He returned her glare but stepped around the counter and followed Juliana out the door.
As he passed by, Eva said, “if you let anything happen to her, I’ll kill you.”
Eva turned to the remaining gawkers huddling around the dance floor. “Any of you know any good fire magic?” she asked. No one responded. “Then do not go near those bodies unless you wish to die a very painful death followed by attempting to kill your friends.”
“What about you?” a half hysterical cat girl asked.
“Anti-zombie potion,” Eva said holding up the black vial. She really wished she had worn a mask. If any of the students knew who she was, she’d be facing a lot of questions in the morning.
If anyone who cared to question her lived, that is.
“There is no cure for a zombie infection,” a pirate said.
“Oh? Who told you that?” He gave no response. “That’s right. Shut up and don’t touch the corpses and maybe you’ll live until tomorrow.”
Eva ignored any further questions and marched off to the bathroom.
A naked Shalise sat on the floor. Arachne was picking through the large chunk on her arm, pulling bits of cloth from the wound. She had a weary look on her face.
“Shalise, can you hear me?”
“I’m a–” a hiccup, “a-a zombie.”
“Not yet and not ever if I have anything to say about it. I’ll let you in on a little secret I haven’t even told Juliana. I’m a blood mage.
“Being a blood mage, I can clear this whole mess up with a little cleansing ritual.”
A brown-haired girl flicked eyes in Eva’s direction. Her eyes had the slightest glimmer of hope.
“It is a very thorough cleansing, however. Have you ever had any surgeries that implanted anything? Metal plates in your hip or pacemakers?”
Shalise shook her head.
“Good. We’ll need to get all those nasty nachos out of your stomach though.”
“She already vomited, thrice,” Arachne said. “Wasn’t anything left by the third time.”
“Excellent. Next step then. Shalise, I need you to close your eyes. This ritual requires a calm mind to work.”
Eva moved to the sinks. She tore off her lab coat–shame about it being ruined–her shirt, and her pants. All were too contaminated to trust. Naked, Eva began scrubbing her arms and face of all traces of blood, double checking in the mirror. She used her innate sense of blood to check that she was completely clean of any foreign contaminants.
“I need you to close your eyes. Think of a clean white cloth, gently blowing in the wind.”
Eva turned around and ensured the girl’s eyes were closed. She pulled her dagger off her back and jammed it deep into her own arm. Eva spread her arms wide, pulling a long trail of blood out with the dagger.
The blood was much darker than it had been the last time she saw it. Not quite Arachne black, but the ritual didn’t need blood purity. Without a stick of chalk, blood was the next best thing. Better, actually, as she had fine control in manipulating it.
“The white cloth just blew onto a crystal clear lake. It sent a handful of ripples across the otherwise smooth surface.”
Eva started manipulating the blood into a circle on the floor. She added lines to direct the magic and characters to control it.
The bathroom door opened and Juliana walked in, thirteen arrowheads floating behind her.
Eva met the blond’s eyes and pressed a finger to her lips.
“The ripples stopped. There’s just a white cloth floating on the water beneath a beautiful sky.”
Eva finished drawing out the ritual circle. She looked up and nodded at Arachne.
“Keep your eyes closed. Arachne is going to pick you up and move you to the ritual circle. Don’t be scared, nothing will hurt you. Just think of a gentle breeze bringing the fresh fragrance of flowers blowing over your lake. Don’t move after you’re set down.” The bathroom was cramped enough, there was barely enough space for the inner circle without her smearing the blood.
Arachne did as instructed and backed up.
Eva stepped straight across to Arachne and whispered in her ear, “Stand outside. I don’t want anyone seeing what is about to happen.” Eva turned to Juliana as Arachne stepped outside. “Place the stones down around the outer edge of the circle pointing inwards. Keep quiet, Shalise needs to concentrate.”
As Eva moved back in front of Shalise, she said aloud, “there is a small creek making a nice flowing noise in the background. Listen to the water run.”
Once Juliana finished with the stones, Eva pulled her dagger back out. “Now, raise your uninjured hand straight in front of you, palm down.” Shalise brought her hand out, shaking a good deal. Eva held her knife just beneath her open palm. “When I say go, I need you to bring your hand to the ground hard, like you’re trying to squash an ant that is invading your beautiful lake.”
Eva waited just a moment before steadying the knife in her hand. “Ready. Go.”
