“Your grip has tightened since Halloween.”

“I heard you were staying in town for Christmas,” Eva shrugged. “I went out to buy a stress ball straight away.”

Genoa Rivas barked out a laugh. “Good. Good.”

She released Eva’s hand and clasped her own on the shoulder of her partner. With a light shove, the spindly man stumbled forwards. He managed to avoid crashing into Eva by inches.

“This is my husband, Carlos.”

A spindly arm stretched out to Eva. “H-hello,” he said in a high-pitched voice.

“Eva,” she said. Just as she had with Genoa, Eva carefully took his hand in her own gloved hand. She gave the lightest of squeezes, even lighter than she had with Genoa.

He still winced.

It had been getting better over the last month. The amount of crushed pens and pencils had dropped significantly. Almost. At least she felt good enough about her grip to touch other people again.

Carlos tapped the side of his coke-bottle glasses when Eva released his hand. “I heard you have an interesting pet.”

Eva shot a glance at a shrugging Juliana. The blond already took her seat at the large clock-faced table.

“She’s currently staying with my guardian out of town.”

The smile on his face faltered for just a moment. It quickly returned, though not quite as strong.

Eva wondered if she hadn’t ruined Christmas for the poor man. Not that she’d go around showing off Arachne even if it would have been the best day in his life.

“A shame,” Carlos said. He took his seat next to Genoa.

Eva followed suit, glad her seat didn’t have the spinning saw-blade beneath it. It wasn’t making noise and probably wasn’t real. She still wasn’t feeling up to testing it, given that she could actually see it.

If the Liddellest Cafe redecorated for Christmas, it wasn’t very apparent. As far as Eva could tell, it was the same quaint cafe she visited in November. One table was a large mushroom with several toadstools around for seats. Another table was completely flat. She recalled that it had been made out of cards the last time she was here.

No decorations hung from the ceiling. If anything had changed, it might have been the colors.

She hadn’t found a way around seeing colors.

A tea-pot wandered over and poured out a cup and some tea. Eva took a sip and winced. Oyster tea.

“Juli tells me that you two aren’t heading out into the Infinite Courtyard for the school’s Christmas party,” Genoa said.

Juliana coughed and pushed her tea-cup away from her. “A few of our friends decided to stay in and do a simple gift exchange.”

“Something I am very thankful for,” Eva said. “The cold and I are not on good terms.”

“Aren’t you a fire mage?”

“I’ll just say that I am still learning, and we’ll leave it at that.”

“Is the school’s fire magic teacher not very good?” Carlos asked after taking a long sip of his tea.

“I don’t have anyone to compare Professor Calvin to, but he seems alright. At first I was thinking I might be bad at fire magic, but others in my year seem to be having the same difficulty.”

A large platter walked onto the table and started handing out small plates of Christmas ham to everyone. Eva quickly took a large bite, thankful to be spared further elaboration. That the ham tasted like ham was also something to be thankful for.

Genoa didn’t seem so willing to let it go. “It doesn’t have anything to do with the…” Her fingers pointed at her own eyes.

“Mother,” Juliana started in a warning tone. “I believe we discussed this in my letter. No constant badgering over Eva.”

Eva just smiled. That answered the question of why neither of her parents asked about the blindfold.

“It isn’t constant and it isn’t badgering. It was a question.” Genoa dropped her voice to a low whisper. “I can’t believe those Elysium Sisters are parading themselves around as heroes. I knew they were no good.”

“Now, now dear,” Carlos said, patting her thigh under the table. “Let’s not make a scene.”

Eva decided to switch the subject off the nuns before Genoa did anything loud. She had apparently been told the version of the story where the nuns showed up too late to rescue Eva’s eyes.

“I don’t think my eyes are as much of a hindrance as everyone else thinks. Professor Lurcher taught me how to use fire magic to constantly detect the ambient temperature of everything around me. I can see as well or better, so long as things aren’t exactly the same temperature as their surroundings. Even then, the heat radiating off of me and other people hits the things and creates a sort of bump where they are.”

At least, that was the cover Zoe Baxter told her to give. The school staff didn’t want it to become public knowledge that a student was actively using dark magic at school. They seemed to be under the impression that the dark magic was the necromancer’s doing.

That was fine with Eva. Zoe hadn’t told anyone. Juliana hadn’t told anyone. And Eva was certainly in no rush to correct that misconception.

“I see, that is clever. Air mages can sense wind direction almost innately. What you’re doing is probably something similar.” Genoa nodded, seeming to accept the lie easily.

They ate in peace while discussing school topics. How much Juliana hated history came up more than once, courtesy of her father. He didn’t mention either of their ecology classes. Eva thought he would be all over Professor Twillie’s class, at the very least.

Creatures found in a normal zoo were apparently too commonplace for him.

Eva briefly considered asking Genoa if she had any interesting stories. Carlos stood up just as Eva opened her mouth.

“Look at the time,” Carlos sad with a glance at the table. “We must be off or we will be missing our flight.”

He must have a supernatural sense for when someone is going to ask for a story, Eva thought with a frown.

“Flight?”

“Your father and I are traveling to Russia for all of January and February.”

“In the middle of winter?” Eva couldn’t help but shudder at the thought. She though Montana was cold and yet Russia was known for freezing temperatures.

“Quite so,” Carlos said with a grin, “it is the best time to observe leshenka. All the Russians drinking to keep warm draws them out in hordes.”

Juliana opened her mouth but her mother headed her off. “Don’t worry, your father and I have other plans to keep warm.”

“Mother…”

Genoa barked out a laugh as she pulled on her heavy fur coat.

Eva wondered if she planned on wearing more in Russia than the straps exposing most of her skin she currently wore.

“Oh, yes.” Genoa dropped a hand in her pocket and pulled out two objects. “Merry Christmas, you two. Good luck with your gift exchange,” she said. After dropping the objects on the table, she ushered herself and a politely waving Carlos out of the cafe.

Eva pulled all the tiny flecks of her blood off their clothes as they left. She moved some to the small box in front of her.

Juliana already had hers open. “Oh mother,” she mumbled.

Eva kept her blood off of it, wanting it to be something of a surprise for when she opened her own box.

It was a little cardboard box that folded back at the top. Eva gently pulled it open and flooded the inside with blood. A tiny flood. Just enough to get a good read on what was inside.

It took a minute to figure out what she was looking at. At first, she thought it was a coil of rope. It moved. A snake maybe? Except it didn’t have any blood.

Puzzled, Eva turned to Juliana’s and sent a few flakes to check her gift out.

Standing in her hand was a miniature bird. At least, it had wings and feathers and clawed talons. It stood up like a human and had a human-like face, minus the feathers making up its hair.

A harpy?

It was moving around too despite also having no blood.

“Oh,” Juliana said as she glanced over, “a basilisk. I think they’ve only made five or six of those.”

Eva sent more blood beneath the little snake. Sure enough, there was a head and very sharp feeling fangs. She carefully stuck her hand down in the box and picked it up. Eva didn’t believe Genoa would hand out things that could actually hurt her.

Hopefully.

It squirmed over her gloves, wrapping itself between her fingers before settling down. Its tail threaded between the rest of her fingers and coiled its head onto her palm.

It stared straight at her.

“I suppose I’m glad I’m blind.”

“Don’t be silly, it can’t hurt you. They make these and sell them for a lot of money. I wish I knew how. They said they’d teach me when I got older.”

The little harpy in her hands flapped its wings and fluttered to her shoulder.

“The harpy is a humanoid though. If they’ve made five basilisks and they’re extremely rare, the humanoid ones are essentially nonexistent.”

Eva looked back at the snake in her hand. She wiggled her fingers. It didn’t like that. After scurrying between her fingers again to reset its position, it hunkered down on her palm with a glare.

“They’re not alive, are they?”

“No, they’re enchanted carvings, basically. Each receives an imprint from whatever species it is. The smarter the imprintee, the more work has to go into making them.”

The basilisk in her hand continued to stare at her. Eva slowly brought her hand one way then another. The snake head followed her the entire way.

“I think it is trying to kill me,” Eva said with a grin. “I like it.”

“Figures,” Juliana said. Eva could see the blood vessels in her eyes going for a roll. “My mother has you pegged well.”

“Hopefully not too well.”

“Well,” Juliana shrugged, “she didn’t try to attack you. I’d say she doesn’t know everything.”

“Always a good thing in my book.”

Another teapot wandered over to their table. Eva watched as the blood in Juliana’s face scrunched up.

“Let’s get back to the dorms,” she said. “Shelby and company will be wanting to meet up soon.”

The two left quickly, arriving at the dorms just in time for curfew to settle in.

Eva did not miss the glare Sister Mable gave her at the door. Is she still sore about being berated by Sister Cross? Or could it be that she knows.

Sister Cross said she’d keep everything a secret. Eva wasn’t about to trust her word further than she could throw it. Eva caught more than a few of the nuns glancing in her direction more often than not. It was entirely possible that they found out on their own. Sensing her hands or even the cloud of blood following her around.

Eva returned the glare, or tried to; glares didn’t work so well without eyes.

They went to their room, the newly refurbished room three-thirteen, and gathered their gifts. Eva got the same thing for everyone. Everyone except for Juliana at least. She got a pen for her, but had an extra gift as well. That gift made her nervous. She wasn’t sure she wanted to give it.

Everyone else got a fountain pen and a vial of the ink she used on runes. Expensive, but they were nice and even useful if any of them wanted to learn some simple runes.

“Harpy off.”

Eva focused on the harpy sitting on Juliana’s desk while getting her gift bag.

The little harpy folded its wings and curled up into a little ball, looking like it fell asleep.

“Basilisk off,” Eva tried.

The little snake that had been wrapped around her fingers the entire way home slithered out to the palm of her hand. There it coiled up and went to sleep.

“Handy,” Eva said as she set the snake down on her own desk.

“They are just enchanted.”

“I was wondering if they’d try to eat each other if we left them alone. I guess that solves that problem.”

Juliana chuckled. “I think my harpy could stay out of reach of your snake.”

“I don’t know, basilisks are supposed to be clever, right? Basila would lay a trap.”

“Basila?”

“It needs a name, right?”

“But Basila?”

“Basiliska sounded too weird.”

“I don’t think you’re allowed to name things anymore.” Juliana sighed and glanced at the clock. “About time to go, isn’t it?”

“Give me one minute.”

Eva quickly hopped into the bathroom. Juliana didn’t like to be around when Eva pulled out her dagger.

The golden dagger had been performing admirably. Her crystal dagger still hadn’t gotten a bloodstone set in it; the bloodstone from Weilks turned out to be too large for the holder. It was depressing, but she’d promised the golden dagger blood.

The only real downside was its weight. It was a lot heavier than her crystal dagger. A lot heavier. She hadn’t noticed so much when she first got it, but then, she only carried it around for half a night with a bag of other gold.

Ylva might be able to turn it into the same black metal that she used with the skull. It felt heavier than gold but Eva could pick it up without even the slightest strain. The only problem was that Eva didn’t want to offer any additional favors to the hel. The demon got a good enough deal on destroying the book as it was.

Eva tapped the sharp edge of the dagger to her upper arm. Trying to cut through the black chitin lining her forearm was an exercise in futility. A single, tiny marble leaked from her arm before she healed it back up.

The marble split in two. Those two split in two more. Eva continued splitting the blood until there were barely above microscopic flakes floating around her. So long as she didn’t bunch them up or land too many at a single spot, no one seemed to notice.

With a clap of her hands, she vanished all the old blood. In a pinch, it would last about three hours before her control started to slip. She tried to refresh every hour, if possible.

Shelby and Irene knocked at their door while Eva was in the bathroom. Eva took special care to memorize the layout of all her friends’ circulatory systems. Despite being twins, Shelby and Irene’s were as different as night and day.

Or maybe I just don’t understand how twins work, Eva thought as she headed back to the main room.

“Hello Eva,” Shelby said with a bright smile. At least, it was probably bright. It was definitely a smile though.

Eva returned the smile, hoping once again that Shelby’s wasn’t out of pity. “Hello Shelby. Ready to head down?”

She affirmed and the four girls headed to one of the study rooms.

Eva fell in step beside Irene. She did not miss the slight increase in her heart rate as she did so. Irene had been getting better about it lately, but she still seemed on edge whenever Eva came around.

At least she was sitting next to her during alchemy again. On the rare occasions that Eva actually attended.

To her sight, the study room was a simple box. The night sky shone down on everyone else. Eva didn’t mind. Most of the study rooms had visual wards set up that she could no longer enjoy. The stars were at least subtle and out of the way, not something everyone would spend half the evening pointing out.

“Excited?” Shelby asked as she slid a table next to the one Eva set out. Irene and Juliana headed to the kitchens to pick up some food.

Eva looked up to Shelby. Even if she could see without looking at someone, it seemed polite to do so. “For Christmas? Maybe a little. Most of the Christmases back home were… lackluster.”

“You don’t talk about your home much.”

“Not much to talk about. I don’t have fancy parents like Jordan or Juliana, and no siblings to complain about like Max.” Eva sat down in a chair, satisfied they had enough tables pushed together. “How about you? We don’t hear much about the Coggins’ household.”

“Well,” Shelby started as she took a seat, “not much to say either, I suppose. Half the ‘household’ is here at school. As for the other half, one lost his job as a foreign affairs advisor and the other is a struggling musician. She plays a lyre, not exactly the most popular instrument these days.”

Eva wasn’t sure what to say to that. “More respectable than my family. My mother lies around on her back all day and my father couldn’t hold a job down if his life depended on it.”

“Let’s not play the who has a more troublesome family game,” Shelby said with a grin. “I’ve got an uncle who can’t be beat in that.”

“Fair enough.”

They sat in silence until Irene and Juliana returned with Max and Jordan in tow. The girls seemed to have recruited the two in helping to carry the meal. Neither of the boys wasted a moment in setting the food out and cutting up the large turkey they stole from the kitchen.

Max set to arranging the relish tray in fancy patterns. The celery criss crossed with carrots, leaving holes for olives in the center. Pickles and tomatoes all but danced over the top.

If he was better at magic, they might have danced.

Together they ate, talking about nothing and everything. Jokes passed around. Some got polite chuckles while others got roaring laughter. They celebrated getting through the first half of their first year.

That making it to December actually warranted celebration seemed to be lost on most of them.

Throughout it all, Eva participated where she could. She laughed at jokes–mostly polite laughs–and kept up with conversations, at least ones that she related to.

Talking about football seemed to enrapture Max and Shelby. It didn’t interest Eva in the slightest. Thankfully, she didn’t appear to be alone in that. While Jordan politely nodded along and even offered input now and again, Irene and Juliana seemed almost disgusted with the topic.

Eventually, their party wound down. Jordan pulled out his bag of gifts and everyone else followed suit. They made a quick show of handing out gifts to each other.

Irene and Shelby gave everyone a large bottle of Twisted Doe. They handed out loaves of bread and jam made by the same company.

Eva couldn’t wait to try it.

Max also handed out food. Homemade food. He sneaked off in the morning to bake up a few batches of his great grandmother’s pastries.

The smell alone almost had Eva in a drooling mess. How he hid it before he pulled them out, Eva couldn’t fathom.

Eva handed out her pens next. They seemed to be more politely received than anything, except by Jordan.

“What is the ink made out of?”

“I don’t know the exact formula, but scarab beetles from Central America as well as seaweed from the same area.”

Jordan held the small vial of ink up to a lamp on one of the side tables, inspecting it carefully.

“If you find a use for it, I can tell you where I order it from. I mostly use it for runes.”

“I’m sure it will come in handy,” he said as he set the vial back into the pen case. “Thank you.”

Having friends felt weird. She’d never given gifts before, not even to Devon or Arachne. Obviously never to her father or the kids she went to school with.

Her present being well received by at least one of her new friends brought a confused smile to her face. Eva wasn’t sure she liked it, but it was nice all the same. At least Christmas only came once a year. Coming up with a gift to give had been unpleasant.

A person moved to stand just outside the study room. Eva almost groaned as the woman placed a hand on the doorknob. There was only one person Sister Cross would be interested in speaking to inside.

The nun’s hand stopped before turning the knob. She brought it back and leaned against the wall.

Eva suppressed a sigh. That was almost worse.

The rest of the room continued handing out presents, ignorant of the troubles standing just outside.

Jordan brought out his presents. Necklaces with heavy metal pendants hanging off of them. She couldn’t tell what kind of metal it was. The pendant was a small dot with a crescent moon over it. A flame sprouted from the moon.

Everyone had the moon, but their flames were replaced by water drops, wavy lines or a large square.

Juliana finished up the group by handing out very heavy metal plates. There was something etched onto the front of it. An image of some sort. Eva couldn’t get a full picture of it without covering the plate in blood and that would have been too noticeable. She slowly traced the lines and guessed it was a person.

A person with a spider on top of their head.

With all the presents handed out, they started cleaning up from their party.

It was then that Sister Cross entered the room. She had a kind smile on. “Eva, might I have a minute of your time?” Her happy, melodious voice almost sang out.

Despite her facade of peace and happiness, her muscles were tense. Eva could tell.

Eva sighed, making sure her sigh was very apparent to all her friends, and excused herself.

Sister Cross led Eva to another study room. Whatever the fancy effect of this one was, Eva couldn’t tell.

“I see you’ve kept those hands,” Sister Cross said after she looked Eva up and down. The song-like tone was completely absent in her voice. “They’re corrupting you. I can see it.”

Eva doubted it was the hands corrupting her; Devon’s experiments would be the leading cause of any ‘corruption.’

“If you’d like me to remove them, I’d be happy to burn them off of you. It wouldn’t even be painful.”

“Sister Cross, I know you delight in ruining children’s Christmases, but I was enjoying myself with my friends. Do you have anything I care to hear about?”

Sister Cross leaned in close, all but growling as she said, “you’re a murderess who consorts with demons. You should consider salvation before it becomes necessary to strike you down.”

“I thought we were past holding Weilks’ death against me. You agreed he needed to be put down.”

“The three bloodstones strapped to your back–you got one from Weilks and one from a flesh golem. Where did you get the other?”

If Eva had any doubt her eyes were aglow, it was quashed with that statement. “A museum,” Eva said honestly. “I didn’t kill anyone for them. Surely you don’t count the flesh golem?”

“Sister Prince died last June. She was attempting to apprehend criminals,” she stressed the word, “who stole a dangerous object from a museum.”

Eva took a deep breath. She prepared her magic, channeling it into herself. “I didn’t kill your nun.”

“I didn’t think you did. Sister Prince’s cross was found amid a pile of ashes belonging to a human. I’ve seen you cast fire magic, you’re abysmal.”

“Oh.” Eva sighed, allowing some of her magic to dissipate. She couldn’t be that bad, could she? For a first year at least? Max was worse at water magic than she was at fire, after all. Most of the students weren’t much better than she was.

“You were there. Who killed her?”

It was Arachne, unless she still had scrapes of life left when her master incinerated her. She didn’t want to give the nun more reasons to go after Arachne. And Devon was still missing. Perfect to play a scapegoat.

“A diabolist by the name of Harley Warren.”

“He’s the one who summoned the demon you were with?”

“Yes.”

“We’ve been watching that demon. It hardly moves unless you are around.”

“I told her not to. She is being punished. I’d think you would appreciate that.”

Sister Cross merely hummed.

“You’re still watching me?” Eva asked after a moment.

“Always. One toe out of line…” Sister Cross held up a single finger.

Eva didn’t bother to point out that she didn’t have any toes despite Arachne being completely ready to chop off her own legs. The fake toes she currently wore were sufficient for walking, but she couldn’t run. Not without falling or expending a lot of blood to make herself toes she could control.

Eva wanted to take Arachne’s legs. She truly did. She almost went ahead with it more than once. The only thing still holding her back was not wanting to give Arachne the satisfaction. The spider-demon was being punished.

That, and the nun in front of her. Sister Cross seemed to be able to see through her clothes. Not that Eva could really complain about being able to see through things. She was far more acquainted with the intimacies of everyone’s biology than she ever wanted to be.

Sister Cross’ sigh brought Eva out of her thoughts. “Shal is coming back.”

“Good for her.”

“Despite my urgings, she doesn’t want to change roommates.” Another sigh escaped Sister Cross’ lips. “She yelled at me.”

“Good for her,” Eva said with a smile.

A hand reached out and gripped the sides of Eva’s jaw. “I swear, Eva. One toe out of line and I will kill you. You hurt Shal in the slightest–”

“Why would I save her if I wanted to turn around and hurt her,” Eva said through Sister Cross’s hand.

The nun released Eva with a light shove. She turned her back to Eva, not that such a thing mattered to her vision. “I expect you to catch her up in all her classwork. If you are anything but an exemplary friend, I’ll know.”

“I would do that without your orders. I’m sure Juliana will be willing to help with things I can’t.”

Sister Cross gave Eva an evil eye. She all but stormed out of the room.

Such an annoying woman, Eva thought as she headed back towards the party room.

The party seemed over, at least from outside the room. Only Juliana and Irene were inside. They looked like they were putting tables and chairs back in their spots.

Juliana immediately turned to Eva as she walked in. “What was that about?”

“Shalise is coming back. Sister Cross asked me to help her catch up.”

“Why did a nun tell you Shalise was coming back?” Irene asked.

Juliana answered, “Sister Cross knew Shalise before school. She apparently was a sort of family friend.”

Irene quirked her eyebrow and said, “it will be nice to see her again.”

“I was wondering if she would come back,” Juliana said as she shoved a table against one wall. “After what happened… I just wasn’t sure.”

Eva helped the finishing touches on cleaning the room. They went up to their rooms and parted ways with a merry Christmas.

“Taking a shower,” Juliana said as she jumped into the bathroom.

Eva took a seat at her desk and pulled off her gloves. They had to come off slowly and carefully. She’d torn one set of gloves getting it caught on the tips of her fingers.

Gloves off, Eva stretched out her fingers. Keeping them folded up all day was easily the biggest drawback. It wouldn’t even work if her finger’s joints weren’t weird. Each finger had six joints that could hyper-extend to a ridiculous degree.

None of that made it any more comfortable.

Eva placed the metal plate and Jordan’s necklace on her desk. With a quick swipe of her dagger, a decent sized marble of blood splashed down on the plate.

As she suspected, it was a very intricate etching of herself with a large spider sitting on her head. Arachne would love it.

Eva’s smile disappeared as she pulled open a drawer on her desk and pulled out a black marble. One part had a bright red streak running across it. She mulled it around in her fingers until Juliana popped out of the bathroom.

Eva tossed the gift back into her drawer and slammed it shut.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” Eva said. “Just closed the drawer with too much force.” She wiggled her fingers as if they were at fault.

Juliana gave a light smile and said, “you haven’t crushed anything in weeks.”

“And I didn’t crush anything this time. Just startled by the noise was all.”

While watching Eva cut herself for blood magic seemed to disturb the blond, her new hands were almost fawned over. After the initial awkwardness was settled, Eva almost couldn’t shake her off.

“My turn for a shower?”

Her hug was only stiffly returned. She pulled away from the target of her embrace and glanced over her friend.

Shalise took one look at Eva and her stomach sank.

“Y-your eyes… that isn’t from when you saved me, is it?”

Eva just tilted her head to the side in a confused look. She leaned slightly against Juliana’s desk. “No. Why would you think that? I was sitting around on the floor holding you for several minutes afterwards.”

That must have been a stupid question, Shalise thought even as she felt her face run hot. “I-I thought it might be some kind of sacrifice. Your eyes for my life or something.” Shalise hung her head.

“Nothing of the sort. I lost my eyes in a mostly unrelated accident a week or so later.” At that, Eva’s thus-far polite smile flashed into a gritting of her teeth for just an instant. It turned back into a smile before Shalise could blink. “The only sacrifice for that was your own. Speaking of, how are your hands?”

Shalise stuck out her hands and flexed her fingers. A deep scar ran lengthwise through one of her hands. “They’re all working. Sister Cross sent a special healer Sister to take a look. Doctors told me that I’d never use my right hand again but after she did her magic, I could move my fingers again.”

“That’s good. I was worried, especially about the zombie bite.” Eva moved a gloved hand to the thin leather strap over her eyes and pulled it up. “I can see for the most part thanks to magic, but I don’t have eyes currently.”

“I… don’t– That’s–” Shalise’s mouth stumbled over what to say. Her brain couldn’t even decide, it was stumbling just as much. The eye socket she held open was gross to look at, but would it be rude to turn away? Shalise didn’t know.

“You’re scaring the poor girl on her first day back,” Juliana said from her place on her bed.

Eva let out a chuckle as she slid the band back down.

Shalise finally settled on a one word response. “Currently?”

“It is a work in progress.”

And Eva said no more. Shalise simply nodded.

“One more thing, something you can’t tell anyone. Only us three, Zoe Baxter, and Sister Cross know.”

Shalise nodded again, though she wondered at the tone Eva used when she said Sister Cross.

Sister Cross had been unusually pushy as of late. When Shalise wanted to go into the dorms without her, Shalise thought she might take her straight back home. Eventually she relented, but only after a good five minutes of Shalise’s best glare.

Eva started pushing up the sleeves of her dark gray school uniform. She had tattoos? No, it wasn’t markings on her skin. Something in her skin curled and twisted away from her elbow. It turned into a solid, shiny black about two inches away and continued all the way down to the edge of her gloves.

“How much do you remember about Halloween?”

“Too much.”

Juliana lightly chuckled, though there didn’t seem to be much mirth in it.

“Good,” Eva said. “You might remember Arachne then?”

“That was,” Shalise paused a moment in thought. Truthfully, she didn’t remember much. Most of it was told to her by Juliana over the next few days. Some things stuck out in her mind; the phantom dancer for one. “That was the person you danced with who killed the zombies? She helped heal me, or cure me, right?”

Juliana’s nod to one side confirmed Shalise’s half-guesses.

“I lost my hands a few weeks after Halloween and Arachne offered her own as replacements.”

“That was… nice of her. I guess.” Was it? It seemed an odd thing to do. Not something Shalise would be interested in offering. Then again, she didn’t know much about magic. “Is she okay just like, chopping her hands off?”

“She’s fine. She’s a demon.”

There was a brief moment of silence while Shalise’s brain caught up to everything. Her eyes grew wide. “D-D-Demon?” Shalise drew back, horrified.

Then she paused. And thought. Eventually she said, “is that bad? I-I mean church says they are bad, but I don’t know… Goblins are always bad in stories, but Professor Baxter talks about them like regular people.”

Shalise gave a glance to a shrugging Juliana. It seemed that she’d get no answers from that corner.

“Depends on who you ask,” Eva said. “A demonologist I know would say, ‘of course they are ya damn dimwit, why do you think we call the damn things demons.’ Everyone else would just say yes.”

Eva held up her hands–or rather, claws–before Shalise could say anything. “I would say it depends on the demon. Arachne has always been very nice to me, even if I am mad at her right now for,” she waved a hand to one side, “reasons.”

“And she gave you her hands? Just like that?”

“Don’t feel sorry for her, she’s already regrown them.”

Shalise shut her eyes and took a deep breath. “So,” she said, “are there tentacles or something under those gloves?”

“Worse.”

“W-worse?” Shalise tried to keep her voice from peaking as she glanced at Juliana. The girl was grinning off to the side.

Maybe she should have switched rooms like Sister Cross said.

No. Eva saved her life. She owed her at least the benefit of the doubt.

Eva already had her gloves off before Shalise could say anything. Long fingers uncurled and spread out, flexing lightly. They were thin and had lots of joints. Her hands were at least twice the size of regular hands.

Shalise looked down at her own hands. Maybe not twice the size. Close though.

For the most part.

“I think,” Shalise said as she stared at them, “have I seen these hands somewhere?”

“Arachne is Rach, the pet spider Eva had.” Juliana sported a wide grin. “Remember that?”

Shalise looked down at the claws again. There was some similarity. Eva was nodding a confirmation when she looked up.

“Oh.”

“Anyway,” Eva said, “now that we have that out of the way, we should go about catching you up in school work. I actually expected you to show up sooner than the day before second semester started, but I guess this is what they call cramming.”

“Me too. I think Sister Cross really wanted me to not stay in your room. For a while, I thought she was going to stop me from coming altogether.”

“That wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest.”

“The good news is that Sister Cross has been forwarding me most of the classwork. The only things I wasn’t able to practice on my own were our ecology classes and alchemy.”

Eva’s face turned to a frown as she spoke.

“Eva’s been all but banned from alchemy,” Juliana said. “Professor Lurcher thinks her hands and eyes are a safety issue–” Eva shrugged, but did not object. “I’ll be happy to help with that.”

“We should still go over all the magic we’ve learned, just to make sure.”

“That would be good,” Shalise agreed, “I was having trouble with water manipulation. It takes so much effort to pull a single drop out of a glass.”

“Well,” Eva said as she placed her claws on her hips, “I can’t do any water magic, but I can watch you and give pointers with Juliana.”

Shalise gave Eva a wide grin. “That sounds great. Let me get unpacked first and we can go over some things.”

There hadn’t been much to bring; Shalise didn’t have loads of belongings at home and most of it fit into a single suitcase. Books and clothes made up the bulk. She spent the next ten minutes putting away her clothes, arranging her books and stationary at her desk, and trying not to stare at Eva’s claws.

It was a lot to take in. Shalise put on a smile for Eva. As much as she wished it wasn’t, her smile was forced.

Juliana didn’t seem to mind the claws; if she did mind, she was hiding it well. They had several weeks together since November so she probably got used to it.

Sister Cross apparently knew about it. Maybe talking with her would be a good idea.

As Shalise sorted her belongings, she noticed something. Her bottom drawer had something in it.

Shalise reached in and pulled out a small box. It had to weigh at least a few pounds.

Juliana had a grin on her face while Eva just had a nice smile.

Inside of the box, Shalise found a pen and a copper plate. Etched into the copper plate was a picture of her. Her wavy hair was much longer in the picture, but she had cut it down to her shoulders while she was gone. Still, it managed a good likeness.

The pen was thick and silver. Too thick for her liking, if she was truly honest. Still, it seemed like an expensive thing. It looked a lot like the one Eva used on occasion, except hers was black.

“Merry Christmas, even if it is a week late,” Eva said.

“I-I don’t know what to say. I didn’t get either of you anything.”

“Say thanks and don’t worry about it,” Juliana said, “we’re just glad you’re back and in one piece.”

“Thanks. But–”

“No buts.”

“Now,” Eva said, “on to your schooling.”

Shalise sighed. She’d find a way to pay them back.

Juliana set a glass of water on her desk just as Shalise pulled out her wand.

“So, what part are you having trouble with?” Eva pulled up her own chair to Shalise’s desk.

Shalise took a breath. “Okay,” she said. She concentrated, envisioning the water as a sphere. With a flick of her wand, she felt a burst of magic escape and mold the water into a sphere.

“I get it this far,” Shalise said. “Then–” She slowly drew her wand across the air, willing a single drop to escape the mass. It already had a spark of her will inside it, so it should be easy to manipulate.

That’s what the textbook said, in any case.

A small droplet laced out, just as Shalise intended. For a moment, it looked like it was working.

The sphere of water bubbled and collapsed. Water moving in the glass knocked it to the floor.

“I’ll grab a towel,” Eva said as she walked to the bathroom.

Shalise sighed. The sleeves of her shirt soaked up most of it. “Then that happens.”

Air was a much friendlier element. It wanted to dance and play. When she messed up, it didn’t soak her. Water seemed grumpy to Shalise. It fought her every time she tried to move it. Just getting the water into a sphere took hours and hours of practice.

If water was grumpy, she was glad she didn’t have to deal with earth.

“When I try manipulating water,” Juliana said as Eva returned with a towel, “it ends up the same way. Yuria said that water can’t be ordered around the same way as earth. Earth needs a firm hand and clear direction. Water flows. It needs an open mind.”

Shalise tried prodding the water out of her shirt with her wand. It didn’t seem to help much. She sighed and said, “what does that even mean?”

A slumping Juliana answered her, “like I said, it turns out the same way when I try.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it right now,” Eva said as she laid a comforting hand on Shalise’s shoulder.

A comforting claw.

Shalise flinched back before she could stop herself.

Eva pulled her claw back quickly.

“Sorry,” Shalise mumbled. A nasty feeling cropped up in her stomach.

“Don’t be,” Eva said with a small smile. “And don’t stress about water magic. We’re only being tested in our own element this year. Apparently we pick a second element next year to work on. If you can do this,” she started to gesture towards the glass with her claw, but pulled it behind her back, “I’m sure you’re ahead of the curve next year.”

Hiding her claws behind her back twisted the wrench further into Shalise’s stomach.

“How are you doing with air?”

Shalise smiled. “Better, I think.”

“Why don’t we take a look at that then.”

— — —

“As I am sure many of you are aware, I am the new dean, Martina Turner.”

Martina Turner scanned the audience. Her eyes paused briefly on Eva.

Not surprising, really. Despite her trying to cover it with her hair, Eva’s blindfold still made her stand out more than others.

“I am deeply honored to become the new dean of Brakket Magical Academy. I wish to say a word of respect towards my predecessor, Rebbecca Halsey, who has elected to retire after the events during Halloween and the following weeks. She has paved the way for me to take this position. I and the rest of the staff wish her a fond farewell and luck in her future endeavors.”

There was a pause as Martina Turner bowed her head slightly. The rest of the staff had mixed reactions. Some followed her lead, others exchanged glances with each other before also lowering their heads.

Eva noted that neither Wayne Lurcher nor Zoe Baxter bowed their heads.

“Brakket Academy was founded on the principle of readying the youth of tomorrow for the challenges that life has to offer. Sadly, it has failed in this with regard to the six students who lost their lives on Halloween night. I would like to take a moment of silence in remembrance for them.”

She bowed her head, deeper this time. None of the staff hesitated in their own bowing. Several students did as well. Eva heard at least one sob softly somewhere in the auditorium ahead of her.

“This is not acceptable,” Dean Turner broke the silence.

“We will be reinstating several programs that were removed from the school by its previous dean. Programs that will prepare students for all situations, not just cushy government jobs or work as an enchanter.”

“Professor Kines has offered to start extracurricular lessons in self-defense and offense. A mage-knight club, if you will.”

She gestured a hand back to the lightly waving botanist. If the blood in his cheeks was any indication, the scrawny man was embarrassed about the whole thing.

“I highly encourage everyone with even the slightest interest to attend. First and second year students may have a harder time due to their proficiency with magic, but I am certain they will gain valuable skills. Professor Baxter, who teaches a combat oriented seminar during the summers, offered to assist if his class gets too large.”

Martina repeated her gesture towards Zoe Baxter. The stern woman just gave a nod of her head and no increase in her pulse.

“Professor Price will be starting up a combative golemancy extracurricular class designed for fourth year students and above.”

A petite woman actually stood up and gave a light curtsy.

“Several other programs will be starting up next year. Until then I encourage prudence when dealing with any unknowns. Please inform an instructor if you feel anything is amiss. Your safety is paramount.

“Thank you for giving me this time to speak and this opportunity to turn things around for the betterment of Brakket Magical Academy.”

Martina Turner turned and left the stage without further comment.

“That was shorter than I expected.”

“Don’t jinx it, Juliana, one of the other teachers could still jump up and start talking.”

“No. It had to be short unless she wanted to cut into class time,” Eva said. “I mean, we only met ten minutes before class started. If she planned for a long speech, I’d hope she would have us assembled earlier.”

“Well, what now?”

“Let’s head to class early. I’d like to talk to the professor about my water magic.”

Eva shook her head but turned to follow Shalise anyway. Despite their encouragement to focus on her air magic, she was still attempting to diversify into both water and fire.

Her fire magic demonstration made Eva more than a little nervous about the integrity of their dorm room. Luckily it hadn’t been bad enough to activate the sprinkler system.

Eva stumbled forwards almost immediately as she followed Shalise, but caught herself on a seat. Someone left a chair out of place that she missed while scanning the floor. She brought her flecks of blood tighter together and hurried to catch up with Juliana and Shalise.

Shalise looked back at the noise. Concern bled into her face–literally from Eva’s perspective–when she realized what happened.

Eva just smiled and shook her head. “I didn’t see the chair.”

“Do you need someone to–” Shalise stopped and bit her lip.

“I’m fine. Just need to be more careful watching where I’m headed.”

Juliana knew how she moved around. Zoe Baxter eventually got in on that secret as well. Eva hadn’t told Shalise yet. She seemed disturbed enough by Eva’s hands. That could wait another week.

Part of the problem were her toes, but not by much unless she tried to run. New eyes were a much more pressing matter than new feet; especially because Arachne was ready and willing to offer her legs.

It wasn’t just stumbling into things now and again, or missing objects lying right in front of her.

Without eyes, Eva couldn’t step. Or wouldn’t step. There was too big of a risk of something going wrong, some chair left out of place.

Not looking where she stepped is how she nearly lost a leg the first time. Arthfael blasted his healing aura for an entire summer and even then, Eva had been lucky. The pane of glass she stepped into was thin enough to leave only a sliver of meat and bone behind.

The thought of stepping into something thicker sent chills up Eva’s spine. Especially if something vital was disrupted.

Juliana and Eva took their seats at the front of Yuria’s classroom. Shalise headed to the front of the class and demonstrated her water problems with their young instructor.

At least, that is what Eva assumed Shalise was doing. She didn’t want to accidentally disrupt any magic with her flecks of blood.

“She really came back then? And seemingly uninjured.”

Eva half jumped out of her seat. Being able to see in every direction didn’t help at all if she didn’t pay attention. It was still a quirk of her sight she was getting used to. Eva did a quick check of everything around her while Juliana spoke to Irene.

“One of the nuns healed her, it seems. I guess her hand was completely unusable before then.”

“I don’t know what I’d do in that situation. I don’t know that I could come back.”

“I would. Definitely. Brakket might be a boring town, but home wasn’t much better. At least during the school year there’s something to do here.”

Some of the students had the same idea and headed straight to class. Others mingled out in the hallway. Eva couldn’t put a name to any of the circulatory systems apart from Jordan, Max, and Shelby.

And one other person. The only reason Eva recognized her was because she’d been staring at her for the last ten minutes.

Martina Turner strode down the hallway. She entered the classroom’s open door with little flourish. After giving the classroom a once over, she took a seat at the very back of the room.

All conversation died as everyone, including Yuria and Shalise, took notice of the dean.

“Carry on as you were. I’m here to observe. I’d like to see how my staff operate their classrooms.” Her voice carried throughout the classroom just as easily as if she had a microphone and a stage to stand on. A real speech giving voice.

“Of course,” Yuria said hesitantly. If Eva had to judge by her heart rate, the poor professor was both intimidated by and not expecting the dean.

Martina Turner seemed to pick up on some cues as well. “You’re not in trouble. This is not an audit. I merely wish to know the ins and outs of my school.”

Conversation slowly resumed and Shalise asked another question. The professor quickly pulled out her own wand and began waving it around. Very nervously. If she hadn’t been a water mage by trade, Eva imagined that Yuria would be spilling the water just as much as Shalise.

Eva almost rejoined the conversation between her two friends. Her mouth snapped shut before a word could spill out. Something at the edge of her sight caught her attention.

A cow stood outside the windows to the Infinite Courtyard. At the very edge of her vision if she pushed it as far as she could.

Eva stood up and walked over to the windows, trying to glean an extra few feet.

Cow was wrong. It was a bull for sure. It stood still, almost staring at the classroom.

“Something wrong?”

Eva jumped a good three feet in the air. Her jump startled Shalise into jumping. A brief smile passed between them as they got control over themselves.

“Nothing wrong,” Eva quickly assured her. “Just an odd animal outside. Some sort of bull.”

Eva turned her attention back outside, but the animal had wandered off.

Shalise leaned forward and began peering out the window. Her heart rate picked up.

Excitement over seeing an animal? Or is she worried about something?

They hadn’t talked about Halloween apart from Shalise referring to it when she asked about Eva’s eyes. Shalise seemed mostly smiles since she got back. Eva wondered if she should talk about it with her or if that would just bring up memories she wanted to bury.

“There are wild animals in the Infinite Courtyard, right?”

“A lot of them,” Eva said, “but this one might have come from the zoo.”

Shalise tilted her head to one side as the two headed back to their table. “What makes you think that?”

Eva shrugged.

“It’s just that most wild cows don’t have wings.”

—

“There, see?”

Eva didn’t bother to comment.

“All five of our lamassu are in their habitat.”

Despite his confidence, Bradley Twillie’s heart rate had been hammering when Eva mentioned seeing a winged bull.

It worried him enough that he even took them out into the zoo enclosure to personally check. Normally, he kept the students far away and only begrudgingly allowed them in during certain lessons.

“I thought lamassu had human heads,” Jordan said from his place half leaning over the railing.

Bradley Twillie took on his lecture pose. One hand pointing out at the students and the other in his jacket pocket. “Myths and nonsense,” he said. “Lamassu are considered good luck and will protect their territory from anything they perceive as enemies, but are not part human nor overly intelligent.”

One of the bulls raised its head and snorted out a breath of air.

“I said overly. You’re still the smartest bovines around.”

The lamassu shook its head in a disturbingly human-like manner. It flopped back down, basking under a pair of heat lamps set up near one wall of their snow-covered pen.

“Could it have been a stray?” Eva asked.

Bradley snorted in his usual nervous manner and rubbed his hand against the lumberjack hat he always wore. “Not unless we’ve been transported to Egypt without noticing. There are other schools and zoos, but I’m sure I would have been notified days before one could fly out here.

“How clearly did you see–” He looked off to one side. His eyes shifted back to Eva in a distinctly uncomfortable manner. The already lacking professorial demeanor he usually had vanished in a second. “I mean… It’s just that–”

Eva just sighed–he already said it once without even noticing. Another reason she needed new eyes, though how she got them might raise worse problems. “What were you going to say?”

“There are other winged creatures about that size you might have mistaken it for. Griffins, anzu, garuda, hippogriffs, roc, plenty more.” He brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “Well, maybe not roc. If you saw a roc everyone in town would have noticed too. They’re not exactly small.”

“That’s why we are asking you,” Shalise said. It had been her idea to ask the magizoologist about ‘Eva’s mysterious creature’ in the first place. “Surely you must have some idea.”

“You said winged bovine, I thought of lamassu.” After a sigh, he puffed up and tried to reassemble his professional attitude. “You kids get to Mr. Kines’ class or you’ll be late. I’ll check the pens of all our other winged creatures. If they are all where they’re supposed to be, well, I won’t worry too much.”

“You’re not going to search for the one Eva saw?” Shalise said, aghast.

“The Infinite Courtyard didn’t get that title for being small.”

“It isn’t actually infinite.”

“In the middle of winter? It might as well be. I’ll put out a notice to warn students. If you see it, just back away slowly, don’t threaten and don’t agitate it. Find an instructor.

“Now come on, back to class with you.”

Bradley Twillie all but dragged them by their ears out of the zoo–more or less literally in Jordan’s case–and slammed the door. The rest of their group had been waiting out in the lecture room.

“Well?” Shelby stood up from her desk along with Irene and Juliana. Max leaned back and grabbed his book bag off the floor before joining them.

“It wasn’t the lamassu,” Shalise said.

“They were fascinating creatures,” Jordan said with no small amount of enthusiasm. “And did you see the apep as we walked past? I think there was only one of them but half of its pen was a coiled up snake. And its pen was about the same size as the pen for five lamassu.”

He gave a content sigh with a wide smile on his face.

A brief moment of silence passed while everyone stared at him.

Jordan gave a brief clearing of his throat before Juliana spoke. “Anyway, about the creature?”

“Bradley Twillie didn’t seem to think it was much of an issue, so long as it wasn’t one of his pets missing. Just don’t agitate it and be sure to leave it alone.”

Max gave a long hum. “That seems irresponsible.”

“So?” Juliana asked. “What do we do?”

“It isn’t that big of a deal, is it?” Irene had her arms crossed as she leaned against one of the desks. “If our expert on magical animals isn’t worried about it, why should we?”

The bell chimed just as Irene finished speaking.

“Irene is right,” Eva said. She wasn’t sure that it was such a big deal in the first place. With a sigh, Eva added, “and Bradley Twillie was right as well, we’re late to class.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun.”

Eva shared a glance with Juliana. Both girls sighed.

Shalise quirked her head to one side as she shoved a spoonful of lasagna and bean pie into her mouth.

Eva couldn’t actually see the meal, but she could smell it. She was very glad she didn’t often get hungry for lunch.

“I’m going,” Jordan said.

“Me too,” Shelby piped up quickly.

Max shook his head. After finishing his food–someone had mentioned his bad habit over the last few months, Eva wasn’t sure who–he said, “I don’t think I’ve got a good enough grasp on magic to even start using it in fighting.”

“No, not for me,” Irene shook her head. “I plan to be an artificer. Not much fighting in my future, I hope.”

“You never know when knowing how to fight will save your life,” Shalise said sagely. “I’m going.”

With a long sigh, Eva said, “I’ll go. If it turns into Zoe Baxter fighting us for two hours, I’m quitting.”

“Same,” Juliana said.

“Good.” Shalise looked over to Irene and Max. “You two sure you don’t want to go?”

“I’ll be using the time to study and practice, I think.”

“If it turns out to be something amazing,” Irene said, “We can start going to it later.”

“If you’re sure.”

The bell rang and everyone stood up.

Everyone except Eva.

Juliana and Shalise both stopped and looked back.

“Go on without me. I don’t think I’m getting much out of alchemy lessons these days.”

“I didn’t mean to take your place,” Shalise said.

“Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t getting much out of them towards the end of last semester either.” Eva gave her a smile. “I’d just feel bad if I left Juliana alone. With you here, I don’t have to feel bad at all.”

“What are you going to do?” Juliana asked.

“Head to the dorms, or maybe my place. Check up on things there.”

“You’re not hunting bulls with wings, are you?”

Eva almost laughed at that. “Run around in the cold for who knows how long? I don’t think so. Like I said last week, I don’t think it is such a big deal.”

“Good.” Shalise smiled. Her smile turned stern. “Don’t make skipping a habit.”

Eva didn’t respond with anything but a smile and a wave.

They took that as the cue to run and catch up with the others.

Eva stayed in her seat for a few minutes, watching as the rest of the students walked by.

More than a few students gave her odd looks. Even a full two months after she’d come back to school, she was still the freshmen freak show. A blind girl who never took off her gloves yet still managed to get around fine–for the most part.

Not that Eva cared. The opinions of her friends mattered to her, but only just. The opinions of random people whose circulatory systems she couldn’t be bothered to memorize? Not even worth thinking about.

As the lunchroom cleared, one of the circulatory systems walked with purpose towards Eva’s table. An adult, one she didn’t know. Or perhaps a very big student.

A nun, Eva decided as she looked closer. All of the nuns had something right in the center of their chests. Something no one else had. It wasn’t very big, maybe the size of a ping-pong ball.

Whatever it was, it had blood flowing through it.

“Shouldn’t you be heading to class?”

“Should be. Not going to,” Eva said. She crossed her arms and leaned against the edge of the table. “Shouldn’t you be hunting necromancers?”

Eva grit her teeth just thinking about it. It was her fault Sawyer got away. She’d been too distracted with his friend. Too unused to her new sight to pay attention to her surroundings.

The metal of the table leg creaked from where she’d had it gripped. Eva took a deep, calming breath before resuming her eyeless glare at the nun.

“The Sister’s business is none of yours.”

“I can say the same to you.” Eva shooed the nun away with her hands.

The nun didn’t move.

“Is there something else you needed?”

“I know what you are.”

“Yes,” Eva sighed. “You and most of your order, if their stares are anything to go by.”

Despite her words, Eva couldn’t help but feel the hairs on her neck rise. She couldn’t move towards the knife on her back without being obvious about it, but a vial of Arachne’s blood could be opened easily under the table.

“Why would you do that to yourself?”

The question caught her off guard. Eva expected her to fight, but she almost sounded concerned. Her glare–if it was a glare, a thing not always easy to tell without eyes–remained steady in either case.

“You’re going to have to be more specific.” Eva cast her awareness around the room, there weren’t any stragglers save for a handful of people in the adjoining kitchen. They were probably too far away. Just in case they weren’t, Eva added, “not too specific. I’d rather not have the whole school know.”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“I’ve done a lot of things to myself that I imagine nuns would take issue with.”

Her straight face turned downwards and a frown spread across it. “Your hands,” she said softly.

“Ah, that.” Eva brought one hand out from under the table and flexed the fingers. The other held onto an opened vial of blood.

The nun took a quarter-step back.

“Some terrible person decided I didn’t need hands anymore. Naturally, I disagreed. When a passing creature offered new hands with no strings attached, I accepted.” More or less anyway. Mostly less. Close enough for the nun in any case.

“There are always strings attached.”

“In this case, there weren’t. Though I imagine there might be some strings when I get around to replacing my eyes.”

“You’re planning on doing it again?”

“And my toes,” Eva said, pointing downwards. The nun wouldn’t be able to see it, not unless she was doing the thing Sister Cross already did. “I plan to use the stringless method for those, however.”

The nun gave Eva a sad look–as far as she could tell. “One day you will look back on your corruption and weep.”

Not likely, Eva thought with a small smile. She was rather looking forward to her blood being as powerful as Arachne’s for blood magic.

Another thought occurred to Eva. “Are you offering assistance? I’ve heard the Elysium’s healers aren’t too bad at their job.”

Eva wasn’t sure if she was supposed to know about healers. The nun’s reaction didn’t turn hostile, however.

The nun shifted nervously. She glanced side to side herself before answering in a whisper. “There are only six in existence at any one time. Petitioning one to heal you would,” she sighed, “be a waste of time.” The nun placed her hand on her chin. “Perhaps if you were to join us…”

“You’d accept someone like me?” If her earlier question had caught Eva off guard, recruiting her threw her for a complete loop.

“You would have to undergo cleansing. Very thorough cleansing. You might not survive.” The nun sighed. “No. You almost assuredly would perish. But that would be more desirable than your current path. If you did manage to survive, a healer would surely see to you.”

Eva almost responded–in the negative of course; even if surviving was assured, she wouldn’t take it–but something made her stop and jump ten feet into the air.

“I’ll not have you stealing one of my students in the middle of the school day,” a voice all but shouted behind Eva’s back. “Leave at once.”

The nun opened her mouth, about to say something. It snapped shut almost immediately. She turned on her heel and stalked straight out of the cafeteria.

Eva cast her sight around as she turned despite already having recognized the voice. She never remembered being startled this easily when she had eyes even though she couldn’t see behind her at any time. Keeping constant awareness with her new method of seeing needed work and practice.

“Miss Eva.”

“Zoe Baxter.”

“You’re the last person I would have thought they would recruit.” Eva could tell that her eyes narrowed the slightest amount. “You’re not thinking of joining them, are you?”

“I don’t know,” Eva said with a ponderous expression. She might as well have a little fun. “They offered to heal my eyes.”

“Eva,” Zoe’s teeth grit before she let out a sigh. “I know things have been hard. I don’t think you would be happy–”

“You don’t want me to remain blind when avenues of recovery are at hand, do you?”

Zoe’s eyes narrowed again. “You don’t intend to join.”

Eva let out a short laugh. She overdid that last line. “Of course not. Not even if she didn’t say I would assuredly die being ‘cleansed,’ whatever that means. I plan to acquire new eyes without a high chance of death.”

“Eva,” Zoe Baxter started in a warning tone. “You’re going to wind up kicked out of school.” Her voice dropped to a hushed whisper. “I’ll be kicked out as well if anyone finds the stack of books I’ve got.”

“Don’t look at me,” Eva said as she held her hands up, “I didn’t force you to take them.”

“I’m reading them because demons,” she hissed almost subvocally, “are deeply related to the well-being of a certain student.”

“Don’t pretend you’re not enjoying reading them. I know at least three of the ones I lent you had nothing to do with anything about me.”

“Academically as a theorist only,” she said standing up to her full height. “It isn’t often a pile of books of that type are available to me.”

You keep telling yourself that, Eva thought with not a small amount of amusement in her mental voice. Not that she enjoyed corrupting her teacher. Really. Eva was just pleased that she hadn’t alerted demon hunters or even kicked her out of school.

“Although, you probably shouldn’t talk about things like that with me.” When Zoe Baxter raised her eyebrows, Eva continued, “Sister Cross stopped by on Christmas. She mentioned that I was still under surveillance.”

“I thought you improved your anti-scrying runes?”

“I thought so too. As far as I can tell, they’re not doing anything unless Sister Cross is lying.”

“I doubt it,” Zoe said as she crossed her arms. “Not with Shalise being so close to you.”

Eva stretched back. She still hadn’t told either Juliana or Shalise about Sister Cross’ daughter. Zoe Baxter was her sole confidant in that matter. She apparently knew Shalise was more than a regular orphan, she just didn’t know who the parent was.

“What are you doing anyway, sluffing classes?”

“What about you? Don’t you have a class right now.”

“I have an open period, you don’t. I know you have class with Way–Mr. Lurcher.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t call that a class so much as a waste of three hours.”

“Miss Eva, alchemy is a fundamental–”

“I would love to do alchemy, but I think I’ll learn more back at my place working on my own brewing than sitting to the side and not touching anything.”

“Mr. Lurcher is still not letting you participate?”

“Nope. I don’t mind though. On weekends I have Arachne read me the alchemy lab book and I go over the things in class. I was considering skipping class and heading straight to my place.”

Zoe Baxter’s mouth tipped into a frown at the mention of Arachne. “You still associate with that creature?”

“Please. She lived in the dorms for six months and never hurt anyone. Saved students, in fact.” Saved Shalise, at least. At Eva’s command.

That counted.

“You’ve mentioned as much before. She killed a nun and damaged school property.”

“We keep having the same argument, over and over again,” Eva sighed. “There were circumstances that night. If she hadn’t acted the way she had, I’d be dead.” Or worse. “Besides, the nuns were trying to kill her back.”

Zoe leaned over slightly, pointing a finger. “She’s a dangerous creature, Eva. The books agree with me on that.”

Eva raised her hands, wiggling the fingers lightly. “I’m a dangerous creature.”

“That isn’t the same and you know it,” she hissed.

A lot closer than you might realize, Eva thought.

“At least tell me you’ve gotten rid of the other one.”

“Same answer as last time.”

Zoe’s teeth ground together. She took a seat next to Eva at the table. “Eva, your pet tarantula is one thing. If it got out of hand, it could do a lot of damage, but it is ultimately containable. For the most part.

“Your other ‘pet’ isn’t the same. If she got out of hand–”

“She won’t,” Eva said firmly. She double checked the area. No one was around to overhear. “Ylva doesn’t want to go around killing everything. She won’t even leave the cell house without asking me.”

“Why not?”

“She views the prison as part of my ‘domain’ and will not encroach on it without my permission. It’s a d–creature thing.”

“But she can leave if she wants to.” Zoe didn’t leave room for question.

“That’s why Arachne is there.”

“Can Arachne stop her? Contain or defeat her?”

Eva didn’t answer. She didn’t have one. Arachne would say yes without hesitating, but Eva couldn’t be so sure.

“At the very least, Eva, you need safeguards. I’ve been reading about shackles. You know how to do them, right?” At Eva’s nod, Zoe said, “can you place shackles around the entire building? Or even the entire prison, if that is possible.”

That would be massive. Eva hadn’t measured out the exact dimensions of the prison, but it was larger than the entire campus of Brakket by at least four times–discounting warped space in the courtyard.

“That might be doable,” Eva said, more as a placating gesture than any promise of carrying out the task. Ylva had been quite pleasant in her few meetings with the hel despite Zoe Baxter’s harsh comments about her first meeting. Erecting shackles would likely do away with any goodwill between Eva and Ylva.

“Have you still not heard from Mr. Foster?”

Eva shook her head. “He’ll be back before February ends.”

“I’d rather speak with him sooner.”

“I have no way of contacting him,” Eva lied. Though it wasn’t much of a lie. Summoning Ivonis to track down Devon was possible, but gathering up another fifty animals to sacrifice would be annoying at best. “You’ll just have to wait.”

“You’re sure he’ll be back by then?”

“Unless he’s gone off and gotten himself killed.” If he had, Eva was in trouble.

Juliana might be able to start up one or two of the rituals for Eva, provided Eva told her about the rituals in the first place. If anything went wrong or changes needed to be made as the treatment progressed, neither Juliana, Eva, or Arachne would be able to make alterations.

Zoe Baxter let out a long sigh. She propped her elbows up on the table behind her and shut her eyes. After a moment of rest, she seemed to realize that she wasn’t acting entirely professional. In a quick motion, she stood up, brushed down her suit, and tweaked her red butterfly tie.

At least, Eva assumed it was the butterfly tie. She sometimes wore a white that turned black at the tips, or an orange one with a coat of arms featuring a dragon on it. The red one was by far the most prevalent of the three.

Once finished, Zoe Baxter turned and faced Eva. “Miss Eva. I cannot condone skipping class. Today, you are already late. Arriving now would only disrupt whatever lesson Mr. Lurcher is currently teaching.” She cleared her throat. Completely unnecessarily. She had been talking just fine. “You’ll be serving detention with me this Saturday.”

Eva sighed. She was pretty sure she was the only student to ever get detention at Brakket. At least, apart from the one time she scrubbed lab room floors and counters with Juliana.

“Yes, professor.”

—

A spike of ice left a trail of cold air as it flew past Eva’s chest.

It didn’t even come close to hitting her before she hopped to one side. After hopping, it missed by a mile.

Another spike launched away from his wand.

Eva raised an order magic shield. Professor Kines taught how to cast a simple shield designed to block projectiles. She wasn’t very confident in it. It didn’t hold a candle to her blood shield.

It didn’t matter. The ice spike tapped against it and fell to the ground. It might have fallen before touching the shield. Some things were difficult to tell with her current vision.

Three fireballs returned against her attacker. One missed, the other two struck a shoulder and his stomach.

He had a fire resistant jacket on. Even if Eva could cast decent fireballs, he wouldn’t have burst into flames. Everyone had magic retardant armor. Expensive, but left over from the old mage-knight club.

Despite her weak fireballs, he staggered backward for several steps until he put a foot out of the ring.

Tony Burnside hadn’t even tried to raise his own shield.

Eva sighed as she dropped her wand hand to her side. “I saw you fight against Zoe Baxter during her seminar. I know you can do better.”

The third year student brushed off his jacket without even glancing at Eva. “I don’t think this is what I signed up for,” he said quietly.

“Oh? And what did you sign up for?”

“I signed up to learn to fight better.”

Eva grit her teeth. Juliana and Shalise paired off as had Jordan and Shelby. They were going to switch out after a short while, but until then Eva wound up with the wimpiest third year student she could imagine.

A fireball shot from her hand at Tony. He wasn’t in the ring. Eva didn’t care.

He grunted and stumbled as it hit him in the side.

“You want to learn? Fine. First lesson, fights don’t end because you don’t want to fight.”

Another two fireballs launched towards the student. The first one managed to strike him in the chest. He actually put up a shield for the second.

“Second lesson, just because your opponent looks frail or helpless, doesn’t mean she is.”

He launched an ice spike after another fireball hit his shield.

Eva didn’t bother dodging. It was a good two inches from her shoulder.

“Third lesson, you learn nothing by standing around and half-assing it.”

In truth, Eva had small apprehensions about fighting. In a real fight, she would increase the amount of blood in the air. Here, she didn’t want to make it too thick and give herself away. It would be easy for a shard of ice to slip through to her without her noticing.

