The only person–the only human not affected by the atmosphere at the prison was Devon. In his own words, he cared nothing for Shalise or Juliana and was only going to assist due to an agreement with Ylva. Though she had no idea what, exactly, he was doing for Ylva.
Speak of the devil, Zoe thought as she turned to the archway.
Ylva stood there, staring. Her blue lips pressed together for a brief moment.
“Good day, Ylva,” Zoe said. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
“No. We have finished speaking with the Elysium Nun.”
“Do I want to know?”
“Unlike Nel, Ali did not enter Our service willingly. We are merely convincing her of, as mortals term it, greener pastures.”
That didn’t answer my question, Zoe almost spoke aloud. She let it slide. Whatever Ylva did to the woman, she did not want to know about. Both because it could be very disturbing but also because she liked to think somewhat highly of Ylva.
“How does having her as a servant help Shalise and Juliana?”
“Information is key in any engagement. Ali will escape and return to her order. We will receive information from a specialized skull We intend to implant within her chest.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your ring serves only to warn others that its bearer is under Our protection. The skull adorning Nel’s necklace serves a similar function, though through it, We are able to perceive what Nel perceives. The skull within Eva’s domain allows Us to view everything within the surrounding area.
“The skull destined for Ali allows that and more. Because of the relative low power of Nel’s necklace, Elysium augurs possess superior tracking methods.”
“And you’ll locate Nel through them?”
Ylva smiled. It wasn’t a murderous smile that Arachne might have upon locating her enemies.
It was polite and regal. Just seeing it made Zoe feel accomplished. She had to suppress her own smile. Understanding Ylva’s plan wasn’t worthy of feeling fulfilled.
“Is there anything I can do, Ylva? I don’t care what it is. I just need to be doing something. Anything that will help Juliana and Shalise. And Nel, I suppose.”
Ylva turned her head, staring off towards her throne.
After a minute of her staring, Zoe said, “I know Genoa feels the same way.” Or she would if she were sober. “We need to be able to see progress and assist in that progress ourselves.”
“We will require her power upon locating Nel. Your strengths lie outside of combat.” Dead eyes turned their gaze down toward Zoe. “There may be one task you are able to perform at this moment. You may not enjoy it.”
“I said anything, so long as it will help.”
“Excellent,” Ylva said with another smile. “Follow.”
For a moment, Ylva looked like she was going to return to the torture chamber. Zoe was pleasantly surprised when the library turned out to be her final destination.
That meant research of some sort. She could do research. Zoe was good at research. If it helped out Juliana and Shalise, all the better.
And in Ylva’s massive library. She couldn’t read most of the books, but perhaps Ylva had a way around that.
Zoe had a feeling she might actually enjoy this assignment.
Chapter 003
“Mortals. Free me.”
Juliana stared. It was a stare of pure disbelief. He couldn’t be serious.
She stared for another reason too. The demon before her was utterly and thoroughly ripped. Juliana had only seen one other with as awe-inspiring musculature. That, oddly enough, had also been a demon. Zagan, during his fight with the nuns, had offered a lifetime supply of eye-candy.
Looking closer–without actually entering the cell–Juliana decided that Zagan was better. He was well-defined. This demon was more bulgy than anything. Too inhuman.
Shaking her head, Juliana turned her focus to more important things than some random demon’s body. Namely, the fact that he wanted them to free him.
That wasn’t about to happen.
In her experience, regular demons were volatile enough. And that was with a properly set up shackle. The theater-demon had said it himself, they were basically required to try to kill their summoner.
But this guy was in prison. And not even a regular cell, some kind of fancy cell with a magical shield keeping him in and metal restraints keeping him chained to the wall. Whatever he did must have been something terrible.
Or, a traitorous thought slipped through Juliana’s mind, maybe he did something good–like not killing his summoner–that was seen as bad in demonic society.
No. Juliana shook her head. That’s silly.
“Come on Shalise.” Juliana took a step away from the cell. “Don’t talk to him, it will only encourage him.”
“You are making a mistake,” he growled. The chains rattled as he tugged one arm towards Juliana. “You will be lost in this place for eternity.”
That stopped Juliana in her tracks.
Shalise hissed in her ear. “You can’t be considering it. He’ll kill us. Or worse.”
“Of course I’m not,” Juliana said with a frown. Despite her words, she turned back to the captive demon. “How large is this place?”
“Beyond your comprehension.”
“You’re just saying that to get us to let you out. Give a more reasonable scale for this prison. Where’s the exit?”
He gave a loud, uproarious laugh that made Shalise shudder at Juliana’s side. “What would a mortal know of the Void? Demons cannot die and yet new ones are,” his face twisted into a sneer, “born. What do they do with the repeatedly unruly demons? This place has a constant influx of prisoners; it is ever-growing to accompany them.”
“And just what is considered ‘unruly’ among dem–”
Shalise grabbed Juliana’s shoulder. “You’re ignoring your own advice. Remember? Don’t talk because it encourages him?”
Juliana pressed her lips together. That was true. “But if he isn’t wrong,” Juliana whispered, “we could be stuck in here forever. Or at least until we starve.”
“He is going to convince you into letting him go if you keep talking.” Shalise took a step back, shaking her head. “You got us stuck here in the first place and now you’re going to get us killed.”
The demon chose that moment to speak up. “Oh, you wound me. Do not worry about that, I would not kill such useful little mortals.”
“Yeah?” Shalise shouted. She put one foot forward and glared right in the demon’s eye. With the height she had over Juliana, she actually looked somewhat imposing. “And how useful will we be after letting you out?”
Her voice was loud enough that Juliana had to move a few steps away. Juliana had never thought of Shalise as intimidating before. The other girl was taller, but Juliana held the advantage in strength, both physically and magically. Not to mention that Shalise tended to be somewhat introverted.
Fear and adrenaline must work wonders.
A quick glance around the prison revealed no other demons running after them because of Shalise’s outburst. In a cell on the opposite side of the hallway, a dog with flames on its tail started growling in their direction. Not too worrying, it was behind another transparent barrier and was also chained to the wall.
“I always liked mortals with a bit of a backbone,” the demon said with a chuckle.
“W-what?” Shalise glanced towards Juliana, going from a wide stance to bringing her arms together in front of her chest.
“To answer your question, your continued usefulness is entirely up to you.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Juliana said. She extended out her hand, intending to activate her ferrokinesis. As expected, nothing happened. “We can’t use magic and it isn’t like your cell has a shutoff lever.”