Eva had cast a shadow. One with wings that dripped as if they had been made of liquid. Blood, Eva had guessed based on her magical preference. Along with those wings had been horns. Not gigantic ones like Zagan or even the moderately sized horns on Catherine’s succubus form. Eva’s shadow had just a few inches worth of horns.
But in real life, Eva could only feel a slight bump. Like a knuckle. Not even a half-inch. Interestingly, the skin on her forehead felt like it ended right around the horns. So she definitely had something poking out.
She would have to look in a mirror later on to get a better grasp of what she looked like. Just from the feel, her hair should be able to adequately hide them. So long as they didn’t grow, that was.
Another thing that Eva noticed were the bumps on her back. Unlike her forehead, the skin wasn’t broken. In fact, it might be nothing at all. Eva didn’t often feel up her backside and doing so was awkward. For all she knew, she might just be feeling her shoulder blades. The only reason she had checked in the first place was because of that shadow.
Finding nothing else abnormal or immediately alarming, Eva glanced up to Arachne. “What happened?”
“Your ritual was interrupted.”
Eva blinked, turning towards Catherine. “Interrupted? How?”
“A Void portal opened beneath your body just as the ritual was finishing.”
“Well,” Eva said, patting the ground. “I’m not in Hell.” The cement platform that the ritual circle had been drawn on was just as solid as it ever was. No sign of any portals around her at the moment.
“We thought you had died in the middle and were being drawn in. Tendrils came out, holding you in place rather than pulling you down. One touched your forehead before the entire thing vanished.”
Eva frowned. Rubbing at her forehead, she couldn’t feel anything off aside from the horns. Her fingers came away clean. No goop or muck. She didn’t think that she was thinking differently, but then, would she know if she was?
Perhaps the horns had been a gift from Void Himself. Flattering yet terrifying that she had the personal attention of a Power.
“Your thoughts?”
Catherine shook her head. “I have no idea what to think. Even though I know that you’re a weak little girl who is still partially human, I feel as though I should either be fleeing or bowing.”
“Really? Huh,” Eva said with a slight frown. She resented being called a weak little girl. At the same time, physically, Catherine was right. Partially. Hands and legs aside, Eva felt human.
Being bowed to might be nice though.
Climbing to her feet and brushing off some specks of dirt, she glanced towards Qrycx.
And watched in confusion as the carnivean flinched.
“Alright,” Eva said slowly. Disregarding the demon, she turned to Arachne. “What about you?”
“I won’t care what you become,” the spider-demon answered without hesitation. She didn’t flinch, look away, or avert her eyes.
“But you’re saying that I have become something,” Eva said slowly.
No one responded to that. They didn’t really need to. Something had obviously happened.
Glancing around with her own eyes, Eva still couldn’t spot Devon anywhere. The basketball court that had become her ritual circle had a decent sight range of everything around. It was just outside the machine shop building that Eva hadn’t bothered entering since her first tour of the place. The four cell block buildings separated the courtyard from the rest of the prison; the women’s ward, the burned out dining hall, solitary confinement, and some of the official buildings.
“Devon? He didn’t fall into the portal I hope.”
Catherine shook her head. “He ran off as soon as the portal closed, grumbling something about needing his notebook.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Five minutes?” Catherine said with a shrug. “The portal event didn’t last long at all. Maybe a full sixty seconds at the most. After that, the ritual circle expended its power.”
Eva rubbed her chin, mind churning over everything that she had already thought all over again. Unfortunately, whether or not her treatment was still on track would have to wait for Devon to return.
“What about your ritual? Still planning on it?”
“Of course,” Catherine said, suddenly a great deal more haughty than she had been. “Your troubles don’t concern me in the slightest. I shall get the ritual circle ready immediately.” An almost feral grin appeared on her face. “In fact, if Void wants to touch me, I’ll gladly accept any offering of power.”
She turned slightly, addressing the full group rather than just Eva. “Leave now unless you intend to help. Actually, no. Just leave. I’ll not have any of you sabotaging my work.”
Eva was about to protest the suspicion. She wouldn’t have done something like that. Especially not after Catherine had just helped out with her ritual.
With the glare Catherine had leveled towards Qrycx, it was clear that the comment hadn’t been intended for Eva in the first place.
Taking her leave, Eva headed off towards the cell blocks. Arachne followed along behind her. Eva only stopped for a moment at the edge of the ritual circle to collect her clothing and dagger.
Specifically, she aimed for Devon’s building. She went straight to the top floor where Devon had set up his makeshift home. A few cells had their walls knocked down to make a larger space for him. The bars blocking off the front of the cells had been melted out with Devon’s flames and had been replaced with plywood that he had probably stolen.
Not the most secure place with such weak walls, though he had put up a few wards to strengthen the wood. It was still secure enough that Eva wouldn’t want to force her way in.
So she knocked.
Devon opened the door almost immediately. Eva had expected that he would as he had been standing just on the other side, moving towards it as if he had been about to open it anyway.
“Cath–”
He cut himself off as he saw who was at the door. Narrowing his eyes, he looked Eva up and down. “You’re awake.”
“Obviously.”
Reaching out, Devon’s hand immediately found the two bumps on her forehead. He hummed and hawed for a moment before snapping open a notebook and marking a few quick notes down. “I need a vial of your blood.”
It was Eva’s turn to narrow her eyes. “You’ve never asked for blood before. What are you going to use it for?”
“Tests.” He rolled his eyes. “Obviously.”
“How long will these tests take? What will you do with it after?”
“As long as I need. Might even ask for more later. We have to make sure that nothing has gone wrong.”
Eva sighed. As much as she didn’t want to place her blood in the hands of anyone else, Devon was one of the least likely people to do anything untoward with it. She pulled her dagger out and dug it into her arm.
Just as Devon held up his tentacle. “Not that blood. I’d prefer blood untouched by other magic.” He ducked back into his room, leaving Eva to heal her cut. “I have a syringe somewhere around. Just give me a minute to find it.”
“A syringe?” Eva said as she moved into the fairly spartan room. There wasn’t much to it, just a bed, a desk, and a great deal of locks on the door. While it was tidy, it wasn’t necessarily clean. “That is ‘somewhere around’ here? How long has it been sitting around? Has it been used? Why do you even have a syringe?”
Devon paused his rummage through his desk. “You ask far too many questions, girl.”
“I think that I’d rather just cut myself with a regular knife and bleed into a vial.”
“Not an option. I want as little contamination as possible.”