And then she did something entirely unexpected.
She reached out her arms and wrapped them around Shalise.
In all of Sister Cross’ visits to the home, never once had she shown any kind of physical affection towards any one of the children. She brought gifts and kind words. Advice and support.
But a hug?
Shalise stood still, not quite sure how to respond. Eventually, she allowed her instincts to take over. She reached out and patted Lynn on the back.
Carefully of course. Prax’s muscle strength was not to be underestimated.
“Thanks,” Shalise said, voice barely above a whisper.
As Lynn released Shalise, her eyes started to glow. White light flooded through the room. Lightning crackled off of her fingertips.
“Let them come,” she said.
— — —
Ylva, Eva could tell, was not amused.
The corners of her lips were drawn back into a snarl. It wasn’t an expression that Eva had ever seen on the normally regal woman.
Though the time after Zoe had been attacked came close.
Eva just shrugged her shoulders as she kicked another of the enigmas down the giant pit. She felt as if she should be shouting some taunt with every kick, but after the fifth one, it lost its novelty. That they probably couldn’t understand her added to her reluctance.
“Is that all of them?”
Ylva gave a slow nod without glancing in Eva’s direction. Her eyes were focused off towards one archway where Alicia had just emerged. Nel trailed after her, touching the tips of her fingers together as her eyes darted around.
Alicia dragged the smoking carcass of another enigma behind her. With a grunt, she flung it over the edge of the pit.
“We no longer feel the taint left behind by those creatures.”
“Right,” Eva said. “So any clue? Any insights from the Death side of things?”
At this, Ylva finally turned to face Eva. Her eyes narrowed into thin slits.
Eva took an involuntary step back, wondering if she hadn’t overstepped some bounds. The only thing that kept her from fleeing and returning while Ylva was in a better mood was the fact that the gaze wasn’t hostile. She could feel herself being weighed and measured, but not being considered for extermination.
Ylva cricked her neck to one side while her expression returned to its usual regal impassiveness. The pressure on Eva lifted as she broke eye contact.
Whatever Ylva had been measuring her for, Eva breathed a sigh of relief that she had not been found wanting.
“These creatures do not die. Neither do they return from whence they came, as demons do. Their souls remain trapped and tethered within their unmoving flesh, tainting and corroding. No part of them touches Death’s domain.”
“Does that mean they can heal themselves and come back?” The corpses back in her domain had been dumped without ceremony within a small pit on the island. If they could indeed return, they would probably need incineration to ash at the very least. Removed and then stored someplace where they wouldn’t be able to escape would be a good second.
At the very least, she needed to warn Shalise and Sister Cross.
But Ylva shook her head. “They displayed a mild regeneration during their time in Our domain. Further study upon the one you captured may be required.”
“The source doesn’t know anything about them, Lady Ylva. Holy fire burns their bodies well enough.”
Eva turned to Alicia as the latter got to her knees before Ylva. Though she found the behavior to be disturbing to the highest degree, Ylva merely nodded an acknowledgment.
At least Nel didn’t feel the need to be so sycophantic.
“Then,” Eva said, “the tainting and corroding. There are a couple of these things dead in my domain. Will bad things happen if they aren’t removed?”
“That is how We feel. Surely you noticed the unpleasant aura surrounding these creatures.”
“I have,” Eva said with a slight shudder. Unpleasant was a light word for the feeling. “But it went away after the enigmas died–or stopped moving.”
“Went away?” Ylva asked with a raised eyebrow. “Or perhaps became too subtle to notice.”
Add getting rid of those corpses to my to-do list, Eva thought with a frown. Maybe I can find a good way of dumping the corpses in Willie’s domain. If he wasn’t already back, his domain might be all nice and ruined by the time he got back.
“I know what they are,” Nel blurted out.
She wilted as everyone turned their gaze in her direction.
“I-I mean… not what they are. But I’ve seen them before. That devil,” she spat, “he brought me an object to use my augur abilities upon. That happened earlier today.” Nel’s eyes grew to the size of saucers as she looked at Ylva in horror. “I-I meant to tell you immediately. But you were gone and then the earthquake and the creatures…”
“Calm yourself.” Ylva placed a hand on Nel’s head. “You have done nothing wrong.”
Being such a giant, Ylva’s hand encompassed almost the entirety of Nel’s hair. Slowly, she rubbed her hand back and forth as if she were petting a dog.
It struck Eva as an odd display of affection. Probably something she picked up while going to school with Zoe.
“Continue your tale.”
Nodding under Ylva’s hand, Nel did so. “I don’t know how to describe what I saw. Like a planet, except it was made up of things. Those things,” she gestured towards the pit, “and other creatures. There was so much to take in, I feel I only got a sliver. And that’s just what I could see.
“The most important thing was what I felt. The stretching and pulling of my consciousness. It felt just like when I was searching for Eva’s friends while standing in the waters.”
Eva blinked. “Another plane of existence?”
“That’s just what I felt. I can’t see into Hell without standing in the waters. And I can’t see into Ylva’s domain from outside. So I don’t know why I would be able to see some other plane.”
“These things have been popping up all around Hell related things. The imp summoning proves that it isn’t just me and Ylva. There is something with Hell,” Eva waved her hands vaguely around the air, “that connects with these things, and their home plane.”
“We concur.” Ylva brought a finger to her chin as her brows furrowed in thought. “Question instead what Power lies behind these creatures’ creation and actions.”
Eva waited, expecting her to continue on and reveal the Power’s name.
But she didn’t. Her thoughtful look continued long enough for the silence to become somewhat awkward.
“Perhaps we should speak with Devon, he might know,” Eva eventually said. “He has had a number of associations with the minions of various Powers.”
A look devoid of amusement appeared on Ylva’s face. “It is difficult to believe that a mortal would have knowledge on powers that We lack. That is aside from his distasteful personality.”
Eva just shrugged, heading off towards the exit of Ylva’s domain. “A second opinion then.”
Besides, she thought, if I’m to get rid of those corpses in my domain, I’ll need to get Zoe to accept another beacon.
— — —
“You are a despicable man.”
“Funny,” Devon said. He stood up from the circle drawn on the floor, cracking his back as he moved. “I imagined you to be the type to want to save kids’ lives.”
Zoe bristled. Her brief anger dissipated with a few soft words. “Not like this…” Louder, she said, “you’re going to turn him into the same thing that Eva is.”
“Maybe.”
Gritting her teeth, Zoe pinched her eyes shut. The only thing that kept her from physically assaulting Devon was her current task.
Tending to the child called Simon. Close up and despite her relative lack of medical skills, Zoe could tell that he was beyond feverish. If something wasn’t done soon, he could suffer brain damage just from the heat of his own body. She was doing her best to keep him cool, but that was superficial at most.