But in class, that didn’t matter. She wore armored clothes the same as everyone else.

In order to see, Eva relied on watching his wand hand and watching when he cast spells. If she lost track of a projectile, she’d put up a shield.

At least, that was her plan. She hadn’t needed to do anything of the sort against Tony Burnside. None of his attacks intended to hurt her. Even the few times she’d intentionally tried to test her shield, he just stopped his attacks.

So Eva tossed fireball after fireball at him. Even a few came from her off-hand. Her new finger ring foci adorned the index finger of her glove as a distraction. Students might have a hard time learning the nuances of alternate foci, but which hand she used didn’t matter to Eva’s unique casting.

Her fireballs splashed against his shield. They were too weak to get through. That didn’t deter her.

Tony Burnside launched token ice spikes any time she let up. For the most part, she ignored them. Most weren’t even properly aimed at her.

“Stop trying to miss me and hit me,” Eva roared.

One almost hit her chest. She only noticed too late. Rather than fail to put up a shield, she batted it away with the back of her hand. They were blunted and weren’t traveling fast enough to do any serious damage. Her claws could take the beating.

“Eva,” a voice called out.

She’d just barely caught one of his icicles that went wide and was about to throw it back at him. Eva paused and turned to the voice.

Franklin Kines ran up to the two students. “What are you doing? You’ve got him out of the ring. You’re out of the ring.”

“He won’t fight me,” Eva said, pointing her wand at Tony.

He pulled up a shield the moment she did.

“You’re out of the ring. You’re not supposed to fight out of the ring.”

“He won’t fight me in the ring.” She held up the ice spike. “These just go flying past me. I haven’t had to use a shield or even dodge.” She crushed the spike in her hand, the two pieces falling to the ground amidst a shower of crushed ice.

“Eva,” Kines said softly, “surely you can understand him not wanting to hurt a younger student.”

“No.” Eva pulled off her helmet and threw it to the side. She tapped her padded vest. “We have these to keep us from getting hurt.”

“Maybe we should shuffle groups,” Franklin Kines said. He clapped his hands to get the attention of everyone who wasn’t already staring at the scene–which was almost no one. “Everyone find a new partner, one who uses a different element, if possible.”

He turned on one of the groups. “Shalise,” he said, “would you please be Eva’s partner?

“This exercise is for getting used to shield spells,” he said a little louder, Eva was pretty sure it was directed to her, “not for fighting.”

Juliana gave Eva a light smile as she walked straight to Tony Burnside.

Eva nodded and picked up her helmet on her way to Shalise.

“You’re not going to fireball me into a corner, are you?”

Eva quirked an eyebrow at Shalise. She’d be able to see it through the clear visor. “Are you going to fight me like I’m a little blind girl who needs to be coddled?”

“No.”

Eva exaggerated out a sigh as she walked into the ring. The floor of the small dueling arena was made of earth, mostly for earth mages. The carved in rings helped a lot with Eva’s sight. She wouldn’t be able to tell painted on rings. “Then I suppose I won’t fireball you into a corner.”

That elicited a smile and a soft giggle from the girl. “It was a little scary, watching you,” she said quietly.

“He wouldn’t have gotten hurt,” Eva dismissed. “Even if his shield failed–a feat against my weak fireballs–we’ve got all this armor.”

“It was more of your face.”

“My face?”

“You looked very angry.”

Did she? Eva didn’t know. She could see her own blood as well as she could see others, but she never paid attention to it. “Maybe if he’d just man up and fight me properly, I wouldn’t have got so mad.”

“I don’t know how much of a fight I’m going to put up.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t get mad at you.”

Shalise flicked her wand.

Eva readied a shield.

Nothing pinged against it. She couldn’t see anything with the flecks of blood around the arena.

“Um…”

Shalise slumped over. “That was my best attack. A puff of air. I don’t think air magic is very suited for combat.”

“Zoe Baxter uses lightning. Have you tried?”

Once again, Shalise flicked her wand.

Unlike before, there was a small crackle in the air. A very small crackle. Without eyes, Eva couldn’t tell if anything left Shalise’s wand. If it even came from Shalise’s wand.

It might have been another student standing near Shalise that Eva heard.

“A spark,” Shalise said, apparently seeing the confusion on Eva’s face. “Irene and Max might have had the right idea. Maybe I’ll try back next year after I practice magic more.”

“What about the shield Professor Kines taught us?”

Shalise casted a spell. Something appeared in front of her, Eva could tell by how some of her blood hit a barrier.

Eva tried casting a small fireball at it. Her shield shattered on impact, though the fireball didn’t make it through. At least that was something.

It didn’t seem that Shalise considered that a victory. “That is that,” she said dejectedly.

“We’re here to practice, right? So let’s practice.” Eva readied her wand again, not that she needed it. “Bring up your shield and when you do, imagine the biggest, strongest wall you can.” She was just repeating Franklin Kines’ words from the start of the lesson. Her blood shields didn’t need any sort of thought behind them.

Shalise did so. Eva tossed another small fireball at her.

The shield shattered again.

They spent ten minutes practicing against Shalise’s shield. One of the fireballs actually splashed against the shield instead of shattering it. Shalise got so excited she lost concentration and the next fireball hit her square in the chest.

It was just a small impact; Eva couldn’t amp up the power much at all. Still they continued.

A loud crash drew the entire room’s attention.

Tony Burnside was lying on his back. His wand rolled a few feet away. He struggled against something.

Eva sent some flecks of blood over to find he was almost entirely encased in earth. The only part that wasn’t was his head.

Juliana stood over him. She had a sword pointed at his neck.

“Juliana Rivas, what are you doing?” Franklin Kines ran over to their ring.

“I want this man removed from class,” she said firmly. “If he isn’t going to take it seriously, it is only going to hurt anyone who has the misfortune of partnering against him.”

“This is not a sparring session,” Professor Kines said. “You’re supposed to practice shields.”

“I can’t practice shields if he won’t even try to hit me.”

Professor Kines whisked his wand out and pointed it at the prone Tony. The earth crumbled off of him.

Tony batted the sword out of his face and stood up. He tore off his helmet and armor. Without a glance at anyone, he marched straight out of the classroom.

“Alright,” Professor Kines shouted. “Class dismissed. Everyone out.” Juliana turned and Kines added, “except for you, Juliana.”

Eva walked over to Juliana’s side, leaving Shalise looking very uncertain in her ring. Jordan and Shelby walked over to her a moment later.

“I don’t believe I asked for your presence, Eva. Return to your dorms.”

“I had the ‘misfortune of partnering against him.’ I’ll say my input to defend my friend.”

Juliana smiled, still facing away from Professor Kines.

“You both will be kicked out of this class if anything like tonight happens again.”

“Us?” Juliana spun to face the professor. “He is the one who wasn’t following your directions.”

“Should he return to class, he will be given one more chance as well.” Franklin Kines pointed a finger at each of the girls. “You two will come to me if you have a problem with another student. You will not take matters into your own hands or you’re gone.

“Am I understood?”

“Sure,” Juliana said. Her sword squirmed back up underneath her clothes. She turned on her heel. A smile spread across her face as she walked away.

Eva shrugged at Kines as she followed after.

“That was fun,” Juliana said. “I could get used to knocking over upperclassmen.”

Shelby snorted. “Yeah, but you’ll probably make enemies that way.”

“You didn’t have to go fight him,” Eva said as they walked through the Infinite Courtyard back to the dorms. She felt guilty about almost getting her friend kicked out of class.

“No. I did. My mother would never have stood for someone slacking off if she taught a class like this.”

“She’s a retired mage-knight, right?” Jordan asked. “Maybe she would teach a class like this. Not that I think Professor Kines is a bad teacher, I just wonder what kind of background he has to be qualified to teach a class like this.”

“Well, she’s in Russia right now.” At Jordan’s questioning glance, Juliana added, “don’t ask. After that, I don’t know. Teaching doesn’t seem her style. It isn’t adventurous enough.”

Last semester wasn’t adventurous enough with all the necromancers and nuns? Eva sighed and followed the others back to the dorms.

Genoa Rivas was a scary woman.

“F D P L T C E O,” Shalise said without hesitation.

“Good,” Professor Baxter said. “Next line down?”

“P E Z D I O E T O.”

“Close. Still, better vision than almost any normal person.” Professor Baxter shut off the projector. “Keep practicing that spell and I might have to pull out the air mage chart.”

Shalise canceled the spell. Her vision went dark and she could barely hear the professor talking. No, it didn’t go dark. Her brain just needed a reboot and adjust to unenhanced senses.

It depressed her somewhat. The red of Professor Baxter’s tie became less red. The black of her suit turned almost gray. The colors around the room changed as well. Outside the window had the most depressing change.

She had almost been able to see the crystals of the snow as flakes poured down on the Infinite Courtyard. Part of it might have been her imagination. Her vision couldn’t become that good. Could it? Either way, without the spell active, outside turned into a large mush of snow instead of the vibrant crystalline wonderland.

Shalise sighed.

“Miss Ward, are you listening?” The professor’s stern voice carried a slight tone of danger.

“Sorry professor.” Shalise snapped her head to face her instructor. She’d been kind enough to give her extra lessons, and now Shalise wasn’t even paying attention. “I just shut off the spell.”

“Of course.” Professor Baxter said with an understanding nod. “You’ll get used to the abrupt change over time, though the change gets more drastic as you improve.

“As I was saying, most students can accurately read the bottom line by the end of year exams. You’re about on the mark, if not ahead by a few letters.”

Shalise sat ramrod straight as she listened to the air mage talk.

Professor Baxter lectured about how other students did and how Shalise was right where she needed to be. If there were any shortcomings, they were minor and completely understandable given the events earlier in the year.

It wasn’t the lesson Shalise had been hoping for. None of the lecture helped her pitiful sparks turn into lightning bolts. Her light breeze of air wasn’t strengthening into a gale.

She hadn’t even tried proper telekinesis yet. That was supposedly extremely advanced as it incorporated order magic.

Shalise sighed again. There was probably a reason elemental magic took up four years of classes with an optional two years of element specific learning.

“How long did it take you to cast a proper lightning bolt?” Shalise asked during a pause in Professor Baxter’s lecture.

“Half way through my second year, though I was by no means an average air mage.” She pointed at a frame hanging off her office wall. “You don’t get to be a class one air mage at age twenty-two by being average.”

“Then when do average students usually start casting lightning bolts?”

“By the end of the third year, for most. Some earlier if they’re dedicated or talented.” She took a seat on the edge of her desk, crossing one leg over the other. “I wouldn’t fret if I were you. The first year is almost entirely familiarizing yourself with magic. How it feels, how it moves, and how to harness it in simple capacity.”

Shalise rolled her wand between her fingers. Two and a half years. “That is such a long time. What am I supposed to do in the mage-knight class until then?”

Professor Baxter pursed her lips into a half-smile. “All elemental magic is difficult to use in combat, at least at early levels. You’ve probably noticed other first years being ineffective against even second years.”

“Juliana isn’t.”

“Miss Rivas is an outlier. Not to make light of her talent–of which she has much–but I suspect she has been training in magic since her fingers could grip a wand. I know her mother personally and it is just the thing she would do.”

“Why aren’t others taught so early?”

“Practicality, for the most part. Would you entrust even an eight year old with the ability to light a fire at any time?”

Shalise blinked. The thought of some of her siblings–Cody especially–having the ability to conjure flames at will sent an involuntary shiver up her spine. Shalise shook her head.

“I thought not. Sometimes I think we shouldn’t teach teenagers to do so.” Professor Baxter chuckled lightly. “And that isn’t even taking into consideration the toll that magic takes on younger bodies. It can be very dangerous to health and development. I’m sure Genoa kept a close eye on her daughter as she taught magic. It helped that earth is a very stable element.”

Shalise drooped down and put her chin onto the desk. “That’s very interesting,” Shalise half-lied, “but it doesn’t help me now.”

“I suppose not.” Professor Baxter pulled out her thin, silver dagger. “Is a bolt the only thing you think you can do with lightning?”

Her dagger crackled with yellow light. Thin arcs of electricity danced around the blade.

“Touch this to someone and they’re sure to feel it. There are no distances involved and no worrying about the lightning arcing off to the ground before your target.”

The thin arcs moved to the tip of her dagger. They collected into a small ball of light.

“This might be more difficult, but still easier to control than a bolt.”

With a flick of her wrist, she sent the ball flying against one wall. The ball shattered. Snakes of electricity crawled over the wall before dissipating.

“Another way to use that one,” she said as another ball formed at the tip of her dagger.

It flew across the room, similar to the first. At the peak of its arc, it exploded.

Not a very impressive explosion.

“Of course it doesn’t look like much,” Professor Baxter said. Apparently Shalise’s opinion was written on her face. “If that was full power, you would be blind, deaf, and falling to the floor in confusion.”

That certainly sounded much better. The little crackle and small flash hadn’t been much worse than having a picture taken.

“I don’t suppose I’d be able to cast any of those spells any time soon?”

“Sooner than a lightning bolt, perhaps. The lightning around your focus should easily be done by the end of the year. What has Profess–What has Yuria got you working on?”

“Air control, mostly.” She rubbed her forehead. She winced back at a slight pain just behind her eyebrow. “Not something useful.”

Professor Baxter shook her head. “A fundamental part of learning any element is manipulating it. Why are you so focused on lightning?”

Shalise stared at her teacher, wondering if she was serious. “It is attack magic.”

“You don’t think you can attack with air?”

A pen flipped off of her desk. As it flew into the corner of the office, Professor Baxter flicked her dagger. There was a brief moment where nothing happened before the pen split into two. Ink splattered across the walls and floor.

Professor Baxter made a slight choking noise before sighing. “Last time I demonstrated that, I used a pencil.”

Shalise giggled.

“That is two examples in one. Air mages are the only ones capable of a proper telekinesis. You can fling objects at enemies. Shaping wind into a tight enough shape will cause harm as well.

“You might be hard pressed to create a blade out of wind right now, but a heavy hammering of air could knock someone over. That and following up with electricity arced around your focus is probably your best bet for now.”

Shalise sighed and shut her eyes. The darkness felt nice. Maybe the flash from the electricity ball had been more than enough to cause a headache.

“I am concerned,” Professor Baxter said, seemingly oblivious to Shalise. “There are many respectable professions in the magical world where combat is a focal point. More perhaps than peaceful jobs. Most students do not think about such things until their third year at the earliest.”

There was a brief sigh. Shalise felt the professor’s presence move in front of her. She opened her eyes to find green eyes staring at her.

“You’re not asking about this because of what happened last semester, are you?”

“No,” Shalise said quickly. Too quickly. She slumped her shoulders down and said, “I mean, I’d be lying if I said I don’t think about that. I don’t think it has anything to do with my questions.”

Her professor’s green eyes studied her intently. “Very well,” she said.

Shalise wasn’t sure her professor believed her. Shalise wasn’t sure she believed herself.

“I’d rather not talk about it, if it is all the same to you. I talked enough while I was on my ‘vacation’ back home.”

Professor Baxter’s eyes glanced over Shalise one more time before they shut. She gave a solemn nod of her head. “I understand. Would you like me to teach you the thought patterns necessary for any of the spells I demonstrated today?”

Shalise shook her head. “Perhaps next time, Professor Baxter. You’ve given me a lot to think about.” Thinking that hurt her head at the moment. A nap might be nice.

“I’ll look forward to our next lesson then.” The professor walked around behind her desk and took a seat in her chair.

Feeling dismissed, Shalise got up and walked out of Professor Baxter’s office.

Outside the classroom, Shalise leaned against a window. The cold glass pressed against her forehead. Her headache slowly melted away as she sat there, eyes shut.

Quiet footsteps approached her. The paused just behind Shalise. She tensed up, her hand going to her wand almost unconsciously.

“Shal? Are you alright?”

Shalise peeked her eyes open. She quickly let go of her wand as she turned. “Just a headache, Sister Cross.”

“Lynn, please.” Sister Cross said. She set a hand on Shalise’s shoulder and lightly squeezed. “Are you sure? I detected some magic–”

“It is fine,” Shalise said. “I asked one of my teachers to demonstrate some magic.”

There was a quiet moment before Sister Cross spoke again. “You don’t have to defend them. If someone hurt you–”

“Are you spying on me too?”

Sister Cross’ hand froze before it slid off of her shoulder. “Shal,” she said. Her voice came out as a whisper.

Shalise sighed. That might have come out too harsh. “I’m sorry. I have a headache and I’m frustrated.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Shalise didn’t respond. Did she want to talk about it? Would Sister Cross have any input to change three years of feeble magic to something shorter? Probably not.

“Walk with me,” the nun said as she continued down the hallway.

After a moment of hesitation, Shalise followed a few paces behind her. She kept silent as they walked. The ringing in her ears died down, at least.

Not wanting to further upset Sister Cross, Shalise tried to force her face into her usual smile. She could tell it wasn’t working even without a mirror.

Shalise pulled her wand out of its holder. It idly spun in her hands as she walked alongside the nun.

As they walked, she got an idea. It was wasteful to just meander along when she could be training.

Shalise practiced the motions and the mental exercises of creating lightning without channeling magic into her wand. Class hadn’t even started the actual bolt part of lightning bolts, but generating electricity seemed to be a fundamental skill for the other spells Professor Baxter had used.

It wasn’t hard to imagine what would be required for a bolt anyway. Thus far, almost all magic relied on picturing what you wanted to have happen as you channeled magic. For a bolt, she’d need to picture the electricity arcing somewhere.

At least that is what she did the few times she actually tried to make a bolt.

“What’s bothering you?”

Shalise looked up quickly, glad she didn’t bump into the now stopped nun.

Sister Cross had her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at Shalise’s wand. “Are you unable to,” she paused as a small frown grew on her face, “to cast spells?”

In response, Shalise channeled magic into her wand. A bright spark hummed at the tip of her wand for a few seconds before vanishing.

“Good,” Sister Cross nodded with a small smile. She set a hand on Shalise’s shoulder again. “I was an air mage as well, before joining the order.”

“You’re not anymore?”

“Technically, I am. Many sisters still carry wands or other thaumaturgical foci with them, including myself. I was never very good at it though. I could still cast proper air magic if I needed to.”

“But you don’t.” Shalise smiled at the nun. “What do you use instead?” she asked as politely as she could.

Sister Cross looked up and down the empty hallway. “Secret. Can’t tell people who aren’t in the order. Not even you, Shal.”

Her smile slipped off again. “What if I want to join?”

Shalise crossed her arms as Sister Cross looked around the still empty hallway. There had been no changes in the last five seconds. Being a Saturday, there weren’t even students outside the window between the school and the dorms.

“You don’t want to join, Shal.” Her voice dropped to just above a whisper.

“Why not?” Shalise tapped her foot against the tile floor.

Sister Cross shook her head. “It just isn’t the kind of environment I’d want you growing up in. If you feel the same when you’re older, maybe then.”

Older. Everything is when I’m older.

“What are you worried about, Shal?”

“I’m just,” she sighed and slumped against a wall. “I’m feeling useless. All of my friends can apply their magic toward something useful.”

“First of all,” Sister Cross said. She held a finger up. “If you join the order, you won’t have those friends. Even if that might be desirable for one of them.”

Shalise shot her a glare.

Sister Cross ignored it and held up a second finger. “There is still training, time, and effort with the Elysium Order’s magic. Nothing in this world is free.”

“I know,” Shalise half shouted. She pulled off the wall and moved to the center of the hallway. She paced back and forth. “I know. It is just so frustrating.” She flicked her wand and got nothing more than the small spark. “What am I supposed to do if–”

If what? Shalise clenched her fists and looked back to the nun.

Sister Cross reached out and wrapped her arms around Shalise. She pulled Shalise’s head into her chest and lightly patted her back.

“The Elysium Order will be here if something happens. I’ve been given clearance to stay for the time being because one of the necromancers escaped. Nothing will happen to you, I promise.”

They held together for minutes. Shalise enjoyed the comfort of the nun. Sister Cross didn’t say anything.

Eventually, Shalise pulled apart. A wet spot on the nun’s chest was left right where Shalise’s head rested. With the sleeve of her white uniform, Shalise wiped her eyes and face.

“Magic, all magic, takes time to learn. And practice.” Sister Cross gave Shalise’s shoulders a tight squeeze. “The Elysium Order magic might be different, it might be cheating a little, but it still requires time. Practice every day. At least for an hour, more if you can. Even when you don’t want to, even when you’ve got homework. You’ll get better.”

Shalise nodded and finished wiping off her face. “You didn’t–” She stopped, not sure if she wanted to know. Shalise clenched her fists and continued her question. “You didn’t let the necromancer escape so you could stay here, did you?”

“Of course not,” Sister Cross said. Her face twisted into almost a scowl before quickly returning to her light smile. “Of course not, Shal. It means a lot that I can stay with you for a while, but hunting necromancers is the Elysium Order’s duty. Its very meaning. If I let one go on purpose, I’d be stripped of my command and possibly tried as a heretic.”

That didn’t sound good. Shalise decided not to ask about heretics.

“Good,” Shalise said. “About not letting him go on purpose,” she clarified. “I don’t think I would have liked it much if you had.”

Sister Cross chuckled. “I wouldn’t let someone escape after they hurt my cute little Shal.”

Shalise sighed and shook her head with a small smile on her face. In doing so, she noticed a second figure standing behind her. Shalise jumped and half stepped to the side.

“Trying to recruit my students again, Sister Cross?”

Dean Turner stared with a glare that could kill. Buttons were undone halfway down her shirt. A black tube top underneath barely held in her modesty. Not the picture of a dean Shalise had in mind, but her face was deadly serious.

Exactly how she appeared during her speech.

“Trying to discourage it, actually.”

Dean Turner let out a loud, obvious scoff and flicked her sharp gaze at Shalise. It softened somewhat after looking her up and down. “Is that true Miss,” her eyes narrowed. It wasn’t narrowing in anger, rather a narrowing in thought.

“W-Ward. Shalise Ward.” She took a deep breath and tried to reign down her nerves. Her gaze might have softened, but it wasn’t soft enough for Shalise’s tastes. “It is true.”

The gaze left Shalise and resumed its hostility against Sister Cross. “You lucked out this time, Cross. I told you before and I’ll tell you again, I don’t want you or your people talking to my students.”

Sister Cross’ eyes flicked to Shalise for the barest of instants. She sighed and pressed her hands together. With a short bow of her head, Sister Cross turned and all but floated away with light steps.

“Miss Ward,” the dean said. The sharp heels on her boots clicked against the floor as she spun to face Shalise. “If you require career counseling, I am sure your counselor would strongly advise against joining the Elysium Order. Any sane person would.”

Up close, it was a lot more jarring to see the dean appearing so unprofessional. Most of the teachers wore full suits. Only Professor Twillie and Professor Kines wore anything else. Their clothes were suited for their more hands on classes, rather than indicating any rebellion from the two.

Looking closer, Shalise thought the few buttons that were done up weren’t even the right buttons. The left side didn’t match up to the right side.

Shalise shook her head and cleared her throat, trying to disguise her stare. She didn’t think it worked too well. “I-I believe that is my decision to make.”

“If you’re looking for cheap ways to get easy power, know that power always has a price,” Dean Turner said in a strong voice. She tilted her head towards the direction Sister Cross retreated. “The sisterhood has a high price for such low power. If you’re willing to pay, find someone who can offer a good deal.”

Her short ponytail flicked to the side as she spun on her heel. They clicked off down the hall as she strode in the opposite direction Sister Cross took.

Shalise stood there frozen in place. She watched the woman’s back until, half way down the hall, she vanished.

Leaning back against a window, Shalise frowned.

What did she mean by that?

— — —

Nel Stirling grabbed the short strand of brown hair out of the air. She tossed it into the drawer of her desk and slammed it shut.

The long strand of black hair moved above the frankincense burner and hovered in the air.

Nel pulled on her collar, veil, and wimple in record time. Despite her haste, she took care to make sure not a single strand of black hair could be seen. The only skin visible was the small oval from her chin to her forehead.

She sat down in her meditative pose in front of the frankincense burner, barely having time to smooth out her habit before Lynn Cross charged in the door.

The door slammed behind Sister Cross as she stomped towards Nel’s altar.

She looks worse in person, Nel thought with a barely suppressed shudder.

“Sister Cross,” she said, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice, “I was just doing my hourly checkup of–”

“Save it. What is Shalise doing?”

Nel snapped her mouth shut. With a thought, the strand of black hair floated off to one side. A long strand of slightly wavy brown hair replaced it. She took a deep breath of the frankincense and waited.

The world vanished from before her still open eyes. The scene of an office filled in. With a thought, the stage advanced. A trail of light, already fading, indicated her passing into the hallway. The light gathered into a ball near the main entrance to the school building.

Nel followed it outside, up the handful of steps to the dorm, and into the building. It gathered again just inside; a much smaller ball of light this time. Up the steps it went and Nel followed. Through the door to room three-one-three.

Shalise lay in bed, unmoving.

“Taking a nap,” Nel said. “In her bed.”

“She isn’t talking to a poorly dressed woman?”

“The trace indicates she talked to someone in a hallway of the school, then there was a short pause in the lobby of the dorms. That couldn’t have been longer than a simple greeting.” Nel paused as she watched Sister Cross bite the edge of her lip. “I could search deeper, if you need?”

“No,” Sister Cross said. “There wouldn’t have been enough time for any lengthy conversations if she’s already in her room.”

Nel sighed as Sister Cross seemed to relax. She hadn’t realized her heart was beating so hard until she let her guard down.

“Sister Stirling.”

Nel almost jumped to her feet. Her breath caught at the hard look Sister Cross gave her. No, not her. Sister Cross was looking over her shoulder.

It took a small amount of effort to avoid cursing in front of the other nun as she turned to look. Nel had forgotten one thing.

“What is that?”

“The frankincense gets to be too much,” Nel said. “It must be ventilated.”

The open window flew shut. The glass cracked and shattered, pieces falling over her bed.

Nel started in her seat. She whipped her head back to face Sister Cross.

The woman’s brown eyes had gone full white.

Flinching back, Nel caught her fall on the edge of the altar. The table jolted.

A hot coal bounced out of the burner and landed on the altar. It skidded across the marble surface, burning the tablecloth as it went.

Nel quickly grabbed it with her gloved hands and tossed it back into the burner. The cloth fingertips of her gloves almost burnt through. Luckily I have spares.

“Sister Stirling.”

She almost knocked the burner over at the tone in Sister Cross’ voice.

“I gave strict orders not to do anything that would draw attention to you. The necromancer knows what an augur is. He was after you. He may know that you use frankincense to induce your visions.”

“The air must be ventilated,” Nel repeated. “I will die otherwise.”

“Find another method then. It is an honor and a privilege to be an augur. Replacing you wouldn’t be hard, but it would be tedious.”

It doesn’t feel like either a privilege or an honor, Nel thought. She couldn’t even remember why she chose to become an augur.

“Pack your bags, Sister Stirling. We’ll be relocating you again tomorrow.”

The fire faded from Sister Cross’ eyes as she stood. Without even a glance at the augur, Sister Cross turned and left the room. The door slammed as she went.

A cold breeze of fresh air blew in from the broken window.

Nel took a deep breath. “At least relocating will mean fresh air. For a few hours.”

With a sigh, she started picking up bits of broken glass from her bed. She wanted a nap too. The abomination was just having textbooks read to her by her pet. Not even worth noting.

Sister Cross left the small house they had appropriated by the front door. It was abandoned, near as anyone could tell. A small house on the outskirts of Brakket.

A thought occurred to Nel as she watched Sister Cross leave through her window. She broke the window. All the fresh air was billowing in and the frankincense was leaving.

But… Keeping the frankincense in was the whole reason the window was supposed to be shut. They were relocating tomorrow? Why not now? Was Sister Cross providing an opportunity for the necromancer to come out?

Nel gasped a lungful of fresh air. “Am I bait?” she whispered to herself. “Or…”

She glanced back at the floating hair and leg. They hovered just above the altar, right where she left them.

“Is she trying to kill me?”

Nel scrambled back to the altar.

She knew a lot that she had been forbidden from telling the other nuns. They weren’t allowed to have contact with her at all anymore.

If the necromancers did show up and killed her, Sister Cross could just say it was because of opening her window. If she bothered to explain at all.

Nel did a quick scan of the three items already floating over the altar. None of them had moved in the last fifteen minutes, it didn’t take more than a second.

The small brown hair floated out of her desk and above the burner. Nel tossed another two beads of frankincense on the coals and took a deep breath.

Her room vanished once again, only to be replaced by her room. This version of her room had a ball of light hovering on the other side of her altar.

She followed it out, past the two guards with blindfolds and earplugs. It went down the stairs and out the door.

The line of light formed into a tiny ball a short distance down the street.

It just ended.

Nel cursed. She quickly peeked into the Order’s appropriated warehouse headquarters, Sister Cross’ room, and several other key places in town.

Sister Cross was nowhere to be found.

There were few ways to hide from an augur. The little abomination had a building in her prison that Nel couldn’t see into. Whatever stopped her vision there must have been set up by someone else, otherwise she would have done the same to her bedroom and possibly the dorms. She rarely went in and never for long. It was barely a note in her reports.

Sister Cross disappeared all of the time. Always wherever she was. Her method of disappearing wasn’t tied to what were likely wards on a building.

Nel bit her knuckles through her gloves. Even if nothing happened tonight, that would be the necromancer’s doing and no thanks to Sister Cross.

There was a sinking feeling in her stomach as Nel swore again.

She kept searching for Sister Cross.

Irene dug her fingers into the moist soil. The small hole grew as she wiggled her fingers. As smooth and soft as the magically modified dirt was, she could feel it grinding underneath her fingernails.

She had to purchase a fingernail brush for this class alone. Her nails were clipped short and she’d long given up painting them. Other students wore gloves to avoid getting dirt on their hands. Irene’s hands instantly turned into balls of sweat the moment gloves touched her.

Her hand snapped back to her chest. Something wiggled underneath the dirt. Just an earth worm, Irene thought to herself. She took a deep breath and glanced around to see if anyone noticed her.

Someone noticed. Of course someone did. It had to be her.

Eva politely smiled her way. It wasn’t cruel. Eva wasn’t gloating or sneering. Just a polite, almost understanding smile.

Irene returned the smile and turned back to her pot. She didn’t need the black-haired girl’s pity. She didn’t understand how Eva could have noticed her jumping back. The girl didn’t even have eyes.

She shuddered as her hand dug back into the dirt. That was a thing she tried hard to ignore. Everyone else seemed to do that just fine. They all sat at their table at lunch and laughed and talked like nothing was wrong.

No one ever talked about her eyes.

The teachers all ignored it. Other students whispered to themselves. Her group never mentioned it.

Jordan didn’t even have a theory on how she saw. He’d only discussed it with her once, the week after Eva came back to school. He knew how he’d try to see if he lost his eyes, but Eva wasn’t using whatever method that was.

Irene glanced up at the table across from her.

Jordan stood next to Shelby with their backs turned. When Shelby glanced towards Jordan, Irene could see a wide smile on her face. She pointed at something in her clay pot as she nudged Jordan’s arm. He chuckled lightly at whatever she was showing off.

Max said something which all three of them laughed at.

The large pot in front of her blurred slightly as she dug through it. She blinked twice and wiped her eyes. If she was crying, something was seriously wrong. She blinked again.

The blur didn’t go away.

Irene sighed. It was an issue she’d been noticing lately. Distances were fine, things up close tended to blur. Books were getting especially difficult to read. It might be time to get a pair of glasses, she thought. At least I’m not crying.

Not that she had anything to cry about.

Sure, her botany partners might never talk to her. She liked it that way. They didn’t share jokes or bother her with useless social nonsense. The closest they got to talking to her was when Kristina badgered her with questions.

Of course Irene was all too happy to answer.

Arm deep into the pot, Irene’s fingers touched something round and soft within. She froze.

“There you are,” she whispered to herself.

Irene inched her fingers around the dirt so as to not startle the little plant. Slowly her fingers encircled the little ball. She squeezed down and lifted up.

Out of the pot, the little ball of fluff squirmed in her hands. It tried to escape back to the safety of the dirt.

Irene would have no such thing. Digging through once was enough.

It was a soft little ball of pure fluff. As it wiggled in her hands, the dirt fell away into the pot. The little ball turned pure white as the dirt failed to hold onto its fur.

With a smile on her face, Irene dropped the kesaran into a jar and snapped the lid on. It burrowed down into the small amount of dirt. All the white fluff vanished beneath the surface, but a small amount could be seen pressed up against the glass.

A cute little thing.

Irene brushed off her hands as much as possible into her pot before stepping over to the sink. As hard as she scrubbed, she could still feel dirt beneath her fingernails.

A crash of glass behind her made Irene jump.

She dived forward. The little ball of fluff was already squirming out of the small mound of dirt. She didn’t want it to escape or hurt itself.

Her fingers closed around it. A sharp pain shot up her wrist as they did so. She looked around, not sure what to do with the baby kesaran.

“Here,” a jar was thrust into her face.

Irene plopped it in without even thinking.

A gloved hand reached out and gripped her hand. She used it to pull herself back to her feet, only to find herself face to face with Eva.

“What’s going on here?” Professor Kines said as he rushed over.

Irene turned to her professor, but another voice answered first.

“I saw the whole thing. Irene caught her kesaran, but set the jar down on the edge of the table.”

Irene spun to find a very smug looking Drew. Her other botany partner swapped places with an almost distraught looking Kristina.

She had done no such thing.

“Irene,” Professor Kines said. She turned back to him wearing a frown. “I warned everyone several times not to leave their jars near the table edge.”

“I did–”

“No excuses,” he turned to face the crowd of students that had all stopped their work at the commotion. “Let that be a lesson to the rest–”

“Professor,” Eva half shouted. “Irene cut herself on the shards of glass. I will take her to the nurse’s office.”

“What? Yes, of course.” He waved his hand off towards the door.

Eva started dragging her away by her hand. She noticed the girl’s firm pressure on her wrist.

“As I was saying, kesaran aren’t like normal plants. They can and will knock over the jars.”

Before they left the greenhouse, Irene saw the professor turn to her two lab partners. “You two,” he said, “sweep up this mess.”

The door shut just as Drew’s protests started.

That was worth a small bit of satisfaction. Drew could go screw himself.

Halfway between the greenhouse and the main school building, Irene tried to shake off Eva’s hand. Her grip was like a vice.

“Eva,” she said, “I can go on my own.”

“You’ve damaged an artery,” the girl said without looking.

“How can you know that?” Irene didn’t even know that. There was just a sharp sting in her wrist.

She brought up her free hand to tap her temple. “You know how they say not to let your eyes blind you? As it turns out, I don’t have to worry about that.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Eva didn’t respond. She kept her warm hand gripped tightly around Irene’s wrist as they entered the main building. From there, it was a short trip to the nurse.

“Oh dear. What have we got here?”

The nurse pulled Irene’s arm out of Eva’s grip.

When she finally saw it, Irene almost passed out. She might have for a moment. It might have been her shutting her eyes for a long time, Irene couldn’t tell. A deep red line ran from the palm of her hand half way up to her elbow.

“She cut herself on some glass in botany.”

“It’s good that you came to me. This might sting a bit.”

Nurse Post–her name tag had a realistic looking heart in place of the ‘o’–started cleaning out the gash. Irene winced back at the foaming potion that the nurse poured in the cut. The nurse massaged the foam into the cut with her hands. The bleeding seemed to stop and the blood cleared away as the foam was rinsed.

If seeing the cut almost made her pass out, seeing the cut without blood in the way almost made her throw up. The muscle and veins all stuck out, plain to see in the white light of the lamp.

Before she could, the nurse forced two potions down Irene’s throat.

Sure enough, a few minutes later and the cut stitched itself shut.

Irene shut her eyes and tried not to think about it as it did its thing.

A pat on her knee woke her from her mental shutdown.

“You’re all done, kiddo.” Nurse Post’s smile pinched her one red eye shut. Her other eye had a gauze pad taped over it.

Irene opened her mouth to ask. “Thanks,” was all that came out.

She stood up. Her arm looked back to normal save for a thin line of fresh skin over the spot that had been cut. “Do I need to fill out any forms or can I just go back to class?”

The nurse chuckled. “School will be ending in twenty minutes. You might as well be done for the day.”

Irene nodded. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be done for the day. The kesaran would be fine in the jar for a few days, so long as Drew didn’t set it free again. She did have a report to write up about it. No, she could do that at the dorms. Professor Kines would have–

She had to stop herself from jumping back as she walked out of the nurse’s office. Eva stood there, leaning against a window. Irene had forgotten about her.

The black-haired girl almost looked asleep. Her head was tipped down and her arms were hidden under her chest. She looked up as Irene took a step closer. Or turned her head up. She didn’t have any eyes to look.

“Thanks,” Irene said.

That was it. There was nothing more to say. Irene turned and walked down the hallway, away from Eva.

Or she tried to.

Eva had other plans. With a quick hop in those somewhat awkward steps Eva used brought the girl right up to Irene’s side.

“How’s your arm.”

“Better.”

She could run.

Eva couldn’t. The girl had never shared anything about what happened, only her obvious lack of eyes and constant use of gloves told the tale. Something happened to her feet as well, though it was less obvious. She had offhandedly mentioned being unable to run once.

Yet it wasn’t something that Irene would do. She wasn’t cruel and Eva seemed to have done nothing wrong. Shalise returned without any apparent injuries and they got along fine.

She was just… creepy.

Irene kept up her stride, even though slowing would have been more comfortable for the girl. They walked almost to the entrance.

Eva stopped.

Irene continued for three more paces before she stopped too. Did I go too far? Should I have just let her walk alongside me? With a sigh, Irene turned.

The girl had her head tilted to one side. Her hair–that really needed a trim, in Irene’s opinion–hung off the side of her head all the way down to her waist. She took a step forwards. Then another step. With a third and forth step, she moved just past Irene. Her head was tilted all the while.

“Eva?”

“That bull is back.”

Irene glanced out the nearest window. The snow had melted off for a day but returned in full force the first week of February.

Nothing was out the window but snow.

After sighing, Irene rubbed one of her temples. “Are you sure you’re not making it up?” The thought had crossed her mind almost every time Eva ‘saw’ the cow.

Eva frowned, looking back to Irene. “Pretty sure. Sometimes it is hard to tell.”

“Well,” Irene sighed. She didn’t want to get involved. “I’ve got a report to write. You probably do too. I think I’ll just–”

“It’s on the roof this time.”

On the… “Why would a cow be on the roof?”

“Bull. It is definitely a bull.”

“How do you even know?”

“Same answer I gave about your arm.”

That still doesn’t answer anything!

“Wait,” Eva said, “it is moving.”

“Moving where?”

Eva ran, or hobbled, straight to the window. She stumbled part way, but managed to catch herself on the window ledge. “It is right up there, looking down.”

Even pressing her face against the glass, Irene couldn’t see anything. “Eva, shouldn’t we just get Professor Twillie and leave it at that?”

“It’s coming,” was Irene’s only warning.

Snow flew in front of the window as a heavy thud rattled the glass.

A massive bull covered in black fur absorbed the shock of the fall. Its knobby little legs straightened to their full height. Even on four legs, the bull rose over Irene’s head.

Irene fell backwards, landing on her butt. She crab-walked backwards until she was in the middle of the hall.

Eva all but pressed her face against the glass. “It is there, right? I’m not just imagining it? Your heart rate has skyrocketed.”

It was all Irene could do to mumble out an answer. She wasn’t entirely sure what that answer was, but it was an answer.

“What does it look like?”

“I thought you could see,” Irene snapped in a brief moment of sanity.

Eva crossed her arms. “I can’t see very well.” It almost sounded like a pout.

The bull snorted out a steamy breath, fogging the glass up. It turned and spread its massive wings. With a few flaps, it was gone.

Eva’s shoulders drooped, but she walked over to Irene and offered her a hand.

For the second time that day, Irene pulled herself to her feet with Eva’s help. At least this time she didn’t have a massive gash in her arm.

“Well?” Eva had her hands on her hips.

“Well what?”

“What did it look like?”

“It was a bull.”

“Yes.”

“A huge one.”

“I know.”

“It had wings.”

“I could see that much. Tell me something I couldn’t see.”

“I don’t know what else you want. It had a crumpled horn? It was big? It breathed out steam?”

Eva shrugged. “Everything breathes out steam in the winter.”

Irene didn’t have an argument for that. “What do we do?”

“What do you mean?” Eva tilted her head to one side.

“We have to tell someone, right?”

“Of course. You have to tell our friends so they know I’m not crazy.”

Irene flicked her forehead. Eva stumbled back half a step. “I mean a teacher or someone.”

Eva shrugged again. “We already told Bradley Twillie and Zoe Baxter. They said they’d look into it.”

“That was a month and a half ago.”

Eva turned back to the window, sending hair flying behind her. “They never said they were good at looking into things.”

That was true. There were at least three questions she’d asked Professor Baxter about magical theory that the teacher had never gotten back to her on.

“We should remind them at least,” Irene said.

“You do that. School is almost over and I have to get ready for Franklin Kines’ combat class.”

There was a bit of an edge in the way Eva groaned out his name. “You don’t like it?”

“The worst.”

— — —

“There are rules for magic,” Zoe Baxter said.

It was the opening line of one of her fourth year lectures. There are obvious rules and rules that are less obvious.

The most obvious rule–the one students tend to offer first–is that mages cannot use the opposing element to their primary. Fire can’t cast water, earth can’t cast air. Simple and obvious.

Every creature that used thaumaturgy followed this rule. Elves, goblins, dragons and their related kin, and even the species of fae that practiced proper thaumaturgy. Most fae used their own magic but often tried to disguise it as thaumaturgy for whatever nonsensical reasons the infuriating creatures came up with.

Yet one of the books Eva lent her had a creature described within that wielded all four elements.

It was an impossibility.

Thaumaturgy was the only magic capable of manipulating the elements. Even the Elysium Sisters only appeared to use air magics. Their lightning bolts were not true lightning.

The author must be mistaken. The demon must have appeared to use elemental magic when instead it used some form of telekinesis to create the illusion it was manipulating all four elements.

Zoe herself could do a similar trick. As an air mage, she could perform telekinesis on metal or rock and fling the items around.

With a sigh, Zoe dropped the book into her storage pocket in between. Any time she got the urge to test anything she read in the books, she immediately stopped. It was a dangerous mindset to get into.

The stack of ungraded essays on her desk hadn’t shrunk while she was reading. She pulled the top one in front of her and pulled a red pen out of her desk.

She started working on the essay. Her eyes scanned down the tight, neat handwriting of Jordan Anderson. The analysis of learning nonthaumaturgical methods of magical manipulation that he wrote last semester raised several good points on the subject of ‘dark’ magic and how dark was subjective.

He gave the example of using skeletons and flesh golems as a manual labor workforce. Apart from regular work, the dead could go many places the living would be hesitant to enter. People could have donor check boxes on their identification that would allow their bodies to be used in case of death for the betterment of the living. It would allow a morally acceptable use of necromancy in society.

Controversial views, especially for the son of Governor Alex Anderson, but a valid idea nonetheless.

It was always the younger students that surprised Zoe. She had only been teaching for five years–five and a half now–but it was a pattern that held up for all five years. Older students gave textbook answers, the kind of answers that would get them a passing grade without effort.

That magical theory tended to be a highly disliked subject in comparison to the practical magic classes only compounded the students’ apathy.

So Zoe enjoyed reading the essays of students who had yet to learn ways around the system. Bright students such as Jordan were easily the highlight of her grading periods.

Zoe got to the bottom of the essay she held in her hands three times before she realized she hadn’t read a word.

Leaning back in her chair, Zoe arced her back and stretched her arms over her head. This is going to be a long day, she sighed.

She stood from her comfortable chair and crossed the room. The one-way wall showed an empty classroom on the other side. As expected from after school hours. A flick of her dagger and the door clicked locked.

The walls of her office tipped backwards and fell into nothingness as the cool embrace of between took hold around her. An empty side street rushed in to replace the white space of between.

Zoe straightened her butterfly tie and walked down a few steps to a well-worn wooden door. With a gentle push on the brass handle, the door opened without the faintest sound of a squeaky hinge.

The room beyond was warm even in the middle of February. The dark oak bar and tables, backed with red brick and lit by tasteful orange lights, only added to the warm atmosphere. Rows and rows of bottles rested on the shelves behind the bar.

A young man in a white shirt and black vest stopped washing down one of the tables as the bell on the door chimed. He looked surprised for a moment before kindly smiling. Simply seeing his charm filled smile vanished most of Zoe’s tension and worries.

“Zoe,” Tom said, “I haven’t seen you in a while. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Just a little unwinding,” Zoe said.

“Ah, I know just the drink for that.”

“A small one, I do have work to get back to.”

He moved behind the counter and pulled off a handful of bottles. “Technically, I’m not open yet. I think I can make a small exception.”

“I appreciate it,” Zoe said as she moved to one of the stools in front of the bar.

She watched as he mixed her drink. Tom even put on a small show by flipping the bottles and the mixer, almost juggling them. He tossed one behind his back and caught it on his elbow while he poured with his other hand. The bottle on his elbow tumbled off, spilling just enough into the tin before he caught it.

All that effort went to just an inch of drink in her iced glass.

“So,” he said as Zoe took a small sip, “what’s got you wound up?”

“Children being children, I suppose.” She couldn’t very well tell him that one of her students seemed to be a budding diabolist. “I just needed a change of scenery for a few minutes before I finish grading some papers.”

He grinned at her. “Well you’re always free to change your scenery here.” Tom stepped back around the bar. “I need to finish wiping down the tables. If you need anything, just say so.”

Zoe downed her drink with deliberate lethargy. It was a good drink, as expected of Tom. Not one she knew the name of. It had a deep amber color and tasted of some fruit she couldn’t place.

As she finished her drink, Zoe looked around the bar. She looked past the tables and the working Tom up to the stage. A beautifully polished grand piano sat in the center, lit by soft red lights.

“Hey Tom, mind if I use your piano?”

The bartender looked between the piano and Zoe before shrugging. “Not at all.”

Zoe walked up the short steps to the piano. Her fingers ran across the surface of the smooth keys as she sat down. She stared at the piano, not sure what she wanted to play.

She started slowly, very high up in the treble. Zoe kept the bass light, letting it mix in naturally. Her right hand descended to the middle of the piano.

More bass added in as the treble drew back into the ambiance. Her left hand hammered the keys. Her feet danced over the pedals, drawing out the notes to just the right length.

It all stopped for an instant. The treble came back with the bass in full force. Her fingers flew up and down the keys in a full run down. High and low and back to high. Her hands blazed across the piano.

Her song drew into a close with her hammering both hands down on the chords several times, holding the final strike.

Only when the piano’s sound stopped completely did Zoe pull her hands off the keys. She wiped a few beads of sweat off of her forehead. A deep breath in and a deep breath out had Zoe feeling much better.

A clapping had her almost jumping out of her chair. It wasn’t just Tom–though he looked as if he had stopped his cleaning to listen. A patron stood near the entrance. His hands moved together as he smiled a wide grin.

Zoe quickly removed herself from the seat of the piano. Her face felt the slightest bit hot as she hopped off the stage. She wasn’t counting on an audience other than Tom.

“May I buy you a drink,” the man said as she drew closer. He had a bright smile on and a gloved hand extended for a shake. “That was most impressive.”

Zoe had intended to simply leave. She did have work to do. Something made her stop just before she walked past him. I’m acting like one of my students, she thought as she took hold of his hand.

“One drink,” Zoe said.

His golden eyes glinted as he smiled and led her to the bar.

Tom already moved behind it and started up his routine of drink making. He set out a tall glass for each of them that started dark at the top but ended up almost white at the bottom. He moved back to finish wiping down the tables without a word.

“So,” Zoe said as she pulled the drink closer. That was far more than she wanted to drink, not that she considered herself a lightweight by any means.

“I apologize,” his white teeth spread into a grin, “where are my manners. I am Rex Zagan.”

“Zoe Baxter.”

“Zoe Baxter,” he said, mulling the name around on his tongue. He took a deep drink from the glass in front of him. “I think I’ve heard that name before. Are you a teacher?”

“Of magical theory.” She stopped just before taking a drink of her own glass. “Do I know you?”

“No, no,” he chuckled. “I’m an acquaintance of Martina’s. Providing all goes according to plan, I’ll be an instructor next year.”

Zoe frowned. She hadn’t heard anything about any of her colleagues planning on retiring or quitting. Had someone messed up badly enough during one of the dean’s little sit ins to get fired? Her worries must have been written on her face.

“I believe I’m being brought in to teach a class that the previous dean did away with. Martina wants to bring back a proper combat class.”

“You’re going to teach the students how to fight?”

“A lack of a proper course in combat is at least one of the reasons this school is so poorly regarded, yeah?”

“That’s true,” Zoe said. That was why she ran her seminar over the summer. “Though hardly the only reason the school is in poor shape. What are your qualifications?”

“I’m a class one fire mage with heavy background in combat.”

He certainly looked like he had a background in combat. He wore a solid black suit, but there were definitely hefty muscles hiding underneath.

“I spent around ten years on the front lines in a small conflict between some South American warlords. I was… well, conscripted.” He dismissed the line of conversation with a suave wave of his hand. “That’s all ancient history. Suffice to say, I’m alive and many others are not.”

Zoe took a drink as the future professor began what she expected to be his opening lecture.

It covered all the key points of what he hoped to achieve with the class. There were still some details to be worked out, but it seemed he would be running a mostly physical show aside from heavy casting drills until the students’ third year where it would shift to a magic focus. After that it became an elective like so many other classes.

“I believe Professor Kines noticed that problem as well,” Zoe said. She gave a short run down of his mage-knight club. “He’s been having the first few years do more exercise than casting.”

“Ah, good. I was concerned that next year’s second and third year students would both need the first year course. That should help things along.”

“Indeed,” Zoe said. A buzzing in her pocket caused her to stop and glance at her phone.

Was it really that late, she thought as she saw the time. Wayne had sent her a message asking where she was.

“I do have work to be getting back to,” Zoe said.

“Don’t let me keep you,” he said with a bright grin. “It was nice to meet a future coworker. We should meet again like this.”

Zoe stood, returning his smile. “Maybe I’ll stop by and play the piano once in a while.” She turned to a bartender who was looking very much like he wasn’t listening in. “Tom?”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve got the school’s moneybags on speed dial.”

Zoe gave him a curt nod and headed outside, leaving a half-finished drink on the bar. With a thought, she was back to her office.

Hot air permeated the entire building. The pleasant kind of hot air. It wrapped around and enveloped Eva. She didn’t need all the heating runes covering her clothes here. She didn’t even need clothes, but she couldn’t muster the energy to pull them off.

Eva reclined with a soft sigh, sinking deeper into the cushions of the couch. All of her aches and pains leaked out into the leather. The couch accepted all of it without complaint.

If it did complain, she might have been a little worried.

Her vision of the surrounding room slowly flickered out of her mind as Eva let down her guard and stopped concentrating.

A low sound droned on in the background. It sent quiet reverberations into her very core. Any superfluous noise got caught in the sound and never made it to Eva.

Eva felt at peace for the first time in a week.

A crack shattered the atmosphere.

Eva jumped. She glanced around for a moment before settling her vision on Arachne.

Eight eyes stared back. The spider-woman held a book shut in her claws.

“You were falling asleep.”

“I wasn’t,” Eva said. She dragged herself to a sitting position on the soft leather couch.

“What was the last thing I said?”

Eva pinched the bridge of her nose as she scrunched up her forehead. “Something about simulacrum theory?”

Arachne glanced at the pile of books beside her chair. “That was at least two books ago.”

“Oh.” Eva flopped back down on her stomach. “Better restart from there then.”

“Eva, it is the middle of the day. You shouldn’t be tired at all with your constitution. Is something wrong?”

The part of the couch she landed on lacked the warmth from her body heat. The cold of the leather somehow managed to be pleasant anyway. With a content sigh, Eva said, “Franklin Kines’ class is hard.”

“The combat class or botany?”

Eva gave her a glare. “Which do you think?”

“I would say botany, but then again, I am naturally talented in the art of tearing people to bits.”

“Tearing people apart would be easier than what I have to do.”

“And what’s that?”

“A back rub,” Eva groaned.

Arachne’s mouth split into a snarl. “You have to give your teacher a back rub?”

“Give me one and I’ll tell you.”

Her snarl ceased immediately. Eva did not miss the small twitches of Arachne’s claws. She slowly stood from her chair and moved past the center table. Her fingers twitched again as she towered over Eva.

Eva didn’t need to use flecks of blood to see the demon. Everything inside her women’s ward was so steeped in blood magic that it was almost like having eyes again. She still couldn’t tell colors apart and books didn’t have enough embossing on the words to stand out.

It was still the most comfortable place to be.

“I don’t know how.”

“It’s a back rub. You rub my back. With your hands.” Eva didn’t know more than that herself. “If you cut me, I’ll punch you in your teeth.”

“Okay.” Arachne reached down. She stopped just inches away. “Your shirt might get damaged.”

Eva almost put forth the effort to think about sitting up and pulling off her shirt. The muscles in her back tensed for one instant before they went slack. “I don’t care. I have more.”

Without further ado, Arachne’s fingers plunged into Eva’s back. They sat there putting a light pressure on her. Arachne seemed to forget the ‘rub’ part of the back rub for a few minutes. Eventually, she started pushing around.

She settled into a rhythm of pushing and pulling up and down Eva’s spine. It didn’t do near enough soothing of her sore muscles.

“Don’t forget my legs.”

“I thought it was a back rub.”

“Well now it is a back and leg rub.”

Arachne moved her hands all the way down to Eva’s ankles. She started kneading them all the way up.

Much better than the back, Eva thought with no small amount of relief.

“So what is all this for?”

Eva sighed; her eyelids just started to feel heavy again. “Professor Kines decided that standing around flinging spells at one another wasn’t good enough. Especially the first and second years who are far worse at magic. We get a full physical training workout for most of the class.” Eva sighed. “I can’t run, but he makes me make up for it with other work.”

Arachne continued working her way up Eva’s backside and then back down. At the third repetition, she paused her fingers right at the cusp of Eva’s butt.

“Do you want my legs?”

“Yes,” Eva sighed without hesitation, “and the rest of your arms.” The smile that split across Arachne’s face almost made her want to leave it at that. She didn’t. “Over summer break, I think.”

“Not tonight?”

“If your legs take as long to get used to as the hands, I think I’d like to be out of school.”

“I see,” she said. “I’ll be ready in three months.”

Arachne squeezed a pinch too tight, then resumed her massage as normal.

Eva snuggled her head into the leather cushions and started to doze off again.

A circulatory system entering her vision startled her to full alertness. She slumped back down into the couch as he walked towards the women’s ward. There was a familiar pattern she was hoping to see one of these days. Or rather, she’d never seen the circulatory system before, but it had other distinguishing characteristics.

“Arachne,” barked the one-armed man. “Get the treatment chairs set up. I need to go–” He cut himself off as his eyes fell on Eva. “Oh good. You’ve saved me the trip to your school, girl.”

Arachne hesitated with her hands still on Eva’s back. It wasn’t long before she reached her decision. Tucking a chair under one arm and the table under the other, Arachne started carrying furniture to the back of the room.

“Hello master,” Eva said. “Some things have changed while you’ve been gone.”

The heart in his chest immediately picked up a few beats per minute. “What changed,” he ordered.

Eva gathered together her willpower and raised her hand in a lazy wave. She clacked her fingers together as she did so.

Devon stood there, staring.

Arachne brought back the worn down barber chairs and swapped them out for one of the couches and the last chair.

Eva’s couch was the only one left. She sighed and crawled off of the couch. As she stood up, her shirt and skirt all but fell off of her. She tossed the tattered remains off onto the couch.

Taking a seat in her barber’s chair, she immediately flopped down into it and went slack.

Devon half ran up to her. He tore at one of her hands, pulling at it and prodding it. He pinched and bent the fingers.

“Odd,” he said. “This is a far more drastic change than I speculated might happen. They’re exactly like Arachne’s as well.”

“They are Arachne’s. Or were. Mine now.”

“They’re what?” he shouted.

“Well, my master was going off in search of a shiny new arm. I felt left out.” She smiled as she watched her master’s blood boil. “I see you haven’t had much success with that. Speaking of,” Eva took her free hand and pointed at her eyes.

Devon’s hand clasped against her forehead. He used his thumb to lift up her eyelid. He repeated the action for the other eye.

“I think you had better explain,” he said.

Eva sighed as Arachne picked up the last couch. She recounted her tale with only minor embellishments to her master.

His blood pressure went up and up as her tale went on. The part where she screwed up an infernal walk seemed to both infuriate him and calm him.

“That’s amazing,” he said when she mentioned Arachne’s theory on the island being her personal domain. “That means it is working.” His boiling blood tuned down to a low simmer after that. There might have even been a ghost of a smile on his face.

Eva wasn’t entirely sure. Even within the wards, some things were still difficult to accurately discern.

Whatever smile might have been on his face vanished as she got to Zoe Baxter discovering more than she should have. Sister Cross all but stalking Eva only worsened his feelings.

“This might complicate things,” he said as her tale drew to an end. “I need to run some tests before we begin.” He turned but paused. “I assume my cell block hasn’t been given over to some demon?”

“Nope. Ylva is the only one here.”

He growled. “It is still here?”

“She comes and goes,” Eva shrugged. “She doesn’t leave cell house two unless invited by me.”

“And you invite her often?”

“No,” Eva admitted. Only once since the hel set up her throne room had Eva invited her to wander around. Eva was getting something out of it at that time. A little lesson in how to properly slingshot through Hell.

Devon turned without comment and headed out of the building.

“Arachne,” Eva called out. “Pick me up and carry me to bed.”

She wasn’t sure how long her master was going to be, but the barber chairs were not comfortable.

Arachne didn’t come.

Eva scrounged up the effort to drag herself out of the chair. Arachne stood in the doorway to their bedroom. “Arachne,” Eva repeated.

“It is doing the thing again,” she said. One long finger rose up to point behind the wall.

With a sigh, Eva walked up beside her demon companion. The black skull sat in its usual place on her dresser. Arachne’s gift hung from the wall just above it. Eva hadn’t felt safe carrying it around with all the nuns stalking the town.

The smooth metal of the skull had a glint to it even in Eva’s blood vision. A pale white light leaked from the eye holes straight into her brain.

“Alright,” Eva said. “Would you carry me over? I don’t want to walk.”

Arachne swooped down and gently lifted Eva into her arms. “You should have taken my legs.”

“I know.”

Eva’s vision lessened as they moved outside the women’s ward building. It was still there. Even without flecks of blood orbiting around her. She’d expended no small amount of blood filling the entire prison with blood wards, though none were actually active as defenses.

Sadly, even with the extra wards, Eva wasn’t yet at the level of nigh-omniscient seeing outside her home in the women’s ward.

It was a work in progress.

“It is like a grating in my skull when she does that.”

“You’ve said so before. I still don’t feel anything,” Eva said as Arachne carried her across the prison yard.

“I think she does it to me specifically, just to annoy me.”

“Or she just wanted our attention and it doesn’t work on me, at least not yet.”

Arachne huffed, jolting Eva in her arms. She let out a light groan as her sore muscles hit Arachne’s carapace. “You shouldn’t give a demon any benefits to any doubts.”

“I give you the benefit of the doubt almost constantly.”

Arachne bared her sharp fangs in a grin. “I’m special.”

