“I think you mean to say ‘West African shapeshifting spider’ limbs.”
Blended struggled against her grip. She wouldn’t be able to break it. Eva wished she had Arachne’s upper arm as well as her lower arm if only because she wanted to lift the girl up by the throat.
Hugo struggled to get off of her fingers.
Eva threw him off, sending him back against the sinks. She wiped the surprisingly small amount of blood onto the hilt of her dagger.
As soon as she had control over it, the blood flew through the air to form two disks that pressed into his eyes. Eva released her control.
Blinded by his own blood, Hugo flailed around as he attempted to wipe the blood away.
Eva dragged Blended to the restroom entrance and pressed one foot against the door. The room was empty save for the three of them. She did not want anyone walking in on them.
“Now,” Eva dropped her voice until even she could barely hear it, “we are going to have a little talk. I don’t know where you got the idea that any part of me is demonic and I don’t care–” for now at least. “If I find out that you mentioned the ‘d’ word to anyone, I promise to hunt you down. If rumors start going around the school, I will assume you are responsible. Do we understand each other?”
Blended did not respond. She continued to struggle against Eva’s claw.
Eva released her with a light shove.
She stumbled backwards, gasping for air.
Eva turned her attention back to Hugo just in time to see him rushing at her despite the blood still in his eyes. She kicked out with her foot and struck him square in the chest.
Rather than fly back like a good little ragdoll, he gripped her leg and held on.
Eva hopped forwards–there was no one on the other side of the door anyway–and used her stronger legs to force Hugo backwards.
He stumbled over and fell to his back with Eva’s leg pinning him against the ground.
“I believe I asked you a question.”
“I’m sorry.” Her voice rasped.
Eva didn’t think she squeezed hard at all, definitely not hard enough to cut off air. Then again, she might have some medical issues related to the unable to heal thing.
Blended coughed a few times before she said, “I’m sorry. I won’t mention it again. I just wanted a friend.”
“Well, you sure screwed that up.”
She hung her head. “This isn’t how it was supposed to go.”
“‘How it was supposed to go?'” Eva narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean by that?”
“You are like me. We’re not like everyone else.”
“We are not alike. Even if we were, that alone isn’t a good reason to be friends. Next time you want to make friends with someone, don’t antagonize them.”
Eva turned towards the door, but turned her head over her shoulder. “Remember my promise. One word to anyone.”
Blended nodded behind Eva’s back as she started to help Hugo up. He’d probably have a few broken ribs.
Eva wasn’t too concerned about him running to a nurse. He still was barely bleeding. Something was odd about him.
Odd about both of them.
She could only hope that the small marble of his blood that she reclaimed from his eyes was enough for Nel to work with.
— — —
Zoe Baxter leaned back into the soft padding of her infirmary bed. Too many potions had her feeling loopy, but her head had started to clear in the last few hours. Hopefully she hadn’t done too many embarrassing things.
She hated this.
Not just the potions and the infirmary. She felt groggy. Her mind wasn’t completely sharp.
A few key notes stuck out to her. Things she picked up despite the potions.
Wayne was off in some elven hospital. Her home destroyed along with all her research.
I hope those fireproof safes were worth the money.
Even if they worked perfectly, not everything would be saved. Definitely nothing she had been actively working on.
Zoe pinched her eyes shut as she tried to remember all her current projects. The ring stood out first and foremost. She hadn’t worked on it much after the end of last year, but plenty of notes hadn’t been filed away yet.
The notes about Des’ healing condition would be long gone. Not a big issue. She hadn’t been making any progress in that department. The biggest issue there would be the destruction of books.
Any material relating to demonology had been dropped into between. Far too volatile to risk anyone accidentally happening upon. At least she wouldn’t have to tell Eva that her books had been burnt.
Anything else would hopefully be in the safe.
The ring was the only thing that wasn’t between. Zoe hadn’t given it a moment of thought until just now. She had a sudden urge to find Eva and have her collect it. If someone else found it…
Zoe shook her head. Nothing to do about it at the moment. She’d have Lisa find Eva as soon as she could.
The ring was supposed to protect her. Supposed to dissuade enemies from attacking her. Provided Ylva was telling the truth, of course.
She should have been wearing it. Everything might have been different.
Again, Zoe shook her head. Worrying about the past was not constructive.
Zoe stretched out her arm.
She was quite certain that her elbow had been pulverized by the tentacle monster. Her arm flopped loosely for a good while before she managed to escape.
Whatever Lisa did to it worked wonders.
Her arm came down on the buzzer for the nurse. Sure, she could have used her other arm. Doing so wouldn’t have let her test out her injuries.
All in all, it wasn’t that bad. There was a strong tingle right in the crook of her elbow when she tried to flex it. Zoe wasn’t sure if painkillers were dampening a more intense feeling or not. If Lisa didn’t want her to be moving it, she should have put a cast on it.
Trying to move her leg didn’t end in such success. Pain wracked up her thigh before she decided not to hop out of bed just yet.
“You’re still injured. Don’t try getting up.”
“I don’t think I will,” Zoe said as she glanced towards the door.
Lisa Naranga stood there, staring with a half-sad smile on her face. “Glad to see you’re finally awake.”
“Glad to be awake.” Zoe returned the smile, trying hard not to wince as her leg resettled in the bed. “How long do I need to stay here?”
“Your knee is still in about thirteen pieces. Fixing it has been a nightmare. Both Laura and Eirin have been running through several options. I doubt you’ll want to leave before it gets fixed.”
“I seem to remember my arm bending in the wrong direction as well.”
“It looked worse than it was. Local bone regrowth injection had it mending well.”
Zoe stretched out both arms and stretched them back and forth. “Seems alright. A light tingle every time I move it though.”
“Aftereffects. They should wear off. If they haven’t by next week–well, if you’ve been released by next week–come see us.”
“I hope I’m released soon. So much work to get done.”
Lisa moved to the side of the bed and started looking over Zoe’s arm. “Any aches, pains, or general discomfort anywhere aside from your leg?”
Zoe rolled her neck back and forth with a slight cracking noise. “Lower neck pains. A small amount of strain on the actual bone, but that’s from being hunched over grading papers.”
“Dorsal lacerations likely aggravating the problem. They shouldn’t be a problem after another day or two. How long have you had the strain?”
“A few years maybe.”
“Grade papers in a different position. Invest in a new chair if that is the issue. You shouldn’t be having back pain at your age. At least not from grading papers.”
Zoe did not miss the momentary drop of her eyes. Lisa’s sad smile twisted into a lecherous smile before their eyes made contact.