“Oh? Right, the missing augur Sister Cross was talking about,” Eva drawled. She hadn’t forgotten. “The one whose kidnapping nearly wound up with me dead. Except she wasn’t kidnapped,” as her master predicted, “she ran away to save herself and nearly killed me in the process.”
The nun cowered back further, all but hiding on her knees behind Zoe. She was mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. I didn’t know,” and other such drivel. All the while her eyes swarmed over her body, darting between Eva, Arachne, and Zoe.
“Miss Eva,” Zoe said in a tone of voice she used often with students in trouble, “she has no place to go. She is convinced that Sister Cross will be able to locate her, and soon. Are you going to leave her to fend for herself?”
“She hasn’t even said her name. She expects me to let her into my compound, my home, without offering the common courtesy of a proper introduction?”
“That sounds familiar,” Zoe said, almost with a grunt. Eva had never heard her grunt before.
“Nel Stirling,” the nun said. Her voice quivered. “Augur number six-six-four-six. Sorry.”
“And,” Eva said, ignoring the apology, “I thought my runes didn’t protect against whatever augurs use to see.”
There was a snort, almost a laugh from Nel Stirling. It caught in her throat halfway up and she looked at Eva with absolute dread. “They don’t. Whoever set up the wards in that building,” she said with a vague flail of her arm, “knows how to keep an augur out.”
Eva had a sinking suspicion she knew which building the nun referred to despite the unclear gesture. It took more effort than Eva could muster to keep from breaking down in laughter. Arachne widened her already ear to ear grin.
Nel rapidly looked between Zoe and Eva, apparently unsure what to make of the sudden outburst. Her worries seemed to grow along with her heart rate as the anger on the professor’s face paled and melted away to concern. Concern for Nel.
“Eva, I’m not sure–”
Cutting off her professor, Eva said, “I’m convinced. You’ve convinced me Zoe Baxter. Nel Stirling, welcome to the compound. I believe I know which building you refer to and you’re free to stay so long as you convince its owner.”
A cautious smile spread across the nun’s face.
“Miss Stirling,” Zoe said as she changed her targets, “are you sure you have nowhere else to stay?”
“Yes, why? She agreed right? If I talk to this other person?”
“It isn’t–”
“Zoe Baxter, if the nun wishes to reside, Nel Stirling will need to get used to the,” Eva coughed lightly, “quirks of Ylva on her own. I am sure she would not appreciate you speaking of her in any case.”
Zoe pursed her lips. She strode forwards as Nel picked herself back to her feet. The professor leaned down and whispered in Eva’s ear. “I don’t like this. If you’ve raised her hopes only to have that thing kill her–”
Eva waved her off. “I’m sure she won’t kill her.”
“That is petty, Miss Eva,” she said as she straightened her back. “You’re playing with things that can have dire consequences. Did you not read those books you lent me?”
“You can’t learn everything from a book. I think you said that. And,” Eva said, holding up a clawed finger, “I’m not playing. If she is innocent and Ylva is the only one who can shield her from other augurs, then good for her. If she has nefarious intentions towards me or anyone here, at least Ylva can take care of it.
“Besides, I’m sure Devon would find her physiology fascinating.”
“He won’t try to dissect her, will he?”
“No. Probably not. Unless she is actually a demon, he probably won’t care too much apart from a cursory look-over.”
Zoe looked back towards Nel. The nun hadn’t moved forward. She had a small smile on her face as she politely waited for their conversation to end.
“I almost came to ask you about that until I heard about your altercation with Sister Cross. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself or the nun on the off-chance Sister Cross would try to kill her. How can you tell if she is a demon or not?”
Arachne chose that moment to pipe in. “What color is her blood?”
“Red.”
“All demons have black blood,” Arachne said with a shake of her head. “Not one that I’ve seen hasn’t.”
“Indeed,” Zoe said glancing down at Eva.
Eva wanted nothing more than to glare daggers at the spider-woman. Without eyes, that was near impossible. She didn’t even move her head. Had Zoe Baxter ever seen her blood? Eva couldn’t remember.
“Well,” Eva said loud enough for Nel to hear, “let’s go then. We’ll walk you over.”
Eva took a step forward, then paused. Her feet were still bare. “Arachne, I don’t want to walk.”
Without a second of hesitation, Arachne swooped down and picked up Eva.
After a few strides away from Arachne, Eva realized that her professor hadn’t budged. “Are you coming?”
Her lips pursed together again as her heart rate jumped. “I’ll walk with you. I think I will remain outside.”
