Void Domain, Book 03 полностью

It was a strange feeling. Eva couldn’t help but feel naked. As her two roommates could attest to, she had no problem going without clothing. But without her gloves? Just being able to stretch her fingers to their fullest extent in front of others made her want to hide them beneath the desk.

Hiding was not an option.

If news that the blind girl had claws wasn’t already known to everyone, it would be by the day’s end. Hiding would only make people more afraid; they would end up with rampant speculation about what was under her gloves.

Hopefully they would find her claws to be less terrifying than whatever rumors would have gone around instead.

Eva jumped in her seat as Shalise poked her in the side. Her morose thoughts vanished as Bradley Twillie cleared his throat.

“I understand you have a lot to think about, Eva, but I would appreciate it if you would pay attention while in my class.”

“Sorry, Professor,” Eva said. She hung her head ever so slightly.

The professor pursed his lips before he said, “I asked: How would you identify a mimic from whatever object it is mimicking?”

A mimic would have blood flowing through it, Eva thought. That would be the first sign to her. Eva doubted that was the answer he was looking for. Bradley Twillie probably gave the answer at some point during his lecture.

Unfortunately, Eva had no idea what that answer was.

“Unless you already suspect a mimic to be around, it is unlikely you would be able to notice before you touched the object,” she said with a shrug. “The tedium of checking every single object you touch throughout your life for a mimic would lead to madness.

“Seelie fae are generally easy-going. It would be far more prudent to simply offer to channel some magic for the mimic to feed off of for a minute or two than worry over finding one.”

The professor scratched at his head under his hat before shaking his head in a somewhat disappointed manner. “That’s just asking for trouble,” he said with a shake of his head. “If you give a mouse a cookie,” he grumbled half under his breath.

A ring signaling the end of the class put a stop to Bradley Twillie’s mumblings.

“All of you should be able to answer the question by Thursday’s class,” he said as the students packed up. “We’ll have live specimens in class for you to observe.”

Eva packed her things lethargically compared to her classmates. Everyone else had alchemy next. Eva intended to use her free period to enjoy not being stared at constantly.

“Well,” Juliana said on their way out, “that certainly was something.”

“Oh?”

“Tension was a bit thick. I thought a lynch mob was going to form by the end of class.”

“L-lynch mob?” Shalise squeaked.

“I can’t imagine that would end well for anyone,” Eva said softly with a pat to Arachne. Not that there was any danger of being overheard. A large bubble had formed around their group. Shelby and Jordan were the two closest but they were still hanging back with a very nervous Irene and a slightly less nervous Max.

“In any case,” Eva said, “I don’t think they were going to form a lynch mob. I get the feeling they were more afraid or creeped out than angry or hostile.”

“Watch your back. Just in case.”

“They’ll have a whole class period to discuss and calm down without me around at least.”

“What are you going to be doing?”

“Finding a room and having Arachne read me books.” There was a small squirm beneath Eva’s shirt when the spider-demon heard her name.

“In school? What if someone walks in? The claws are hard enough to explain.”

“We managed all last semester. There are plenty of empty rooms and students are all in class. We’ll be fine.”

“I hope so.”

“What about them?” Shalise asked with a not-so-subtle nod of her head towards Jordan’s group.

“Zoe advised me to tell them the truth–minus the ‘d’ word–given they already know about ‘Rach’ and are sure to make the connection, if they haven’t already.” Eva turned to face Juliana. “I was actually hoping your father could come up with some cover story for Arachne. She could be a magical creature instead of what she is.”

“Maybe,” Juliana hummed. “So long as he doesn’t find either of you to be objectionable.”

“We will be on our best behavior. Won’t we, Arachne.”

The spider-demon gave an almost hesitant tap against Eva’s right shoulder.

“Right. That’s what I thought. So,” Eva said with her first smile of the day, “he knows how to get to the prison?”

“Maybe Arachne should give him a ride.”

Eva coiled the muscles in her legs and jumped off from the ground. She soared through the air, free from the tethers of gravity for a scant few seconds. When gravity finally reasserted itself, Eva fell only a few inches.