“Now the fae,” he said, “I wouldn’t want to even hear a fae contract without a good dozen lawyers at my back.”
Eva frowned, wondering just how many lawyers went over the contracts for the diablery class. Knowing what little she did about Martina Turner, probably none.
“But,” Eva said, “you’re still going to summon the queen for Qrycx.”
“Loopholes. Assuming I even summon it again.”
With that, they fell silent. Eva let him finish cleaning the floor in peace while she considered what he had said.
Just as he was finishing up, Eva went and opened her mouth again. “What about me?”
He blinked, glancing back over his shoulder. “You? What about you?”
“‘Demons are not trustworthy,'” she said, complete with air quotes. “What about me?”
Another blink.
He burst out in a short guffaw. “You’re just a kid. And not a real demon, at least not yet. Even after your treatment is complete, its doubtful that anyone who knows you would consider you a threat. Now, after a century or two of time to distance yourself from the woes of us short-lived mere mortals, it will be another story. I don’t plan on sticking around quite that long.”
Nodding with a slight frown, Eva tried to decide whether or not to be offended. Trustworthy wasn’t bad, not from her perspective at least. Undemonlike might be bad. Her treatment wasn’t complete, so she supposed she could let that one slide for now. Not a threat?
Yes, that was definitely offensive.
Then, Eva’s mind caught up with his final sentence.
“You aren’t going to perform the treatment on yourself?”
A long moment of silence reigned supreme as Devon stilled.
“Arachne,” he eventually said, “was once human. As you well know. Some mages masquerading as gods didn’t like her and turned Arachne into what it is now. Myths say that Hel, mother of our very own Ylva, was cast down to Hell by Odin after being touched by Death. More mages masquerading as gods.
“There are other, similar tales through history and mythology. Humans turned to demons, or other monsters, by ones more powerful than themselves. Know one thing they all have in common?”
Eva considered for a moment. Not having a wide background in various myths and legends, she really only had the two examples. Not enough to come up with a commonality.
So Eva just shook her head.
Devon put on a rueful smile. “Perhaps I’ll tell you one day. I’ll give you a hint. It has to do with the endings of the stories.”
The smile behind his goatee twisted back into his usual expression of impassiveness and grumbling. “Now get out. I still have work to do.”
Eva nodded. Hopping to her feet, she started off towards the exit of his cell block. She stopped almost as soon as she started as two things came to mind.
The first was that she had forgotten to ask about the Powers. Probably a dead-end, as Ylva said, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
The second…
Eva stared down at the half erased ritual circle where the remains of Simon had lain not so long ago.
She bit her lip and asked a question she had never considered before.
“Was I the first?”
“First what? Demon-that-was-originally-human? Weren’t you listening, girl? Arachne and Hel are two–”
“The first of your experiments. I’m obviously your only current success. But was I the first you attempted the treatment on?”
He regarded her with a suspicion-filled raised eyebrow. “What? Growing a conscience now?” He gave a cold laugh. “More than that kid have died in the course of my research–if he wasn’t dead before the ritual even began, that is. Anyone with zero failures on a project as big and as unique as mine must be a literal god. ‘Course you’re not the first.”
Eva nodded. That was roughly what she had expected. Though, at no point when he had originally explained the process to her had he ever mentioned any dangers. “Perhaps in the future,” she said slowly, “you might warn your potential subjects that they might not make it.”
Looking at her like she was crazy, Devon just shook his head. “Most subjects weren’t exactly in the state to give consent. Not to the point of that kid,” he gestured towards the door, “but a lot less well off than yourself.”
Frowning, he pulled out his notebook again and started writing. “Ill individuals may not make for the best subjects,” he mumbled to himself. “Subject should display moderate drive and willpower, the will to live, and generally be in a healthy state.” Shutting his notebook, he glanced up and met Eva’s eyes.
A moment passed before he pulled out his notebook again. “Correction: willpower not needed. Subject should be slightly more self-aware than a pineapple.”
“Hey!”
—
Eva lifted her teacup, taking in a deep breath of the fragrant fumes.
