Zane
Spider shifters?
“I''m not a shifter.” The spiderughed again. Now it was the size of a cantaloupe, which thankfully seemed about as big as it was
going to get. It looked me over with its eight sparkling eyes and waved one long front leg at me. “Just an envian spider.”
“You read my mind?”
“| could see the horror all over your face,” she said.
“But yes, | read it. A little. You were sending very loudly. It’s a bit rude to invade someone’s thoughts, so we spiders generally
only do it amongst ourselves. | do want to reassure you, though, | am not a shifter.”
| still took a step back and looked around the stairwell for any signs there might be more potentially giant spiders. “I’m Zane.”
“I''m Bellissa. I''ve heard of you. We all have. The wolves who came to Brightsky with Mchi’s granddaughter. Wee.”
“Thanks.” This was kind of awkward.
“Out exploring are you?” Bellissa waved her leg again
“Are you looking for Greyson? Sorry. That was a bit rude. You''re just sending so loudly, it’s difficult not to
receive.”
“| guess | am?” | said. “I mean, | was just kind of wandering around. Getting they of thend, so to
speak.”
The spider dangled lightly from a thin string of webbing that attached itself to a high-up corner. She spun gently in the breeze
from a nearby venttion duct. “It’s always good to understand where you are...
Would you like me to find Greyson for you? | can put out a call to my friends.”
“Uh...” | looked up the stairs and then down again. | could spend the day wandering around without any purpose, or | could hang
out with Greyson, assuming this spider could help me find him. “Sure.”
She let out another tinkle of that lightughter and said after a second, “Oh, he’s far, far down in the pearl
fields.”
“In the what, now?”
“The undergroundkes in the caverns that the enve was built over,” Bellissa exined cheerfully, pointing with one leg to the
stairs going down. “Some of them house fish, while others grow edible water nts. And of course the ms and mussels
provide food for the ducks and chickens on the farm level, and the pearls are sold to wealthy human collectors so the enve
has ie. This entireplex was designed
to be self-sustaining.”
“For safety?”
“In the event of an attack, especially a siege, yes. But generally, also in case that its residents determine there''s a need to
completely go underground. Not just physically; | mean if the leadership council feels like it''s imperative for us all to withdraw
from the world.
Hide for any indeterminate amount of time.”
“Why would they decide that?”
She waved both her front legs. “I suppose if there seemed to be some kind of natural local or global disaster. I''ve heard stories
about an enve-”
“This one?”
“No, an older one.”
“How many are there?”
Bellissa swayed lightly. “I don’t know, really.
Envian spiders can only talk to others in the same enve. But I''ve heard there were at least a few other enves. And one
of them went on lockdown during the humans’ ck gue. They didn’t re-emerge until sometime after the invention of the
airne. It must have been quite shocking for them all.”
“How often has this enve gone into lockdown?”
“We spiders live short livespared to most of you, so | can say that it hasn''t happened in my lifetime and it won’t mean
much,” Bellissa admitted. “But because we live such short lives, we also share generational memories. So far as I’m aware, no,
Brightsky has never gone into lockdown. But isn’t itforting to know that you''re safe here and could be for the rest of your life
and the lives of your children, your children’s
children...”
“| don’t want to stay in here forever,” | interrupted. “I sure don’t want my descendants to have to, either.”
Bellissa chuckled. “I suppose not. We spiders like our dark corners and our sheltered spots. I’ve heard the sun is horribly bright.
No, thank you. Ah, my sister Agatha says that she would be happy to tell Greyson you’re on the way, if you like. So he doesn’t
leave before you get there. It’s a terribly long way down via the stairs, andContentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!
I''d hate for you to make the trip without reason.”
“That would be great. Thanks. I''ll just head down that way anyway,” | said, already turning. | might as well see the pearl farms
whether Greyson was there or not.
worry.
“Have fun!” Bellissa called after me. “Oh, and in case the enve suddenly goes into lockdown, don’t
The rms will all sound and the lights will go off, but you should still be able to breathe all right. At
least, | think so.”
| paused with my hand on the railing. “I thought you said Brightsky had never gone into lockdown.”
“Well,” said Bellissa cheerfully, “there’s always a first time!”