"It looks comfy."

"Yes, it does."

They stared into each other's eyes. "It's settled then," they said together.

The last night came. Serena and Irana lay in bed together, holding each other. Even though they were expecting it, both screamed when the Gong of Gordion began to strike: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. The two fairies got slowly out of bed. Together they recited the customary prayer: "Oh Dark Lord, we are heartily sorry for having offended you by our failure to mate. We pledge to you that tomorrow, at our earliest convenience, we will put ourselves in the path of a predator, so as to pay the penalty laid down by your Law." They lay back down and listened to the night. Soon they could hear, from several points of origin, the sounds of weeping.

The next day, after a surprisingly restful sleep, they flew out to the meadow. The Bridal Bed was bordered with flowers, as Serena had said. They were unsurprised to see that it was already occupied. Coming in for a closer look, they saw five heartbreakingly handsome fairy boys, lying on their backs in a row, their faces wet with tears and their cocks very stiff.

"Hello," said Serena. "Some of Titania's victims, I presume?"

"Y-yes," said a beautiful blond. "Paying the just price for our foolishness."

"You were driven out of your senses by her magic. How could you know?"

"We . . . we've said that . . . a dozen times to one another this morning. It's not . . . much of a consolation. I'm M-Miko, by the way."

The other boys introduced themselves: "S-Sato," "Al . . . (ow!) Alcuin," "B-Brito," "S-S-Sanjil (oh, it hurts!)"

"Hurts?" said Irana. "Have you already been stung?"

"Only by T-Titania," said Miko. "While we were in her thrall, she made it . . . a strict rule . . .that we could have no relief . . . till she . . . made her choice. Now . . . we can't get relief on our own. I fear we'll . . . explode before the spider comes!"

The girls looked down and, sure enough, the boys' pouches were red and swollen beyond their normal size. "You poor dears!" said Serena. "You poor dears!"

"Serena darling," said Irana, "it's time to lie down now."

"Not yet! They're suffering because of that cruel bitch; we can't just stand by!"

"What do you propose?"

"Watch me."

Serena quickly stripped off her panties and tossed them away. (And why not? She no longer needed to mask her scent.) She then lowered herself towards the web, being very careful not to entangle any part of her wings or body in the sticky threads. Miko seemed to be hurting the most, so she placed herself just inches above his groin. She grasped his cock in both hands and tugged back his foreskin. Miko screamed.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No!" he gasped. "No."

With no further ado, she impaled herself. Miko cried out again, this time with a more even mix of pleasure and pain. "Come on, Irana," she said. "I don't think any of them will object." Being very careful not to entangle herself, Irana shed her panties and descended on Sanjil.

And so it went, till the two friends had served, and been served by, all five. When it was time to come, each boy cried out repeatedly and unashamedly as he sent one gout of boy-honey after another into his angel of mercy. The girls cried out along with them. In too short a time, boys and girls had complete relief.

Serena was sighing with perfect contentment when Irana said: "Darling, I hate to be a bother, but . . . ."

"I know."

They lay down on the web on either side of the five boys: Serena next to Miko, Irana next to Sanjil. The magic of the web was such that their shifts were immediately fastened to the surface with sticky strands, and their arms were pinned at their sides. Their legs and bottoms, however, could still move freely. This was for the spider's convenience. It was comfy. All anyone could do now was wait.

The sun was hot and it made Serena drowsy. She nodded off for a while, only to be wakened by a strange rhythm. The web was pulsing! She and the others looked out between their feet at the bottom edge. The builder of the Bridal Bed, a female Golden Wolf Spider, was striding up toward them! She was covered with thick, dirty-yellow fur. She had eight powerful legs and eight yellow eyes; but her fangs were the most terrible thing about her: two recurved needles that glinted as if made of steel. Clutched in these fangs was a fairy, bound tightly 'round the middle with strands of silk. Fastened to the spider's back was another fay, similarly trussed.

When they saw her, the seven captives couldn't help but scream with terror. It's my time! they all thought. But not quite. The spider dropped her new victims onto the web, next to Irana, and then . . . went away! These new arrivals turned out to be Titania and her chosen boy-toy, Rilchiam!

"It's not fair! It's not fair!" Titania shouted. "That stupid spider snuck up on us!" Rilchiam, who'd taken a larger dose of venom than his paramour, just looked dazed.

"They've been known to do that." said Irana.

"Devil preserve us!" said Titania. "I remember you! I remember your mopy friend, too! Can't a person have good company at least?"

"I'd say you're responsible for the company you're keeping," said Serena from the other end of the little group. "In fact, I've an inkling it's no accident you're here. Two weeks ago, I sent a message to the Temple of the Dark Lord, outlining your interference with the free mating of fairies. I reckon this is his response."

"You . . . bitch! You worthless bitch!" screamed Titania, struggling vainly against the threads that held her like a fly on flypaper.

"Save the screams for when you'll really need them," said Irana in a quiet voice. "She's back."

