Barter Town: The Rise of Arachnid (The Ant Wars)

Arachnid is broke, nine days from anywhere, and only passing Barter Town. Then comes the sap. Five cups of it, a song with eleven verses, and one drink spilled down the shell of the largest beetle in the Shell Guard. He wakes in a jail shaped like a pen cap, beside a daddy longlegs named Zara whose brother came to Barter Town to trade eight months ago and was never seen again. The Mandible Corporation owns the water, the stalls, the road and the jail. It also owns forty-three insects the town has learned not to mention. Arachnid has a purple jacket, a silk trick and six days of practice.