“Don’t forget my legs.”
“I thought it was a back rub.”
“Well now it is a back and leg rub.”
Arachne moved her hands all the way down to Eva’s ankles. She started kneading them all the way up.
“So what is all this for?”
Eva sighed; her eyelids just started to feel heavy again. “Professor Kines decided that standing around flinging spells at one another wasn’t good enough. Especially the first and second years who are far worse at magic. We get a full physical training workout for most of the class.” Eva sighed. “I can’t run, but he makes me make up for it with other work.”
Arachne continued working her way up Eva’s backside and then back down. At the third repetition, she paused her fingers right at the cusp of Eva’s butt.
“Do you want my legs?”
“Yes,” Eva sighed without hesitation, “and the rest of your arms.” The smile that split across Arachne’s face almost made her want to leave it at that. She didn’t. “Over summer break, I think.”
“Not tonight?”
“If your legs take as long to get used to as the hands, I think I’d like to be out of school.”
“I see,” she said. “I’ll be ready in three months.”
Arachne squeezed a pinch too tight, then resumed her massage as normal.
Eva snuggled her head into the leather cushions and started to doze off again.
A circulatory system entering her vision startled her to full alertness. She slumped back down into the couch as he walked towards the women’s ward. There was a familiar pattern she was hoping to see one of these days. Or rather, she’d never seen the circulatory system before, but it had other distinguishing characteristics.
“Arachne,” barked the one-armed man. “Get the treatment chairs set up. I need to go–” He cut himself off as his eyes fell on Eva. “Oh good. You’ve saved me the trip to your school, girl.”
Arachne hesitated with her hands still on Eva’s back. It wasn’t long before she reached her decision. Tucking a chair under one arm and the table under the other, Arachne started carrying furniture to the back of the room.
“Hello master,” Eva said. “Some things have changed while you’ve been gone.”
The heart in his chest immediately picked up a few beats per minute. “What changed,” he ordered.
Eva gathered together her willpower and raised her hand in a lazy wave. She clacked her fingers together as she did so.
Devon stood there, staring.
Arachne brought back the worn down barber chairs and swapped them out for one of the couches and the last chair.
Eva’s couch was the only one left. She sighed and crawled off of the couch. As she stood up, her shirt and skirt all but fell off of her. She tossed the tattered remains off onto the couch.
Taking a seat in her barber’s chair, she immediately flopped down into it and went slack.
Devon half ran up to her. He tore at one of her hands, pulling at it and prodding it. He pinched and bent the fingers.
“Odd,” he said. “This is a far more drastic change than I speculated might happen. They’re exactly like Arachne’s as well.”
“They are Arachne’s. Or were. Mine now.”
“They’re what?” he shouted.
“Well, my master was going off in search of a shiny new arm. I felt left out.” She smiled as she watched her master’s blood boil. “I see you haven’t had much success with that. Speaking of,” Eva took her free hand and pointed at her eyes.
Devon’s hand clasped against her forehead. He used his thumb to lift up her eyelid. He repeated the action for the other eye.
“I think you had better explain,” he said.
Eva sighed as Arachne picked up the last couch. She recounted her tale with only minor embellishments to her master.
His blood pressure went up and up as her tale went on. The part where she screwed up an infernal walk seemed to both infuriate him and calm him.
“That’s amazing,” he said when she mentioned Arachne’s theory on the island being her personal domain. “That means it is working.” His boiling blood tuned down to a low simmer after that. There might have even been a ghost of a smile on his face.
Eva wasn’t entirely sure. Even within the wards, some things were still difficult to accurately discern.
Whatever smile might have been on his face vanished as she got to Zoe Baxter discovering more than she should have. Sister Cross all but stalking Eva only worsened his feelings.
“This might complicate things,” he said as her tale drew to an end. “I need to run some tests before we begin.” He turned but paused. “I assume my cell block hasn’t been given over to some demon?”
“Nope. Ylva is the only one here.”
He growled. “It is still here?”
“She comes and goes,” Eva shrugged. “She doesn’t leave cell house two unless invited by me.”
“And you invite her often?”
“No,” Eva admitted. Only once since the hel set up her throne room had Eva invited her to wander around. Eva was getting something out of it at that time. A little lesson in how to properly slingshot through Hell.
Devon turned without comment and headed out of the building.
“Arachne,” Eva called out. “Pick me up and carry me to bed.”
