“At least you guys have it easy,” Eva spoke up. “You should see the things Franklin Kines has me do while you go off running. My legs are killing me. I don’t know why I bother.”
“Even if you cannot run, there is still plenty of good to come from training your legs.” Jordan sounded almost like Professor Kines as he said that. He had the same, slightly haughty tone that the professor got during his lectures. For all Shalise knew, that was one of the professor’s own quotes.
“It isn’t that. It is just going to go to waste come summer. I’m having, uh, reconstructive surgery to fix my issue with running. It will likely invalidate all the work I’m putting into my legs.”
Jordan hummed as he tapped his chin. “There’s probably some exercises to prevent atrophy while you’re recovering.”
“It isn’t so much that my muscles will decay as it is replacing specific muscles. The ones I’m working on now won’t be in my legs anymore.”
Shalise went wide-eyed as she glanced at the black-haired girl. She couldn’t be planning on doing to her legs the same thing she did to her hands. Shalise’s questioning gaze turned towards Juliana.
The blond just shrugged with an almost thoughtful look on her face.
“That seems odd,” Shelby said. Her eyes dropped down to Eva’s legs–bare beneath her skirt–and lingered for almost a minute before she shook her head. “If they’re working fine right now, why are you getting rid of them?”
Eva gave a lazy shrug. Shalise doubted she cared about the other girl’s attentions. She walked around their dorm room naked enough that neither herself nor Juliana even blinked at the sight.
“The short answer,” Eva said, “would be that they aren’t working fine. I don’t know the long answer. I’m not a leg surgeon.”
“Are you sure you want to go through with that procedure?” Shalise looked at her roommate with a furrowed brow. “Wouldn’t a smaller one be better? One limited to just your feet.”
“That might work. I don’t know. The doctor just mentioned that there were certain advantages in the full leg treatment.”
Shalise did not miss the emphasis Eva put on the word. She wasn’t sure if the doctor was herself, Arachne, or her mysterious mentor. Shalise hadn’t even seen the latter since before Halloween, though she knew Eva went off to her ‘prison’ almost every weekend.
What ‘prison’ actually referred to, Shalise wasn’t certain. She’d never asked and neither Eva nor Juliana ever explained.
“As long as you know what you are doing and are happy with it,” Shalise said softly.
A gloved hand rested on her shoulder. It gave a squeeze that was a hair too tight, but not painful.
“Thank you for your concern, Shalise. Misplaced, but thank you anyway.”
As their group arrived at the main entrance to Brakket, the doors swung open.
Dressed in her solid black nunnery habit, Sister Cross strode into the lobby. She wore a downcast expression with her eyes glued to the floor. They didn’t stay stuck there for long. She came to a screeching halt as she looked up and noticed the group.
Her eyes settled on Eva. A flash of anger crossed her face before it turned to solid stone.
Shalise watched as Sister Cross’ eyes followed Eva’s arm up to Shalise’s shoulder.
The stony facade shattered into a grimace. Sister Cross shut her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, her face held a neutral, almost friendly expression. The tight smile did not help.
“Good evening, children.” Her voice lacked the usual melody. It strained, almost rasped out of her throat.
She might have been shouting and battling just before walking in, for all Shalise knew. Since the winged bull smashed up the cafeteria, there had been two more attacks on the nuns off campus. At least. There could have been more that went unnoticed by the rest of the town.
All Shalise knew for sure was that there were notices going up all around town. Every billboard in school and a number in town got curfew postings and reminders not to wander alone after each attack. The nuns had supposedly been banished from the school campus, though one could be spotted walking around occasionally.
They hadn’t met since Sister Cross attacked Eva just over two weeks before.
“Oh? Why Sister Cross, what a pleasure to see you again. Attempted murder on any other students recently?” Eva’s voice came out the picture of politeness. Shalise couldn’t detect a hint of sarcasm in the tone.
Muscles in Sister Cross’s jaw tightened for a mere instant. “Not at all, Eva. You’re the only one who is deserving of such attentions from me.”
“Ah yes, I certainly am amazing to receive your personal murder attempts. It must be terrible to be another student and have to be murdered by one of the lackies of the great Lynn Cross.”
Sister Cross’ eyes narrowed ever so slightly while the rest of her face remained impassive.
The two glared at each other until a light cough drew their attentions.
“I thought the Elysium Order wasn’t allowed on campus anymore,” Shelby all but whispered.
“Funny thing about rules like that,” Eva said before the nun could open her mouth. “They’re often ignored by people willing to murder children.”
“Quite so, Eva.” Sister Cross gritted out the words between her teeth. “I’d recommend you keep your nose clean.”
“Who would even know without your slavering watchdog hanging over my shoulder?”
Sister Cross’ face cracked again. This time rage flowed through. She took a step forward; everyone save Eva and Shalise took a step backwards.
“Don’t speak about her that way. Sister Stirling may have been young, stupid, vaguely insubordinate, and stupid, but she was a good woman. She doesn’t deserve whatever fate she’s met.”
A small humming noise escaped Eva’s throat.
In an effort to defuse the irate nun, Shalise spoke up. “You haven’t found her then?”
Sister Cross sighed and looked back down at the ground. The same expression she wore into the building appeared on her face. With a shake of her head and a soft smile, she looked up at Shalise.
“Her blood was released from the vault to be examined by a senior augur. There hasn’t been any sign of her yet, not even a body. I’m not sure how much more time headquarters is willing to use on their augurs.”
Shalise stepped forwards and felt Eva’s arm fall off of her shoulder. She took the nun into her own embrace for a quick hug. “I’m sure you’ll find her.”
“We’ll keep looking, but I’m being pressured to exalt a sister to be Charon’s newest augur. With everything that has been going on, there just hasn’t been time.” Sister Cross heaved a great sigh.
Shalise wasn’t sure how old Sister Cross was. She guessed somewhere in the late thirties to early forties. Having seen nothing but an oval of skin on her face made it difficult to get a better guess.
The sigh she sighed seemed to turn her from an early forty-year old all the way to her sixties. Pure exhaustion set into her face as her eyes drifted back to the floor.
And the moment was gone. Sister Cross’ face hardened as she looked over the group.
“What are you doing here?” Jordan asked. A cocky grin spread across his face as he brushed a hand through his wavy, brown hair. “Unless you are here to murder us. In that case, I know of some particularly devious third years who are probably far more fun to fight than us little freshmen.”
“If you must know, I have a meeting with the dean,” she said.
If there was any more venom in the word, Shalise would have to run to the nurse and get an antitoxin. The flash of hate on her face was far worse than when she looked at Eva.