The Spider Thief (31 page)

Crossfire

Get Mauricio in the clear
, Cleo had told him, over and over. She’d been very specific about that.
Otherwise, I can’t cover you.

Ash risked a glance up the mountainside, but all he saw was dry grass, yucca, and brown rocks. Cleo could be anywhere by now.

Andres strode toward him, his well-heeled shoes kicking up little clouds of dust as he walked.

Ash got out of the Galaxie. “Your spider’s in a safe place. Now let my brother go.”

Andres stopped halfway between the cars. “You are not in a position to give any order.” He lifted one gloved hand. Lazaro stepped out of the shadow of the saloon, his giant revolver pointed at the Trans Am.

Across the street, Salvador edged out from between two buildings, the sweat shining on his forehead as he aimed his assault weapon at Ash.

“You’re bluffing.” Ash swallowed. “You’re not going to hurt Mauricio.”

Andres didn’t answer. His mirrored blue sunglasses reflected the mountainside. Ash tried to stare him down, but it was like looking into the unblinking eyes of an insect.

“So many times, you have run away from me,” Andres said. “You leave your hometown. You leave your friends and your family. And so today, you have nothing left.”

Ash shrugged. “Okay, so, maybe not the best laid plan. But people change. I’m done running.”

“No. Once you have been cursed, always you are cursed.”

“See, that’s the thing.” Ash risked taking a step closer. “I used to think I was cursed, and if I got too close to anyone, they’d die. The biggest thrill I had in life was getting rich off of crooks like you.”

Andres didn’t react.

“I stayed away from the people I cared about, but it didn’t protect them. They still got hurt. So, curse or no curse, what’s the point of running anymore?” Ash took another step. Now, they were only a few yards apart. “But just learning to stick around wasn’t the biggest thing I figured out in this whole mess. You want to know what was?”

“That we are all connected,” Andres said. “All of us.”

That startled Ash. “Well, actually, yeah, that was pretty much it.”

Andres shook his head, the tiniest amount, side to side. “You cannot run from the web that connects us all. Why do you think it is my men you tried to swindle, hmm? Why do you think I find you when I did, a coincidence?”

“Let’s just say I don’t play the lottery much.”

Andres clucked his tongue. “No, no, no. With
La Araña,
there is no coincidence. Once she has a taste of your soul, you are connected to her always. But you have angered her, and that is why you must die. The curse of
La Araña
destroys all who fail her. Your father, who take her far away from the temple, he was kill by
La Araña
, through me. I did not want to kill him, you see. Once, he was my friend. But when he betray the spider, he must die. Like you.”

“And what about Mauricio’s mom?” Ash said. “Did she have to die, too?”

“Selena?” Andres’s brows furrowed, creasing his forehead. “My beautiful sister, it break my heart to this day that she betray
La Araña.
She had pass away long before I find out where she was gone to. I find her grave, I weep so many tears I can see nothing.”

“But what if you’d found her while she was still alive? Would you have killed her, like you killed my parents?”

Andres gave him a dismissive tilt of the head. “Do not ask me such nonsense. She was my family.”

“Mauricio’s your family, too. You planning on killing him?” Ash risked taking one more step closer. Now they were almost at arm’s length. “If we’re all connected, Andres, then it doesn’t make any sense to hold on to Mauricio anymore. Even if you let him go, he’ll come back, right?”

“Is true. Everyone is connected. The web of
La Araña
is unbreakable. And through the spider, they are connected to
me
.” Andres seemed to stand a little taller. “Through me, the reach of
La Araña
is not confined just to Colombia. She can be everywhere. She can be with everyone. I will bring her to the world, so that everyone will know her bliss.
Everyone.
”

“Well, bully for you. Everyone needs a stretch goal. In the meantime, I’ll just take Mauricio with me and we’ll step out of your way.”

“You think Mauricio will go with you? You, who
La Araña
has cursed?”

Ash dropped the sensitive act and put an edge in his voice. “If you want the spider, Andres, let my brother go. Now.”

“Oh?” Andres turned and spoke over his shoulder. “Lazaro! Take
mi sobrino
away.”

“
Sì.
” Lazaro crossed over to the Trans Am and opened the driver’s door.

“No, wait!” Ash shouted.

Lazaro froze, looking to Andres for direction. Andres just stared at Ash, waiting.

