CHAPTER 21The next morning, after checking on Abby, Mara made her way down the hall toward the staircase. Lost in thought about how to deal with the Aphotis, she focused on the floor, watching the carpet runner’s pattern roll past her feet. She needed to pigeonhole Ping—her Ping—for a few minutes to discuss what to do about the black swarm. Maybe Sam had blown it to smithereens. It’d be nice for something to be that simple for a change.
Her foot hit something, and she stumbled. Catching her balance, she looked up in time to see a mider flying across the hall and slamming into the frame of a nearby door. Those things give me the creeps. Why are they always sneaking up on me?
A grinding whirring sound came from the mechanical spider, and its legs flailed against the wall and floor as it ri
