Eva hadn’t wanted to bring Srey into the loop. The less people who knew about the ritual, the less failure points it had. However, without having a method to block out the demon hunters’ spying, Srey was one of the most valuable tools around.
Unfortunately, he could only
But for the time being, they had land to survey. The ritual wasn’t quite as large as Sawyer’s field. Close, but not quite. They needed a relatively flat area free of most trees, shrubberies, and other foliage.
She doubted that she would be able to find a location that fit that criteria. She would have to make one. Eva planned to burn most of the plant life away.
Though, maybe bringing Juliana into the ritual wouldn’t be a bad idea. She could help level the terrain.
Not tonight though. Tonight it was just Eva, Arachne, Vektul, and Srey.
“You all ready to go?” Eva asked, glancing around at the gathered demons.
Arachne immediately stepped up to her side. She flexed her fingers as a few spare legs grew from her back. While she didn’t grow to her full size, she made herself as menacing as possible. They weren’t planning on fighting, but nobody wanted to be caught unprepared.
The other two were somewhat slower to jump to their feet. Vektul had taken a liking to the couches inside the women’s ward. At least, he was smiling a lot. Too much, really. Whoever had taught him about smiling should have mentioned that it wasn’t something to be done constantly.
He gave off too many Sawyer vibes like he was.
Well, not quite as bad.
Vektul’s smile, though just as wide as Sawyer’s, was more like that of an innocent child. He emanated none of the malicious vibes that Eva had felt anytime she had been in Sawyer’s presence.
On the other hand, Srey’s perpetual scowl only deepened as Eva turned to him. Not even her ‘honored’ status among demons could get him to smile at the moment. Or even look mildly content. He grumbled for a moment as he stood up. “We’re going to get ambushed.”
“Just keep an eye out for anyone spying on us. We’ll leave immediately upon being noticed. No chances.”
Tonight was for survey only. Nothing more.
Well, maybe a little foliage clearing if they had the time. Eva already had a spot in mind. An old farmer’s field not far from the prison. Far enough away that it couldn’t really be seen, but not so far that it would be overly troublesome to get to without constructing a gate.
Vektul, seeing that everyone else was up and waiting for him, finally got to his feet. Not before letting out a long sigh as he left the couch. Eva didn’t think it was that comfortable, the bed in his dorm was probably better. Maybe he had lived on nothing but beds of nails in his domain.
Either that or he was simply not emoting properly again.
None in their group could blink except for Eva, so they would be walking. Luckily, everyone here was a demon. They all had the stamina and speed to run at a decent pace.
“Follow me,” Eva said.
Running out of the women’s ward, Eva blinked to the top of the nearest exterior wall. Arachne quickly followed, though she jumped to reach the wall. Srey was next. Rather than climb or blink, he turned into his misty form and just sort of drifted to the top. He reformed into a solid demon just to the side of Eva.
Vektul stayed behind, looking somewhat confused. He turned almost a full circle around before tilting his head to one side. Glancing at the base of the wall before glancing up to Eva, he straightened his neck. “Our intention is to arrive on the other side, is it not?”
“If you put a hole in my wall, I’ll kill you.”
“That will not be necessary.” He crossed his arms across his chest.
Nothing else happened.
Eva was about to send Arachne down to pick him up when the ground beneath him opened up in a gaping black portal. He fell in and the portal shimmered away into nothing behind him.
The portal was something that Eva had seen before. Several times, in fact. Any time a demon was banished or died, they fell into a very similar portal as Void reclaimed them. It was similar enough that Eva had to turn to her companions and ask, “Did he just kill himself?”
Arachne just shrugged. Srey, on the other hand, actually took a step back. He was staring at the spot Vektul had just occupied with a look of bewilderment. Something akin to the looks that he sometimes gave Eva when he thought she wasn’t looking.
While neither said a word, Eva did get her answer.
“No. I haven’t killed myself.”
Turning to the sound of the voice, Eva found Vektul stepping out of an upright portal on the outside of the prison. He glanced around once before nodding to himself with a wide smile. “Yep. I’m fine.”
