Void Domain, Book 03 полностью

“He tried to fight a fire demon with fire. His own flames were turned back on him.”

“A demon?” Not a hint of surprise appeared on his face. There were probably detectable traces left all over Wayne’s body.

Catherine doubted the elf picked up anything about her. Her disguise was perfect.

“A demon,” Catherine confirmed. “It has been killed.”

The elf raised one of his perfectly styled eyebrows in a silent question.

Catherine wasn’t about to oblige. “If there is nothing else,” she trailed off as if expecting to be dismissed, but turned and walked out without waiting.

Politeness was wasted on such worthless creatures. Martina should have summoned a barqu or even a minion of Corrupter to fix Wayne.

Or just kill him. Catherine hadn’t found him to be that great of an alchemist. Surely he wouldn’t be difficult to replace.

But she was a familiar. She would abide by her master’s decision.

The organ notes of Toccata and Fugue echoed down the hospital hallway.

Speaking of the annoying woman, Catherine thought with a smile as she pulled out her cellphone.

For a moment, Catherine just stared at the device in her hand. She entertained the thought of ignoring the call simply to annoy Martina. That would only make her more annoying later. Still, that didn’t stop Catherine from waiting for the final note to play before she answered the call.

It was a good song, after all.

“About time.” Martina already sounded annoyed.

Good.

Catherine let out an audible sigh before she said, “did you want something?”

“Wayne’s status.”

“Still looking like cooked bacon.”

There was a pause and faint growling on the other end of the call. Catherine smiled as she imagined Martina’s face twisting into an ugly scowl. She was too easy.

“Can the elves help him?”

“I think that they think that they probably can.”

Another growl. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means exactly what I meant. I’m no elf. Why would I know what they’re capable of?”

“Is Wayne still with you?”

“I left him with the elves. He looks like bacon but he doesn’t smell very fragrant. Being in his presence was making me nauseous. Lucky for him, the hospital’s natural stench of sterility overpowers everything.”

“Fine. We need to find a temporary alchemist and theorist as well as prepare some sort of statement. Get back here immediately.”

The connection terminated with a faint click.

“Gladly,” Catherine honestly said, though she had lied about one thing. She could stand Wayne. It was the milky-eyed elves making her nauseous.

Just looking at them turned something in the pit of her stomach.

— — —

“They’re glowing,” Jordan said.

“Not that much. Hardly more than normal.”

Irene disagreed. Eyes weren’t supposed to glow. Any amount of glow was automatically more than normal. In Eva’s case, it was looking like a lot more than normal.

Jordan sported a wide grin as he pressed his face right up against Eva’s. The intensity with which he stared at her eyes was almost as frightening as Eva herself. Even Eva took a step away from him with a worried look on her face.

His antics weren’t winning him any favors with Shelby. Irene’s twin took on a cross look when he moved back up next to Eva. It wasn’t until she linked her arm with his and pulled Jordan away that he finally gave some space to the glowing-eyed girl.

Part of her wondered if they were dating yet. Shelby hadn’t said anything, but that didn’t mean anything; unlike most popular depictions of twins, Shelby and Irene did not share absolutely everything with one another.

They certainly lacked the stereotypical means of telepathic communication. If they had a telepathic connection, Irene would be asking her sister what exactly the girl was thinking when she smiled and put her hand on Eva’s claw thing.

Irene sighed as she glanced at the only other participant in their little meeting. At least I’m not the only one keeping my distance.

Max was hanging back at her side. His kind smile had turned into a frown the moment Eva took her gloves off. Irene thought he was going to make a run for it when Eva pulled the leather band off of her eyes.

Irene had the decency to keep her expression neutral. She knew something was wrong with the girl and had always maintained a polite atmosphere around her. At the very least, Irene possessed the mental acuity not to offend the girl who now walked around with what amounted to knives on her fingers.

And eyes she had stolen from a demon.

They probably had all kinds of inhuman abilities.

Irene had a sinking feeling in her stomach as Eva glanced up. Their eyes met for an instant before Eva gave her a small smile.

Oh no. She can read minds.

Every nasty thought she’d ever had for Eva surfaced. She tried to blank her mind and return Eva’s smile at the same time.

It didn’t help.

The smile on Eva’s face slipped.

She knew.

Irene froze. Her eyes flicked down to Eva’s claws and then to her legs. Even if she wanted to run, she wouldn’t be able to get away.