Martina frowned, but otherwise did not say anything. Hellhounds were not something she felt much fondness for. She liked her demons to be smart enough to comprehend orders at the very least.
“He was a decent companion. For a demon. He was crushed in a trap meant for me a few years back.” His shoulders slumped ever so slightly. “I haven’t been able to summon him since.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Martina said as she tried to keep her expression neutral. A companionship with a hellhound? Unheard of. “If it makes you feel better, the demon is not dead. They have to reassemble themselves, for lack of a better word. A demon of Zagan’s power could accomplish that in a few days, but non-sentient demons could take thousands of years.”
Gregory drew the obvious conclusion. “And Toto was probably not very powerful.”
Martina pressed her lips together. She carefully got herself under control before even attempting to speak. “If there’s nothing else, you should attend Zagan’s briefing. He will be unhappy at having to repeat himself.”
“Of course,” he said. He left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Martina stood stock still for another minute before she finally moved around her desk and slid into her chair. With well-practiced movements, she retrieved the bottle of Hellfire and poured herself a tall glass.
Even through the burning pain, Martina struggled to contain her laughter.
— — —
It didn’t take long for the student body to notice the now omnipresent security force hanging around every hallway. There were whispers and rumors about each member of the team, as per anything new in Brakket Academy. The place had so little news that anything could become the flavor of the month for discussions.
The elf was easily the most discussed member of security among the female population. Eva hadn’t even seen the thing in person yet. She’d sensed its blood as it walked by a classroom, but nothing more.
Their presence did not actually change much. Brakket wasn’t a violent school. There were a lot more fights at Eva’s old middle school in a week than there had been all last year.
Unless Eva counted all the business with necromancers and nuns.
What
The security force, on the other hand, had given detention to two separate groups that had been harassing Eva. After that, the rest got the hint. She still got glares or the occasional whispered comment under someone’s breath.
Nothing she couldn’t handle, but it was good that they had ceased. Arachne would probably have killed half of them in their sleep had they continued.
Well, she would have if she were around. Arachne spent most days at the prison, fighting Genoa.
Eva didn’t have much problem with that. Especially since Arachne, while she didn’t outright lose, didn’t seem to win. The training could only be good for her.
But Arachne’s absence did lead to an interesting predicament. One she was certain would have been resolved with much blood and disembowelment with Arachne around.
“So, spill the beans,” the sixth year student who hadn’t bothered to introduce himself said. “What are you? I know half-breeds and you’re nothing like them. What kind of a monster spawned you?”
Eva sighed, wondering how she managed to get maneuvered into a corner. Juliana and Shalise were nowhere to be seen, but it wouldn’t surprise Eva if some other students had pulled them away as they had done to her.
“I was born human. Through a series of experiments, I don’t think I qualify anymore. But,” Eva said before they could comment, “none of those experiments altered my hands, eyes, or legs.
“Thanks to a certain necromancer, I had fingers and toes cut off with a rusty, dull knife. It took hours. I was awake, conscious, and given no painkillers. The rusty blade hacked and sawed away until I could see bone, then it hacked and sawed more until it broke away.”
Not true, but close enough. Their imaginations would be much worse than reality. Eva proceeded to describe the removal of her eyes mostly without exaggeration. Not a memory she liked revisiting, but the steadily sickening pallor of her harassers made it all worthwhile.
If they decided that the necromancers were the cause of the experiments, all the better.
“A short time later, I had my hands removed and replaced by what you see now. Legs as well. Found the eyes later, but I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth just because they’re red. Do you know how hard it is to see without eyes?”
Eva couldn’t help but smile at her little joke. It wasn’t a big smile, but apparently it rankled the sixth year’s nerves.
“Freak,” he spat. He looked back towards his cronies and jerked his head away. Soon enough, they had vanished around a corner.