“Fine. Here, take your stupid statue. And good luck with the whole world domination thing.” Ash stalked back to the trunk and unlocked it. The lid swung open with a faint creak. Ash stepped back. “Now let Mauricio go.”

Andres’s shoes made a soft crunch in the dirt street as he walked over. He gazed down into the trunk, his face impassive, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses.

As the moments ticked by, Ash’s heart pounded. Could Andres tell the difference? He gave no sign.

The dry air in Ash’s throat threatened to choke him. He tried to swallow, but he couldn’t. His gaze ticked back and forth between Andres and the shape of Mauricio in the back of the Trans Am.

A gust of wind picked up, blowing Andres’s hair. “All this time, I was sure you will try and trick me,” Andres said slowly. “But no. You are a man of your word. That’s unexpected.”

“Stranger things have happened. So there you go, take it. Knock yourself out.”

With black-gloved hands, Andres reached down into the trunk and lifted out the spider. Its gold legs flashed in the sunlight as Andres lifted it high over his head. His cheeks pulled back in a grin so tight it showed the outline of his skull. A peal of laughter spilled from him, a low, monotonous sound that didn’t seem human. It made the hair stand up on Ash’s neck.

It was a really good fake, Ash had to admit. He felt a tinge of pride, seeing it in broad daylight like this. It looked real.

Still laughing, Andres turned toward his gunmen, and the spider’s emerald eyes caught the sunlight. They lit up with a vile green glow, staring directly at Ash with their ancient fire, seeming to mock him.

Ash stared back, feeling his skin turn cold. Those weren’t the green plastic gems he’d glued onto the fake spider. They were genuine emeralds.

This was the real thing. This was
La Araña.

But it couldn’t be. He’d buried the spider statue with his own hands, encased it in concrete. And yet here it was, held high in triumph by Andres.

He had buried it, hadn’t he? The thought buzzed around inside his skull like an angry insect trying to get out. He knew there was no way he could have switched the spiders. He couldn’t have made a mistake like that.

If Anansi were real
, Cleo had said to him that first night,
I bet he’d be messing with you right now
. At that moment, Ash knew with utter certainty that his father had been wrong. There was no scientific explanation. No chemical in the gold.

The curse was real.

At its height, the spider had been powerful enough to wipe out an entire civilization. And now, centuries after it had been forgotten, it was regaining its power. Manipulating the fates of everyone around it. Weaving a web that no one could escape. Bringing itself back into the hands of a madman who would restore it to its full glory, and more. Who would feed it all the souls it wanted.

The air around him crackled with invisible electricity. He could feel it. The spider had drawn him here, to this moment, and he had let it. Its gold body gleamed in the sun, shimmering like an open flame.

Andres lowered the spider, clutching it to his chest, and headed back to the Trans Am, leaving Ash stunned. Andres shooed Lazaro aside and took the still-open driver’s door in his hand to steady himself as he climbed in. He nodded over his shoulder at Ash. “
Mátalo
.”

Lazaro raised his gun, aiming at Ash’s chest.

Ash dove behind the Galaxie. The huge revolver went off with a crack like thunder, blasting a crater out of the ground where Ash had stood.

He crawled beneath the car, hugging the ground, as Salvador cut loose with his automatic weapon. A line of gunshots stitched through the dirt toward him, blasting plumes of dirt into the air. The unmistakable zinging sound of ricocheting bullets buzzed past his ears.

Salvador stepped out from between the buildings into the sunlight. A burst of bullets tore through him, flinging blood into the air. He dropped to the ground as the flat cracks of rifle shots crashed down the mountainside.

Cleo
.

Lazaro came running around the Trans Am to the passenger side, but Andres didn’t wait for him. The car’s tires spun, spewing a cloud of dirt and rocks.

Ash rolled out from beneath the Galaxie and sprinted for the Trans Am.

Lazaro spun toward Ash and raised the gun. From her invisible perch, Cleo shot him down. Blood and dirt exploded around him. He got one shot off from his massive pistol, and Ash felt the ghost of its passage as it punched through the air near him. Then Lazaro went down.

Andres swung the Trans Am around, slewing up a curtain of dirt. The sunlight fell across his face, twisted with rage. He steered the car’s gold bird straight toward Ash and hit the gas.

