“Cross-plane only,” Arachne said. At Shalise’s confused look, Arachne rolled her eyes. Or she tried to. Eva imagined she would if her eyes were capable of rolling, in any case. “From Hell to the mortal plane.”
“Still,” Juliana said, “becoming a demon? I don’t have the vocabulary to comment on how cool that is.”
“That is the part you cannot mention to anyone,” Eva said a bit forcefully. “Beacons are not too uncommon. Rare, but not overly so. My treatment is something only I, Arachne, Devon, and now you two know.” She paused as a thought occurred to her. “Ylva too.”
Juliana quirked her head to one side. “Nel?”
“Don’t think so.”
“She slips up and calls you ‘abomination’ on occasion.”
“Oh?” Eva tried on her most vicious grin. “I suppose I’ll mention that to her next time I see her.”
That got a small laugh out of Arachne, even if Juliana and Shalise–more so the latter–didn’t smile.
Preschool Chores
Eva stopped at the staircase and stared.
The book showed no one other than herself and Arachne within the building. Clearly that was only partially true.
Part of a person lay halfway up the staircase to the second floor. Two legs and part of a torso. Blood splattered around the walls and ceiling, though there was no sign of anything above his shoulders. All dried to the point where Eva could only vaguely tell it was there in the first place. If she hadn’t been looking for the blood splatter because of the corpse’s presence, she might not have noticed at all.
He
For half a moment, Eva considered leaving some sort of warning at the base of the stairs for any future explorers of her hospital. She walked over the corpse on her way to the second floor. That would be warning enough.
“Start packing the library. I want every book. Not one left behind,” Eva said to the demon walking a step behind her. If Arachne even took note of the corpse, she did not give any indication. The suitcase she carried smacked into the legs on her way up.
“Slave driving again,” she said with a feral grin. “Ah, how nostalgic.”
“Nostalgic? You only lived here for a day or two.”
“No.” Arachne gave a swipe of her claws through the air. “Not that. The first order you gave me was to collect books.”
“Well,” Eva said as she reached the top of the stairs. “I hope you’re excited. You’re going to be reading a handful of those books to me.”
The grin on Arachne’s face quickly vanished.
For whatever reason, the spider-demon hated reading. She wasn’t bad at it; Eva hadn’t heard her stumble over any words over the past semester. That didn’t stop her from making her distaste for the task clear on multiple occasions.
Getting her to attempt to learn any magic was likewise met with resistance.
“When was it that you were getting your own eyes again?”
“Haven’t even started, though I have a few demons in mind. I would prefer yours, but there would be no hiding them even if we figured out a way to transfer them.” Eva sighed.
While there were plenty of demons with eyes, very few had eyes that looked entirely human. At least not in their natural state, which is what she’d be getting as far as she could tell. Both Zagan and Catherine could hide the slit pupil, colored irises, and black sclera. Zagan’s might actually work, but fat chance of getting those.
She had no ideas on that front and Devon was far from forthcoming in ideas for a solution. He had yet to replace his own arm.
“It is difficult to look for valid eye donors when you’ve got no eyes to both research a subject and see what you’re getting.”
“I will vet every demon you summon for the purpose, but I suggest getting a move on it. You don’t want to get stuck without eyes for eternity.”
“Maybe soon,” Eva said. “Speaking of getting a move on, get to the library. I’ve some things to pack in my room.”
Arachne simply nodded as she walked further down the hallway.
Eva split off towards her old room.
Dust covered most surfaces. It wasn’t all that thick, but it had definitely moved in during Eva’s absence.
Some of the skirts might still work, even if they had become shorter than ever. That was a joy she’d have to learn to live without.
