Eva’s largest potions cabinet had been tipped over. A pool of potions spread out on the floor. Some mixing into foul colors, others staying separate like oil on water.
The cabinet wasn’t lying flat. Something was under one corner of it. It didn’t take a lot of guesswork to figure out what; the snake-like tentacles were a dead giveaway. It was one of the enigma creatures.
Shalise was draped over the top of the cabinet. It looked like she had been pressing down on top of the enigma. The fumes had likely overpowered her.
She was still alive, passed out, but alive. Her heart had a steady beat to it.
Taking another breath of fresh air, Eva pinched her eyes shut and entered the room. She scooped up Shalise, extremely grateful that the girl wasn’t currently a muscle-bound hulk, and beat a hasty retreat.
Slamming the potions room door shut behind her, Eva quickly moved and set Shalise down on the couch. Her white tee-shirt had splatters of blood covering it. Luckily, it was just the purple blood. She looked whole and hearty aside from being unconscious.
Eva decided to secure the alternate women’s ward before attending further to Shalise. She finished checking all the rooms with her own eyes to make sure there wouldn’t be any sudden surprises and then secured all the doors. That done, Eva made her way back to Shalise.
With her potions room in shambles, Eva had nothing magical to help wake Shalise up. She settled for lightly smacking the girl’s cheeks. Her light slaps turned harder and harder as Shalise refused to return to consciousness, though she took care not to injure her.
Just as Eva was about to leave to find a glass of water to dump on Shalise’s head, her eyes snapped open.
For just a moment, she stayed on the couch and pressed herself farther back into the cushions.
Recognition surfaced as she blinked. Shalise flew off the couch to wrap her trembling arms around Eva.
For her part, Eva went stiff as a board. “It’s alright,” Eva said once the shock of suddenly being grabbed wore off. She placed a few hesitant pats on Shalise’s back. “Can you tell me what happened?”
A long moment of silence passed before Shalise pulled back from Eva. “I-I was out walking along the beach as I do every morning,” she said.
Eva nodded along when she failed to continue.
“I saw t-them out there, on the beach. I thought they were dogs at first. Then I saw the tentacles and thought they were demon dogs. They were walking along the beach as well, occasionally nipping at each other.
“When they n-noticed me, they glanced at one another before letting out a terrible howl.” She shuddered. “It was like a high-pitched whine, a sudden silence, and then a cannon going off right next to my head. Around that time, Prax started shouting at me to run.”
Eva frowned. If the enigma creatures looked at each other before attacking, did that speak of some intelligence? She didn’t know enough about pack animals to say one way or the other, but it almost sounded like something humans might do to reaffirm their position with each other and ability to attack.
“Does Prax know what they are?” Eva asked.
Shalise shook her head. “Just that he got an intense feeling of fear from them.” She glanced off to one side, eyes narrowing. “Not that he is admitting it.”
“I’m glad you’re okay.” Eva patted her on the back another two times. It was a stiff action, but Shalise was one of those people who would be comforted by it. “I think I’ve decided to call them enigmas since no one else knows what they are either.”
“Is someone else here?” she asked, looking over the back of the couch to the rest of the room.
“No, just me. But Zoe and I saw one back in the mortal realm. A few others too.” Eva waved the tangent off. “Anyway, you made it back here and barricaded yourself in then killed the two of them? You were passed out in the potions room on top of the cabinet.”
Shalise nodded. “I’m glad the other one didn’t get me. I didn’t even notice I was feeling lightheaded until Prax pointed it out. Another second or two of heavy breathing had the world swirling around me.”
“Other one?” Breaking off eye contact with Shalise, Eva started scanning the room. Every corner, floor to ceiling. “How many did you see on the beach?”
“Three.”
Eva tensed. The blood started orbiting her at a high speed. “I only saw two corpses.”
Once again, Eva ran a quick search through every room in the women’s ward. She took the extra time to check beneath her bed, in cupboards, and anywhere else a dog sized creature might hide. Her blood sense was turning up nothing, but these things were strange enough. If they could hide from her while alive, she wouldn’t be surprised.
Shalise trailed behind her, looking every which way. Her muscles were slowly bulging out with Prax’s magic. She didn’t help much in the actual searching, but that was fine with Eva. If Shalise could provide a lookout while Eva was hunched over under a bed, she was being more than useful.
