The Fortress (Spider World, Book 3)
Colin Wilson
Language: English
Pages: 94
ISBN: 0441778135
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Mankind once ruled plant Earth, smugly ignoring the tiny creatures crawling underfoot. Then came the cosmic catastrophe which put man at the mercy of the giant spiders, icily intelligent conquerors armed with awesome mind powers. It's their planet now, except for... The Fortress.
Enslaved humanity cherishes the legend of the lost Fortress and its world-shattering weaponry. Seeking the mythic citadel is Niall, the first of a new breed of psionic warriors. Battling monsters and traitors, he leads a rebel band on a desperate quest deep in the Death Lord spider's domain. And as they hunt for the ultimate weapon... a spider army hunts them.
glance. "And weapons." "Weapons?" Doggins said softly: "Yes, weapons." He turned to the others. "All right. Stick close to me, and try and stay in the shadows." Within fifty yards they found themselves facing the main gates of the Fortress. There were great solid doors, higher than the walls, and also surmounted by spikes that looked as sharp as needles. Beside them, set in the wall, was a smaller door, also made of the same rusting metal. Half a dozen of them tried to force it with their
had fallen from the ceiling. But the bedrooms were surprisingly dry, and in these they found blankets, eiderdowns and pillows. They were intrigued by the clothes they found in the wardrobes, and some of them proceeded to try them on. There seemed to be a general agreement that the male garments of these ancient times -- particularly the trousers -- were funny as well as ugly, while the female dresses were altogether more practical. Ulic discovered a wall cabinet full of bottles and glasses.
shared this opinion. He said: "Listen to me. My own family is also being held hostage, so I understand your feelings. But what good would it do to surrender? You don't trust the spiders. Try to put yourself in the place of the Spider Lord. You have defied him once. You might do so again. The only way to prevent that from happening is to destroy you and your families. Do you think they would hesitate if you placed yourself in their power?" He could see that his words had filled them with
sharply: "The Master sent for you alone." Doggins grimaced. "Not allowed. You go back with Lucretia. I'll see you later." He turned and strode off in the direction of the town hall. Selima looked as if she was about to run after him, but a glance from Lucretia checked her. Niall turned to Lucretia and was met by a hard stare. He asked: "Can you tell me what's wrong?" "Wrong?" She raised her eyebrows with mild sarcasm. "Oh, nothing's wrong. You've just started a war, that's all." Selima
gathered round them. Selima said: "He cannot answer more questions now. We have to go back." But at that moment a beetle came down the steps of the town hall and hurried across to them. It reached out with its long front leg and touched Niall on the shoulder, then made a series of gestures with its feelers. Selima said: "He is saying that you must go with him. They want to speak to you." Niall stared at the blank face with its goggle eyes. It was not unlike the face of a spider, yet conveyed