Character · from book 6
Shi Maria
The Screamer, the Widow Endless, the Bedlam Bride, MaeMae to Samantha: a level-140 Reaper Spider Minion and demigod banished from the celestial realm to a Cuban swamp because, legend has it, she killed and ate her husband, a killing she does not remember, with a fifth eye that blinds and maddens and a human head on a putty neck. She swallows Samantha, weeps on cue, bargains her way into Donut's deck for a ride to Larracos, eats six heads off a hydra, and, combined with Carl by a misfired card, tattoos herself above his sternum with ink made from a root and a friend's blood. 'Either way, I win.'
First appears: Book 6
Series arc
As of book 6. A spider in a swamp who ate Samantha and lets her plan, the Screamer of the Bahamas book, tears on cue and a whisper that quotes Odette's advice back. As a card she kills her own healer, eats a herd from the sky, opens her eye on Carl through a simulation and eats six heads off a hydra. A Golden Combo lands on Carl and for three minutes she wears him — reads his inventory, eats Li Jun's eye, tattoos an eye above his sternum with ink from a root. 'Either way, I win.' Donut tears her card; the quest stays.
Open threads
Status is open or resolved; the chapter after it is the last one that moved the thread.
| Thread | Opened | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Damascus Steel and Anaconda go to avenge their mother | B6 ch. 34 | open — The Night Wyrm is Hamed, Astrid's husband; 'two of thousands'; a family of naturals indentured in the dungeon; 'This is family business.' |
| The Eye of the Bedlam Bride: an eye tattooed into Carl's chest | B6 ch. 71 | open — Ink from a toraline sliver and Li Jun's blood; 'more of this soon with the remaining ink'; 'Keep me with you and gain my power, or set me free. Either way, I win.' The escort quest survived the card. Tipid: 'He needs to expel that presence as quickly as possible.' |
All threads: Open threads.
Through book 6
A spider in a swamp who ate Samantha and lets her plan (B6 ch. 8); the Screamer of the Bahamas book (B6 ch. 25); tears on cue and a whisper that quotes Odette's advice back: 'that gives you power over me' (B6 ch. 26). As a card she kills her own healer, eats a herd from the sky and opens her eye on Carl through a simulation (B6 ch. 28); eats six heads off a hydra and muffles Asher (B6 ch. 46). A Golden Combo lands on Carl and for three minutes she wears him — reads his inventory, eats Li Jun's eye, tattoos an eye above his sternum with ink from a root: 'Either way, I win' (B6 ch. 70, B6 ch. 71). Donut tears her card; the quest stays (B6 ch. 72).
Where they appear
| Book | Chapters they are in (of the book's) | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 6 — The Eye of the Bedlam Bride | 21/74 | 8, 25–31, 34, 37, 39, 41–42, 46–47, 50, 57–58, 70–72 · the book's own page |
By book
Shi Maria in book 6 — The Eye of the Bedlam Bride
The swamp
Samantha's captor and best friend, who swallowed her and lets her plan (ch. 8); the Screamer of the Bahamas book, a banished demigod who may have eaten her husband (ch. 25); tears on cue, a fifth eye Carl feels closed, a whisper that quotes Odette's advice back at him: 'You know what I want, and that gives you power over me' (ch. 26). She wants a ride to Larracos.
The card
Kills her own healer in a mall, eats a herd from the sky, opens her eye on Carl through a simulation (ch. 28); plucks a gorgon's snakes and kisses her (ch. 29); jealous of Lazarus's entrance (ch. 39); eats six heads off a hydra and, eye open, muffles Asher's echo: 'Soon, soon you will do something for me' (ch. 46).
The tattoo
A Golden Combo meant for Alpha Carl lands on Carl; for three minutes she wears him, reads his inventory, burns a hole through a building, eats Li Jun's eye with his hand, and pokes an eye into his chest with ink from a root: 'I am a part of you […] Either way, I win' (ch. 71). Donut tears her card; the quest stays (ch. 72).
The title
The book is named for her three times over: the demigod in the swamp looking for her husband (ch. 8), banished, legend has it, for eating him (ch. 25), and a Reaper Spider Minion (ch. 26); Odette's people's proverb about the blinding eye of obsession, which Odette has stared into twice (ch. 37); and the eye itself, opened on Carl in a simulation, on a hydra, and last as a tattoo above his sternum (ch. 28, ch. 46, ch. 70–ch. 72). The bestiary's warning: 'Beware her lies' (ch. 25).