“I have to object to ‘incapacitation’ in any capacity. You’re not police. You don’t have authority.” Eva struggled to keep herself from growling out her anger. “If this is the way your order acts, I’d rather take my chances with zombies. At least they aren’t difficult to put down when they decide to attack.”
“Quite.”
Eva waited, but Sister Cross didn’t have a proper response. “If there is nothing else, I’ll thank you to get out of my way. I’d rather not spend more time than necessary in the cold.”
The woman moved to the side, her heavy boots clacking against the cement.
Eva glanced down to see shiny black, almost military boots laced up to her knees. She mirthlessly wondered if that was part of a standard habit.
“If I might ask, what do you call yourself?”
“Eva.” She said nothing else and immediately moved past the nun into the warm Rickenbacker lobby.
Not exactly how she wanted to interact with the Elysium Sisters. They’d probably watch her more closely rather than ignore her. Hopefully they would be gone along with the necromancers once the latter learned of the book’s destruction.
As she walked up the steps to the third floor, Eva tried to justify the interaction with herself. She might have been able to pass by saying her father’s name, but it was the principles of the matter. Zoe Baxter’s nagging words about foolish pride surfaced in the back of her mind.
She shook it out of her head and focused instead on her master’s advice. Don’t concern yourself over things that can no longer be changed.
The door to her room opened just before Eva could reach for the handle.
“You’re back.” Juliana looked Eva up and down as though confirming to herself the truth of her own statement.
“I am. You don’t look surprised to see me.”
“Zoe mentioned you were fine, though I had my suspicions when you took over a week to return. She mentioned you were ‘taking care of things’ outside the academy.”
“That would be destroying the book. Unfortunately, the method I used to destroy the book decided to stick around for a few days as part of her payment. I was loath to leave her alone.”
“Her?”
Eva shook her head. “Probably one of those things you
Juliana didn’t look happier. The opposite, really. She turned and grabbed a large coat off of the hook next to the door.
“Going somewhere?” Eva asked.
“I promised my mother I would have lunch with her every day until school starts. The Elysium Sisters running around seem to have calmed her, at least a little.”
“Well, at least something good is coming from their presence. How long until school starts anyway?”
“Monday. The school is undergoing ‘restructuring’ until then.” Juliana shifted, looking down at her wringing hands. “Eva. We need to talk. I haven’t said anything and I don’t think Shalise will, but I’d like some answers.”
“You know more than anyone else. Like I just said, you’ll probably be happier not knowing more than you do.” Eva said with a shrug. She knew she was deflecting again. It was almost second nature at this point. “Where is Shalise anyway? The hospital?”
“She went home.”
“Home? For good?”
Juliana leaned back against the table, slumping her shoulders slightly. “Don’t know. She wasn’t talking much before she left.”
“She was okay though, right?”
“Shalise isn’t a zombie, if that is what you mean. I don’t think she’s okay at all.”
That brightened Eva’s mood a little. If the girl wasn’t dead, she could recover. Since she went home, there wasn’t much to do about it. Maybe Zoe had a phone number Eva could use one of these days.
“What did you do to her?” Juliana blurted out. She quickly looked off to one side. “I mean, you saved her, obviously. Just how?”
“A ritual I read about one time.”
“A blood magic ritual.”
Eva gave a noncommittal shrug.
Her long blond hair flared out as Juliana shook her head. A short laugh escaped her lips. “Blood magic and demons. Any other surprises I should know about.”
“Probably,” Eva said with another shrug. “Though I should mention, Arachne might not be around for a while. The Elysium Sisters didn’t react in a very friendly manner the last time we ran across them.”
When Juliana did not respond, Eva said, “no other movements from the necromancers?”
“Nothing since Halloween.”
“Odd.” Eva didn’t know what to make of that. Was their only goal the book? What would they do now that it was destroyed? Well, what would they do after they found out it was destroyed?
Not for the first time since the crypt, she wished her master was around for advice.
“I should go.” Juliana stood from the table and slipped past Eva. “I’ve kept mother waiting long enough. Unless you wanted to come?”
