Devon, old trench coat and all, walked inside with heavy footsteps.
Without waiting to be acknowledged, he tossed a vial in Eva’s direction.
She plucked it out of the air, careful to avoid crushing it on accident, and looked over the contents.
Blood, but she had known that from the moment it entered her sixth sense. It was light red. Likely human. Freshly drawn, she would guess.
Eva glanced up at Devon with an eyebrow raised.
“Add it to your wards,” he said as he turned his back to her. “Got an emergency case coming in.”
She wanted to ask more, but he was already gone. For a moment, she considered not adding it. What if he was bringing something dangerous into her home?
With an internal chuckle, Eva dismissed that possibility. If there was one thing she could count on no matter what, it was that Devon wouldn’t do a thing to harm his precious test subject.
Obliging him, Eva got out of her seat and went to her room. Adding the blood to the wards took mere seconds. As soon as she had finished, she returned to the common room and waited.
Zoe had leaned forward in her seat. Her papers had been set to the side as she fiddled with her dagger. Worry lines riddled her forehead.
Eva gave her a sympathetic shrug. ‘Emergency case’ wasn’t very descriptive.
They didn’t have to wait long. Devon was back through the door less than a minute later. Perhaps not in quite as dramatic of an entrance, but Eva couldn’t help but stare at him.
Not him.
What really drew the eye was what he carried in his arms.
Bundled up in a patchwork coat was a child, maybe half as old as Eva, fast asleep. A half-full intravenous fluid bag hung from Devon’s shoulder, pinned up with a few bobby pins. The most striking thing about the child was his utter lack of hair and gaunt, pale skin.
After taking one look around the room and not finding what he was looking for, Devon barked out, “Eva. Fetch Arachne and get everything set up. As soon we finish your treatment, we’re starting on this kid.”
Zoe was on her feet in a flash, dagger drawn and pointed at Devon. “Kid? What is he doing here? Whose kid?”
Devon just shrugged. His tentacle arm moved in a very inhuman manner beneath his trench coat. During his shrug, the kid’s arm flopped up in front of Devon. Using his tentacle, he maneuvered the wrist out of the ragged coat. A light blue wristband just about fell off the kid’s bony wrist.
“Jones, Simon D. Blood type A positive, entrusted to Doctor Paul Johnson. No allergies. No parents listed.”
Sparks started growing on the end of Zoe’s dagger. A few managed to escape her control and bolted straight for the ground–burning through a handful of scattered essays on their way to oblivion.
“You kidnapped someone’s child from a hospital?”
“Frankly, who cares? The kid’s parents are the ones who signed the do not resuscitate order. At least with my help, he’ll reach nine years old. Probably. Maybe.”
Though her arm stayed steady, the uncontrolled electricity actually faltered as Devon spoke.
“Kid’s terminal,” Devon said as blunt as a wall. “But since you care so much, I can tell you exactly where I got him. Take him back to his death-bed. Maybe stick around and watch him die if you’re not as cowardly as you look.”
Eva could hear the grinding of Zoe’s teeth. Half a dozen incomprehensible expressions crossed her face before she settled in an angry grimace.
“Or leave me alone. The kid has a chance at living. I’ll take care of him after Eva’s treatment. She’s almost late as it is.”
“Damn you,” Zoe hissed. With almost palpable resignation, she let her dagger drop to her side.
Eva waited just a moment to ensure there wouldn’t be any outbursts from Zoe. She spoke with some hesitance after letting the silence linger for an extra minute. “There is still a week before the end of February. We have time. Shouldn’t you get him, ah, stable?”
“He’ll live a couple of hours, at least. Maybe even a day or two.” He turned a glare on Eva. “Of course,” he half growled, “if you hustled, we’d have all the more time.”
Eva didn’t pause to nod an acknowledgment. She headed straight for Arachne’s door.
Time to clear out the common room and set up the chairs.
Chapter 014
Nel paced in front of the door that led out of Ylva’s domain. The last time she left the domain, a series of bad things happened. Mostly to her.
But this time was different. Right? Lady Ylva had threatened the Elysium Order, so they shouldn’t come after her. Eva had her blood wards up around the entire prison, so no one should be able to teleport in and kidnap her.
And if someone started unraveling the wards, Nel was going to sprint at full speed for Ylva’s domain, sky cracking or not.
Nel stopped pacing and let out a long sigh.
What was the Elysium Order’s reaction to Nel and Ylva? Would they actually leave well enough alone, or would they redouble their efforts?
Not for the first time, Nel wished she hadn’t spent so much effort in avoiding Sister Cross while she was a prisoner. The nun had to have at least a few answers.
Nel would have asked Lady Ylva to accompany her had she been around. Unfortunately, she was once again missing. Along with Alicia.
That was another point of concern for Nel. The idea that she could be replaced was absolutely terrifying. She didn’t think it would come to that–Alicia lacked the augur abilities and the potential to become an augur–but the fact remained that Nel was being left behind from whatever activities they were up to.
Maybe she had offended Ylva by being captured. A servant of the regal Lady Ylva should be better than that. Her lady had been forced to act for the first time–at least since Nel took refuge within her domain.
Though that wasn’t actually true. It was Sawyer who made her move to the professor’s house and Sawyer again who sent monsters to attack the school that Ylva had decided to defend. But all of that was reactionary–they came to her. Ylva hadn’t taken an active hand in seeking out enemies until…
Nel frowned.
Until she went to rescue Alicia.
Though it was part of the same operation, and the Elysium Order’s inquisitors running around inside the hotel would have complicated matters, Ylva hadn’t rescued Nel. That had been Arachne along with the school professors.
Nel clutched her forehead, gritting her teeth. Maybe I really am being replaced.
“No, I’m not,” Nel said as she shook the paranoia away. Even if she was going to be replaced, she hadn’t been yet. That meant she still had a chance.
She could still prove to Lady Ylva that she was worth something. That she shouldn’t be thrown out on the streets.
Or worse.
Nel threw open the door to Ylva’s domain and marched out. She tried to keep her head held high in a confident pose.
Within ten steps her head was on a swivel as she searched and glimpsed for any sign of an attack. She didn’t glimpse very far, very often, or for very long. Being exhausted and full of all the headaches had led to her capture more than anything else, in all likelihood. But it was enough that she might have some early warning if anything happened.
Just before opening the door to the women’s ward, Nel glimpsed inside.
Her hand froze on the handle.
The professor stood off to one side, well away from a ritual circle on the floor. Her face looked like she had just finished sucking on an extremely angry lemon. One of her feet tapped against the floor with fervor rivaling a nervous rabbit.
Most of her anger appeared to be directed at Devon. The man stood in a state of undress within the circle.
In front of him sat both Eva and Arachne. Both were hooked up to one another with small tubes.