Void Domain, Book 03 полностью

The tests Eva had run on her eyes didn’t show significant improvement over human eyes. At least, not in a bright room. Seeing in the dark was far easier. Not much else. As such, Eva felt fairly confident that her eyes weren’t magnifying stress lines in Zoe’s face that she had simply missed in the past.

In addition, the professor seemed downtrodden. She had lost weight–not a lot, but enough. Her face showed off the same pallor as sickly hospital patients. The near fatal amount of lost blood might be part of the cause, but she should have been over that by now.

Eva made a mental note to talk to her afterwards about her health. Perhaps Arthfael would be willing to sit on her for a few hours.

Nel, who had been seated between Ylva and Zoe, unsubtly slid her chair away from the downcast professor. Several of her eyes sent accusing looks towards Zoe.

Looks that Eva had often been the recipient of. If it weren’t for Ylva, Eva would have demanded that the worthless nun not be a part of the meeting. It wasn’t like she had any useful information.

“Your implications are unfounded, Devon Foster. We can confirm, the mortal in question is undoubtedly Zoebell Baxter. She bears Our ring.”

And she did. Zoe reached one hand over the other and lightly rubbed the smooth, black ring. Arachne had recovered and returned it at the start of the meeting without a single complaint or snide comment. Likely fear at what Ylva might do after Zoe had been attacked once.

Devon stood from his seat. “And how do you know that you aren’t being fooled?”

“You doubt Us?”

Ylva spoke with the same calm authority that accompanied every word. No underlaid malice. No threat. A simple question that sounded more like a statement.

Devon stared for a moment. Slowly, he retook his seat.

Eva sighed and turned to Arachne. “Do you have any information that is actually useful?”

The spider-demon smiled as she brushed up against Eva’s shoulder. “We tracked them back to where they were summoned. A dilapidated house with a large summoning circle in the center of the room. No shackles around it, oddly enough.”

“No other protections?”

“Not even the sign of them being erased.”

Eva glanced up towards her master. “Dominated at the moment of summoning?”

He let out a short grunt. “You said they were arguing, debating. Not likely to be dominated. A botched job, if they were.”

“There were traces of other demons,” Arachne said. “Ones that had been summoned at a different location and brought to the dilapidated house. Possibly demons that kept the carnivean and jezebeth in line.”

“Tracking them?”

Devon shook his head. “They just ended. No traces of brimstone from an infernal teleport. No trail.”

“Some other type of teleportation?”

“Possibly,” he said with a shrug. “I’m only an expert in demons.”

Arachne let out a short laugh at that. Her jovial mood died out almost instantly as she poked Eva in her cheek. “There is one thing you should know. We found a zombie. Second floor, locked in a bathroom.”

Eva felt her own mood darken.

Sawyer.

If Sister Cross had done her job instead of hounding Eva day and night, he might have been found.

If Eva had kept his toes. She could have used them. Nel could have used them. She hadn’t been thinking straight at the time and Nel hadn’t been part of their little retinue.

Hindsight hurt.

Eva promised him pain and torture. Eva intended to deliver.

Some amount of her emotions must have bled through into her eyes. Both Zoe and Nel were shrinking into their chairs.

She closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath.

“I see.”

“It might not have had anything to do with the demons. It could have been left over from last year. The zombie was barely animated. It had rotted to the extent that it couldn’t even crawl. Naturally,” Arachne split her mouth into a grin, “I dismembered it before crushing the skull.”

Devon grumbled from the side. “I incinerated the remains.”

Eva just nodded.

“So,” Zoe said after a moment of silence, “what now?”

“There is one more thing,” Devon said slowly.

Eva did not miss the glare he gave Zoe. She gave him a light nudge in the side.

Devon just harrumphed and looked towards Arachne.

“This.” She pulled out a small envelope from somewhere.

Eva actually took a moment to look over Arachne before she paid attention to the letter. There were only three places that Eva thought it might have been hidden in and none of them were very likely.

“We found it on a transferrance circle,” Devon said. “In a side room with no shackles around it.”

Zoe looked up at him. “Transferrance circle?”

“It allows sending things to Hell. This one was aimed at a carnivean’s domain, though I can’t tell if it was the same one that attacked you.”

“I see.”