“The two of you are fundamentally different in the nature of your corruptions. Shalise and her leech are two distinct entities. They merely need to be separated. You are…” Though her eyes hadn’t once lost their fire, the intensity flared. “You are an abomination.”
Eva shrugged. “Heard that before,” she said with a wave of her hand. “Don’t care. But, why haven’t you mentioned this exorcism before if you’re so sure it will succeed?”
“I said there were dangers. Risks that I would rather not expose her to. Trouble getting the items needed as well. But if she is to be hunted down and killed or tossed in some hellish prison… or worse,” she gestured towards the window. “Then the possible consequences of not separating the two outweigh that of the exorcism itself.”
Eva nodded. That made sense enough. Though she had to ask, “what are the dangers? The consequences?”
“Death, obviously, though I intend to minimize that as much as possible. More likely things include coma, disfigurement, pain…” Lynn shook her head. “Basically, the sort of consequences one would expect from such a ritual.
“In addition, there is a further complication. We are in Hell. The very air here–if it even is
Pressing her lips together, Eva nodded. “As long as you’re sure.”
“Have you any other options?”
“Possibly. None that I know of at this precise moment.”
“Then exorcism it is.”
“Two things first,” Eva said. “First, what assistance were you talking about?”
Sighing, Lynn leaned back against the wall. “This ritual will not be a simple affair. The circle alone could take hours to draw out.”
“And hours would mean multiple incursions of the enigmas. Unless this latest earthquake put an end to that.” Eva shook her head. “Doesn’t matter, I can handle defending you. Or, I could try helping you.”
Drawing her dagger–and trying to keep her movements as nonthreatening as possible–Eva made a shallow cut on her arm. She proceeded to form a simple ritual circle in the air between the two of them.
“I can manipulate it to your instructions,” Eva said, demonstrating altering the symbols in the air. “It should save time and effort.”
Lynn did not look pleased in the slightest. “This is a purification ritual. I would rather it not be tainted with blood and haemomancy.”
“Fair enough,” Eva said. She put the blood right back where it came from and let the matter drop. She wasn’t interested in a long argument, especially if they would be limited on time in the near future. “I can handle watching your back so you can work undisturbed.”
“In addition to the work,” Lynn said, “it will require reagents that your cupboards simply lack. And…” Her calm expression turned to a glower. “I believe I spotted Sis–Nel Stirling. I’ll need her help with the actual ritual.”
“Because she is an augur? Or because she is a former nun and has your eye things implanted?” Seeing the confusion on her face, Eva held up her hand before Lynn could respond. “Let me put it this way: Would a regular nun work for this ritual?”
“So long as they are knowledgeable about certain Elysium Order secrets. Why?”
“I suppose it doesn’t matter, but I’d rather have my bases covered. Ylva has a second former nun in her retinue. I figured I would ask, just in case Nel is uncooperative. Though I would much prefer Nel. I’d rather avoid the other as much as possible.”
Moving to the bedside table, Eva pulled out a notebook and a pen. She hadn’t been entirely sure that they would be there, but the writing implements were there in the real world, so it made sense. Probably.
“I’d offer to see if my domain couldn’t just make your reagents, but I have a feeling that you’ll reject them for the same reason you rejected my haemomantic ritual circle.” Eva tossed the writing implements to Lynn–the former nun caught them without issue.
“Write down a list of your reagents,” Eva said. “I’ll get what I can from around town. Zoe should be able to teleport to larger cities for anything more esoteric. I’ll bring them back when I grab Nel.”
“I do not require her presence. Her assistance will be for acquiring a certain artifact as part of the reagents. Speak to her after I give you the list. She will be able to answer your questions better than I, most likely.”
“Fair enough. The second thing,” Eva paused for a moment, double checking everything through her blood sight. Shalise was back in the common room, seated on a couch. Her heart was beating at a fairly high rate, but otherwise appeared calm.
“The second thing is just a curiosity. What do we tell Shalise? The dangers? Why you didn’t bring this option forward before?”
