Download Sleeping Beauty - Harper Voyager Books

together they provided better illumination than any torch or lantern.Fifty yards on and a heavy steel door blocked the way, but onlypartially. The thickness of it lay curled around the force of someunimaginable blow and it stood propped against the frame, heavierthan an armoured warhorse but with room to slide past. Just beyond,through the gap, I could see a gleaming and many-legged insect,silver in the ancient light, needle-mouthed, its body a chamber filledwith red venom.‘I’ve seen the needle,’ I said, not turning away. ‘Going aroundmight be difficult...’ I kept my eye on it against the possibility it mightscuttle forward and sting me through my boot. ‘But I think if I beatit with my sword the problem should go away.’ It’s a technique thatworks on a lot of problems.‘Uh,’ said Hakon. Not exactly the encouragement I’d been hopingfor but I shrugged it off.‘You hold the door. I’ll go through and stick it.’‘Uh.’ Followed by the clatter of axe hitting floor.I turned to see Hakon sprawled, five of the metal insects on hisback, their needles deep in his flesh.‘Sh-’ Something small and sharp stabbed me in the hollow of myback, ‘-it!’ I spun, trying to dislodge the thing but it clung with adozen clawed feet. Warmth spread up my spine. ‘Bastard!’ I threwmyself back, crushing the thing against the door. Others scurried outfrom little hatches in the wall beside the door. The ones on Hakonwithdrew their needles and scurried toward me.I wrecked several with my sword, shearing off legs and shatteringbodies but I went down with needles in my thigh, hip and foot beforeI got them all, my strength flowing away, water from a broken gourd.