Before she could ask any questions about the new design, Devon spoke up.
“Not really my specialty, but I can’t detect any spells on you that might be used for tracking.”
“That’s good,” Eva said. “Right?”
Devon just hummed in response. “You didn’t bring anything back with you?”
Eva shook her head. “A pouch of bloodstones. The clothes I wore back were the ones I left in. Despite being smaller, I used some old clothes I had left behind between when I arrived and when I left.”
“The bloodstones–”
“Freshly made. They were in my sight or in my pockets from the moment I made them to when I dropped them off at my room.”
“And you didn’t trip any alarms?”
Eva shrugged. She had no idea. There had been no overt beeping or wailing, so any alarms would have been silent notifications to whoever set them. “If I did, no one showed up to murder me.”
“Too busy to respond?” Devon mused to himself. He let out a small sigh. “Or just inexperienced or plain bad at their job. Either way, probably best for both of us to avoid the entirety of Florida for a while.”
“Not worried about them tracking us down up here?”
He let out a clipped laugh. “We were in Florida for ten years, some of that before Arachne and I found you. They still showed up two years late. We probably have some time left.”
“If you’re sure,” Eva started.
She decided to let it drop. Devon had been a diabolist longer than she had been alive. He had to have plenty of experience in evading demon hunters.
Instead, Eva tapped the notebook containing her treatment circle.
After a pointed look from Eva, Devon frowned. “Still a work in progress. Since you’ve barged in here–”
“You dragged me in here,” Eva said, crossing her arms.
“Since you’re already interrupting my work, I may as well explain now rather than later. You’re going to need three donating demons.”
“I gathered as much. Why?”
“Stabilization. With Arachne, there were no variables. You and her. One and one. Changing the demon, especially so late into your treatment, could bring thousands of unknowns into play. If we select the carnivean and only the carnivean, what if it is missing things that the ritual was drawing from Arachne?”
“Something bad, I assume.”
He scoffed. “To put it mildly. So we add a second demon. If the carnivean is a point seven-five to Arachne’s one, a second demon could help fill in the blanks. A third, even better. I would prefer five or seven, but we would probably have to summon at least a few demons. Given the situation with Hell, I would rather make do with what we have on hand.”
“Alright. I can see how that would make sense.” Barely. Eva wasn’t a diabolist and even further from a demonologist than Devon claimed to be. She might be able to puzzle out several functions of the ritual circle, but she’d have no idea where to begin in creating one from scratch or even how modify the existing ones without killing herself.
“Using your number analogy,” Eva said, “what happens if a demon is greater than one? Or Arachne was less than one? Wouldn’t two fractional demons add up to more than one anyway?”
He waved his tentacle, dismissing the concern. “It is just an analogy. But it shouldn’t matter. The ritual should take what you need. Anything extra should either be ignored or integrated without issue. However, once we perform this round of treatment, you will not be able to go back to Arachne alone. Even if it shows up the very next day.”
That felt like a mild punch to her stomach. “She could be one of the three, right?”
Devon nodded. “No reason she couldn’t.”
That was a relief. Partially. Arachne would be upset either way.
“Alright. And just who are these demons going to be?”
Devon actually smiled. “Well now, that’s going to be your job isn’t it? Go convince some of the demons around town to lend their aid.”
“Me?”
Devon ignored her. He moved around the desk and pulled a second notebook from the drawer. After flipping through a few pages, he started speaking again.
“The carnivean can be one. She had already agreed to the two-year contract, it would be pointless not to use her. Unless you really want a different third and convince that third. But I’m hoping that the fact that you have her eyes will aid in compatibility.
“The hel would be another good option. She’s powerful, which can’t hurt. Not sure how her pact with Death will affect things, but that is a minor issue at worst.”
Eva nodded at that. She had already considered Ylva back before she knew that they would need three demons.
A thought struck her as Devon flipped a few more pages through his book. An insane, suicidal thought.
“You said that powerful is good, right? What about–”
“No.”
“But–”
“I came plenty close to brushing shoulders with the pillar back in your domain, thank you very much.”
Eva pouted for a moment, just a moment, before a cruel smile crossed her lips. “The great demonologist. Scared.” She shook her head in mock sorrow. “Who would have thought that he would pass up the opportunity to experiment with and research a legitimate devil.”
Devon narrowed his eyes. “I don’t need your cheek, girl.”
“It isn’t like he doesn’t know. He doesn’t call me ’embryonic’ because I’m a teenager. Since you’re not dead, he obviously doesn’t care.”
“Exactly. He doesn’t care. Let’s not give him a reason to start.”
“It can’t hurt to ask.”
Devon brought his tentacle to his forehead and started rubbing it raw. “If you wind up enslaved, killed, disappeared, changed, or otherwise unable to undergo treatment in one week, I will find out where you are and murder you. Again, if necessary.”
Eva beamed at him. “See? You do care. Still going to ask though. It isn’t like he is going to say yes.”
Chapter 004
“We decline your request.”
Eva blinked, not quite sure what to say. Her hands moved from the floor where she knelt to rub back and forth in front of her chest.
That had not been the response that she had expected or wanted.
“Rest assured, We do not decline out of malice.”
Eva looked up at Ylva.
The apartment adjacent to Zoe’s was a far cry from the splendor of Ylva’s domain. Everything was entirely mundane. The kitchen appliances were beige colored and looked like they belonged in the eighties. Black and white checkered linoleum covered the floor in half the apartment while shag carpet made up the rest.
Something that Eva had noticed inside of Ylva’s domain was that any messes that were made ended up disappearing in a short time. That seemed to have carried over to the apartment as well. Everything within was spotless.
Outside of Ylva’s room, the building wasn’t exactly a five-star dwelling. Inside, it looked as if someone had taken a fine bristled toothbrush over every inch of everything. The kitchen sparkled, the floor shined, the curtains looked brand new, and there wasn’t a hint of dust in the air.
Though clean, Ylva hadn’t acquired any new furniture for the place.
Ylva’s chair had clearly not been designed with someone of her stature in mind. It was too small by half. Ylva must have done something to it, or it would have snapped under her weight. Not to say that Ylva was overweight, it was just that she had a few feet on the average human. While not in her skeleton form, she had a good amount of meat on her bones as well.
Eva hadn’t gone into the bedroom, but she was willing to bet that the bed would be small even for a human. The apartment complex was just cheap like that.
It took a moment before she remembered that Ylva probably didn’t sleep much anyway.
All in all, Ylva stood out from her surroundings like the proverbial elephant in the room.