“Uh huh,” Eva sighed.

Inside cell house two was another matter entirely as far as her vision was concerned. Blood spread out as Arachne pulled open the door. It hit walls and bars, beds and buckets. Her mental topography painted the picture of the cell house as it was before Ylva moved in.

She knew the cell house looked nothing like that anymore. Only once had she been inside before losing her eyes. It became unrecognizable after Ylva moved in. Eva could walk all around the chamber, touching the marble pillars and hanging her legs off the edge of the pit.

Moving through the chamber disoriented Eva to the point of throwing up the first time she tried to navigate by blood.

Eva pulled back all the flecks into a single ball that hovered just out of arm’s reach.

“Ylva,” Eva called out. “I would appreciate it if you stepped out of the light. I cannot see you that way.”

There were short taps of something hard against stone. The taps gave way to the sound of bare feet slapping against stone.

Slapping might not be the correct word for one of Ylva’s bearing. Without eyes, it was the most amusing thing Eva could picture.

Once the feet changed sounds, the rest of Ylva’s body entered Eva’s vision.

A disturbing body. Her blood didn’t move within the circulation system. It might not have been fluid at this point, yet Eva could see it.

“You wanted to speak, I presume?”

“We wish to make a request.”

Eva waited. The demon never made a request. With a sigh, Eva said, “what is your request?”

“The one you called master has returned to perform his, you called it treatment? We wish to observe.”

“I thought you could see through the skull.”

“It is not the same as seeing it through Our own eyes.”

Eva turned her head towards Arachne. Even though she could see her demon without moving, staring in one direction lacked the social cues necessary to nonverbal communication.

At her glance, Arachne started shaking her head. Her face was twisted into a scowl.

Almost exactly what Eva expected to see.

“Three conditions.”

The blood making up the demon’s head gave a slight nod. “If they are reasonable.”

“You do not interfere with anything.”

“Acceptable.”

“You do not act to harm myself, Arachne, or Devon.”

It was hard to be sure, but the hel’s face may have twisted into an offended look for an instant. “Acceptable,” she said as soon as she regained her features.

“I wish a favor in return.”

“We shall have to hear the favor. This is a small request We make. Our eyes are worth far more than this.”

I wasn’t going to ask for your eyes. They probably wouldn’t even work in a proper living body, Eva didn’t say. “I wouldn’t ask for your eyes without just payment. I believe my favor to be minor.”

“Very well, We will hear this favor.”

“I have in my possession a golden dagger and sheath. They are quite the burden to carry. You turned a golden skull into a black metal that feels heavy but can be lifted without effort.”

“You would ask Us to turn your implements to void metal?”

“Is that asking too much?”

Ylva tilted her chin up. She stayed posed like that for a minute before she looked back down. “No. We will do this task.”

“Excellent,” Eva said. She let out a short breath of relief. “So you’ve agreed to my conditions, I agree to your request.”

Another light nod from the hel.

The three headed back across the compound and into the women’s ward. Ylva walked confidently, each step exuding grace and nobility. In comparison, Arachne sauntered. She carried Eva, but her gait barely changed from her usual lazy walk.

Ylva stepped outside her building and into the late February sun. The moment she did, her circulatory system vanished. Ambient blood wards allowed Eva to see her in her skeletal form. A long dress clung to her bones.

Even though the dress probably shaded her legs, her transformation into a skeleton seemed to be an all or nothing thing. Eva had never seen the hel in a state of transition.

“You should still be keyed into the wards. I’ve not removed you since November.”

The hel stopped in her step. She turned her skull and nodded. “We appreciate that.”

Her brief pause gave Arachne the chance to speed up ahead. She carried Eva into the women’s ward and set her down in the barber chair.

“Would you go retrieve my dagger? I think it is on the couch.”

Ylva stood to one side, frozen circulation system back now that she stood indoors. She tilted her head to one side as Arachne took off to the back of the room.

“Have you become incapable of walking on your own?”

“Just tired today.”

“This tiredness causes you to be incapable of walking?” The way she said ‘tiredness’ made Eva wonder if the demon had ever experienced the feeling.

She probably hadn’t. Arachne never appeared tired. Even in November after she lost all her limbs, Arachne still carried Eva around with no issue and no complaints.

“I can walk. I’d rather rest.”

“We understand.”

Eva wasn’t so sure she did. Either way, Eva didn’t argue.

Arachne returned with the golden dagger. The three bloodstones gleamed in Eva’s vision. She tried to offer it to Eva. Eva shook her off and gestured towards Ylva.

If Arachne could, Eva felt certain she would be rolling her eyes. She had the unmistakable air of annoyance around her. Still, she walked over and handed the dagger to the hel. Arachne avoided touching the hel even though Eva was almost certain that she could control her death touch.

Prudent, Eva supposed. She certainly did not want to take chances.

Ylva accepted the dagger. She unsheathed it and turned it over in her hands. Her inspection seemed thorough. The still blood in her fingertips traced over the fine engravings on both the dagger and the sheath.

“These are the implements you wish to be turned into void metal?”

“They are,” Eva nodded.

“Tell me, why did you not have your familiar do so?”

Arachne’s face twisted into a sneer. Her claws flexed outwards. For a moment, Eva thought she was going to strike the hel. The moment passed and Arachne seemed to calm down.

After a glance at Eva, she turned her gaze towards Ylva. “I am not her familiar.”

Arachne’s voice was soft. It lacked the usual harsh edge so common in her daily speech. Something to ask about later.

“We assumed. You follow her orders without question.”

“It is the nature of our contract.”

“Does your contract prevent you from forming void metal?”

Arachne’s teeth ground into each other and her fingers clenched again. The harsh grating in her voice returned full force when she spoke. “I can’t make void metal.”

“No?” Ylva’s head tilted up. There might have been a hint of a smile on her face. “We could teach. For a price.”

A low growl emerged from Arachne’s throat.

“Five hundred years of service to Ourself.”

“Not a chance.”

“It is a fair deal. You will be hard pressed to find a better one. We would not mistreat Our property so long as our property does not become dead weight.”

“I’ve gotten along for ten thousand years. I’m sure I’ll be fine for another ten.”

“Our offer stands in the future.” There was the lightest of shrugs before her head tilted back towards Eva. “We will perform this task after We have observed your… treatment.”

“I have no problem with that.”

Ylva nodded. With all the grace of a queen, she moved to the corner of the room. She didn’t move a muscle once she settled in. The way her blood didn’t flow made her look somewhat like a statue.

Eva slouched in the barber chair. Being able to see her own face at any time made it far easier to keep her emotions from showing so plainly. She exercised this ability to its fullest extent as she thought.

Arachne still glared at the hel even as she moved to her own chair. Eva didn’t miss the occasional half-snarl on the spider-demon’s mouth. Her fingers drummed on the armrest, poking small holes into the worn leather.

The fact that being called a familiar rattled Arachne so much was worrying. Did she think Eva wasn’t aware of the concept? Her master might not have a familiar, but he would probably tear off his other arm before he bound himself to a demon.

Speak of the devil, Eva thought.

A one-armed man strode up to her home. He marched straight past the still Ylva and up to Eva. Without asking, Devon grabbed her arm and plunged a needle into her skin. It stuck her just above the black curls of her exoskeleton meshing with her skin.

Blood flowed into the syringe as her master pulled back the plunger.

“I could just give you a sample with my daggers, you know.”

“I’d rather not contaminate the sample with more magic.”

Eva shrugged her free shoulder.

The needle left a tiny droplet of blood on her skin as Devon finished filling the syringe. Eva healed it near instantly.

He tapped out a small blob onto a square of paper. It must have had some sort of diagnostic ritual circle on it because Devon stared intently at the paper.

One soft sigh later and her master nodded to himself. “Alright. Your blood doesn’t show any increase in demonic influence. At least not any increase that is unexpected.”

He turned and paced back and forth across the short room. “That could be because there was no ritual going on. There is a lot more to this experiment than a simple blood transfusion.

“The ritual is designed to cause your body to integrate with the demonic blood rather than simply use and replace it with your own. With those hands, there may be unintended side effects during or immediately after the ritual if your body tries to further integrate the hands.”

He stopped pacing, facing away from a barely paying attention Eva. He sometimes went off like this. Demonology was his field, not hers.

“Given your experiences in Hell, I do not believe the addition of Arachne’s hands will invalidate my research even if something does happen because of them. I might need to find another person who isn’t tainted to act as a–”

He paused, frozen. At least, his body was frozen. His heart hammered.

“Eva,” he growled. “What is that?”

His only index finger rose to point at one corner of the room.

“Ylva,” Eva said, “agreed to perform a favor for me in return for being allowed to watch. Don’t worry, part of the agreement was her not interfering.”

The demon in the corner gave a light nod, her head still posed high.

Devon whirled on Eva. His face inches from her own.

Eva took a quick gasp of air and held her breath.

“You didn’t think to ask me before bringing some demon to watch.”

Hot air washed over Eva’s face. Even with her breath held, her master’s breath had a pungent odor she could never place. It wasn’t pleasant.

“I had a favor to ask, she had a favor to ask. It won’t hurt the experiment at all.” She tried to speak so her breath cleared the air. Eva took another breath of partially clear air before his hot breath pushed up her nose again.

Except it never came.

Devon whirled back to Ylva. He glared. His teeth ground together.

For a moment, Eva thought he might try to banish the hel.

He spun back to Eva and whispered into her ear. “You don’t know what you’re getting into, girl. I warned you about getting close to demons.”

“I’m not close to her,” Eva hissed back. “It was a simple request on both of our parts. Nothing more.”

His teeth grit in her ear. She worried he might crack his teeth.

“Fine.” He stood up. “Fine. You want to turn this into a playground for your little demon friends, I don’t care. So long as it doesn’t hinder my experiment.”

Eva sighed. She almost argued, but decided against it. The ritual would put her to sleep and maybe it would be a good nap. Of course, waking up never felt good after treatment, but that couldn’t be helped.

Devon pulled out the tubes and needles and started hooking her up to Arachne.

After double checking their connection, her master stripped down and stood in the circle’s smaller ring. There was a flare of pain and Eva’s vision went dark.

Zoe Baxter glanced over her fourth year theory class. Despair touched her heart as she scanned the vacant faces. Only two students looked happy to be in class. Most showed up out of routine or obligation.

At some point over the years, all the wonder of learning faded. The students found other things more important. Relationships, job searches, pressures from peers and parents, all contributed to the dampening of their yearning to learn.

Few things could be more tragic.

And these were only fourth years. There were still two years of older students currently in the school. Two more years to further remove the joy of learning.

“Magic is prevalent in our world. Even if more than ninety-nine percent of the world’s population cannot interact with or otherwise utilize magic, that does not mean it does not exist everywhere.

“There have been several items throughout the world, often weapons, that have become so infused with magic over the course of their history that they have taken on a legendary life of their own. How exactly that comes to pass is a topic for later in the year on which you will be writing several essays.”

That got several groans from her captive audience. At least they were listening.

“Hrunting, Gae Bulg, and, of course, Excalibur. Three very famous examples of these legendary items.”

Zoe moved across the room and reached into a closet. She pulled out a blood-red spear. After spinning it once, Zoe slammed the butt of the spear into the ground. A crack rang throughout the small room as chips of the broken tile scattered.

The custodial crew will be unhappy. Zoe smiled despite the monetary compensation that she’d have to pay. Her students sat up straight and their eyes focused on her.

Tossing lightning bolts around worked nicely on younger students. When half your students could create lightning on their own, it tended to lose its attention grabbing effect.

“This is a Gae Bulg. It was gifted to me–with the understanding that I would use it for educational purposes only–by a dear friend when he retired from the Vehmic Court. Specifically, their Forbidden Court subdivision.”

There was a quick gasp from one of the students. Someone recognized that name. Zoe felt her lips curl into a small smile as she spotted the student. Of course it would be Rachael Davis. Her father wasn’t supposed to mention his work, but she’d at least have heard of it.

The rest of the class gave Rachael a confused look or two before turning back to Zoe.

“I say a Gae Bulg for the simple fact that this is not the Gae Bulg.” Zoe spun the spear once again as she walked back to her lectern. She rested the butt once again against the tiled floor, though she set it down far softer.

Replacing tiles wasn’t cheap.

“It is a special type of replica. We call it a simulacrum. By taking the image of the original Gae Bulg, some of the original weapon’s power is passed down to the simulacrum. How much power depends on how close to the original the simulacrum is.

“How the simulacrum was forged, the materials used, and its physical image all contribute to the overall power. This,” Zoe motioned towards the spear in her hand, “is a very good replica. It is estimated to have approximately seven percent of the original Gae Bulg’s power.”

Some students grumbled at that. “That doesn’t sound like much,” one student said under his breath. Zoe caught it anyway.

“No, Mr. Ziranek, it doesn’t sound like much. That is because there is one thing that no simulacrum can properly replicate. That one thing contributes most of the abilities and power of the original. Can anyone guess what that is?”

Murmurs spread amongst the students until Rachael raised her hand. Zoe nodded in her direction.

“History, Professor Baxter. You said as much at the start.”

“Indeed, Miss Davis, very astute.” Zoe smiled at her pupil. At least someone was paying attention before she whipped out the spear. “History. Time continues and objects gain age and experience. This Gae Bulg simulacrum can never reach the age of the original. Even if you were to simulate every battle, every experience of the original, it would never match up.

“Part of that is by design. There are specific rituals a replica must undergo before it can be called a simulacrum. Part of that is leaching power from the original rather than creating its own power. It is possible to create a new spear and give it new experiences, but there is no guarantee it will achieve a legendary status.”

“What happens if the original is destroyed?” a bespectacled boy asked without raising his hand.

“Excellent question, Mr. Heath. All simulacra of that object lose their power. This spear is still a pointy object that would hurt if you were struck by it,” a few chuckles ran around the room, “but it would lose its homing, penetrative power, barbs, and any other special ability that the original Gae Bulg holds.”

“How does a weapon become legendary?”

“Another excellent question, Mr. Heath. One that has been puzzling mages for centuries. What we’ve found out is mostly that trying to make an object legendary tends to fail. Like the object knows it is being put through the motions. These things happen on their own and rarely at that. We will discuss legendary weapons more over the course of the week.

“I do wish to mention that it isn’t just weapons that can achieve legendary status. Trinkets can as well. Books that achieve a legendary state tend to be called by their own title: grimoire.”

There were a few murmurs at that. The term grimoire tended to evoke negative emotions in most people for some odd reason. There were plenty of grimoires that had perfectly good effects.

“Books are far more difficult to create simulacra of. How they are manufactured, the type of ink, the type of paper, the words, the strokes in every character, all of it adds up. Sometimes aspects of the original are difficult to discern, especially if the original is lost or otherwise unavailable.

“To find more in-depth information on simulacra and their creation, we will be opening our own books and turning to page three-seventy. Your homework will be finding a legendary object that interests you. You will then detail how you would create a simulacrum with the highest possible leach of ability. Keep this in mind as you read.”

With that, the light in her students eyes died. Their vacant expressions returned at the mere thought of homework and using their books.

They slowly complied and pulled out their books in the end.

Tragic, Zoe thought as she prepared her own book. Simply tragic.

“Abomination receives treatment for hand maintenance,” Nel mumbled to herself as she typed out the words.

She had no idea what she actually saw, and she didn’t care. Nel doubted it was anything terrible based on the girl’s actions over the last four months. Whatever was going on there, she didn’t want to give any more reason for Sister Cross to think about replacing her.

“Besides, it might actually be treatment for her hands.” She didn’t type those words.

Nel moved back to her altar. At first she’d been worried. The girl was an abomination, but she was still a girl. A scraggly looking man with a disheveled goatee standing next to her set off alarm bells.

She’d only tuned in as they were all naked. The man quickly dressed, however. He walked up and started poking and prodding the abomination. It was only then that Nel had noticed the tubes connecting the abomination to the demon.

The man had left them lying in their chairs and walked over to one of the buildings. Nel followed him. He took out a gigantic binder and started writing.

Nel tried to read over his shoulder, but it was in some kind of code. At least, it wasn’t any of the twelve languages she knew. He returned to the room with the abomination, made a few more notes in a smaller notebook, and started disconnecting the tubes.

The demon and the abomination still slept there and the man returned to his building.

Nothing particularly interesting as far as Nel was concerned.

With a thought, the black strand flew off to one side and a brown strand took its place.

The little brown-haired girl sat alone in her room. Oddly for a Saturday, her blond friend was nowhere in sight.

Nel could have searched around for the friend, but that could take a while without a fetter.

The poor girl sat on her bed. She had her wand out, continually casting a spell over and over again. It was the usual routine for her.

If she–Shalise, if Nel remembered correctly–wasn’t hanging around with her friends or at school, she was practicing. Both the blond and the abomination helped her out when she practiced in their presence.

Nel smiled as she rooted for the girl. She’d pieced together what happened to her on Halloween; it was almost impossible not to figure it out when you watched the people involved all day every day. If Shalise could find happiness in becoming a warrior, good for her.

Learning her past brought up conflicting emotions in Nel. Most of her conflict lay with the abomination. She seemed to be a kind person. Nothing outside of what happened the night Nel first saw her hinted at anything. That was more revenge than anything else.

She even saved the daughter of Lynn Cross.

That was another thing she was pretty sure she wasn’t supposed to know about. There was no way she would survive beyond the end of this assignment. The leader of Charon Chapter having a daughter? Unthinkable.

Nel sighed as she swapped the two floating brown hairs. The short one moved into position as the long one hovered off to the side to join the long black hair and the demon’s leg.

As usual, Lynn Cross didn’t appear immediately. She didn’t appear at all. There wasn’t even a trail of light detailing the last fifteen minutes of her life.

Just darkness.

Nel rose from the altar, directing the fetters to their storage spots against one wall as she did so. There was no need to check up on the demon. She was right next to the abomination.

Not that the demon ever did anything interesting anyway. She sat almost perfectly still unless the abomination was around.

Time for another bath, Nel thought.

With a spring in her step, Nel moved into the bathroom.

Her new home had a bathroom attached to the master bedroom. She no longer had to round-up the guards to go take a shower. Being able to take one whenever the mood struck her might be the best part about Sister Cross’ failed murder attempt.

It was just another way to separate her from the rest of the nuns. Nel knew this. Nonstop baths made her not even care.

She pulled off her habit and left it crumpled on the floor.

Flipping the ceiling fan on–something that helped with both humidity and frankincense–Nel sat on the edge of the already filled bath. It made too much noise to fill often. Sister Cross would take away this one pleasure if she knew about it.

Taking her focus from her habit, Nel slid the baseball-sized orb underneath the water. She channeled magic into it.

Where she learned thaumaturgy, Nel couldn’t say. She could say that she would be very depressed without it. As the water around the orb started bubbling, it rose to the top of the pool and spread out. Cool water moved in next to the crystal and heated up.

“I am so glad I’m a pyrokinetic.”

Nel shut her eyes as she slipped into the steaming bathwater. She sat and soaked, reclining against the slanted end of the bath. All her tension slipped off into the water and dissipated.

There was something to be said about baths. For one, it wasted time. A simple shower would suffice for cleaning. It also left Nel in a state of idleness. No work got done in the bath. No spying. No sleeping–Nel had tried to sleep once, it didn’t end well.

Yet it was the single most pleasurable thing Nel could remember doing since she became an augur. The water seeped into her skin and she reveled in it.

What she wouldn’t give for a less cramped bath. Nel did not consider herself a very tall woman by any standards, yet knees poked up above the water. Her head rested against the wall with her neck completely out of the water. If she wanted to dunk her head, she’d have to almost completely lift her feet out of the water.

On one of her missions nearly a year ago–just after she became an augur–Charon Chapter had been hunting a cadre of vampires. Nel had been searching for their den. She found it.

The master vampire had a bathtub big enough for his entire coven to–well, it was big. It had these little jets that shot water around.

Nel almost started drooling just thinking about it.

Even with her knees poking out of the water and absolutely no arm room, the bath was still the best part of her day. She spent almost every bit of downtime just soaking.

With a deep sigh, Nel thought for just a moment that she wouldn’t mind staying there forever.

Unfortunately, such a thing was not meant to be. Not only because of the murderous Sister Cross, but also because of the large crash outside the bathroom.

Nel scrambled out of the bathtub. Her foot skidded across the floor. She fell on her back. Pain lanced through one of her eyes as she pulled herself back to her feet.

Another crash outside came with the strangled cries of one of the nuns.

Nel threw on her tunic, ignoring the throbbing pain in her eye. She gripped her focus in her hand. Her scapular, rosary belt, and cross all lay forgotten in a pile.

If this was it, she wasn’t going down without a fight.

She threw open the door, eyes already blazing with white light. Nel was ready to fight off any nuns or necromancers that looked hostile to her.

Neither stood before her.

A man stood with his bare hand shoved deep into a white-robed nun’s chest. His foot plunged through Nel’s scrying altar as she stared.

The moment Nel looked at him, she was hit by an overload of information. She tried to sort through it all.

“Devil,” she started. Augurs weren’t meant for combat. “Asmodeus, subcategory: Mammon? Beelzebub?” Too much information. Her head throbbed. Her eyes stung. She had far too much insight to observe a creature like the one before her.

Nel shut it down.

The demon–devil lunged at her.

She scrambled backwards into the bathroom, falling once again. With her focus, she threw out the largest burst of fire she could.

The thing in front of her laughed. Chuckled?

Nel activated her connection just long enough to send a bolt of lightning straight into his bare chest.

That shut him up.

He took a slow step forwards. His hoofed foot left behind a burning crater as it lifted off the ground.

That would be why he laughed at fire. Nel tried to lick her dry lips. Her tongue was too dry to do any good.

He took another step forward.

I’m going to die here. She almost laughed. He was trying to intimidate her. Toying with her. Before the lightning bolt, he might have just killed her. Now he was mad. I’m going to get pulled apart in the most painful way he can imagine.

At least it wouldn’t be my imagination. Several very unpleasant ways to die flashed through Nel’s mind as she stared in horror.

Death pinged against her. One of her sisters died. The one the demon held. The nun’s passing resonated in Nel’s bones. She had held on for so long with the demon’s hand in her chest.

Nel needed to alert the others.

The demon took another step forward.

She couldn’t spare the concentration. Not now.

Nel closed her eyes and activated her connection again. She blindly fired three bolts of lightning.

If the source had been right–it always was–he was a devil class demon. She might have just tickled him rather than hurt him. Nel kept her eyes closed. She didn’t want to see the end coming.

It didn’t come.

She peeked open one of her eyes.

Nel took in the tiny bathroom. The nun he had had his hand in lay collapsed against the door. Sister Mable’s lifeless eyes stared out at her. The devil wasn’t in sight.

Hot breath stung the back of her neck.

“Boo.”

The bass voice rumbled the floorboards. Nel could feel it through her hands.

She scrambled forwards, launching lightning behind her as she went.

Her hand moved too close for the shield to activate. Nel cried out as the devil’s hand closed around her extended wrist. The bone might be nothing more than powder.

He let go.

Nel tumbled forward into Sister Mable’s bloody lap.

The clunk of his hoof moving closer sent Nel into a panic. She crawled out of the bathroom on her hand and knees.

Whatever pain there might have been there was drowned out by the source.

His footsteps clunked closer.

Where are the other guards? “Sister Cross,” she cursed as realization hit her. She must have had them removed from their posts to leave her unguarded.

Not that it mattered now.

With a thought, the demon leg hovering above the remains of her altar launched itself over her head. It flew like a spear towards the approaching devil.

An augur’s powers weren’t supposed to be used that way. She could be excommunicated.

That didn’t matter either.

The demon leg had to do something.

She turned to look behind her, cutting her connection to preserve her sanity.

Pain coursed through her arm and straight to her brain. Terror was the only thing keeping her from screaming.

The devil laughed. He caught the speeding spear out of the air. Green fire burst from the tips of his fingers. The shiny black leg was reduced to ash in seconds.

Nel was sure she heard a whimper. It probably came from her.

Each arrogant step the devil took left a trail of flame. Each step brought him closer to Nel.

Nel shut her eyes and reactivated her connection. The shield would hold him at bay so long as she didn’t move.

Hold him at bay until what? Reinforcements?

Someone started laughing. A high-pitched, hysterical giggle. Far too high to be the demon.

Who am I kidding. There’s no one coming. If Nel didn’t know better, she would have suspected Sister Cross of being the one to send the demon. Weren’t they supposed to be fighting necromancers? Why the hell was a demon attacking her?

Her mind flashed to the abomination. No. It couldn’t have been her. Nel had had her under near constant observation. She’d never even seen the abomination with any demon save for the spider.

The footsteps drew closer.

Never before had she wished she could teleport as much as she did now. Why did only chapter leaders train that ability?

A voice whispered in the back of her mind, because the rest of the nuns are expendable. And augurs, the voice in her head laughed, augurs don’t get human rights.

Something slammed into her shield. Part of it fractured.

Her shield disappeared.

The shield didn’t shatter. She didn’t turn it off.

Nel opened her eyes in horror. Her connection wasn’t even on. She tried to connect. It cut away the moment she tried.

The devil’s laugh rattled the windows. His mismatched horns shook from side to side as he threw his head back.

He was doing something. She couldn’t connect. Her arm throbbed. The focus was lost somewhere long ago.

Nel cowered against the shattered remains of her altar. She shut her eyes and desperately tried to activate her connection.

It flicked off every time she tried.

“That’s it?” A blast of hot air erupted in her face. “Why is my master so worried about you pathetic nuns?”

He poked a single finger into her shoulder. Pain tore through an eye. Her shoulder must be dislocated.

“Please,” Nel sobbed. She barely realized she opened her mouth.

“Please?” The marble altar rumbled at his mocking voice. “Please what.”

“I–” A hiccup caught the words in her throat.

He laughed again. “You’re a weird one. I thought I could have some fun with you because of that.”

The demon leaned down, hot breath scorching her ear. “You’re weak, yeah?”

“I-I’m not a fighter. Any sister would be stronger.”

Nel could almost imagine him glancing back to the dead nun in the bathroom the moment the words left her mouth. He glanced back with a quirked eyebrow. There was rumbling laughter as he walked away, leaving her in her pitiful state while he left in search of more worthy targets. Like Sister Cross.

Her imagination was always her strong suit.

Long nailed fingers gripped her throat. Nel clambered to her feet as the hand lifted.

He lifted too high. Her feet left the ground.

With her one good hand, Nel’s fingers dug into the beast’s arm. Her muscles burned as she tried to hold herself up.

She didn’t have to hold on long.

The demon pulled her in close. Close enough for his rough lips to brush against her cheek. An actual kiss.

She wasn’t next to the demon anymore. It took her a moment to comprehend.

Nel flew through the air. Her back impacted something hard.

She kept going.

Glass shattered all around her. Pain laced through her back and arms.

Fresh air rushed into her lungs as she gasped in a breath. The cool February sun cradled her as she cried out.

Nel fell.

Pain pierced one of her eyes as she landed. A shard of glass dug into her side.

Nel lay in the thin layer of melting snow. She couldn’t move. She didn’t want to move. The thought itself sent needles through her entire body. Actually moving would only be worse.

Maybe the devil would leave. Maybe it would think she died.

No. He knew what he was doing. Even if he did leave, Sister Cross would show up sooner or later. She’d finish the job.

Nel tried to connect again. The source wrapped around her like a warm blanket. Her pain flooded through the connection rather than to her mind.

With the source’s strength, Nel dragged herself to her feet. “Diagnostic: Self,” Nel mumbled. Information trickled into her mind. She started hobbling away. Anywhere else.

“Fractured left ulna. Fractured left radius. Blood loss detected.”

Nel trudged through the snow. She didn’t look back. If the devil was there, she didn’t want to look.

“Major lacerations across full body. Foreign objects detected. Additional details available.”

Whatever additional details the source had for her could wait. They wouldn’t be good news.

“Heal: Self.”

“Level Psalm healing available. Seek designated mender for additional care.”

Nel cursed to herself. Not that she expected better for an augur. On the bright side, she wouldn’t bleed out anytime soon. The burn of Psalms gushed through her veins. She grit her teeth as she continued moving.

The snow had melted off the sidewalks earlier in the week; at least she wasn’t leaving a nice footpath to follow. The blood would stop soon enough, if it hadn’t already. No one could follow her at the very least.

Transportation. She needed transportation. Something, anything to get her away.

There were people at the school. People who could teleport. It wasn’t a far distance. Nothing was a far distance from anything in Brakket. She could make it.

She had to make it.

The main part of the city drew closer. Tall buildings. Tight alleys. Places to hide.

Nel leaned against the brick wall of a shop. She slumped against it, but stayed on her feet. There was no guarantee she would get back up if she collapsed to the ground. She struggled breathing a few deep, raspy breaths.

The shop owner. They could contact the school. Nel wouldn’t have to walk all the way.

No. What if they contacted the nuns. What if whoever the shop owner got a hold of at the school misunderstood and contacted the nuns.

What if they contact Sister Cross anyway?

Nel pushed off the side of the building. She stumbled around back, moving through the alley. She couldn’t think about such things. They had to help her.

Without frankincense, Nel couldn’t concentrate on seeing. There were brief glimpses ahead of her path, nothing more. Her sight jumped around the corner of the alley before she did. Just enough warning to stop.

An older man, balding, stood just outside his building. He leaned against the wall near a doorway. Every now and again, he’d bring a cigarette to his mouth and take a deep drag.

Nel waited. She couldn’t do much else. Her eyelids started to droop. She shook it off. Launching her vision around the corner, Nel watched the man. It took an eternity, but he went back inside the building.

A sigh escaped her lips. It took another minute to muster the effort to move on.

Pushing off from the wall, Nel continued.

Lumbering along through the alleys had Nel feeling the pain. All of the pain. Even shunting it off to the source didn’t stop it from existing. The longer she shunted it, the more prominent it became. Before long, being connected wouldn’t help at all.

The most bothersome feeling came from her tunic. It was soaking wet. She forgot about her bath.

Her nice, hot bath.

It seemed so long ago.

The diagnostic hadn’t mentioned hypothermia or frostbite. She’d only been outside for a few minutes at that point. Her feet were bare. No doubt she’d stepped on things not meant for bare feet while walking down the alleys. The source would have dampened a lot of pain, not to mention the overpowering feeling from her other wounds.

Nel stretched out a hand. White fire danced from her fingertips. She kept it small, not wanting any accidents. Nel huddled up as close as she dared.

It barely warmed her, if it warmed her at all. She couldn’t feel the heat. Holy fire wasn’t hot, not unless it was burning evil. The other sisters could probably stand in it without any side effects. Nel didn’t have any other options.

The red crystal focus was as good as gone.

Nel extinguished the fire with a wave of her hand. It wasn’t doing enough. She shoved off the ground and stumbled her first few steps until she fell into a rhythm. She kept one hand–her good hand–on the alley wall, as much as she could.

Doors, dumpsters, and bins all forced her to push off of the wall. The alleys went on around until she reached the entertainment plaza outside the school. There were no alleys after that. Wide open space lay between her and the school.

Space filled with nuns.

Not filled. Nel shook her head. There were only two. They sat together on a bench outside of one of the two dorm buildings.

She hadn’t been told explicitly–Nel never got told anything if Sister Cross could help it–the new dean of the school didn’t like the nuns wandering the grounds. That should help her, at the very least.

Now to get rid of those two.

Nel took a deep breath.

She pinged out Sister Mable’s death across the source, aimed at the Charon Chapter nuns.

Even at the distance she was at, she could see it work. The two nuns jumped from their slouched postures to being ramrod straight. They glanced at each other before standing. There was no hurry in their footsteps. No haste, nothing to betray that something was wrong to any watchers.

But they were agitated.

It was a dangerous move. If anyone knew her building had been attacked, it would be very suspicious that she didn’t relay the death sooner. Her only hope was that none knew. They would show up and find the body of Sister Mable. Nel wouldn’t be there, of course. They’d think she had been kidnapped or killed.

Hopefully killed. In either case, she should have a few days before Sister Cross could secure the release of her fetter from the vaults.

As the nuns left down the main street, Nel emerged from her alley. She didn’t want to pass between the dorms. Too many people could see her there.

Nel slogged through the mushy snow behind one of the dorms. There were still windows, but only the ground floor would be able to see her. Far fewer people than between the dorms.

It wasn’t pleasant. Her toes ached. That couldn’t be a good sign. If she could feel her toes ache over the pain in her wrist, eyes, or back, it must be bad.

She was so close.

The dorms left behind her. The school approached. Nel had wandered the halls enough while spying on the students to know where she needed to go.

The main lobby was deserted. A Saturday wouldn’t have students inside. There was no school. She might not find the help she sought.

Nel had to try.

The large open windows let the sun in while keeping out the cold.

It was glorious. There was a slight urge to raise her arms in praise of the warmth.

She couldn’t muster the effort.

The sofas near the entrance looked so inviting. So soft. Nel stumbled towards one. A brief rest.

No.

No. Nel had to continue. The lobby was too open. Too easy to get caught. Too easy to lie down for a nap and never stand up again.

Nel tore herself away.

Using her glimpse to avoid any confrontation, Nel made her way though the school.

She found the classroom.

Nel threw her glimpse into the adjoining office.

Nel almost laughed. She might have, it was hard to tell. The teacher was inside. Grading papers or something, the vision didn’t hold out long enough to tell for sure. It didn’t matter.

She was inside.

Not wanting to be mistaken for an attacker, Nel shut off her connection. As her eyes ceased burning, the pain flooded over her. She clamped her jaw to avoid screaming.

Nel reached for the door.

The handle was locked. Nel hammered on the door. It didn’t come out as strong as she intended. She kept at it. Banging on it. Rattling the latch. She almost thought about kicking it before remembering her lack of shoes.

Forever passed before the door opened. The professor stood in the doorway. Her hair, cut from the chin to the nape of her neck, tossed behind the teacher as she dashed forward to catch Nel in her arms.

“H-Help me,” Nel’s voice croaked as she stuttered. Without her connection, she could feel the cold. It surrounded her. Enveloped her. Closed in on her. She had to get one more sentence out.

“Sister Cross is trying to kill me.”

Nel’s vision went dark.

Eva slumped over her desk. Basila lay curled up on top. Eva lightly prodded the sleeping sculpture, poking the side of its scaly head.

It didn’t seem to like that. Every now and again, it would snap at her finger. Some kind of mental conditioning kept it from biting hard or with its fangs. It ended up suckling around Eva’s spindly finger.

That only made Eva prod it more.

Her master didn’t have any useful advice about her eyes. He only said, “don’t take the first deal you hear,” and stalked off to his section of her prison.

Devon took his own advice very seriously, if his continued lack of an arm was any indication. He didn’t even ask Arachne. Maybe he was worried about what she’d ask for. It was more likely that he just didn’t want her odd claws.

Eva had to admit that they had their uses. The strength and overall finesse was nothing to be scoffed at. Still, trying to maintain a normal life with them wound up more frustrating than anything. Maybe if she’d revealed them as soon as she’d gotten them, the rest of the school would ignore it. They already did that with her eyes.

She sighed, twirling her finger around the little snake.

Eva pulled out her dagger. Her new, shiny black–even in her vision–dagger. With a quick swipe, she slid it down her arm. Just enough blood emerged to renew all the flecks before she healed it.

Normally, she’d have retreated to the bathroom to protect her roommate’s sensitive sensibilities. Neither Juliana nor Shalise were in at the moment and Eva didn’t feel like getting up.

She toyed with the dagger. Whipping it up and balancing it on a single finger. It had the same, impossibly heavy yet weightless feel that the skull had. Much lighter feeling than the gold. Her hands might be superhumanly strong, but that stopped at her elbows.

Devon actually seemed interested about the new dagger. Despite his protests to her watching, he watched closely as Ylva gripped the handle and the sheath. Eva couldn’t see the gold. The black of the void metal bled into her vision from Ylva’s hands. Almost like ink being poured over an invisible dagger.

The dagger had only been in her hand for an instant before Devon snatched it out. He started weighing, measuring, and writing down all kinds of notes. Eva shouted at him when he started trying to scrape the metal. Trying ended up being the key word. He couldn’t make a single mark on the smooth surface.

Her master seemed especially interested in Eva’s ability to perceive the metal without using blood. The skull was the same way. Ylva offered the knowledge for free. Eva was at least partially demonic and Ylva made both items for her. The void metal considered Eva its owner.

Eva didn’t feel that explained much, but Devon nodded along.

Just as she started to sheathe the dagger, a circulatory system appeared behind her. Its arm already raised to attack.

Eva dived out of her chair. Her desk flew across the room.

She didn’t bother to uncork one of her vials of Arachne’s blood. One broke as she landed. She quickly whipped the loose blood up into a shield just in time to get hit by another attack.

“Where is she?” the voice yelled. The person didn’t wait for an answer. Two more blasts hit Eva’s shield before she even had the next vial uncorked.

A ball of blood shot towards the woman. It splattered against something just inches from her body.

A shield. Eva cursed. “Where’s who?”

She poured another vial into her shield.

Another few attacks struck.

“Don’t play coy with me, Eva. I know you sent a demon to attack her.”

Two vials left, attack or defend? Attack, obviously. She couldn’t count on any reinforcements. Even with the strengthened detection wards on the dorms, it might be too late.

Her shield drained at an alarming rate. The woman wouldn’t let up. Attack after attack.

Eva punctured her wrist with her dagger. She poured her own blood into the shield while she worked on her big attack. With a swift motion, she sheathed the dagger on her back.

The two vials of Arachne’s blood twisted and pulled into a wire frame ball.

They’re going to make us change rooms again, Eva thought as she plunged her claw into the ball.

A massive construct of her hand materialized in the room. The claw launched at the woman. The needle-like fingers made of blood squeezed her.

Not her. The woman’s shield.

Eva felt it crack.

Almost there.

The pinky of her blood construct passed through a hole in the shield. Eva watched as it pierced her leg.

It wasn’t enough. The construct dissipated.

Not willing to give the woman the time to rebuild her shield or to attack, Eva stood up. Her own shield wouldn’t last long with just her weak blood powering it.

She still had her claws.

Eva dashed across the room.

She tried to.

The moment she started her run, Eva realized her mistake.

No toes supported her as she tipped forwards.

The hard dorm floor lifted up to meet her. She hit the ground and skidded forward.

Eva rushed to heal the minor scrapes she got on her cheek as she tried to regain her footing.

A crack in the air sounded just as pain jolted through her right shoulder. Eva’s arm spasmed and she hit the ground again.

Eva screamed. The scorching in her shoulder increased despite the attack ending. It spread through her chest.

The woman–Sister Cross gripped her hair and lifted her head. She slammed Eva’s face down against the ground.

“Eva. Where is she?”

Eva tried to claw at her. She stomped a booted foot down on Eva’s upper arm. Something cracked.

Eva screamed again.

“I will not ask again.”

“I didn’t touch Shalise,” Eva cried out. “I don’t know where she is.”

“What?” Sister Cross ground her heel into Eva’s arm. “What happened to Shalise.”

She roared.

“I don’t–”

A second circulatory system appeared standing just across the room.

A pregnant moment passed as the newcomer took in the scene. Without warning, an announcement, or even a movement, he launched an attack.

Heat raced over Eva’s back. She could feel it through her clothes, through the pain of her shoulder. The heat created a sound. A roar not unlike the engines of the jet that took her to Brakket.

Sister Cross tried to take a step away.

Eva’s good arm shot out around her already injured leg. The needles of her claw sank into the nun’s flesh.

The nun’s shield didn’t impede Eva. She was too close. It did stop whatever Wayne Lurcher launched at the nun.

He didn’t like that. The stream of heat intensified over Eva’s head.

Sister Cross kicked Eva in the stomach. Her hand reflexively released its hold over the nun’s leg.

Eva skidded across the room.

Eva’s back–her shoulder hit something. She wasn’t sure what. Almost all of her flecks were concentrated around the nun.

Wayne Lurcher didn’t let up. He activated his own shield as the nun threw lightning in his direction.

Eva could tell it fractured. The sound of breaking glass echoed through the room. His shield wasn’t even a quarter as strong as the shields the nuns used.

Still, it didn’t shatter.

It did take its toll.

Eva could see his entire body strain to repair his shield without letting up his attack.

He didn’t hold on long enough.

Sister Cross fired three bolts of lightning at the same time. One obliterated his shield. The second and third hit both of his legs.

The blood in his legs reacted oddly. It warped. All the veins and arteries twisted in on themselves before snapping back to normal.

Eva hadn’t been paying attention when she had been hit to know if that happened to her.

Whatever it was, it didn’t help him. Wayne cried out as he fell to his knees.

None of that stopped the heat in the room. Wayne continued his attack.

Sister Cross hit an object out of his hand.

The heat faded.

For a second.

Something popped out of Wayne’s sleeve and the heat resumed. Hotter than before.

Eva liked heat, but this… she could be standing on the sun for all she knew.

Sister Cross’ heart rate picked up. Eva could almost hear the fractures forming in her shield. The roar of whatever made the heat overpowered any actual sounds.

She tried to knock Wayne Lurcher’s new focus out of his hand. Her lightning pinged against his newly formed shield. Unlike Sister Cross’ shield, his did not survive the strike. The sound of glass shattering echoed though the room.

“Stop!”

Eva noticed a third circulatory system rush into the fray. She dashed straight at Sister Cross.

The nun turned to face her. Her heart skipped three beats.

Wayne Lurcher managed to shut off his attack just as Shalise tackled Sister Cross.

“What are you doing girl?” Wayne Lurcher shouted.

“Stop fighting!”

Even without being able to see, Eva could tell there were tears streaming down Shalise’s face.

“W-Whatever it is, it is a mistake.”

“Shal.”

Wayne gripped his wand–if that was what he held–his jaw clenched. He seemed like he wanted to continue fighting. When he raised his wand, Eva thought he was about to attack.

The door slammed shut with a motion of his wand.

His teeth grit together hard enough that it was a wonder his teeth weren’t cracking. “What is going on.” He didn’t ask. He ordered. His jaw didn’t move in the slightest.

“She attacked me,” Eva said. Pain flared up in her shoulder as she tried to point. She bit down the burn and glared at the nun. “Without warning or provocation. I was sitting at my desk. My back was turned.”

Wayne’s head turned towards Eva’s bed.

Eva didn’t have her full range of vision–her flecks were still centered around Sister Cross–but she could imagine there wasn’t much left but splinters. A brief thought wondered if Basila had been destroyed. Eva didn’t know how hardy those sculptures were.

“You monstrosity,” Sister Cross’ hand rose in Eva’s direction.

Despite his lower legs both being injured, Wayne vanished with a blast of cold air. He reappeared between the nun and Eva. His wand trained on her. “Do not move. More instructors are coming. You cannot fight them all. Cease or the dean will have your head.”

A twitch ran through Sister Cross’ face. Her arm dropped to her side. Her teeth clenched almost as hard as Wayne Lurcher’s teeth. “My augur. What did you do with her?”

Eva blinked. Eva blinked again. “What.”

“You kidnapped her.”

“I did not.”

“Maybe not personally. You sent a demon. There were traces of demonic corruption covering the building.”

Eva could see Wayne’s eyes tilt in her direction, just slightly. His head and body still faced the nun.

This was not a conversation she wanted to have with him around. Or Shalise. Or other instructors.

“I did nothing of the sort.” Sister Cross opened her mouth. Eva wasn’t done. “Maybe if your stupid order wasn’t so damn insane, you could have just asked. You could have said, ‘hey, did you steal my augur?’ and I would say, ‘no!’ and you could get on with your investigation instead of wasting all this time.”

Sister Cross opened her mouth again.

Eva cut her off. “Now look at you. You’re injured. I’m injured. Professor Lurcher is injured. You’ve made enemies. And–worst of all–Shalise, your precious–” Eva cut herself off before she said daughter. She couldn’t tell Shalise’s facial expression well, but her head was buried in Sister Cross’ chest. “Your precious Shalise was nearly incinerated. And it is all. Your. Fault.”

Silence reigned as her rant came to an end.

Eva slumped back against whatever she was leaning on. She hissed as her shoulder hit it. Pain lanced through her back enough for Eva to tilt herself onto her good shoulder.

Wayne Lurcher kept his head forward as he asked, “why would Eva kidnap an augur?”

“She’s a diabolist.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

That ruffled Sister Cross’ feathers. She narrowed her eyes at the alchemy professor. “We’ve had her under surveillance since November. The augur was the one watching.”

“A kidnapping is not a spur of the moment thing. If Eva kidnapped her, why did your augur not see her planning and executing this?”

“That’s–”

The door swung open. Dean Turner headed a group of teachers. Franklin Kines followed just behind her with Isaac Calvin and Alari Carr at his heels.

Eva did not miss the dean’s eyes running over her hands. She used her left hand to pull her right hand between her legs in a small attempt of hiding them.

The dean’s eyes left her quickly enough and rounded on Sister Cross.

“So, not only did you attack one of my students, unprovoked, without warning, in their school-assigned dormitory, and with no evidence that they were in any way at fault, you also had them under illegal surveillance?”

Alari Carr immediately rushed to Eva’s side.

Eva pinched her claws between her legs and tried to shrug the history professor off. She hoped she moved quick enough to avoid her hands being seen.

Alari seemed too preoccupied inspecting the wound on Eva’s back to care.

“That’s a lot of charges against you.”

“She is a diabolist. A demon attacked.”

“False accusations as well.” Martina Turner tsked her tongue. “Miss Eva had a trying experience last November. We are well aware of the extreme circumstances the necromancers put her through and that she had dark magics forced upon her. And you seek to vilify her? I know your order has issues with those,” the dean lifted her hands in the most exaggerated air quotes Eva had ever seen, “‘tainted’ by dark magics, but this is extreme. She’s a thirteen year old–”

“Fourteen,” Eva said. Her birthday was the seventh, not that she’d mentioned it to anyone.

“She’s a fourteen year old girl. How can you live with yourself.”

Sister Cross grit her teeth. Harder. “If it wasn’t her, then the situation is worse than expected. My augur is missing and a rogue demon is running loose in town.”

Alari Carr gasped at that. The gasp barely made a noise but she was nearby and fussing over Eva.

Much to Eva’s chagrin.

“I must organize my nuns.” With that, Sister Cross popped out of the room. A cold wave of air was left behind in her wake.

Shalise stumbled forwards, no longer having the nun to support her.

With a few deft steps forward, Martina Turner caught the girl and held her close. “Are you alright?”

Shalise nodded. She was obviously–even to Eva–still crying. Her arms twitched forwards, almost like she wanted to hug the dean. Shalise managed to restrain herself.

“Alari, please see that Eva receives treatment with Nurse Naranga. Isaac, please move ahead of her and ensure the hallways are clear of students. We don’t need a spectacle for Miss Eva.”

They both nodded. Isaac moved out of the room. Alari flicked her wand in Eva’s direction. Eva slowly levitated on a cushion of solid air.

It didn’t feel very steady.

“Franklin, would you see to it that Wayne–”

“I can take care of myself,” Professor Lurcher grunted.

Martina Turner looked at him for a split second before nodding. “Suit yourself. Franklin, keep watch outside the room. No one is to enter. If Miss Rivas returns, direct her to my office.” She took a glance around the room, notably pausing on the remnants of Eva’s attack. “We’ll get someone to discretely clean soon.”

Eva’s floating cushion slowly pulled her out of the room. Very slowly. And a bit shakily. Alari Carr’s heart rate had been high when she entered room three-thirteen. It was skyrocketing now. Eva frowned. She had great doubts in the abilities of the professor.

The professor probably had the same doubts.

“Miss Ward,” the dean said softly, looking down at the girl that she had grasped by the shoulders, “would you like to retire to the infirmary? If not, there is a very comfortable couch in my office you may rest on.”

“I’d rather be alone,” she said with a sniffle.

“Ah, I understand that.” The dean lightly patted her on the back. “However, I feel it is best if you are not left alone at the moment. We don’t want anything rash to happen.”

Eva made it out of the room before the rest of the conversation went on.

After it took ten minutes just to reach the end of the hallway, Eva had half a mind to ask to just walk. Her legs were fine. Floating let her keep her hands pinned between her legs, so she elected not to object.

If the professor dropped her, then she’d complain. Loudly. Possibly with some blood.

Professor Calvin did a good job keeping the hallways clear. Or there simply were no students on the way to the infirmary on a Saturday afternoon. Taking the back staircase rather than the main one couldn’t have hurt matters.

Thanks to the back staircase, they didn’t have to pass through the main entryway on their way to the nurse’s office.

A woman sitting behind the desk popped up as Eva floated into the office. She directed Alari to set Eva down on one of the beds in a side room. As soon as Eva hit the bed, the nurse shooed Alari out of the room.

The history teacher didn’t protest in the slightest. Her heart rate slowed slightly once she ended the spell. She’d probably run off and rest for a while.

“I heard there was a fight,” the nurse said. “Let’s see what the damage is, shall we?” She reached out towards Eva.

Eva pulled back, hands still pinched between her legs. “I’d rather not, if it is all the same.”

“It most certainly isn’t ‘all the same.’ I can see from here that your arm is bent in a way arms most certainly shouldn’t bend.”

Eva winced. She thought she was doing a good job at suppressing the pain. The reminder cracked open her mental wall. “That might be true. There are circumstances. I can’t–Can I talk to Zoe Baxter before we do anything?”

Where was the woman. Eva hadn’t thought about it, but she could teleport the same way Wayne Lurcher could. Why hadn’t she shown up instead of him?

The nurse stared at Eva for a long moment. She pulled out her cellphone and tapped away at it for a short moment before holding it up to her ear.

I really need to get one of those, Eva thought with a sigh. My master as well.

“No answer,” Nurse Naranga said. She slipped her phone back into her pocket.

“What? What would cause that?”

The nurse shrugged. “She’s busy. Or otherwise indisposed. I don’t keep up to the minute tabs on her.”

Too busy to answer the warning wards on the dorms?

“Now, we need to reset that bone and get a bone mending tonic in you.” She reached towards Eva once again.

“I don’t think that is a good idea,” Eva said as she pulled away again.

The nurse put her hands on her hips. “Oh, and I suppose you have more healing certifications than I do?”

“No, but I have a… preexisting condition.”

That seemed to give her pause. For a moment. “That may be, but I need to take a look, at the very least. You can tell me about your condition while I examine you.”

Eva sighed as the nurse moved in. She pulled out her good hand.

A small squeak came from the nurse as she actually stumbled back. She quickly recovered her composure and marched forward. “Forgive me,” she said. “I just got startled for a moment.”

“Sure.”

She pulled Eva’s hand over and looked it over. She knocked against it and pulled all the fingers. “This is extraordinary. It is part of you.” The nurse’s fingers traced up the exoskeleton to the little curls that helped anchor it to her arm.

“Yep. If you took an x-ray, you wouldn’t find any bone in my hands. If you could see inside at all.” Eva tapped about halfway up her forearm. “My normal arm bones funnel out about here to connect to the exoskeleton. They grew holes to allow meat through. Or so I’ve been told, I haven’t actually seen it myself.”

“This happened in November?”

Eva nodded.

“I see.” She softened her voice as she let Eva’s arm drop. “Zoe told me some of the story, she wondered if anything could be done about your eyes. Even after I discussed it with the other medical officers, we couldn’t think of anything. We can regrow bones and some organs. Not eyes. If you still had them, we might be able to reattach them–if they weren’t rotten by now.”

“That’s fine,” Eva said. She never even met the nurse before. It was nice that they thought about that, but ultimately, Eva had her own plans. Partially. She still hadn’t even looked for a donor demon.

The nurse wrapped her knuckles on Eva’s forearm. “This, Zoe neglected to mention.”

“In any case,” Eva said, “I don’t know what will happen if I take anything that tries to regrow bones. I’d rather not have my hands destroy themselves trying to grow bones where they shouldn’t.”

“Understandable.”

It was surprising to Eva just how understanding the nurse was being. Maybe she should just wander around school without gloves on.

“We still need to fix that fracture on your arm. We’ll do it the old-fashioned way.” She smiled. “A cast.”

That didn’t sound good. Yet Eva didn’t protest as the nurse pulled out padding and the cast wrapping. She sat still while the nurse set to work.

The cast had been the easy part. Eva’s right arm hung in a sling all wrapped up in a cast colored bright green. Her shoulder was where things became complicated.

Nurse Naranga actually let out a short shriek when she saw Eva’s shoulder.

“What happened here?”

For once, Eva was glad she couldn’t see. If her wound was anything like the wound her master received, it was a bubbling mess of puss and fused cloth from her shirt. Whatever happened to her shoulder must have been bad.

“A nun’s lightning.”

Oddly enough, it didn’t hurt. There was a throb and when the nurse touched it, a sharp sting ran up and down Eva’s back. Other than that, her arm hurt more.

She had been given painkillers, so that could be part of it.

The nurse set to massaging in some potion or another. That had Eva hissing through her teeth.

Plucking bits of her shirt out of her back increased the intensity of the sting. She had to cut into Eva for a few scraps of cloth.

“You heal these cuts unnaturally quick.”

“A side effect,” Eva hissed, “of everything.” Blood magic, mostly. She shouldn’t have healed them at all, but it was almost unconscious. Stopping now would just raise more questions.

Nurse Naranga just hummed.

The blackish color of Eva’s blood never got brought up. She didn’t know how to explain it, so the lack of questions suited Eva. The nurse was certainly forming her own theories and opinions. Hopefully they were far from the truth.

As soon as the nurse finished plucking debris out of her back, she went back to massaging in a potion.

“It is just a local regrowth potion,” she said after Eva asked. “It isn’t working as well as I hoped.”

“That is also a side effect of everything, I think.”

“You’ve had a lot of everythings, have you?”

Eva shrugged. She immediately wished she hadn’t. Pain flared out in a star like pattern from her shoulder-blade. She gritted out, “a few.” It didn’t make sense. Hopefully it would dissuade further questions.

“Well,” she said as she pulled her hands off of Eva’s back, “I think I’ve done all I can.”

“I can go then?”

The nurse let out a laugh that sounded like the twittering of birds. “Most certainly not. You’ll be here for close observation until I am satisfied. You’ve had a terrible shock and I just pumped you full of potions that may have unintended side effects with your,” she made a short humming noise, “unique physiology.”

Eva slumped back against the soft pillows of the infirmary bed.

“I know that’s not what you wanted to hear, but it is dangerous to move around while you’re injured.”

She was right. That wasn’t what Eva wanted to hear. There were things that needed doing, not the least of which included checking on Arachne and making sure she hadn’t done anything foolish.

Not that Eva thought Arachne would do something like attack the nuns. Still, if it wasn’t her then, as Sister Cross put it, there was a demon running around town.

“If you need anything or have any odd pains,” Nurse Naranga said as she handed a small button on a cord to Eva, “press the buzzer. I’ll be just over in my office.”

Eva nodded and waited. She’d already waited over an hour in the company of the nurse, another hour wouldn’t hurt. Besides, she was exhausted. A short nap wouldn’t hurt anything.

—

It was the middle of the night before Eva awoke. She groggily tried to slip out of her bed before she realized where she was. A short curse tumbled out of her lips.

Immediately, Eva channeled magic into herself. She concentrated on her end goal. Despite her haste, she channeled slowly, taking her time. Screwing up and becoming trapped in Hell again wasn’t something she was all too eager to repeat.

She spent five minutes building up her charge. With a light popping in her ears, the world around her vanished.

Screaming agony replaced the nurse’s office.

Not Eva’s agony or screams. She didn’t know whose they were.

Screams echoed into her mind. Even if her arm wasn’t in a cast, plugging her ears would do nothing. A deep masculine voice this time, Eva noted. It was always different.

Eva fell, tumbled through a tunnel dripping with viscera. She could see, but only in grayscale. Like her island.

The heat scorched her flesh. It burned far worse than the side effects of Professor Lurcher’s attack.

Eva breathed in gasps. The dank musk of burning flesh surrounded her. She tried to slow her breathing and could not.

Flesh curled back from her feet. It moved up her body, slowly stripping her of all her muscles and tendons as they turned to ash. Heat scorched her bones to a charred black.

Only her claws were unaffected.

It all ceased before Eva could think more.

Eva once again went blind.

Blind save for the blood infused wards of her prison. She stepped out of the gateway circle she set up to receive her and collapsed against a wall.

Neither Arachne nor Ylva had been forthcoming on what exactly went on during an infernal walk.

Eva peeled apart her dry lips. They cracked as she took a deep breath of the fresh air.

The gateway room was another of the converted cells in the women’s ward. It was just a few steps out to the main common room.

Arachne popped to her feet the moment Eva walked in. She darted over to Eva and helped her to the couch. “I’ll get you a glass of water,” she said.

Eva didn’t respond. Her throat was too dry.

It was all in her head. Eva knew it. She knew it was all in her head.

That didn’t help. Even though she’d recover in a minute or two, infernal walks were not pleasant.

Water almost splashed in her face as Arachne handed her the glass with overwhelming zeal.

Eva brought the cool liquid to her parched lips. It swished around in her mouth before she drained the glass. “Thanks.”

“What happened? Your arm,” she trailed off as her fingers ran over the stiff cast.

“Nothing, just got it caught under Sister Cross’ boot.”

Arachne’s fingers immediately clenched.

“Anyway, you didn’t do anything since I left, did you?”

“No,” Arachne growled.

Eva nodded. “I didn’t think so.” With a sigh, Eva said, “Sister Cross had one of her people kidnapped by a demon.”

“How does that end up with your arm under her boot?”

“Naturally, her first suspect was me. She attacked straight away.”

Arachne’s hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly as she stood up from her seat next to Eva. She paced around while growling. She came to a sudden stop. “I swear I’ll kill her.”

“As much as I appreciate the sentiment, I’m slightly concerned about a demon running around. Ylva didn’t go anywhere after I left, did she?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Arachne,” Eva said while crossing her arms. Or arm. She put her good arm in her sling. “You’re supposed to be keeping an eye on her.”

“Yeah. I didn’t see her leave.”

Eva sighed. “Let’s go see if she’s in her room then.”

“Am I carrying you?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“I never mind.”

“Then get on with it,” Eva said.

Arachne swooped down and picked up Eva in the usual princess carry. She took extra care not to pinch or even touch Eva’s cast. Unlike earlier in the day, Arachne half sprinted to cell house two.

She all but kicked in the door.

As usual, Eva couldn’t see any of Ylva when she first entered the room. Arachne didn’t say anything which probably meant that the hel was in her usual spot on her throne.

Eva called out to the emptiness in her vision. “A brief question and I will cease bothering you, Ylva.” No response came. Eva assumed that was agreeing to answer. “Were you in the city of Brakket today?”

There was a long pause. Eva wondered if she was talking to an empty room.

“No.”

Ylva’s voice echoed through the spacious hall. And that was it. No elaboration or questions in return.

“Thank you for your time,” Eva said.

Arachne carried her out without being asked. “I don’t know why you keep her around,” she said as soon as the door close.

“She doesn’t hurt anything. It seems like it would be a lot of trouble to evict her as well. Is my master still around?”

“He went to his little penthouse. As far as I know he hasn’t left.” The spider-woman started walking in his direction.

“As far as you know?” Eva shook her head. “You’re not very good at the ‘watch the compound’ order, are you?”

“It is a big place,” Arachne shrugged. Eva’s cast tapped against her chest with the motion. “Maybe you should set up that thing you had at the retirement home. You know? The thing that showed you if people were in the building.”

