That was more or less a genuine question. He still hadn’t gotten up. Nothing appeared wrong–his heart was still beating and all the blood flow appeared normal. But he hadn’t gotten up. Eva wasn’t a brain surgeon, there may be some trauma to the brain that caused him to fall unconscious without her being able to detect it.
He was an excellent example of why she didn’t want to test anything in a place she liked. If the man remembered anything, the nuns would assuredly be banned. Possibly Eva as well.
“You know what? Fine. Sister Cross wants you constantly monitored? She can do it herself.” The nun started to walk past Arachne and towards the exit.
“What, just like that?” Eva knew she shouldn’t be questioning the woman. Stopping her might invite further attacks.
But she didn’t attack. She sneered over her shoulder. “Our magic is designed to fight undead. We know how to banish a demon. We’re not trained to fight them. If Sister Cross continues to occupy this abominable little town under the pretense of finding a necromancer–a necromancer who has fled by all evidence–then I’ll be happy to accept my promotion when she is excommunicated.”
A small smile grew across Eva’s face. “So, you are saying that you wouldn’t mind if Sister Cross–”
“Do not seek to tempt me into your heretical ways.”
With that said, the conversation ended. The nun walked out with her head held high.
“Well,” Eva said with a turn of her head towards Arachne, “it was worth a shot.”
“You should have let me kill her.”
“Far too messy. We’d be found out too easily.”
“She’s going to run back to the nuns and tell them that I was the one to kill their other member.”
“And that,” Eva said, “is the main reason I wanted you at the prison. You just had to come back.”
“I couldn’t leave you here with nuns and demons running amok.”
Eva didn’t bother to bring up that Arachne didn’t help much with the latter. She’d been angry enough about being tossed halfway across the Infinite Courtyard. Jokingly bringing it up the first time ended up with Eva wrestled to the ground.
That Arachne returned on the verge of panic about Eva’s encounter with the pillar had her feeling slightly guilty.
Eva merely sighed as she pulled out her notebook to strike out the partially written success. She made a short note detailing a few changes for the next version.
Testing would be harder without a nun following her around, but she’d manage.
“I’m amazed by the elegance you displayed in handling the nun.”
Eva turned towards the most sarcastic voice she’d heard. In recent memory, at least. The lesser succubus sat in one of the few upright chairs. She casually took a small sip of a drink that she had acquired from
“Catherine.” Eva tried to smile. It came off a bit strained. At least Arachne wasn’t trying to take her head off this time. “How are you today?”
“I’d be better if you wouldn’t leave large messes for me to clean up.”
“All in the name of progress.” Eva nodded her head towards the ruined counter. “Is he going to be alright?”
Catherine shrugged. “I’ll drop him off at the school’s medical facility. If he doesn’t remember anything, we’ll say he slipped. If he does, well, we’ll fix it.”
“And the nuns?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem provided that you come through. We want you to be finished by Tuesday.”
“Tuesday?”
The succubus sighed and rolled her eyes. “I spoke clear enough for you to understand.”
“That’s just–I mean…” Eva ran her gloved fingers through her hair. “You mean
There was a sudden rush of blood to her eyes for the briefest of instants before they returned to normal. If Eva had to guess, they would have flashed red–perhaps even turning her pupils into the typical demonic slit. Her polite smile turned somewhat mocking.
“I thought you were on our side. You even forced all those restrictions on us.”
Arachne growled as she took a step forward.
Assuming succubi hearts were at all similar to humans, Catherine was scared. She tried not to show it on her face. Her smile slipped just long enough to confirm Eva’s suspicions.
“Catherine, Catherine, Catherine. I want the nuns gone as much as anybody else. But it isn’t ready yet. I have a plan for blocking out the students, but it won’t be ready until tomorrow. Then it will take a few days to propagate.”
The demon turned back to Eva–though she kept her eyes on Arachne–and put on a small smile. “Tuesday, Eva. That gives you all day tomorrow plus whatever is left of today to work on it. If you aren’t part of this, I don’t think we can continue to adhere to your conditions.”
“Unacceptable,” Eva said. “I’ll be ready. Though I am still confused on why you need me.”
