Unfortunately, the only thing to tear apart was Eva herself or the tiny twig that passed as a tree.
“The abattoir was a dangerous place to go. You shouldn’t have done that.”
“I didn’t know,” Eva snapped. “I was trying to get out of here. I didn’t want to end up in some demon’s private torture room.”
“The people there are being punished for severe breaches in contracts. Or rather,
“As nice as that is, I don’t really care.” Eva sighed as she leaned against Arachne.
Never had she been so glad to see a friendly face. They settled down at the edge of the beach and Eva couldn’t stop talking. Arachne silently listened to Eva’s day, even when Eva stopped at a few points.
Arachne had Eva’s hand in her own. She gently rubbed her claws over the back of her hand.
“I can fix this, I think.”
“What?”
“Not your eyes, I don’t think mine would fit.”
Eva pulled away from the demon and looked at her in her gray eyes. Everything was gray here, an odd irregularity she hadn’t noticed when she was alone.
“I’m not sure what you’re saying.”
“How do you think Devon is going to get his arm back? He’s going to make some deal with some demon. That demon is going to chop off its own arm and slap it on Devon. Demons do it all the time.”
Arachne stopped and shifted against the said. “I’ve never done it before. I’m sure it isn’t hard, I watched it happen once. My blood is your blood which can’t hurt.”
Eva pulled her hand out of Arachne’s grip. “I can’t take your fingers. Arachne, I–”
“It isn’t even a big deal to demons, we regenerate things quickly. You would too, if you were further along. It–” She stopped again and gripped Eva’s hand, running a finger at the base of her wrist. “It would be your whole hand. My fingers,” she wiggled her needle-like claws, “aren’t exactly compatible with human hands. The wrist is much closer.”
“Arachne,” Eva said firmly, “I can’t take your hands.”
“If you don’t, you’ll be going through the same thing Devon is going through. Summoning demon after demon, asking what they want for their body parts. Finding a good deal will be difficult, I assure you. You’re going to have to do that for your eyes already, since mine aren’t analogous to human eyes.”
“You said it yourself, I’ll regenerate when I’m further along.”
“I wouldn’t take that risk, if I were you.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“When you reach the point where you can regenerate, your body might decide how you are then is how you should be. You might not be able to regenerate your missing parts at that point. You’d then have to go through the summon and bargaining process anyway and hope that whatever you’re given works.”
Eva frowned. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear.
Arachne pulled Eva’s hand up. “Close your– or just don’t think.”
“Wait,” Eva half shrieked. She pulled her hand back to her beating heart.
“You’re not going to find a better deal than free hands.”
“I know. I just–” Eva didn’t know what she just.
Arachne pulled her in close. Extra legs sprouted from her back, holding her steady. Two of the legs pinched Eva’s arms, holding them steady.
“Arachne,” Eva panicked. She tried to pull away. The restraints held her down tight, too tight. “I don’t think–”
“Don’t think,” Arachne said softly. “If you have to think about something, think about pulling those necromancer’s hearts out with your new claws.”
Eva stepped. She turned and looked at Arachne.
The spider-demon stood there frozen. Her legs still wrapped around the empty air Eva vacated. A moment after, she slumped. A dejected slump, like Eva just turned down her best attempts at helping.
In a way, she might have.
It didn’t matter.
“Not like that. That was too close to being in that chair again.” Eva took a deep breath. “I don’t want to hate you like that.”
Arachne didn’t respond. Her back still faced Eva, not having moved since she slumped down.
“It is a good deal, I’m sure,” Eva said slowly. “If I thought about it long enough, I’m sure I would agree.”
“Let’s wait.”
A long sigh escaped Eva’s lips. She stepped back to Arachne and laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’m glad. I was scared.”
“I wouldn’t have done anything to hurt you. I mean,” Arachne hesitated, looking off away from Eva, “it might have hurt having the rest of your hands removed. But it would have gotten better in the end.”
“It is the emotional hurt that I am worried about. I don’t want to see you like I saw Sawyer.”
“We have all the time here. When you feel up to it, let me know.”
Eva sat down on the beach, her back pressed against Arachne’s back. “We can’t get back?”
“I can. It will take some preparations. Your necklace is a beacon I can use to break the rules and escape from here without being summoned.”
Eva expected the necklace to be a beacon. “But not me.”
“There are rules in place to prevent other demons escaping with one’s beacon.”
“I can’t make my own beacon for you to take with you?”