.

Two weeks after their first visit, Tom and Grandpa returned to the meadow. "This isn't the only Bridal Bed in the area," said Grandpa. "But it's the biggest and most beautiful. Since the deadline for mating has just come and gone, we should see something interesting this time."

"It's got flowers on it," said Tom.

"Considerate of the spider, don't you think?" laughed Grandpa.

They came closer. Sure enough, lined up on the Bridal Bed in a neat row were nine fairies. Tom looked even closer and saw, from his left to his right: one female, pretty but a little plump; five males, as handsome as any fashion model; one female, pretty but a little thin; another female, a redheaded knockout; another matinee-idol male. Of the females, oddly enough, only the knockout was wearing panties. Their eyes were awash with tears, their mouths were all wide open, and Tom

could hear shrill little screams. This wasn't surprising, because the largest spider Tom had ever seen was strolling towards them from the bottom of the web! It looked as if it could move very fast if it wanted to, but it wasn't rushing now. It came to Tom all of a sudden (though how he knew it he could never say afterwards): the spider enjoyed the impression it was making on its catch! Tom knew he should be horrified, and in a way he was. But he was also aroused-more aroused than he had ever been before in his life.

"Makes me want to cream my jeans, too," said Grandpa. "And you know what? It's not like sex in the so-called real world. It's just as exciting the thousandth time as the first. Keep looking."

At last, the spider reached the line of kicking, crying, screaming fairies. It surveyed them for a short time, moving its head back and forth; then it went to the plump, pretty girl on the left. Tom had to see, so he brought his face right up to the edge of the web. Neither the spider nor the fairy seemed to mind. The girl was kicking frantically, as if her little high-heeled feet could make the monster go away. Suddenly the spider leapt forward with dazzling speed and grabbed her legs. Then it forced her thighs back, till they were right up against her chest. Now it quickly drew out a line of web from its rear and used this to bind the girl's thighs there, so that her feet kicked upward and harmlessly. The girl's snatch was exposed now, and Tom had to say it was the prettiest he had ever seen: a delicate pink mouth with no border of pubic hair to coarsen the effect. The spider reared back, pausing for a moment, then plunged its fearsome needles into the plump flesh on either side of the girl's labia. Her scream now was long, piercing, and heartbreaking. Tom felt the strangest mix of lust, fear, and grief.

Apparently, venom from the fangs was starting to have an effect: the girl kicked more and more furiously, moaning audibly with the effort. Finally, she threw back her head and emitted a loud half-groan, half-wail of painful passion. At the same time, a clear liquid spouted from her cunt. She would do the same thing five more times over the next half-hour. At last she was still.

The spider then moved on to the boy next to her. Its procedure was essentially the same, except that here it plunged its fangs into his perineum, just below his pouch. He screamed and groaned and wailed every bit as much as his lady-companion. Instead of a clear liquid, he spouted a thick, white cream, tinged with pink. When he was done, the spider just went on relentlessly to the next boy, and the next, and the next, and the next. Then it took the thin girl. Somehow, Tom knew that she and the plump girl were the best of friends.

Then came the redheaded bombshell's turn. Tom had a new intuition, as mysterious, but as certain, as the others: this girl hadn't resigned herself to dying as her companions had, as much as they cried and carried on. It was going to be harder for her. Tom could hear her pitiable appeal, repeated over and over: "No! Dear Devil, no!"

This time the spider had panties to deal with. Obviously no problem: after forcing her thighs back, it tugged her pants to her knees in no time at all. Another stunning snatch; another assault by cruel fangs; another long, despairing scream.

The last boy put on as good a show as his fellows. Finally it was over, and the sun was setting.

"Here's where she gets down to feeding," said Grandpa. "She'll drain the magical essence out of each of them. Then their bodies'll crumble into a fine white powder, and the powder'll blow away. So . . . you've seen the spider bed her little brides and bridegrooms. What do you think?"

"It-it's overwhelming," said Tom.

"It sure is. Nothing wrong, though, is there, with fighting evil and having fun while you do it?"

"I suppose not," said Tom. "It's strange: I was feeling this . . . intense pleasure, seeing them die; but I was sad . . . hurting almost, at the same time."

Grandpa scratched his head. "Well, they're bad and they're getting their comeuppance. That's part of the pleasure. But of course there's more to it than that. I've a notion, Tom, that for them, everything is sex (I think that may be why they're so cruel). Anyway, even dying is a kind of sex for them. But it's still dying: it hurts . . . and it scares them. Now when you're near them, they make you feel some part of what they're feeling. So when they're caught, you feel some of the pleasure, and some of the sting, of their dying."

For a while, neither of them spoke. Then Grandpa said: "You know, Tom . . . I could sure use someone to help with the farm full-time, and maybe inherit it when I'm gone. It isn't just a farm, as you can see."

"It's the gateway to Mythica," said Tom.

"Just one of them," said Grandpa with a laugh. "Just one of them."

THE END