6

 The thing steps forward, out of the shadows of the darkness, as if it materializes out of nothingness. Its skin is a pallid color, an off-white that suggests its coloring is unnatural rather than normal. Black hair drifts gently in the breeze, and its limbs are all gangly and long.

It's difficult to determine if it is male or female - the chest seems flat and masculine, but there's a grace about its movements that makes it feel feminine in some way.

As I watch the thing approach, my body freezes as if a million needles are piercing through my body all at once, stabbing me repeatedly until I can't move.

My skin erupts with goosebumps all across my body, and my eyes widen in a mixture of confusion, disbelief, and fear.

That...is a Spidergloom.

And it's definitely not a baby.

"What...?" Flynn croaks from nearby. He's encased in web, much like everyone else on the beach.

He's really so loud that even when he's wrapped up in webbing he can still be heard.

How very Flynn.

Amelia initially jerks forward, as if she wants to charge at the Spidergloom.

I grab her by the arm and shush her.

She only has the power of illusion, and with just me...that's not enough to do anything.

And I don't have any power at all.

She's strong - my grip means nothing. She could rip me away from her and dash away if she wanted. But she hesitates, staring at me, silently asking my judgment.

I stare at the beast that walks from the treeline.

...And after it follows a human.

--No.

My breath catches.

That's not a human.

No human has violet hair like that. No human has such perfect and pristine pale white skin. No human has such eerily bright silver eyes. Even my silver eyes, odd quirk of genetics that they are, aren't that bright.

I freeze like a deer caught in headlights, unable to breathe, unable to tear my eyes away as the spider thing steps over to the mass of paralyzed students and begins to delicately pluck them from the ground.

Flynn shouts something.

I don't understand what it is, but hearing his voice makes me shake out of my shock.

We need to run.

We need to swim to another island and hope that if we don't make it we drown before these things reach us.

But I'm walking forward instead.

And I don't really know why.

But my body won't listen to me.

I hear Amelia behind me, gasping softly.

Her footfalls follow me.

Maybe she intends to drag me back.

I swallow.

"Amelia." I speak softly. "Use your illusion. Hide yourself and sneak up to free Flynn. I'm going to...buy time."

She stiffens next to me, but quickly relaxes again.

"...Buy time?" She whispers back.

"...Just let me talk and distract them while you and Flynn do your thing." I mumble back, not bothering to glance over at her. "...Amelia."

She makes a noise of agreement after a few seconds, and I hear her retreating footsteps as she leaves.

I can't see her, and that's good, because neither can the Gloom Dwellers.

I sneak through the shadows to insinuate myself into the group of the captured students.

I kneel down and pick up that...stupid Exorcist Lantern.

The Gloom is all around me, tugging at my clothes, sticking to my arms. 

It's gross. But it's not keeping me captive, at least.

I push my way through the webbed students, and hold up a lantern, hoping Amelia gets the message that I need it to glow. As if I had spirit powers.

The lantern flares to life.

Good.

"Hey...." I mumble, steeling myself as I break through in front of the students. "You're really cramping my style."

The human-shaped one slowly turns in my direction and raises one brow in mild amusement. "Oh?"

Its voice is cold, hollow, and distinctly male.

It's unsettling.

Gloom Dwellers aren't supposed to be smart enough to talk.

"Yeah." I mutter. "I'm trying to get some sleep over here. You're kind of ruining the mood."

His gaze briefly passes over the others, and his lips twitch upward slightly.

"You're worried about sleep? I can give you an infinite amount of it."

I hold up the lantern.

Fortunately, the humanoid creature hesitates, not willing to test himself against the power that a lantern represents.

....There's no reason for him to believe I'm a Tainted Blood, and that means if I'm wielding an Exorcist Lantern, I'm not one to be trifled with. Even with two of them here.

But I need to think of something more than just bluffing.

Otherwise, even when Flynn frees everyone, we'll still just get eaten.

"Do you expect to fight two of us at once, child?"

I sigh.

"...I'd really rather if you just let me go."

He arches an eyebrow slightly. "Do you expect that to be a viable solution to the situation?"

He sounds amused.

As if the very idea of letting me go is interesting.

This man...no. This monster. He's definitely not human.

"Well..." I inhale. "I count seventeen souls wrapped up and two of you. No reason you can't let me go and avoid any trouble."

The man's silver eyes glitter and sparkle in the firelight of the lantern, and he puts his fingers up to his chin thoughtfully. "Really? Interesting."

He takes a step towards me.

"But..." The man says, "I could just eat eighteen souls with barely a fight. So why shouldn't I?"

He steps closer still, reaching out to me, and my heart hammers in my ears.

Behind him, Amelia slinks away with Flynn in tow.

...He's playing into my bluff.

"...I can turn those seventeen souls into a lot more." I gesture at the ocean. "Let me go and I can go to our communication booth and call in more exorcists you can catch off-guard. That's worth one soul, right?"

The humanoid laughs.

"You don't expect me to let you slink off into the dark unattended do you?" He smiles indulgently. "For your bold selfishness, I will give you one opportunity. Take me to this place and summon more food for me and I will leave you there when I return for these."