When they exited the portal, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The everyday bustle of the club could be heard, as opposed to oppressing silence or the explosive sounds of Sanctuary under attack. This was a good sign, it meant that the club was still safe, for now.
“Stay here and guard the portal. I don’t want another spider sneaking into my house and harming my family, understand?” Master Gin instructed Yue. Seeing the man nod, he gave a huff and walked away. “George, come with me.”
George followed, looking at the man left behind. Yue seemed changed somehow. He didn’t know what had happened but the argument between the two of them had transformed him, hopefully for the better. He never knew the full story of the love between Yue and Dawn but now that he was in an unrequited love with Ciel, he hoped that the two of them would rediscover their love and get Master Gin’s blessings. That would be the closest he would get to enjoying a reciprocated love between him and Ciel. Putting away the silly, maudlin thoughts, he hurried after Master Gin, stopping only to ask someone to send Dominic and Fionn to the sick bay. While he believed that they could handle it, they had underestimated the spiders too many times; it was better to be careful.
Walking into the infirmary, Master Gin nodded at the angel and signalled for him to leave. The angel looked a little upset at being interrupted but he closed his copy of Machiavelli’s The Prince and left. George was surprised that the book had not combusted and wondered if the angel was planning a revolt… perhaps it was better not to know. Master Gin also saw the book and started muttering “How is he getting those books? I’m very sure I confiscated all of them… I don’t want another call from heaven…”
After confirming that the angel had left, Master Gin placed a barrier and confronted the still sleeping Gawain. He looked so peaceful and if they had not had their suspicions, George doubted that they would voluntarily try to awaken him. Instead of taking action immediately, they waited for Fionn and Dominic to arrive first. George had to admit that while he was strong, this enemy had him stymied. He was going to get Dominic or Yue to teach him some basic magic when this was over. Once they arrived, Fionn was told to set up defensive teams and be on the alert for Anansi; in case they were wrong; while Dominic was told to standby, spells at the ready.
Once everyone had received their respective instructions and was ready, Master Gin finally turned to the sleeping knight. A flash of light hit Gawain and suddenly, an unearthly scream was heard. While it came from the knight, it didn’t sound like it was Gawain screaming. George felt the hairs on his neck rise as he watch Gawain’s mouth open and black, hairy legs started emerging. George, who was nearest to Gawain, plucked the spider as it struggled to escape from the confines of the knight’s mouth. He then dropped the spider into a glass jar that Master Gin had enchanted beforehand and closed the lid.
While it seemed reckless for George to just grab the potentially poisonous spider with his bare hands, he was an immortal who had tried every means possible to end his own life. They had found out later that Jurogumo’s spiders were also poisonous and if it had been anyone else who had been bitten like George had, they would probably be dead or in a coma until the angel arrived. All it did to George was make him itch. He was the most suitable one to handle the spiders, albeit one at a time.
The spider in the jar screeched and clawed at the walls of the glass container. This was most likely the real body of Anansi; there was a symbol of a calabash on the abdomen. Everyone looked hard at the spider in the jar, all with various level of killing intent; Master Gin’s the deadliest of the lot. There was a faint cough and Gawain gasped and coughed again as he feebly woke up.
“Mouth… wash…”he gasped, coughing so badly his pale face turned red. Seeing the situation under control, Dominic released his spell and helped Gawain up, patting his back as he did. Seeing that Gawain had woken up and unwilling to disturb the man, Master Gin signalled for George to follow him while Dominic grabbed the still coughing man a glass of water. Leaving the infirmary, Master Gin indicated to the angel that he should go in and tend to the patient. They went to the staff lounge, where Master Gin placed another barrier. The barriers were likely going to be taxing to Master Gin but he was a pure dragon with quite a number of centuries to his name. Rumour has it that he is a son of one of the dragon kings but had renounced his claim to the throne for some reason. So besides experience and power, he had pedigree.
George placed the container on the coffee table and Master Gin who had sat on the sofa stared at it, his arms crossed, his pose and face nonchalant. Only the deadly look in his eyes gave away his intense emotions. After a while, the desperately clawing spider calmed down and reverted to his human form, small enough to be comfortable in the transparent vessel. He casually leaned against the wall of the jar, looked at them and gave a blasé smile that would have infuriated others with less self-control; but Master Gin and George did or said nothing. The silent standoff continued for a few minutes before Anansi finally broke the silence, unable to withstand the combined pressure from the both of them.
