Random oneshot, no set time period. On a related note... Halloween is coming up.

Also, here there be spiders. I am terrified of spiders, particularly their webs. It doesn't stop me from doing things like this...

-00000-

Danny crept through the darkened mansion, lured by the sound of a harp. At least it sort of sounded like a harp. There was an ethereal quality that drew him, that called to him. Something was different about this...

Something strange. It tickled his ghost sense in a way he'd never felt before. Made everything seem more real somehow. More real than reality. He knew that didn't make any sense but he couldn't describe it in any other way.

The music seemed to be coming from this way. He turned down a darkened corridor. Creepy tapestries hung from the walls, some shredded by time and probably more. There were no windows and the lights weren't working. A faint green glow shining from under the door ahead was the only light to be found.

The only sign that there was something here.

The plucking of the harp grew stronger as Danny neared that door. A mournful meandering tune coalesced from the plucking of strings, weaving in and out of nowhere before fading back into what sounded like random notes. Danny reached the door and pushed it open.

It might once have been a small library. A fireplace sat cold and quiet, wind gently howling down the chimney. Chairs sat scattered about the room. The walls were shelved with old dusty books and what might be a painting hung over the mantlepiece.

But what caught Danny's eye most were the spider webs. The entire room was conquered by green glowing webs. Sheets of webbing hid the painting from view, draped over the bookshelves, dangled from the chandelier. Great thick strings of web anchored chairs to the floor, stretched out to walls and ceiling and floor. The webs themselves seemed to provide the only light.

"I was wondering if you'd ever show up," said a voice.

Danny turned his attention to the man in the center of the room. Vlad.

Vlad appeared to be tied to a chair, thick strings of web binding him in place. His suit jacket was missing somewhere but in its place a corset of webbing was tied tight around his torso and anchored to the chair. His legs were bound together as well, cocooning him. A great orb web was stretched in front of him, anchored in place via his shoulder, his foot, the floor, and up to the ceiling. His arms were unbound, his wrists draped in thin strands of webs that gently waved as his fingers moved. The legs of a giant spider draped themselves around his neck from behind, moving in time with the music.

It was Vlad's hands that played that haunting music, plucking strands of the spider's web to coax from it the sounds of the harp.

"What the hell?" Danny whispered.

"Get me out of here," Vlad said, perfectly calm. "But don't you dare touch any of the webbing."

"Yeah, right." Danny looked around, trying to figure out what, if anything, he was going to do. Vlad's fingers slowed in their playing until the spider's dripping maw appeared behind him and stabbed fangs into Vlad's neck. Danny pulled back in disgust as he heard the tiny shrieking gasp wrenched from Vlad's throat before he started playing again, this time much faster. The spider pulled back to listen, leaving two angry fang-pricks in Vlad's neck.

Danny made a decision then. He grabbed the thread he thought must be the anchor.

"Daniel, NO!"

Everything went dark.

-00000-

"I blame you."

Vlad sighed. "Of course you do, Daniel. You only grabbed the biggest, thickest guy line you could after I expressly told you not to touch any of it."

"Well how else was I supposed to get you out?"

"And how will you get out?"

Danny glared at Vlad. It was all he could do. He was bound to a chair with glowing green webbing that seemed to sap his will, his ghost powers, his strength. A spider the size of a cat was spinning an orb web right in front of him, including sticking an anchor point to his cheek. At least his arms were free although he couldn't seem to find the will to lift them.

Wait a minute...

The spider in front of him finished and crawled over him to cling to the back of his chair.

"Well, Daniel, remember you brought this upon yourself," Vlad said. He raised his hands up to his orb web. "This is how you play the orb harp. I have no doubt that you will learn to play and play well. I'm sure the spiders will be perfectly happy with biting you until you do."

Danny sighed and glared at Vlad. He yelped when he felt a stabbing pain in his neck.

This was going to be a long, long night.