Eva blinked straight down to Anise. Ignoring her yelp, Eva gave her a light shove. Just enough to knock her off-balance. Once off-balance, Eva scooped her up into her arms and started jumping back up the pyramid. Her hops up were shorter than they could be while on her own, but still much faster than Anise climbing unassisted.
“Don’t drop–”
At the top, Eva ignored Anise’s complaints and unceremoniously dropped her on the ground. She ran back to the stairs…
And considered leaving Emily behind once again. Randal was hightailing it up the pyramid and would be at the top soon enough. Even if they left her behind, Emily could still come down the elevator. Probably. Assuming it wasn’t limited in its uses.
If the first to use it was the only one who could, then Eva had already lost. She had to believe that the game wasn’t over yet.
The simple fact of the matter was that Emily didn’t offer all that much to the team. Randal was from her school and therefore a trusted ally. Not to mention his demon bond that gave him more power than the average thaumaturgical mage. Anise had an Elysium Order eye implanted in her chest. Her magic was the ultimate anti-undead. Almost to the point where Eva was concerned she might kill the vampire on accident.
It wasn’t super concerning. If the vampire died, Eva wouldn’t lose much sleep over it. And if somebody killed the vampire who wasn’t her, then all the better.
Emily was just a regular thaumaturge. Not even an experienced one. She was about the same age as Eva, even if she seemed to have a decent handle on both earth magic and fire magic.
However, she wasn’t from the Nod Complex. For the moment, that was good enough for Eva.
Eva blinked again.
“Wait! Don’t–”
Eva knocked her to the side just as she had with Anise, scooped her up, and started hopping up once again.
Randal made it up to the top before Eva did. Not by much. If she hadn’t hesitated in retrieving Emily, she might have made it back first. Or at least at the same time.
“No ride for me?” Randal asked with a mild chuckle. He started to move towards Rachael.
Eva pinched the hem of his shirt without setting down the somewhat squirmy Emily. She dragged him over to the center where Anise was already waiting. As with Anise, Eva dropped Emily on the ground and ignored her groan.
Fishing her marble out of her pocket—which was thankfully still intact despite the holes in her clothes—Eva dropped it into the indentation.
Which promptly opened up and swallowed the marble.
Eva waited. She was expecting the entire platform to move. Or at least the part between the pillars. There was a faint seam where she though the floor might drop out from the rest.
But it wasn’t moving.
“Rachael?” she said, turning. “How long did it take?”
“Only a second or two, but they both put their marbles in.”
Eva looked around her group. “Well? You heard her, what are you waiting for? I hope none of you lost them.”
Anise and Emily both pulled theirs out without complaint and dropped them into the hole. Randal pulled his out and held it in his hand.
He didn’t bend down and put it in the hole. His eyes narrowed as he watched the other two drop their marbles.
“Why are we taking these two with us?”
“Randal,” Eva said, keeping her voice cool. “Put your marble in the hole. If the elevator ride is long enough, maybe I’ll tell you. Nod Complex students are already down there. We
He hesitated for another moment before tilting his head. “Alright,” he said with a half-sigh.
The second he placed his marble down, the entire platform jolted. Another second and they were moving downwards.
“Good luck,” Rachael shouted just before their heads dipped below the surface of the temple.
Reaching into her pocket, Eva pulled out one of the wands and tossed it at Rachael. “Just in case,” she called out as two stone doors closed over her head.
Randal had his eyes on Eva as soon as the last vestiges of light were pinched by the doors. They snapped shut with a thunderous crash. Beyond that, Eva couldn’t hear much of anything. The elevator was near silent. Maybe a slight grinding of stone against stone if she really strained her ears, but that could just as easily be her imagination.
Not that she needed to hear anything. Randal’s stare was loud enough on its own to make up for the lack of noise around.
She couldn’t actually
Well, none save for two bright white lights flaring up where Anise’s eyes should be. They didn’t provide nearly enough illumination to brighten up the entire elevator however.
So Eva decided to help out. She ignited both of her claws, brightening her flames until she could see not only her companions but the moving walls as well. The platform was fairly spacious. Eva couldn’t stretch out her arms without hitting someone else, but she wasn’t up in their faces either. Even still, she took a step closer to the center.
