Her fingers grasped nothing but empty air. With some exploration, she managed to find the hole.
She had healed that
There was a tingle of pain as she set about mending herself,
Blinking her eyes, Eva almost yelled out in surprise.
Eight glowing red eyes and a shark-toothed grin filled her vision.
“Arachne?” Her voice came out soft and weak, but it definitely came out.
“Eva. You’re awake.”
For a moment, Eva just stared into the demon’s red eyes. Ensuring to herself that she wasn’t hallucinating. Seeing someone,
And it was Arachne. Of course it was Arachne. Her first friend probably hadn’t so much as left her side since she first passed out. At least, assuming she wasn’t off in Hell. In that case, Arachne would have been waiting in Eva’s domain.
After drinking in her fill, Eva said the first thing that came to mind. “I think I’d like to kiss you right now.”
Arachne’s grin widened, bringing a small smile to Eva’s face.
“Let’s see how you feel after you see the get well present I’ve got for you.”
Someone cleared their throat. Loudly.
Arachne’s grin slipped slightly. She slid off to one side and wrapped her arms and legs around Eva, being careful not to jolt her.
Eva closed her eyes. She counted to ten. When she opened her eyes, Arachne was still at her side. And, unless she was very much mistaken, the ceiling of her own women’s ward common room was above her head.
Someone moved close, obstructing her view.
“Zoe Baxter,” Eva said.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like a vampire dropped a road-roller–covered in sewing needles–on my back and then proceeded to punch it a few hundred times.”
Zoe gave a weak smile. “That was probably us removing your curse. We were getting worried. That was almost three hours ago. The rats woke up almost immediately.”
At the mention of others, Eva attempted to lift her head and look around. She didn’t get very far. The pain in her back spiked, though not nearly to the same degree as earlier.
Undaunted, Eva used her blood sense in place of her eyes. Arachne cuddled at her side while Zoe looked down from a few feet away. Carlos, unless Eva was much mistaken, stood alongside Ylva near the entryway. Someone else knelt just behind Ylva. Eva guessed it was a nun based on the eye implanted in her chest.
Not Nel. There was only the one eye. Her circulatory system did not look familiar, though that did not necessarily mean much. Eva hadn’t paid close enough attention to the majority of nuns she had met to be able to identify individuals.
Nel had been in Sawyer’s clutches the last time Eva saw her. That probably didn’t bode well for her. But another nun? Did Ylva go out and pick up a replacement like the girl was some kind of goldfish?
The nun sat with her knees to the ground and her hands in her lap. Every few seconds, her vapid smile would vanish and be replaced with an almost blank expression.
The only other person in range was Devon. He was sitting sideways in a chair with his back and legs on the armrests. Sleeping; his heart rate was low and his head lolled off to one side.
Nuzzling against Arachne, Eva turned her attentions to herself. There were several cuts across her body, especially her back and sides. They all looked to be about the right size and amount to have been self-inflicted. It wasn’t as bad as the dark place. Most were shallow.
Healing them wouldn’t be much trouble.
Then there was the knife hole in her back. It didn’t hurt. Not unless she moved. Breathing too deep caused a good amount of pain as well. Given that one of her lungs had been nicked, that wasn’t too much of a surprise. But there was something odd.
“I’m not bleeding?”
Zoe glanced over her shoulder. “After removing your curse, Ylva stuck her finger into your wound. She said it would hold until you could take care of it.”
“Well, thanks,” Eva said as honestly as she could. Surviving whatever Sawyer had done to her only to die from bleeding out would have been far too embarrassing to stand.
Eva frowned as she attempted weaving her flesh back together. “I’m having trouble healing myself.”
“Lingering Death magic,” Ylva said in a calm voice.
Far calmer than Eva felt, she said, “Death magic?”
“The nuns’ lightning,” Zoe quickly said. Her growing panic must have been evident on Eva’s face. “It eats away at other magic, it is how we cured your curse. Unfortunately, it is probably going to interfere with your healing for a time.”
“Nun lightning is Death magic? With a capital ‘D’ and everything?”
Excitement crept into Zoe’s voice. “Oh yes. All their ‘white’ magic is. Hyper-specialized and tailored for fighting undeath. Would you believ–”
A loud snort from Devon interrupted Zoe as he rustled in his sleep.
“Sorry,” she said, speaking softer. “You probably don’t want all the details before you’re even out of bed.”