“Ah,” Eva slumped slightly in Arachne’s arms, “Devon set that up. I’m not sure how charitable he is feeling these days. He seemed upset earlier.”

“Really? Looked like normal Devon to me.”

Not to Eva. He’d always been grumpy, but a jovial kind of grumpy. At least around her.

Now she almost dreaded seeing him. Arachne climbed the stairs to his penthouse slowly, almost with dread.

That did nothing to ease Eva’s anxieties.

Still, Eva knocked on his heavy door with her good hand.

There was a shuffling noise behind the door. Several lines of curses followed before Eva watched as her master’s circulatory system stumbled over to the door.

She couldn’t even guess what he was doing on the other side.

A brief pause as he peered through the peephole preceded the door swinging open.

“What?” His grunt was in full effect. It almost came out as a rasp.

“You didn’t set any demons loose in town, did you? Or get followed by any from wherever you were?”

He stared at Eva. Just stared. “What?”

“It seems there is a demon running rampant around Brakket.” Eva quickly added, “before you ask, I had nothing to do with it. It showed up on its own.”

Her master sighed as his nose scrunched up.

“What is it with this damn school?”

“Carter.”

“Yes. That’s what the card says.”

The nun glanced back down at the small scrap of paper in her hands. Her eyes flicked back to Devon and narrowed. “Expert demonologist?”

“Yes. The card says that too. I’m glad the Elysium Order doesn’t stifle the budget for reading lessons.”

The white-robed nun didn’t appear to be listening. Her eyes flared white and she started glancing around.

Devon hopped back, worried she might actually attack.

“Where’s your demon,” she growled. It wasn’t a question. Lightning crackled at her fingertips.

“What?” Devon quickly let out a snorting laugh. “Oh no, you have me confused with a diabolist. It’s an easy mistake to make.” He laughed again, slapping his knee. “They both start with ‘d’ and end in ‘ist.’ I see the Elysium Order’s reading budget isn’t as high as I thought.”

“I should strike you down where you stand.”

“I am an officially sanctioned demonologist. Striking me down would be a crime and your order,” he said as she shook his finger at her, “is in hot enough water as it is, young lady.”

The light in her eyes seethed before being extinguished to a pair of light brown eyes. “I don’t care what the card says. I can’t let you in.” She tossed the paper over her shoulder without a second glance.

Devon followed it as it fluttered to the ground. He pressed his fake glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Ahhh,” he added as much nasally tone to his voice as he dared without sounding fake, “I’m afraid that isn’t your decision to make. I was hired as an independent contractor by the administrators of Brakket city to investigate any possible demonic activity. Given that you are squatting in this building rather than owning it properly, you have absolutely no authority.”

From his pocket, Devon pulled a bundle of folded up papers. He thrust the very realistic looking documents in front of the nun’s face. Something told him they would be wasted on the illiterate girl.

“As you can see,” he laughed with a snort, trying not to groan at himself as he did so, “anyone who interferes with my duties will be, ahha,” he pressed his glasses up his nose one more time, “jailed.”

The gears almost audibly ticked away inside her head. Her eyes scanned over the papers. What was visible of her forehead crinkled away as she got further down. She shoved the papers back into Devon’s chest.

He stumbled backwards as if she’d punched him.

“I’ll need to contact my superiors.” She started to pull out a cellphone.

“You do that,” Devon said as he adjusted his glasses once again; he was adjusting them less for show and more because they irritated him. “I’ll get started. I ah, hope the trail hasn’t run cold because of your delay.”

He shuffled past her. Despite her moving to block the way, Devon slunk around her arm. He hopped up to the front door and, inside and out of the nun’s sight, stepped straight from the bottom of the stairs to the top.

The master bedroom looked like a drunk tornado spent the night. Not a single piece of furniture looked intact. Large stains of dried blood pooled near the door, the center of the room, and the bathroom entrance. Smaller trails connected the three points.

Between them all, and several other spots in the room, were ashen hoof prints. They had burned into the hardwood flooring.

Devon knelt down and brushed some of the ash onto his finger. He brought it up to his nose and took a brief sniff. Using all the air in his lungs, Devon quickly expelled the foul scent from his nostrils.

Brimstone, he winced. It lacked the distinct yellow color, but the odor was unmistakable.

He walked back out of the room to the staircase.

No tracks led up. Just a few paces away from the doorway, two hoof marks appeared side by side. The entire surrounding area had been scorched around ankle height. The walls and floorboards looked like someone had done a poor job spray painting them black.

The footprints had a huge distance between them. Either the demon took large lunges for steps or he had legs up to Devon’s chest. The ceiling wasn’t that high. He’d be hunched over the entire time.

Not very intimidating.

Though, he thought as he looked at the blood splatter around the doorway, if it could do that much damage before the nun could react, it wouldn’t have to look intimidating.

Devon stalked back to the bathroom.

Slumped against the door seemed to be the end of whatever guarded the room. The body had been removed. The telltale signs of a body hitting the door and sliding down were left behind.

The bathroom wasn’t large. A closet and a small bathtub sat inside one wall, a counter with a single sink and a toilet against the other wall. There was a small aisle between.

The footsteps did something odd. They stopped. Two others, facing the opposite direction, were burned into the floor against the wall opposite of the door.

Clothes lay crumpled against the counter and water filled the tub. The abducted nun was in the bath. But the footsteps, why did they teleport to the wall?

He tried to recreate the scene. He searched through the bathroom. It wasn’t until he found a red, orb-type focus half hidden beneath the crumpled clothes that he put it together. He slipped it into his pocket. No reason to let a good focus go to waste.

She was in the bath, but jumped out and tried to fight. The demon teleported behind her.

Then what.

Devon moved back to the bedroom and took a look around. The window had been completely shattered. That fit in somehow. The hoof prints came to an end next to the window. They didn’t turn or go anywhere. Devon peeked out the window.

The window opened over the side of the house. Devon stepped out, onto the snow.

A large impact hit and slid across the snowy ground. The snow was melting somewhat, but enough remained behind to be plainly visible. A pair of footprints, bare feet by the look of it, trailed off towards the front side of the house.

No hoof marks were anywhere in the snow.

None on the sidewalk either.

It didn’t chase her?

Devon frowned and made his way back inside. He used the back door to avoid the nun around the front.

In the bedroom once again, Devon started snooping. He pulled open desk drawers. He sifted through remains of the marble table.

The only thing of any notice was the melted hunk of plastic and metal that might have been a laptop at one point in its life. Devon had no hope of recovering anything useful from its hard drives.

Devon pulled out a prepared card. A small ritual circle covered one side. He scraped a good pile of ash from one of the hoof marks onto the center of the circle. He found a relatively clear spot on the floor and set the card down.

As he channeled magic into the circle, a small flame erupted. It stayed the standard red and yellow for only a moment before it flared a brilliant purple.

Devon sighed as he stared deep into the flame.

“Find something interesting?”

Devon stumbled forwards, his sleeve caught fire. Luckily the demonic flame gave way to regular fire that he quickly patted out. He sighed again. That was his favorite trench coat. He quickly stomped out the indicator flame with the soles of his much more hardy combat boots.

A nun, wearing a black habit rather than the standard white, stood in the doorway. Just behind her sneered the white-robed nun from the entryway.

Devon immediately readjusted his glasses–they actually needed it this time. “Tell me,” he said, “who was it that was kidnapped?”

The lead nun narrowed her eyes. “A subordinate of mine. The nun’s identity is not up for disclosure.”

“Was she actually kidnapped?”

“What else would you call what happened here? I have one dead and one missing nun. The demon that attacked did not attempt to cover its tracks at all.”

“No, I ah, suppose not. In that case, who did you piss off?”

The nun blinked at that. “What do you mean?”

“That,” he pointed to the little stomped on scrap of paper with a snort, “burned bright purple. You know what purple represents?”

“Royalty,” she almost snarled.

“Oh, an educated nun. Surprising.” Devon wasn’t lying. It may have been a guess. Purple was traditionally a royal color. Yet it wasn’t incorrect in this situation. “The question then becomes, why is one of the seventy-two after your nun?”

She glowered. Not really at him, but her entire face darkened. “Frankly, Mr…”

“Carter,” Devon said as he offered a hand. His only hand.

She didn’t spare it a second glance. “Mr. Carter, I think it is time for you to go.”

Devon pulled back his hand to his chest. He let his fingers twitch before the dove into his trench coat and withdrew his forged documents. “I have these papers that–”

The papers exploded out of his hand as a lightning bolt struck them. Tiny flakes drifted to the floor in a miniature snowstorm.

“Well I never,” he said as he thrust his glasses up on his face. “My superiors will be hearing about this.”

“You tell them that this is an internal matter of the Elysium Order. Do not let me catch you skulking about our business again, Mr. Carter.” She stepped to one side of the door and thrust her arm out, pointing at the doorway.

She almost caught the white-robed nun in the chest. That nun hopped to one side of the door. She stared as Devon quickly made his way past.

He had at least three more tests to run, more depending on the results. It wasn’t worth getting a blast in the face over.

The white-robed nun followed him out, all but stepping on his heels. The other nun didn’t follow. She stopped at the edge of the property.

Devon could feel her eyes glaring holes into his back as he walked off.

— — —

“So?”

“Stay out of it. I sure as hell am.”

Eva crossed her arms. She tried to glare at her master, but it didn’t seem to have much of an effect. “You can tell me what you found.”

“You’ll run off and try to get involved. Then you’ll either get yourself injured or have to summon a demon worse than that hel. You’ll then offer it a whole building in the prison to mark as its territory.”

“I won’t,” Eva protested. “Last time, they found me. I didn’t run off. I’d rather know what I’m up against in case anything similar happens.”

A low rumble came from his throat as he considered. “It was one of the seventy-two.”

“The pillars?” Arachne asked from her position beneath Eva. She had her arms locked tightly around Eva as she sat in the spider-woman’s lap. “What are they doing out of the Void?”

“You tell me,” Devon growled.

Eva’s seat jiggled beneath her.

“Why would I know? I don’t keep tabs on other demons. To my knowledge, they never leave. Not unless some teenager learned one of their sigils and specifically summoned one. They usually kill the sorry summoner, but bouts of boredom have caused them to humor the summoner on occasion.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

The two stared daggers at each other with Arachne winning on account of her extra eyes.

“Rather than what is it doing here, how did it get here?”

Devon ceased his pacing and kicked one of the armchairs around to face half away from Eva. He plopped down in the seat.

Eva was not amused. This was her furniture. Sure, she didn’t pay for it. She didn’t have a clue where Arachne got it. That didn’t mean her master could just walk around damaging her property.

Before she could protest his actions, Devon said, “no idea. Possibly a beacon.”

“That,” Arachne said, “or someone didn’t have proper shackles around the summoning circle. Whichever pillar it was just decided to stick around instead of going back.”

“So,” Eva said to break the brief silence, “what’s the plan.”

“Did you not hear me, girl? I said to stay out of it.”

“I agree,” Arachne said with a pat to Eva’s chest. “If the nuns did something to garner the ire of one of the pillars, we don’t want to get in the middle of it.” She gave a throaty chuckle. “Besides, who cares if it rampages through a few of them. I only wish I could join in.”

Eva added a hint of disapproval to her voice as she said, “Arachne.” Only a hint.

“Just let everything play out until we see some motives or actual hostility directed at us. Do not interfere.”

Agreeing to that might not be possible.

Despite her ire for Sister Cross, especially after recent events, the woman was Shalise’s mother. Even if Shalise herself was unaware. Allowing her to get hurt wasn’t something Shalise would forgive.

Probably.

Never having friends certainly put a damper on how to handle situations like this. Eva didn’t know what the societal norms were for when a friend’s loved ones were in danger.

“Spencer!”

Eva jumped in Arachne’s arms. Arachne tightened her grip and Devon jumped to his feet with his ring hand out.

“Spencer,” the voice shouted again.

There was only one man who would dare call her by her last name. Eva sighed and pried herself out of Arachne’s grip. As she neared the entrance to the women’s ward, a circulatory system came into her sight.

Wayne Lurcher.

“Stay here,” she said as she walked out of the building.

Neither her master nor Arachne followed her orders. Both followed at her heels. Her master likely followed to protect his investment. Arachne needed no explanation.

“Yeah, I thought I’d find you here you little troublemaker.” Wayne Lurcher half slouched against the gate leading to the women’s ward courtyard. His heart rate didn’t shoot up nearly as much as Eva expected despite Arachne and Devon being plainly visible at her back.

The alchemy professor wasn’t finished. “You think it is okay to just up and disappear from your infirmary bed? Now you’ve got me out of my nurse ordered bed rest, freezing my butt off on a Sunday morning because Zoe is indisposed and no one else has a clue where you might be.”

“Glad I could help get you out of whatever stuffy hospital they had you stuck in.”

Wayne Lurcher smiled. Or sneered. It was so difficult to tell without proper eyes.

“So you are a diabolist. Zoe hinted as much before she stopped telling me anything. Those accusations that nun leveled your way sealed the deal.”

“Not really a diabolist.”

“Oh? I suppose that’s an elf then?” He thrust an arm at Arachne. His arm swung to point at Devon. “And what’s he? Some incubus?”

“Please,” her master scoffed. “Incubi have a skin tone ranging from blue to midnight black. They have a little spaded tail and horns. I’ve never seen one wear clothes, either,” he said with a tug at his trench coat. “I am a humble demonologist.”

“So what’s the deal then,” Wayne Lurcher said, completely ignoring Devon. “You rile up the nuns and get me injured? I show up to save you and you’re the cause of all this?”

“I did nothing of the sort. Whatever Sister Cross was on about, I had nothing to do with it. That’s why I’m here,” Eva said with a gesture back to Devon, “we’re trying to figure out what is happening.”

Wayne Lurcher let out a low growl. His fists clenched and unclenched as he grit his teeth. “And what is happening?” he asked after a minute.

“There’s some damn scary shit going down in your town. I’d get the hell out of there if I were you.”

Eva turned her head back to give her colorful master a look. She wasn’t sure it had the same effect without eyes. Not that she’d ever intimidated her master with a look.

Wayne’s eyes continued their focus on Eva. “What kind of things are going down?” He sounded cowed, slightly.

Eva shrugged. “He’s the demonologist. I’m really a lot more normal than you might think despite the company I keep.”

“To put it short,” Devon said, “a demon ranking in the seventy-two–those are the big ones no one should be crazy enough to mess with–attacked some of the nuns. There was one death for sure, though I believe the demon allowed its other target to escape.”

“Escape? The nun said kidnapped.”

“That just means the missing nun hasn’t returned to the sisters.” Devon shrugged his shoulders. “Or she got hunted down later and no body has been found yet. I lost the trail somewhere in the alleyways near the house.”

“You said Zoe Baxter was indisposed,” Eva said, “is she hurt?”

“She says she’s fine, but she’s been holed up in her office since yesterday. She hasn’t come out even to speak with her students,” Wayne sighed lightly, gaze drifting off to the side. His eyes snapped back to Eva. “Not that she needs your insincere concern.”

Eva crossed her arms and tilted her head to one side. “Why would you think that? I genuinely like Zoe Baxter.”

Devon gave her an odd look from behind her back. He clearly did not agree.

The four stared at each other. Arachne started drumming her sharp fingers into her legs. The clicks were the only sound in the quiet prison.

“Did Zoe actually know about all this?” He waved his hands around, mostly towards Eva and Arachne. “About your hands?”

“She did. She had a chat with Arachne,” Eva gestured to her silent companion. “She’s even keyed into my wards in my home now.”

Devon took half a step back. “What.”

Eva waved him off. “My home. I decide who comes and goes.”

“That.” Wayne pointed. “Arachne?” His hand pressed against his forehead and slid down his face. “Your pet tarantula. That thing lived in the dorms?”

Arachne let out a low growl. “Used to. Not anymore.”

“Because of the nuns,” Eva clarified. “I don’t think they’d take too kindly to her.”

A silence descended on the group again. Devon apparently got fed up with it. Without a word, he turned and slunk back into the women’s ward.

Eva shifted uncomfortably under the alchemy professor’s glare. Even without being able to see the slate gray of his eyes, they still held a piercing look.

“So what now?” Eva asked.

His answer could determine her future. She very much wanted to know if it was time to retreat to Florida, or even elsewhere. The prison had grown on her, a lot, since she came here. Leaving both it and the school would be something tragic.

“You weren’t the cause of whatever made Zoe lock herself away?”

Eva shook her head. “I am concerned to hear that myself.”

Wayne Lurcher spat on the ground.

Her ground. Her prison walkway. Spitting is a dirty habit, Eva thought with a frown.

“I need to talk to Zoe.” He turned and hobbled a few paces away.

Eva winced. His legs didn’t look all that bad to her vision. Her own shoulder didn’t hurt unless she knocked it against something. Walking had to be a nightmare if the same was true for him.

“I’m no hypocrite.” He paused and turned back to Eva. “Let it never be said that I treat my own students differently from others.”

Whatever he was saying, it wasn’t making sense to Eva. It was mostly under his breath. Talking to himself, probably. Without any directions, Eva stood there, staring at him.

“Well?”

Eva tilted her head to one side. “Well what?”

“Are you coming back or not?”

“I’m not sure I understand,” Eva said. She couldn’t help shifting her weight to one foot and lightly tapping the other on the ground.

“What’s not to understand?”

“Are you going to be alerting demon hunters?”

“Alerting hunters?” He flailed one of his hands in her direction the way he did when someone screwed up big time in his class. She’d never had that flail pointed in her direction. “I came out here to bring you back to the dorms. That’s what I’m going to do. You can explain how you got out of a locked room on your own.

“If you would hurry, that’d be great. I need to have several words with Zoe.”

Eva glanced at Arachne. It was less to see her and more to elicit a response from the spider-woman. That response ended up being a mere shrug of her shoulders.

With a sigh, Eva turned back to Wayne Lurcher. “Alright.” She walked up to him. Arachne followed with her claw gripped around Eva’s good arm.

Wayne clasped a large hand over her other shoulder.

Eva winced. “How are your legs?”

“Fine. How’s your shoulder–” His grip loosened slightly as he cut himself off. No apology.

The stinging sensation that spiderwebbed across her back lessened slightly. Eva would have preferred him moving his hand to her other shoulder.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He glared at Arachne. His heart rate didn’t jump in the slightest.

“I’m going too.”

“Arachne,” Eva started. The demon quickly cut her off.

“You were just attacked in your own bedroom. I’m not letting that happen again.”

“The nuns will be on the lookout for demons. You can’t come.” Eva opened her mouth but Arachne wasn’t finished. “And he,” she leveled a sharp finger at Wayne, “hasn’t actually said that you aren’t going to be arrested or lynched.”

“She’s not being arrested or lynched.” He batted the spider-woman’s hand away. “At least not until I’ve chewed out Zoe.”

“Arachne,” Eva gripped her hand with her own before she could attack the professor. “Go back inside. I promise I will keep you up to date–”

“No,” Arachne said. “You could have been killed and now there’s a pillar running around town.”

Eva turned to give Arachne a glare.

The demon had a point. As much as Eva hated to admit it, she might not have lost her eyes in the first place had she allowed Arachne to go with her.

But her isolation at the prison was more for the demon’s safety than any actual punishment. Arachne killed one of the nuns herself, after all. Eva didn’t want any revenge seekers to stir up trouble.

Then again, based on her actions the other day, Martina Turner might not allow the nuns to stay around the academy much longer. Something she would have to ask about when she got back.

“Alright,” Eva said. “On the condition that you do not antagonize the nuns at all. No even looking at them unless I am about to die at their hands.”

Arachne smiled at first, but her smile slipped to a frown as she heard the conditions. “Even the one who tried to kill you?”

“Especially the one who tried to kill me.”

“This is great and all,” Wayne butted in, “but I can’t take both of you and I refuse to do two trips. I’m tired and I’m cold and I still need to speak with Zoe.”

“What if Arachne were smaller?”

“Maybe. How small?”

“Arachne?” Eva turned her head to face the spider-woman.

“Can’t we take our method back?”

“I’m not very fond of our teleportation method. You know this.”

“What makes you think his is any better?”

“Won’t know until we try.”

“Let’s get a move on,” Wayne grunted.

Arachne growled at him even as she started shrinking. Soft squelching sounded in the air as her body folded in on itself until all that was left was a face sized spider.

“Freakiest thing I ever saw,” Wayne said as Arachne crawled up Eva’s arm.

Eva couldn’t honestly disagree. She’d seen a lot of things in her life from the mundane to horrifying, but there was just something about watching a human shrink down to a spider that nothing else ever matched. Watching how the blood pumped out of her heart tube throughout her body change as she shrank only added to the oddity.

Without a single motion from Wayne, everything changed. Her blood wards vanished along with her detection of every speck of her blood she had floating in the air.

Both of their circulatory systems twisted and broke.

She went completely blind. Weightlessness overtook her. She was in a constant free fall. Only Wayne Lurcher’s hand on her shoulder kept her from total sensory deprivation.

The cold settled in next. It plucked at her skin, pulling goosebumps out. It didn’t stop there. Eva tried to take a breath. Ice poured down her throat and settled in her lungs.

It all stopped.

The ground reappeared beneath her. Eva collapsed to it. She couldn’t help it. Shivers tore across her as her body tried to warm itself up. It bordered on convulsing.

The feeling lasted only a few seconds. She got a grip on her muscle spasms and pulled herself to her knees.

Arachne didn’t fare much better. She was on her back, her legs writhing and twitching. Eva might have been worried if the spider hadn’t flipped back over to her legs. Arachne looked like she was going to charge at Wayne in her spider form, but her legs weren’t finished twitching and she slid back to her stomach.

Not caring of Wayne’s circulatory system standing over her, Eva pulled out her dagger and jammed it into her arm. Her blood divided and spread throughout the room. There was a single bed, cabinets of potions and other medical supplies, and a smooth floor. The nurse’s office. Or one of the patient rooms.

“Ah, a blood mage too.”

“Don’t act–” Eva broke down into a short coughing fit. Wayne Lurcher actually patted her on the back. “Don’t act surprised. You had to have seen something in my dorm room.”

“That’s how you see,” he said, ignoring her. “I’ve been wondering. It is good you skip alchemy. You’d contaminate everyone’s brewings.”

“I’m careful to keep it off the ingredients and lab equipment.”

“Even worse. You can’t even tell what is what.”

Eva started coughing again. “I don’t think I like your teleportation. Not that mine is much better.”

“Oh? And what’s yours?”

Eva shook her head. “Some other time.”

Wayne stood up, helping Eva to her feet as he did so. Arachne managed to climb up Eva’s leg and hold on before she started moving.

“You’re right. I need to speak with Zoe.” He turned towards the door. “I’ll let Naranga know you’re back. You can explain how you got out and where you were.”

Eva stumbled over to the bed and took a seat. She immediately dropped her head into one hand and idly stroked Arachne with the other. Headaches weren’t conducive to coming up with excuses.

Wayne Lurcher downed his second glass of absinthe.

She could have just told me. It would have been better that way. None of this skulking about, avoiding and ignoring needed to happen.

What did she think I would have done? After all the dubious magic I taught her. Of course, he hadn’t been entirely truthful on the origins of most of that magic. But still, she was the premier magical theorist. Surely she could have guessed. She had to have known that there was no chance Wayne would bring hunters to Brakket over a passive demon. The little town wouldn’t survive.

No. The demon wasn’t even a problem.

Spencer’s casual use of blood magic set off far more alarm bells in Wayne’s mind.

Not many people, especially among those learning ‘proper’ magic like thaumaturgy, knew anything about alternate magics. Few would know where bloodstones came from. Wayne had no formal education in the subject, but he knew enough. Spencer using haemomancy as a replacement for sight had to be burning through stones quickly.

The implications were troubling, yet Wayne had been unable to locate any sudden disappearances or deaths among Brakket’s population in the past few months. She either had an outside source or a large stock built up.

A closer watch on the girl would be prudent.

Wayne sighed. Worrying about it now wouldn’t help. He saw at least three bloodstones on her, it would be a while before she needed more.

Zoe did not know about bloodstones. If she did, she was awfully cavalier about Spencer’s possession of them. She only just mentioned the subject after Wayne brought it up before moving back to demons.

No, Wayne shook his head, she wouldn’t know such things.

Telling her might be a good idea. He’d have to broach the subject carefully; Zoe was already upset at Wayne’s apparent lack of respect for Spencer’s privacy. Maybe find out her source first. Zoe couldn’t be angry with him if people were being killed.

Of course, he’d need to tell Zoe about his own students eventually, if only to avoid a repeat of their earlier discussion with roles reversed.

Another sigh escaped Wayne as he looked up to the bartender. “Another drink Tom?”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” he said with a kind smile. “The green fairy has already gone to bed. You should as well. Haven’t you got a class to teach in the morning?”

“Eh, first class is my prep period. Tomorrow’s preparation is sleeping in. ‘sides, I’m hoping to meet with someone tonight.”

If he even got the message.

“Well, I’m open for another two hours. Perhaps you would like a water or a soda?”

“Water’s fine,” Wayne said.

Even a glass of water was given a bit of a flair when Tom poured it. If there was one thing he prided himself on, it was his bar tending skills. He’d never pass up an opportunity to show off.

“I don’t suppose one of your private rooms would be available for this meeting?” Wayne asked as a frosted glass of crystal clear water slid in front of him.

Tom quirked an eyebrow as a sly grin spread across his face. “Oh? Is this someone a special someone?”

“Just a private matter, Tom. More work related than anything.”

“I see. Well, I could go get one cleaned up for you. Haven’t used the back rooms much these days. It will cost extra.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Wayne said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Just bill the school in my name, they’ll take it out of my next paycheck.”

“It shouldn’t be more than five minutes. Watch the counter while I’m gone?”

“Not unless you’re paying me. When are you going to hire some help?”

“Haven’t had the time since Watson quit.” Tom didn’t stick around to elaborate. He slipped out from behind the counter and disappeared down a small hallway.

Wayne sighed as he turned to face the rest of the room. There weren’t many patrons apart from Wayne. A couple sat at one table making googly eyes at each other. A group of kids–kids to Wayne at least–celebrated something or other.

One of the Elysium Order’s nuns sat with her back to a corner. Her eyes roamed over the rest of the pub in between sips of a drink. More than once, Wayne caught her eyes narrowing at the couple.

Wayne couldn’t honestly blame her. They should have been partitioned off in one of the private rooms if only to spare everyone else the cooing noises they occasionally made.

Hopefully the nun’s presence wouldn’t scare off his guest.

With the lack of Watson, the piano sat idle on the stage. Classical music played over the speaker system instead.

Wayne had to stop himself from pulling out his wand and bathing the neighboring seat in flames. The man sitting next to him slipped into the bar and onto the stool without so much as a whisper. Wayne didn’t even notice the door opening. Quite a feat given the bells attached to it.

Must have teleported, Wayne thought as he turned to the newcomer.

He was a rough man with a scraggly goatee much in need of a good trim. The worn trench coat he wore smelled distinctly of sulfur.

A slip of paper found its way into Wayne’s hands.

Questions regarding nonthaumaturgical magic. Meet at Victory–a bar located three blocks west from the ‘entertainment district. Look for a small sign with a headless, armless angel. Midnight. ~Lurcher

His own enchanted note. Designed to be noticed even when hidden. Wayne tore it to pieces before it could attract the eyes of the rest of the bar’s patrons.

The self-proclaimed demonologist watched as Wayne withdrew his wand and smokelessly incinerated the remains.

“I take it that was meant for me?” he asked.

“If it was meant for Spencer or her spider, I would have gone to them.”

“They might have gone back to the prison.”

“Naranga was livid when she found Spencer out of bed. That anger grew while she was gone. I doubt they’ll leave the infirmary any time soon.”

“I didn’t realize Arachne was gone for some time. The message might have been meant for it–though why, I’ve no idea. It wasn’t until I found a second note outside my cell house that I thought the note might have been for me.”

“Didn’t know your name. Didn’t want to write down anything incriminating. Just stuck one around the entrance to every building.”

A grimace crossed his face. “Every building?”

“Yeah. Why? Someone else live there?”

He stood up. “I should go before–”

Had there been live music, it surely would have screeched to a halt when the front door slammed open. Wayne half expected the weather to acknowledge the ominous presence standing in the doorway. It had been sunny all day; no such dramatic thunder rattled the walls.

Something about her sent chills up Wayne’s spine.

She had to almost bend over just to duck through the doorway. When she got through, every head in the pub that wasn’t already looking because of her loud entrance turned to face her.

For good reason.

She stood nearly eight feet tall. Mere inches saved her head from scraping against the ceiling. Her platinum hair blew behind her in a nonexistent wind. More than a few strands fell down her front, reaching all the way to her navel.

Two thin sheets of fabric hung from her neck. They managed to cover only the most essential of essentials before joining together a few inches below her hairline. From there it formed a long dress that reminded Wayne of his sister’s wedding.

The demonologist dropped back into his seat with a groan as the woman’s cold eyes turned to their group.

Wayne realized what was bothering him as she glided towards him. Where a normal person had blue veins running up and down their arms, this woman had black veins. She had no subtle rise and fall of her chest in a telltale sign of breathing.

He had to stop himself from shuddering again when she stopped a few paces from the bar.

“You are the one who requested Our presence.” Her voice carried throughout the room, further commanding the attention of everyone.

Not quite everyone. Half of the couple stared intently at the woman. The other half was trying to kill her partner with a glare.

“Ylva,” the demonologist said before Wayne could formulate a response, “does Eva know you’re here?”

There was a brief flash of anger in her otherwise dull eyes as she turned her head towards him. “Eva is not Our minder. We deign to respect her domain of Our own volition.”

“So you choose to disrespect it when it suits you?”

Her hand snapped around the demonologist’s neck. Black fingernails dug into his skin. Rasping chokes escaped his throat as curls of decaying skin spread out from the contact.

Before Wayne could decide if intervening would lead to anything but his own death, the black skin retreated to Ylva’s fingertips leaving a faint trail of gray. She released him with a light thrust.

“Do not malign Our honor, Devon Foster. We were under a,” her blue lips curled into a small smile as she glanced at Wayne, “deadline. Reparations will be sought.”

Devon coughed twice, rubbing his neck where her fingers had touched it.

“Wow, Wayne. These are the people you were waiting for?”

Wayne turned to find Tom standing in the hallway. Even as he addressed Wayne, Tom’s neck craned to stare at the woman.

“That room ready?”

“Yeah, just follow me.”

Tom backed down the corridor, keeping his eyes on Ylva as she followed after him.

A hand clasped down on Wayne’s shoulder before he could follow.

“Best to just go with it for now. Watch your words; it is an uncontracted demon. We’re not in its domain, so it can’t twist your meaning to suit its needs, but I’ve seen people bind themselves unintentionally too many times. Don’t offer anything. Accept information from questions freely, but retract questions if it asks for anything in return.”

Wayne gave a quick glance at the demonologist. His face was deadly serious. “Right,” Wayne said.

He’d know more. Wayne hadn’t even recognized Arachne as a demon on Halloween night. In his defense, he had other concerns that night.

Namely, to avoid being eaten by his own students.

Tom led them to the second door down the hallway and showed them in. Several couches had been set out around a small table. On one wall hung a large television that was playing a video of a fireplace.

Ylva sank into one of the couches, slouching with her legs spread and her head caught on her knuckles. Devon took the furthest seat from her possible.

Wayne sighed as he sat between the two.

“Can I get any of you drinks? We’re having a special on all of our sake tonight.”

“I don’t drink,” came Devon’s response.

Wayne had to quirk an eyebrow at that. He certainly looked like the kind of man who drank. When he could scrounge up the money for it, anyway.

Tom just shrugged and looked over to Ylva.

“We will accept your tribute.”

Tom’s kind smile became slightly strained as the woman failed to elaborate. “Okay,” he said after a moment. “I think I can come up with a good drink for you. Wayne?”

“Just another water for me, Tom.”

“Excellent,” he said with an exaggerated bow. “I will be back shortly.”

“You don’t drink?” Wayne said as soon as the door shut.

“I worry what I might do with inhibitions lowered. Or what I might agree to should I not be thinking straight,” he added with a glare towards Ylva.

The woman did not seem to notice or care. She hadn’t moved since her tribute line. At all. Not even a blink of her eye.

Wayne wasn’t sure he had seen her blink since she first walked in.

The demonologist shifted in his seat. Eventually he tore his gaze from Ylva and focused on Wayne. “I expect you are wanting to know more about Eva’s dabbling in diablery?”

“In part,” Wayne said. More so after finding out about Ylva. He hadn’t expected Spencer to have more demons around, though he was unsure what Devon meant by uncontracted.

His studies into demons were lacking. Far lower than any other type of magic. Mostly because Wayne didn’t consider diablery to be magic. He had likened it to knocking on a mage’s door and asking them to do everything in his place.

If Zoe couldn’t handle Spencer on her own, Wayne might have to shift his studies. That would be troublesome. He had his own students to look after.

“But,” Wayne continued, “I’m more concerned about her haemomancy.”

“Haemomancy? You’re more concerned about a little blood than things like,” he gave a brief nod of his head towards Ylva. “That’s just–”

There was a brief knock at the door before Tom walked in with a small serving tray in hand.

He set a glass down in front of Wayne. “Your water. And for you,” he set down a tall glass of murky green liquid in front of Ylva, “Death in the Afternoon. It was the first drink I thought of. I do hope it is to your tastes.”

Ylva reached down and took hold of the glass. She took a small sip after bringing it to her nose.

“We find it acceptable.” The glass frosted over in her hand as she took another drink. “Yes. Acceptable.”

“Excellent.” Tom gave another exaggerated bow. “I’ll leave you to your business then. If anyone needs anything, just holler.”

A small bit of tension drained out of Devon’s shoulders as the door shut behind the bartender. “When he knocks, he should wait for a response before walking in.”

“Even if he overhears, he won’t say anything. Tom is one of the few people I trust. Despite his lack of magical ability, he saved my life on two separate occasions. He’s kept more dangerous secrets for me than a schoolgirl’s dalliance in alternate magics.”

“Great for you,” Devon said with barely concealed disbelief. “He never saved my life and has no reason to keep my secrets.”

Before the man could say anything he’d regret, Wayne switched topics. “Where is Spencer getting her bloodstones?”

“I think she got some from the necromancers who kidnapped her. If she’s made more since, she hasn’t told me. It isn’t something I care to keep tabs on.”

“The necromancers gave her bloodstones? Aren’t they at least somewhat valuable?”

“I think you misunderstand.”

“Misunders–” Wayne blinked. “Oh. I see. How many did she get and what quality?”

Devon merely shrugged.

“We had an opportunity to examine Eva’s bloodstones up close recently. There were no flaws in any of the three We saw.” Ylva paused to take a drink of her drink. “Extensive knowledge of blood magics is outside Our expertise. Are you unable to ask Eva?”

Wayne took a moment to ensure his answer did not violate Devon’s earlier warning. “I am not unable to ask her. It is a question of wanting to.” Especially with her pet spider around.

“We fail to understand. Ask her if you wish to know or accept your own ignorance.”

“I doubt you’d have to worry about her taking offense, if that is what you’re worried about.”

“No. I’m far more concerned about the answer. What it will mean if I don’t like it.”

Devon leaned forward, narrowing his eyes at Wayne. “And just what will it mean?”

“We can’t have a murderer hanging around Brakket. The school has enough problems as it is. If her being a blood mage ever came into light, I doubt we could sweep it under the carpet. Even demons would be easier to explain away so long as they weren’t killing anyone.”

“Sounds like your problem. I don’t give a damn about your school. The only thing I care about is Eva being safe and available. If anything happens to jeopardize that, we’ll leave. Vanish into the night or something similarly poetic.”

Wayne frowned as he glanced over Devon. “You’re not her father. What is she to you?”

“A research subject.”

“That’s it?” Wayne asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Entirely.”

His frown deepened. Not a single protective emotion? The man’s face didn’t betray anything. “What is the nature of the research?”

“You’re not stealing my notes that easily.”

“It involves demons?”

“Possibly.”

Of course it does, Wayne thought. The self-proclaimed demonologist would have proclaimed himself something else if he was researching anything that didn’t involve demons.

“What’s the nature of her relationship with Arachne.”

Devon merely shrugged. “Lovers. Best friends. Bitter enemies bound together by a contract. Who knows? It is unrelated.”

Wayne hadn’t seen too much interaction, but didn’t get the impression that they were enemies. Just while they were arguing whether or not to take Arachne back to Brakket, Wayne noticed a certain closeness to them. Arachne stood over Eva–almost fawned over her–in a very protective manner.

But unrelated to his research?

Unless he was lying.

Perhaps some demon-human relationship experiment if that was the case.

“You mentioned before–”

A hurried knock at the door interrupted Wayne. Tom entered while still knocking.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, but several more of those nuns arrived. I didn’t get the impression that they came for relaxation and amazing drinks.”

“That’s my cue to leave,” Devon said as he stood up. “Ylva–well, whatever. I think I’d sleep better if you didn’t survive.” He started towards the door before pausing. “You got a back way outta here?”

“Yeah, straight down the hall. Last door leads to the alley.”

“Mr. Lurching was it? Perhaps next time a meeting place in a more discrete locale? Or not at all. I’d be happier with the latter.”

Before Wayne could respond, he stepped into the hallway and disappeared. Actually vanished. The sound of a door opening and slamming shut echoed down the hall a moment later.

Throughout the commotion, Ylva did not move a muscle save to casually sip at her drink.

“You’re not concerned?”

“Extensive knowledge on the magics used by the Elysium Order is within Our expertise. They will find themselves unable to harm Us.” She lifted her glass slightly. “We will finish Our drink prior to retiring. If you wish to depart, We will not take offense.”

“Right.” Wayne wasn’t too keen on being caught in the presence of a demon. Not when he could be hurt by them, as his mildly aching legs reminded him. “Tom, always a pleasure. I hope I haven’t caused you too much trouble.”

“Not at all. Everything on your tab then?” He asked with a nod towards Ylva.

“That will be fine.” Wayne pulled out his wand and, with a flick of his wrist, vanished from the room.

The walls fell away into a white void before rebuilding in the form of his bedroom.

He entertained the thought of visiting Zoe. She needed to know about the bloodstones at some point.

The glowing face of the clock stopped him. It was already an hour past midnight. He doubted she would be awake at this hour. Not when she had class in the morning.

No. It could wait. There was more to investigate as well. Perhaps Wayne would even question Spencer on the matter.

He cursed to himself as he realized that he forgot to ask about the pillar.

— — —

Arachne clung to the ceiling as that nurse walked into the room to poke and prod and ensure Eva was still in bed.

Foolish nurse. As if she had any power over Eva.

The nurse pulled out a potion. With no small amount of arguing, she finally got Eva to drink it.

Arachne’s fangs quivered when the nurse walked beneath her. All it would take was one scrape and a little venom would have her never touching her Eva again. She would never see it coming–humans never looked up.

No. Eva would be angry with me again. Arachne only just got her punishment revoked. She had to restrain herself. Not to mention that they’d almost assuredly be found out. Fleeing Brakket would not make Eva happy.

Even if that would be the best course of action.

Her anxiety had Arachne even more on edge than normal.

The moment the nurse shut the door behind her, Arachne dropped off the ceiling. She reverted to her humanoid form before her feet clicked against the ground.

“We can’t stay here,” Arachne said. She paced back and forth in front of the bed. “I can sense that pillar. Almost smell him. He is too close to relax.”

“I’m being released tomorrow morning unless she finds some reason to keep me here. We can go back to the prison, if you want.”

“Yes. And we’ll stay there. You don’t need school. You got along just fine without it.”

“No. We’ll be coming back. Maybe we could spend evenings and weekends away.” She did not look excited about the prospect. Before Arachne could protest, Eva said, “everything I learn is a new weapon for me. Thaumaturgy is great. Or will be one day. I can cast it without any focus or bloodstone. Or anything at all except my own body. It is a weapon that cannot be taken from me.”

“By that logic, we should be training up your body. That can’t be taken either.”

Eva’s face took on a look of horror before she vehemently shook her head. “I think I’m getting enough of that in Franklin Kines’ combat club.”

Arachne frowned. “You don’t need that club. I’ll train you. You don’t need school either. I promise not to complain when I read you books.”

“Is this pillar really that bad?”

“He’s strong. Very strong. Maybe one of the top twenty of the seventy-two. I don’t want to do anything that might lead to fighting him.” Arachne sat down on Eva’s bed and looked the girl right where her eyes should be. “That includes staying here. He may take offense at my presence.”

“He can sense you?”

“Undoubtedly.” Arachne paused and tilted her head to one side. “Though, there is another demon wandering around town that wasn’t here in November.”

“Another pillar?”

Arachne laughed. “Oh no. No, no, no. This one is weak enough that I could decimate it with my limbs blown off.”

Eva let out a small huff. “You were possessed,” she mumbled under her breath.

Waving her master off, Arachne continued. “If I had to guess, this demon is of the succubi family. It smells of lust. Very low on the succubi totem pole, though.”

“Working together with the pillar?”

“Can’t tell. If so, likely beaten into submission. Also not a fate I desire for either of us.”

“No,” Eva said with a shake of her head. “I don’t envy that.”

“See? We should leave. I’ll grab your things so we can go without delay.” Arachne jumped to her feet and started towards the door.

A claw gripped tight around Arachne’s wrist. It tugged hard enough that Arachne almost lost her balance and fell into bed with Eva.

Curse my amazing reflexes.

“We’re not running away. Even if we were going to, I can’t just leave Juliana and Zoe.”

“Oh, I’d be happy to tie up loose ends for you. While we’re at it, why don’t we add the rest of those humans you associate with to the list?”

“Arachne,” Eva said in that tone.

It sent all the right shivers up her exoskeleton.

“I know,” Arachne said with all the obvious reluctance she could muster. “You are getting too attached to all these humans who are going to be dead in a century or so. They’re not worth concerning yourself over.”

“Maybe I’ll feel like that someday,” Eva said after a moment. “It isn’t a subject that I have not thought about on occasion. But I guess it is hard to wrap my head around at the moment.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Yeah, okay,” Eva said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Arachne opened her mouth to continue to extol the merits of not sticking around in a town with one of the seventy-two pillars of Hell.

Eva stopped Arachne with a motion. She carefully avoided agitating her shoulder as she worked her way over on the bed until she sat on only one side of it. With a light pat to the now vacant space, she said, “come on. Nurse Naranga gave me a sleeping potion. I don’t know that it was effective as I was tired beforehand, but I’m not getting any less tired by talking.”

Arachne did not need any further encouragement. She slipped under the covers before Eva finished speaking. “That nurse is going to see me.”

“She said she wouldn’t come in again until morning with the promise of ‘unimaginable pain’ if I disappeared again.”

Arachne let out a low growl as she nuzzled up against her Eva. “I’ll kill her.”

“Thanks, but maybe just turn into a spider and hide after a few hours.” Eva let out a yawn inches from Arachne’s face. “Wake me if anything important happens.”

“Of course,” Arachne said. She’d be keeping an eye out. Just one, the rest could watch Eva.

If she sensed that pillar getting the slightest bit closer, they’d be gone regardless of Eva’s desires. Maybe by waking her after Arachne carried her to the prison.

No Eva, no Shalise, no Juliana.

Irene didn’t like it.

None of the teachers told her or Shelby anything. Whatever caused their absence only happened two days ago and yet all three were missing from class. From the tiny amount that they were told, Juliana wasn’t even there when their room was trashed.

Again.

Maybe her mother finally pulled her out of school for good. Irene hadn’t given up hope that her own mother would decide the school was too dangerous for her. It was too dangerous.

Whatever happened was always right next door.

Two break-ins and two fights before the first year was through. Nothing led Irene to believe that this fight had been any less deadly than Juliana’s encounter with the flesh golems. More so if any of them actually were injured, as the rumor-mill believed.

Room three-thirteen was cursed.

And room three-fifteen shared a cursed wall.

Irene didn’t know what to do if this pattern kept up. What if whoever attacked them next got the wrong room number. Or they got the wrong window. What then?

A white robe nun patrolled around the room, catching Irene’s attentions. Their numbers had dropped since January. The one in the cafeteria was the only one she’d seen all day.

Would they be able to protect her?

Not likely. They hadn’t saved Juliana in November and they didn’t even show up the other day.

Irene gave a drawn out sigh as she played with her haggis. The food looked revolting but the other option for the day was hot dogs. Something was just off about hot dogs.

Shelby didn’t even pick up a meal. She sat next to Jordan as they talked about their combat class. Or exercise class, as the case was.

Twins who ate similar foods and had similar habits tended to look similar, even if they were fraternal twins. They still had the same parents, after all. Yet Irene couldn’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy at the slightly slimmed Shelby.

Unlike Eva, Shelby didn’t offer a word of complaint when Professor Kines switched them over to an exercise program. She didn’t stress over grades and essays either. Her twin didn’t even seem bothered by all the goings on in Rickenbacker three-thirteen.

Irene often wondered what it might be like to simply not care about anything.

Stifling those thoughts turned into a constant chore for Irene. One little slip and she’d be back to how she was before. She did not need Jordan pulling some crazy stunt to pull her out of her slump again.

“You going to eat that?”

Irene glanced up to Max. His plate had been scraped clean. She shrugged and slid her haggis over to him. “Knock yourself out.”

“That doesn’t sound like fun.”

Rolling her eyes, Irene said, “it’s an expression.”

“Just a joke,” he said with a nudge to her side.

Irene bristled at that. She turned away as her face heated up. Anger at herself for not realizing it was a joke, not something silly like embarrassment or shyness around the boy.

Despite them spending evenings studying while everyone else was at exercise class, Irene didn’t think she got along with Max very well.

He was too much like Shelby. Perhaps more dedicated in his studies, but otherwise carefree.

A heavy thud outside rattled the glass of the large cafeteria window.

Irene stood with a gasp. Shelby and the boys weren’t far behind her.

“That’s Eva’s bull.”

None of them responded except to gape at the massive animal. Just like the other time she saw it, it stared into the window. Its head slowly drifted back and forth over the students. The massive wings folded up to a fraction of their size as it just stood there.

The rest of the formerly eating students simply stared out the windows. Forks and spoons hung frozen in their hands. Silence settled around the cafeteria.

Until someone screamed.

Panic and chaos overtook the room. Those closest to the window climbed over each other to get away. Max and Shelby both took off towards the exit. Irene started to follow.

Jordan stayed rooted to the spot.

Irene nibbled on her lip. “Jordan,” she said, grabbing his shoulder, “we need to get out of here.”

“Why?” He glanced back at her. With just the slightest hint of a grin, he turned back to the window. “It is just standing there.”

A crack echoed through the room, louder than all the panicked students put together. Lightning crashed into the window.

Everything froze. All the students left in the room stopped and stared. The nun stood alone in the center of the room, her arm outstretched towards the window. The glass absorbed the lightning.

For a moment.

Shattering glass flew in every direction.

Irene grabbed Jordan and threw both of them down under the table. A second lightning bolt flew through the broken window just before she disappeared from view. She landed on top, her knee crushed into his stomach which elicited a sudden gasp of air from the dark-haired boy.

The most horrible screech Irene ever heard bellowed through the cafeteria. Irene clasped her hands over her ears, losing the support that kept her from falling into Jordan’s chest. He followed suit. She tried to block out the noise. It wasn’t helping. The sound pierced through the cracks in her fingers.

The entire ground shook. Tables and benches vibrated. From beneath the table, Irene could see the cinder block wall collapse inwards as the beast charged in.

As it charged across the room, the nun dodged and rolled off to one side. She came to a stop next to Irene’s table. The bull crashed into the counters leading into the kitchen.

It turned, slowly, as the nun launched another lightning bolt. Its head was too high to see, but it stopped turning when its legs faced the nun. When its legs faced them.

“Jordan,” Irene said, pulling his hands away from his ears. “We have to move. We have to move now.”

His head snapped up to the bull. It already started its charge.

Arms gripped around Irene’s backside and pulled her down. She heard something not unlike the sound of a pillow hitting her. Her vision went dark for an instant before everything came back.

Everything came back wrong. She was wrapped in Jordan’s arms beneath a table. It wasn’t their table. They were further from the cafeteria exit, almost at the opposite wall. The bull trampled over their oh so recently vacated table with the nun only dodging by the skin of her teeth.

“Just standing there, huh?”

“Maybe if the Elysium Sister hadn’t been so eager to throw lightning over the tops of students’ heads,” Jordan said as he shoved Irene off of him. He gripped his wand tightly in his hand. Irene hadn’t even seen him draw it.

Speaking of other students. Irene glanced around the room. Most of the students seemed to have made it to the exit. There were a number of others who dived under the tables.

Two cowered in a corner of the room, hugging each other tightly.

The bull had oriented itself towards them in its battle with the nun.

“Those two,” Irene said as she patted his chest then pointed. “They’re about to get–”

He didn’t wait. The body beneath her turned black and white. His own shadow reached up and pulled him under the floor.

Irene looked up to see him emerge from the student’s shadow against the wall. His hands, one with his wand in it still, clasped around both their shoulders. Two screaming students turned black and white before their own shadows consumed them.

The bull rammed into the corner only a second after. Fractures snaked up the blocks. Chunks of the wall and even some ceiling fell down on the bull’s back.

“I hope they didn’t recognize me.”

Irene jumped. Her head knocked against the table before she rounded on Jordan. He had a goofy grin on his face. “I don’t think it matters,” Irene said as she rubbed her head. “Stop enjoying this and do something.”

He glanced back to where the nun tossed very ineffectual lightning bolts at the creature. They didn’t seem to do much except infuriate the beast. After it charged through another set of unoccupied tables, the nun changed tactics.

White fire burst from her fingertips. It shot out like a flame thrower, dousing the bull.

Screeching filled the air once again. Irene and Jordan both tried to block the sound out with their hands.

From the pained look on his face, he wasn’t any more successful than she was.

The flaming bull charged once again. The nun dodged and turned to face where the bull went.

It wasn’t there.

The moment the nun dodged, the bull flapped its massive wings. It stopped–or even went backwards–without another step being taken.

The nun spun around to face her target just as the bull swung its head. Its single, straight horn pierced her chest. Red liquid splattered across the room directly behind the nun as the horn emerged from the other side.

Students remaining in the room screamed. Irene screamed. Jordan did not.

The bull tossed its head to one side and the nun with it. She flew off the horn and slammed into a cinder block wall. The nun stuck against the wall before gravity remembered its duties. She slid down off of it and collapsed on her face. A trail of blood marked her path.

Flames on the bull’s back withered and died as the nun disappeared from Irene’s view.

Irene turned, grasping for Jordan. She wanted nothing more than to tell him to get her out of the room that instant.

He wasn’t next to her.

He knelt next to the nun with his back to the bull like some kind of idiot.

The bull was already charging after him.

It skidded to a stop as shadows peeled themselves off the floor and the walls and anywhere there was a shadow. A wall of darkness formed around Jordan and the nun, blocking them from view.

The bull stared for just a minute. Its head slowly moved over the room until it came to a rest on Irene.

Her heart caught in her throat as she scrambled backwards. All the bars under the table were in the way.

A tremor went through the room as it lumbered towards Irene. Its head disappeared above the edge of the table, but it continued its slow stomp towards her.

Its crumpled horn swung down, hitting the bench in front of her and sent it flying across the room.

The head of the great bull dipped below the table.

Irene pressed as hard as she could against the bars of the table. She held up her hands in front of her the way one would try to placate an angry person. “I don’t have any weapons, I’m not going to hurt you,” she tried to say. She wasn’t sure how it came out. The salty taste of tears filled her mouth as she opened her mouth.

The bull stopped approaching. Its head tilted to one side so a single black eye could take her in. That brought the blood soaked horn far closer than Irene wanted. Her ideal distance would have been somewhere around the opposite side of the Earth.

But still, it stopped.

Relief flooded through Irene. It stared, but it didn’t trample or stab or eat or otherwise try to kill her. She tried not to smile. Animals didn’t like smiling, right? Smiles were considered aggression. She’d read it in a book once.

Instead, Irene slowly reached out. Her hand inched towards the beast’s long face. She stopped her hand just in front of its nose.

Another thing she read in a book. Let the animal get a good sniff.

The bull nudged forwards. Its nose bumped into Irene’s extended hand with a soft tap against her palm. The coarse hair bristled beneath her fingertips.

She let out a short burst of a laugh despite herself. The bull had just killed someone yet here she was, petting it. Irene’s life took a surreal turn somewhere in the last five minutes.

The bull let out a loud and hot snort.

Irene recoiled, pressing back against the table again. The steam was like Jordan’s parent’s sauna. Except for the smell. A coughing fit overtook Irene. It was like someone shoved eggs up its nostrils and left them to rot.

It wouldn’t be impossible either. She could probably fit her entire arm up the bull’s nose. Its head had to be almost her size.

With what Irene was sure was a laugh, the bull pulled its head out from under the table. Its bloody horn swung within half an inch of her face as it did so.

Just as it cleared her table and took a few massive steps backwards, three teachers charged into the cafeteria. One she didn’t recognize, Professor Kines, and the disheveled dean.

Professor Kines immediately raised his wand, obviously intending some kind of attack.

“No,” someone shouted.

It was her. Irene shouted.

Hoping she wasn’t making a mistake, Irene clambered out from under the table and held her arms up. “Don’t attack it.”

Dean Turner gripped Professor Kines’ wand hand and held her hand in front of the other professor.

The bull’s head swung back to look at her.

Irene pinched her eyes shut. If it was about to kill her, she didn’t want to see. Just go. Just go. Please don’t attack them. Please don’t attack me.

She felt the ground rumble as the beast moved away. It slowly marched towards the opening it made.

Irene peeked her eyes open. Everyone’s eyes were trained on it.

The moment it was fully outside, its wings flapped and it vanished in the sky.

“What was that about Irene?”

Irene turned back to find Professor Kines and Dean Turner standing inches away. The other professor moved to kneel near Jordan.

“No need to shout, Franklin.” The dean gave a kindly smile to Irene. “Miss Coggins, if you might elucidate?”

“I didn’t want you to get hurt.” Opening her mouth reminded her that she had been crying. Irene quickly wiped down her face with her sleeve. “The Elysium Sister hit it with at least a hundred bolts of lightning and set it on fire. That all just made it angry.”

Professor Kines shuffled nervously in his spot. He gave a short glance back to where Jordan and the other professor were picking themselves up off the floor.

“I see.” He glanced up to the dean, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“What was it doing here?”

Irene looked at the woman. How was she supposed to know that.

“I’ll explain,” Jordan said as he walked back. The other professor followed just behind. Both of their clothes were stained red.

“Very well, Mr. Anderson.” Dean Turner nodded for him to continue.

“The bull landed just outside the windows. It just sat there for a few minutes, looking in. The nun fired lightning at the window, shattering it, and another bolt hit the bull. That is when it charged in and started attacking her.”

“She’s dead, Martina.” The other professor gave a half gesture back to the nun.

“I see. Franklin, get the other children to Nurse Post. Chelsea, you’re covered in blood. Get cleaned up and find another member of the Elysium Sisters.”

The two instructors nodded and split off to carry out their assigned tasks.

“Are either of you two injured?”

“No ma’am.”

“I touched it,” Irene blurted out.

“Pardon?”

“I mean. I’m not hurt.” Irene shook her head. “I touched its face.”

“You shouldn’t touch wild animals, Miss Coggins.”

“I know,” Irene stared down at her feet. She felt heat in her cheeks. “I was scared, it was right in front of me. I don’t think I was thinking clearly.”

“Understandable.” The dean nodded. “Can both of you make it down to Nurse Post’s office? Mr. Anderson is covered in blood that isn’t his own and Miss Coggins, you’ve touched a possibly disease ridden animal. It wouldn’t hurt to get yourselves checked out.”

Jordan said, “of course, Ms. Turner.”

Irene just nodded her head.

A slick yet slightly sticky hand gripped Irene’s own. She tried to pull out of Jordan’s grip, but he held tight. Soon enough he was dragging a barely resisting Irene down the halls.

“It felt weird,” Irene said aloud. She glanced down at the fingertips that weren’t encased in Jordan’s bloody hands.

Trying to remember what it felt like taxed Irene’s mind. It was coarse; not quite what she expected in that regard. The real mind numbing part of touching the beast was how the hard hairs wriggled beneath her fingers. Like they were alive, feeling her just as much as she felt it.

Then she remembered its breath. Irene stumbled as a small involuntary shudder came over her.

Jordan stooped over and caught her before she could fall down completely. Maybe the shudder had been larger than she thought.

“Alright, up you go.” He lifted her arm over his shoulder and supported half her weight.

“I think can walk on my own, thank you,” Irene said.

“And I think you’re in shock. It isn’t everyday you see someone killed.”

Irene stumbled again as he said that. She hadn’t even been thinking about the nun. That poor nun, even if it was her fault.

“Come on Irene. We’re almost there and then you can lie down for a while.”

Irene nodded. “Lying down might be nice.”

— — —

Consciousness took hold of Nel. It crept up with bits and pieces of the room fading into her perception one thing at a time. Like the trickle of a coffee pot.

Nel suppressed shaking her head. So many years passed since she last had coffee that she couldn’t even remember the taste. Or drinking it. Had she ever tried coffee? It was a weird analogy to think of in either case.

Keeping her eyes closed, Nel slowly drew in a breath of air. Ah, that must be why I thought of coffee. While the memory of its taste had faded over time, its scent almost overwhelmed her.

None of the sisters drank coffee. Anything that could cause even the slightest alterations in thought patterns was banned. That was one of the reasons augurs were such pariahs. Frankincense burning was seen as violating that tenet.

So Nel took a long, drawn out breath. She reveled in the stench of coffee. It was a good sign. It meant she hadn’t awoken in the hands of her would be murderers.

Whatever she lay on was not the most comfortable bed she’d ever woken up on. It was far from the worst. The odd slant made her think it was more of a couch or a bench than a bed. Nel had to stop her body from trying to correct itself.

She wanted to keep pretending to be unconscious as long as she could.

Without opening her eyes, Nel glimpsed the room she was in.

It was an office. A heavy wooden desk sat near one wall with two comfortable chairs on the visitor’s side. Stacks of papers covered the desk. To one side looked like a rolling tray of medical supplies. Tweezers, bandages, cutting instruments, ointments, and potions. Some were covered in blood. Nel’s blood, most likely. The couch she lay on rested against one wall of the room with a portable privacy curtain blocking the view to the rest of the room..

Apart from herself, the room was empty.

Nel looked better than she expected. An IV drip had been attached to one of her arms. The other was hidden beneath a blanket. She could feel a cast on it when she tried to wiggle it. There was no pain, but she didn’t feel hopped up on drugs. Maybe her body had simply gotten used to whatever feelings while she was unconscious.

It took willpower to avoid bolting upright. How long have I been unconscious? Nel used her glimpse over and over to try to find a calendar in the room. Nothing. No daily planner, no papers on the desk with dates. Not even a clock.

More than five days couldn’t have passed. Not unless Sister Cross hadn’t reported her missing. Otherwise she’d be back in their custody without a doubt.

Carefully, Nel peeked open a single eye. It wasn’t that she distrusted her glimpse, but she half expected to find Sister Cross glaring over her.

That wasn’t the case. She lay on a couch with a blanket and an IV drip behind a privacy curtain.

A long sigh of relief escaped her lips.

Nel slowly and carefully pulled herself into a sitting position. Very carefully. The last time she checked, her back had glass stuck in it. Yet nothing hurt on her way up. She took a quick glimpse to inspect her backside.

