Overconfidence and delusions of superiority.
Now, Eva thought, how best to take advantage of that?
Eva flicked her eyes back to Juliana and Srey. Taking a few deep breaths, Eva tried to calm herself down.
Being called a snack just irritated her. She was fairly certain that it would irritate anyone. It was just demeaning. Which fit with what she knew of his strain, she supposed.
Serena asking for her blood had been annoying in persistence, but not so much in how she asked. Not to mention the fact that Serena was more or less Eva’s friend. She wasn’t some random vampire who showed up out of nowhere feeling entitled to a taste of her blood.
Wanting it, maybe. But not entitled.
Eva shook her head, clenching her fists. She was getting herself worked up again.
Focusing, she kept her voice as calm as possible.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t pluck your fangs from your mouth.”
That actually had his smile faltering. Though the blood inside him was dead and stale, she could still see it. Specifically, she could see his tongue run along the backside of his fangs.
Good. Let him be a little nervous.
“You come out here, harass my friends, and think I’m going to willingly give up my blood as a dessert? Really, I should just kill you and damn the consequences. In fact, I bet there wouldn’t be any consequences. I’d get some good will with the Elysium kids at least.”
“Ah yes,” he said, slowly regaining his confidence with a shift of his weight to his opposite hip, “I suppose I have you to thank for them following me around.”
“They actually figured out who the vampire was?” Eva said with genuine surprise. It hadn’t been long since she had told them. A day or so plus a few hours. Not to mention, those two really didn’t seem like they had much training. Of course, they didn’t need training to light up their eyes and scan the room upon entering the cafeteria. Depending on how quickly they could glean information, they could have just flickered their connection on and off to reveal the vampire.
Eva narrowed her eyes into a venomous glare as another thought occurred to her. “If you led them out here, I really will kill you.”
The vampire’s grin widened. “I knew you were bluffing,” he said, emanating airs of pure confidence. As if he actually knew that Eva wasn’t going to kill him. Before Eva could object, he continued. “But fear not. Those bumbling children are as obvious as the midday sun. Slipping away was a simple matter.”
Arrogant though he was, Eva didn’t believe he was lying. Mostly because she couldn’t sense either of the nascent nuns. While they could be too far away and spying with binoculars, Eva doubted it.
Because the vampire was right. They were not subtle.
Despite the slight relief she felt at his words, Eva found herself growing irritated again.
Eva again considered setting up blood wards around the ritual site. Unfortunately, she was right in the middle of the school. Though unlikely given the size of the Infinite Courtyard, it was entirely possible for students to happen across the place. Her ward’s outer pain should keep them away before they start exploding. It would have to be far enough away that the ritual circle wouldn’t be visible.
Which would just increase the size of the already large area by a great deal, making it all the more likely that it would be stumbled across.
And with the pain effect of her ward, describing it wouldn’t be difficult. It was too signature to her blood magic. Zoe and Wayne both knew about it. If a student happened across, felt the pain, and went to tell the staff, Eva’s involvement would quickly become common knowledge. Then people would wonder what she was hiding out here.
Especially Zoe and Wayne.
She knew that they were probably going to find out at some point. Either she would tell them or they would find out on their own. But Eva was somewhat hoping that they wouldn’t find out until everything was past the point of no return.
If they found out earlier, Eva would have some explaining to do. She did not want to have to think up what to say to them.
But, for the moment at least, she could put that off.
“I recommend you leave,” Eva said.
“Leave?” the vampire said with a dark chuckle. “You drag me all the way out here and expect me to leave empty-handed? I don’t think so.”
Eva opened her mouth.
She didn’t get a chance to say anything. The vampire vanished.
Behind her, Arachne took a hit to her stomach. She went flying through the air until gravity remembered it existed. Crashing into the ground, she tumbled through an already completed section of the ritual circle.
Eva turned with a snarl.
Only to find the vampire missing once again. Cold fingers clamped down on her. One hand on her shoulder and the other on the side of her head.
Before the vampire behind her could wrench her head to the side and bite down, Eva burst into flames.
Her hair was already short and ruined from the hunters’ idol. A little singe around her neckline wouldn’t be that noticeable. The rest of her head could stay extinguished. That was really all she cared about. Her clothes were easily replaceable. Modesty? Worthless. Her skin… well, she was a demon. She should be able to hold up to a few minutes of sustained flames.
On the other hand, a vampire had several very well known weaknesses. Sunlight for one. Beheading and stakes to the heart as well. Garlic, Eva was less certain about and she doubted that flowing water would give a vampire pause unless they stopped to weigh the consequences of getting their clothes wet.
Fire was one of the weakness that she rated fairly high. Right up there with sunlight. Perhaps higher even, given her lack of ability in making the sun suddenly rise.
The vampire yelped, releasing her at once. Eva did not hesitate to slam her flaming elbow back and into his stomach. At the same time, she stomped on his foot. Her leg forced her foot through his, shattering bones and puncturing skin.
He jumped back, stumbling as he landed. Before he even regained his proper balance, he started patting out the flames on his chest.
Eva spun, blinking straight behind him. She barely kept the presence of mind to keep a closed fist as she punched him in the back of the head.
He went face first straight to the ground.
Eva planted a foot on his back even as the earth wrapped up around his limbs, holding him to the ground
She didn’t turn to thank Juliana. Any calm she had regained since being called a snack vanished the moment he attacked. Looking up at them, she wasn’t sure what her face would look like.
But she didn’t want to scare Juliana and Srey any further than they already were.
Instead, she focused all of her anger on the vampire beneath her foot. Her flaming foot that was digging into the squirming vampire’s backside. Murder was a definite temptation at the moment. As was torture. Maybe both, though in the reverse order. Torture then murder made much more sense than the reverse.
Sawyer’s torture session hadn’t gone over so well. Perhaps it would be best to skip over it. Maybe tying him to a tree for the sun to have would count as torture.
But he was still a student. The same arguments against killing him still applied. Although now she could legitimately claim self-defense, she would have to explain why she had been out in the Infinite Courtyard. Saying that she was out looking for event clues might work.
She would have to drag him away from the ritual circle first. Or kill him then drag his body away. Either way might leave trails leading back, revealing the circle when people undoubtedly investigated his death.
No. It would be best to either kill him later or find some way of controlling him. Even just something to keep him away from her would be enough.
Arachne was already crawling back on six legs—the two that had been severed closer to the base still hadn’t fully grown back—face twisted in a snarl. She might be a bit overeager.