate as he advanced. Progress was slow, but never once did he moderate his attack. He could feel Delphine shivering behind him, her covered head pressed against his shoulder blades, and he could only hope that Louis was just as close to her.

‘Keep it tight!’ he yelled to encourage them, web strands getting into his eyes, forcing him to keep them narrowed. Something ran over his scalp, too light to be a rat. He shook his head vigorously, unsure whether he’d dislodged it from his thick hair. Veils of gossamer gauze floated down to land on his head and shoulders, but he pushed on, clearing his eyes with the back of his knife hand.

He suddenly spied something monstrous racing directly towards his face, a large creature with a swollen, pale body, definitely not a rat. It was – with its bloated skin, eight fast-moving thick hairy legs and seemingly myriad eyes – an unwelcome host. It looked as if it were so full of blood it could almost burst. Whether it could see or sense him Ash was unsure, for it must have spent most of its life in total darkness; or did the many eyes allow it some kind of advanced vision? These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant – and almost by instinct he thrust the blade of his knife straight into the creature’s grotesque face, flicking it off in a quick movement so that the weapon would remain free and lethal. He eyed with distaste the thick gooey substance left on the serrated part of the blade.

‘We must be nearly through!’ he shouted, hoping the others would believe the lie. ‘We’re doing fine!’

There was a frantic scuffle to his left and he felt Delphine cling on to him even more firmly. He risked a glance and saw in the light of a lime-green glow stick another rat doing battle with two oversized spiders, their bodies locked together as they sank down through the web. He silently wished the rat good luck, deciding he preferred the rodent to the repellent arachnids.

Ash continued to thrash and slash, stopping only to toss more glow sticks along the way. The spiders were now coming in greater numbers – more than he could flick aside or stamp underfoot. He reached into his pocket for another glow stick and his heart sank when he clutched fresh air and realized he had thrown the last of them. The way ahead was becoming darker, despite the strong beam of his torch, and for a moment it looked as if they’d come up against a solid wall, but he attacked it with even greater ferocity as spiders continued to claw at his head and face. The knife cut as if through butter, but the big Maglite became easily entangled and he had to yank it free constantly, slowing their progress.
Thank God for Modafinil
, he thought, as he trampled on the lower sections of the web as if it were long thick grass.

He glanced down and saw one of the vile creatures was about to run up his leg. He stamped on it hard and felt the sickly
squelch
as its bulging body burst. Dirty green liquid and blood shot from it.

He felt Delphine clutch at him more tightly.

‘Don’t worry, we’re nearly there!’ he shouted over his shoulder again, and this time it was no lie, for he could smell the sea even more strongly and, in spite of the web’s thickness, the salty breeze was stiffening, coming straight off the waves. He took one more swipe at the tangle in front of him and was relieved to see the way ahead was easier, the strands not quite so knotted.

‘Hey, I think—’

With a short cry, Delphine slipped and fell, clutching at his legs as she went down. He spun round, grabbing her shoulders, and looked up at the robed prince.

‘We’re almost there, Louis!’ he shouted. ‘You can easily get through. Take my knife. We’ve passed most of the spiders!’

The young man did as instructed, bravely plunging into the web ahead, although he would rather have helped Delphine back on her feet.