Given the fact that Catherine was in her usual spot, the security guards were probably in the guard room. Or patrolling around the school. Zagan would be harder to pin down, but he might be around as well. If Eva couldn’t find anyone, she could always come back and ask Catherine.
Ten steps down the hallway and Eva already knew she was going to be meeting with one demon. She caught sight of his circulatory system long before she heard his heavy footsteps.
“Intelligent decisions?” Zagan gave a light sniffle. “Our little succubus is all grown up. Brings a tear to my eye.”
Eva turned to face Zagan with a frown. “There is
“Alright. I wasn’t there and I didn’t hear,” there was a golden glint in his eye as his silver voice spilled out obviously false words. “Of course, if I wasn’t there and didn’t hear, you might find it difficult to convince me to help with your little problem.”
“You’re willing to help.” Eva’s voice was flat. She crossed her arms and glared, feeling more irritated by his smile as the seconds ticked by.
Zagan mimicked her pose. With his arms crossed, he leaned back, resting against thin air like it was a solid wall. And yet, he didn’t confirm or deny Eva’s statement.
It wasn’t that she would be ungrateful if he was offering to help. Zagan was beyond powerful. Devon didn’t think it would matter much, but he hadn’t ever done this particular ritual before. He was designing it from scratch specifically for her. If there was even a chance that she could give herself a fraction of Zagan’s power…
Well, it would probably help with Sawyer, if nothing else.
The problem was that no one in this world–or in Hell–did anything for free. Everyone wanted something. Zagan would be no different.
Not even two minutes ago, Eva had considered skipping over Zagan no matter what. But with the possibility dangling right in front of her, could she really resist?
At the very least, she could hear him out.
“What do you want?”
“What do I want? A better question would be, what could you possibly do for me that I couldn’t do for myself?”
Eva narrowed her eyes. She had a feeling that she knew what he was talking about. A different answer came to mind after a moment more thought.
“I taught that diablery class in your place. Without me, you would have had to do it all yourself.”
Zagan stared for a moment before bursting out in raucous laughter. “That you did,” he said, slapping Eva on her shoulder.
Eva winced, but ignored the pain. If he was actually trying to hurt her, she would be writhing and screaming on the ground.
“You told me that teaching that class wasn’t worth getting Shalise out of Hell. Is it worth sitting around for a few minutes every few months?”
“It just might be,” he said, still chuckling.
Eva couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. “So you’ll help out?”
“Saturday? I suppose I can clear my schedule.”
Zagan didn’t even ask for a favor. Not unless she counted the diablery class.
Eva didn’t.
It had been tedious, but relatively simple all things considered.
“Do me a favor,” he said.
Eva drew in a deep breath through her nose. She had thought too soon. What manner of horror was his favor going to involve?
“Bring along Lucy.”
And she let that breath back out again.
That wasn’t so bad.
“If you don’t mind my asking, why?”
“An experiment of my own. If I am right–” he gave a dark chuckle, “and I always am–I’d like for there to be four demons at your little birthday party.”
“Experiment?” Eva blinked in confusion. “Wait, no… Birthday?”
“My little embryonic one, do you not consider your treatments to be birthdays? Every one that passes brings you more strength, more power, and a step closer to a true rebirth.”
“Not really.” Eva frowned. It made sense. Kind of. “Wouldn’t the day I complete the treatment be more like a birthday than every single treatment? The day that I cease being an ’embryo’ to use your word.”
It was Zagan’s turn to frown.
They just stood for a moment, staring at each other with frowns on their faces.
“I like my interpretation better.”
“I suppose it doesn’t really matter,” Eva said with a shrug. “I barely celebrate my actual birthday now. I couldn’t imagine doing so at your age.”
Something about Zagan’s words sent her mind in a strange direction. “Do you still celebrate your birthdays? Or wait, were you even born? I was a little preoccupied at the time, but I distinctly recall you saying that you did not have a mother back in my domain.”
“That is true.” He shifted his lean against the air behind him and cracked his neck to one side with a few loud pops. “I suppose there is no harm in telling you.
“I am a Pillar of Hell. One of the seventy-two created by Void from nothing.”