There was a bandage wrapped around her waist, probably one of the deeper cuts. Everything else looked remarkably healed. Her back was smooth save for the small slits–

Her back was visible.

Nel’s breath caught in her throat. She was naked beneath the blanket. Someone had treated her.

Someone had seen her.

Short, rapid breaths obscured Nel’s thoughts. What did I expect them to do? Not try to fix me? Nel tried to calm down. She took another deep breath of the coffee tinged air. It was good. Calming. Nel thought for a moment about going to find the coffee pot and drinking some.

First, Nel threw off her blanket and inspected herself. She had to make sure.

Nothing seemed out of place as Nel patted herself down. The IV drip in the crook of her arm, the bandage around her waist, and her arm cast were the only noticeable changes. A few scars stuck out here and there on her arms and chest, but nothing major.

Nel wrapped her blanket around her and pulled herself to her feet. She carted the pole the IV bag was attached to around the privacy screen. She wasn’t sure what was in it, but interrupting dosages of potions could have side effects. Unpleasant side effects. She left the needle where it was.

The door caught her eye. Or, she assumed it was the door. She couldn’t actually see the door, just the classroom beyond. The only indication that the door was shut was the visible handle, floating in midair.

Nel walked closer, observing the class. The instructor she had run to for help stood at the front, waving around a wand while talking about something. The students payed attention. She had them hanging off every word.

None of the children that Nel had been spying on were in class. Neither were their friends. It must be an older class.

She almost reached for the door handle. Sister Cross would be after her sooner or later. Nel needed to be gone before the evil woman could get a release signed for her blood and another augur to locate her.

Interrupting the class would just make the teacher angry. She might be less inclined to help. Nel glanced down at the blanket that was struggling to cover even half of her. Traumatizing everyone with the sight of her naked body wouldn’t do either.

Nel looked around the office with assistance from her glimpse to cover more area in half the time. Her tunic was nowhere to be seen. The only scrap of clothing Nel could find was a long robe hanging off a hook on a wall. Nel quickly slipped into it.

She returned to the couch and sat. And waited. Her bare foot slapped against the tile floor as she tried to calm her tense muscles. It wasn’t helping. She picked up that foot and crossed it over her other leg. That leg decided to start tapping.

The butterflies filling her stomach didn’t help either. Every little sound from the classroom, muffled though they were, had her jumping in her seat. Sister Cross was sure to be one of those noises.

The kindly chime of the school bell nearly sent Nel into a panic attack. She used her glimpse to see everything in the surrounding area.

No Sister Cross.

Students tossed notebooks into bags and filed out of the classroom. The teacher waited until the last one left. She turned and marched into the office.

Without hesitation, she strutted to the privacy curtain and tossed it to one side.

“You’re awake.”

Nel flinched back. She couldn’t help it. A feeling of guilt washed over her. She shook it off. Nothing that happened was her fault. It wasn’t.

“How long was I out?” Nel asked in a quiet voice.

“You showed up on Saturday afternoon and the last class of Monday just finished. Roughly forty-eight hours. Now,” the instructor’s eyes glared down on her, “explain.”

Nel found herself flinching back under the glare. I’m not the enemy, stop looking at me like that, she thought. “I don’t have time. It is supposed to take five days, but Sister Cross could have declared an emergency or broken rules or any number of things. I need to be gone. You can teleport right?”

There was a slight hesitance behind the teacher’s eyes. “I can. I–”

“Your student, the ab–” Nel cut herself off. What was the girl’s name? She couldn’t remember. “The one with black hair and hands,” Nel wiggled her own fingers. “She has a prison. I know you’ve been there, I’ve seen you there. I need to be taken there.”

The professor took several steps backwards. A glint in the light brought Nel’s eyes down to her hands. She held a dagger, gripped with white knuckles.

Nel cowered backwards into the couch. She pulled her arms up to hide her face. Why did the professor have a knife out? She didn’t want to be stabbed.

“Are you a demon?”

“What?” Nel stared at the woman. Why would she think such a thing. “I’m a human.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.”

Nel blinked at the woman. She could feel the tears welling at the edges of her eyes. “I’m the Charon Chapter augur. I’m as human as they come.”

“The missing augur.”

Missing? “I ran away. Sister Cross is trying to kill me.”

The professor’s eyes narrowed. They searched over Nel’s face, looking for any sign of deceit. “Then why do you need to speak to my student?”

“She can hide me.”

“An attack?”

“Indeed.”

Eva watched her master’s reactions carefully as he soaked up the details of what happened. Zoe Baxter seemed calm while delivering the news, but her master’s heart rate jumped. Arachne stood behind Eva’s chair with her arms wrapped around Eva, stoic in her expressions as usual. Her heart tube thing didn’t change its pulses in the slightest.

She was almost sad that she had missed it. It sounded like a lot of fun to watch.

It was her first day out of the infirmary and already she hated her cast. The awkwardness of a glove over it had Eva wondering if she should even bother going to school for a week or two. It would be possible to fit a glove over the cast, but the part that wrapped around the palm of her hand bothered her too much.

“You let it waltz into the cafeteria and just start tossing students around?”

Zoe Baxter’s lips twisted up into a mean scowl. “Not a single student had injuries exceeding a scrape or two. There were two students who claimed to have been nearly charged into by the beast, but how they escaped is unclear.”

“Their safety wasn’t thanks to any of you, according to your story anyhow.” Devon looked positively smug as he leaned back in his own chair with his arms crossed.

Something snapped inside Zoe. Eva could almost see it. “Mr. Foster, the school does everything in its power to assure the safety of our students.”

“Except get an enchanter to magic the glass unbreakable.”

“It should have been unbreakable,” she said through grit teeth. “Lightning shouldn’t do a thing to the glass. Those nuns’ lightning does something odd to enchantments. But,” Zoe said with a glare towards Devon, “I’m not here to discuss the security of Brakket.

“Both Professor Kines as well as a group of fifth year students confirmed that the creature that attacked was not a lamassu. It was far larger, the wings were differently shaped and the face was longer.”

“And that’s why you want me to look at it.” Devon leaned back and stared at the blank ceiling. Eva had had ideas to decorate it similar to one of the Rickenbacker study rooms, but lost the desire when she lost her eyes. “What did the nuns say about it?”

Zoe sighed, slumping in her own chair. Her perfect posture deflated to a lazy recline. “They didn’t. Sister Cross brought in a few of her people to retrieve the corpse. She looked around with glowing eyes for a few minutes before leaving without a word. I think the dean warned them about staying. With no injuries, the school day went on as normal for the most part.”

An awkward silence encircled the group. Devon continued staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. Zoe pulled herself out of her slump and straightened her back.

Eva looked up to Arachne. “What do you think?”

Zoe flinched as the spider-woman spoke. “There are a number of demons that can feely change shape to whatever they want, including a winged bull. I don’t know of any specific ones. Demons aren’t exactly friendly with one another. We don’t all meet up once a month for tea.

“Of course,” her mouth split into a lazy grin. Eva found herself wishing she could properly see the demon’s sharp teeth. “We are looking for a pillar, aren’t we Devon? If anyone can freely shapeshift, it would be one of them.”

“Pillar?” Zoe Baxter turned her sharp eyes to Eva’s master.

“Royalty of Hell. One of the seventy-two attacked the nuns’ augur on Saturday.”

“Royalty of Hell sounds big,” Zoe said with a shake of her head. “And you didn’t think to tell me this?”

“With all due respect,” Eva said, “I haven’t even seen you since Friday. You didn’t show up when I was attacked and didn’t even drop by the nurse’s office while I was incarcerated. One might think you didn’t care.”

Eva smiled a friendly smile. She had been irked by the absence of her favorite instructor. Hopefully Zoe had a good reason.

“Right. I was busy. It was related to the augur.”

“Oh?”

Zoe sighed and stood up. “I will be right back, though I will appear outside. Meet me there,” she said with a glance at Eva.

With that and a slash of her dagger, Zoe disappeared. Cold air flooded the small commons room of the women’s ward in her wake. Eva’s runes had to work overtime to return the temperature to the standard level of ambient heat.

“Well,” Eva said, “shall we head out there?”

“I’m going to the school. Unless something changed, there are no nuns around to interfere and it has been less than three hours since the ‘attack.’ I’d rather not wait.”

Eva nodded at her master. He got up and vanished at the doorway, already blinking away.

“Arachne,” Eva said. “Help me up.”

The demon stayed still for just a minute. Her arms gave a light squeeze around Eva’s chest before she let go. She gently hefted Eva up to her feet before lifting her into her arms.

Eva patted her chest. “I can walk. I’d rather not be carried in front of Zoe Baxter. I’d rather not be seen as some kind of invalid.”

“Oh? It is far more intimidating to be carried in my arms than simply walking on your own.”

Eva sighed. “Suit yourself. But set me down outside.”

That gave the demon a grin. She slowly carried Eva out to the exterior gate.

And they waited.

Eva just sat in Arachne’s arms. The spider-woman had yet to set her down. Eva wasn’t complaining. She hadn’t slipped into her shoes and the cement walkway would have been rough on her feet.

“She didn’t mean all the way out of the prison, did she?”

“I’ve long since given up trying to understand the thought processes of mortals.” Arachne glanced down at Eva. “Except you of course.”

“If I even qualify anymore.”

“That doesn’t change my attempts to understand you in the past.”

“Attempts?”

“You do strange things all the time.”

Eva frowned at that, but couldn’t retort. Two circulatory systems appeared a short distance away.

One of them was Zoe Baxter. Eva instantly recognized one of the first circulatory systems that she ever memorized.

The other, Eva didn’t know what to make of her. It was a her, she had all the necessary hardware at least. She had plenty extra as well. Eva couldn’t stop staring.

“You said five days.”

“I said at the most. And you wasted an hour questioning me and then an hour gone. That’s two hours that Sister Cross could have shown up and killed me.”

The woman’s entire body was covered, absolutely covered in orbs. They had the same base pattern as an eyeball.

“There were things to talk about. Important things.”

“More important than my life?”

And they moved. The only two that stayed in one spot were the two on her face. The rest slid around her body. Some were even inside her body. One hovered around the back of her throat. Another rested just inside–Why would anyone need eyes there.

“And you are wasting more time. We’re here.”

All of the eyes swiveled to stare. If it weren’t for the ambient blood wards giving her a very tight topographical view of the woman, Eva might have thought the woman was naked. Not a single eye wasn’t locked on to Eva.

“What the hell are you?” Eva half shouted.

Arachne gently set her down before dropping into a combat stance. “She smells like a mixture of a nun and incense. Can I eat her?”

The woman’s eyes, all of them, grew wide. She took several steps backwards. “No, no, I’m not. I need help.”

“Eva,” Zoe Baxter said, “tell her to stand down.”

“Why don’t we get some explaining first.”

Zoe looked like she was about to say something, but the woman cut her off.

“I’m the Elysium Sisters’ Charon Chapter’s augur. I was the one spying on you. Sorry. But Sister Cross is trying to kill me. I need to hide. I’d normally hide on my own but hiding from augurs is difficult, especially because there is a vial of my blood stored in the Pope’s Vault. You can help. There’s a building here I can hide in. Please let me stay.”

With her rapid speech over, the augur dropped to her knees and clasped her hands together. The eyeballs scurrying over her legs moved away from her knees to avoid being crushed.

Eva just stared. She didn’t know what to say.

The augur stayed on her knees, her eyes closed. At least, the eyes on her face. The rest continued to stare at Eva.

“Why should I trust you?”

It was difficult to tell her facial expression, but Eva was sure she was about to cry.

The nun opened her mouth. It closed without a single word springing forth.

“I see,” Eva said.

Who did this thing think she was that Eva would just allow her to stay at her prison. Far too many people were already keyed into the wards already. Adding some creature that claimed to be affiliated with the nuns wouldn’t let Eva rest easy.

She really needed to set up one of the other buildings as a meeting hall and temporary resting quarters for guests. Then she could remove everyone save herself and Arachne from the women’s ward wards. That didn’t keep people from knowing about her secret lair, but at least she was confident in her protections.

A light clicking pulled her out of her thoughts. The sound of carpenter’s nails tapping against something hard. It didn’t take long to realize that Arachne had taken up drumming her fingers against the palms of her hands.

The nun noticed as well. She cowered backwards, gripping her arms around Zoe Baxter’s leg. Her face turned upwards to the instructor with a pleading look, if Eva had to guess.

Zoe Baxter herself wore a large frown. She glanced back and forth between the nun and Eva.

Eva couldn’t tell who the frown was directed at. Possibly both of them.

“Eva,” she said, “she showed up at my office looking like she got run over by a dump truck. A dump truck that dumped shards of broken glass on her after running her over.” Zoe took a deep breath and locked her eyes with Eva’s face. “If I have my time line correct, this would have been just before Sister Cross showed up in your dorm.”

“Oh? Right, the missing augur Sister Cross was talking about,” Eva drawled. She hadn’t forgotten. “The one whose kidnapping nearly wound up with me dead. Except she wasn’t kidnapped,” as her master predicted, “she ran away to save herself and nearly killed me in the process.”

The nun cowered back further, all but hiding on her knees behind Zoe. She was mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. I didn’t know,” and other such drivel. All the while her eyes swarmed over her body, darting between Eva, Arachne, and Zoe.

“Miss Eva,” Zoe said in a tone of voice she used often with students in trouble, “she has no place to go. She is convinced that Sister Cross will be able to locate her, and soon. Are you going to leave her to fend for herself?”

“She hasn’t even said her name. She expects me to let her into my compound, my home, without offering the common courtesy of a proper introduction?”

“That sounds familiar,” Zoe said, almost with a grunt. Eva had never heard her grunt before.

“Nel Stirling,” the nun said. Her voice quivered. “Augur number six-six-four-six. Sorry.”

“And,” Eva said, ignoring the apology, “I thought my runes didn’t protect against whatever augurs use to see.”

There was a snort, almost a laugh from Nel Stirling. It caught in her throat halfway up and she looked at Eva with absolute dread. “They don’t. Whoever set up the wards in that building,” she said with a vague flail of her arm, “knows how to keep an augur out.”

Eva had a sinking suspicion she knew which building the nun referred to despite the unclear gesture. It took more effort than Eva could muster to keep from breaking down in laughter. Arachne widened her already ear to ear grin.

Nel rapidly looked between Zoe and Eva, apparently unsure what to make of the sudden outburst. Her worries seemed to grow along with her heart rate as the anger on the professor’s face paled and melted away to concern. Concern for Nel.

“Eva, I’m not sure–”

Cutting off her professor, Eva said, “I’m convinced. You’ve convinced me Zoe Baxter. Nel Stirling, welcome to the compound. I believe I know which building you refer to and you’re free to stay so long as you convince its owner.”

A cautious smile spread across the nun’s face.

“Miss Stirling,” Zoe said as she changed her targets, “are you sure you have nowhere else to stay?”

“Yes, why? She agreed right? If I talk to this other person?”

“It isn’t–”

“Zoe Baxter, if the nun wishes to reside, Nel Stirling will need to get used to the,” Eva coughed lightly, “quirks of Ylva on her own. I am sure she would not appreciate you speaking of her in any case.”

Zoe pursed her lips. She strode forwards as Nel picked herself back to her feet. The professor leaned down and whispered in Eva’s ear. “I don’t like this. If you’ve raised her hopes only to have that thing kill her–”

Eva waved her off. “I’m sure she won’t kill her.” Probably. “Hopefully a little hurt and a little scare though,” Eva said as she patted her cast. “Returning the favor and all that.”

“That is petty, Miss Eva,” she said as she straightened her back. “You’re playing with things that can have dire consequences. Did you not read those books you lent me?”

“You can’t learn everything from a book. I think you said that. And,” Eva said, holding up a clawed finger, “I’m not playing. If she is innocent and Ylva is the only one who can shield her from other augurs, then good for her. If she has nefarious intentions towards me or anyone here, at least Ylva can take care of it.

“Besides, I’m sure Devon would find her physiology fascinating.”

“He won’t try to dissect her, will he?”

“No. Probably not. Unless she is actually a demon, he probably won’t care too much apart from a cursory look-over.”

Zoe looked back towards Nel. The nun hadn’t moved forward. She had a small smile on her face as she politely waited for their conversation to end.

“I almost came to ask you about that until I heard about your altercation with Sister Cross. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself or the nun on the off-chance Sister Cross would try to kill her. How can you tell if she is a demon or not?”

Arachne chose that moment to pipe in. “What color is her blood?”

“Red.”

“All demons have black blood,” Arachne said with a shake of her head. “Not one that I’ve seen hasn’t.”

“Indeed,” Zoe said glancing down at Eva.

Eva wanted nothing more than to glare daggers at the spider-woman. Without eyes, that was near impossible. She didn’t even move her head. Had Zoe Baxter ever seen her blood? Eva couldn’t remember.

“Well,” Eva said loud enough for Nel to hear, “let’s go then. We’ll walk you over.”

Eva took a step forward, then paused. Her feet were still bare. “Arachne, I don’t want to walk.”

Without a second of hesitation, Arachne swooped down and picked up Eva.

After a few strides away from Arachne, Eva realized that her professor hadn’t budged. “Are you coming?”

Her lips pursed together again as her heart rate jumped. “I’ll walk with you. I think I will remain outside.”

“Suit yourself.”

The three walked across the compound. Eva didn’t walk, carried in Arachne’s arms instead. It was slow going. Not only was the compound huge, but Nel didn’t have shoes either.

“So, augur, tell me about yourself. I’d like to know just who you are, if you’re going to be hanging around my compound.”

“I–Yes, of course. Um,” she stalled, drawing out a long hum. “I don’t know what else to say. I’m an augur. I was made into one last May.”

“Made? Were you human before?”

She glared for a brief moment before seeming to realize what she was doing. In a very neutral tone, Nel said, “I am still human.”

Arachne turned her head, grinning at her. “Most humans I’ve met only have two eyes.”

The nun stumbled and immediately patted herself down. Eva couldn’t see her clothes clearly as they moved away from the women’s ward, but she assumed the nun was checking to see if any of her eyes were visible. “I did–There’s not–How?”

“When you were cowering on the ground like a pathetic–”

“Arachne, be polite for now.”

The demon gave a light growl, almost playful. “Your robe flipped up and I saw at least three on your leg.”

“She’s got far more than three. Maybe around fifty?” Eva hadn’t tried to count them all. “Some you wouldn’t see even if she was naked.”

Another stream of sputtering came out of the nun’s mouth. The last word was, once again, “how?”

“You’ve been watching me since November and you don’t know how I see?” Eva chuckled.

“You spread blood around in the air.”

“Half right.”

Zoe sped up to bring her in line with Arachne. “Half right?”

“I can see circulatory systems. And her system,” Eva pointed at the nun, “is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.” There was a slight pause before Eva added, “and I’ve seen Arachne’s circulatory system.

“The eyes all move around while her capillaries, veins, and arteries all disconnect and reconnect to keep them constantly attached. The way I see the skin split in front of and form up behind an eye as it moves is very disturbing.”

The nun hung her head. All of her eyes took on what Eva would consider to be a sad look. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to.”

“Why do you smell like incense?” Arachne asked.

“Incense, specifically frankincense, is a key component in helping to activate my far sight.”

“The real question you should be asking,” Zoe Baxter said, “is why is Sister Cross trying to kill one of her own nuns?”

The nun drooped her head to her chest. In doing so, she stumbled and almost completely fell to the ground.

She had better watch herself if she doesn’t want to fall down Ylva’s pit. Eva still had no idea what, if anything, was down there.

“I don’t know. Things just didn’t add up. She seemed to be using me as bait for the necromancers. She isolated me from the other sisters. I don’t think she wants word getting around about her daughter, or even about the ab–” All of her eyes flicked up to Eva before returning to their general scan of the prison walkways. “I mean, she wants to keep all the demon business quiet.

“Knowing everything I knew, I was a liability.”

“That seems cutthroat and underhanded for a member of the Elysium Sisters.”

“We get praise from the public for going after dangers like liches, necromancers, vampires, ghosts, and the like. No one really sees the inner workings of the order.”

“Why,” Eva asked, “does she want to keep ‘all the demon business’ quiet? I assume that refers to me and Arachne.”

At that, the nun shrugged. “Maybe she thinks it is the least she can do. You did save her daughter.”

Eva wanted to scoff at that and dismiss it. If that was all there was to it, Sister Cross should have considered that debt paid a long time ago. Eva knew she would have.

Instead, she went silent. The others followed suit until they reached the heavy iron doors leading into cell house two. Zoe decided to throw her two cents in.

“Be polite. Introduce yourself.”

The nun glanced up at the professor. “I’m Nel Stirling. I already–”

“Not to me,” Zoe said. She tilted her head towards the door. “To her.”

Nel threw a confused look towards Eva before nodding at Zoe.

“That reminds me,” Eva said, “don’t agree to anything you cannot personally deliver.”

“What?”

“Like land. You can’t give her land. Nothing around here is yours to give and I doubt a nun owns property. Just be careful about what you offer to do in exchange for staying. Anyway,” Eva clapped her hands together, “let’s meet Ylva.”

Without being asked, Arachne pulled open the door and prodded Nel inside with a few rapidly sprouted extra limbs. The nun gave a high-pitched shriek as she crossed the threshold, hopefully without any real time to consider what Eva just said.

If nothing else, Eva wanted the one who had been spying on her and nearly got her killed to put on a good show. That show would be watched closely. She didn’t want to accidentally give Ylva anything that Devon would object to.

“Sure you don’t want to come?” Eva asked Zoe.

If Eva was reading her blood correctly, the woman paled. A lot. “No, I am more than fine out here.”

With a shrug of her shoulders, Eva nodded for Arachne to carry her into the room.

The door slamming shut without Arachne shutting it did not go by unnoticed.

While the nun’s heart rate was lightly elevated on the trek across the compound, it now skipped a few beats and jumped straight into scared rabbit territory. She must have been part owl for her head swiveled around as she tried to take in every detail of the strange environment.

Arachne set Eva down, though she kept two steadying arms wrapped around Eva’s shoulders. The awkward stooping over she had to do to keep her arms where they were did not seem comfortable in the slightest. Yet she didn’t fidget or move much except to use four extra legs as stabilizers.

The nun turned back to Eva, her mouth gaping open. After a minute of continued staring, she got her wits about her enough to speak. “I don’t understand. What is this place?”

“No idea,” Eva lied. She raised her voice and called out, “Ylva, I have someone here who wishes to make a request of you.”

Nel spun around. Her eyes and her head darted around, searching. Whatever she was looking for, she came up empty. Her head twisted back to Eva with confusion written all over it.

“Ylva is here, right?” Eva whispered to Arachne.

“She is.”

Glad I didn’t make a fool of myself then. Eva gestured forwards. She couldn’t see the pit or the throne, but they hadn’t turned at all since entering the room. “Go on then. Make your request. She’s waiting for you.”

Nel Stirling cocked her head to one side before facing in the direction Eva assumed was the throne. “I, um, need help?” She glanced back at Eva who rewarded her with a shrug. “I’m being chased by people who can find me almost anywhere, but not in here?” Another glance at Eva. “Oh. My name is Nel Stirling,” she said with a nod, apparently remembering Zoe’s advice. “I’m an augur.”

The nun gave one more glance towards Eva. The silent plea for advice went unanswered.

There were times for advice and times where it was simply too late. Eva felt strongly that this situation fell into the second category. It wasn’t entirely the nun’s fault, Eva supposed; speaking to an unmoving skeleton on a throne wasn’t an obvious thing to do. Still, she could have made a real request at the very least.

While Eva didn’t like to interact with Ylva often–the hel had a very imposing presence that Eva tried to ignore–she had to admit that not a one of their encounters had been anything less than cordial. Near as Eva could tell, the hel rewarded politeness with politeness. Juliana’s tale of her and Zoe Baxter’s encounter only strengthened that theory.

“Our patience wanes.”

The voice thundered throughout the room. It echoed off the walls and surrounded them.

If Nel’s heart rate could go any higher, Eva would be surprised. It looked like it was trying to escape out her back and run away.

Eva’s own heart rate picked up, though not as much. That must be the booming voice Juliana mentioned. That was the first time she heard it. It sent a chill through her spine despite not being directed at her.

Hopefully it wasn’t directed at her.

Arachne didn’t budge.

The nun collapsed to her knees. If Eva couldn’t see her heart, she might worry that it had given out completely. Her mouth gaped open but only a choking sound came forth. She cleared her throat several times. “I-I’m sorry.”

“Your manners are noted. Make your plea. We are busy.”

What with? Every time Eva had ever seen Ylva, she was slouched on her throne doing nothing obvious. At least, she was slouched over it the first time. Eva felt it was a safe bet that she hadn’t changed her pose since Eva lost her eyes.

“P-Please. I request asylum within this place. My former comrades hunt me.”

Arachne whispered in Eva’s ear. “I expected her to run away. This must be the first nun with a backbone.”

“Or she actually has nowhere else to go.” Perhaps she was more scared of Sister Cross than Ylva. That could simply stem from not knowing what Ylva actually was.

“What have you to offer?”

A small, weak voice escaped from Nel’s lips. “Offer?”

“If a mortal stays within a building owned by another, they pay. You will pay for the privilege and honor of staying within Our domain.”

Nel Stirling glanced back at Eva before turning her gaze to the ground. “I am an augur, a powerful seer. Though I require reagents to use my abilities to their fullest. I can offer nothing apart from myself.”

Bad choice of words, Eva thought. The chuckling in Eva’s ear told her that Arachne agreed.

“We accept.”

“R-Really?” A cautious smile crept across her face. “I can stay here?”

“You are being hunted? We would be derelict in Our duties to allow Our servant to come to harm.”

“S-Servant?” She glanced back at Eva with wide eyes. All of them.

Eva smiled and gave her a shrug.

There was a momentary tinge of guilt. It might not have hurt to prepare Nel better. That tinge of guilt vanished as quick as it came. The girl had been spying on her and it was likely her fault Eva was attacked in the first place. Not to mention that Eva disliked the nuns in general.

It was out of her hands now.

The stifled shaking of Arachne’s chest grinding into Eva’s back was slowly becoming annoying.

“Your first duty: arrive at Our side. We require a closer inspection of Our property. Rid yourself of those robes.”

“Property?” A light hiccup escaped the woman’s throat. Eva couldn’t see her tears, but imagining them wasn’t difficult.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine. At least you’ll be well protected from Sister Cross.”

A tinge of laughter edged Arachne’s voice. “Best not to keep your new master waiting.”

Nel hiccuped again. “Master?”

“Ohhh, it isn’t so bad. Eva is my master and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have own me.”

The nun quietly, maybe tearfully, shed her clothes.

“Ylva,” Eva called out while Nel undressed, “your new servant mentioned abilities that require reagents to use. Given she is being hunted, it is probably unwise to send her outside. At least in the near future. I don’t know what means you might possess to acquire these reagents.” She paused a moment, just to see if the hel answered that.

She didn’t.

“In exchange for using her on occasion for my own purposes, I would be willing to acquire these reagents. Provided they are nothing impossible for me to acquire.”

There was a slight pause before Ylva’s voice echoed throughout the chamber. This time it lacked the thunderous boom. “We take no issue with your proposal.”

“Excellent. Have her write up a list sometime. We’ll stop by later to pick it up.” Eva patted the chitinous arm around her shoulder and shook her head towards the door.

Ylva spoke before Arachne could move to pick her up. “Eva, there is someone standing outside with whom We wish to speak.”

Eva shrugged. “I’ll see if she wants to come in.” She might give her professor a few more tips than she gave Nel. Just in case. It wouldn’t do to have someone she actually liked bind themselves to Ylva.

— — —

Too long.

They had been in there too long.

Zoe sighed. She should have gone in there with them.

The dagger trembled in her hands. She gripped it tight in an attempt to stop shaking. It didn’t help.

How long had they been in there? Zoe cast a quick spell. Nearly a half hour.

How long had she spent in there with Juliana? Surely not more than five minutes. That had been more than enough in her opinion.

Eva seemed confident. She waltzed right in there without a moment’s hesitation. Or her pet demon did, in any case. Did she actually know what she was doing?

Not a question that Zoe could answer.

Her own foray into diabolist activities consisted of nothing more than reading tomes. Tomes that Eva picked out. They were probably far tamer than others in an attempt to ease Zoe into diablery.

Zoe recognized it as an attempt to do the opposite of what she wanted to do with Eva. She had no idea where to begin easing Eva out of diablery. It was so heavily ingrained in her. Not just her hands, or even heritage if that was the case–that would explain her ability to use spells without a focus–but that Arachne creature as well.

The looks she gave Zoe were downright predatory.

Yet she hung off of Eva like a clingy girlfriend.

Zoe wanted to speak with the creature alone. Without her censoring anything because Eva was around. It would be easy as well. Eva told her she was leaving the demon at the prison while the nuns were in town. Zoe could pop into the prison while she knew Eva was away, pretend she was looking for Eva, and strike up a conversation.

She was afraid. Arachne seemed polite enough while Eva was around. If Eva was gone, would she still be so polite? Or would Zoe end up as lunch for the spider.

Bringing Wayne might not be a bad idea. He wasn’t keyed into the wards, but they could speak outside. Now that he knew about Eva, there wasn’t much point trying to keep more secret from him.

Zoe sighed as she slumped against cell house two. She wasn’t sure she wanted to meet with Wayne so soon after their argument. Argument was putting it lightly.

The door ground open. Zoe jumped to a combat stance.

Eva’s head poked out.

Zoe didn’t drop her guard.

“Ylva wants to speak to you.”

Zoe stared at the black-haired blind girl. What was she supposed to say to that. She wanted to say no. Zoe bit her lip.

“I don’t think you should decline. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you don’t make the same mistakes our friend made.”

There was a slight sinking feeling in her chest. “The nun?” Zoe asked. She didn’t know the woman apart from caring for her for nearly three days. That didn’t stop the nun from being pitiful in Zoe’s eyes. “Did–Is she dead?”

“Oh no. She’s alive and will be well hidden from Sister Cross in Ylva’s care. She may have accidentally,” Eva gave a light cough, “entered into a long-term service agreement in exchange for said protection.”

“That… doesn’t sound so bad.”

“It really isn’t, though I wouldn’t want either of us to be in her position if we could help it.”

Zoe couldn’t argue with that. “What did she want with me?”

“Didn’t say,” Eva said with a nonchalant shrug.

“And you think this is a good idea?”

“Ylva is big on politeness and respect. I didn’t say it was a good idea, but I think it is a terrible idea to refuse.”

Zoe sighed. There was a reason she had stayed outside. Lots of reasons, if she was honest. Most revolved around not wanting to be in Ylva’s presence again.

With reluctance and not a little trepidation, Zoe walked through the open door. Eva followed just behind her with Arachne at her heels.

The door slammed behind her. Zoe dropped to one knee.

Eva stayed standing and Zoe was pretty sure she heard a snicker from Arachne.

Humiliating. But she didn’t want to crack her kneecaps if the demon decided to force her to kneel.

“We see you have acquired proper decorum in the time since our last meeting.”

Zoe chanced a glance up. Like last time, a skeleton sat in a great throne atop a platform suspended over a bottomless pit. A ray of light shone down from the tempest above.

Unlike last time, the skeleton was not slumped backwards in the throne. It leaned forwards, still resting its skull on its fist. Its other hand stroked the black hair of a woman sitting on the floor between the skeleton’s spread knees.

It took a moment to recognize the face of the woman through the tears. Nel Stirling. Every time that skeletal hand brushed through her hair, the nun quaked in her seat. The robe Zoe loaned her was missing. A black collar around her neck that was not there before was the only visible clothing.

“Ylva didn’t like the robe,” Eva explained without being asked. “She said she’d find some proper attire after we leave.”

Zoe cleared her throat as a stalling tactic while she tried to overcome her shock. That didn’t sound so bad, she thought back to what Eva had said. Long term service. It looks much worse. She couldn’t help but wonder just how long-term that service was supposed to be.

“I had time to reflect on my actions,” Zoe said. “I apologize for my behavior. I was scared, nervous, and worried due to missing a student at the time.”

“We understand.”

“Thank you.” Zoe didn’t know what else to say.

“You have arrived in Eva’s domain many times. You never visited Our domain. We promised a reward for delivering Our message, something Eva mentioned was accomplished. Do you not wish to be rewarded?”

“I–”

“Don’t decline,” Eva said quickly, “she was offended the last time I declined a gift.”

“I meant no slight,” Zoe said after taking a minute to decide her words. “I presumed you wished to reward my student, as she was the one who actually delivered the message.” Zoe bit her lip. Did I just throw Juliana to the wolves? I shouldn’t have said that.

“Juliana Rivas. We remember. The reward was offered to both for a single task. We offer Our reward to both. Present yourself alongside her within thirty days.”

“I understand.”

The door slid open behind her, grinding on its hinges as it went. Zoe understood that she had been dismissed.

With a last look at the still crying Nel, Zoe turned and tried her hardest not to look like she was running away.

The end of class chime stopped Bradley Twillie’s lecture on eloko. They were a species of dwarf that prefer forests over the underground mountains of their cousins. A small group apparently lived not far from Brakket.

Curses that they put on unaware explorers and hikers were of particular interest to Eva. The one that caused traveler’s senses to swap seemed particularly interesting. Professor Twillie wasn’t entirely clear, but it sounded like the curse made someone smell sounds, see touches, hear light, and so on.

He also did not mention if they were thaumaturgical in nature or if the eloko used some other magic system. Zoe Baxter might know. Eva made a mental note to ask later.

Eva quickly snapped her notebook shut and tossed it into her bag. Shalise was already out the door along with Irene and Shelby. The wavy-haired brunette had been distant, though not exactly unfriendly since the incident with Sister Cross just over a week before.

Understandable though it was, it grated on her nerves. It wasn’t like Eva attacked Sister Cross. The nun attacked first.

Juliana fell in step with Eva as they walked out of the classroom. “Don’t worry about it,” the blond said.

Eva quirked an eyebrow at her friend.

“Shalise will come around. She’s just getting over the shock of walking in on a life or death fight between her roommate, her teacher, and her,” Juliana paused. She tapped her finger to her chin several times before shrugging. “And whatever Sister Cross is to her.”

“I know. I’m not holding it against her.” Eva flexed her fingers within her gloves. The lack of a cast over one arm felt so much more liberating. If only she could get rid of her gloves without a public outcry and condemnation.

“It would be like walking in on Devon and Arachne tearing each other apart.”

Eva gave a quick snort. “Probably not the same. I’d probably get popcorn and start cheering one of them on.”

“Which one?”

“Arachne, obviously. Devon is a lot of things but my bets go on almost anyone else in a fight.”

“You don’t think a,” Juliana glanced around at the other students on the path leading to the botany building. “You don’t think a person of his talents would have the means to defeat someone like Arachne?”

“He’s a researcher. He might have something up his sleeve. Based on every other time I’ve seen him in stressful situations, I wouldn’t count on it. He might be able to overpower the mind of something with less intelligence, but I doubt that would work on Arachne.”

Juliana made a long humming noise as they continued up the path.

Eva froze.

Right at the edge of Eva’s sight, it was there. Watching.

Beneath her shirt, Arachne gripped Eva’s back. Hard. Eva could see the small cuts where each of her legs clamped down.

Eva used some of the blood that dripped down to her dagger to send more flecks off in the direction of the bull. There were trees in the way. Lots of them. None of her friends would be able to see it.

A twisting in her stomach gripped her. The demon–the devil’s eyes were focusing on her even through the trees. She should walk. Go to class and pretend she hadn’t noticed.

Just as she was about to take a step forward, she changed her mind.

“You guys go on ahead,” Eva said. “I think I left something back at Bradley Twillie’s classroom.”

Arachne used three of her legs to repeatedly tap ‘no’ into Eva’s back.

Juliana stopped and glanced back, everyone else did shortly after. “I could come back with you, if you want,” she said.

“No thanks,” Eva waved her off while trying to keep the winces off her face. “It is just a pen. A nice pen, but just a pen. I’ll catch up in a few.”

“Sure,” she said with a slight slump in her shoulders.

Without another word, Eva spun on her heels and slowly walked back down the path. Her group of friends continued on their way with a moment of hesitation. Eva paid their quiet discussions no further mind and focused on dodging between other classmates she walked past.

The bull followed her as she walked. It kept its distance. Eva could see her own heart pick up the pace. For an instant, she thought of simply teleporting to the prison and finding Devon. Maybe checking on Nel as a pretense for hiding within Ylva’s domain for a few hours.

Arachne would not object. She ceased her poking, but had yet to relax her grip. Teleporting away would make her very happy.

That thought was banished from her mind. If it was following her, it likely wanted something. It didn’t seem overly hostile. If worst came to worst, she could always escape later.

Probably.

That kind of thinking is what got her captured by Sawyer.

Eva paused in her walking. There were no students around, just the bull.

After a deep breath, Eva walked off the path. She pulled out her dagger and bled out another few marbles of blood. It was too easy to get lost with no eyes. Arachne had no eyes beneath Eva’s shirt. Leaving a trail of blood would help return at the very least.

The bull turned and lumbered further into the woods.

Eva followed.

She had no idea why. It was stupid. A stupid idea that her master warned her about. He specifically ordered her not to even think about the royalty of Hell, let alone approach it.

Yet Eva walked.

She uncorked all the vials of Arachne’s blood she had hidden around her person all while leaving a thin trail of her own blood back to the path. The vigil she kept on the surroundings was constant. Eva would not be surprised by anything.

It wasn’t long before the bull stopped moving.

Eva stopped with it at the very edge of her vision.

The bull didn’t turn around. It didn’t look back at Eva. It continued staring straight ahead.

Nerves in Eva’s body lit up like a wildfire. Something was wrong. She took a step backwards. Half the bull disappeared as she moved back.

Grunting bellows shook the very air of the forest. It repeated again and again.

The moment Eva stopped moving backwards, it stopped its bellows.

That can’t be a good sign. Eva froze and slowly built up the magic necessary for an infernal walk to the prison. If she wasn’t allowed to move, she’d simply disappear.

Before she could get even half way through the process, a voice carried through the trees.

“What is all this racket?”

Eva paused. She could only see the hindquarters of the bull. Someone either walked up or teleported just in front of it. The slight rasp was familiar, but Eva couldn’t place it.

Just as she inched forwards, trying to bring the figure into view, the bull rumbled.

Its insides twisted and shrunk while other parts grew and pulled. The great wings shrunk and shifted positions to rest against its back. Slowly, it pulled itself up onto its hind legs, though the knees still faced the wrong direction.

The process was very similar to how Arachne looked when she pulled out legs or her abdomen.

After everything else, the long face of the bull pulled in on itself. It twisted and shrank until a human sized head was left. Eva could tell there was a place for its horns to protrude, though no blood reached far enough into them to tell how long they were.

“You’re going to draw attention,” that same feminine rasp spoke.

A deep, throaty chuckle erupted from the former bull. “Let them come. I will decimate all without distinction.” If silk were a voice, that man had it colored in deep bass. The sounds all but massaged Eva’s ears.

“That’s what I’m worried about. We want distinction.” There was a long sigh from the woman. “You nearly killed two children last week.”

“They survived. A scare will go a long way for your plans. I merely took that into consideration.”

“Do I need to remind you? Killing students or staff will break our contract.” A smug tone entered her voice. “You don’t want that.”

If that worried him, he didn’t show it. The devil waved a hand off to one side. “I’ll keep my raids limited to maiming and breaking then. They have to be believable, yeah?”

“Was there a point to calling me out here or were you wanting my heels ground into your back again.”

“As enjoyable as that is, I think I will pass. For now. When am I to slaughter next.”

“I’ll see about tipping off the nuns sometime soon. It will be after school hours, but only just. My familiar will deliver the message. Be ready.”

Despite her being out of Eva’s vision range, she could feel the woman vanish after speaking. The strong scent of brimstone wafted over the woods before a light gust of wind stole it away. She waited to see if the former bull would vanish as well.

He didn’t.

His head slowly turned to focus on Eva. There were trees in the way. She knew there were trees in the way–Eva was half crouched behind one. Yet his head stopped right on Eva without moving an inch too far.

A smile spread across his face.

“Come out, embryonic one. I know you are there.”

Eva assumed as much. As she slowly approached his position, Eva pulled the blood out two vials. Behind her back, it twisted and formed into the wire frame ball of her favorite attack. Three more marbles orbited around her with one forming the base for a shield.

Arachne finally loosed her grip on Eva. The muscles in her legs coiled, ready to strike through Eva’s shirt. The spider-demon wouldn’t be any use, by her own admission, but she still readied to attack.

Eva pressed one arm down on the demon, pinning her to Eva’s chest. Teleporting out was a far better option. One Arachne would benefit from if she stuck next to Eva.

She stopped with twenty feet to spare. No trees were in the way, or around in the small clearing where he stood.

They stared at each other. Or he stared at her. Eva’s vision didn’t change much with proximity.

He drew in a long breath of air through his nose. “Demon blood. I don’t recognize its owner. Some nobody, I presume.” His voice kept the smooth tones even as it pitched into a mock. “I sense the owner with you. It won’t matter.”

Arachne prickled beneath Eva’s shirt at his taunts.

Eva, on the other hand, wasn’t about to give any satisfaction by rising to his barbs if she could help it. “What do you want?”

“A great many things, few of which you can offer.”

“What do you want with me, right now, here?”

“Still a great many things. You can offer significantly more when you phrase it that way, however.”

Eva put on her best eyeless glare and didn’t respond.

“No appreciation for literal interpretations,” he sighed. “You should work on that if you ever want to make something of yourself.” At Eva’s continued glare, he sighed again and said, “my master would find it somewhat unpleasant if some of the students were to get involved in her plans. At least, her plans for the nuns.”

Arachne called Eva her master maybe three times since the most recent June. All three times it had been spoken as a term of endearment. Affectionately.

His use of the term dripped with vitriol and hate. Eva could taste the absolute detestation. Still, his smile remained spread across his face.

“That doesn’t explain what you want with me.”

A wide grin curved across his face. “I want to hurt you.”

That was enough for Eva. Two marbles of blood launched towards the devil. Her shield sprung to life around her. She spun around.

Both of her hands plunged into the wire frame ball of blood hovering in the air.

Two claws materialized around the devil. Both clamped down, puncturing his shoulders. With a twist and a pull, Eva disarmed him.

Before the blood claws ran out of energy, Eva punched both into his chest. He went flying.

A thick tree all but exploded as he crashed into and through it.

Eva didn’t wait around to see if he’d get up. She shut off her shield and started hobbling away, keeping Arachne pinned to her chest as she walked. All of her ambient blood went into searching out the forest floor. Tripping over a branch was not something she needed.

She ran as best as she could, following her trail of blood back towards the pathway.

Before she could teleport away, her face scraped against a tree. Eva’s shoulder hit it a second later and she went tumbling to the ground.

That tree wasn’t in her way before she ran into it. She tried to pick herself off the ground.

Long nails dug into Eva’s shoulders as hands clamped around her. They hoisted her into the air. One hand reached into Eva’s chest and gripped Arachne. With barely a look over his shoulder, the devil flung the little spider out of Eva’s vision range.

“I tore your arms off,” Eva spat at the devil.

He didn’t appear angry. A calm smile with lightly raised eyebrows was his only expression.

“Off, on. Detached, attached.” His hot breath caressed her face. “It is all the same to me.”

Tension grew in one of her arms. She watched as her blood vessels stretched and pulled before they snapped. Blood erupted from her shoulder as the demon carelessly tossed her arm to one side.

“Detached.”

The pain ceased before Eva even had the mental acuity to cry out. Her arm was no longer on the ground. All the blood returned to its proper place as the vessels stitched back together.

“Attached.”

He pulled at her other arm. Like the first, it easily tore off under his strength. Unlike the first, he didn’t reattach it. He dropped Eva on the ground seemingly without another thought.

The demon pressed the bloodied end of her arm right against his nose and drew in a loud, deep breath. He tossed the arm at her.

It vanished on its way and reappeared, fully connected, where it belonged. The blood around his nose stayed where it was.

“Yes. That is the smell. It is thick in this school. Some of the students smell stronger than others. It smells,” he took another long breath of the air before releasing it with a small sigh, “corrupt.”

Eva repressed a sardonic laugh. “I don’t doubt it. Come back in a few years. I’m sure it will only get better.”

“I will.”

Eva bit her lip. She should have kept her mouth shut. No movement was made on Eva’s part as the devil indulged himself in the scent. Whatever he wanted, it didn’t seem to be to hurt her, despite his earlier words.

Tearing off her arms only caused a brief flash of pain before that vanished. Even with her sight confirming they were attached and properly so at that, it was hard to believe. Eva flexed and relaxed her claws. She tapped them against her legs just to feel the sensation of them moving.

“What are your goals?”

Eva blinked at him.

“Your desires? Your purpose?”

“I–”

“Is it knowledge you seek? Power? Pleasure? Or do you have greater designs than mere base impulses?” He leaned over and cast Eva into his shadow, if the sudden lack of warmth from the sun was any indication.

“While I would–”

“A tremor tore through the Void recently. Something changed.” He drew in a deep breath and let out a hot wave of brimstone tinged air. “Nothing changes in the Void. Yet something did. I can’t help but wonder if you are the cause or an effect.”

Eva sat on the cold ground. She waited for him to continue. He didn’t. He just glared at her. “Whate–”

“You could be entirely unrelated. Still, I was drawn here. I pulled myself through an aeons old beacon into this plane of existence to find out for sure, yeah?”

Crossing her arms, Eva gave the devil a pointed look. She opened her mouth but allowed no sound out.

The devil stared at her, quirking his head to one side.

With a long sigh, Eva started to speak. She didn’t get beyond the first syllable. I knew it, she thought as the devil spoke over her.

“I digress. None of that is why you are here today. There will be time to investigate you. I have contractual obligations to ensure there is time. Obligations I think you will relish assisting me with.

“Tell me,” he said as his grin widened to split his head in two, “how do you feel about the Elysium Sisters?”

— — —

Juliana crept through the old house. Every inch of it had to be inspected every time she visited. Ceilings, cupboards, closets, and every room required a thorough inspection.

She was not going to be caught unawares.

Luckily, this house was not very large. One master bedroom with an attached bathroom, two smaller bedrooms, and a living room attached to a dining room and kitchen. It only had one floor, but Juliana always peeked into the attic and the crawlspace.

With every other room checked and cleared, Juliana stopped outside the door to one of the bedrooms. She leaned her head against the door and shut her eyes. A silent prayer was sent off; to who that prayer went, Juliana couldn’t guess. Not with what she’d done.

She flicked her wand to activate her ferrokinesis spell. Metal that had become as much a part of her body as her clothes melted. Thicker portions on her arms flowed up and around her fingers. Larger clumps on her chest moved up and around her neck. Her long, blond hair pinched back into a ponytail as a smooth dome formed over her head.

Eye slits were the last to form, along with small holes for fresh air in front of her mouth.

Unnecessary for the most part. Juliana wasn’t willing to take the risk of walking in unarmored.

With a sigh, Juliana opened the door.

The old room’s paint peeled off the walls in long curls. A light fixture dangled out of the ceiling, the rotting wood had given way long ago and left nothing but the wires holding it in place. Juliana had stripped the carpet out and tossed it in the other bedroom when she first decided to use the place. The small window had a thin sheet of metal completely blocking all light.

The only illumination in the room was a series of jars set up in the corners filled to the brim with a brightly glowing liquid. The concoction was made in alchemy class using liquid fire and liquid order combined with a handful of other ingredients. It should last for another month before needing replacing.

On the bare plywood was a large circle. It took up almost the entire room. Only a foot and a half of empty space was left between the door and the circle. Seals were inscribed all along the edges while sigils were chalked down on the inside.

Juliana wasn’t sure what the difference was. None of it looked very different from the runes Eva drew. The book told her where to put them and she wasn’t about to ignore that. She checked the book over and over again to ensure not a single line was out of place.

A six spoked wheel sat in the very center. Coming off of it at an angle were six lines ending in a half arrow. The center wheel moved. She drew it with chalk of the same type that Eva purchased on occasion, but it slowly spun and gave off a black light as it did so.

A short figure stood on top of the wheel. It didn’t reach higher than Juliana’s knees and she was one of the shortest people in class. The creature had pale purple skin that almost wafted off of it like smoke. Beneath the translucent skin was a skeleton highlighted by vibrant green dots.

Two horns curled off behind the creature from the base of its neck and two more curled off its back around the shoulder blades. All four were dotted with the same green lights.

Its face was smooth with no mouth, and no nose, and no hair. Two green lights around the area its eyes should be narrowed as Juliana shut the door behind her.

“Hi,” Juliana said softly. Her light voice echoed within her helmet. She quickly formed proper ear holes and widened the holes around her mouth. “You are still here.”

Its eyes narrowed further as a brief flash of pain hit the base of Juliana’s skull.

“Right,” Juliana said with a wince, “I know. I’m stating the obvious again.”

It continued its glare as it crossed its arms. One of its feet started tapping against the wooden floor.

Juliana sat down cross-legged just outside what the book called shackles. “I brought you something,” she said as she reached into her bag and pulled out an apple. She carefully set the apple on the far side of the shackles and withdrew her hand with haste.

The book said it was impossible to destroy the shackles on accident. Either the demon would smash through or the one who charged the circle had to intentionally break them. Juliana wasn’t going to take the chance by sliding or rolling the apple across.

Her haste in snatching back her hand seemed unnecessary as well. The small demon didn’t even move from the center of the circle until she was back with both hands in her lap.

With all the pride of an alpha lion, the demon strode forwards. It picked up the apple with both of its tiny hands and looked it over. Its mouthless head was only about a fourth of the size of the apple it gazed over.

No visible change came over the demon. A low scrape like nails on a chalkboard echoed through the room. It stopped with a crack. A head sized chunk of the apple vanished. The leftover apple tore at the vanished part. Small bits of juice and pulp flew around the room.

Five more of the same bites and the apple was gone, core and all.

The demon glanced up at Juliana.

A wave of pure pleasure hit the blond. It started at the base of her skull and spread through her body. If a brain could get a massage, it would probably feel something like that.

Juliana melted in where she sat. She collapsed against the wall and let the feeling tear through her core. It took several minutes before she even wanted to pull together the effort to tighten her muscles and sit herself up. She stared at the demon.

It just cocked one head to the side.

“Right. Apples huh?” Juliana said once she caught her breath. “I’ll remember that.”

Another burst of pleasure hit her. Not as much as the first time. Just enough to tickle the base of her skull.

“Okay,” Juliana tried to wipe the sweat off her palms. She had to peel back the metal before she could. “I’m going to ask a few questions now.”

Juliana winced, preparing for a flash of pain. The first day, right after it tried to escape from the shackles and presumably tear her apart, all of her questions had been answered with nothing but intense pain.

The next time she managed to make her way to the house, she brought it a notebook and pen. That was where she learned it could eat. If the agony was any indicator, it did not enjoy the notebook or the pen.

If the apple failed, she planned to ask Eva for help. She’d admit she stole the book and would hope nothing too bad would happen.

The apple was a success. Juliana shuddered again as a tickle of pleasure ran down her spine. A smile split across her face.

“Okay,” she said with a deep breath. “You’re Agiel, one of the seven intelligences. Right?”

A pleasure tickle answered her.

Juliana nodded. “That is what the book said.”

The book also said Agiel was benign. If the attempts at tearing down the shackles to get to her and all the pain from the notebook were any indicator, she did not want to meet anything that wasn’t considered benign.

Licking her lips, Juliana opened her mouth to speak. She stopped and paused. It would only answer two more questions and then either offer a contract or leave. The questions had to impress it if she wanted to use its power. The book had a long list of unimpressive questions and no impressive ones.

She already felt like she messed up by asking its name.

“Okay,” she said, “if I can’t secure a contract with you right now, can I summon you again and try more times?”

There was a brief hesitation before another tickle of pleasure hit her spine. This one was accompanied by a buzz of pain. Not a strong sensation, just a light pinch. Of course, it was pinching her brain. Still it was just a pinch.

“So an answer in the affirmative with a tinge of annoyance?” Juliana snapped her mouth shut the second she finished speaking. She thought several curses at herself.

Her spine tingled in pleasure despite her rapidly souring mood.

“I don’t suppose that was enough to earn a contract?”

The little demon’s head tilted to one side. Without warning, it tipped straight backwards. Instead of hitting the floorboards, it fell right through it. A ring of ripples spread outwards.

As the ripples stilled, the slowly rotating wheel ground to a halt. All light from the summoning circle faded as it went inert.

Juliana sighed as she stood up. At least she could try again. What questions would be interesting to a demon. Maybe Ylva could help clue her in when she met with her.

Next time Juliana would be prepared. She’d bring a whole list of questions.

And a whole bag of apples.

“I need a shower.”

“You say that every other session.”

“Every other session is a workout session,” Shelby wiped her forehead on her sleeve. “Look at this. Its gross.”

Jordan brushed her arm off to one side. “If it is so gross, don’t rub it in my face.”

“Don’t be such a baby. It is only sweat.”

“You’re the one who called it gross in the first place.”

Shalise giggled at her friends’ antics. Since Professor Kines’ combative magic club started, the pair had grown closer. Shelby always hung off of Jordan’s arm, but it was stiffer in the past. She was quiet and followed him around like a lost puppy.

Now she still hung off his arm. The quiet girl of the past turned into a smiling loudmouth.

That wasn’t to say that Shalise couldn’t empathize with her point. Every other session wound up with the five of them sweating out enough to fill a kiddie pool. Even after walking from the dueling room back to the main building of Brakket Academy, Shalise could still feel beads of sweat running down her arms and side.

“At least you guys have it easy,” Eva spoke up. “You should see the things Franklin Kines has me do while you go off running. My legs are killing me. I don’t know why I bother.”

“Even if you cannot run, there is still plenty of good to come from training your legs.” Jordan sounded almost like Professor Kines as he said that. He had the same, slightly haughty tone that the professor got during his lectures. For all Shalise knew, that was one of the professor’s own quotes.

“It isn’t that. It is just going to go to waste come summer. I’m having, uh, reconstructive surgery to fix my issue with running. It will likely invalidate all the work I’m putting into my legs.”

Jordan hummed as he tapped his chin. “There’s probably some exercises to prevent atrophy while you’re recovering.”

“It isn’t so much that my muscles will decay as it is replacing specific muscles. The ones I’m working on now won’t be in my legs anymore.”

Shalise went wide-eyed as she glanced at the black-haired girl. She couldn’t be planning on doing to her legs the same thing she did to her hands. Shalise’s questioning gaze turned towards Juliana.

The blond just shrugged with an almost thoughtful look on her face.

“That seems odd,” Shelby said. Her eyes dropped down to Eva’s legs–bare beneath her skirt–and lingered for almost a minute before she shook her head. “If they’re working fine right now, why are you getting rid of them?”

Eva gave a lazy shrug. Shalise doubted she cared about the other girl’s attentions. She walked around their dorm room naked enough that neither herself nor Juliana even blinked at the sight.

“The short answer,” Eva said, “would be that they aren’t working fine. I don’t know the long answer. I’m not a leg surgeon.”

“Are you sure you want to go through with that procedure?” Shalise looked at her roommate with a furrowed brow. “Wouldn’t a smaller one be better? One limited to just your feet.”

“That might work. I don’t know. The doctor just mentioned that there were certain advantages in the full leg treatment.”

Shalise did not miss the emphasis Eva put on the word. She wasn’t sure if the doctor was herself, Arachne, or her mysterious mentor. Shalise hadn’t even seen the latter since before Halloween, though she knew Eva went off to her ‘prison’ almost every weekend.

What ‘prison’ actually referred to, Shalise wasn’t certain. She’d never asked and neither Eva nor Juliana ever explained.

“As long as you know what you are doing and are happy with it,” Shalise said softly.

A gloved hand rested on her shoulder. It gave a squeeze that was a hair too tight, but not painful.

“Thank you for your concern, Shalise. Misplaced, but thank you anyway.”

As their group arrived at the main entrance to Brakket, the doors swung open.

Dressed in her solid black nunnery habit, Sister Cross strode into the lobby. She wore a downcast expression with her eyes glued to the floor. They didn’t stay stuck there for long. She came to a screeching halt as she looked up and noticed the group.

Her eyes settled on Eva. A flash of anger crossed her face before it turned to solid stone.

Shalise watched as Sister Cross’ eyes followed Eva’s arm up to Shalise’s shoulder.

The stony facade shattered into a grimace. Sister Cross shut her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, her face held a neutral, almost friendly expression. The tight smile did not help.

“Good evening, children.” Her voice lacked the usual melody. It strained, almost rasped out of her throat.

She might have been shouting and battling just before walking in, for all Shalise knew. Since the winged bull smashed up the cafeteria, there had been two more attacks on the nuns off campus. At least. There could have been more that went unnoticed by the rest of the town.

All Shalise knew for sure was that there were notices going up all around town. Every billboard in school and a number in town got curfew postings and reminders not to wander alone after each attack. The nuns had supposedly been banished from the school campus, though one could be spotted walking around occasionally.

They hadn’t met since Sister Cross attacked Eva just over two weeks before.

“Oh? Why Sister Cross, what a pleasure to see you again. Attempted murder on any other students recently?” Eva’s voice came out the picture of politeness. Shalise couldn’t detect a hint of sarcasm in the tone.

Muscles in Sister Cross’s jaw tightened for a mere instant. “Not at all, Eva. You’re the only one who is deserving of such attentions from me.”

“Ah yes, I certainly am amazing to receive your personal murder attempts. It must be terrible to be another student and have to be murdered by one of the lackies of the great Lynn Cross.”

Sister Cross’ eyes narrowed ever so slightly while the rest of her face remained impassive.

The two glared at each other until a light cough drew their attentions.

“I thought the Elysium Order wasn’t allowed on campus anymore,” Shelby all but whispered.

“Funny thing about rules like that,” Eva said before the nun could open her mouth. “They’re often ignored by people willing to murder children.”

“Quite so, Eva.” Sister Cross gritted out the words between her teeth. “I’d recommend you keep your nose clean.”

“Who would even know without your slavering watchdog hanging over my shoulder?”

Sister Cross’ face cracked again. This time rage flowed through. She took a step forward; everyone save Eva and Shalise took a step backwards.

“Don’t speak about her that way. Sister Stirling may have been young, stupid, vaguely insubordinate, and stupid, but she was a good woman. She doesn’t deserve whatever fate she’s met.”

A small humming noise escaped Eva’s throat.

In an effort to defuse the irate nun, Shalise spoke up. “You haven’t found her then?”

Sister Cross sighed and looked back down at the ground. The same expression she wore into the building appeared on her face. With a shake of her head and a soft smile, she looked up at Shalise.

“Her blood was released from the vault to be examined by a senior augur. There hasn’t been any sign of her yet, not even a body. I’m not sure how much more time headquarters is willing to use on their augurs.”

Shalise stepped forwards and felt Eva’s arm fall off of her shoulder. She took the nun into her own embrace for a quick hug. “I’m sure you’ll find her.”

“We’ll keep looking, but I’m being pressured to exalt a sister to be Charon’s newest augur. With everything that has been going on, there just hasn’t been time.” Sister Cross heaved a great sigh.

Shalise wasn’t sure how old Sister Cross was. She guessed somewhere in the late thirties to early forties. Having seen nothing but an oval of skin on her face made it difficult to get a better guess.

