The first thing I can think of when I hear that voice is the spiders in the original Hobbit animated movie from the 1970s. Too bad I don't have Bilbo's enchanted sword, Sting. Oh, and there's Aragog from the Harry Potter series. Ron Weasley was deathly afraid of spiders. There's also Lolth, Demon Queen of Spiders, in Dungeons and Dragons. The only spider I've ever warmed to is Charlotte from Charlotte's Web.
"Use your magic," I say to Berry and Lowan.
"Oh, THERE'S a smashing idea. Why didn't we think of that before?"Lowan's snappish tone masks the panic I sense.
The hissing arachnid voice is smug. "My spider silk has been enchanted over the years to entrap pixie intruders and keep them trapped."
"We didn't know this was still your hedgerow," Berry says with more calmness than anyone has a right to expect. "We thought you moved when the humans sprayed their pesticides."
