“Yep. One huge reason why I’ve been loathe to perform one of these kind of rituals.”
“Save it,” Sister Cross spat. “I can heal myself. Especially with a proper connection to the source.”
“Instantly? Because for all I know, Shalise could be being attacked right now,” Eva said, letting the implications linger in the air for a moment.
She pulled her bloodstone back into her hand, moving to pocket it. “But good to know I can keep this.”
Eva stood, moving towards the torture chamber exit. “Come Arachne. Since Sister Cross can stand up to demons as she is now, no sense wasting our time or my bloodstone. Let’s drop her off with Shal–”
“Wait.”
Eva paused and tossed a glance over her shoulder. All the while keeping a slight smile from showing on her lips.
Sister Cross still knelt. She leaned forward slightly, her fists pressed into the ground in front of her. Both arms trembled slightly. Through grit teeth, she said, “Shalise… is she actually in danger?”
“The day that you attacked me–completely unprovoked, I might add–Shalise was attacked by three
Arachne’s head whipped over fast enough that her hair tendrils snapped through the air, creating the telltale crack of a whip.
Eva rolled her eyes. She held out her foot for both of the others’ sakes. It had healed a great deal in the three days since she first got the injury. Not perfect, there were still obvious lines and cracks, but it had mended enough that she could put weight on it.
“I got better,” she said. “Though I can’t say the same would hold true for Shalise should she fall prey to them.”
Sister Cross shut her eyes. After taking in a deep, shuddering breath, she glared up at Eva. “If this is a lie–”
“Why would I lie to you? If I wanted to kill you, you would be dead. If I wanted to keep you from Shalise, you’d still be in your cell.”
Closing her eyes once again, Sister Cross fell silent. Eva stood to the side while trying to ignore the worried glances Arachne kept sending her way.
Enough time passed that Eva was about to call it quits anyway. She could find some other way to keep Shalise safe until Sister Cross managed to heal on her own.
Sister Cross spoke up just as Eva turned to leave. “Fine. Perform your ritual. But if you’re–”
Eva didn’t have the time nor patience to hear out whatever threat Sister Cross had to say. The moment the first word came out of her mouth, it didn’t matter. She had the willing agreement of the ritual subject.
Technically it could be performed without the subject’s consent, but Eva didn’t want any resistance. Wasting a bloodstone on a failed ritual was not an option.
Plucking the bloodstone from her pocket, Eva tossed it out. A small amount of her own blood clung to the surface, helping to direct it through the air.
It landed right in its designated spot.
By the time Sister Cross started to speak her threat, Eva was ready.
She forced her magic into the circle, flooding the diagrams and sigils.
Sister Cross let out a scream. Visible tendrils of blood-red magic erupted from the bloodstone. They curled through the air, reaching towards her before settling in on her flesh.
The nun’s scream only increased in intensity as her body was visibly and forcibly mended. Her back arched and she clawed out at the air.
Chunks of flesh weaved in the air out of nothing–nothing except magic–before slapping down on her exposed skin. It stretched to her existing skin, almost hooking into place.
Some parts that Eva could have sworn were not actually injured received a similar treatment. Large spindles of muscle pulled through holes in her skin and disintegrated in mid-air. More magic-formed muscle then burrowed into her flesh before the ritual sealed the holes.
While the ritual was working, Eva had a sinking moment of disappointment. Because the bloodstones from the museum hadn’t decomposed or been otherwise consumed, she had actually held out a slight hope that this one would survive the ritual.
She could see now that it would not. As the tendrils of magic continued to work on Sister Cross, the bloodstone from which they stemmed was clearly shrinking. Dust blew off of it, disappearing before it reached the edge of the circle.
The last of the bloodstone vanished. Tendrils shrank to nothing as the final pieces of flesh made their way into or onto Sister Cross’ body. The glow of the circle fading was the final step.
Whatever tension had held up Sister Cross’ arched body gave way the moment the glow died. She collapsed to the ground, blood from the ritual circle smearing across her skin. Her chest heaved as if she just ran a ten-mile marathon in record time.
But her body was whole again. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of scars where her new flesh met old. Not even a sign that there was new flesh.
“Arachne,” Eva said, “get her on her feet and cleaned off.”
“Back to her cell?”