Mauricio came over the back seat, his bound wrists reaching. He latched on to Andres’s arm. The car skidded out of control.

Ash dodged to the side and caught the edge of the roof pillar as the car slid past. The impact jerked his arm numb with a jolt of pain, made it feel like his fingers had been yanked off. But he pulled himself up onto the back of the moving car.

Mauricio yelled something to him, but he couldn’t make it out over the wind and the pounding of blood in his ears. An animal rage filled Ash. Feet braced on the slippery spoiler at the tail of the car, Ash climbed over the back window and into the passenger side of the open T-top. He dropped down into the tan seat.

Andres fought Mauricio for control of the wheel, sending the car swerving back and forth across the dirt road. He elbowed Mauricio off of him, then seized Ash around the neck with one crushing hand.

Ash twisted in the passenger seat until he faced backward, but he couldn’t break Andres’s grip. His eyes met Mauricio’s. Something clicked.

Mauricio brought his bound wrists over Andres’s head, knocking his sunglasses off, pulling him back against the headrest.

Andres didn’t let go of Ash’s throat. His fingers dug in, trying to crush tendons and cartilage.

Ash couldn’t breathe. Stars swam around the edges of his vision. Distantly, he was aware of the engine picking up speed. He reached down, blindly found the emergency brake, and shoved it up.

The car slid, throwing Ash against the door. Something banged hard underneath the car. Everything dropped away.

Gravity failed, leaving Ash weightless as the car went airborne. The engine raced. Blue sky surrounded them.

Andres’s face registered total shock. He loosened his grip and Ash batted his arm away, too late. Shadowed trees flew past them, then a jarring impact slammed through the car. Splintered boards flew in through the open windows. Ash caught a glimpse of a rocky tunnel swallowing them, then everything went dark.

The car careened down a steep slope. Cold air blanketed them with the smell of fetid mud and rocks. A bone-bruising crash slammed Ash down onto the floor beneath the dashboard. It went on and on, deafening him, battering him for what felt like a lifetime.

With a final jolt, they stopped dead in the impenetrable blackness.

Mine

Ash’s body felt like it had been broken in half. His legs were propped up on the seat, his feet jammed against the seat back. His spine was shoved up beneath the dashboard, pressing his face down close to his knees. Darkness surrounded him. The air smelled muddy and stale, with a metallic taste like blood.

The Trans Am’s engine had died on impact. In the silence he could hear the ominous grating of stone against stone. Pebbles rained down on the car from some unseen height. Cold dirt sifted across his face. Someone coughed.

“Hey,” Ash said.

“Ash?” Mauricio whispered. “Are you okay?”

Ash groaned. “I don’t know yet. Where are we?”

“Down in the old gold mine, I think.”

Ash had no idea how deep they were. “Come on, give me a hand. I’m stuck.”

“Where are you?”

“Why are you whispering?” Ash said, waving his arms helplessly in the darkness. “I’m down here.”

“There you are,” Mauricio said, grunting, but Ash didn’t feel anything. “Don’t worry. I got you.”

“Um, no you don’t.”

“Ugh,” Mauricio gasped. Something thudded next to him. “Oh, God, that must be Andres.” Mauricio’s voice shook. “Oh my God. Oh my God.”

“Calm down. Is he dead?”

“I don’t know! I think so.” A soft hand found his and gripped it. “Is that you?

“Yeah. Pull.”

Groaning, Mauricio pulled Ash out from underneath the dashboard. He clung to the seat, tilted at a steep angle, trying not to slip. His spine popped, shooting a spasm of pain up his neck. He scrambled to find footing in the blackness.

“Can you get out?” Mauricio said.

Ash felt the open edge of the T-top above him and stood up. In the distance, an irregular pinpoint of light shone down, spreading out to reveal the outlines of the car. They were nose-down at an angle, jammed into the mine shaft. The spoiler on the car’s tail gleamed with a sliver of reflected light. Ash peered into the darkness, trying to gauge the climb out. It would be steep, but at least it wouldn’t be vertical.

Ash fumbled blindly with Mauricio’s wrists until he got them free. Somewhere in the distance, a heavy timber groaned. Too late, Ash saw something hurtling down at him from the light above. He ducked as a skull-sized chunk of rock bashed into the Trans Am, bounced, and grazed his shoulder.