The sigh she sighed seemed to turn her from an early forty-year old all the way to her sixties. Pure exhaustion set into her face as her eyes drifted back to the floor.

And the moment was gone. Sister Cross’ face hardened as she looked over the group.

“What are you doing here?” Jordan asked. A cocky grin spread across his face as he brushed a hand through his wavy, brown hair. “Unless you are here to murder us. In that case, I know of some particularly devious third years who are probably far more fun to fight than us little freshmen.”

“If you must know, I have a meeting with the dean,” she said.

If there was any more venom in the word, Shalise would have to run to the nurse and get an antitoxin. The flash of hate on her face was far worse than when she looked at Eva.

That was a good thing. Hopefully. Shalise didn’t want her two friends to fight. If she wasn’t that intensely angry with Eva, maybe she wouldn’t try to kill her again–though Shalise was still sure kill was too big of a word; injure and interrogate seemed far more likely. Hopefully.

Shalise didn’t want to be forced into picking sides between the two.

“Well,” Juliana said in the same whisper Shelby used, “we will be out of your way then. Wouldn’t want to keep the dean waiting.”

Shalise quirked her eyebrows. The blond was all but cowering behind Eva. Did she actually think Sister Cross would just start attacking them?

“Quite.” Sister Cross took another deep breath and held it for just a moment. “Be careful on your way back to the dorms. This late-night club of yours keeps you out too close to curfew, especially with that thing running loose.”

Her eyes hardened as they met with Eva’s eyes. The moment lasted for an instant before Sister Cross ruffled Shalise’s hair with a small smile. She walked around the group without another word.

“Scary,” Juliana mumbled once the group exited the building.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to be on her bad side.” Shelby gave a small shudder. “I could almost feel the power dripping off of her every time the word murder came up.”

Shalise cocked her head to one side. She hadn’t felt anything.

“Speaking of which,” Jordan said, “I feel like that word came up far too much for one night. We only got a vague description of what happened. Care to share?”

“Sister Cross didn’t try to kill Eva,” Shalise said. She spoke too loud if the sudden stopping and stares from her friends was anything to go by. “She was just worried about her friend.”

Eva mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, “you could have fooled me.”

Shalise ignored her. “Sister Cross always visited my home where I grew up. She’d bring toys and presents and care for all the kids like they were her own. A nice woman like that doesn’t deserve all this stuff with the attacks and fear and hate.”

A silence came over the group. All four of them just stared.

Eva broke the silence first. Her gloved hand clasped on Shalise’s shoulder once again. “Don’t worry. It’s all water under the bridge as far as I’m concerned. Tonight was just,” she paused in thought, “good-natured ribbing,” she said with a nod. “As long as she doesn’t attack me again.”

Shalise almost commented on how their interaction tonight didn’t seem like ‘good-natured ribbing,’ but Jordan opened his mouth first.

“The real question is why she thought you might know what happened to her friend,” he said with at glance at Shalise at the last word.

“Because of all the things that went on,” Eva said with a gesture towards the band across her eyes, “Sister Cross thought it might be a good idea to keep watch on me. I can’t exactly say why. Perhaps she thought I was possessed or she thought I might turn into some kind of necromancer.

“Either way, the person who went missing was the person who kept watch on me. Someone I had expressed a distaste for in the past. I believe when I first heard about the scrying, I told Sister Cross to leave me alone. In far harsher words, of course.”

“Of course,” Jordan repeated.

The group slowly started walking towards the dorms. Eva allowed her hand to slide off Shalise’s shoulder.

Shalise shivered as they made the short journey back to the dorms. The cool air on the ides of March felt far colder with all the sweat. Shelby seemed to feel the same way. She wrapped her arms around herself and leaned ever so slightly closer to Jordan.

“I thought your little black envelopes prevented scrying,” Shelby said just outside the Rickenbacker.

Eva let out a loud laugh. “Don’t worry. They work on everything I’ve tried which is probably more than students have access to. If you do find something that can see though my runes, let me know and I’ll see about fixing it.”

“You couldn’t fix it for the nun watching you?”

“I don’t know how augurs see. I tried beefing up the one in our room. I don’t think it worked. Any time I talked to Sister Cross, she never mentioned being unable to spy on me.”

“What she’s saying,” Juliana said quickly, “is keep giving us money. They work on anyone who matters.”

“The scrying protection project has taken on a sort of backburner state for now. I’m working on a huge research and experiment project with runes that is completely unrelated.”

Shalise nodded at that. When around, Eva spent almost all her free time pouring over her rune papers. Every once in a while, she’d crumple up papers and toss them into the trash before starting anew.

She refused to say what she was working on, unfortunately.

“I still say that we should be getting some kind of discount,” Shelby said with a friendly huff.

“You are,” Juliana whispered, “but don’t tell anyone or they’ll all come up with excuses to want a discount too. We can’t afford that. I’ve seen the price tag on those vials of ink and they aren’t cheap.”

Shalise blinked. She blinked again. Eva gave her a pen and ink. So far they just sat in the back of her desk drawer. Unused.

That could be it. Runes did all kinds of crazy things. Eva set up the shower to pour water without using the proper plumbing. Very very hot water, but she was a fire mage.

A smile spread across her face.

There had to be a way to get fireballs or lightning from runes. Some etching into a glove might work. Maybe there were runes that could make a shield too.

Shalise tried to keep the bounce out of her step as the group climbed the stairs to their dorm. She had no intentions to skip regular magic training. Zoe Baxter managed proper lightning by half way through her second year. Shalise intended to beat that.

Until then, Eva’s runes might provide an adequate method of defense.

— — —

Martina Turner kicked one foot up on top of her desk. She leaned back in her chair. With one elbow on the armrest, she slowly rocked a glass back and forth by the rim. With a flourish seen only by herself, Martina tipped her little reward back and downed the glass.

Moments after the liquid touched her tongue, a burn ran through her veins. It coursed from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. A hot and heavy feeling spread through her body. She sank deeper into the chair as the weight pressed down.

Fire lit behind her eyes. The dim light of her office brightened to her perceptions. The single lamp on her desk nearly blinded her while even the darkest corners of the room turned bright as day.

After refilling the glass, she capped the bottle of Hellfire and dropped it back in her desk drawer. The glass slid across the desk with a flick of her fingers. It came to a rest just an inch away from crashing over the edge.

One glass was more than enough for her tastes.

Psychos who drank glass after glass were beyond insane in her mind.

Rex Zagan strode forward from one of those corners. He plopped himself down in one of the comfortable chairs across the desk. His own shiny, black shoes landed on the edge of her desk as he reclined back in the chair.

Not a strand of his short, black hair appeared out of place. Even with the rough landing in the chair, it stayed perfect. Disgustingly perfect.

A grin full of white teeth curled his lips. For a moment, he just stared. His eyes pierced Martina’s very being. She felt herself being undressed and searched over for anything and everything.

Martina had long since become used to the man’s antics. She made her face as impassive as the nun’s had been and stared back.

No matter what she tried, her stare never matched his.

“That went well,” he said. His hand reached out and gripped the glass with gloved hands, though he did not drink.

Martina scoffed at that. “‘Well’ would have been getting the hell out of my town.” She shook her head in disgust. “That woman is endangering my students with her very presence.”

“I took a stroll around town earlier,” Rex started. He paused for a small sip of his drink.

Narrowing her eyes, Martina watched as his face contorted into a look of disgust. His golden eyes all but flared into a bright glow before he regained his composure.

“How can you stand drinking this?”

“If you don’t want it, pass it back,” Martina snapped. “That isn’t cheap.”

He merely hummed as he took another sip. A wince spread across his face, but he managed to control himself better than the first time.

Never again would she offer a glass of her finest Hellfire. Much too good, and expensive, for the likes of him. Stale water would suffice in the future.

Martina shook her head and focused. “What is the word in town?”

“Not sure about all the town,” Rex said with a sigh. “I was doing a little shopping, picking up supplies for my apartment. Normal things, yeah?”

Martina narrowed her eyes again. Rex either ignored or simply didn’t care for her ire.

“I struck up a conversation with the cashier at the grocers,” he took another sip of his drink. “I was hungry, you see.”

“The point, please?”

“I’m expecting,” he paused with a brief gaze into the wall before he waved a dismissive hand through the air. “Well, whatever her name was should be at my apartment in half an hour or so. A pretty little creature. Young too. She had such nice–”

“Zagan. The point.”

His golden eyes gave of a sinister glint for an instant. “I was getting there. Her father–whom she lives with–and some family friends were discussing the state of the town and school just the other day.” He drank the last of his Hellfire and dropped the glass on her desk with a clatter. “They seem concerned that if anything happens to the students, the school might close down which would spell doom for the rest of the town.”

“Given the incident around Halloween last semester, that is understandable.” Martina nodded an agreement. “Was she more specific about her concerns.”

“Not as such. I was more surprised that people actually care about this horrible little town.”

“Some people simply have no place else to go and no money to go there.” She sighed, mulling over her thoughts. She decided to speak few of them aloud. “We’ll drop some more fliers and post more notices. The text should warn against being around the nuns as much as possible without directly stating that they’re the problem.”

Martina received a mere nod in return.

“Try to press more opinions out of your,” she paused, gritting her teeth, “date if you aren’t too busy.”

“Speaking of,” he said as he dropped his feet to the floor, “I wouldn’t want to be late. Good luck with your schemes, Martina.” He turned and strode towards her office door.

“Zagan,” Martina called out. Rex stopped in his tracks. “We don’t need more bodies piling up.”

His face split into a white-toothed grin. Without a proper response, he left her office behind. The door shut with a soft hiss on his way out.

Martina waited. She counted down the steps until he left the reception area. The moment she heard the outer door shut, Martina reached up and pressed a button on her desk phone.

Her finger tapped against the desk while she waited. Just long enough passed for Martina to feel a tinge of annoyance before the screen came to life. Martina grit her teeth as she stared at the cocky figure on the screen.

Wearing her hair short and sky-blue today, the secretary didn’t even look up into the camera. Her eyes were focused on her long fingernails as she groomed them. The fur shirt she wore left little to the imagination with only a thin strip of cloth keeping the rest of her clothes attached as it ran from one breast to the other after looping around her neck.

Insane. Every single person I know is an absolute lunatic. Martina felt her eye twitch as she watched her secretary. The girl was lucky she managed to be competent.

“Catherine,” she barked.

The secretary didn’t even look up as she moved to the next nail. Her only acknowledgment was a slight humming noise.

Unless she was simply humming a tune.

“We’re running more fliers. Get the template ready by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll have content.”

“More slander against the nuns, Martina?” Catherine still did not look up. She reached into her desk and pulled out some silver tool Martina couldn’t recognize if her life depended on it. The secretary slowly ran it over the edges of her long fingernails.

“It isn’t slander if it is true.”

“You don’t need to justify yourself to me,” she said in a sickly sweet voice as she switched hands. “I don’t care one way or the other.”

“Just get it done.” Martina cut off the phone before her secretary could say another word. Nothing good could come from prolonged exposure to the woman.

With a sigh, Martina settled further in her chair. The headrest cradled her as she shut her eyes. There was not much to actually do. Even with the extra help she’d acquired, everything required time to fully ferment.

Rumors spread like wildfire–a fact Martina was counting on. Forcing a direct conflict between the school and the Elysium Order would only end up with her being the villain. Yet there were few things that could accelerate the spread of the wildfire. Her latest, albeit unknowing assistant provided the only real fuel to the flames that could be added.

Everything else relied on time and patience.

Martina Turner had never been one for virtues.

Author’s Note: This was supposed to be a quick thing. It got away from me. Rather than cut it down, I decided to post the entire thing. Make sure you have time for reading a full length chapter.

Nel’s body shook as a chilly breeze swept through the throne room. Her back pressed up against the marble throne. Nel tried to shrink her body in on itself without looking like she was.

A tight metal collar around her neck and a few leather straps around the rest of her body was not enough to keep her warm.

If she had her focus, the problem could easily be rectified. A simple warming spell was no issue for a mage of her talents. Warming spells shouldn’t be an issue for any thaumaturge that was not a water mage. The only real trick was not setting the temperature too high.

Thoughts of heat only made the next breeze feel colder. A shiver wracked up and down her spine. Her nose snuffled as she breathed out with a shudder.

It had been at least three days since she last cried. Maybe four. It was difficult to tell. She only had her meals and sleep cycle to tell the time. Those seemed to be further apart than normal meals might be, though not fasting breakfast was nice.

For almost two days after she started living inside Ylva’s domain, Nel felt certain she was going to starve to death. Eva stopped by with a handful of supplies and almost offhandedly mentioned that mortals required food and adequate rest among other things. After that, Ylva led Nel by the collar into one of the throne room’s antechambers.

A feast lay out on a table the size of a house. Every square inch had food piled on. Meats, cheese, wines, breads, and plenty Nel couldn’t identify. The smell upon entering the room overwhelmed Nel to the point where drool flowed freely down her chin.

She didn’t care in the least.

When Ylva finally released her collar, Nel all but dove into the table. She tried her hardest to sample one of everything. There was simply too much. Plenty of the food was sure to be against several Elysium regulations, the wine least of all.

Whatever rules the Elysium Order had just didn’t apply any longer. While the order didn’t fight demons, wasn’t meant to fight demons, and never sought demons out, any sister would still have been thrown out of the order for consorting with the creatures. An augur would be executed without hesitation or trial.

So Nel gorged herself on everything all the same. She was in tears by the end. Those tears were the first tears that weren’t from self-pity or general dysphoria.

With her stomach distending almost painfully against the leather binding around her waist, Ylva latched a finger on her collar once again. She led Nel out of the fanciful dining hall by the neck.

It wasn’t until two days and several meals later that Nel actually stopped to look around the dining hall. Six white marble pillars stretched high above her head. Crisscrossing arches held up a solid black ceiling. From the center dangled a massive chandelier. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen.

They were constructed out of bones. Because what else, Nel thought with almost a roll of her eyes the first time she saw it.

Six points spread out from the center. They curved slightly down before angling back up. Ribcages, arms, hands, feet, spines, and plenty more an osteologist would have a field day with. At the end of each point were six human skulls, each facing a different direction. Brilliant light poured out of the sockets.

After the first meal, Nel had been led by the neck to a bedroom. She hadn’t ever seen a room more fitting of the title. The bed occupied almost the entire space and that space was not small. The entire cadre of vampires she hunted with the Elysium Order over the summer would have had room to spare during one of their–well, they wouldn’t have taken up half of it.

Despite sinking into the bed like she was resting on a cloud, Nel got no sleep the first night.

Ylva decided to climb into the bed with her. She sat a foot away from Nel and stared. Her cold, gray eyes watched over every movement without a hint of life in them. They were impossible to ignore.

Due to her lack of sleep that first night, Nel had fallen asleep against the demon’s skeletal leg the next morning. She tried to fight it off, but recovering from the attack combined with a total lack of sleep had overpowered her will.

Ylva had simply sat on her throne and ignored it. At least, as far as Nel was aware.

The demon never made any mention of that transgression.

She hadn’t tried to watch Nel sleep since the first night. At least not when Nel first went to sleep.

More than once, Nel had awoken to find foot sized wrinkles in the otherwise smooth sheets leading to just near where she slept. The first time, Nel thought they were simply hers from getting into the bed. She quickly discarded that idea the next morning when there were two sets of footprints leading towards her.

Nel tried to simply ignore it.

Overall, her situation wasn’t so bad, if she was honest with herself. There was plenty of food and despite whatever happened at night, she got a good amount of sleep. A lot more than she got the last few months during the constant surveillance on Eva.

The best part was that no one was trying to kill her. Probably. Eva seemed to gleefully allow her to fall into this situation. Then again, Eva essentially saved her from a death by starvation. Unless it was all a ploy to–

Nel shook the thought out of her head. No. No one was trying to kill her here. Not yet at least. Even if someone did try to kill her, they wouldn’t succeed as long as she had Ylva’s favor. She didn’t know where the demon ranked on the power scale–she’d been too scared to try connecting–but it had to be quite high.

Bony fingers ceased scratching Nel’s head at the sudden movement.

A chill ran up Nel’s spine that was completely unrelated to the cool air of the throne room. She’d completely forgotten about Ylva’s near constant massage of her scalp. Why the demon was so obsessed with running her skeletal fingers through Nel’s hair, she couldn’t guess.

“Is something troubling you?” Ylva’s voice carried command and authority with every syllable despite the soft tone it was spoken in. It wasn’t the booming voice that Nel first heard. The demon hadn’t used that since the school teacher fled from her presence.

It might not be the booming command, but it was not something Nel could ignore.

“Nothing, Lady Ylva.” Nel tried to quell the trembling in her voice. “I was merely lost in my thoughts.”

“Be honest,” the demon commanded. “Never before has a mortal been in Our service. We admit We are learning. If there are additional mortal desires you require, We will oblige.”

Nel bit her lip. She shut her eyes and drew in a deep breath. Nel sat between Ylva’s legs on the cold marble floor. Despite facing away, she was sure the demon could see her sigh. “Clothes, maybe?”

“Proper attire is already in production. It will be ready soon. We request you wait.”

Ylva resumed her petting of Nel’s hair. A shudder ran up her spine as the fingers ran down her skull. It was a confusing shudder for several conflicting reasons.

On one hand, Ylva could kill with a touch if she so desired. Eva checked in on her a few days after mentioning food and they had a few minutes to talk. Telling her about the touch thing almost sent Nel into tears again.

On another hand, the petting was a sign of affection. At least, Nel hoped it was. So long as the demon enjoyed her company, Nel was safe.

The final reason, it started to feel good at some point. Something Nel hated to admit even as she leaned into the gentle strokes.

Nel stopped herself and pulled away. “If it isn’t too much to ask,” Nel said as she shuffled her knees against the hard floor, “would it be possible to get a pillow or even just a blanket for me to sit on here? I mean, my legs are aching.”

There was a pause as the hollow clank of bones bumping each other sounded just above Nel’s head.

She leaned back to look up. Two empty eye sockets stared straight down at her.

Nel clamped down on her jaw and tried to avoid making any sounds or sudden movements. She stared back, wide-eyed, at the polished white skull of her…her master.

She tried not to think of Ylva as her master. Master implied owner. Ylva was her boss, her queen, her savior. Not her master.

Arachne’s words echoed in the back of her mind every time she thought of Ylva. Her words about how the demon wanted to be owned stuck out the most. That could just be a difference in owners.

From what Nel had observed of the two, Eva and Arachne tended to treat each other more as equals.

Whatever it was that Nel had with Ylva wasn’t anything along those lines.

“We understand.” Ylva’s soft voice broke Nel out of her thoughts. “We will make arrangements before you wake.”

“Thank you, Lady Ylva.” Nel said as she bowed her head back down.

She heard Ylva’s bones clatter as the demon leaned back in her throne. The bony fingers against Nel’s skull resumed their massage in a light circular pattern.

Nel relaxed into the massage once again. She closed her eyes and sighed.

It really wasn’t so bad.

“Eva has returned.”

Nel opened her eyes, half expecting the little ab–the little girl to be down at the main entrance archway on the outer ring. She really was making a conscious effort to avoid thinking about her the way Sister Stirling would have thought about her. Despite her current station in life, Eva did hide her away from Sister Cross.

“She’s reading with Arachne?”

“That may be the case in the near future. For now, she makes attempts to recover from the travel.”

“It is Saturday then,” Nel said as she leaned back against the throne.

Two weeks since the demon attacked her. Two weeks minus a few days since she first came to Ylva.

“Mortals use Saturdays as days of rest. Sundays as well, if We are not mistaken.” It came out almost as a question. It felt more like an order to the universe itself. “Do you require days of rest?”

Nel glanced up at the demon. The question smelled like a trap. If she answered yes, she would be punished or perhaps even killed for impertinence. If she answered no, she would be punished or killed for refusing the demon’s offer.

Her brain wracked back and forth over what answer to give. One of them had to be the right answer. Ylva wouldn’t give her an impossible choice so soon. She can’t have tired of Nel’s presence already. What was two weeks to an immortal?

Doubt crept into her heart. It beat furiously trying to push the fear away.

The demon seemed to sense Nel’s raging heart. There was almost a sigh as the demon removed her hand from Nel’s skull.

“Go. Your services are no longer required today. You may resume your duties on the morrow.”

Nel blinked. Relief flooded into her as she let out a long breath. She shook her head and all but slumped against the throne. Of course Ylva hadn’t grown sick of Nel so soon. The demon was honestly asking.

Hopefully.

It took a minute for her mind to actually register what the demon had said.

Services? Duties? As far as she knew, Nel hadn’t done anything that would be considered a service. She merely sat in front of the throne with Ylva day in and day out.

“Feel free to explore Our domain. Within, We imagine there is a plethora of wonders to the mortal eye.” One of her skeletal hands pointed off to the front of the room. “That chamber contains water and sand. We recommend you avoid it. The tedium of you becoming lost and tracking you through the Void may tax our patience.”

Nel sat there, staring blankly until everything finally registered. She stood up and gave the slouching skeleton a deep bow. “Thank you, Lady Ylva.”

The skeleton dismissed her with a wave of her bleached arm.

Nel turned her back on her master and moved down the steps from the throne.

There were thirty-six archways along the outer ring. One was off-limits–being lost in a place called the void sounded horrible–one led to the bedroom, one to the dining room, and one outside. There was a bathroom attached to the bedroom, though it was depressingly lacking a bath.

Nel froze at the edge of the hanging platform as a thought occurred to her. Did demons even need to use the bathroom? And what about sleep. Did Ylva need sleep? She had a bedroom. A bedroom that Nel had been sleeping in for the past several nights.

Unless she misheard something, Ylva gave her free roam of her domain. Even the water and sand room was a recommendation rather than an order. Did she have private quarters that she just allowed Nel access to or were they simply hidden somewhere Nel had no hope of accessing.

Nel shook the thought off. If one of the rooms looked like it was dangerous in any sense of the word, she’d skip it and check the next room.

With a deep breath, Nel put a foot down over the gaping pit. She hated this part since the day she moved in. Ylva had to all but drag her across by the collar the first few times. It was just unnatural stepping over a pit.

Whatever magics decided she was a valid member of Ylva’s domain took hold. A small platform formed exactly beneath her foot.

Parts of her could see a solid floor connecting the white marble ring to the black marble throne platform. Other parts of her could clearly see that nothing was around her. Most notably, her regular eyes. The ones she trusted the most.

Halfway between the outer ring and the inner disc, Nel looked down. She couldn’t help it. Every time she crossed she had to look down.

Six white pillars held up the outer ring. Whatever they were resting on was too far to be seen. Nothing but darkness lay beneath her. A light could be dropped down and she was sure it would fall forever.

A wave of nausea gripped her stomach as vertigo took hold.

Nel stumbled the rest of the way across the pit until she found herself pressed against the pillar of an archway.

If Ylva ever had guests, Nel would have to hide out of sight. Otherwise she would embarrass her master to death.

Well, deather, Nel thought with a glance up to the skeleton slouched on her throne. She made not a movement to indicate amusement or annoyance. It was so hard to tell the emotions of a skinless skeleton.

Picking herself up off the wall, Nel turned to one of the open archways. None of them were labeled, but the throne didn’t rotate. At least, not that Nel had ever seen. Outside was directly in front of the throne with the sand and water room to one side. The bedroom was behind and one door to the left. The dining room was straight on the right hand side.

She imagined she’d mix up ones that weren’t on cardinal directions, but that didn’t matter while exploring.

—

The first room that really interested Nel was full of eyeballs.

Giant eyeballs.

Long meaty stocks held them up to the level of Nel’s chest. Each eye was about as big as Nel’s head. They squirmed and slithered on their stocks as they gazed towards an empty sky.

It was a far cry from the prison and torture chamber she already visited. They were exceedingly normal as far as Nel could tell, even if they looked like they had been used far too recently. When Ylva found the time to torture someone, Nel wasn’t sure. The demon was almost always upon her throne.

Nel stood at the entrance and stared. Half of her wanted to turn and vomit. The other half wanted to rush forward and touch them.

As a former augur of the Elysium Order, Nel knew a scrying setup when she saw one. Probably. That was her best guess in any case. She’d never seen anything even remotely similar to it before.

What else would it be.

After watching them writhe for a few minutes, curiosity won out. She had to know if they were better than she was.

She strode into the room. Nel did her best to ignore her bare feet stepping off of cold, hard marble and onto something warm and squishy. There was no central dais or obvious control point, so Nel walked up to the nearest eye.

It ceased its squirming at her approach. The stalk bent, almost bowing to her. It hovered right at her waist.

Nel reached out. Slowly, carefully, Nel brushed her finger against the moist membrane of the eye. When it failed to react, Nel placed the palms of both hands against the sides of the eye.

She shut her eyes and concentrated. Focusing on Sister Cross’ name and face, Nel channeled the barest amount of magic into the eye that she could. If she was making a mistake, she didn’t want it to explode or anything.

Nothing happened.

Sister Cross could hide from an augur in possession of a strand of her hair. She was probably a poor target.

Instead, Nel focused on the headquarters of the Elysium Order. A warehouse-like building on the outskirts of town.

Nothing.

Nel frowned. Perhaps it isn’t for scrying. Or it requires a specific way to use it.

She released the sphere. Gooey mucus stuck to her hands as they pulled away. Long strands dripped down to the ground where her feet were undoubtedly becoming just as disgusting. She didn’t even have her scapular to wipe her hands off.

Disappointed and feeling decidedly unclean, Nel stalked out of the room. She skidded across the marble floor and nearly fell. A well placed pillar arrested her momentum. Hand shaped streaks of goo covered part of the pillar.

Nel sighed. She needed to find a way to clean this up.

In the main throne room, Nel opened her mouth to shout out at Ylva. Her heart hammered as she realized what she almost did. Her jaw snapped shut with a click.

She took a moment to compose herself. Several deep breaths later, Nel felt ready. “Lady Ylva,” she said. “I don’t suppose one of these rooms has a good way of cleaning myself.”

The skeletal woman draped across the throne turned her head just to one side. Her jaw twitched open for the barest of seconds. She might have missed it had she not been using her glimpse to get a closer look at her master.

Laughing? Amusement? Disgust? Annoyance? Nel tried hard to keep her face neutral. I can’t tell without skin.

Without a single sound, the queenly woman raised one of her hands. She pointed at the archway nearest to Nel that wasn’t the prison.

Nel gave her a deep bow. “Thank you, my lady.”

Steadying her footsteps, Nel carefully made her way to the next room.

She froze at what she saw.

Water stretched out before Nel. It was at least as big as the bed, if not bigger. A thick layer of steam hung above the pool, thinning as it rose in the air. Faintly glowing red lines wisped through the basin in large curls. Water poured down into the pool from above.

Nel strode forwards, entranced by the magnificent wonders of the room. Her steps stopped again as her eyes flicked up to the source of the waterfalls.

Three pairs of glowing red eyes glared down at her.

A short squeak escaped Nel’s lips as she fell backwards onto the cold marble. It took a minute of stunned horror before she realized none of the creatures were moving. Nel pulled herself to her feet as a hot flush burned her cheeks. She used her glimpse to garner a closer look.

Three females appeared to have been carved from obsidian. They squatted on large pedestals with their knees spread apart and their hands placed in the center. Their very clawed hands.

A massive tail sprung from their lower back and wrapped around their pedestals. Wings reminiscent of a bat spread out from their backs. Their hair had been sculpted in a way that made it look like a strong breeze rushed past them before time stood still.

Each of their faces were uniquely carved. Thicker lips on one, wider eyes on another. None of them looked anything short of the noble beauty present on Ylva’s own face when she actually had skin on.

To top it off, each had glowing red lines that intricately ran up their legs, belly, breasts, and arms, before coming to a point at their eyes. Their tattoos were very reminiscent of the patterns beneath the pool.

Two of them had their mouths wide open. Water poured out into the pool below. The center one had its mouth carved in a closed position.

Minor heart attack over, Nel resumed walking towards the pool. She hesitated once again. Contaminating the water with the slime on her hands seemed like a poor idea. She looked around, hoping for some towels to wipe it off with.

Instead, Nel found another gargoyle. It perched on a far larger pedestal–almost as large as its body–just over a small depression in the floor. As Nel approached, its jaw snapped open.

Water spilled forth before Nel could stumble back.

A shower, Nel thought. That would work.

A sudden fear struck Nel. She hadn’t had a shower in two weeks. With a small groan, she realized both Eva and Ylva had the misfortune of being in her presence.

After rinsing off her hands, Nel detached the leather straps that served as her only clothes. An unpleasant odor wafted from them as she tossed them to the side. Cleaning them or just plain getting new ones might be something to bring up with Ylva sometime.

Clothes gone, Nel stepped into the shower. She washed out her hair and soaked for a long while. Eva might need to add a some toiletries to her list. A new focus as well.

Underneath the just-shy-of-scalding water, Nel fiddled with her collar. Unlike the rest of her clothes, it had no latches, no seams, no hooks, and it didn’t stretch. It was made out of some deceptively heavy metal with a small black skull hanging on a ring at the dead center.

She couldn’t remember how it got on her. She couldn’t remember when it got on her. That the only way to remove it seemed to be with the removal of Nel’s head was telling.

Nel shook her head before any tears could well up. She glanced at the olympic sized bath tub and a fire lit in her eyes.

She jumped out of the shower. A pause came over her for just a moment as she realized the leather bindings had been replaced by a stack of towels. Nel decided not to complain and maybe bring that up with Ylva later. She used one to dry off quickly.

Running back to the main hall, Nel bent over and started wiping up her slimy footprints with one of the spare towels. She wanted nothing more than to jump into the pool of water, but better to clean up before the slime hardens. Whatever took her bindings could probably clean the slime, but the slime was her mess to clean up.

Tracks clear, Nel sprinted back to the bath chamber. She carelessly tossed the slime covered towel near the shower. If the towel didn’t disappear, she could find a way to get rid of it later.

A sparkle lit in Nel’s eye as she approached the water. She slowly, almost reverently stepped down the first step. And the next. And the next.

When the water level was at her shoulders, Nel swam over to the side. Rows of seats lined the walls. They had headrests, armrests and what looked like adjustable leg rests.

She quickly took a seat. Her legs spread in a giant stretch. Her feet pointed and her toes curled and extended to the point just before where a cramp might hit.

Nel went limp. All of her muscles relaxed more than they had since her memories began. She sank with the relaxation to the point of her head keeping just above the water as the chair caught and cradled her body.

Yeah, Nel thought as her eyes fluttered shut, I could get used to this.

The seat even had the little jets of water massaging her entire body.

Her life of servitude might not be so bad.

Marble makes nice flooring, Juliana decided. It wasn’t as warm feeling or looking as hard wood, but it looked nice. Especially when the floor was as well polished as the flooring in Ylva’s throne room.

Zoe looked distinctly uncomfortable as she knelt before the throne. It was an odd sight to see the stern and relatively powerful teacher kneel down. She probably took it as a blow to her pride. Kneeling in the presence of her students couldn’t help; one of whom knew Zoe from before school started while the other didn’t even bother kneeling.

A small part of Juliana wondered if kneeling was even necessary. The way Eva stood in the back with a small smile on her face and Arachne draped over her shoulder made it seem less important. Zoe likely knelt on reflex simply because Ylva had forced them to kneel when they disrespected her.

The experience seemed to rattle the professor.

Still, Zoe fell to her knees almost as soon as the door shut. Juliana followed suit. At least Juliana could use the liquid metal flowing over her knees as a sort of padding. Zoe had to rest her knees directly on the floor.

Zoe took in a sharp breath of air. It didn’t take long for Juliana to figure out why.

The skeleton atop the throne stood and strode forwards with confidence. Ylva’s posed look only increased as she stepped out of the ring of light that was ever-present over her throne. Her platinum hair glinted on her way down.

A single step behind Ylva was her attendant. Her presence only emphasized Ylva’s unnatural height. When alone and at a distance, it was difficult to tell how tall the demon was. The very human looking attendant–though Juliana wasn’t about to make assumptions about her species–stood just above half Ylva’s height.

The attendant wore a red and white dress, very similar to Ylva’s without the cut from her chest to her navel. A black, hooded robe covered the sides of the dress while leaving the front open. The hood was lowered just enough to shadow her eyes.

In her hands was a pillow. A large pillow that looked like it belonged on Ylva’s gigantic throne. The attendant carried the red velvet pillow with both hands, keeping the top flat.

“Rise,” Ylva’s voice lacked the overwhelming boom that dominated most of her speech the last time Juliana was in her presence. “This is a time for rewarding tasks, not subjugation.”

Juliana all but jumped to her feet as the demon and her attendant crossed the empty space between her platform and the edge of the building. Her mind raced over the possibilities of what reward they’d be given. It was hard to keep the eagerness out of her appearance; Zoe would surely disapprove.

Her nerves were also running high.

Ylva was supposedly a demon who served Death. Far scarier than the little intelligence she had summoned on her own. But Eva stood just to one side and Juliana doubted Eva would throw her in harm’s way. As such, it probably wasn’t some ‘eternal reward’ followed by mad cackling and a swift end.

Immunity from death would be interesting, if Ylva could grant such a thing. Their task was a minor one that was also completely unnecessary given that Eva already accomplished her task by the time Juliana actually saw her. Still, it was a possibility. Who knew how demons ascribed value to things.

Power of any kind was what Juliana was really hoping for. What power a demon of death could grant, she didn’t know. Something like Eva’s blood magic, hopefully.

“You performed a service to Us.” Ylva stopped just in front of the two. “Just as We do not allow slights against Ours and Ourself to go unpunished, We do not allow favors to Ours and Ourself to go unrewarded.”

Juliana blinked at the odd wording. She shook her head to focus on the happenings.

Ylva gestured towards her attendant. The robed girl stepped forwards, her flat-heeled, brown boots clomping against the marble as she did so. With practiced flourish, she held out the pillow towards Juliana and Zoe.

Sitting on top were two black rings. Each had a caricature of a skull embossed on the side facing Juliana. On the inside edge were their names. Their full names. Juliana Laura Rivas and Zoebell Baxter.

She never used her full name. It wasn’t that she disliked her middle name–her grandmother’s name–she simply didn’t use it. It was doubtful that Eva knew it. Zoe might, but she wouldn’t have told anyone.

And Zoebell. Juliana had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. She never knew there was more to the professor’s name than just Zoe Baxter.

Her mother would love to know. Fuel to tease Zoe with.

The ring felt heavy as Juliana picked up the one with her name. It was an odd sort of heavy. The ring took no effort to lift, but it felt like dropping it might break her toes.

Zoe shot Juliana a disapproving glare as she slipped the ring on her middle finger. Juliana didn’t care. She didn’t want to wait. In fact, it was dangerous to wait. Accidentally dropping the ring and having it roll off down the giant pit in the center of the room seemed like it might insult Ylva. Juliana didn’t want to risk any ‘slights’ against her.

The metal tightened around her finger, though not enough to cut off circulation. Juliana could feel a pulse in the metal every time her heart beat. An odd sort of feeling, but it went away after ten or so pulses. If she concentrated, she could feel it, but only just.

Despite her glare, Zoe plucked her ring off of the pillow.

Ylva’s attendant tucked the pillow in the crook of her arm and stepped backwards behind Ylva.

Juliana watched her professor’s face turn to one of surprise as she held the ring. Zoe tossed the ring in the air, catching it a few times. “Fascinating,” she said. “What is–” Zoe cut herself off as her eyes turned back to Ylva. She quickly cleared her throat and said, “sorry.”

“It is void metal,” Ylva said. “A type of metal only denizens of the void can fabricate.” Her eyes flicked over Juliana’s shoulder for a brief second. “Some denizens of the Void.”

“Hey,” Arachne called out, “I could–”

“Arachne,” said Eva in a quiet voice. “Not now.”

“The rings offer a modicum of protection,” Ylva said, pointedly ignoring Eva and Arachne. “A great number of beings will recognize the emblem and leave the bearers alone where they otherwise would not.”

Juliana let out the barest hint of a sigh. It wasn’t quite what she was hoping for.

Ylva apparently noticed. “Does Our gift displease you?”

“No, no. I was trying to guess what it might be. I didn’t even think of protection.” Juliana bowed to the towering woman. “I extend my thanks.” That sounded suitable for Ylva.

Zoe actually followed Juliana’s lead. She bowed and thanked the demon as well. The thanks that she gave came out more as a mumble than any kind of sincere thanks.

Ylva didn’t seem to mind. Her head slightly inclined in a sort of nod. “Until I require your assistance once more.” She turned on her bare heel and started walking back to her throne.

“Come along, Juliana,” Zoe said in a whisper. She started walking back to the door, examining her ring without even watching her surroundings.

After taking a step or two to follow after her, Juliana stopped. She turned back to the demon. “Mrs. um, Ylva.”

Everyone froze. Zoe spun back around as she hissed something under her breath that Juliana did not catch. Ylva and her attendant both stopped and looked back. Only two among them looked more or less calm. Eva and Arachne, though the latter sported a maniacal grin.

Ylva did not question Juliana. She merely stared. Her cold eyes seemed to pierce Juliana’s very being.

Licking her suddenly dry lips, Juliana said, “I was wondering if I might ask a question or two.”

“Juliana,” Zoe hissed, “we should be going now. I don’t think we should,” Zoe paused for a second as she glanced at Ylva, “take up any more of her time. I am sure it is very valuable.”

“We do not mind.”

A deep, almost disappointed sigh came from Zoe.

Juliana ignored it. “Alone,” Juliana said. She quickly added, “if possible.”

The sigh from Zoe turned into a sharp breath of air. Before she could protest, Eva said, “Juliana is a friend of mine. I’d ask that you do not make any sort of arrangements similar to what you made with Nel, Ylva.”

Ylva didn’t mull over the request for even a second. She turned to Eva and immediately said, “We possessed no such intentions. However, We request an unrelated, minor favor to be served at a later date.”

“Oh?”

“A minor issue regarding Nel’s needs. We do not believe you will find it problematic.”

“So long as I can veto this favor if I deem it unreasonable or beyond minor, I accept.”

“We acquiesce.”

“Zoe Baxter and I will wait back at my place. Come find us when you’re done.”

Eva had to drag Zoe out of the room. To be fair, Zoe wasn’t fighting too hard. Juliana got the feeling she was still scared of Ylva. The two were whispering to each other just quiet enough that Juliana couldn’t make out a word they were saying.

A resounding clang of metal echoed through the massive chamber as the door shut.

The attendant got on her tippy-toes yet only reached Ylva’s shoulder. She was only a head taller than Juliana, yet Ylva towered over the both of them. It took a lot of her willpower to keep from looking too cowed.

Ylva bent over slightly as the attendant began whispering.

“Acceptable,” Ylva said as she rose to her full height. “Nel will lead you to a side room where we may converse at length. Unless you had a scant few questions that are possible to discuss in a very short length of time.”

“I don’t know how long it is going to take nor how long you’re willing to entertain me.”

“You find Us entertaining?”

Juliana hoped that wasn’t offense leaking into her voice. “I’m sorry. It is a figure of speech.”

After a tense moment, Ylva nodded. “We understand. We will be with you shortly.”

With that, the demon turned and began walking back towards her throne.

The attendant, Nel, took Juliana by the hand and led her off through one of the archways around the ring.

“Come on,” she said, “it’s just over here. We have snacks and drinks if you’re interested.”

The tone of her voice made Juliana think the attendant was slightly too excited. While her eyes were still shadowed by her cowl, she sported a large smile.

“We don’t get many visitors apart from Eva and she never spends all that much time here. Technically I’m free to leave and wander–”

She continued talking, but she also pushed open a set of doors. Juliana lost all track of Nel’s voice as she stared, open-mouthed, straight up.

Walls of books stretched so high into the sky that they faded off into the clouds. There were no ladders and no staircases, just endless walls of books. The room itself wasn’t that large, perhaps half the size of the school’s cafeteria.

The sheer height made Juliana dizzy. She had to force herself to look back down.

Dark wood made up most of the floor. A dark red rug had been laid out in the center. Three human sized chairs and one Ylva sized chair were arranged around a small coffee table.

“Extraordinary, isn’t it?” Nel also stared up at the sky. Her hood had fallen off of her head to reveal short black hair. “There are tons of places like this here. Some rooms are more plain, but then you come across things like this and it is just like, ‘wow.'”

Juliana approached the nearest section of the bookshelves. Her hand ran over the spines of the books. Not a single one had a readable title. She walked around the entire room to find none of the ones she could reach had English titles.

Turning back to the center of the room, Juliana found Nel seated in one of the chairs. Once again, her hood was pulled down to cast most of her face into shadow.

“Tea?” Nel asked with a tilt of her head. She was already pouring a glass from a very ornate, silver teapot that Juliana must have missed when she first walked in. A small plate of cookies sat out as well.

“Sure.” Juliana walked over and took the seat nearest to the attendant. “You weren’t here back in November.”

“Nope. I have only been here two… three… has it been a month already? What day is it?”

“Last weekend of March. Saturday the twenty-sixth.”

“Almost a month then. It’s hard to tell without any clocks or sun. I sleep when I’m tired which I think is different from my usual sleep schedule. Whatever that means. I can’t say I had any kind of regular sleep schedule since before November. It is much nicer this way, I’d say.”

Juliana took a sip of her tea as the girl continued to talk. It had a slight tangy taste to it, not one she could place. Not surprising; Juliana didn’t consider herself any kind of tea sommelier.

The girl herself twittered on about her living conditions at such a rapid pace, Juliana could barely understand half of it.

“So,” Juliana said as Nel’s ramblings died down, “am I to ask you questions?”

“No. I mean, not unless you want to. Like I said, I’m new to all this stuff. I’m sure Lady Ylva will answer any questions about herself far better than I could.”

“Ah,” Juliana said as she took another sip, “I’d have expected someone who constantly lives here to know about the owner.”

“I inadvertently bound myself to her service for an indefinite period of time. It isn’t bad,” she said quickly. “I have yet to catch her trying to murder me.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“You could say that I’m well versed in knowing when the person I currently serve is trying to get rid of me.”

Juliana didn’t know what to make of that. She took another sip of her tea instead of commenting.

Without a conversation going, Juliana sank into the surprisingly comfortable armchair. She leaned back and stared at the sky. It wasn’t blue, but white. It looked a lot like a wide version of the column of light over Ylva’s throne.

“Um, you’re Eva’s friend, right?”

“I suppose so.”

“I don’t–I mean, she doesn’t seem to like me very much.”

Juliana took a long drink of her tea while she waited for the attendant to continue.

It took a lot longer than Juliana expected. The girl fidgeted and sighed several times before she finally continued.

“I’d have asked your professor since she seems closer to my age, but I don’t think she likes me much either. She definitely doesn’t like Lady Ylva.”

“So I noticed.”

“Lady Ylva is very kind to me, far kinder than I expected in any case, but she isn’t much for talking. It’s been a long time since I’ve had regular conversation, you know?”

Juliana didn’t, but she nodded along anyway.

“Even before I got here, I was practically isolated from everyone. I was just wondering if maybe you would stop by once in a while.”

“I don’t have a way of getting here on my own. I can’t teleport or anything.”

“Oh,” Nel’s shoulders slumped down and her face hid further beneath her hood, “I understand if you don’t want to.”

After a long, mostly mental sigh at the depressed girl, Juliana said, “maybe I could ask Eva or Zoe to bring me here once in a while. It would be less ask and more convince in Zoe’s case, I think.”

“Oh,” Nel repeated though with a very different tone in her voice. She stuck out a gloved hand. “I’m Nel, though I hope you don’t tell anyone. There are people trying to kill me.”

“Juliana,” she said as she shook the attendant’s hand. “I won’t tell anyone other than Eva and Zoe. I assume they already know?”

Nel nodded and opened her mouth to say something.

The door to the library boomed open before she could speak.

Ylva stood in the doorway, wearing her deep-cut, white dress. She stared at the two, calmly observing them. All her flesh vanished the moment she stepped into the light of the room. She slouched down in the large chair and rested her skull on her bony knuckles.

“You have questions.”

Juliana swallowed to try to wet her dry throat. With the barest hint of a nod in the affirmative, Juliana began her questions.

—

Floaty feelings tickled the back of Juliana’s neck as Agiel wolfed down an apple. Either she had gained some resistance to the feeling or the little demon was getting tired of eating apples. Either way didn’t matter much to Juliana.

It would be the last time she summoned him.

“So,” Juliana said after she waited for the last splatters of apple pulp to stop flying around, “I had a long talk with a… a friend of mine. I’d just like to confirm a few things.”

The little demon waved a tiny, clawed hand from one side to the other.

“If you did make a contract with me, would you destroy my mind and puppet my body?”

A faint, almost hesitant tickle of joy tingled at the base of Juliana’s skull.

As expected. Juliana merely gave a light nod. Ylva mentioned that this particular demon could not lie when asked one of its three questions. The hel did not give the answer to the question Juliana asked, but Ylva even giving the question was basically an answer in her mind.

“Two more questions.” Juliana leaned back against the wall of the small bedroom and shut her eyes. All her drive to ask more questions went down the drain with that one question. Power was worthless if she wasn’t around to use it.

“How about this,” she said without opening her eyes, “is it possible to grant me power while leaving me intact?”

Again came the light floating feeling.

“Would you grant me power without destroying my mind or body?”

Needles pierced the back of her neck as the demon shook its head.

“So I expected.” Juliana opened her eyes. She blinked a few times at the sight before her.

Agiel stood near the edge of the shackles, one hand offered out before the creature.

Was it seriously asking what she thought he was asking.

“Nope.” Juliana ticked a finger back and forth. “Should have offered weeks ago and I would have been none the wiser.”

Agiel merely shrugged and withdrew his hand.

Before he could vanish in the summoning circle, Juliana tossed him the last apple from her bag. He deftly caught the giant apple, sinking his claws into it. Confusion spread across his face as he crooked his head at Juliana. At least, it seemed like confusion; hard to tell when he has no face.

“For the road,” she said, “or whatever passes for a road beneath that circle.”

He gave another shrug before tipping straight backwards and falling through the floor, apple and all.

Juliana did not move until the last ripples in the floor ceased. With a long sigh, she moved into the circle and started erasing. Everything had to go. Almost everything–the shackles on the outside could stay so long as Juliana took care not to smudge or otherwise bump any part of it.

Disturbing the shackles would be incredibly easy. Too easy. Juliana erased it as well. New shackles would not be a problem to redraw.

Talking with Ylva had turned into something of a wakeup call. If he had offered, Juliana would have jumped to accept Agiel’s contract. A knot had grown in Juliana’s stomach all through their discussion.

It didn’t, however, deter her in the slightest.

Eva could wipe out entire hordes of skeletons in seconds. Eva had Arachne–powerful in her own right–hanging off of every word she spoke. Eva walked around without eyes like it didn’t even matter.

Comparing herself to Eva so much couldn’t be healthy. Not comparing herself to Eva was near impossible. They were roommates after all. Every time she disappeared to the prison or took off her gloves was a reminder of all the abnormalities surrounding the girl.

That wasn’t to say that Juliana wanted more stares and glares. She had enough as it was–most of which occurred in Professor Kines’ extracurricular combat class. And most of those happened every time she dueled an older student.

She wasn’t stupid; Juliana knew she was considered something special to her peers.

In a few years time, that wouldn’t matter. The students would catch up to her level while Juliana floundered about. Not for the first time did Juliana wish she had accepted her mother’s advice to skip a few grades.

Halfheartedly wished.

She didn’t skip grades for almost exactly the reason she received glares in Professor Kines’ class. A younger student in a higher age bracket would just be ostracized at best, relentlessly bullied at worst.

At least now she had her roommates and Jordan’s crew as friends. Juliana was blatantly more powerful than any of them, yet she managed to avoid alienation.

With the floor scrubbed clean enough to eat off of, Juliana wiped the sweat from her brow and leaned back against the wall. She took a long drink from a cool water bottle and let herself rest.

Not for too long. She had work to do.

Flipping open the tome she had borrowed from Eva, Juliana found the page for Agiel and crossed out the word ‘benign.’ She took out her pen and wrote ‘will answer questions truthfully, but will destroy mind if contracted with’ in its place.

That finished, she flipped through the pages. There were a handful of others labeled as benign. Just because they were labeled benign didn’t mean Juliana would accept that label blindly. She liked to think she learned from her mistakes.

Gently rubbing the black ring on her finger with her thumb, Juliana browsed the few entries she had marked out earlier. One, Arioch, looked interesting, but Juliana didn’t have anyone she needed ‘vengeance visited upon’ at the moment. The fertility demon, Ishtar, definitely held no use for Juliana anytime in the near future.

She thumbed through until she found one that looked useful. Her hand froze before she could turn the next page. With a slight licking of her lips, Juliana stopped and read through the page.

“This might do,” she said as a smile worked its way onto her lips.

Juliana set down the open book and pulled out her chalk. She started the arduous task of copying down the circle. Carefully, of course. Summoning something wrong and having it escape would never be forgiven.

If she even survived such an event.

The last few scribbles made their way from one paper to the next. Eva wasn’t using her good ink. This was just a test.

Besides, the less of the good ink Eva used, the more funds she had. While the privacy rune packs were profitable to be sure, it was still money from kids. Kids without a lot of money for the most part.

Drastically overestimating the budget for her supplies to her new employer was like taking candy from a baby. A really rich baby that had no identifiable source of income.

Funny how getting paid made her care much less about the money’s origins.

A mystery to solve later.

Eva took a drink of her… whatever it was. Some sort of bitter fruit drink. She’d told the man at the counter to recommend her a drink. Being unable to read had made menus very inconvenient.

It wasn’t a menu she was familiar with either. Eva had chosen this particular restaurant for her test due to the possibility of violence. The Liddellest Cafe wouldn’t do.

The place had also been chosen for the lack of patrons. Apart from Eva and the man behind the counter, there was a single other person.

A nun.

Any time Eva tried to leave Brakket’s campus on foot, she acquired a nun escort from out of nowhere. They never interacted with Eva. Instead, they chose to hang back and watch. None of them were ever very good about concealing their presence, though it helped that Eva could easily detect them by the little orb in the chest. Likely one of the eyes that Nel was covered with.

Eva had considered asking for or outright taking two of the eyes. The fact that all the nuns had them in their chests and Nel’s eyes squirmed around her body with minds of their own had turned Eva off to the idea.

The eyes were likely some sort of conduit for the nuns’ powers. That was an extra complication that Eva did not need at the moment. She had enough complications to go around.

Not to mention that Devon would be angry at further anomalies to account for in his experiment.

The nun that followed Eva into the shop today didn’t even bother trying to hide. She brazenly walked just a few steps behind Eva until they reached the restaurant. Without even an acknowledgement of her obvious spying, the nun sat at one of the other tables and ordered her own little brunch.

Exactly as planned. Eva needed her for an experiment of her own.

After ensuring the canceling runes on Eva’s hand and Arachne’s back were active, Eva readied the sheet of paper in front of her. The blood-tainted ink on the paper identified the runes as test thirteen. It was also the one she felt the best about.

Eva channeled her magic into the runes and waited.

She didn’t have to wait long. The magic of the wrath runes took hold almost immediately.

The man behind the counter tensed up. His heart rate increased as he glared at the nun.

The nun did not react in any way, Eva noted with no small amount of satisfaction. Not to the runic magic nor to the man’s glare. She was much too focused on her meal.

Keeping the nuns from feeling the effects was one of the main problems she’d had in her early testing. Eventually she settled on the wrath rune exclusively affecting humans while targeting nonhumans. She had to strictly define human and nonhuman with runes because while the nuns were human, they had that extra organ. Regular humans didn’t have weird eye things embedded in their chests. Strictly defining nonhuman was required as well.

Hurting kittens because of wayward runic experiments would be unforgivable.

The canceling runes kept Eva and Arachne from both sides of the rage effect.

Eva started to mark test thirteen as a success in her notes.

A sudden roar from the man behind the counter froze the pen in her hand.

He climbed on top of the counter and launched himself at the nun.

Eva activated the disintegration runes. Test thirteen crumbled to dust that Eva scattered with a brush of her hand.

That did nothing to stop the man. He reared back a hand and punched the confused nun in the face.

Several vessels in her nose broke as it bent inwards.

The man tried to follow-up with a second punch, but his fist encountered resistance.

The nun activated her shield.

And promptly used her own fists on the man. He went flying over the counter and into the back wall. The landing was not soft, but Eva could see he wasn’t seriously injured. He collapsed and didn’t make the effort to get back up.

Huh, Eva thought as she quickly covered up all the rune papers with homework from Alari Carr’s class. I did not know the nuns possessed enhanced strength.

Eva tried to pretend she had nothing to do with anything when the nun turned her harsh gaze in Eva’s direction. She could tell that the nun’s eyes were blazing with their white fire.

“You…”

“Now let’s not be–”

Eva was lifted out of her seat and flew against the wall. The lightning hit her and crackled around her, but it didn’t hurt nearly as much as Sister Cross’s attack. Lower power?

No.

It hit Arachne.

The spider tore herself through Eva’s shirt as she launched at the nun. Arachne twisted into her humanoid form and had her claws out and around the nun’s shield by the time she landed.

Blood leaked out of a massive gash that ran all down her back.

Eva shuddered. If the lightning could damage Arachne that much, Sister Cross was definitely holding back. She did not want to get hit by a full power blast.

“You,” the nun growled again. “You’re the one who killed Sister Stripe. I banished you.”

“You have my thanks for that. Now you are going to die.”

“Arachne!” Eva shouted. This was bad. “We can’t kill her. Too big of a mess. The man behind the counter might wake up. Someone might come in.”

“You’re worried about inconvenience rather than preserving human life?” The nun let out a loud scoff. “So glad I wasted my time being nice to you.”

Eva frowned. She couldn’t remember any nuns being nice to her in any sense of the word. It clicked. “You’re the one from the lunchroom. The one who told me to go kill myself.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“No. Your exact words were ‘I hope you go off yourself. You’re a blight on humanity.’ Then you proceeded to tell me that doctor assisted suicide would be the right choice.”

The nun grit her teeth. “I didn’t say that,” she ground out.

Apparently, Arachne did not believe the woman. She renewed her efforts at puncturing the nun’s shield.

Her efforts abruptly ceased as she went flying across the room.

“You cannot beat me.”

“Empirical evidence shows we can beat you. We just don’t want to,” Eva said as Arachne grew to her full size and charged the nun once again.

Tables, chairs, and food all went flying as Arachne barreled over it all. Eva had to grab her notebook before it got run over.

The nun staggered back within her shield as Arachne rammed into it. She pulled herself back to her full height with a brush at imaginary dust on her shoulder. Her heart rate didn’t even pick up.

“You are not convincing.”

“Arachne! Stand down or you’ll be back in prison for the foreseeable future.”

The spider-demon let out a loud growl. She swiped against the nun’s shield one last time before taking half a step back.

“Now, let’s all just calm down. I’m sure it would be bad for your order to have attacked a schoolgirl unprovoked. Again.”

“Unprovoked?” The nun wiped a finger across her upper lip, pulling away some blood that dripped from her nose. “You call this unprovoked?”

“I don’t remember giving you a nosebleed. Arachne? Did you punch her in the face?”

“I’ll tear off her face.”

Eva sighed and shook her head. “We didn’t touch you.”

“That man,” the nun said with a gesture over the counter, “was perfectly courteous when he served me food. You–”

“You didn’t even think the service was bad and you still threw him over the counter? Is he even going to be okay?”

That was more or less a genuine question. He still hadn’t gotten up. Nothing appeared wrong–his heart was still beating and all the blood flow appeared normal. But he hadn’t gotten up. Eva wasn’t a brain surgeon, there may be some trauma to the brain that caused him to fall unconscious without her being able to detect it.

He was an excellent example of why she didn’t want to test anything in a place she liked. If the man remembered anything, the nuns would assuredly be banned. Possibly Eva as well.

“You know what? Fine. Sister Cross wants you constantly monitored? She can do it herself.” The nun started to walk past Arachne and towards the exit.

“What, just like that?” Eva knew she shouldn’t be questioning the woman. Stopping her might invite further attacks.

But she didn’t attack. She sneered over her shoulder. “Our magic is designed to fight undead. We know how to banish a demon. We’re not trained to fight them. If Sister Cross continues to occupy this abominable little town under the pretense of finding a necromancer–a necromancer who has fled by all evidence–then I’ll be happy to accept my promotion when she is excommunicated.”

A small smile grew across Eva’s face. “So, you are saying that you wouldn’t mind if Sister Cross–”

“Do not seek to tempt me into your heretical ways.”

With that said, the conversation ended. The nun walked out with her head held high.

“Well,” Eva said with a turn of her head towards Arachne, “it was worth a shot.”

“You should have let me kill her.”

“Far too messy. We’d be found out too easily.”

“She’s going to run back to the nuns and tell them that I was the one to kill their other member.”

“And that,” Eva said, “is the main reason I wanted you at the prison. You just had to come back.”

“I couldn’t leave you here with nuns and demons running amok.”

Eva didn’t bother to bring up that Arachne didn’t help much with the latter. She’d been angry enough about being tossed halfway across the Infinite Courtyard. Jokingly bringing it up the first time ended up with Eva wrestled to the ground.

That Arachne returned on the verge of panic about Eva’s encounter with the pillar had her feeling slightly guilty.

Eva merely sighed as she pulled out her notebook to strike out the partially written success. She made a short note detailing a few changes for the next version.

Far too many pargon runes.

Testing would be harder without a nun following her around, but she’d manage.

“I’m amazed by the elegance you displayed in handling the nun.”

Eva turned towards the most sarcastic voice she’d heard. In recent memory, at least. The lesser succubus sat in one of the few upright chairs. She casually took a small sip of a drink that she had acquired from somewhere in the ruined restaurant.

“Catherine.” Eva tried to smile. It came off a bit strained. At least Arachne wasn’t trying to take her head off this time. “How are you today?”

“I’d be better if you wouldn’t leave large messes for me to clean up.”

“All in the name of progress.” Eva nodded her head towards the ruined counter. “Is he going to be alright?”

Catherine shrugged. “I’ll drop him off at the school’s medical facility. If he doesn’t remember anything, we’ll say he slipped. If he does, well, we’ll fix it.”

“And the nuns?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem provided that you come through. We want you to be finished by Tuesday.”

“Tuesday?”

The succubus sighed and rolled her eyes. “I spoke clear enough for you to understand.”

“That’s just–I mean…” Eva ran her gloved fingers through her hair. “You mean next Tuesday, right?”

There was a sudden rush of blood to her eyes for the briefest of instants before they returned to normal. If Eva had to guess, they would have flashed red–perhaps even turning her pupils into the typical demonic slit. Her polite smile turned somewhat mocking.

“I thought you were on our side. You even forced all those restrictions on us.”

Arachne growled as she took a step forward.

Assuming succubi hearts were at all similar to humans, Catherine was scared. She tried not to show it on her face. Her smile slipped just long enough to confirm Eva’s suspicions.

“Catherine, Catherine, Catherine. I want the nuns gone as much as anybody else. But it isn’t ready yet. I have a plan for blocking out the students, but it won’t be ready until tomorrow. Then it will take a few days to propagate.”

The demon turned back to Eva–though she kept her eyes on Arachne–and put on a small smile. “Tuesday, Eva. That gives you all day tomorrow plus whatever is left of today to work on it. If you aren’t part of this, I don’t think we can continue to adhere to your conditions.”

