Just as Juliana was about to speak, the nun interrupted with a cold voice. “Flesh golems. Verata style. Poorly constructed. Materials too old. Spells weaved improperly. Amateur work.”
The glow from her eyes faded. She slumped back slightly before regaining her composure.
“I doubt these were made by the same people you saw on Halloween,” the nun said after a moment. “Not if your claims of a hundred or more fully functioning flesh golems are true.”
Zoe didn’t look convinced. “Indeed,” was all she said.
Juliana shifted where she stood. A slight wobble almost sent her tumbling as she moved. Sitting would be nice, but showing weakness in front of these two wasn’t something she wanted right now. Her mother was going to have a fit enough as it was; she didn’t need collapsing or breaking down added to the list. Instead, she hardened the metal in her legs and back.
“Where’s Miss Eva?”
“Probably at
“Her place?” the nun asked with a quirked eyebrow.
The smell started to get to her. She held it in, not wanting to throw up in front of Zoe again.
“We do not require students to live in the dorms. If they have suitable living places, they’re free to use them so long as they make it to class.”
“And Eva has one of these places?”
Zoe nodded. “I will fetch her immediately. Would you please stay with Miss Rivas until I return?”
“Of course.”
Zoe stepped out into the hallway.
Juliana stared at the nun. She didn’t have much choice. Her legs were still untrustworthy. No topics came to mind to talk about either.
The nun had no such reservations. “I trust it is you I have to thank for saving a friend of mine?”
Juliana raised an eyebrow at that. An immediate wave of foolishness washed over her as she realized the nun couldn’t see her face. “I don’t remember saving any nuns lately.”
“Not a nun,” the Sister said, “Shalise. I visit the group home she lives in every now and again.”
Juliana failed that night.
The nun didn’t notice Juliana’s turmoil. She gave a soft smile and said, “I’m sure you helped out in your own way. You seem quite capable.”
Juliana regretted turning her gaze over the room the moment she did. “I need a shower,” she choked out.
“Of course,” the nun said. “I’ll stand watch and let you know when they return.”
Juliana marched to the shower and stood under it, turning on Eva’s absurdly hot runes rather than using the plumbing.
Blood circled the drain as she stood there, still fully armored and clothed. Her school uniform was ruined. Even if it cleaned itself, it had tears and holes in it she didn’t know where from.
With a quick thought, a small metal blade extended from her chest and dragged down, cutting away her shirt. She did the same with her pants and kicked them off to a corner of the bathroom.
She stood under the water for another minute or two, just letting her armor clean off. Eventually she shed the armor, turning it into a ball of metal the size of a small beach ball.
Without her armor, the water definitely was too hot to handle. She tried to endure but had to shut it off and switch to the plumbing.
She stayed like that until a knock on her door woke her. The nun said Zoe was back.
How long it had taken, Juliana didn’t know. She didn’t care. It wasn’t long enough.
With a sigh, she stepped out of the shower. Her clothes were still a torn, bloody mess in the corner. She hadn’t gotten new clothes. They would have wound up bloody from touching her anyway.
Instead she touched her metal ball, her ferrokinesis spell still running from before. The metal molded around her up to her neck. She left her hair and face free.
Skin-tight metal armor in place, Juliana moved back to her bloody room.
Clairaudience
“It was trying to climb up onto the counter. I just added spikes to the bottom of my shoes and stomped on it. Professor Baxter and Sister Cross came into the room a moment later.”
Eva leaned back, listening to Juliana’s story. She’d already heard it once, though that one was a lot different. A shame really. All the good parts were left out of this version.
Of course, the audience might not be able to take the unsanitized version.
Irene sat across from Eva. Her pork riblets had been shoved to the side after the initial description of the flesh golems. Her face grew greener almost every time Juliana said a line. She kept flashing a look at Eva as well.
A bit odd. Eva pegged her for the braver of the twins based on how she initially wanted to see Arachne.
Shelby also stopped eating her goulash, but she almost seemed interested in the story rather than scared or disgusted. Almost.
