Ylva had changed the clouds as well. Rather than the overcast yet calm layer of clouds, there was now a raging thunderstorm. Without the thunder. Lightning illuminated the entire ceiling as it arced from cloud to cloud.
“Wow.”
“Understatement of the century, dear,” said Genoa.
Eva didn’t think it was that impressive, but she had already seen the rest of Ylva’s domain plenty of times. Genoa and Carlos had much more to take in.
Genoa walked right up to the edge of the pit with her hands on her hips–very near her foci. Not even a hint of fear showed as she leaned over the edge to look down. “How deep is it?”
“Indefinite.”
Eva blinked. That sounded like Ylva’s commanding tone, even in the single word, but it didn’t sound like her voice. She glanced off to the side.
Nel stood there in her red and white dress with her black robes.
A little kid stood next to her. She kept her back straight and her head held high as she looked over Genoa with dead eyes. Her lips were the same ice blue. The kid wore a miniature version of Ylva’s navel-cut dress despite the lack of cleavage necessary to pull it off. The blood in her veins failed to flow properly.
The death god Hel had children. Being one of those children, Ylva was known as a hel. Would one of Ylva’s children be called a hel or a ylva?
Eva wiped the smile off her face with a shake of her head. “Ylva?”
The kid gave a regal nod of her head. “We have disguised Ourself. This form will be unassuming.”
“Are you going to dress like that?” Zoe asked.
Juliana nodded and said, “and talk like that?”
Ylva quirked her head to one side before glancing down at herself. Her eyes snapped back up to Juliana and Zoe. “Our form is unassuming.”
“She’s so cute,” Shalise said. “Don’t bully her.” Before anyone could stop her, she had her arms wrapped around the tiny form of Ylva.
Zoe, Nel, and Genoa all drew in a gasp that went completely unnoticed by the brunette.
Shalise actually tried to pick up Ylva. And failed. “Kind of heavy though.”
“Our weight remains unchanged.”
“Oh.” Shalise let go of Ylva and took a step back. “Are you not normally this small?”
Ylva shook her head. Gray fog billowed up into a tall pillar around her. An intangible wind dispersed the fog as quick as it came. An eight foot high Ylva stood in its wake.
Shalise quickly backpedaled away from the giant woman. “I-I see.”
“Why don’t you stay like that for now. Maybe tomorrow too. You don’t want to introduce yourself as a child, do you?”
“Our form does not alter Ourself.”
“It isn’t so much about you as it is about how others will perceive you. A child would leave a disappointing impression compared to your usual, regal self.”
Ylva frowned.
The frown wasn’t hostile nor directed towards Eva. It sent chills down her spine nonetheless. Eva almost started some verbal backpedaling of her own.
It occasionally slipped her mind that Ylva was one of the more powerful entities she knew. One that took great offense at personal slights. The demon’s general deference to Eva on account of ‘renting’ the cell house combined with her odd mannerisms often had Eva acting far higher than her standing would otherwise dictate.
Ylva’s nod stopped Eva’s thoughts. “We acknowledge your perspective. Our unassuming form will wait.”
“Good,” Eva said with a strained smile. “Anyway, this is Genoa and Carlos Rivas.” She gestured towards each in turn.
Genoa had moved away from the pit the moment Ylva appeared. She had her back to a wall and had dragged Carlos and Juliana near to her. Upon being addressed, Carlos gave a light wave while his wife kept a hand firmly on her dagger.
“They’re Juliana’s parents,” Eva continued. “Genoa has requested to stay with us to provide an additional layer of security.”
“You trust them?”
Eva was about to answer until she noticed Ylva’s gaze had turned towards Juliana.
It took the blond a moment to realize she was being addressed. When she finally did, Juliana looked offended. “Of course I trust them. They’re my parents.”
“We have no objections. Nel will provide a tour.”
“What, just like that?” Genoa said.
“You disagree with your own daughter?”
“No. Not that. You just let me in here without confirming that I’m an ally. What if I took control of her mind and made her say yes?”
Ylva glanced down at Juliana and stared. “Unlikely,” she said after a minute.
“How can you know that?”
“We have spoken with Juliana in the past. Her mental facilities are unaltered.”
Genoa shot a frown towards Juliana. She quickly rounded back on Ylva. “This place is dangerous. Even aside from the bottomless pit of doom. What happens if the outside walls are damaged? The entire place could explosively collapse.”
“Our domain is under Our control. We will not allow such an event. Have you more complaints?”
“Mom, you need to calm down a little.”
An uneasy silence settled over the group. Juliana moved up to take her mother’s hand.
“We have further preparations.” Ylva turned, gave a nod at Nel, and walked straight through one of the sealed off walls.
“Well, as Lady Ylva said, I’m Nel.” She clapped her hands together and smiled an incredibly shaky smile.
“‘Lady Ylva?’ What is with the majestic plural anyway?”
Eva shrugged. “She’s the daughter of Hel. Granddaughter of Loki. If she wants to talk funny, let her.”
“A-anyway,” Nel said, “the tour?”
It took the group a moment to get moving, but eventually Nel managed to herd them around the pit.
Genoa had fallen to the back of the group and started a heated conversation in whispers with Zoe.
“First off, the most important place.” Nel walked open armed into one of the chambers. “The bath.”
The steam-covered pool before Eva was nearly as large as the entirety of the women’s ward building. Absolutely superfluous. And impractical. So much of the basin likely never saw use.
But that was the nature of domains. It didn’t cost Ylva anything.
“The statues serve as faucets and–”
“Gargoyles.”
Nel blinked at Carlos’ interruption. “Yeah,” she said with a blank look. “They’re activated by distance. Just walk close and water comes out.”
“Activated isn’t the right word. They’re living creatures. Gen, gargoyles!” Carlos had a stupid grin on his face as he ran up to the one standing over a shallower basin. He didn’t seem to notice getting soaked as the gargoyle opened its maw and started a shower.
“I can see them, dear,” Genoa said with a sigh.
“This one is pregnant!”
Eva blinked. The obsidian woman didn’t look pregnant. She had chiseled abs. Literally.
“They’re all pregnant, dear.”
Eva blinked again. None of them looked any different from the one whose pedestal Carlos was hugging.
“Technically,” he said, “but this one is close.”
“Are we missing something?” Shalise asked.
Thank you Shalise.
“Gargoyles are powerful hydroturges. Somewhere in the top five of all magical creatures that can manipulate water. But they’re incredibly rare. Almost extinct. I’ve never seen one before. And there’s four here?
“The reason they’re near extinct is because of an incredibly slow reproductive cycle combined with people hunting them. The stone has tons of magical properties that aren’t found elsewhere, especially relating to water magic.
“The pedestal,” he said, patting the gargoyle’s pedestal, “is this gargoyle’s young. The stone slowly absorbs ambient magic over the years. Not sure on how many years, exactly. It could be upwards of a thousand.
“The stone starts out the size of my fist and grows to this massive pillar. When it is ready, the gargoyle will hop off and use its sharp talons to carve out a new gargoyle–born completely adult. Both will take a shaving of the stone to raise as their new young.”