The girl in question froze solid. Almost literally. The ambient temperature dropped faster than a lead weight in water. It reached the point where Eva could see her own breath.
With a stiff back and tense muscles, she turned around. Her hastily fashioned crutch clanked on the marble tiles during her maneuver. Putting on a polite smile, she performed a cautious bow.
“Ylva.”
“You came through Hell.”
“I did,” Eva said, suppressing a wince. “And I swear, it is not my intention to proceed back into the mortal realm though your domain. I’ll use the beacon that Zoe activated for me.”
Zoe had been activating beacons for Eva every time she went to visit Shalise. She even activated one for Arachne, though that had taken a good deal more pleading. Arachne had yet to use hers even once.
“You tread dangerous ground,” Ylva said, ice-cold eyes boring into her. “Our domain rests on the precipice of planes. We would find it displeasing should your presence offend the sensibilities of Keeper.”
“I know. I just had a warning for you. I’ll return the moment it is delivered.”
Ylva’s eyes narrowed. As the silence dragged on, Eva realized she had chosen poor wording. Calling it a warning made it sound almost like a threat. Just as she was about to rephrase her sentence, Ylva opened her mouth.
“Speak.”
Eva took a deep breath.
She knew that coming here would be risky. Ylva had been quite adamant against using her domain to pass through realms, specifically from Hell to Earth. While she could have used the beacon she had asked Zoe to activate for her, Eva would have to track her down–or possibly Irene–to activate another immediately after. That and the fact that simply entering Ylva’s domain through the waters of Hell was the fastest method of getting a message to Ylva and the others.
Ylva appearing behind her the moment she had stepped out of the beach room was a testament to just how much she did not envy the attention of Keeper. Eva was just glad she was being afforded this chance to explain herself.
And explain herself she did. She went over a brief summary of the day’s events. From the creatures that not even Zagan knew what to make of all the way to her own encounter just an hour past within her own domain.
Throughout it all, Ylva remained silent. Her gaze never wavered. Not once did she express surprise, worry, or anger. She was blank to the point where Eva thought she might have already known, if not for what she said as soon as Eva finished speaking.
“This… is most concerning.”
“I’m glad you agree,” Eva said, some relief filling her. Mostly at the fact that her trespass hadn’t been for nothing. “I presume you are able to handle yourself. My worries were mostly for Nel and Zoe, as both reside within your domain. Zoe might be able to handle herself so long as she doesn’t find herself ambushed. Were Nel to come across them… well, let’s just say that I don’t know how good she is at self-defense.”
Eva tapped her crutch against her recently attached foot. “If they can bite through Arachne’s chitin, I doubt they would find human flesh much of an impediment.”
“Your missive has been received and considered. We must now insist that you return to Hell.”
“Of course,” Eva said without hesitation.
Under Ylva’s watchful eye, she marched straight back into the water room. Eva hadn’t even made it to the throne room proper, just the short hallway that separated the antechamber, so the walk wasn’t long by any stretch of the word.
So short was the trip to the edge of the water that Eva barely had the time to ask a quick favor of Ylva.
“Could you pass the word on to Arachne as well?” Eva asked. “And when she inevitably rushes off towards this room, could you tell her that I said not to come. That ensuring Sister Cross has all the potions she needs to heal up as soon as possible is more important.”
Ylva did not cease her vigil over Eva as the girl begun wading into the water. Still, she had curiosity in her voice as she asked, “have your plans for the nun been altered by these ‘enigmas?'”
Eva shook her head. “Nope, just increased the urgency of my plans. I cannot be constantly in my domain to protect Shalise. Sister Cross should suffice in my absence.”
After giving a slight nod of understanding, the hel’s voice turned as cold as the temperature around Eva. “Never attempt to enter my domain from Hell. We will not be so forgiving should it happen again.”
“I know. Thank you for your leniency,” Eva said. “I just thought it was an emergency.” My mistake, she thought with a hint of sarcasm.
Eva plunged into the water without waiting for a response from Ylva. Rude? Maybe. But not excessively so. She had been ushered out at top speed. She was merely expediting her exit without a proper farewell.
A mildly uncomfortable few seconds later–nothing so unpleasant as her method of teleporting in the mortal plane–Eva found herself standing in front of the women’s ward. She performed a quick check of the area, spending time both on a visual check and feeling for the uncanny oddity that she had felt the last time she arrived.
As far as she could tell, everything was normal.
Inside the women’s ward, Shalise sat on the couch. Her worried expression lessened as soon as she saw Eva enter.
“Anything happen?”
“It’s been quiet. Really, too quiet. Though not in the ominous sense. Without wind, people, insects, or animals, there’s an almost nerve wracking silence outside of my breathing and the beating of my own heart. You should get a music player of some sort.”
Eva smiled, glad Shalise was making jokes. They were a great way to relax after a stressful event.
Unless it wasn’t a joke.
Eva focused on the silence. It was comforting in some way she could barely describe. A warm and enveloping silence. But then, this was her own domain. If Eva felt uncomfortable within then something was wrong. Probably. Shalise was probably not afforded the same courtesy.
Maybe if she had better control over her domain, Shalise could pass the silence off as comforting as well. Unfortunately, such a minute thing would take a great deal of time to learn how to do.
Assuming she didn’t do it on accident one of these days.
“I’ll think about it,” was all Eva said for her eventual answer.
Shalise just nodded with a small smile.
“Now,” Eva said after a moment of silence, “what do you say to us getting this place really well defended?”
—
Eva stalked through the great throne room within Ylva’s domain. This time, she had returned to the mortal realm properly through the use of her beacon.
Immediately after returning, Eva had sought Zoe out to have her charge another beacon. Eva didn’t know what she would do if she found herself in Hell without one. Finding out how to summon herself had become quite the priority. Unfortunately for her, Devon would likely need to help her out the most. Perhaps one of the other demons as well, though Eva was less than keen to go to them for help.
She hadn’t forgotten Ylva’s offer of teaching Arachne how to create void metal in exchange for a few centuries of servitude.
Arachne didn’t even know precisely how to summon herself, which led to the question of how she got summoned in the first place. It could have been that one of the ancient Greek gods took pity on her and seeded the world with instructions. Her enticement, of course, was a single black widow spider. Any markings or sigil that specifically pointed to her was unknown. Eva had to wonder if Devon even knew, or if he didn’t bother caring as there was only one Arachne to summon.
It wasn’t like she had siblings or parents to accidentally summon instead.
Definitely something she needed to look into, but so long as Zoe kept accepting her beacons, figuring out how to be summoned wasn’t the absolute highest of priorities.
While she had accepted a new beacon, Zoe had not been happy to hear about Shalise’s predicament. She wanted to go jump into Eva’s domain straight away. It took a great deal of convincing her that Shalise should be perfectly fine until Sister Cross was ready to jump in.