Eva tried to spit. Tried to avoid swallowing. Cold tendrils snaked through the inside of her mouth. The potion was in her stomach soon enough.
If only she was further along in her treatments. The drowsiness wouldn’t have taken hold.
“Now,” Sawyer’s voice came through murky water, “what were we talking about?
“Ah yes, recompense.”
The Frying Pan
Author’s Note: Chapter may contain disturbing elements. If you find yourself becoming uncomfortable during Eva’s POV section, skip down to “Her Eva was missing.” This bypasses the section.
There will be an Author’s Note summarizing Eva’s POV beneath the bottom chapter navigation.
“You knock on your own room?” Irene quirked an eyebrow in Juliana’s direction.
The two finished shopping in record time. The subpar selection offered by shops around Brakket certainly helped. Still, Juliana made out with a new uniform and plenty of everyday clothes. Her favorite purchase was a brand new winter coat. It was cut long with an outer layer of wool and fleece lining.
Her old coat wasn’t technically ruined due to being hung up near the door when the golems attacked. As long as Zoe lifted the limit on her miscellaneous spending, why not spend it.
“Eva tends to sleep naked. I like to give her some warning in case she’s already stripped down.” And to make sure Arachne wasn’t hanging around in her human form.
It had only been one day since Arachne came back to the dorms. Juliana spent most of that day at school. The night before and the morning, after their talks with Sister Cross and Zoe, Arachne spent the entire time as a human. Apparently she no longer felt the need to hide in her spider form. At least around Juliana.
Juliana expected her to take over the third bed in the room. Instead she cuddled up with Eva in her bed. They weren’t made for two people, barely made for one person, but Arachne didn’t care and Juliana heard no complaints from Eva.
In a way it was comforting to have her around. If the necromancers decided to send more golems to attack, Arachne should be able to deal with them without any trouble if her show at the club was any indicator.
“So, are we going in then?” Irene shifted the bag she was carrying to her other arm.
“There’s no answer. Maybe she’s out.”
Juliana slipped both of her bags onto one arm and pulled out her card. With a quick swipe, the latch clicked open.
An empty room greeted them.
Papers were strewn about Eva’s desk and her book bag lay underneath. If Eva really was gone, Juliana might take a brief peek; so long as Arachne was gone as well.
Irene set her bag down near Juliana’s bed.
“Can I offer you some–” Juliana stopped herself. “Well, our fridge and cupboards are empty. I’ll owe you something as thanks.”
Irene waved a hand. “That’s okay. I’m glad to have helped.” She wandered over to Eva’s desk. “What’s all this?”
“Hmm,” Juliana said with a peek over her shoulder. “New version of the scrying packets, maybe. She doesn’t use regular pens when she draws out the real ones.”
“Ah, well,” Irene glanced around the room almost nervously. “I guess I’ll be heading out now.”
“There’s no rush. I don’t know when Eva will be back, but I’m sure she won’t mind.”
“Shelby wanted me to help her with a thing when I got back, so I couldn’t stay long anyway.” Irene half skipped to the door. She paused with her hand on the handle. “Tell Eva I said hello.”
And with that, she was gone.
“You’d almost think she was avoiding you.”
Juliana whirled around. Metal turned to liquid beneath her shirt.
All her adrenaline meant nothing as she faced the speaker.
Eight red eyes poked out from beneath the covers of Eva’s bed. Arachne ducked back under the sheets leaving just the crest of her hair… things visible.
Juliana took a moment to allow her heart to come down to a more normal pace.
“I’d say she’s trying to avoid Eva, actually. We just spent two hours shopping together.”
“Why would anyone avoid Eva?” came the muffled response. Despite the muffle, it was almost a growl.
Deciding that might not be the safest topic, Juliana just shrugged. “Where is Eva anyway?”
“She went to the library an hour and a half ago.”
“And left you here?”
“She didn’t want to run into any nuns in the hallway with me hanging off of her.” The woman sighed from beneath the covers.
Juliana shuffled her feet. She thought about putting her new clothes away, but the atmosphere turned sour with Arachne acting dejected. “I’ll go see if I can’t drag her back up here.”
Arachne gave no protest as Juliana slipped out of the room.
Dealing with Arachne normally wasn’t much of anything. Except when Eva instructed, Arachne would all but ignore Juliana. A moping Arachne was far more uncomfortable to be around.
