“The door?”
Arachne led Eva with her legs. Eva herself used the marbles of Arachne’s blood to get a rough view of the floor. She tried not to trip over anything as she waddled out into the hallway.
Eva pointed in the direction of the flesh golems and said, “that way.”
An odd concentration of blood appeared in Arachne’s face. Pursing her mouth together?
Eva couldn’t tell. Maybe with practice.
Together, they walked through a very uneven corridor, almost perpendicular to where the flesh golems sat. It was slow going and more than once, Arachne offered to carry Eva. Eva refused.
It would have been the smart thing to do. Under other circumstances, Eva would have in an instant.
If she didn’t show Arachne she was mad at her, the demon would just try the same trick again next time.
Next time, Eva thought, if she even got a next time.
They moved around the cavern until another blood bag entered Eva’s sight. He sat casually, writing on a desk if Eva was reading his motions correctly. The blood form was slim, a skinny man who towered even while sitting. He shook a finger off to one side as if flicking something away. The way the blood in his mouth flowed, Eva could tell.
He was wearing a wide grin.
“Sawyer,” Eva hissed. “Arachne, that way.” She raised one of her pointed fingers, aiming it right at the man. Her hand knocked against a hard wall.
She grit her teeth. “Are there any doors or passages that might lead in that direction?”
Arachne didn’t respond. She was looking down the hall in the direction they had been heading.
“Arachne?”
“Dogs. The ghost kind.”
“Can you take them?” Eva wasn’t entirely sure the dogs could actually hurt either of them, being ghosts. That went the other way as well. Her blood seemed effective on Halloween, but being unable to see severely hurt that plan.
“I don’t think I need to. They took one look and ran off without even a growl.”
“They’re warning Sawyer,” Eva said with a small amount of panic. She pointed again at the wall. “That way Arachne, as fast as we can.”
Without asking, Arachne scooped up Eva into her arms and legs. She took off down the hall at a light run.
Eva almost protested, but she’d asked for fast.
It didn’t matter now. If Sawyer got away…
Her fists collapsed in on themselves as she brought her many jointed fingers into a ball.
Arachne skidded to a halt. She spun, whipping Eva around.
Two light thuds hit Arachne’s back. Eva could see blood trickling out of fresh holes in her back.
“Skeletons,” Arachne said. “Stay here.”
Arachne set her down on the cavern floor. She didn’t even set Eva upright. Another wound appeared in her back before she charged down the hallway.
Sawyer was moving. He was walking calmly, not running or panicking. His heart wasn’t even beating especially fast. Yet he was getting away.
Eva grit her teeth.
He was getting away.
The marbles of Arachne’s blood formed into a single large small ball. She formed it, weaved it into a wire array. She couldn’t tell how well the fight was going. For all she knew, Arachne was in the middle of killing the last skeleton.
It didn’t matter.
“Arachne, hit the floor,” Eva shouted.
Eva didn’t wait. She plunged her hand straight into the blood sphere.
The arachnid turned her head back for just an instant before all but falling straight to the floor.
Her vision warped and twisted as a massive claw made of blood launched down the hallway. She felt her fingers pierce more than a few skeletons as it went. It crashed against the end of the corridor, shaking the entire cavern.
That felt a bit worrying. She couldn’t tell where the cavern ended before her attack. More of those might risk some sort of collapse.
The blood it left in its wake painted a vision of the hallway in her mind. Eva knew from experience that the blood wouldn’t be usable, but it was interesting that she could see it. Five distinct and massive holes buried deep into the cave wall.
She could get used to that.
Arachne clambered back to her feet. She gave the hallway a once over before running back to Eva. Apparently everything was dead.
Deader.
Eva did not miss the extra arrow holes leaking small amounts of blood in her chest.
“I was almost done.”
“No time, Sawyer is getting away.”
There was a brief hesitation before Arachne scooped Eva back up.
While running, Eva tapped her bloodstone against the stubs of Arachne’s wrists.
That did it. The stone crumbled to dust. That attack strained it too far.
Eva tore the lace necklace from her neck and flung it to the floor. Worthless.
Her fingers ticked as she tapped them against the palm of her hand. Fireballs wouldn’t do much of anything other than provide a minor inconvenience. Her wind and earth magic would be worth less than dust in an eye.
She cursed herself for not spending more time practicing regular thaumaturgy.
Arachne rounded a corner.
At least they were making progress towards Sawyer now. He turned down another corridor. This might have been the original hallway he was in before the skeletons delayed them.
“Sawyer!” Eva called out with no idea if her voice would carry to him. She didn’t care. “I’m coming for you!”
He definitely heard it.
He gripped something in one hand, tightly if Eva read the heavy pressure around his fingers, and threw it off to one side. He made motions that were unmistakably closing a door. Seemingly satisfied with shutting something into a room, he pulled out some small object from a pocket.
Not being able to see objects was a curse, though she supposed she wouldn’t be able to see even Sawyer normally from where she was.
With no small amount of satisfaction, Eva watched as his heart picked up a beat.
Whatever it was, Eva didn’t care.
Sawyer slowly walked back towards the corridor Eva was in.
She grinned as her fingers clicked against her palm.
Arachne rounded the corner and stopped. They were face to face.
“Ghosts,” Arachne whispered, “at least three humans and a dog.”
“One possessed me earlier, that’s how I got captured. Be careful.”
Sawyer’s grin widened, Eva could tell. He looked on at them and started laughing. “A crippled girl and a crippled demon come to attack me? I was almost worried for a minute.” He stopped laughing and glanced at Eva again. She could feel his eyes running over her.
“Ah,” he said, “but those fingers are sure to sell far better than your old ones. Have you come back to donate more? Where are your eyes and toes?”
“A work in progress,” Eva growled. “Arachne, we’re not here to talk. We’re here for fun.”
There was an almost imperceptible nod from Arachne. Rather than dash forward, she took one slow step. Eva did not fail to notice her mouth opening into a wide grin. It was almost a shame she couldn’t see her sharp teeth poking though.
The step back that Sawyer took brought a wide grin to Eva’s own face.
Arachne took another step forward.
Sawyer took half a step back. Then he paused. His smile grew wider.
“Arachne,” Eva started.
Sawer waved whatever was in his hand.
The blood configuration Eva decided was flesh golems appeared in front of her. More and more appeared, seemingly filling the hallway.
Eva wasn’t sure if they were being created or transported. It didn’t matter in the end. A plan formed in her mind as they shuffled towards them.
“Hold them off.”
Arachne gently set her on the ground. The moment Eva was steady on her feet, she jumped at the creatures. Eva watched for a moment as six legs lanced into the chests of the first six.
They flew aside as if they weighed no more than a pillow.