“Now quit moping around, Spencer. Get these damn masks off us and go get Ward out of Hell.”
Eva jumped at his voice. She shot him a glare, but nodded. Both of their masks melted off their faces after Eva fingered her dagger.
“I’ll add Serena’s blood to the wards before,” she trailed off as she glanced at the obelisk. Her eyes flicked up to meet with Zoe’s. “It’s heavy. Even for me. I might need help.”
“I can levitate it, at least partially.” Zoe didn’t hesitate in her response. She could almost imagine the thoughts going through Eva’s mind. Arachne could have lifted it without breaking a sweat. “Landing in your domain might be awkward, but we can manage.”
“Great,” Wayne said. His tone was almost sarcastic and he spoke with a frown, but he didn’t say anything more about her going to Hell again.
Maybe this time, I’ll have a chance to look around and inspect some things, Zoe thought. Her tutoring sessions with Shalise were just that, tutoring. All of Shalise’s classes compressed into the span of an hour or two every other week left no time to really get a thorough understanding of how Hell worked. I’ll need to grab a notebook.
“I’ll bring Serena in five minutes. Be finished by then.” Without waiting for an acknowledgment, Wayne vanished with a burst of cold air.
“Better get started,” Eva said with a sigh as she climbed to her feet. “I hope Nel finished with that salt.”
Chapter 031
Shalise jumped to her feet, ready for another attack. Lynn was at her side in an instant.
It was somewhat off-putting. Lynn’s lightning and fire was far more effective at dealing with the enigmas than anything Shalise could put out. Sure, her muscles were strong and afforded her a certain level of toughness that she would otherwise lack, but not a single one of the creatures had actually made it within grappling range since Eva had brought along Lynn.
She shouldn’t be complaining, but Lynn just looked so exhausted. Dealing with the constant attacks kept her from having a proper sleep schedule.
This time, however, both women sagged in relief as they spotted just who it was approaching the alternate women’s ward.
Zoe and Eva were walking slowly, carrying something heavy between the two of them.
“She actually got it,” Lynn mused under her breath. “I half expected to never see her again.”
Shalise gave Lynn a frown, but didn’t respond. She threw open the door to the women’s ward and ran out across the closed trap doors to see if she could help out in any way. They were carrying her salvation, supposedly.
Salvation? You were not complaining while using me to escape from the prison.
Shaking her head with a frown, Shalise shot a mental glare at Prax. She was fairly certain that she had been complaining. Even before he had taken over her body.
That was entirely unintentional. I did not intend for us to become stuck this way.
“Sounds like you’re complaining about what might get us unstuck.”
There was an uncomfortable shift in the back of her mind. Between Zagan and the dolls, he started. Whatever he was going to say vanished with a spike of annoyance.
“Well, I can’t stay here. Even with Lynn here, those things will eventually kill me. Then you’ll be stuck dealing with Zagan and the dolls anyway.”
Brushing off the resignation from Prax, Shalise raised her voice to more conversational levels. “Is that the obelisk? Do you need help?”
“Just hold the door and show us where to put it.”
Eva’s words came out quick and strained, so Shalise wasn’t about to argue. She ran up to the door and kept it from swinging shut on them while Lynn directed them to the circle she had drawn.
“Set it down here,” Lynn said. “The corner needs to point towards the center of the circle.”
Zoe and Eva complied without complaint. Once the obelisk was in place, they both heaved out great sighs of relief. Eva collapsed into the couch that had been shoved against the far wall while Zoe just leaned against its armrests, sheathing her dagger as she panted.
Pathetic. Prax’s amusement was almost palpable. We could have lifted that with one hand.
“Shalise,” Lynn said, “strip down while I get everything set up.”
Feeling the heat in her face, Shalise almost protested. Zoe and Eva were still at the couch, now talking softly to one another while Zoe pointed at the ritual circle. Lynn had already moved on to the backpack that Eva had slung on the floor. She pulled a white feather out of the bag and placed it carefully within a small circle at the side of the larger circle.
No one was paying attention to her.
I am paying attention.
“Don’t be a creep,” Shalise hissed as she pulled off her shirt.
Despite his words, Shalise couldn’t feel a hint of interest towards herself from Prax. It was just him being annoying again. A way of protesting his imprisonment within her body without angering her too much.
Maybe he wanted her to summon him once they got out.
That wouldn’t happen, though Juliana had offered to summon him back at the prison. If Shalise never interacted with him again, she wouldn’t be too upset.
But he hadn’t been that bad. He did get both herself and Juliana out of the prison safely and with their souls intact.
And the conflicting combination of anxiety and eagerness towards the ritual had Shalise feeling just a little pity for him.
He would be back in his own body, but had Zagan and the dolls to worry about, as he had just mentioned a short while ago.
Setting her folded clothes neatly to the side of the room, Shalise sat at the edge of the circle, trying and failing to cover herself as much as possible.
Why bother? Everyone in this room has seen you in various states of undress.
“Not this undressed.”
Mortal sensibilities, he scoffed.
Shalise kept her mouth shut. She didn’t want to encourage his antics. He was just as nervous as she was, but his way of relieving that tension did not agree with her.
“Center of the circle, Shal. Remain standing and face me.”
After jumping slightly at being addressed, Shalise stepped into the circle. She moved to her spot, making certain that she didn’t scuff any of the markings on the floor.
Facing Lynn meant facing the door. Her back was to the obelisk.
An assortment of items lay out in an array around her. Sigils and markings were covering the floor, all designed to direct the magic in certain patterns, to make them flow through the objects, and all sorts of things that Shalise didn’t pretend to understand.
Both Eva and Zoe moved to stand near Lynn at the front of the circle, though Lynn moved back as soon as they came near.
Taking a bag of white powder in her hands, Lynn moved around to the obelisk behind Shalise.
Craning her neck to see, Shalise watched as Lynn opened the top of the obelisk and started pouring the powder inside.
As she did, the markings and sigils on the obelisk started to glow. It was a pale, white light that sent a shiver of disgust through her body.
Once full, Lynn replaced the cap of the obelisk and returned to the head of the circle.
“We’re going to start now,” she said. “Try to remain standing. Everything will be alright.”
Shalise took a deep breath, nodding.
As she nodded, she caught sight of her shadow. The light of the obelisk filled most of the room, so it wasn’t unusual that she would have a shadow.
But the shadow looked like Prax. She could see his hooves, his horns, and his muscles. Concerning, as Shalise’s arms were currently her own. No Prax’s muscles bulging through her skin. It was also far taller than it should have been, given the angle of the light.