Eva did the shrug thing with her shoulders. “She said it wouldn’t hurt me and while I am not about to take the words of a demon at face value, I did give her quite the gift in return, apparently.”
Arachne frowned again, but didn’t say anything. She allowed Eva to lead her out of the room by her claw, but kept her eyes on the skull until Eva’s room door shut. It never once turned away from the wall.
Now in her new master’s room, Arachne took a look around. She wanted to skitter around and touch every little thing, but she was still dirty. Eva was sure to get mad at dirt in her bed. “Do you have a bath?”
“Oh.” Eva’s eyes ran down and back up Arachne’s body. She took Arachne’s claw in her own hand again and led her into the small adjacent room. “If you turn the shower head a quarter turn clockwise, hot water will come out.”
Eva left the room, shutting the door behind her, before Arachne could ask if she wanted to shower too. Her new master was looking more grimy than she normally did.
Arachne stepped into the shower and carefully placed her fingers around the shower head. Taking great care to not squeeze too hard, Arachne slowly twisted until water fell out.
It wasn’t as good as a bath might have been, but at least she didn’t soak in dust filled water. Arachne ran her sharp fingers between every nook and joint of her body. She started with her finger joints, then wrists, then arms, and so on.
Once satisfied, Arachne carefully turned off the water. Her armored carapace was once again a smooth and shiny black. While her skin didn’t trap near as much water as human skin, she was still wet. Not wanting to get Eva’s living place wet, Arachne looked around the small room.
A single towel hung over a rack. Her Eva’s towel.
Arachne grabbed it as delicately as she could. She hugged it to her body, taking a long smell.
Arachne frowned. It didn’t smell much of Eva. Was it fresh or did showers wash away too much scent to really stick to the towel?
Sighing, she dried herself off.
Arachne stepped back into the bedroom.
Eva sat on the edge of her bed, reading one of the books on hel. She looked up at Arachne’s entrance. The teeth in her smile had just a hint of the sharpness present in Arachne’s own. Her eyes, once hazel several years ago, now held a small glimmer of red.
“Do you need a shower as well, Eva?” Arachne asked with a smile of her own.
Eva pulled at the top of her shirt and leaned her head down for a smell. She pulled back with a slight grimace. “I didn’t take one last night and missed this morning as well. But talk first,” she said, patting a spot on the bed next to her.
Arachne accepted the invitation without protest. She nustled up right next to her Eva.
“Now,” Eva said, “we are leaving, via an airplane, for Montana the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow we will check in with master, and a few other people, and pack. Do you have anything you need to bring?”
Arachne shook her head. Apart from her master, she had nothing in this world to call her own.
“Okay. There is a problem, however.”
Arachne frowned, but said nothing.
“I may not know much about magical society, but I doubt demons are going to be widely accepted. If you’re not hunted down immediately.”
Arachne nodded. “Apart from summoners, most are heavily against demons. People like the nun from last night will attempt to banish or eliminate us on sight.”
“There is a solution, I hope anyway.” Eva stood up and moved to a closet. She rummaged around for a minute before pulling out a cage designed for small animals.
With a frown, Arachne sighed. She slumped her shoulders the way humans did when resigned to doing something they objected to. It was obvious where her new master was going with this.
“Don’t get too upset. Hopefully the cage is just for the trip there.” Eva returned to the bed, patting Arachne on her thigh. She perked up at the touch. “I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunity for you to stretch your legs.
“Speaking of stretching legs. There will be no attacking
Arachne opened her mouth to argue. One of
“I mean it,” Eva said. “Unless someone is trying to kill me, I will banish you. You’re the one who wanted to go, you are the one who forced the contract. You are going to follow my rules.”
Arachne just nodded.
“Good.” Eva stood up and started removing her clothes, tossing them into a basket of more clothes. “I’m going to take a shower and get some sleep. We’ve got a long day tomorrow.” She paused, half way to the shower room. “There are a few other rooms up here, some have beds in them. You’re free to pick one you like.”
With a grimace, Arachne said, “they looked dusty when I peeked in earlier. But,” she ran her fingers down her shiny carapace, “I just got cleaned…”
