Then, quite suddenly, he became aware of a nagging tension in the depths of his mind. It was not a feeling of danger, but simply a warning. He had experienced it once before, when confined in the cell in Kazak’s palace: the realization that he was being watched.
He took care not to betray this knowledge by the slightest movement of his face; anyone watching him would have assumed he was asleep. Lying on his back, breathing regularly, he scanned the room with his mind. It took only a moment to establish that the hidden watcher was observing him through the window. Then a slamming door provided him with the excuse to stir and open his eyes; he yawned and sat up, glancing at the window. To his surprise, there was no one there; nothing was visible but the cloudless sky. He stood up and strolled to the window, then reached out as if stretching, and pushed back the curtains a few inches. A fly buzzed past his head and settled in the corner of the ceiling. Niall closed his eyes, breathing in the cool air; his inner-monitor now told him that he was being observed from overhead.
He walked casually back to the divan, and caressed the smooth material of the cushion. Then, with a sudden movement, he grasped it by the corner and skimmed it sideways and upwards across the room. The skill of the born hunter ensured its accuracy; the insect met the cushion in mid-flight, and was knocked back against the wall, then to the floor. In a single stride Niall had crossed the room; he felt the armoured body crunch under his sandal. It was a small fly, with a wingspan of less than two inches. Niall wiped the sandal clean on a rug, then went and closed the window. When he closed his eyes again, the sense of being observed had vanished.
The feeling of grim satisfaction was checked immediately. It was a frightening thought: that he could be observed through the mind of an insect. It meant that he could never feel certain of his privacy. It also meant that the Death Lord might be aware of everything he had done or said within the past few days. And although, on reflection, he dismissed this possibility — confident that his unconscious alarm system would have given him warning — he was still left with a disquieting sense of insecurity. It was no comfort to reflect that this was precisely what the Spider Lord wanted him to feel.
In his abnormally sensitive state, the click of the door latch made him start. Merlew came into the room, and closed the door behind her, inserting a wooden peg above the latch to prevent it from opening. She was wearing a short dress of red, silky material, which left her arms bare; the red-gold hair descended smoothly to her shoulders. As she turned to smile at him, Niall’s heart contracted; he had never seen her looking so beautiful.
She said nothing, only stood looking at him, with her arms by her sides. Then she came across to him, looked into his face for a moment, then put her arms round his neck and kissed him. Her bare arms felt cold against his flesh, but her mouth was warm. In that moment, he knew that he had been mistaken to think he no longer cared about her. As he held her tightly against him, he experienced a sense of incredulity that she should now be kissing him, and that she seemed to want him as much as he wanted her. She was the first to break away. She ran her fingers through the thick hair behind his ears, and pressed her cheek against his neck. She said:
“I’ve come to take you back with me.” He tried to shake his head, but the pressure of her face made it impossible.
“You know I can’t do that.”
“Don’t you want to stay with me?”
“Of course I do. But I want to stay alive too.”
She placed her lips against his ear, and their softness induced a sensation so powerful that his body stiffened.
“Let’s not talk about it now. I want you to kiss me.”
She took him by the hand and drew him towards the couch. With mild astonishment, he watched her check the door, to make sure the latch was secure, before she lay down and drew him down beside her. Then, once again, they were both absorbed in the sheer delight of physical contact, drinking one another’s essence as if impelled by physical hunger and thirst. Now, once again, Niall became aware of her internal reality, of the practical woman of the world who knew precisely what she wanted, and was not afraid to try and take it. This no longer repelled him; his desire made it unimportant. He was even aware that there was something impersonal about her desire: that she was bored and frustrated, and wanted to lose herself in a man’s arms. This was also unimportant compared to the sheer pleasure they were now giving one another, as his male life energy passed into her, and he absorbed her female energy. This was a simple physical transaction, like eating; but they seemed oddly fitted to satisfy one another’s hunger.
Merlew was the first to disengage; she pushed him gently away, then sat up on the edge of the couch, brushing back her hair. She smiled down at him, and rested her palm against his cheek.
“I want you to come back with me.” As he started to shake his head, she placed her hand over his mouth. “I promise that they won’t try to harm you. I won’t let them.”
He moved her hand away gently. “He tried to kill me today.”
“I know.”
He stared at her in astonishment. “You do?”
“Yes. I have spoken to the Spider Lord. He told me he tried to kill you.”
“And you still want me to go back?” He looked into her eyes with a certain mistrust; but their expression was clear and untroubled.
“That is why I want you to come back. The Spider Lord could kill you any time he wanted to. He has many servants.”
“Did he tell you to say that?”
“No. I am saying it because it is true.”
Niall pushed her away and sat up.
“If I have a choice of dying among friends or among enemies, I would prefer to die among friends.”
“But you wouldn’t be among enemies. You would be among people you know — your mother and brother and sisters, and Ingled and Massig. Did you know that my father is dead?”
He nodded. “Yes, I’m sorry.”
“That means that I am no longer a princess, but a queen.” She spoke proudly. “You would be my husband. Therefore you would be king.”
He asked gently: “Do you think that would protect my life?”
She shook her head impatiently.
“The Spider Lord wants peace. I know that. The spiders are not like human beings. They are not dreamers — they are realists. I understand them because my father was also a realist. They know that the servants of the beetles could destroy their city and everyone in it. That is why they are willing to do whatever is necessary for peace. And that is why they want you to come back with me. They know that the beetles can control their own servants. But you are a free man, and they cannot control you.”
Niall smiled. “So they want you to control me for them?”
She shrugged, laughing. “Of course, why not? We have to be realists too. If you are my husband, and you are living in the spider city, you are no longer a danger to them.”
“But I would still be at their mercy. The Spider Lord could break his word to me.”
She smiled confidently. “Perhaps. But not to me.”
“You believe he trusts you?”
“Of course.”
“Then why does he send his servants to spy on us?” He pointed to the dead fly. “That was a servant of the Spider Lord. I killed it just before you came in.”
Merlew stared down with curiosity at the dead insect. He could see she found it hard to believe him.
“How can you be certain?”
“I can sense these things. That is why the Spider Lord wants to kill me.”
She came back and sat beside him, taking both his hands in hers. She gazed into his eyes and spoke with great conviction:
“If you were my husband, he wouldn’t need to be afraid of you.” She leaned forward to that her mouth came very close to his. “Please trust me.”
A knock at the door startled them both, and they moved guiltily apart. She called imperiously: “Who is it?”
“Billdoggins.” He pronounced it as one word.
Merlew crossed to the door, removed the sliver of wood from the latch, and opened it. Doggins looked down at her with intense appreciation; she stared back coldly. He said: