Crypt of the Moon Spider (Lunar Gothic Trilogy, #1)

by Nathan Ballingrud

Imagine a sea on the moon.

“It makes me wonder. What if the old legend about the moon contains a kernel of truth? What if the moon is the remnant of some ancient being, all its exotic memories archived in the webs, tended to by the spiders? The Alabaster Scholars are trying to hatch a new Moon Spider. Their grotesque failures infest the tunnels beneath us. But why do they want this? Is it because the Spiders might awaken what sleeps? Or, if it’s dead—call to another?” Charlie stared at him impassively.

“When what you need outweighs what you offer. Make no mistake, child. Your life does not belong to you.”