Eva tucked a potion satchel filled with poisons into the side pocket of her suitcase. They might not be any good at all, but no sense in leaving them behind. They didn’t weigh all that much and didn’t take all that much room. If she did need or want them, it was better to have them on hand.
Of course, when she applied that logic to everything that she owned, Eva found her suitcase rapidly running low on room. And that was after having removed several books that probably wouldn’t be needed.
“I don’t suppose you know how to drive?” Eva asked. “There’s a certain someone in Idaho that needs to die.”
“I
“Bundles of clothes don’t help? You were out watching my treatment a few days ago.”
“And I got sunburned doing so. Especially around my face.” She rubbed just under her eyes. “The goggles were the highest rated I could find and they still weren’t enough. Besides, you can teleport.”
“Not without a gate. Last time I tried without a gate at my destination, I wound up stuck in Hell.”
Eva zipped up the suitcase. Everything she could think of taking with her was inside. Blood, bloodstones, potions, poisons, a certain cursed dagger that she was hoping to reunite with its owner, the blood magic ritual book, a change of clothes including her blindfold and the dress that Arachne had made for her, Arachne’s necklace beacon—just in case she came back—and an assortment of enticements.
No one was supposed to be summoning demons at the moment, but if the going got tough, one or two probably wouldn’t hurt. Especially so far away from Brakket Academy.
Basila was coming along as well. Eva was somewhat disappointed that the stone basilisk hadn’t healed completely from its excursion into the Elysium Order’s cathedral. Appearance-wise, she was mostly fine. The fresh scales were far weaker than the blood-infused stone and one tooth was missing entirely. Everything else looked normal and Basila acted normal.
Given that it was a stone carving, she really should be happy that it had healed at all. A side effect of the ritual she had performed on it had tried to repair it without any actual living material to grow. That resulted in semi-soft blood filling in most of the spare areas. Eva might have been able to harden the blood more, but she was worried about affecting its movement and flexibility.
“Besides, I think Nel is coming along. My method of teleportation is not kind to those without certain demonic proclivities.” Lynn Cross had definitely not enjoyed it.
“Can she not drive?”
Eva shook her head. That had been one of the first things she had asked. To say that Nel was afraid of driving would be an understatement. Paranoid was the word that came to mind.
“Zoe and Wayne could teleport you both.”
“They could, but they might not be back until mid-to-late June. I’ve put this off long enough. Waiting for another month would just increase the chance that it never gets done.”
Serena shoved off the wall and skipped backwards as Eva walked out of the room with her suitcase in hand.
“I wonder if Catherine knows how to drive?”
“Even if she does, won’t she be too busy researching with the diabolist?”
Eva let out a long sigh. “Demonologist. And probably.”
Really, if it weren’t for Nel, she could probably get to Sawyer without too much trouble. Between running with Arachne’s legs and being able to blink around, she could probably make better time than a car if she pushed herself. Maybe. Probably not. Cars didn’t get exhausted.
“So, transportation for two,” Serena mused. “Do you need to get there in one day?”
“Not necessarily.” She was trying not to procrastinate more, but it had already been a month and a half since Nel found Sawyer. “One or two more days won’t matter much.”
“Then I
“This time a year, there’s a good eight hours of darkness.”
“True. But I would rather not take my chances. Four hours of driving and then we start looking for a motel of some sort to hide away in during the daylight. And then we’ll have to spend some time securing the windows and doors. Motel blinds are not known for their ability to keep away light.”
“I can cast a spell that will block out light,” Eva said. She cast said spell off at the far end of the common room to demonstrate.
The entire back half of the women’s ward darkened. An inky black soup filled the air, preventing either of them from seeing beyond the coffee table in the middle of the room.
Serena hummed at the wall of darkness as she walked up to it. She put one arm through the darkness, pulled the arm out and looked at it. After a moment, she stepped inside the shroud.
