Eva shrugged. “I’m not the one who has been getting death glares. Do you think she would hurt you?” Eva held up her hand before the ex-nun could respond. “I don’t care. But I bet Ylva does.” Go bother her, Eva tacked on in her mind.
Update on Sawyer received and wanting nothing more from the augur, Eva left. Nel stayed still behind her altar with a thoughtful expression on her face.
The cold January air smacked her in the face with a bundle of snow the moment she stepped outside Ylva’s domain. After taking a few deep breaths to flush the frankincense from her system, Eva ignited her hands.
Fire crept up her arms, right to the edge of where her carapace met skin. She held up her hands to her face. Heat washed over her, blocking the cold from reaching her exposed skin.
Snow, Eva had decided, was one of her mortal enemies. Not quite as high on her list as Sawyer, but still somewhere up there. Maybe it was because of her treatments, or maybe it was just having lived in Florida for most of her life. Whatever it was, the cold just did not agree with her.
Running barefoot–the cold of the snow didn’t bother her exoskeleton much–Eva made her way to Devon’s building. She sprinted straight to the top, feeling no fatigue in her legs. She pounded out three short knocks on the door.
And waited.
And waited some more.
Eva was almost confident that he was in. Devon never left if he could help it.
However, there would usually be a sign that he was in. The tell-tale sound of books snapping shut, drawers snapping shut, jars clanking closed, or some other manner of him hiding whatever he was doing.
This time, there was nothing but silence.
“Master?” Eva called out as she knocked again. “Are you home?”
Again, Eva waited. Again, nothing answered but silence.
Trying the handle, Eva blinked in surprise. It wasn’t even locked.
Something was definitely wrong. It didn’t matter if her master was in or out, he almost never forgot to lock the door.
She pushed the door inwards. With cautious steps, Eva moved inside, half expecting a trap.
No flames exploded in her face. No shackles had been set up around the door. There wasn’t even a trip-wire hooked up to a shelf of unpleasant potions.
Devon was missing as well.
His bed was made, his books were neatly set into the shelf, and his desk was clean of any work. The uncanny tidiness of it all served to draw Eva’s eye to the center of the room.
A half-drawn pattern covered the floor. It wasn’t like any summoning circle Eva had ever seen. In fact, it wasn’t even a circle. Part of it was missing, but it would have formed a triangle if it had been finished. The part that was missing looked more like a miniature explosion had gone off. Part of the stone ground was chipped and scattered about the room.
Eva knelt down right at the edge. Even damaged, she wasn’t interested in stepping in the center. In fact, because it was damaged, she should definitely keep out. There could be residual magic hiding in the inscriptions if the ritual had been activated. Who knew what kind of nasty effects that could cause.
Unfortunately, Eva didn’t recognize any of the scribbles on the whole side of the triangle. Some looked a lot closer to the designs within her treatment ritual circle than any other demonic magics. But, from what Eva knew, they were all wrong.
“Just what was he trying to do?” Eva mumbled to herself.
“None of your business.”
Eva jumped, whirling around to find Devon standing in the doorway. She had been so concentrated on the markings on the floor that she hadn’t even checked for any blood systems around her.
He stepped forward, trench coat billowing behind him. “You just barge into my room? I remember when you had some respect for me.”
“I was worried about you,” Eva said with a frown. That frown turned into a good-natured smile. “Besides, all that respect vanished out the window when I met some people who could actually fight with magic. Imagine my surprise when I find out that you’re not as good as you claim to be.” After a faux-sigh, Eva said, “I guess you’ll just have to content yourself with the fact that you’re the number one demonologist I know.”
“Such cheek,” he said with a sneer.
Eva just laughed.
“I suppose you being here does save me the effort of writing a letter. I got a job in Colorado.”
“A ‘job’ job?” Eva said as she stood up. “Or a real job?”
“There are rumors of a nihasa running around. Some kid probably summoned it and got killed, freeing it to roam.”
“A ‘job’ then. I’m not familiar with a nihasa.”
“Minor demon. Like if a succubus and an imp had a kid that took mostly from the imp side of the family.”
Eva frowned slightly. Imps were sort of disgusting little things. Almost like goblins, except worse. Barely sentient at that. And a succubus? Some people were into some pretty strange things.
After shaking her head, Eva asked, “need any help?”
“Not from you. I’m going to be giving out a few trial runs to some demons.”
Eva blinked. “Undominated?”
He just gave a grunt of acknowledgment, brushing around past her to his desk. He opened the bottom drawer and started rummaging through.
“Well,” Eva said, “if you’re going to be running around with undominated demons, maybe you would be interested in a real job.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?” he asked without glancing up.
“Martina Turner wanted me to let you know that there was a job offer at Brakket for you. Teaching kids.”
“I’d rather throw myself down that giant hole in Ylva’s domain.”
Eva nodded, curling a strand of hair around her finger. “I thought as much. When are you going to be back?”
“In time for your February treatment.” He continued rummaging for a few seconds before freezing solid. His neck craned his head over his shoulder. “Don’t you dare send a haunter after me again.”
“It worked, didn’t it?”
Devon pulled a small black rectangle from the desk. A tiny book. He shook it in Eva’s direction. “Don’t send any damn demons after me. I can take care of myself. Now get out. I’ve got to collect a few things and then I’m gone.”
Eva shrugged and started towards the door.
“And Eva,” Devon called as she reached the threshold. “Don’t get yourself killed while I’m gone.”
“I could say the same about you.”
—
Eva stepped into the spare room in her women’s ward. Even with the door opened, the light failed to penetrate far enough to reach the opposite wall. There was nothing but shadows.
And eight red eyes glowing in the darkness.
“Hello Eva.”
“You know, I didn’t ever say that you had to lock yourself up in the dark like this.”
There was a slight pause as the eight red eyes tilted to one side. “I prefer it this way.”
“Fair enough.” Eva slid the door open as wide as it could possibly go. Just enough light entered to reveal a thin fold of cloth held in Arachne’s hands. “Another one?”
Arachne held it up to the light, letting the long tapestry unfold in its full glory.
A life-sized portrait of Eva stared back at the real girl.
It looked like her, but the pose and expression just didn’t fit with reality. Arachne fashioned her as some sort of empress. Really, it was like looking at Ylva with black hair and red eyes. Though it wasn’t quite finished. Arachne was working upwards. The top half of her head was missing entirely.
“Me again? Why not you?”
“Weaving is something I do to pass the time. I have more than enough of myself back in Hell. There is no shortage of time there.”
“How about us then? Both of us, together. Defeating foes or just sitting around resting.”
“Maybe.” With a swift movement of several legs poking out of her back, Arachne pulled the tapestry back up into her lap. “After I finish this one.”