“Unacceptable,” Eva said. “I’ll be ready. Though I am still confused on why you need me.”

“Aside from the ‘gesture of goodwill,'” Catherine said with air quotes, “that oversized bovine claims that nothing would be interesting if he handled it all. ‘Why do something yourself when you can force others to do it for you?'” She shook her head. “If I had that kind of power, I wouldn’t be slaving away for some no name human.”

“You want power?”

“Everyone wants power.”

Eva thought back to her meeting with the bull. He had questioned her desires. She hadn’t been able to answer, more due to his interruptions than anything else, but it brought up a good question. What did demons want?

All demons had an enticement–something to draw them out of Hell. That could end up being almost anything. A golden coin, a vial of raven’s blood, or several sacrifices in the case of Ivonis.

That raised the question of what would be required to draw Eva out of Hell, but that was not immediately pressing.

Enticements didn’t seem like the kind of desires or ambitions that a mortal would have. It certainly did not seem like power. Not unless feeding Ylva raven’s blood would increase some arbitrary measure of strength.

“What options are available for you gaining ‘power?'”

Catherine blinked as she set her cup down on the table in front of her. It took another second or two before she quirked her head to one side. “What?”

“Well, you’re a lesser succubus, right?” The demon narrowed her eyes but did not dispute the claim. “Can you become a full succubus? Or perhaps something else entirely?”

There was a moment of silence as Catherine tilted her cup back and forth. Eva did not miss Arachne’s odd glance in her direction.

“I am what I am,” came the eventual reply.

“You can at least become stronger amongst your peers, can’t you? Even Ylva offered to teach Arachne how to–”

A quick and forced cough from the spider-demon interrupted Eva. Was her being unable to create void metal some stigma?

Eva shook her head and changed her line. “How to do something she hadn’t known how to do.”

“Where are you going with this?” Catherine asked with a frown.

“I’m just curious about you and your motivations, I suppose. You said it yourself. You’re slaving away for some no name human. Does doing so grant you power or prestige?”

Catherine’s frown wordlessly deepened.

After another few moments of silence, Eva shrugged her shoulders. “At the very least, you could be following the old adage of knowledge equaling power. Surely you don’t know everything. I bet there are plenty of books in Brakket’s libraries that you’ve never read.”

The cup in her hand shattered. Shards fell to the table. Not one cut her delicate fingers.

“Tuesday, Eva.”

A strong smell of brimstone replaced the woman as she vanished from her seat. It took Eva a moment to realize that the man behind the counter disappeared as well.

Eva sighed. Catherine was certainly more personable than many demons, but she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d offended the succubus.

She definitely got Arachne to stare at her.

Eva turned towards Arachne and raised one eyebrow.

“What was that all about?”

“Like I told her, just curious. It has come to my attention that I don’t know nearly enough about demons. Especially given my close proximity to so many.”

“You’re putting ideas into the mind of a creature that likely hasn’t had an original thought in several millennia.”

“So what?” Eva made a couple of last-minute notes about the rune system before she forgot. As soon as she snapped the notebook shut, Eva glanced up to the silent demon. “Is she going to become some sort of super succubus and try to destroy the world? Because I told her to read a book?”

“You laugh now,” Arachne said with a feral grin. “You won’t think it is so funny when you’ve got a super succubus running her fingers down your spine.”

“That is a possibility then?”

“Doubtful. She’ll run off, grab a book, start reading, and then stop. She’ll remember that she hates doing anything not involving copious amounts of bodily fluids and continue brooding about how miserable she is.”

Eva frowned. “That sounds like a dreadful existence.”

“She–most demons know nothing outside their own little domain. They found their niche long before the dawn of time and haven’t changed since. Those that do get out,” Arachne waved her arms around the shop, “treat it as a brief vacation.

“We are different. I might be old, but compared to a creature like that,” Arachne pointed a finger at the empty chair, “I might as well be a baby.”

“How much have you changed over the years?”

Arachne went silent. She glanced off to one side for a moment before she shrugged. “It is hard to see your own change. When did you notice you stopped being a six-year-old girl and became what you are today?”

Eva just shook her head with a frown.

“Exactly.”

That wasn’t the answer she had hoped for. Surely Arachne could look back on the thousands of years and see something different in her past self.

Even if it were impossible to notice the day-to-day changes, Eva could see a clear difference between herself of today and herself of the past. A small shudder ran up her spine. Especially the six-year-old who called herself Evaleen.

Eva shook her head, trying to disguise the shudder with a brush of her hand. “We should get going before someone else walks in. Not to mention all the work I need to do before Tuesday.”

— — —

“Free? I can’t believe it.”

“Not just to our customers. Every student. Every room. Both the Rickenbacker and the Gillet.”

“Even the boys?”

“Almost everyone has already discovered the scrying packets,” Eva dismissed with a wave of her sharp fingers. “Besides, shouldn’t their privacy be protected just as much as ours?”

“Well, I mean…”

“Unless you’ve been scrying on some of them.”

Juliana felt her face heat up despite the ridiculousness of the accusation. “Of course not.”

“Then there is no problem,” Eva said as she shoved the box into her arms. “Your job was to collect money and distribute the packets. Hop to it.”

“But, free?”

“Consider it this way: we’re expanding our market. We’ll be charging for the next round, that’s for sure. Think about it. Twice the customers; twice the money.”

“Twice the work,” Juliana mumbled as she peeked into the box.

It was nearly full. It felt nearly full. Her heavy training sessions, both personal and in Kines’ class, made the box not difficult to lift or carry. Her training did not help relieve the pressure on her hands. Using one of her rings, she activated her ferrokinesis. The liquid metal provided a modicum of cushioning between her fingers and the heavy box.

“When did you even find the time to make all these?”

“Shalise helped,” Eva said as she rested her hand on the brown-haired girl’s head and gave a light scratch.

As much as she trusted Eva not to murder her unnecessarily, Juliana wasn’t sure she wanted those claws anywhere near her head. She’d seen what they could do to brick.

Yet Shalise just beamed up at Eva from her desk chair. Almost leaning into the petting.

Juliana just shook her head. “Do we need to refigure our cuts of the profits?”

“Shalise’s payment will be me teaching her a little about runes. Most of what she did for the packets was merely copying, but I’ll be teaching more in the future.”

That’s good. Juliana barely had any responsibilities in their little venture, but she wasn’t looking forward to getting a reduced income from it.

Not that she had much to spend the money on anyway. Still, mom always said to plan for the future.

“What is in these packets anyway? I noticed you added a whole extra sheet that normally isn’t in the things.”

“Additional protection, specifically against certain emotion altering magics.”

“Emotion altering magics? That sounds bad.”

“It is mostly just a test. I don’t plan to leave them in the packets permanently. Way too much work.”

“A test?”

“Of my skills,” Eva said with a shake of her head. She mouthed ‘later’ with a nod towards Shalise.

The brown-haired girl was entirely oblivious to the action.

“Anyway,” Eva said, “I need them fully delivered tonight. Just tell people that we’re having a special. If no one is home, leave them at the door. All of them have a brief note about the ‘special’ and why they’re free.”

“So soon?” Juliana said. That put a hamper on her plans. There were a lot of packets. And she’d have to go to the Gillet. She had never been beyond the lobby of the Rickenbacker’s mirror dorms. All their customers had arranged for pickup in the lobby.

This would take the rest of the night.

“Can I recruit help?”

“Doesn’t matter to me.”

“Good,” Juliana said. It wouldn’t save her plans, but maybe she’d have some spare time at least. She put on her best smile and her biggest puppy-dog eyes. “Shalise?”

The brown-haired girl shook her head. “My hand is killing me,” she said with a flick of her wrist. “I don’t have some tireless demon arm to write with.” All of her excitement quickly deflated into a look of pure horror. “And I haven’t finished the essay for Professor Carr.”

Juliana nodded, quite glad she had finished said essay a week ago. “Eva?”

“Even if you weren’t taking a huge cut to perform this one job, I’ve got plans. Still have more work to do.”

Juliana frowned, but nodded anyway. She turned to the last occupant of the room. “Arach–” Eight red eyes glared out from beneath the covers of Eva’s bed. Every one of them spoke of copious amounts of pain. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.” She turned towards the door of their dorm. “Maybe Irene will help me, since none of my roommates are at all reliable.”

One of them threw a pillow at her. It struck her shoulder and almost made her drop the box. Juliana spun around to find all three of them looking intensely busy in their own tasks. Eva and Shalise at their desks, engrossed in papers, and Arachne under Eva’s covers, still glaring.

Arachne was the only one near pillows, but…

Juliana shook her head as she left the room. It couldn’t have been her.

Rapid breaths echoed inside her helmet. Every breath in was warm, stuffy, and stale. Every breath out moistened the air further. Juliana blinked away the extra liquid on her eyes.

With a quick thought, she widened up the mouth holes in an attempt at sucking in more oxygen. A few slits for extra ventilation opened up around her cheeks.

Figuring out the exact balance between protection and breathability was more of guesswork than anything. Acquiring a book on medieval knight helmets might not be such a bad idea.

Acquiring one in the middle of a fight was, sadly, impossible.

Juliana dodged to one side, allowing a shard of rock to fly past her.

More of float than fly.

The rock lazily drifted through the air. Juliana actually hit it with her shoulder as she moved back to where she was before the dodge.

“You’ve got to work on that speed,” Juliana said. She ignored the small echo in her helmet. “An attack like that isn’t going to scare a cat let alone another mage.”

Jason Bradley grunted as he pointed his wand at the stack of premade rocks. One split into an arrow shape. With his wand trained on it, it lifted up in the air around chest height.

While she waited for her sparring partner to send another attack her way, Juliana hopped back and forth on her heels. She kept her heart pumping and her breath ragged. Armor was not light. Even with her muscles growing from carrying around several pounds of metal for several months, moving quickly still wore her down.

Professor Kines’ class had been enlightening in that, at the very least. They didn’t seem to be much good for anything else. She still wasn’t sure why half the students bothered to show up. Hardly anyone actually managed to put up any kind of fight, let alone a decent fight.

Jason was actually ahead of the curve. For a first-year earth mage, that is. Jordan might have him beat. Of course, Juliana herself was on par with at least third-year if not fourth-year students.

Out of the corner of her eye, Juliana saw Jordan send a rock shard flying at Shelby. His shard actually flew, though only just.

Shelby knocked it out of the air with a well placed gust of wind. Unlike Shalise, who seemed to focus entirely on lightning, Shelby embraced the air aspect of aerotheurgy.

A rush of wind hit Jordan square in the chest. Rustling of his clothes and a few locks of his brown hair–which he quickly smoothed back down–were the only indication. It didn’t hit him hard enough to cause even a stumble and it wasn’t sharp enough to damage his protective vest.

Most of the first year aerothurges were much the same way. All of them had more trouble forming their element into actual attacks.

The rock Jason tried to attack her with finally reached Juliana. She ducked out of the way and continued her quick hops from side to side.

Jason groaned as the rock shattered into the floor. “How can you have so much energy. You’re just toying with me.”

“Knocking you on your back in a second isn’t going to help either one of us.”

“You did it to that one kid on the first day.”

“Tony?” Juliana glanced off to one side where the third-year ice mage was engaged in a rather heated duel with his fourth-year brother. “He wasn’t taking this seriously. You’re at least putting an effort in.”

He scuffed his shoe against the ground. “Not a good enough effort.”

“Now, let’s not get whiny or I might knock you down. You’re better than most of the first-years.”

“Not better than you.”

“I was trained by my mother.”

“How did she teach you?”

Juliana paused their dialog as she racked her memories. Eventually she shrugged, though she wasn’t sure how much of the shrug was visible through her armor. “Don’t remember.”

“How can you not remember?”

“I was a little girl. Do you remember how you learned to walk or talk?”

He shrugged back at Juliana.

“You cast an invisibility spell on one of your pranks, right? That’s some high level magic. Use it on those rocks,” Juliana gestured towards the pile next to him. “It is much harder to defend against something you can’t see. Even if it doesn’t hit hard, at least it might hit.”

Jason took off his helmet and ran a hand through his red hair before replacing the protective gear. “My dad taught me that,” he said with a light blush. His small smile slipped off his face. “It won’t work on these. The enchantment disguises an object using its surroundings. It falls apart as the object is moved.”

“Focus more on power then,” Juliana said after a minute. “When I do it, I put a huge burst of power behind the rock and leave it alone. Physics takes care of the rest.”

Juliana flicked her wand at the earthen floor. Three blunted spearheads burst from the ground. They angled themselves at Jason and launched off, one by one. Once the final spearhead fired off, Juliana raised both her hands in the air to show him that she wasn’t controlling the projectiles anymore.

Surprise showed clear on Jason’s face as the rocks closed their distance. Despite the speed that Juliana attacked him with, he managed to bring up a shield. The first spear hit it, sending huge fractures through the bubble. The second spear shattered the remains of the shield leaving the third to strike him square in the chest.

Jason let out a grunt and fell back on his rear.

“Hey,” Juliana said as she crossed the small dueling ring. She offered out a hand to the fallen red-head as she said, “that was a pretty good shield and pretty good reflexes with it.”

“I wasn’t even thinking,” he said as he gripped Juliana’s hand and pulled himself to his feet.

“A dodge would have been better, tactically, because I wasn’t controlling the spears beyond the initial launch. Good nonetheless.”

“Thanks,” he said with a small smile.

The sound of shattering glass echoed behind Juliana. A bolt of white lightning shot mere inches from her shoulder into a wall.

Juliana did not hesitate for one moment. She shoved Jason back to the ground and followed him down. Only then did she dare to look back at what happened.

It was the bull. Eva’s winged bull lay sprawled out on its side in front of one of the windows. Sickly black liquid left streaks where it slid across the ground.

Four white-robed nuns jumped through the window as the beast lumbered to its feet. They wasted no time in slinging lightning at the beast.

A bleat from the beast all but shattered Juliana’s eardrums. It rattled around inside her helmet just as much as it rattled her skull. The ringing in her ears died down after a moment and the sound of the room returned to Juliana.

Professor Kines’ voice faintly drifted over the sounds of panicked students, lightning, and the bull charging. He shouted at the students, ushering them out a door.

Eva ignored him. She stood in her dueling ring with a blank face. Even as Shalise ran towards the door, Eva merely watched in her usual, eyeless manner. A few globules of black liquid hung in the air just above her outstretched hand.

Juliana looked down at Jason. Her dueling partner crawled away from the battle on his hands and knees. Figuring he could take care of himself, Juliana turned towards Eva.

With a flick of her wand, earth pushed against her feet and hands. She surged forth in the direction of Eva. Juliana’s balance failed her half way there. She tumbled and rolled to Eva’s feet.

There would be bruises in the morning. It was the first time she’d ever tried anything like that.

Eva barely registered her. Her face remained blank through dodging a bolt of lightning. Juliana felt a tinge of pity for any who dismissed the girl on account of the band of leather covering her eyeless face.

“Shouldn’t we be getting out of here?”

“There are students stuck there,” Eva pointed across the room.

Sure enough, several pairs of students were trapped between the wall opposite the door and the battle that was slowly moving to the center of the room. Most huddled together or were as far away from the fight as possible. None looked in a good position to get up and run around the edges. Not with all the lightning that missed the bull.

How they missed, Juliana couldn’t fathom. The bull was as big as a small shed. Missing the broad side of a barn definitely applied here.

“I didn’t know you cared,” Juliana said.

Eva turned her face down to look at Juliana. “I don’t really. None of them are my friends.”

“How heartless. We should leave them to Professor Kines and get out.”

“I’m curious. I’ve never seen the Elysium Sisters use anything other than lightning, fire, and their–admittedly powerful–shields. This is a rare opportunity to see if they have any other tricks.”

“We could get killed,” Juliana said. Even so, she turned her eyes towards the unfolding conflict. “How is this a rare opportunity?”

“Well,” Eva said slowly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “this time none of those attacks are aimed at me. A stark difference compared to every other time I’ve seen the nuns fight.”

The nuns were putting up quite the fight.

Juliana hadn’t been present for the battle in the cafeteria. She had other matters to attend to that day. This wasn’t one on one. Irene described the cafeteria fight almost as a Spanish bullfight. Except bulls used in bullfighting tended to not have the wings that contributed to that nun’s downfall.

So far, all but one of the nuns stuck with lightning. The spare held a battle-axe made of pure white light in one hand. Staring at it caused Juliana’s eyes to sting. Like staring at a bright light after spending too long in the dark. She could feel her pupils trying to constrict. Despite the pain, it took an effort to pull her eyes away from the axe.

Juliana didn’t know whether or not Eva could even detect the axe. She’d describe it later.

Apart from the lightning, scorch marks–from fire by the looks–lined one side of the bull. If so, it had been extinguished.

None of the nuns seemed keen on testing their ‘admittedly powerful’ shields.

As soon as the bull came anywhere near one of the nuns, that nun would turn and run, dodging if she had to. Her sisters would move in and distract.

The bull did not do the long charges that Irene had described. It tried to get close and crush the nuns with its horns.

“You’re crazy,” Juliana said as she flattened herself against the ground. A lightning bolt crackled overhead a moment later.

The bull used its wings to close the distance between it and one of the nuns leading to the other nuns firing into empty space.

Without making a sound, the nun dove to the ground and rolled a short distance just as the bull landed where she had been standing. With a kick in the air, the nun went straight from her back to her feet and immediately continued the assault.

“People may have mentioned that before.”

“So what if the nuns start losing?”

“I’m not going to jump in and help either party. I have no love for the nuns and I’m sure that demon can take care of himself.” She motioned towards the black blood floating near her hand. “This is just for a shield if things get too hot.”

Juliana balked, eyes wide as her head whipped towards Eva. “Demon?” She didn’t stay looking to gauge Eva’s reaction. Getting hit by a stray lightning bolt simply wasn’t worth it.

Out of the corner of her eye, Juliana saw Eva tilt her head back down before cocking it to one side. “Did I not tell you?”

Juliana shook her head.

“Oh.”

“Oh? That’s it? Did you summon it?”

Eva let out a loud scoff. “I am not so suicidal. That thing could probably take on both Arachne and Ylva at the same time without breaking a sweat. I don’t know how or why he is here, other than him having some sort of issue with the nuns.”

“So it isn’t going to attack us?”

“Well, let me put it this way,” Eva said, “I am not going to go anywhere near him if I can help it.”

The battle raging before them seemed far too ‘near him’ for Juliana’s tastes. Still, she stuck by Eva. Or knelt by her. Too many lightning bolts flying around for her to want to be higher.

All four nuns glanced between each other before nodding in unison. All four raised both hands. Lightning–at least twice the size of their regular lightning–burst from their hands and struck the bull in the side.

The bull flew through the air–not because of its wings. It crashed into the floor. Dust and debris scattered around as the bull dug into the ground. It skidded to a stop mere feet from a few of the frightened students.

One of the nuns did not seem to care. She sprinted forward. As she neared the downed bull, white flames spurted from her hands.

Pulling itself to its feet with haste, the bull merely stood there. The flames engulfed the beast as its wings unfurled. Not a drop of the fire got past.

Juliana stared on in shock. She glanced up at Eva’s unperturbed face. “Is it protecting the students?”

The black-haired girl simply shrugged. “Maybe it thinks demon on fire is scarier than demon not on fire.”

If that was the case, Juliana couldn’t argue with its effectiveness. From one tip of its wings to the other, the demon burned. White fire danced across it so hot that Juliana could feel it through her metal armor.

It simply stood there. No bleating or screeching or whining. The glow of its yellow eyes brightened against the flames.

The nun ceased her flamethrowing. They stared for just a moment before the beast begun scratching its hooves against the ground.

It charged.

Rumbling earthquakes shook the ground as it trampled across the dueling arena.

The nun hurled herself out of the path. Her arm met the ground hard enough to make Juliana wince. It might even be broken. She turned and fired more fire as the beast lumbered past her.

She missed.

The demon charged too quickly and the fire flew through empty air.

And landed on one of the cowed students.

Screams filled the air. Not of fright or fear, but out of pain and agony.

Before Juliana could blink, a shield formed around the student. A black-red shield. Eva’s shield.

It was too late. It caught some of the fire, but too much had gotten through.

The nun’s eyes immediately lost their fire. Flames on both the student and the bull rapidly diminished to nothing. The damage was done. The student continued screaming as she held up bright red, raw arms in front of her face.

Gazing in horror, the nun locked up. Her sisters shouted out at her.

The nun did not hear. She took a head-butt from the bull straight on. A red smear appeared on the floor in her place.

She never saw it coming.

It was too much. The scent of charred skin. The nun. Juliana retched as she turned to one side. She tried and managed to hold it down. Her helmet was still covering her head and mouth.

As the remains of the nun settled on the ground, Juliana felt a hand on her shoulder.

“You need to get out of here,” Professor Kines’ voice came from just behind Juliana.

“Don’t worry about us,” Eva said calmly. She raised her hand and pointed past the battle. “She needs far more immediate attention.”

Professor Kines followed her finger. “Susie,” he said softly as his eyes came to rest on the burned student. The shield around her had vanished. His voice hardened as he spoke. “I’ll handle her. You two get out of here before anything else happens.”

The professor ran off, skirting along the edges of the room.

Cold sweat formed on Juliana despite the heat. She could feel her skin turn clammy within her suit.

Slowly, she turned her head back to the fight. A small bit of metal moved to obscure the red stain on the ground.

How could Eva just watch without reacting?

Fury at their sister’s death seemed to engulf the remaining nuns. The fire in their eyes brightened as they launched attack after attack. They also seemed to disregard their surroundings. Every one of their attacks seemed far more reckless than before.

As two lightning bolts came far too close for comfort in a short amount of time, Eva looked down at Juliana. “Well,” she said, “even if they aren’t aimed at me, I think I’m done watching.”

Finally, Juliana thought. She scrambled to her feet and backed away from the fight as fast as she could. Juliana paid careful attention to where the nuns were aiming their fists.

Eva didn’t bother keeping an eye on the battle. She turned her back to it and casually walked towards the door.

The moment they were out, Juliana collapsed to her knees. She barely managed to move the metal away from her mouth in time.

Juliana greedily sucked in oxygen the moment she could. A small, clinical portion of her mind told her that she indeed did not have nearly enough airflow into her helmet.

A wave of lightheadedness passed over Juliana as she tried to stumble her way to her feet.

She almost fell.

Two arms wrapped around her, steadying her.

Barely.

Juliana didn’t know when Shalise had appeared at her side. Possibly the moment she first collapsed to her knees.

At the moment, she didn’t care. Juliana fell into the offered arms as another wave of nausea ran through her system.

“You’re heavy,” the brunette mumbled.

“Don’t call me fat.” Juliana tried to laugh. That was a mistake. Her tongue moved and tasted. She needed to scrub out her mouth. The strong taste of half digested vinaigrette she had for lunch would have sent her to her knees again had it not been for Shalise.

She didn’t seem to be doing so well. Shalise leaned back, almost tipping over before she managed to slowly lower Juliana to the ground.

“What happened in there?” Her voice was soft and very slow.

Juliana managed to shake her head. “Later.”

— — —

Notice: Attack on Brakket Academy

At approximately 7:15 Thursday evening, a magical creature, a winged bull relative to the African lamassu, was attacked by nuns of the Elysium Order. Their engagement spilled over into Brakket Dueling Hall located within the Infinite Courtyard. Students from all years were attending an optional extracurricular activity within the building at the time.

During the engagement, one of the nuns performed a spell commonly known as Holy Fire. Students at the scene reported the magical creature attempting to protect students from the flames which were spread wildly and without regard for innocent bystanders by the Elysium Order nun.

One of the students was severely burned before the flames could be extinguished. She is currently receiving medical treatment at the Fallaner Medical Center under care of the elves.

The staff of Brakket Magical Academy wish to remind all students and citizens of Brakket not to antagonize the Elysium Order nuns occupying our town. They have shown plain disregard for the wellbeing of any but themselves. Approaching may be hazardous to your health.

Despite eyewitnesses stating that the magical creature protected students, Brakket Magical Academy wishes to remind all that approaching the creature could be as dangerous as approaching any wild animal. Even should the creature prove to be docile or even friendly, so long as the Elysium Order remains in our town, we cannot be safe.

It is unknown what other creatures may entice the Elysium Order’s rage. Brakket Magical Academy encourages all residents to stay clear of anything unknown. Anyone wearing the garb of the Elysium Order should be avoided and considered dangerous.

This is a public announcement.

Martina Turner

Dean

Brakket Magical Academy

Catherine turned away from the bulletin board in the Gillet lobby with a sigh. The Rickenbacker had already been done, as had several notice boards in Brakket Academy’s main building.

That left a stack for the rest of the town.

All major businesses were required to have bulletin boards easily visible for announcements to be posted. Normally notices would simply be emailed or faxed. These notices were ‘special’ and needed to be hand delivered. That damnable Martina Turner wouldn’t even give her help.

Catherine let out a string of curses under her breath as her high heels clicked down the sidewalk. There was no reason why Zagan couldn’t help, or the stupid little girl, or any one of Martina’s other minions.

But no, the woman had to give it to Catherine.

Catherine had dropped to her knees in front of Martina. One patch on her thrice handed down pants tore loose. She clasped her hands together and looked up at her tormentor. “Please missus,” she had definitely said, “the nuns stalk the streets. They hunt for black blood. I’ll never survive.”

“You are my familiar. You will do as you are told,” Martina had said immediately before laughing in the most evil manner possible.

That laugh might have been impressive under other circumstances. It would have been more impressive had it not rested firmly within Catherine’s imagination. She might not have minded serving someone with a laugh that good.

The actual conversation may have involved several undocumented uses of specific fingers on the human hand, but that wasn’t how Catherine would be repeating the story.

There was one specific element she had actually been worried about. Apart from her general distaste for menial labor, that is.

Walking through the town in the early morning alone with those abhorrent nuns stalking around was going to get her killed.

Worse, Catherine’s clothes itched. Every step she took rubbed some part of it against some part of her. It was supposed to be real fur, yet it brushed against her skin in the most unnatural way.

When she had first been appointed as Martina’s secretary, Catherine tried to minimize the amount of cloth touching her sensitive skin. Martina put a stop to that. Apparently it wasn’t appropriate for a secretary to dress in such a manner. Parents would look down on a school that had one of its staff dressing in such a revealing manner.

Prudes.

Every last one of them.

Her current attire seemed to be pushing the limits if Martina’s expressions meant anything.

Catherine would push them more, if only to annoy Martina. She’d find the exact limits and go one step further. A new dress was set to arrive in the early days of next week specifically for that task.

With any luck, it would be more comfortable too.

That might as well have been forever away. Walking through the town in her current clothes would have to be dealt with for now.

Using her sharp fingernails, Catherine ran her fingers down the seams at her sides. The dress split straight down the sides. Only a thread at the very top of her dress, just beneath her arms, kept the back and front of her clothes from peeling apart.

Far more maneuverable.

Modesty stayed intact as well. For the most part. The dress might have swung too far apart from her belly and her legs as she walked. But who cared about that anyway. Even if someone did care, it wasn’t like anyone else was going to wake up at such a horrible time in the morning.

Anyone aside from nuns, that is. Catherine kept a careful eye on the early morning shadows.

She’d be teleporting out at the slightest hint of a nun. Martina could go screw herself. Her familiar status protected her from banishment, but she wasn’t willing to risk having to claw her way out of the depths of the void if they attempted more hostile actions.

Catherine opened the glass cover on the first bulletin board outside the nearest building off Brakket campus. She carefully pinned the sheet of paper up with four thumb tacks exactly on the designated points.

Messing that up would just bring more ire from her employer. And not the good kind.

With the paper firmly in place, Catherine double checked that she hadn’t damaged the paper in any sort of excessive manner. Nodding to herself, she pressed her palm up against the paper. She was sure to keep her sharp fingernails from scratching or puncturing the thin paper.

A light push of her magic charged the intricate runic array printed on the backside.

Catherine gave a vicious grin as she slammed the glass cover shut. Sadly the stack of notices did not seem to decrease in the slightest with only one missing. A hundred left to go.

She ignored the flapping of her dress as she walked to the next bulletin board.

Now she just had to survive the rest of the distribution. Hopefully, the nuns would be too busy with the aftermath of the previous night to notice her.

At least that problem would be taken care of soon.

Zoe Baxter had been feeling off-balance the entire day. There was a weight in her pocket unlike anything she’d felt before. It didn’t hold back her movements or tear through the threads holding her pocket together. For all she knew, the weight was nothing but her imagination.

Symbolic, most likely.

Cursed metal, otherwise.

When she first put the ring on in the presence of Ylva, it shrunk down and latched onto her finger. She nearly went into a panic. It took a lot of self-control not to pull out her dagger and chop off her own finger. It was only because Zoe had the presence of mind to simply try pulling the ring off that she still retained ten fingers.

It stretched to its full size and could be pulled off easily. She left it on until the moment she left Juliana behind in the cell house. After that, Zoe tore it off and dropped it in her pocket, much to Eva’s amusement.

Since then, Zoe kept it in her pocket. If it actually offered protection, especially against the current troubles plaguing Brakket Academy, it was too useful to leave in a desk or throw away. It could help should students find themselves in trouble, though she doubted it would work with anyone else given her name was engraved on it.

Wearing it and standing between her students and threats would have to suffice.

At least, that was how Zoe justified carrying it around and how she justified allowing Juliana to wear hers. Juliana at least wore several other rings, mostly to use their metal in the case of an emergency, so one extra ring seemed to have gone by unnoticed by the students and staff thus far.

She had no such justifications for experimenting with the metal. The fascinating properties had her mind whirling every time she thought about it.

Aside from the obvious weight discrepancy, it acted almost like a focus. Magic could be channeled into the ring. If it went unused, the magic would simply vanish. Regular foci disperse excess magic into the environment. The void metal would be able to channel exceedingly dangerous spells with very low chances of either exploding or catastrophically dumping the magic.

Of course, it was only a ring and not a large one at that. The total capacity for holding magic at that size was severely limited. A full, proper focus made out of the material would be invaluable.

That was far from the strangest property of the metal.

“Professor Baxter?”

Zoe blinked. She glanced around the class until her eyes came to rest on the speaker.

“Yes? Mr. Harrison?”

“You were telling us about magic numbers.”

Zoe nodded. “So I was. I fear I’ve been distracted today.” She glanced at the clock hanging in the back of the room. “Only three minutes left of class. Remember your essays on theoretical alternate types of foci are due on Monday and have a good weekend. You’re dismissed.”

The students gathered up their belongings. Half of them were already packed and ready to go, waiting on the edge of their seats. Those ones were out the door the second the words were out of her mouth.

Others, the more respectful students, politely cleared their desks. They lingered, talking with their friends or simply enjoying the time. Soon enough they filed out as well.

One seat was never pushed away from its desk. Its occupant hadn’t shown up for class. It was doubtful Susie would be back any time soon, if at all. The burns she suffered were treatable. The elves were known for their potion brewing skills; they had access to materials that they worked hard to keep out of everyone else’s hands.

The school received more than a handful of complaints from the permanent residents of Brakket. Most of those complaints were directed at the Elysium Order. The injury of Susie worried the town more than the parents of other students, for the most part.

If the school shut down over all the parents pulling their students, the town would dry up soon after. It was already a parched town. Most people left living in Brakket wouldn’t be able to afford to leave.

Prospects like that scared a lot of people.

All the more reason to keep the ring close at hand. As an instructor, it was Zoe’s first and foremost job to protect her students. Teaching them was a good second. By protecting the students, she’d also be protecting the town.

As the last student filed out, wishing Zoe a good weekend as she went, Zoe headed back to her office. There she sat upon her couch–the same one Nel sat on a mere month before.

Nel looked… alright. In truth, most of Zoe’s focus had been on the demon. From what little she saw, there were no tear streaks nor any harm that Zoe could see. She even smiled once or twice and sported a very happy looking open-mouthed grin when Juliana asked to stay for a few moments.

If Juliana was to be believed, the former nun was very lonely but otherwise doing fine in her service to Ylva. They apparently had a long talk before her questions with Ylva. She didn’t speak of what questions she wanted to ask. The only real information Zoe had about their meeting was about Nel.

Zoe wasn’t opposed to meeting with Nel every so often. It seemed entirely too cruel to leave her with nothing for company but a demon. The demon herself was the biggest holdup in agreeing to let Juliana meet Nel.

Fondling the ring in her pocket, Zoe thought, that demon seemed to have taken a liking to us. Zoe hadn’t forgotten about her words about Death on their first meeting. It was probably safe to be in her presence. Physically, at least.

Mentally, Zoe worried about possible corruption. Tempting and encouraging her students towards darker paths was simply unthinkable.

Of course, Eva herself probably counted as a worse corrupting influence than Ylva.

Zoe sighed, resting her head in her hands with her elbows on her desk. Things were getting so out of control. First it had just been Devon, or so she thought. Then it turned out that Eva had her own pet demon.

Now Juliana and Zoe were getting wrapped up in this mess. Juliana had taken to all the aberrations far better than Zoe had. Every little thing that happened grated on Zoe’s conscience.

Coils bound tighter and tighter with every passing day. There was no one to turn to. Wayne had been exceedingly terse since their rather heated discussion the other day. For a long while, Zoe thought he would simply report everyone who had been to Eva’s prison.

He never did.

Instead, Zoe had been given one hard slap against her cheek. Not even for being involved in all the diablery but for not telling Wayne in the first place.

Zoe had half a mind to just get up and go talk to him. She told Wayne the goings on, but she had neglected to mention all her fears and worries. She had put on the strong Zoe Baxter and kept her calm throughout their discussion.

But she couldn’t. Not for a while at least. Zoe maintained office hours for one hour after the final class of the day. Students rarely showed up, but there was always the possibility that today would be different.

Lightly slapping her own cheeks, Zoe straightened up and prepared to work on her lesson plan for the next week.

—

Zoe scratched down a stream of notes in her notebook. Like all of her research projects, Zoe started with a blank tablet. It never stayed blank but this project became ridiculous somewhere along the line. It was getting to the point where she almost needed a new one and not even a week had passed.

At first, Zoe had been extremely hesitant with her experimentation. She only had the one ring and, while she never wanted to meet Ylva again, she didn’t want to risk destroying the ring and offending the demon. Slowly she ramped up her experiment’s intensity.

No matter what she tried, nothing even made the tiniest scratch on the surface of the ring.

Placing it in a pit of the hottest magical fire she could produce did nothing. The parts of the flame that touched the ring simply vanished. It wasn’t so much extinguished as the flame just disappeared.

Ambient heat still forced Zoe to keep a short distance. When the temperature ramped up as hot as Zoe could make it, it reached around two-thousand kelvin. Hot enough to melt steel with heat to spare. Not as hot as Wayne could do, but he was class one, not a lowly class three.

Zoe watched as the ring sat in her kiln. It remained black. Not a hint of the glow expected from molten metal.

After cooking for ten minutes, a panting and sweating Zoe released her magic. The flames died down and vanished. Zoe plucked the ring from the kiln with a long pair of tongs. She dropped it on ceramic tiles and took temperature readings.

Room temperature.

Zoe frowned as she waved her hand over the ring. Lower and lower she moved her hand without feeling any heat radiating off. With a deep breath, she touched the back of her hand against the ring.

Shock ran through her nerves. She drew back almost immediately. With only a moment’s hesitation, Zoe gripped the ring in her hand. Not even the slightest heat touched her fingers.

It felt much like it had been stuck in the freezer. Unpleasant only in that it was colder feeling than room temperature.

Her next experiment consisted of leaving it in the freezer, of course.

She half expected to pull it out white-hot. It lay on the ceramic tiles, perfectly black. Not one to ignore caution, Zoe pulled it out with tongs once again. After a few temperature readings–room temperature once again–Zoe carefully touched her fingers to the metal.

Again, it felt much like it had been in the freezer.

Should have expected that, Zoe thought with a small amount of humor.

Magical ice might act differently. Unfortunately, while she may have been a class one aerothurge and a class three going on class two pyrokinetic, Zoe barely scraped by her class five hydroturge exams.

She’d need help for that experiment. Help might ask questions.

With a sigh, Zoe leaned back in the couch of her home. She rolled the ring between her fingers, occasionally slipping it on one of them. The ring’s ability to resize to fit any of her fingers was a mere footnote in her notebook. She hadn’t even started investigating that property.

A hammering on her door had Zoe on her feet in the blink of an eye.

No visitors were expected.

Her dagger whipped out, aiming at the door. The ring she had been fondling found its way onto her finger. She slipped it off and into her pocket, keeping one finger half way in.

Ready to cast a shield or a lightning bolt at a moment’s notice, Zoe approached her door. A small part of her wished it was enchanted like her office door–one way transparency. Her pitiful teacher’s salary wouldn’t cover the cost and she wasn’t adept enough at order and chaos magics to do the enchanting herself. Not permanently, at least.

Still, there were other methods of seeing through solid objects.

Zoe drew a line in the air with her dagger. Rippling magic seared the bindings of reality. The line of magic pulled apart at the midsection creating a vertical eye shape. Nothing but the pure white of between lay inside. With a thought, the white changed to the scene just outside her door.

Blinking twice to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her, Zoe allowed reality to mend itself. The eye-shaped tear stitched itself back together and vanished into nothingness.

Zoe palmed her dagger, though she kept it at the ready, and walked up to the door. It swung open to reveal a dark-haired, golden-eyed man with a smile full of pearly-white teeth.

“Rex?”

A flicker of disgust or even hate passed over his face. It came and went so fast that it might have been her imagination. Rex’s face turned to the polite and slightly roguish smile she first saw on him.

Zoe tried to keep her face as neutral as possible. She maintained her slightly surprised expression without mirroring his flicker.

Zoe trusted herself far too much to believe it had been her imagination.

“Hey, Zoe. Just got back into town after some business.” He hefted up a bottle of wine. “Thought we might catch up, yeah?”

“So you came straight to my home late in the evening?”

“Well, I got your address from Martina. I thought about stopping by in the morning.” He brought his free hand to the side of his mouth. In the loudest stage whisper Zoe heard, he said, “I’m not much of a morning person.”

Zoe allowed a polite smile to touch her lips, though she kept careful watch for any more flickers of emotion. “I spoke with Martina about you, you know.”

A lopsided grin split his face. He brushed one finger along his chin, almost as if stroking a nonexistent beard. “Did she mention what a handsome devil I am?”

“More like, ‘don’t get yourself involved with that pathetic display of walking pestilence. I regret the day I met him everyday,’ or something along those lines.”

He leaned back and let out a roaring laugh. “That sounds like Martina.”

It didn’t sound like half the joke he apparently thought it was when Martina said it.

“So,” he said, “this a bad time?”

A brief thought of slamming the door in his face crossed her mind. She wasn’t quite sure where the thought came from. Even with his flicker of emotion, Zoe wasn’t such a rude person.

“Not as such, no.” Zoe opened her door wider and stepped to one side. “Though I’ll let you know this: I intend to keep our interactions strictly professional. No relationships in the workplace.”

“Me as well, me as well.” He took one step into the door way before leaning over in his stage whisper pose. “Trust me, you don’t want Martina’s hellish breath on the back of your neck.”

“I’m sure I can imagine,” Zoe said as she led him inside. “There’s a lasagna in the oven. Should be done soon. I think there will be enough for two.” So long as I give up leftovers for the weekend, Zoe thought with a mental sigh.

“Excellent, Excellent. It smells lovely,” he said after a long breath through his nose.

“Take a seat.” Zoe gestured towards the couches. She tried to ignore the sudden realization that they were incredibly cheap and not very comfortable. If she had a proper dining room setup, she’d have led him there instead. “I’ll get us some glasses,” Zoe said and quickly stepped into the kitchen.

Zoe sighed as she retrieved two glasses. They weren’t even wine glasses, just cups. Rex would look at them, look around at her home, and run off. He’d wisely decide to find a career that paid more, even though Zoe made more than enough to live off of. Most of her money went towards research.

Freezing halfway back to the sitting room, Zoe had a thought. What were they going to talk about. Not many people considered magical theory to be an interesting line of discussion. Sure, they would politely nod along and pretend they understood or cared about what she said–they never actually did.

Many of her projects, especially the current ring project, she couldn’t even talk about with anyone. They were simply too dangerous or too incriminating.

Resigning herself to a night of awkward silence, Zoe headed back to Rex. She dropped the glasses on the coffee table and took a seat across from him.

He politely smiled, no traces of any disgust on his face. With a flourish Tom would be jealous at, Rex popped open the bottle and poured a healthy amount in both glasses. Her glass slid across the table with a flick of his finger.

Zoe lifted the glass, swirling it around with her wrist. It had a faint scent of alcohol and bit of a floral smell to it. It wasn’t that she thought Rex Zagan would poison her, but she waited for him to take a swig of his own glass before she took a small sip of hers.

Paranoia never hurt anybody, after all.

The drink was a tad dry. Not to her tastes at all.

“So,” Rex said after she set the glass back on the table, “everything is lined up for me. I’ll be finishing the paperwork tonight to finalize my teaching position next year.”

“That’s good,” Zoe said. The words felt, for lack of a better word, lame in her mouth. “I’m sure the students will enjoy another practical class,” she added.

“Ah, yes. I am sure I will enjoy teaching them. It should be,” he paused, “fun.”

During that pause, Zoe was sure she saw a flicker again. Not of disgust or hatred, but of elation. The barest hint of a grin before his face resumed the mannerly smile he had on before.

That’s a good sign, Zoe thought. At least he seemed happy about teaching. Instructors who did not have fun and were not happy teaching generally did not teach much at all.

Beeping of the oven echoed throughout the small house before Zoe could continue the conversation. Zoe excused herself and headed into the kitchen, shut off the timer, and pulled out the lasagna. She scooped a third onto her plate and a third onto another plate. One leftover meal would have to suffice.

For a moment, Zoe thought about moving the lasagna into some sort of visually appealing arrangement. That thought quickly vanished from her mind. Not only did she not know where to start, but she decided she didn’t care. If Rex wanted a fancy looking meal, he could go find a restaurant.

“Looks delicious,” Rex said as Zoe set out the plates on the table. He said it sincerely if Zoe didn’t miss her mark.

She took her own seat and started eating.

A few bites in and Rex was all smiles. Zoe couldn’t detect the slightest flickers of any other emotion on his face. He dug in like a man possessed. Eating the way he did made Zoe wonder if he had been eating much at all in the past few days.

“This is absolutely exquisite. You’ll have to give me the recipe sometime, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Zoe said, “maybe. It might be a family secret.” It might also be from the frozen food aisle.

“Ah,” he said, “I know a lot about family secrets.”

“Oh?”

“Yep. My family has a whole slew of them. ‘Never speak of these to others,’ I was always told growing up. Quite the pain if I say so myself.” He took a large bite of his lasagna leaving not much left.

Zoe hoped he wouldn’t ask for seconds.

“Then again, all my family secrets are about magic and other magery. Not many culinary secrets in the Zagan family.”

Zoe couldn’t help herself. She had to ask. “And what secrets are in the Zagan family?”

“Now, now,” Rex said slowly, “just because it is a pain doesn’t mean I can go around spilling the secrets of my ancient magical knowledge. They wouldn’t be secret for very long if I did that.”

Ancient magical knowledge sounded very much like something she wanted to get her hands on. Zoe frowned, prompting a laugh from Rex. “Any hints?”

“Well,” he shifted his eyes from side to side as if checking for any eavesdroppers, “I suppose I could say that a lot of them are fairly tantric in nature.”

Her eyes narrowed, prompting another laugh from Rex.

“There are plenty of secrets that are more normal, to someone like you at least.”

Someone like me. Zoe wasn’t sure what to make of that. Instead of thinking, she downed the entire glass of wine.

“Perhaps we can trade. One of your secrets for one of mine.”

Zoe frowned. “I might have to get back to you on that one.”

“Oh, it doesn’t have to be about your culinary expertise. I am certain there are other secrets held by a fascinating individual such as yourself.”

Flattery. For what purpose? His earlier statement came across as an insult. Now he covered it up with flattery.

“I suppose I had best be going,” he said.

“It seems like you just got here. Did you not want one of my secrets?”

“Yes, but you’re not weaseling my secrets out of me in one night so I’ll give you some time to think over what secrets you have,” he said with a chuckle. “That and I’d like to be home before the riot tonight hits its climax.”

“Right,” Zoe let out a terse sigh, “that’s not the only thing–”

Zoe blinked. She blinked again. Cold water dripped down her spine as she jumped to full alertness.

“Riot?”

“Oh yeah, nasty little thing,” Rex said with a wide smile. “Saw it on my way into town. Seems like half the population is gathered around some warehouse just outside town. They’re all up in arms with torches and pitchforks.”

“Torches and…” Zoe let out a short laugh. “You’re joking. You are, right?”

“Well,” he said as he flashed his grin again, “maybe about the pitchforks. They have wands instead.”

Zoe frowned and pulled out her cellphone. Four missed calls in the last half hour, all from Wayne. How did I miss these?

She immediately called him back.

“I’ll just see myself out then, yeah?” The door slammed and he was gone. Zoe didn’t even notice him walking to the door.

She was too distracted with waiting for Wayne to pick up.

By the sixth ring, a click sounded in her ear.

“Wayne?”

“You’re missing the party.”

Zoe gripped the cellphone in her hand. “There is something going on then?”

“Something. You could say that,” Wayne grunted out. “I tried to tell you earlier.”

After taking a deep breath, Zoe said, “I must have silenced my phone.”

She’d done no such thing and Zoe knew it. Wayne’s mirthless chuckle seemed to agree.

“Your girls are here.”

“Of course she is.” Zoe stopped and blinked. “Girls–plural?”

“Yep. Along with the pet demon.”

Zoe grit her teeth. Eva was one thing. Juliana was another. If Eva dragged Shalise into some mess, there would be words.

“Just tell me where.”

“Get out of our town!”

“…more damage than…”

“…cost us our livelihoods.”

Martina Turner stalked through the gathered crowd with a grin on her face. Of course, it was well hidden in the shadows of her hood. Plenty others in the crowd had hoods. She wouldn’t be singled out because of it.

Her entire attire changed simply to avoid being recognized. It was amazing how wearing a distinctive costume every day made people’s gazes shift right over her when she changed to more normal clothing. Of course, a cowl and cloak generally wasn’t considered normal, but in a crowd of similarly dressed rioters, it worked.

Rioters gathered around the old warehouse. A decrepit building that was among the earliest abandoned had been made into the Elysium Order’s local headquarters. Thanks to their inhabitance, the building had been cleaned up nicely. One of its walls looked recently repaired.

Four white-robed guards stood outside the building. All four had eyes aglow, but none of them looked ready to attack. So far, the crowd hadn’t given them reason to attack.

Riot was probably too strong of a word. Residents of Brakket gathered around with signs. Protest more accurately described the current situation.

Of course, with a foci, everyone was armed.

Martina felt it was a good time to change the status quo.

Pulling a sheet of paper from her cloak, Martina held it in her hands. She ran a finger down the front. The large wrath rune in the dead center pulsed. Once. Twice. Three times before the faint glow covered the rest of the rune array. The entire paper melted into black sludge that evaporated into the night’s air.

That was it. No other visible changes. No magic signatures left behind to lead back to the source. Not even any evidence of the runic array. The other runes positioned around Brakket would follow this paper’s example before the night was done.

Martina turned and walked out of the crowd.

Voices were raised as she made her way through. Shouts and cries of rage echoed over the soon to be rioters. As Martina reached the back of the group, a fireball struck the brick building.

A well-formed fireball with a good deal of power behind it, if Martina’s eye hadn’t dimmed over the years. She thought for a moment about which resident of the city might have casted such a spell.

More fire, lightning, and even chunks of earth followed. A white blue shield appeared over the half of the building closest to Martina. Each impact caused a brief flash, but not a single fracture formed.

Regular thaumaturgy held no chance against the shields of the Elysium Order.

Martina took the increasing number of attacks as the cue to leave before the sisters decided to react.

She found herself a secluded corner of the crisscrossing streets and channeled magic into her wand. Once full, she tapped it against her forehead.

The angry roar of the rioting crowd was replaced by the serene screams of her own mind.

Shutting her eyes, Martina tuned out everything. Every noise, every smell, and all the feelings creeping across her skin.

Martina found it to be an unpleasant sort of travel, but had long since gotten used to its illusory effects.

She appeared on top of a rug that hid a six pointed summoning circle within her office. Not that she needed the gate. It just lessened some of the more unpleasant side effects.

Flicking her eyes open, Martina walked to and sat at her desk. She kicked her feet up on the desktop before hitting a button on her phone. She waited.

And waited.

Happiness from her plans nearing their end kept her from feeling even the slightest tinge of anger at her insubordinate secretary. Nothing the woman could do would ruin this night for Martina.

Probably.

It wouldn’t do to underestimate the capacity for idiocy amongst her servants.

On the very last ring before the phone switched to voice mail, the line connected. There was no video this time around but Martina could hear the riot progressing in the background. Explosions and the faint crackle of thunder echoed over the speaker.

Yet Catherine did not speak.

Annoying power plays, Martina thought with a grimace. The pissant never spoke first. For a moment, Martina wondered how long her secretary would sit there in silence.

Something to test another time.

Before Martina could speak, a small hissing noise came over the phone’s speaker. It ended abruptly with a loud snap.

“Did you just pop chewing gum in my ear?” Martina asked with a sigh.

“Not gum,” she said just before another pop sounded over the phone.

“Do I want to know?”

“That, Martina, is a question only you can answer.”

Martina grit her teeth together. Thinking about it carefully, Martina decided she did not want to know. Whatever her secretary said would only further grind on her nerves.

After another period of silence, Martina asked, “is Zagan with you?”

“Don’t know,” came the nonchalant reply.

Martina felt her lips form a thin line as they pursed together. “I swear, if either one of you fu–”

“There are a couple of teachers and a few of your students.”

Martina sat up, hoping she did not have to go back out there. There were things that needed doing before dawn. “In the riots? I was told th–”

“No. They’re standing on the roof of a building opposite mine. I watched the students arrive on the back of Arachne. The teachers teleported in.”

“Are the instructors going to interfere? Who are the students?”

Catherine made the popping noise before responding, “don’t know.”

Martina opened her mouth and just sat for a moment. She worried she might crack her own teeth if she kept up the pressure. After a calming sigh, Martina said, “describe them.”

“Well, one looks like a knight in shining armor. Not very well made armor, but it is somewhat shiny. She’s a bit shorter than the–”

“I meant describe their mannerisms. Do they look like they’re going to interfere?”

“One of the students has several large spheres orbiting her.”

Martina frowned at that. Eva mentioned that she might be there to ensure nothing goes wrong. That accounted for Arachne. Yet she dragged her roommate and instructors into it. That was conveniently left out of her plans.

“Arachne has a stupid grin on her face. I can tell it is a stupid grin and not a vicious or mirthful grin because it is the same expression you wear sometimes.”

“Stick to them, Catherine.”

“I’d love to. Sadly, I don’t want to have to go roof hopping. It is too much work.”

Martina cradled an oncoming headache with her hand. This is a good day. Everything will be fine. Ignore her. “Catherine,” she said, “what are the instructors doing?”

“Not looking happy. Talking to the students.”

With a sigh, Martina said, “keep an eye on them. If they look like they’re going to interfere, intercept and keep them occupied. Switch to plan six if Zagan doesn’t show up in fifteen minutes.”

There was a small pause before she responded. “Oh. He’s here. Good thing too, plan six was by far the worst of the plans. It had way too much of me in it.”

“I thought you said you didn’t know where he was,” Martina said through grit teeth.

“That was before you forced me to look around. Apparently he’s been standing to my side this entire time.”

Martina pinched the bridge of her nose. She needed a new secretary. “Just start,” Martina said. “And keep an eye on the students.”

Without waiting for a response, Martina slammed her finger down on the disconnect button.

She concentrated on happy thoughts and possible replacements for her secretary. It took more effort than normal to remind herself that Catherine usually gets the job done. A fact easily forgotten every time she opened her mouth.

No, nothing would go wrong. Catherine would play her part. Zagan would play his. Eva and her cohorts would merely observe. If they did interfere, Catherine would stall or remove them.

Hopefully stall. Eva was already a step in the right direction for the academy. She’d lead her friends right along with her. Losing such an asset would slow everything down.

And I, Martina thought as she pulled the first paper off a stack, will play my part.

— — —

No chance this will turn out well.

Zoe Baxter looked over the edge of the roof onto the streets below. There had to be a good portion of the population gathered. Not that a good portion of the population was saying much when talking about Brakket.

She scanned the crowd.

Some had hoods or cowls on. Some faced away from Zoe. A few even had masks, though no theme was present between them; it was doubtful they were related.

Relief flushed through her as she failed to recognize any students. None of her fellow instructors from the academy seemed present either. Aside from Wayne and the residents of dorm three-thirteen.

A few people looked familiar. Shopkeepers and a handful of the more well-known residents stood amongst the mob. The few that Zoe knew better than others were just regular people. At least one, a recent graduate, Zoe knew would never participate in something like this.

Zoe’s heart sank as she recognized a kindly barman shouting and shaking his fist at the warehouse. There was no trace of Tom’s ever-present charming smile on his face. Unlike those around him, he seemed more indignant than outright enraged.

Something was going on. Zoe’s eyes flicked over to her students on the roof of an adjacent building. Whatever was going on, they had something to do with it.

A grunt to her side tore her attention from the students and the crowd. Zoe glanced at the scowling Wayne.

“Nasty business down there. Knew we got angry letters. Knew the Elysium Order got more. Didn’t know they were this mad.”

Zoe shook her head from side to side. “I don’t think they are.”

“Mind control then,” Wayne growled. “I’ve heard of demons that can do that.”

“Maybe, maybe not. Have you talked to them?” Zoe nodded in the direction of her three students.

“Your girl’s pet demon has been staring at me since I arrived with a nasty smile on her face. I’m not keen on approaching.”

“I don’t think she’d hurt you.”

Wayne let out a soft snort. “Oh? You can guarantee the actions of a demon now, can you?”

Zoe shifted where she stood. She never wanted Wayne to find out about any of the goings on with Eva. A near impossible task that failed far too fast for Zoe’s liking. “I’ve had conversations with her and have spent time around her and Eva. I honestly don’t think she cares unless you’re a threat to Eva.”

“If she has anything to do with this mess, I’ll definitely be threatening. It will take a single dunderhead casting a spell at the nuns to spark off a full-blown fight.” He stepped forwards, placing one foot right on the edge of the roof. “I fought one of them just a few weeks ago. Her shield shrugged off some of my strongest fire. I might as well have been trying to tickle her.”

Zoe blinked and glanced at him. “Your strongest?”

“Well, I didn’t want to level the building,” he said with a grin, “but no thaumaturge’s shield would have held up for more than five seconds under my attack.”

“I’ve been studying their magic where I can. It is really quite amazing. I had to dedicate two whole notebooks to it and the third one is filling fast. They don’t use any foci, and what I’ve seen of their magic is odd. The lightning they shoot is designed to unravel ench–”

“I’m not here for a lecture, Professor Baxter.” He flashed a small smile. Not something Zoe was used to seeing since their argument. It vanished as quickly as it came. “We need to defuse the situation before this turns into a slaughter. I reckon those four guarding the front door are more than enough to take out this entire mob.”

Zoe gave a nod of agreement and glanced back to her students. “Let’s speak with them. If Eva is here, she likely knows what is going on.”

“I’d say it is more likely she caused what is going on.”

“Maybe so,” Zoe said as she flicked her dagger. The cool embrace of between took hold of her. The sensation lasted a scant few seconds before she appeared on the rooftop her students occupied.

Wayne, Zoe noticed as she glanced back, chose to simply run and jump the gap between the buildings. It wasn’t that far. Zoe could have jumped the distance herself. Doing so added unnecessary risk of landing wrong or even tripping and falling.

He did not approach. Wayne stopped just at the edge of the building. The tome focus in his hand was open to a page as he stood in a defensive stance. His hard eyes never left Arachne.

The demon herself appeared entirely relaxed. She half slouched on Eva’s shoulder. All eight of her red eyes remained focused on Wayne. And she smiled. The sharp, interlocking teeth bared full against the lights carried by the crowd below.

Not wasting any time, Zoe closed the short distance between herself and her students.

“Arachne,” she said, “could you not antagonize Wayne? He is upset enough about the situation as it is.”

“Antagonize,” the demon said in a faux innocent voice, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just watching to make sure he wasn’t about to do anything foolish.”

“Being watched makes him nervous.”

“That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be watched.”

“Arachne,” Eva said as she patted the demon’s arm with her own clawed hands, “I’m sure he won’t hurt us right now. Not if he hasn’t already tried something. Isn’t that right, Zoe Baxter?”

Zoe sighed as she looked to Wayne again. He hadn’t moved, still standing with his tome out. Judging by the few spars she’d done with him over the years, she’d guess he would shield and try to run based on his defensive stance.

“I don’t think so,” Zoe said. “Not unless you attack first.”

“Well,” Eva said, “it is good that you are here. I can’t say I expected it, but good nonetheless. Just in case things do go pear-shaped, you and Wayne can teleport Juliana out of here.”

Zoe spared a glance at the other students. Juliana had her armor fully covering herself with only a few holes in the front and her blond ponytail poking out the back. She sat with her legs dangling over the edge of the building. Two metal spikes jutting from her backside seemed to be anchoring the girl to the roof.

“Not you?”

“I’m confident everything is under control. If things do go wrong, I need to be here to keep people from dying.”

“And what is happening–no.” Zoe shook her head. Students first. “Juliana, are you alright?”

“I asked her to be here. I don’t have any eyes,” Eva tapped the leather band around her head, “so I asked her to keep an eye out for things I might miss.”

“And that’s fine with you?” Zoe asked with a glance towards Juliana.

Metal covering her face melted off. Zoe had to marvel once again at the control she had over her ferrokinesis. That skill alone could get her through her class four exam despite her age. Zoe held herself up as the best during her school days. Whatever Genoa did to get her daughter to this level was a wonder indeed.

The blond looked up to Zoe and gave a light nod of her head. “I trust Eva not to get us killed.”

That gave Eva a laugh. “I don’t know that I’d trust myself,” she said. “It was only a few months ago I found myself in a situation to lose my hands, eyes, and toes.”

“That was different,” Juliana said. “You were ambushed, alone. Here we’ve got both of us, Arachne, and now two professors. And we’re not going to be ambushed.”

“Keep on your guard anyway. Neither the Elysium Order nor myself ever found Sawyer. He could very well use what happens tonight as a distraction for his own purposes.”

“And what,” Zoe said, “is happening tonight?”

“Running the nuns out of town, of course.”

“That… I don’t… Are you sure that is a good idea? You just said yourself that Sawyer is still on the loose.”

“They weren’t searching for him,” Eva spat out. “I spoke with Nel and another nun. I know that they had no interest in anyone but us.” She gestured her hands towards her roommates and Arachne. “The other nun was unhappy with that fact, so we’re doing all them a favor anyway.”

“And you got the whole town in on it?”

“Sort of.”

Zoe sighed and gave Eva her best stern teacher glare. “Sort of?”

“Well, they were already angry with the nuns. A few wrath runes placed around the town might have made them angrier. That was followed by an inverted sloth rune to spur them into action.” Eva gave a bright smile. “That is heavily simplifying it, of course. It really was some of my best work. Figuring out all the nuances of timing everything and keeping students and staff from feeling the effects.”

“You brainwashed them?”