“What do you want to know? This old spider here will probably die at the end of this so let me torment you where I can.” Instead of being defiant, he still behaved like his cunning self, trying to enrage them to the end. A mischief maker through and through.
“Nancy, stop this.” Master Gin suddenly used a bastardization of Anansi’s name that he never liked; Anansi saw himself as a manly figure and hated the ‘Aunt Nancy’ persona that was given to him by story tellers.
“Don’t call me that” came the surly response.
“Why not? Hiding, attacking from the shadows, using others instead of doing it yourself. How is that manly? Aren’t you behaving like a woman?” Master Gin’s every word was riddled with barbs. He could really give as well as he got.
“I am Anansi! I am the trickster spider god! I fool others and can overcome those stronger than me using my guile! How is that like a woman?? Did I not win my stories from Nyame the Sky god?? Did I not trick Onini the Python, the Mmoboro Hornets, Osebo the Leopard and Fairy Mmoatia?? Did I not collect all the wisdom of Man??” Anansi started pacing in the confines of the jar; he was beginning to lose his reason in his agitation.
“Did you not also lose that wisdom? Did you not bring death, disease and jealousy to Man? Did you not get bested by others too because of your lack of foresight, greed and stubbornness?” Master Gin countered. “You are only as brave, intelligent and strong as the stories about you are told, Anansi. Do not forget that.”
The spider god in the jar was so enraged he could not speak. Gnashing his teeth, he stood in the middle of the jar, looking at the two of them who looked back, unfazed. Master Gin asked “Why?”
The spider smiled disdainfully, refusing to answer. George wanted nothing more than to grab the jar and give it a good shake, hoping to rattle the answer out of the aggravating man-spider. A threat to Sanctuary or Time Valley was serious. And as long as they did not know the reason why, they would never be prepared enough. They stared at each other in silence again, neither side backing down.
And, as if Anansi had been waiting for it, a sudden rumble shook the very foundations of the club and Master Gin visibly paled, as if he had been attacked.
“You…”
“You’re right, I’ve almost been tricked before. I’m not infallible. A trickster being tricked… that’s not uncommon right? I’m as strong as the stories about me are told… that’s the truth right there.” Anansi’s seemingly unconnected words would have bewildered others but the two listeners paid attention instead. “But when you lose a bet in a moment of pride… a god can’t go back on his word, not without consequences.”
“They’re collecting and using spiders, you know. Because we’re creepy and scary. We spread fear nowadays, instead of hope and wisdom; cause we lurk in the shadows... Oops, said the wrong thing…” Anansi looked at his hands that were slowly turning into ash. He looked at Gin, a sort of friend from long time ago. “Don’t be too sad, as long as there’s them stories about me, I’ll be back… in the meantime, do me a favour and take care of them for me. We spiders, we don’t want this kind of fate…” with those parting words, the Anansi in the jar became nothing more than a tiny pile of glittering ash.
They stared at the pile of ashes, unable to say anything. Although his words sounded cryptic, they had lived long enough to roughly understand what the trickster wanted to convey. It was sad to see the spider god, an enduring myth that had travelled hallway around the world in various forms gone; but Anansi was right; as long as there were stories about him being told, he would return. Same like Jurogumo. These myths had been told and retold but myths couldn’t choose the stories about them that they want to be told. Over the years, decades, centuries, the stories that would be told would evolve; what was used to explain existences that Man could not understand would then evolve to teach, to hand down wisdom, and perhaps to give courage and hope. And then also to scare children: ‘if you don’t behave the spider monster will come and get you’. Man used what was convenient, that would suit their purpose. It was still a little difficult though, when myths were distorted and used to scare others instead of to teach and give wisdom and knowledge to Man.
Another rumble broke them from their reverie. George was shocked to see Master Gin suddenly clutch his chest, enduring some phantom pain. He came forward, looking at the lord and master of Sanctuary in concern.
“I’m fine… sort of…” Master Gin said weakly. “They planned this well… the barrier to the club is being attacked simultaneously. The main array can only take so many more hits and those who can help repair the damage, kin of my blood are incapacitated…” he leaned against the sofa, weakened by the attacks that attacked his life force remotely. “We cannot let the barrier break…”
“Don’t worry, we won’t let it.” Came a voice.
