A quick glance at the demonologist revealed him to be inspecting a handful of sand. Quite intensely, in fact. As if it were a handful of gold.
Frowning, Zoe looked down at her feet. Many things about Hell interested Zoe. Enough so that she was, frankly, overwhelmed. There were so many places to start. Especially around the water and the transportation method between domains. Overall, the feel of the place was very similar to Ylva’s domain. Which made sense given that hers was literally Hell on Earth.
With all the many things that interested her, the sand was not one of them. As far as Zoe could tell, it wasn’t significantly different from any other sand she had seen in her life. Perhaps Devon’s demonologist experiences lent some insight into the matter that she lacked.
When everyone was back home, safe and sound, Zoe was considering returning for a research expedition. No further than Eva or Ylva’s domain, of course. Though Eva’s–Zoe glared at Devon–treatments were upsetting, Eva’s domain provided a relatively safe location to poke around that wasn’t connected to Earth.
Blinking, Zoe realized that Devon was not about to humor the demon inhabiting Shalise’s body.
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean, Prax. This place is plenty interesting to me,” Zoe said, looking out over the endless sea of black liquid.
“Of course it is to you, mortal,” it said as if the word were an insult. “But can you honestly say that this tree,” it slammed Shalise’s elbow back against the trunk, “is more glorious than my castle?”
Wincing at the strike, Zoe simply shook her head. “It has a certain humbleness to it.”
“Wrong. It has the stench of a demon who knows nothing. A demon who cannot control their own domain. Even a hellhound can turn its domain into a land of crags and molten rock.”
“Perhaps she likes the minimalistic atmosphere of the beach.”
“Unlikely,” Devon cut in. “Eva’s been here once before and then only for an hour or two. In her report to me, she didn’t mention anything about even attempting to alter its appearance.”
“Only once before? What–” Prax cut off. A moment later, Shalise’s eyes widened to their fullest. “A human? With a domain?”
Zoe smiled. Not at his words, per say. No, she smiled at the small sign that Shalise was still in there somewhere. And apparently communicating with Prax.
It did such things every now and again. Knowing their names for instance. At first, Zoe had worried that Prax simply had all of Shalise’s memories. Things like being surprised by whatever had cut him off implied otherwise.
“I will believe it when I see it,” it said, crossing Shalise’s arms. After a brief moment, Prax’s expression twisted into a scowl. “And you are expecting this human to be able to help our situation?”
“It’s worth a shot,” Zoe said. “You said your domain was acting up because of your bonding with Shalise. What harm could there be in letting Eva try in her domain?”
“If only you knew. Though I suppose there might be some merit in making an attempt. At the very least, this human is inexperienced in the ways of Hell and therefore far less likely to enslave me, toy with me, or otherwise ruin the rest of my existence.”
“Is that much of concern?” Zoe frowned. “Arachne and Eva don’t have any qualms about being in Ylva’s domain. Catherine got in and out with only a light interrogation.” Not to mention all the rest of the ‘plain old boring mortals.’ Zoe had been inside plenty of times and even invited Ylva to live at her apartment for a time. Nothing happened to any of them.
Nothing except the rings, Zoe thought, moving one hand to cover the ring she had taken to wearing every day.
“You mentioned two of those names earlier. I believe the context was something about walking into a talkina’s domain?” Prax actually shuddered. “Clearly they lack the sensibilities of proper demons. You’ll probably never see them again.”
“Eh,” Devon grunted. “Our resident hel has taken a liking to the girl, Eva as well, if I’m not mistaken. If they’re not back soon, I’d bet money that she will find a way to resolve it herself.”
“And how long is that going to take?” Prax said, tapping a finger against Shalise’s elbow. “I could make further attempts on my own and possibly solve it before anything happens here.”
“At the very least,” Zoe said, “we should wait for Wayne to get back with news from Ylva and Nel.”
And hopefully that will be soon.
This whole operation could have been planned better. They knew that Genoa’s group was having issues. If she hadn’t just run off, blind to all except her daughter’s safety, then they might not be in this mess.
But there was no set time-frame for Wayne returning. And Prax’s impatience was clearly growing with every passing minute.
“Finally,” Shalise’s oddly accented voice said.
Zoe blinked. It took her a moment to realize what Prax meant.
That moment ended when Eva landed in the sand nearby, sending a few grains up into the air from the impact.
A heavy thud behind Zoe almost knocked her to the ground. She turned just in time to be pelted by falling sand. Zoe flicked her dagger, catching most of the debris on a hastily erected shield.
The cause of the shower of sand was a full-sized Arachne. In her arms…
“Oh no,” Zoe said.
Arachne shrunk down to her humanoid form, laying Genoa against the ground as she did so.
Eva brushed past Zoe and elbowed Arachne out of the way, sliding on her knees the last few feet before stopping at Genoa. The black dagger teleported from the hilt against her back to her hand. Without an ounce of hesitation, she pressed the dagger down into an arm-sized hole in Genoa’s chest.
Zoe took a step forward. “Eva–”
A light thump at Zoe’s side cut her off.
Juliana lay face down in the sand, groaning lightly. Using a single hand, Juliana pushed herself up. Upon seeing Eva and her mother, Juliana rushed over without taking a second to brush herself off, half limping as she ran. She shoved Arachne to the side in order to kneel down opposite from Eva.
The demon’s growls went unnoticed by either girl.
“Mommy,” Juliana said as tears streaked down her face. “I’m so sorry.”
“She’s still alive,” Eva said, her face scrunched up in concentration. “I can keep her blood moving and keep her from bleeding out, but her heart and lungs… I need potions. At the very least.”
Almost as if by instinct, Eva reached down to grab a small satchel at her side. It was a small brown potion satchel that Zoe had seen on Eva’s person relatively often during her first year. She couldn’t quite place when Eva had stopped carrying it, but she knew one thing for certain.
That satchel had not been there before she started speaking.
If Eva noticed the same, she did not comment. Instead, Eva rummaged through it before selecting three vials. A light-blue general remedy potion, a yellow blood stimulant, and a dark purple that Zoe didn’t recognize.
Zoe’s eyes widened as Eva uncorked the light-blue potion.
“Stop.” She almost slipped in the sand in her haste to stop the vial from reaching Genoa’s lips. As soon as she took hold of Eva’s arm, Zoe said, “you just said that she is having heart problems. You could kill her with that.”
“Considering the fact that I am essentially her heart at the moment, I don’t see how it could make things much worse.”
“Just…”
Up close, Genoa looked a lot worse than she did from afar. Her wound was mostly clean–likely thanks to Eva actively controlling her blood–but the sheer size of the hole in her chest was staggering. Clean as it was, Zoe could see the sandy beach on the other side. Her breathing came out as shallow, strained wheezes.
“Just keep her alive,” Zoe said. “Wayne will be here soon. Let him pick the potions.”