“Let’s not be silly.” Eva crossed her arms. The action somewhat destabilized her, but Arachne held her tight. A good thing too, they were right on the edge.

“Can’t you move back from the ledge a few steps?”

“Nope. This is the furthest I can be while still being able to turn on shields around the people if things go bad.”

Zoe blinked. “Shields?” she asked.

“First,” Eva held up one pointed finger, “not brainwashed or mind controlled or anything silly. Simple amplification of specific emotions–in this case, anger towards the nuns.” She held up a second finger. “I’ve got an array of blood shields lined up between the crowd and the nuns’ headquarters. Or I will, in a moment or two. I didn’t want to be too obvious too soon.”

Zoe blinked again. It took a moment to process what she said. “Right. Blood mage. I forgot. Distracted by the diablery, I suppose.” Zoe sighed. That was another thing she had been meaning to broach with the young woman. “Wayne is very accomplished with thaumaturgical order shields and he said that his shields went down very quickly against Sister Cross. How would yours hold up?”

“I guess I can get ready and show you some of it.”

Eva leaned down to her feet. Plunging her fingers into the cork of a jar resting near the edge of the roof, Eva pulled back and uncorked the jar. It was fairly large and made of glass. What was inside blended with the darkness too well to see.

Zoe flicked her dagger slightly. Immediately, her senses flared. The crowd below became almost deafening in their shouts. Zoe tweaked her sense of sound down to more manageable levels. Her hearing remained enhanced, just not to the maximum level possible.

Vision, she left at full. With her vision, she looked into the jar at Eva’s feet. A midnight black liquid filled it to its brim. The jar was about a gallon in size, if her estimate was correct.

The liquid jumped out of the bottle. The large glob quickly split down to golf ball sized orbs.

“Arachne kindly donated a large portion of her blood. I bled her out for half the night.” The demon to Eva’s side nodded vigorously at that. “Some is down on the streets already, ready just in case. This is all backup.

“As for shield strength,” Eva gave a light chuckle, “blood shields are, for the most part, impenetrable so long as I have blood. And I don’t just have blood. I have Arachne’s blood. Demon blood is several orders of magnitude better than human blood which is still better than my… Well, the shields will be strong.

“Personal experience has taught me that a golf-ball sized orb of blood can withstand several bolts of lightning. With all this backup, we’ll have plenty of time to evacuate the crowd if anything goes wrong.”

Zoe sighed and glanced over the assembled crowd once again. Even with her enhanced sight, she couldn’t pick out any students. Her eyes did spot a woman atop the building opposite from the one Zoe stood on. It took several seconds before she recognized the slouching woman as Martina Turner’s new secretary. Cathy something.

Martina had become increasingly vocal about her dislike for the nuns during staff meetings over the course of the semester. It didn’t come as a big surprise to Zoe that the dean had some sort of hand in this.

“No one is going to die,” Zoe half asked, half stated.

“Not if I can help it.” Eva pulled several papers from a book bag at her side. “I have a few ways of influencing the emotions of the crowd already drawn up. Some less subtle than others, but I’ll use them if the people need to evacuate in a hurry.” Eva turned her head from the streets below for the first time since Zoe approached. Her empty eye sockets honed in on Zoe. “I’m not a monster,” she said.

Eyes were such a huge part of reading emotions on the face. Eva lacked that key detail. The rest of her face was blank and stony.

Zoe wasn’t sure how to respond to her statement. Keeping the people from harm was good, and she seemed to be taking several precautions. Of course, she dragged them into the mess in the first place. If anyone did get hurt, it would be on her head. And Martina Turner’s head.

Their heads and Zoe’s head, if Zoe did nothing to stop it. No ideas came to mind for stopping Eva safely, try as she might.

Arachne saved her from having to respond. “I am a monster,” she said.

Eva turned her head to her demon with a smile. “Yes, but you are my monster.”

The demon all but preened at that. She rested her head against Eva’s shoulder in a very awkward position that would have sent both tumbling to the ground. Only two legs jutting from her back and digging into the roof stopped them from falling.

Eva ignored Arachne’s actions. She turned her head back to the streets below.

“If things get dire, Arachne and I will personally intervene.”

“And me,” Juliana said.

Zoe turned to the armored woman. “Your mother–”

“Would be very happy to know I helped save lives.”

“You helped put them in danger.”

“Nope,” Juliana shook her head. “That was all Eva. Neither I nor Shalise knew anything until Eva asked me to keep watch. Well, Shalise still doesn’t, but we both unknowingly helped. Of course, that doesn’t mean I like them much. They forced us out of our dorm. That’s the second time this year.”

“I will agree that that was irksome indeed. There was copious amounts of blood everywhere, though I doubt that was directly the fault of Sister Cross.” She eyed Eva. “Not a good reason to go to battle with them. Dorm rooms are easily fixed, you should be able to move back in by the–” Zoe shook her head. “Not important right now. What about the Elysium Order’s nuns? Are they to make it out of this night unscathed?”

“The nuns have been a pain in my backside since they showed up and I’m not going to let them continue to walk over me. Sorry Shalise,” Eva added half under her breath.

“But, and I will admit that this is mostly because of Shalise, I don’t want to see them come to further harm either.”

Zoe sighed, but nodded her head. “I understand where you’re coming from. Can we not defuse the situation and discuss it more peacefully?”

Eva gave her own sigh at that. “I’d say it is too late.”

Steeling herself into instructor mode, Zoe said, “then all I can say is that I am disappointed, Miss Eva. I approve of the lengths you’re going to protect people. That they needed to be protected in the first place is where my real disappointment lies.

“I am truly sorry you do not feel you can trust me enough to talk to me about matters of this severity. I hope you will come to trust me more in the future. At the very least to get a second opinion on your plans.”

“Perhaps next time, Professor Baxter.” Under her breath, though not quiet enough to avoid Zoe’s enhanced hearing, Eva said, “didn’t have much choice this time.”

Zoe pretended to ignore it. It wasn’t meant for her to hear, though it raised questions. Her eyes flicked back to the secretary that now appeared to be tapping on a cellphone. “If you’ll excuse me,” Zoe said, “I should speak with my colleague.”

Turning on her heel, Zoe walked right up to Wayne. He didn’t appear to have moved during any part of the conversation. His book was still out and he looked ready to run at the first sign of trouble.

“I warned you she’d be trouble,” Wayne grunted out.

“I know.” Zoe nodded. “But I’m not ready to give up on her.”

“Give up on her? Zoe,” Wayne sighed, “I know all this stuff must be fascinating to you. It isn’t safe. Not for you and not for Brakket.”

“Think of what an asset she would–”

“She would slaughter everyone.”

“I disagree. Just look,” Zoe waved her hand at the crowd. “Not a single one is a student nor are they staff. There is not a single child either. She didn’t explain how she kept kids away, but I can’t imagine that wasn’t planned as well.”

“Those are still innocent people, Zoe.”

“And she’s taken steps to protect them. She’s not a bad person.”

“She might not be. I can admit that.” That was the most grudging admission that Zoe had ever heard from his mouth. “The company she keeps is what makes her a danger to herself and everyone around.”

Zoe nodded. There was really nothing to argue about that. “At the moment, I’m more concerned about her,” Zoe said as she pointed a finger across the street.

“I can see someone. Can’t make them out.”

“It is our beloved dean’s secretary.”

“What’s she doing here?”

“Not sure. I forgot to ask.” Zoe headed back towards the side of the roof that Eva stood upon. Wayne followed at a more sedate pace. “Eva, the–”

A thundering boom accompanied by small shock waves interrupted Zoe. Zoe steadied herself against a second shock wave.

Zoe ran up beside her students. Eva had knelt down with her hands hovering over three sheets of paper. One of the sheets had glowing runes covering the entire top.

“Don’t worry,” Eva said before anyone could ask, “this isn’t unexpected and the nuns are playing nicely.”

Zoe glanced up.

Four nuns stood outside the building with their arms raised. A shimmering blue bubble encircled the warehouse. Part of the building was on fire where a fifth nun used a thaumaturgical wand to conjure water.

None of them looked like they were going to attack despite more attacks from the crowd. The crowd’s attacks failed to penetrate their shield. Most pinged harmlessly against the bubble.

“This was planned?” Wayne asked with his voice raised over the attacks and shouts from the crowd.

“One of the plans,” Eva said. “Not my favorite one, but the one she was most interested in.”

Zoe’s eyes flicked up across the street. ‘She’ had to be Cathy. Or her boss. The figure who appeared next to the secretary surprised Zoe. He looked like Rex. The same suave hair and fancy suit, though it was a different suit than the one he wore earlier.

Their eyes met for just a moment. He flashed a smile and a casual wave of his hand.

Of course he would be in on it too, Zoe thought. He had ties to Martina and a background in combat. She’d have to interrogate him later. Zoe shook the thoughts from her mind and turned back to Eva.

“She?” Wayne asked at the same time as Zoe said, “what happens now?”

“Now we wait, watch, and hope the Elysium Sisters do not attack the crowd. Arachne, Juliana, be ready to intervene.” Eva turned her head backwards, but did not remove her hands from the two papers that were not glowing. “If you professors want to jump in, that’s fine. Just be careful of the bull.

“He isn’t the king because of amazing politics or lineage.”

Things were going to Hell in a handbasket.

Lynn Cross only wished the situation wasn’t so literal.

Something went very wrong somewhere along the line. Royalty from Hell itself targeting the Elysium Order. Not just any part of the order, but Charon Chapter. The idea would have made Lynn laugh under other circumstances.

Under less dire circumstances.

Now the whole town had shown up to burn the order out-of-town like some sort of puritan witch hunt.

Fools. The lot of them. The town was infested with demons and necromancers. The town her daughter called home, for now.

My daughter, Lynn sighed as she glanced out the window. Her daughter’s friends were standing out there, watching like vultures. At least they hadn’t involved Shalise in their treachery. That was something she could thank Eva for.

Right before boiling her brain with lightning.

Eva assured Lynn that she had nothing to do with the demon attacking her chapter.

There was a slim possibility that she was telling the truth. The demon attacking her sisters stood on a roof on the opposite side of the street from Eva. They may have both simply shown up to watch the fireworks independently of each other.

That thought nearly made Lynn burst out laughing. She should have killed the stupid girl when she had the chance. Summoning a member of Hell’s royalty; how stupid could she get.

“Sister Goose,” Lynn barked out as she turned from the window. One of the white-robed nuns turned to her with a slight decline of her head. “Gather up Sisters Horner, Piper, and Botter. We need to evacuate the injured at the very least.” Lynn turned, glancing out the window once more. “I don’t like this and our injured sisters will only hinder what is to come.”

“Of course, Prioress. To one of our other safe houses, then?”

“No,” Lynn said with a shake of her head. “No. Take them to headquarters. Staying in the town will only see the current situation repeat itself. Ready transport and get them out of here.”

“It will be done, Prioress.” Sister Goose gave another bow before heading off towards the section of the warehouse petitioned off for medical use.

That they needed a medical center was odd. Before a few weeks ago, there were deaths any time that thrice damned bull showed up. The deaths ceased and injuries became far more common. They were gruesome and debilitating, but the attacked sisters were alive.

All except Sister Hubbard. In the midst of all the injuries, Sister Hubbard was the lone death. She likely wouldn’t have died if her holy fire never touched that student.

If Lynn tried to pinpoint the moment her fate was sealed, that would have been it. Never before had she seen so much anger and hate directed towards her by everyone. Brakket as a whole turned against Charon Chapter after that regrettable incident.

She had thought to win back support with the capture or death of Sawyer, but her augur vanished without a trace weeks before. Not even the augurs at headquarters had managed to locate her. She hadn’t received authorization to elevate another nun to the position.

Before that incident, Lynn had thought to win support with the capture or death of the wild bull. After that notice posted of it protecting students, that option was forever denied.

The noose was slowly tightening around Charon Chapter.

Headquarters was already upset at the lack of progress towards destroying the necromancers. They believed that the necromancers had fled. Wasting time and personnel on maintaining a presence wasn’t seen as a valuable operation. It didn’t help that Lynn had had to acquire special permission to move Charon to Brakket in the first place.

She had thought about releasing the information that it was a demon. She thought about it when it first appeared and again after that hateful notice. Lynn worried about panicking the population of Brakket. Few things were more dangerous than widespread panic.

A city of rioters might be one of those more dangerous things.

Lynn grit her teeth and strode out the warehouse door with her head held high. Cool night air assaulted the bare skin she bore on her face. The last night of March wound up far colder than the few days before.

The effect of her presence on the crowd was near instantaneous. Unnaturally so. The attacks against the shield stopped and the crowd quieted to a loud murmur. An improvement over the angry shouts by far.

Still unnatural.

Lynn allowed her gaze to flick up at the demons and the students. There were two professors from Brakket alongside the students. Lynn wasn’t sure what their presence signified. Possibly the school itself was actively against her.

That would be no surprise, Lynn thought with a barely suppressed scoff.

Turning back to the gathered crowd, Lynn scanned the faces. Anger seethed on most of them. Hate on others. Fear on a few.

So far gone were the hopeful and cheerful faces that greeted the nuns after Halloween.

Lynn sighed, but steeled herself against despair. She brought out her focus. A simple wand small enough to fit in a pocket. With a wave, magic flowed into her throat. She wasn’t much of an air mage, but even Lynn could amplify her own voice.

“People of Brakket,” her amplified voice said, “cease this foolishness. We are not your enemy.”

The murmur of the crowd threatened to rise back to full-blown shouts. Lynn cut it off.

“Necromancers attacked your fair dwelling mere months ago, have you forgotten? The horror and pain that accosted your city that night? You welcomed us with open arms and smiles on your faces. While the threat has been defused, one of the necromancers runs free still.”

Lynn watched their faces, those towards the front at least. Some flickered through emotions, others stayed the same. They all ended up with rage in their eyes. Lynn’s eyes once again twitched up to the two buildings containing demons.

“A greater threat lurks your streets. Demons stalk your town, invade your school, and wreak havoc.”

A shout rose up from the middle of the crowd. “Demons you brought here!” Several among the crowd cheered at that. Their cheers turned to jeers aimed at the Elysium Sisters. Aimed at Lynn. “Only you’ve been attacked,” another shouted. “Only you have attacked our students,” another cry came. “That bull protected my son.”

Lynn cut off any further shouts. “Would you have them run free? We are all that stands between you and the darkness encroaching on your town.”

More jeers and angry shouts followed her statement. Lynn tuned them out. One of the demons, a man, just jumped off the roof he stood on. It was only two stories high. Plenty high for a human to get injured, but cakewalk for a demon.

Lynn connected herself to the source. The familiar feeling of dampened emotions and heightened clarity enveloped her. She scanned the crowd, searching for the demon among them.

Before she could lay eyes on the demon, she realized her mistake. Lynn swore at herself just as the first cry rang out.

“Her eyes are glowing. She’s going to attack us,” someone screeched.

That was all it took. The rioters panicked. Some started their own attacks, mostly the fire mages in the crowd. Most, however, simply ran. Seeing their comrades flee, those few brave enough to strike at the Elysium Sister’s shields turned and ran.

Within minutes, the streets were clear. Lynn felt that tingle of unnaturalness in their movement. She had no time to dwell her thoughts on the matter.

Standing in the center of the street was the great winged bull. The fleeing people moved around it without reacting–not seeing or not caring that it was there.

The source fed her all the information she cared to know about the creature.

A devil class monster stood in front of her. Asmodeus of lust was its primary heritage. Secondary was Mammon of greed. It had traces of all the others according to the source. As expected of one of the kings of Hell.

The source had run through every possibility over their previous encounters. Good nuns died teaching the source about the capabilities of that creature.

Lynn doubted it had shown everything it was capable of.

Attempting to banish it would be impossible. It would kill her before she got a third of the way into the chant. Fighting would be impossible. It would kill her before she caused even minor damage. The most she could hope for was to hold it at bay for a few minutes. Fleeing would be impossible. Lynn would die the moment she turned her back on it.

Truly a loathsome beast.

“Designation: Zagan,” Lynn said through grit teeth. Its solid black eyes bored into her. If she was to die here… Lynn’s eyes flicked up to her daughter’s friends. No worry nor concern would be found there.

“Sister Cole,” Lynn shouted over her shoulder. “Evacuate everyone. I will buy time.”

“Sister Cross,” one of the nuns started. They were all seeing the same information from the source–they were all being told to do nothing but despair.

Lynn interrupted whatever she was about to say.

“No arguing. Sisters Peep, Griggs, Lamb. You three are to retreat and evacuate the moment your shield fails.”

“It has been an honor serving with you, Prioress.”

“I am not planning on dying just yet,” Lynn said. “But I can’t leave until you’re all gone. So get a move on it and launch a flare when you’re on your way.”

Hurried footsteps sounded behind her as the winged bull took a step forward. How kind of it to allow me to finish ordering my sisters, Lynn thought with a sardonic frown.

Every step it took left a small pillar of green fire. The rotten egg stench of brimstone filled the air as it neared. A snort of flames erupted from its nostrils, further tainting the air with brimstone.

Her three sisters stood behind her with bated breath. They kept the shield running full without falter as the devil approached. Their nervousness radiated off of them in waves.

Lynn waited.

The longer the bull took to approach, the longer Sister Cole would have to relay her orders, and the shorter Lynn would have to fight the bull.

If she didn’t think it would immediately cease all its posturing, Lynn might have tried banishing it. The source informed her that it would remove the shield near instantly if she tried.

It stopped just in front of the shield wall. It stopped and stared.

Lynn stared back. Her anger leaked away into the sea of the source. A calm settled around her. No rash actions, she promised herself with a deep breath.

The bull threw back its head. Fire and smoke vented from its nostrils as it bleated. The sheer noise caused small cracks to appear on the shield.

One crumpled horn struck the shield. Cracks grew and fractures formed. One of the nuns behind Lynn crumpled to her knees.

Shards of magic flew out from the shield as the bull rammed into it. They dispersed into motes of magic the moment they were far enough away from the main wall. The holes in the shield slowly tried to reform. The nuns behind Lynn strained themselves and the source trying to close the gaps.

It wouldn’t hold. One more good strike would see the shield shattered. Lynn could add her own willpower to keeping the shield up, but that would only add two more strikes worth of stability according to the source.

She’d need that energy in a moment.

There was a brief pause before that moment came. The bull spewed out another stream of fire from its nostrils. The streets were washed in sickly green light as the flames overpowered the few streetlights. As the light dimmed, the bull pierced the shield with its straight horn.

The shield shattered. Shards broke away, dispersing into motes.

“Get out of here,” Lynn said with far more calm than she should have felt. She turned her head slightly but kept her eyes on the demon in front of her. “You’ve done all you can, my sisters.”

Ignoring the few words said to back her, Lynn turned her full attention back to the bull. Despite the source’s warnings, she attacked first.

White fire burst from her fingertips. A stream of flames spread through the air. The street brightened to near daylight levels as the bull was engulfed by holy fire.

All but the strongest vampires would be rendered nothing more than ash within seconds of coming into contact with the Elysium Order’s flames. The strongest might hold on for a minute. A human would be scorched and burned as if they touched regular fire.

The bull–the devil in front of her screeched. It reared back onto its hind legs and flapped its wings, shaking the white fire off. It wasn’t entirely successful. Flames spread out along the ground, but the beast remained entirely contained within the deluge of ever-growing fire.

And it was all for show.

Nothing more than superficial damage, according to the source. Its skin reddened, bubbled, and boiled. Screeches that it let loose rattled Lynn’s eardrums as it landed on all fours.

At the very least, Lynn hoped its pain was real.

The demon scratched its front hooves on the ground. A trail of green flames burst forth from the asphalt. Green tainted the pure, white light of Lynn’s fire.

It charged.

Lynn started to jump out of the way.

Realization from the source stopped her.

If she moved, nothing would stop the bull. It would continue straight through the warehouse doors. A massacre against her unprepared subordinates.

Lynn steeled herself. Plans raced through her mind as she considered her option.

The source helped her decide. Trickles of simulated plans passed by her mind until, together, they selected one with a high probability of a positive outcome.

Every drop of her concentration went into strengthening her shield. It normally reacted to threats automatically, thanks to the source’s backseat casting. Here, she’d need every scrap of magic she had going into her shield.

The bull hammered into her.

Lynn stumbled backwards as her shield shattered.

Shards of her shield exploded inwards. More than a few tore into her. Her habit and, in some places, her skin underneath received small cuts. A few buried themselves into her chest. Luckily none burrowed in too deep before they vanished into motes.

One shard slid across her cheek, just beneath her right eye.

Had her head been tilted just slightly, she would have lost the eye completely.

Lynn did not dwell on the thought. She did not have time to dwell.

Reaching forwards, Lynn gripped the bull’s horns with her gloved hands. She concentrated for a split second.

The street, the warehouse, the buildings, everything fell away. The pure white of the sea of the source replaced everything except herself and Zagan.

Reality reasserted itself a second later. She and the bull reappeared out in the center of the street, far from the warehouse headquarters. It would stay that way if Lynn had anything to say about it.

The bull snorted out another spew of green flames. The front of her habit caught fire.

Lynn released the bull and staggered backwards. She replaced the green fire with her own white flames before extinguishing the spell.

It wasn’t fast enough. The entire front of her habit had burned away. Her skin started to blister and crack. Lynn shunted the pain off to the source and cursed her momentary distraction.

Distractions could kill.

As she looked back at the bull, the vague sense of fright from an attack while distracted vanished and was replaced by confusion.

The bull had collapsed on the ground. It lay on its side, shaking and convulsing. Snorts of green flame spewed from its nostrils.

Lynn felt the source analyzing everything. It ran through possibilities, trying to discern what happened. Hopefully, it would draw conclusions that would keep Lynn alive.

It had something to do with teleporting. The bull reacted poorly to the sea of the source, or perhaps Lynn’s own problem with the teleport. She had been distracted, upset, and in pain when she initiated the teleport.

And she had almost failed. Her concentration had wavered as the world fell apart. She was nearly stuck, trapped forever between realities with only Zagan for company.

The horror of the thought gave Lynn a small shudder.

Lynn pushed the thoughts aside. The source would work it out. Now, her opponent was down, though she doubted it would stay there.

Not that she wouldn’t try to keep it down.

Lynn gathered magic in her core. As much as she could. Electricity crackled at the tips of her fingers.

The Elysium Order’s lightning disrupted magic. Skeletons would fall apart just being grazed by it. The lightning would keep them from reforming. Its disruption lasted long enough to allow any lingering magic to dissipate.

With hope that the disruption effect would keep the demon from recovering or healing, Lynn attacked.

Lightning thundered from her fingertips.

It crashed into the bull’s side with all the force of a wrecking ball. The bull slid halfway up the street before skidding to a stop.

Lynn wasn’t about to give it time to rest. Bolt after bolt coursed over its body. None were as powerful as the first, but the speed made up for it.

She did not stop until the bull was crackling with white lightning on its own. Arcs of electricity ran up and down its body even without her casting.

The source was telling her to run. To teleport while she had the chance.

Lynn stayed where she was. There was no chance the Charon Chapter nuns had managed to get away with all the important artifacts in the short amount of time she had been outside. She would stay until the flare went up.

Wiping the sweat and blood from her face with her sleeve, Lynn took just a few seconds to catch her breath. She hadn’t thrown around that much magic since her days at the abbey. The Eye of God embedded in her chest needed a moment to recover from her magic expenditure as much as she did.

As she rested, the bull let out several, irregular snorts. Green flames accompanied each one.

Lightning lanced towards the bull.

It struck and struck.

The demon did not seem to care. It picked itself up to its feet with only small shudders as each bolt hit. Snort after snort of green fire accompanied its rise.

And it clicked in Lynn’s head. She took half a step backwards.

It was laughing.

It laughed at her. At the damage she was, or was not, doing.

It laughed and laughed.

And it continued to its hind legs.

Lynn watched as the body of the bull folded in on itself. The great wings unfurled to their full wingspan. Parts of them were still lit with holy fire. They shrank in as a more humanoid torso was molded from the meat of the bull.

The final part to change was his head. It pressed in on itself until a brown-haired, human head with sharp features emerged from the molten flesh.

A half-man, half-beast stood in front of Lynn. The legs hadn’t changed much and he retained his wings and horns, though they shrank to more proportional sizes. His bare chest held no injuries from flame or lightning.

He stood, brazen in a lax stance, in front of Lynn.

With a glare and a grin, Zagan raised his head. Golden eyes glinted against the flames and streetlights.

“You can’t win, nun,” he said with a silver voice. “You know this. Your powers are ineffectual against me.”

Lynn remained silent. She didn’t need to win. She needed to delay.

“I find myself fond you. You’re putting up a fiendish fight in the face of futility.” He took a few steps forward, still leaving columns of green flame where he touched the asphalt. “I like you, so I will make this offer once. Kneel before me. Kiss my hooves and beg to become my slave.”

The source screamed at Lynn to run. To escape.

There were still no flares in the sky.

Lynn said the only thing she could.

“No.”

“Pity,” he said, “I think you’d enjoy it. Or learn to enjoy it, at the very least.” His eyes glinted once again against the background lights. “I think I shall have to teach you anyway,” his voice dropped low, barely loud enough for Lynn to hear, “teaching you will be good practice for the future.”

Lynn blinked, but did not have time to process what he said.

Zagan launched himself forwards. His wings beat and he lifted off the ground. Long streaks of fire rose from the ground as his feet skimmed over the surface of the street.

During his conversation with himself, Lynn had not been idle. Every second he talked was a second of preparing lightning. It wasn’t as powerful as the first blow that had knocked his bull form across the street.

It was a close second.

Lynn released the lightning, straight at him.

Just before crashing into him, the lightning swerved. It passed just between his body and his wing. A building in the distance behind him received the bolt instead.

Her eyes went wide. Some kind of a shield, Lynn thought. The source was already denying that opinion.

It took a moment for her brain to reboot. He didn’t slow in the slightest.

She dived out of the way at the last second. Lynn rolled along the ground, away from the trail of green fire. The hard ground opened up more skin as her exposed stomach scraped against the asphalt. Her habit further descended into tatters.

“What is the difference,” a silver voice said from just behind her, “between ‘lightning hitting me’ and ‘lightning not hitting me’ hmm?”

Lynn turned and fired another bolt. Like the first, it curved and struck the second story of a building.

“I’ll tell you,” he said with a grin.

From this distance, Lynn could see his incisors were far longer than normal. They brought up memories of vampires.

Without waiting for him to continue, Lynn fired jets of her holy flame. White fire rose up and spread over his body.

No screams echoed through the night air. No writhing or turning to ash.

The source insisted that her fire wouldn’t work. The flames ceased coming from her hands and Lynn saw that the source spoke the truth. Just once, she wouldn’t mind it being wrong.

Zagan stood just a few steps away. Not a lick of flame touched him. It spread over and around him, burning on the streets and buildings.

He stood, brushing a finger against his long goatee.

That infernal grin flashed on his face again. “Are you quite finished? I’ll tell you the answer. It is the word ‘not.’ That answer also works for ‘burned’ versus ‘not burned’ in case you were wondering.” He looked off to one side, smiling more at himself than anything. “I think I’m a natural at this teaching thing.”

A white flare rose high in the sky behind Zagan just as he finished speaking. The sign from her sisters.

Immediately, Lynn attempted to teleport. She felt the magic build up for the few seconds it took and then…

nothing.

It all vanished. Unsuppressed fear gripped her as the connection to the source vanished.

“Nope, sorry.” He held up a long nailed finger and shook it as if admonishing a child. “‘Not’ going to escape now, are you?”

The nails on his fingers dug into her throat as he lifted her into the air.

No lightning, no fire, no connection, no source. Lynn reached for her wand. She could cast, though far less effectively. It would be sufficient for teleporting out.

Zagan gripped her arm and squeezed. “No escaping,” he said. “You still have much to learn.”

Lynn clamped her mouth shut. He would not get the satisfaction of her shouting out in pain. She glared, staring into his golden eyes with all the fury she could muster.

“That is a good look on you,” he said. “Gets me tingly in all the right places.” He leaned forward. A long and flat tongue slipped out of his mouth. It ran from her chin to her forehead, passing over the cut on her cheek.

A trail of slime was left in its wake. It tingled against her face but burned in her cut.

Lynn paid it no heed. She tried to continue her glare with one eye shut.

A white flash at his shoulder on the arm he held her with distracted both of them.

Lynn pinched her other eye shut to preserve as much vision as she could. She fell to the ground a second after.

When she reopened her eyes, Zagan had taken a step back, though his arm was still gripping her throat. Lynn tore the detached arm and flung it to the ground. She scrambled backwards at the same time, placing distance between herself and Zagan.

A black ring formed around the devil king’s throat. It spun around, picking up speed with every second.

Zagan did not look concerned. “Really?” he said, “I’ve survived decapitation before.”

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say. The ring split in two and formed rings that crisscrossed around his head. Spheres flew in from behind him and formed more rings to trap his head in a sort of cage.

Lynn felt the connection to the source return. She did not wait around to see what happened. The world broke apart and fell away. Spending only an instant among the pure white sea, Lynn returned to reality a few miles up the road the rest of Charon Chapter was supposed to be traveling on.

The road was just outside the city, just before the woods the road passed through. She quickly ran through an inspection of herself, before allowing the source to help her heal.

Cuts, scrapes, second or third degree burns on her chest, and a broken arm.

Not bad, she thought to herself. It definitely could be worse. It would have been worse if he hadn’t been toying with her.

Lynn felt the source chastise her for teleporting near her sisters rather than the middle of nowhere. She decided to ignore it for now. If Zagan was planning on pursuing, he’d be able to track the rest of the nuns down with little difficulty after dispatching Lynn.

She slumped against the ground, resting while letting the Psalm level healing course through her body. It wouldn’t fix her broken bone, or her larger cuts, or her burned chest. It was, however, an excellent pain reliever. At least for the minor injuries.

Soft, lush, roadside grass became Lynn’s cushion as she laid back and stared up at the night sky. She watched the stars with wonder. Nothing like a near death experience to make one appreciate all of existence. Not that Lynn ever wished for near death experiences. They just happened, and far too commonly for her tastes.

With a start, Lynn nearly teleported straight back to that street. Shal was still in that city. If that demon decided to go on a rampage when Lynn vanished… Thoughts swirled in her mind. She bit her lip until she bit through it.

Lynn slowly sank back into the grass.

Shal was friends with Eva. Eva had tricks of her own, and was probably in cahoots with Zagan. There were two academy staff standing with them. Those two, at the very least, wouldn’t allow the students to be harmed. One of them had thrown himself at her to protect a student.

On the other hand, Lynn returning could endanger her daughter if another fight started up.

She’d wait. It went against every instinct she had. Lynn would wait anyway.

And if anyone harmed Shal, she’d raze Hell herself using whatever means she could get her hands on.

Headlights in the distance broke Lynn out of her thoughts. She stood up and waved the truck down with a palm full of white fire. Of course, Lynn used her good arm to do so.

The eighteen-wheeler truck that carried artifacts and equipment slowed to a stop. Other, more habitable vehicles behind it followed its example.

Lynn walked up to the artifact truck and hopped into the vacant passenger seat.

“Sister Cross,” Sister Cole said with no small amount of surprise in her voice. Her eyes drifted up and down Lynn’s sorry state. “I didn’t–I mean, are you well?”

Lynn snorted. The snort turned into a full bout of laughter. What a stupid question. “Well enough,” she said. “Get us home.”

“Yes, Prioress,” Sister Cole said. “Of course. Right away.”

Lynn leaned back into the seat as the convoy started up moving again. It took mere moments before she felt sleep take her.

You saved my life. I’ll spare yours.

This one time.

Do not test my goodwill.

Eva frowned as Arachne read the three lines again. There was no signature, but it didn’t take a lot of guesses to figure out the sender. Eva could only recall saving one life in her recent memory.

Maybe. Zagan agreed to not kill her. As long as he was planning on following through with that, Eva didn’t actually need to interfere.

How Sister Cross got the note onto her pillow without either waking Eva or alerting Arachne was somewhat worrying.

A pulse of magic had Eva’s hand lit with thaumaturgical fire. She plucked the note from Arachne’s claws and crushed it in her fiery hand. The note evaporated into ash. She frowned again as she felt her fire die down.

Her master’s flames were green. Unless something changed in the last few months, her flame was a reddish-orange. Eva wasn’t certain there was anything more than a cosmetic difference. Still, perhaps it was time to ask for another lesson.

Perhaps not. Green fire would draw all kinds of attention. She had enough to go around with the gloves and blindfold as it was.

Eva set her unblemished claw down and looked over her sleeping roommates.

Juliana sprawled out over her bed with one arm hanging off. Her mouth was wide open and, while Eva couldn’t actually see it, there was little doubt a small pool of drool had gathered on the pillow.

Shalise was the exact opposite. She had curled up in a ball and stayed there ever since they returned the previous night. Every so often a shiver would run down her spine. A nightmare perhaps. Her heart rate was slightly elevated.

Neither Juliana nor Eva had mentioned their nocturnal activities, though word of the riot spread through the dorms like wildfire before some professors ushered everyone to their rooms.

As far as Eva knew, Shalise was not aware of her relationship with Sister Cross. They were friends in a sort of weird, generation-boundary-crossing way.

Still, Shalise clearly cared for the nun. She worried over her and hadn’t fallen asleep for a good portion of the night.

Eva flopped back down on her pillow. It was too early to think. Even discounting the late night she’d had. Arachne curled up alongside Eva, though she was at full alertness. Eva wouldn’t have a problem sleeping through the rest of the morning with that vigil over her.

I hope you appreciate what I did, Eva thought at Shalise as she shut her eyes.

Not that she ever intended to tell.

— — —

Lynn Cross fidgeted in the lobby of the Rickenbacker. She wore no coif, no scapular, no rosary, not even a robe. Simple jeans and a tee-shirt did not fit her.

To say it felt awkward would be an understatement.

Headquarters almost relieved her of command over Charon Chapter. She lost Nel, several members of Charon Chapter, and had the public turned against the Elysium Order. The public relations nightmare had been the biggest complaint, followed by the missing augur.

Nel’s disappearance weighed heavily on Lynn’s mind. They didn’t even have a body to perform the final prayers and ministrations upon. Headquarters declared her dead, though they planned to follow the procedure for all rogue augurs. Her blood would be watched nearly twenty-four hours a day for a full year.

Lynn did not hold out much hope.

As a last chance gesture, Lynn was being sent off to some town in Central Africa. Some upstart lich needed its phylactery destroyed and sent on to meet its maker. If the mission was a failure, or even a success with significant losses, Lynn would be relieved of her command.

They weren’t even going to give her augur support.

If she did fail, Lynn wasn’t sure what would happen. She did know that there was a semblance of regret regarding her own vial of blood stored in the Elysium Order’s vaults.

The mission had to be a success.

Lynn sighed as she leaned back in the lobby chair. Everything had become such a mess. She still wasn’t sure who to blame it on. The necromancers, probably. They were always a good target for blame. Eva somewhat.

Herself, as well.

Finding out about the darker aspects of Eva woke a streak of paranoia and mistrust. Overwhelming worry for Shal followed close behind. She was blinded. She ignored the teachings, lectures, and rules of the Elysium Order by focusing so much on Shal.

Plenty of people could have died due to some rogue poltergeist while Lynn stuck around trying to deal with a situation that no one in the Elysium Order was qualified to handle.

Worst of all was that Lynn still was not sure if she had overreacted, or if she hadn’t reacted enough. Eva still wandered the halls of school. She still slept in the same room as her daughter.

Yet she worried about calling in proper demon hunters. They were known to apply scorched earth policies to anything they deemed corrupted by Void.

Shalise walked into the room while Lynn thought. She walked just behind a chattering Eva and their blond friend. Shal looked… lost. She had a smile on, but it didn’t reach her eyes. They were empty and stared at nothing in particular as she walked behind her friends.

“Shal,” Lynn said as she stood up.

All three of the girls stopped in their tracks. The two who weren’t Shal looked on with a hint of confusion. Her daughter didn’t.

A smile crossed Shal’s face. It quickly twisted to a frown before returning to a soft smile. “S-Sister Cross,” she started.

Lynn held up her hand and shook her head. “I’m not wearing my habit right now. Just Lynn.”

“Sister Cross,” Eva said with some slight apprehension. One of her hands moved around behind her back, but she made no further move. Her head moved up and down as if she were examining Lynn’s body. She gave a slight nod and smiled. “You should ditch the habit more often.”

Narrowing her eyes, Lynn shot a glare at Eva. The little cretin couldn’t even see. “Shal,” she said as she turned back to her daughter, “could you spare a few minutes to speak with me. Alone,” she added with a glance back towards Eva.

“That’s fine, I think.” She looked over to her friends and said, “you go on ahead. I’ll catch up.”

Eva nodded and turned to leave the lobby without another word. Her blond friend trailed after her.

Lynn had half a mind to stop the girl. She had more than a few choice words for her. A lightning bolt to the brain, perhaps. Shaking her head, Lynn focused on Shal. Her daughter was what mattered at the moment.

Leading her off into one of the small study rooms, Lynn used her wand to set up a few privacy wards. Her air magic would arrest all vibrations in the air, thereby stopping sound from escaping.

Once done, she turned back to face her daughter. Offering her a small smile was all it took.

Two arms wrapped around her waist as Shalise pulled her into a hug. Pressed against her chest, Shal mumbled something that sounded like, “I’m glad you’re okay. I heard about the riot–”

Lynn ran her fingers through her daughter’s wavy hair. “I’m glad you are okay.”

Shalise looked up, confusion written on her face. “Why wouldn’t I be? The riots weren’t anywhere near the dorm.”

“I know,” Lynn said. “I just needed to check on you with my own eyes. I had a… scary night.”

That was an understatement. The idea that she needed rescuing from Eva had her gritting her teeth once again. Lynn shut her eyes as she took a deep, calming breath.

Lynn patted Shal on her back and gave her a light smile. “I thought about going back for you right after the riot, making sure you were alright and letting you know that I was alright, but I worried that might put you in more danger. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

An almost imperceptible nod came from her daughter before she looked up with her wide, brown eyes. “Eva and Juliana weren’t in our dorm for most of last night.”

A simple statement. One full of implications.

Her mind raced in wonder at how exactly to respond. One thing was certain, Lynn was not about tell her that Eva saved her life.

Eventually, Lynn decided.

“Eva has her hands in some very dangerous things. Things that are going to get her killed one day.” Lynn knelt down to get more on the eye level with her short daughter. “I want you to promise me that you will never get involved in all her mess. I want you to promise me that if things look even remotely dangerous, that you will get away and that you will come find me.”

“Alright,” Shalise nodded. “I can do that.”

“As for this school,” Lynn smiled, “there are other schools, though they will be significantly less free to attend. I’m sure I can arrange something if you want to transfer.”

Shalise shook her head. “Professor Baxter is a good teacher. She’s been privately tutoring me for a while now. I don’t know how other schools would be, but she says lightning is an end of third year spell. With her help I might be able to manage it by the end of next year, if not sooner.”

Lynn blinked at that. She hadn’t managed a proper thaumaturgical lightning bolt until half way through her fifth year. Pride welled up at her daughter. Shal would end up a far better thaumaturge than Lynn ever was.

Still, that didn’t release the school or its inhabitants from her worries. “If anything happens like the incident on Halloween, I will be pulling you out of this school.”

A shiver ran through her daughter. “That’s fair,” Shalise said with a nod. “I can’t say I enjoyed Halloween. Maybe this next year will be better.”

“I hope so too.” Lynn stood back up and rested her hand on her daughter’s head. “I have a mission in Central Africa for the Elysium Order. I’ll be leaving in just a few days. When I arrive, I’ll send some way for you to keep in contact with me. I want reports on everything that is going on in and out of school at least once a month.”

“Reports?” Shalise frowned. “How about friendly letters that sometimes mention bigger news?”

“I just want to know that you are safe, Shal.”

“I’ll be fine,” Shalise said. “I should go. Today is a review day before finals tomorrow.”

Lynn opened her mouth to protest. She had more she wanted to say. More she wanted to know.

In the end, Lynn simply smiled, patted Shal on her back, and said, “good luck.”

— — —

Finals started on April sixth. An event Irene did not feel ready for in the slightest.

Normal schools had classes that stretched into June. Not so with Brakket. Nonmagical schooling would take over for the remainder of April and the first week of May. After which there would be roughly a month of vacation before the summer seminars started up.

Several other students had entered the examination room. Juliana included. None of them commented on their score and none of them mentioned what the actual exam consisted of.

Some students went in with frowns and returned with smiles. Some did the opposite.

For a brief moment, Irene felt a vindictive smile cross her lips. Drew was one of those who came out with a frown. Petty, but Irene didn’t care. It was a brief island of happiness before she returned to her worries.

Juliana was the only one who looked bored going in and bored coming out.

If that girl got anything less than a perfect on any part of the test, Irene would eat her wand. She tried not to be jealous. She really did. Watching the metal she wore constantly flow over her skin before forming up in intricate patterns made Irene want to scream.

Why couldn’t her parents have given her a head start. They were mages. Surely they could have taught something. Neither Irene nor her sister had their wands before arriving at Brakket. Jordan had his wand. Unfortunately, he focused on things Brakket would never teach. He said he could simply learn thaumaturgy from Brakket Academy and his time was better spent elsewhere.

Irene wished he hadn’t. If only for the sole reason of being able to teach Irene proper thaumaturgy.

A call of her name snapped Irene out of her thoughts. She immediately chastised herself for letting her thoughts wander. The time waiting could have been better used thinking of earth magic thought patterns.

With shaky hands, Irene opened the door to the Earth exam room.

Sitting on a stool over a patch of empty earth was Yuria. A clipboard was in one hand and a pen spun between her fingers in the other.

She was a water mage, but that didn’t affect her observational skills and she could still manipulate earth. Professor Calvin delivered exams to the fire and air mages. Not that Irene minded. In truth, she was happy to have the perpetually cheerful teacher deliver her exam.

“Irene,” she said with a bright and friendly smile, “come in. Come in.”

She took a deep breath and stepped into the room. Her fear dampened through willpower alone as she crossed the room to the small earthen circle.

“Now don’t be nervous,” Yuria said. “You do excellent in class and I have high expectations for your exam now.”

Hearing the word ‘expectations’ did not help at all. Irene meekly nodded.

“If you would be so kind, Irene, I’d like you to try making a hole, a depression in the ground. You’ll get extra points if you make it square. More than three feet deep is not necessary.”

Irene nodded again. She withdrew her wand and pointed it at the ground.

She concentrated. The dirt was loose from prior examinees. That would make it easier to work with. Earth didn’t like to be moved. It liked to sit and be steady. With the proper thought patterns, she could incentivize the earth to move.

After all, the dirt would be even more sturdy when compressed.

Slowly, the dirt patch pressed inwards and to the sides. Once underway, more dirt followed far more easily. Like a landslide. The hole became deeper and larger. The corners formed with a flick of her wand. It wasn’t a perfect square. Irene thought it was pretty close.

“Marvelous, simply wonderful,” Yuria said with a huge smile. “Thirty-seven seconds and using compression.” She looked at Irene over the rims of her glasses. “Some students,” she said with a small hint of disapproval, “dig the dirt out of the hole as if they’re using a shovel.”

Irene just nodded once again, ignoring the praise. She could be happy after her exams finished.

“But this was excellent.” She scratched down some notes on her clipboard. “Next, reverse what you just did.”

With a deep breath, Irene started working. Decompressing the dirt would be more difficult. It was stable and sturdy, especially at the bottom where most of the dirt had compressed.

Still, with some concentration and the proper thoughts, Irene enticed the earth back to a mostly flat surface.

Yuria moved off her stool and stepped down on the center of the dirt pile. Irene noticed she had swapped her usual high heels for some hiking boots. Hiking boots that were covered in dirt.

“Excellent,” Yuria said. “Only sank about half an inch. You did a fabulous job solidifying the dirt. I’m very proud of you.”

“Thanks,” Irene said.

“Now,” Yuria said as she retook her seat, “a pillar. I’d like it to be hard, no crumbling away at a touch. It should also rise up no higher than three feet.”

With yet another nod, Irene set to work.

After several more tasks, including breaking down earth into pure earth essence, the testing concluded. Irene left the room with a smile on her face. While she didn’t know her exact score, she felt good about it. All of the tasks were completed swiftly and were met with high praise from Yuria.

Sure, Juliana might have scored higher than her in every aspect, including the bonus points for ferrokinesis which Irene hadn’t been able to work at all, but that girl was no better than a cheater. Her mother might as well have home schooled her for all the grades, or at least gotten her to skip straight to third year.

At least the scores were not graded on a curve.

— — —

Zoe Baxter had a certain amount of pride in her first year students. All three of them passed every exam. Eva may have skimmed by in her pyrokinesis practical, but she still got a passing grade.

More important than their grades were their actions. Zoe still could not approve of their instigated riot. She desperately hoped that they might confide in her any future plans of that level.

Eva intervening to save the life of her friend’s mother despite the very unsubtle hostility between the two just made Zoe all the more confident that she had chosen correctly when she invited the girl to Brakket Academy.

That Eva’s actions somewhat vindicated both of them in Wayne’s eyes hadn’t hurt her mood.

Zoe frowned as she thought back to that night. She had let Rex–no. She had let Zagan into her home. Had met up with him at Tom’s bar once or twice. All-the-while he had been a wolf in a sheep disguise.

To think he had the nerve to waltz up to her the next day and casually ask how she was doing. And Martina Turner planned to put him in a classroom? With children?

Zoe was at a loss for what to do. She couldn’t fight someone like that. Resigning in protest had crossed her mind. The idea vanished as soon as she realized that it would change nothing. Zagan would still be in a classroom, but she wouldn’t be around.

In the end, sticking with the school while making her displeasure known to Martina was all she could do.

In less than a week, Zoe would have to go out searching for candidates once again. Whispers of one potential had reached her ears. That was one more than all the years before Eva’s year. She’d need to find at least a second for a roommate, if the first potential turned out well enough.

Not a prospect Zoe was looking forward to, not just because of the idea of placing additional children under Zagan’s influence. However, the year under Eva’s would be involved in raising Brakket’s accreditation. If successful, maybe they would be able to hire a proper instructor in his place. It might be good to go the extra mile and find a full three students.

She wasn’t sure she’d find students as talented as Juliana or with the unique talents of Eva. Even Shalise had thrown herself into her studies. The brown-haired girl had been working double time on exercising her magical abilities.

Because of the pride she felt in her students, Zoe had a very conflicted feeling in her chest as she looked over the door to room three-thirteen.

With another sigh, Zoe shook her head. “What is this?”

“Homework,” Shalise said with a smile.

The brunette had been upset shortly after the incident with the riot. She bounced back the day before finals started and had been smiling ever since. A sighting of Sister Cross on campus was the likely culprit.

Zoe was originally worried, but Shalise did not seem to be faking or repressing anything. She was simply her happy self.

So, Zoe tried to keep a smile on her face as she spoke to the girl. “I don’t remember any of my colleagues mentioning anything about carving runes into the wood of the dormitory doors.”

Eva sat up from her bed. A small snake wrapped itself between her fingers and turned to stare straight at Zoe.

She could almost feel the beady eyes trying to turn her to stone. It gave Zoe a small start until she realized what it was. One of Genoa’s little toys.

“Maybe if Brakket wasn’t such a backwards school,” Eva said, “they’d actually have a proper rune class. Juliana thinks I should start up my own seminar over the summer and charge students for teaching them runes. I said it was too much work.”

“You’re already teaching Shal,” Juliana said. “What difference does it make if you add two or fifty students. Charge each student twenty dollars per lesson and hold class once a week. I’ll take twenty percent for the idea. Another twenty percent if I go locate willing pupils for you.”

“I think I’ve been tricked with our privacy packets. You seem to collect a good chunk of money for doing nothing but delivering the packets to our buyers.”

“Those were the terms we agreed on when we started. I don’t think I’m up for renegotiating.”

“This,” Zoe cut in, “is all well and good, but can we return to talking about the door? Specifically the carvings in it.”

Shalise stepped up and ran a finger over the markings. “These should let out a high-pitched noise for a few seconds if the door is broken. There are similar runes on the windows.”

“It’s a start,” Eva said, “as I keep teaching Shalise runes, she might add more features. An alarm is functional, but something that attacks attackers back would be better.”

“But,” Zoe sighed, “why?”

Eva just looked at her like the answer was obvious. And it was, but Zoe still wanted to hear it from the girl’s mouth.

Shalise was, to Zoe’s surprise, the one to speak up first. “We were forced out of our room twice in this very year, though I missed the first incident. Both times were because of the room being assaulted. First Juliana, then Eva. Next time is my turn and I’m not nearly as confident as these two.”

“You said it yourself,” Juliana said, “something went wrong with whatever wards you have set up to alert you of danger. Maybe Shalise’s alarm will alert someone.”

“Not to mention,” Eva said, “Wayne Lurcher’s response time when Sis–” Eva cut herself off with a glance to Shalise. The brunette did make any outward change of emotion. “When I was attacked; his response time left much to be desired.”

Zoe sighed. She rubbed a finger on the center of her forehead. “I understand that. It’s just… these doors are solid wood. Heavy wood. They’re not cheap. And the glass too?”

“Yeah, they’re actually pretty good materials to use. I’ll be charging the runes with Arachne’s blood. They’ll last a lot longer before degrading than if we were to charge the runic array with magic directly.”

Arachne would be a capable defender, hopefully, in the incredibly unlikely event that dorm three-thirteen was indeed attacked again. Then again, she was a demon. Zoe wasn’t even sure that was something to get hung up about anymore. Arachne had proven herself to be, at the very least, not hostile towards the students and staff. Zoe doubted she would care half as much if Arachne were an elf or some other magical creature.

“Just,” Zoe said after a moments thought, “if this starts another riot, I’ll have all three of your hides.”

“Zoe Baxter,” Eva said, “was that a joke?”

“No.”

“I think that was a joke. It was, right?”

“Why my hide?” Juliana huffed. “I’ve got nothing to do with this.”

“You’re complicit by association,” Zoe said.

That got another huff of complaint, though Eva started laughing.

“I do want to know everything you add to this. I want to know when your defenses activate, why, and what they do. This cannot be a danger to innocents who may inadvertently wander into your room for whatever reason.”

“I’ve thought about that, and we will let you know.” Eva nodded. Her voice carried a more serious tone. “For a while, I considered setting up the full array of blood wards that I’ve got running at the prison. You know,” she smiled, “the ones that explode people who get too close.”

Zoe blinked and shook her head. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

“It would have been too much of a pain to key everyone in. Not to mention too revealing that I’ve got and use bloodstones if anyone makes the connection. I’m sure there is some suspicion going around due to the state of the room after I was attacked, but I’d like to keep it at suspicion level and not move to confirmation.”

“Understandable.” Zoe shook her head again. “Seeing as you’ve already damaged the door–”

“Improved,” Eva said.

“I will allow you to continue modifying.” Zoe looked over to Shalise and met the girl’s eyes. “So long as you write essays on why runes work, list out every rune you use and their uses, and stick to what I said earlier about the safety of your defenses.”

“Great. More homework.”

— — —

“School? What would I ever do at a school?”

“Learn something, I should hope,” her father said with a small smile.

“Daddy…” She stood up from their dinner table and ran to the other side. She gave her father a light peck on the cheek. “I’d much rather stay at home and play.”

He ruffled her blond hair. “Oh don’t you worry. There are a few months before you have to be at school. Even while you’re there, I’ll be around. We can have fun on weekends and after school.”

Des sighed. Her father seemed set on it. Once he got an idea in his head, he never let it go.

School had been a thing in their family once. It didn’t turn out well.

Des slunk back to her seat. She picked up her cheeseburger and took a chunk out of it.

“Now now, honey, no sulking.”

“I’m not, daddy. I’ll go.”

He smiled. “Good.” His own burger was already gone.

Her mind whirred as she tried to come up with excuses to get out of going. Nothing would work, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try.

“What if it is like before? I don’t want to be freaky Desi again.”

“That was a regular school,” he sighed, “and a mistake. Don’t worry. This is a school for mages.”

“And they won’t think I’m weird?”

Her father chuckled. “Honey, everyone is a little weird. But in this case, I think they will be happy to have you.”

“They better,” Des said. She started towards her burger but stopped as a thought occurred to her. “It is a mage school? Can I even do magic?”

“Well, no,” he said. If she couldn’t do magic, she didn’t have to go to mage school. He waited just long enough for Des to start feeling happy. “But,” he said just to dash her hopes, “I’ve been working on a little something these past few months. It will be ready to install in the morning.”

She crossed her arms and gave her father a glare. Des hated the word ‘install’ especially when it came out of her father’s mouth. It never preceded anything but pain.

“Ah-ah. I said no sulking.” He ticked his finger back and forth. “If you’re a good girl, maybe we’ll see if Hugo wants to go with you. Now finish your food and maybe we’ll have time for a story before bed.”

Des lunged for her burger. She chomped the last half of it down in two bites.

“Remember to chew,” her father chided with a smile.

Des did. She always remembered. She shook her head. Silly father, she thought as she swallowed. “Story time now!”

All of the following is completely optional to read. This is no narrative. It in no way affects the story. I’m mostly going to ramble for a few words.

Hello, thanks for reading.

We’ve reached the end of the second book. Onward to the third.

Book three will continue as scheduled. No intermissions, no interludes. Tune in next time for 003.001.

One thing I think I struggled with the most in book two was deciding how much information to give the reader about various topics. Should there have been a chapter there explaining something or can that be inferred?

There are several things, mostly around Zagan, that I deliberately kept hidden. Some of those things were skipped over or ignored for the sole reason of keeping his identity somewhat obscured. All that despite the fact that anyone with a working internet connection can simply google the word Zagan and make the connection. Incidentally, rex is Latin for king. Zagan is not a subtle guy.

A couple of the comments had me thinking that leaving some information out is not that great of an idea.

It will be a lesson for me as I move forwards with book three.

The weakest chapter, I believe, was 002.013. I think it felt disjointed between Eva and Juliana’s scenes. Eva’s scene went through a few different versions and I don’t think I liked any of them. One had Arachne doing something other than getting tossed halfway across the infinite courtyard, another had Eva getting injured and not fixed, one had Zagan saying a lot more about his goals and motivations that I left out in the interest of keeping his name out of it.

My personal favorite chapter was 002.010. The chapter in which Wayne met up with Devon and Ylva. I like Wayne. He’s probably the most level-headed character.

We got to see Zoe Baxter outside of the classroom and away from Eva. She’s an avid researcher of all things magical, even things the rest of the magical world might frown upon. And she plays the piano.

Some other characters got a chapter or two in the limelight, detailing their daily lives. Irene notably.

My main goal for book three is tightening up my storytelling. I do not wish to repeat the above issues. POV distribution will be tightened. Primary focus will be on Eva. Zoe and Juliana will also be given some screentime, though not as much as book two. That isn’t to say that we won’t see other POVs.

I am quite excited for book three and have been having great fun writing it so far. I do hope you will enjoy reading.

I have a few side notes before we get on with things.

First, I only have one planned extra for book three. It will be a classroom discussion about order and chaos magic. I’m sure I can think up another one or two, but I was curious to know if anyone had any requests. Extras are simply an in-character method of delivering more expository information. Nothing required for reading or enjoying the main story. Examples of existing extras include classroom discussions about magic and an exploration through Ylva’s domain. We could do more of those, or perhaps a ‘day in the life of ___’ style segment.

Second, I launched a patreon! Yay! Patreon told me to be excited when I announced it and what says excitement more than an exclamation mark or two. On a more serious note: I have a job and I make ends meet. I’m not going to go into my financial details, but acquiring more money would not go unappreciated. Writing takes up almost all of my spare time, as such, I can’t promise any kind of extra chapter rewards. Not unless I make enough through patreon to quit my job. I’m not counting on or hoping for anything like that. Whether or not you choose to donate, thanks for reading.

Third, I just said that writing takes up almost all of my spare time. I decided to do something silly and write more. I’m starting a new project tentatively titled Hide and Seek. It is set in the same world as Void Domain, but shares no characters. Probably. Basic idea is stolen from inspired by a music video of the same name. Watching that video might give away spoilers, but I figured I’d go full disclosure on that. I’ll link it again after I finish the story, so if you want to wait on watching it, you’ll be reminded then.

It is not replacing Void Domain. Void Domain comes first. Some chapters are easier to write than others and I finish them early. When that happens, I’ll be tossing the extra words into Hide and Seek. There could be weeks or longer between updates. The total length is likely to be around half of Void Domain book one, so it isn’t a major project or anything. It probably won’t launch until sometime in 2016 as I like to be a couple chapters ahead, but I thought I’d mention it now while there’s a handy author’s note page to write on.

Note from later on: Project mentioned in the previous paragraphs is frozen due to lack of time and a need to focus on this story.

Lastly, I made a twitter. I’ve never used twitter in my personal life, but someone PMed me on reddit (again, I’m towercurator over there) and asked if I had one. I didn’t, now I do. It’s just set up to post links to new chapters, but maybe someone will find that useful. Incidentally, I rarely check reddit. I think that PM was there for a week or two before I logged in and then it was a while longer before even noticed the little red mail icon.

Trivia section:

-Sisters Goose, Horner, Piper, Botter, Hubbard, Cole, Peep, Griggs, Lamb. I’m sorry. I have no excuse. I mentioned a dislike of obvious references in the author’s note for book one. Then I go do a silly thing like this. I meant to only name one or two, but Lynn Cross knows the names and faces of every member of Charon Chapter. It felt wrong for her to say “hey, you two,” instead of their names.

-The song Zoe Baxter played on a piano was, in my head at least, a mix of the Diva’s songs from The Fifth Element and the track “Run Down” from The Big O. For those that don’t know, The Big O is basically anime Batman with giant mechs. The Fifth Element is… just really good. I’m not sure how else to describe it.

-Ylva enjoys daytime soap operas. She also likes puffy cheetos. She gets really into her soaps. It always fills her with despair whenever she, through the black skull, sees Eva say something like, “let’s go visit Ylva!” She has to wipe her fingers off on her tee-shirt, take it off, slip into her fancy and low-cut dress, and rush out to her throne room. She settles into her slouch of contempt mere seconds before Eva pulls open the door.

-Not so much a trivia, but in author’s notes 001, I recommended the Discworld series on the basis that Death is a pretty cool guy. I figured I might as well recommend something in this author’s notes as well. I don’t read a lot of fanfiction, probably less than ten works total. The very first fanfiction I ever read is titled Dungeon Keeper Ami. If you even mildly enjoy Void Domain, you’ll likely love DKA. I must warn about the site, as it can be confusing to new people. Every episode ends with a series of choices that anyone can add to. As such, some chapters have several chapters linked to them. Only the entries by Pusakuronu are considered part of DKA. So keep an eye on the author and enjoy! Edit from the future: Link updated to Sufficient Velocity as the old site died. As such, none of that old text is relevant anymore.

Stats:

Chapters: 21 (+two Extras)

Wordcount: 100,160 (according to WordPress’ built in word counter (including Extras))

POV counts (max of one count per chapter (including Extras)):

Eva: 10

Zoe: 6

Nel: 4

Juliana: 4

Shalise: 3

Irene: 3

Martina: 2

Lynn: 2

Arachne: 1

Wayne: 1

Catherine: 1

Devon: 1

Des: 1

That’s all, thanks for reading book two. I hope you enjoy book three.