Claire whirled around. The bedroom door was open, and she could see straight into it … but it wasn’t the same as she’d left it. The great curtains, which had hung so elegantly, were now shredded. And in the middle of the room, next to the wardrobe of black dresses, stood a ghost.

Claire gasped. No, not a ghost. Though tattered white gauze clung to the tiny figure, binding their arms and ankles, Claire could tell by the sparkle of brown eyes and flush of cheeks that the person was very much alive.

“Helpfff!” The person moaned, taking a hop forward before toppling to the ground in a nest of tattered spider silk … just as the spider finally got its first foot back from underneath it.

There was no time for a plan. Claire ran!

“I’m here!” she said, falling to her knees as she grabbed for her Hollow Pack, thankful that she’d left it in this room. She tugged open the smallest outside pocket and pulled out the bronze circle inside it: a Kompass, a Forger object crafted so that she and Sophie could always find their friend Aquila. But Forgers liked to put an edge on everything. Sliding her thumb over a hidden mechanism, Claire clicked open a small blade.

“Stay still,” she told the wild brown eyes that moved back and forth above the silk that obscured their nose and mouth. The figure looked like a strange butterfly, stuck within its cocoon. As carefully as she could, Claire sliced through the threads, making a slit in the wrappings that was big enough that she could begin to rip the web away. The feet emerged first, and then as soon as hands were free, they reached for the material wrapped around their mouth, clawing at it. “Mmmph!”

“One second,” Claire whispered, reaching for the Kompass’s blade again. “Don’t worry; you’re almost fre— Aah!”

Fire exploded across Claire’s shoulder as the spider, all its legs finally gathered beneath it, had at last lunged—and sank two fangs into her skin. Bright bursts of color erupted across Claire’s vision as the venom shrieked its way through her veins. She could no longer see what had happened to the person she’d been trying to free from the web.

She dropped to the floor as the spider released her. “Meddlesome human!” the spider sneered. “Venom always makes for a funny aftertaste. I’ll have to wait until your blood is fresh again.”

But Claire wasn’t going to wait around for any spider. She rolled to the side, trying to avoid its feet. The pain was already receding, but she wasn’t sure her legs would support her. Curling into a ball, Claire tensed—

“No!” a clear, entirely human voice yelled. “Ariadne of Silk Web Fleet, I command you: do not eat!”