Now he looked more closely, he was not even certain that the creature was a spider. The legs seemed to be encased in a kind of shell, like those of a scorpion. The huge black body, which was also encased in a jointed shell, like a wood louse, was circular, completely lacking the waistline that separates the cephalothorax from the abdomen in most spiders. It was also lacking anything resembling a head; the eyes and the fangs seemed to be set in the body. The big body and powerful legs gave an impression of immense physical strength; it was obvious that the mandibles could sever the girl’s head with a single pincer movement.
Dravig was also astonished; as the special adviser of the Spider Lord, he had become accustomed to instant obedience. Now it seemed unbelievable that this uncouth monster, who looked more like a black beetle than a spider, should be ignoring him. Perhaps the creature was mentally subnormal, or had simply failed to recognize him? Once again he snapped a mental command. Still the stranger continued to stare back, its feelers trembling slightly, as if from tension, its eyes glinting red as they caught the light. Dravig’s impatience turned to anger, and exploded in a burst of will-force that made Niall wince; the spider cringed and retreated a step backwards. Like Dravig, Niall expected it now to give way and submit to Dravig’s superior dominance. Instead, its sullen defiance turned to anger, and it lashed out with a burst of will-force that was like a heavy blow. Dravig, who was unprepared, reacted exactly as if he had been struck by a physical force; his two back legs started to buckle, and the gray hairs on his body quivered as if a wind had blown over them. Dravig responded with outrage, drawing himself up like a patrician who has been insulted by a commoner. But the other spider was unimpressed; it was obviously a stranger to this city. It took a step forward and braced itself over Sidonia’s body, its tarsal claws raised to the fighting position. Niall observed nervously that Sidonia was beginning to stir; then she opened her eyes and stared up at the hairy belly poised above her. Fortunately, the challenger was paying too much attention to Dravig to notice her.
Then the two spiders were locked in a combat of wills. This was no longer a question of blows, but of strength pitted against strength. It was the first time Niall had witnessed such a combat, and he was fascinated to observe what happened. It was as if each spider was surrounded by an energy field, like the lines of force surrounding a magnet. These two energy fields met head on, producing exactly the same effect as the like-poles of two magnets approaching one another and creating repulsion. Where they met, it was as if the lines of force darkened in color, so they became visible. In fact, these force fields were invisible to Simeon, who could only see two spiders facing one another at a distance of about twelve feet, each one braced as if walking into a powerful gale, or as if pushing at one another like two wrestlers. Niall could see the force between them because he was on the same telepathic wavelength as Dravig.
He could also see that Dravig was out of condition for this kind of combat. He was older, and it had been many years since he had been called upon to assert his authority through force. And although his will power had the controlled thrust of a rapier, he lacked the sheer brute force of his adversary, whose aggressive energies had the same strength as his squat body. Moreover, Dravig’s conviction was undermined by a feeling that this combat was an undignified absurdity. And although it seemed that the two were locked in equal combat, neither giving nor losing the slightest advantage, Niall was aware that Dravig was losing strength sooner than his opponent. What would happen if Dravig was finally forced to give way? Niall could almost see it as if it were happening at the moment. The only way in which Dravig could save his own life would be to make a ritual gesture of surrender, the equivalent of an animal turning tail. And this was inconceivable. Even now, as his energies remained locked in precise counterpoise, Dravig’s stance expressed a furious loathing of his opponent, a desire to see him punished and utterly abased. This meant that, when Dravig was finally forced to give way, he would inevitably be killed. And to a spider, death would have been a matter of indifference after surrendering to one he regarded as an inferior.
Suddenly it struck Niall as absurd to be standing there while Dravig was engaged in a life-and-death struggle; it was an affront to his own courage. His state of inner tension — and his desire to see the stranger defeated — was such that he could also have faced death with indifference. Then his tension made him aware of the thought mirror against his chest; it produced a burning sensation, exactly as if it had been a flame. At the moment, its concave side was turned inward, reflecting his thought-energies back inside himself and intensifying his powers of concentration. Now he reached inside his shirt, turning it the other way, and directing the force of his concentration at Dravig’s adversary.
The spider was startled by this additional attack, and immediately gave ground. A moment later, it registered with amazement that its adversary was a human being. With a strength that Niall found incredible, and without losing an inch of ground, it braced itself to meet this new challenge, and began to fight back on two fronts. Niall immediately felt as if some invisible force was pushing him backwards, and for a moment he felt absurdly lightweight and inadequate. Then he again concentrated his will, and used all the force of the mirror to press home his attack. The mirror became so hot that it burned his flesh, and he found himself wishing that he had taken the precaution of suspending it outside his tunic. He ignored the pain, and summoned all his force to resist the power that was trying to force him backwards and then crush him to the ground.
Several minutes passed. They were deadlocked. Niall’s intervention had made it impossible for the stranger to win; with all its brute strength, the spider was not sufficiently strong to press home the attack on two fronts. Yet it seemed capable of holding its opponents at bay indefinitely, and Niall found himself wondering how long he could maintain this intensity of concentration. His sense of urgency had steeled him to a level of effort that he would normally have found impossible to maintain for more than a few minutes. But attempting to batter down the will of this squat, powerful stranger was like trying to push down a brick wall by sheer physical force. He was aware that his own strength was beginning to flag.
Then, with startling suddenness, all resistance vanished. As Niall stumbled and fell to his knees, he experienced an agonizing shock that seemed to tear his intestines like a white hot flame. He looked down, expecting to see blood gushing through his tunic, and was relieved to see that everything looked normal. The stranger was staggering backwards, as if struck by a powerful blow. It took Niall a moment to realize what had happened: that Sidonia had driven her sword into its belly and ripped it sideways. Now he saw her withdraw it, and then roll aside like an acrobat as the pincers tried to decapitate her. The pain in his stomach had been the result of telepathic contact.
Unlike Niall, Dravig had continued to exert his will-force; it was this that had caused the spider to stagger backwards, and which now smashed it to the ground like some immense club. As it lay there, dazed and defeated, blood gushed from its stomach over the concrete floor. Dravig contemplated it with cold hostility for a moment; then, holding it paralyzed with his will, he stepped forward and drove his poison fangs into its head. He remained in that position for several seconds, his legs braced, as the poison was injected. Niall was startled and shocked by the ferocity of the attack; he had somehow expected Dravig to show mercy. Then, as Dravig withdrew his fangs and stood back, Niall caught a glimpse into his mind, and realized that he felt no fellow feeling toward the creature he had just killed. It was simply a dangerous wild animal that had just threatened his life; now he had destroyed it with the same lack of compunction that it would have shown toward him.
The poison must have been powerful; the spider gave a convulsive jerk that turned it over on to its back, then became perfectly still, its legs bunched crookedly underneath it. Simeon went over and examined it with interest; Sidonia wrinkled her nose with haughty distaste. But when Dravig said “Thank you” — it was addressed to both of them — she blushed like a schoolgirl. And Niall realized with astonishment that she would have sacrificed her life for Dravig without a second thought. To save her the embarrassment of thinking he had noticed her blush, Niall turned to Simeon.