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Spiders in the Blood
by A.F. Stewart

Dozens of tiny spider corpses littered the marble floor and the velvet draped table, scattered across a half-filled glass decanter and the adjacent black rose. A murdered multitude of eight-legged creatures, drawn in by deadly magic.

The high-heeled click of footsteps sounded as Illyana entered, and a half-naked man tied to a chair squirmed, trying to scream through his gag. She ignored him, and the muffled noises he made, casting her glances at the arachnid husks.

“Such small things, but so precious.” She brushed a finger against some of the dead creatures, before opening the decanter. As the pungent perfume of its strange elixir wafted, Illyana scooped up dead spiders, depositing them into the liquid. Body by body, until each lifeless arachnid floated in her red elixir. She swirled the mixture, letting the bugs marinate. As she churned, their tiny legs twitched.

She laughed. “Round and round you go, my darlings.”

Illyana turned to the man, ripping off his duct tape gag to his scream of pain.

“What kind of crazy are you, lady?!”

“The worst kind, I’m afraid.” She yanked his head back by his hair and ordered, “Open your mouth!” His lips parted as if by her will, and she poured the spider laced liquid down his throat, commanding, “Swallow!”

Moaning and sputtering he did just that, ingesting the spider infested elixir until not a drop remained. The man groaned, reddish spittle drooling down his chin.

“What did you make me do?” His body shuddered, and he gagged. She smiled as his body convulsed, and the clock ticked down the silent minutes until he stopped shaking.

Illyana slithered her fingers over his arm. “Can you feel it beginning? Does your blood burn? With a sensation of creatures crawling in your veins?”

“Sick, I feel sick.” He gagged repeatedly, his chest heaving against the constraining ropes. They both watched as his skin rippled from underneath.

The man screeched, “What did you do to me!”

Illyana moved behind him. “Your blood will incubate my children. To be born from earthly spiders and my magic, consuming their host as they grow. I’ve given you a great honour.” Slowly an exoskeleton limb slid down his chest and fangs grazed his cheek.

His frightened whisper slipped out, “What are you?”

“Call me the Spider Queen,” she replied, her voice now hoarse and hissing. Her eight eyes glistened and another limb wrapped around his throat. Her sandpaper tongue licked his face and he screamed.

Fiction © Copyright A.F. Stewart
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from A.F. Stewart:

Killers and Demons: Books I and II

Book I: Creep into the pages to greet terror.
Killers and Demons is a collection of five horror stories where the macabre murderers don’t get caught and evil triumphs.

What happens if you awake, afraid, alone and in complete darkness? If you find someone wants your heart for Valentine’s, literally? Or if you come face to face with evil on the dark streets of historic London? You would end up dead, of course.
Come spend some time with the homicidal and savour their kills, dance with demons as they hunt and watch the blood drip slowly, sweetly from their fingers.

Book II: Evil is back, with a greater appetite for death.

Killers.
Demons.
They lurk forever in the shadows, smile at you in the morning, and haunt your dreams at night. You can’t hide, you can’t run, and there’s no escape. You can only scream when they come for you.

Killers and Demons II: They Return is a collection of thirteen tales, blending short stories and flash fiction, tales where the blood lingers on your tongue or spurts quickly from the swift cut.

The Villainous Roster:

Wade, every parent’s nightmare
Hannah and Mr. Greeley. Who is the victim and who is the villain?
Simon and Zoe, a married couple who are dying to be single again.
Norman and his “cookie” of a wife, Mabel.
Millicent and Jane, a delightful duo you shouldn’t invite to your Regency tea party
Amanda, who literally has a skeleton in her closet
Balthazar, the demon bounty hunter on the hunt once more.
Sarah, a young woman going through some changes and craving new tastes
Emmeline, hanged as a witch, now back from the dead for revenge
Gabrielle, a woman haunted by shadows
The Dollmaker, she showers death, and an umbrella won’t help
Nightmare Demons, bent on driving a town insane

And then there’s Alice, a little girl locked in the basement by her Daddy…

Together they form a spine-chilling cadre of predators.

Available for FREE on Instafreebie!