“Maintenance room,” Irene said with a gesture towards one wall.
Or something it is then.
They started running again. Eva took care to dig her feet into the ground. Slipping wouldn’t end with just a scrape. Together, they hit the unmoving door.
It was locked.
Eva wasn’t in the mood. Not wanting to waste blood, Eva opted for a strong kick.
Splinters of wood exploded as her chitinous foot connected. It wouldn’t shut properly, but the one creature burst through a wall. Eva doubted an intact door would have helped in the first place.
“Any exits?” Eva said as she entered the room.
Pipes and valves littered one wall. Far less magical than should be allowed at a magic academy. Then again, connecting all the pipes from the obviously space expanded pool room to regular space had to be a headache all on its own.
A small window, barely big enough to fit either of their bodies, rested high in the wall opposite from the pipes. Eva sent one orb of her blood to stretch around the glass. With a clap of her hands, the glass came out in a single pane. It fell outwards and a moment later came the sound of glass shattering against the ground outside.
A sob from behind her stopped Eva’s brisk walk towards the window.
Whatever adrenaline had been holding Irene together evidentially took its leave. She collapsed to her hands and knees. Tear streaks ran down her face. Eva hadn’t noticed until now, but her tears had probably been going on since she first caught sight of the snake-cerberus thing.
Eva placed her hands underneath Irene’s arms and tried to lift her back to her feet. “Can’t stop now. That door didn’t keep me out. It being all broken isn’t going to keep them out.”
Irene shrugged Eva off. “What is this?” Her voice edged with hysteria. “It’s always you. Why is it always you? Jordan manages to not upset everything, why can’t you? Why do you have to be such a freak?”
Frowning, Eva clamped her hands around the girl once again. This time she gripped with far less care. A little blood was surely preferable to whatever those things had in mind. “Questions to ask after we are safe. I’m going to help you up to the window. Be careful with the glass around the edges and on the ground outside.”
For extra safety, Eva sent two orbs of blood up to harden over some of the glass. The blood wouldn’t be half as sharp and could stand up to pressure so long as Eva kept it under her control.
“…don’t have clothes,” Irene mumbled. At least she was getting to her feet.
Once Irene was steady, Eva moved over below the window and clasped her hands together. “Ready to boost you up. And you better hurry.” The snake-cerberus thing was approaching the door. Something else behind it crawled closer as well.
Irene stood frozen until a noise in the other room startled her into action. She might have made a few gymnasts envious with how she jumped from Eva’s hand onto the window sill. It was good that blood covered the glass, as she gripped the edges hard.
Eva kept track of the slithering snake as she helped shove Irene through the small window. “Is there anything out there?” Eva asked. She knew the answer, at least within about fifty feet, but having confirmation might set her own heart at ease.
“Nothing.”
A stunted response. Eva shook her head. She’d deal with that later. “Good. Watch your feet.”
Eva sent her last orb of blood through the crack in the door. It splattered against the human face of the snake-cerberus creature–it was getting far too close for comfort. The moment Irene’s foot left Eva’s hands, Eva clapped.
The head exploded. Absolutely and completely. Through her blood sense, Eva could see all the bits of viscera that flew around the room. The main body dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. Only the snake head writhed around. Without the rest of the body holding itself up, the snake didn’t have enough strength to move.
What a waste, Eva thought. She should have split the orb in half. The human face was mushy enough. Then she could have used the rest on the other creature.
It trampled right over the top of the snake-cerberus without a moment’s hesitation. If the thing wasn’t dead before, it was now. The thing was partially an elephant. At least, it was large enough to be one.
Eva had half a mind to run back into the room and slip over into the girl’s changing room for her dagger. Two things stopped her. She didn’t want to leave Irene when there could be more creatures outside and she didn’t want to run back into the hot springs when she could see another three things behind the elephant.
Hoisting herself up, Eva climbed out the window. She had to kick in footholds to get the proper traction.
Irene was already running away, holding herself awkwardly in an attempt at covering herself. She headed towards the corner of the building that went towards the front.
That was a mistake.
“Irene! Stop!” Eva ran. Each of her legs cracked the cement around the building as she sprinted.
Irene had too much of a head start.
Eva wouldn’t make it.
A creature barreled into Irene as soon as she reached the corner. While the creature merely stumbled, Irene went flying. She hit the ground five feet away and tumbled and rolled another few feet.
It turned its taloned wings towards Irene and stalked forwards on bird-like legs.
Eva leaped high into the air. Her claws ignited.
She wasn’t the best at thaumaturgy. It and her claws were all she had.
The creature let out a squawk as Eva’s weight sent it to the ground.
Eva blinked and failed to move for a second. The creature had stitching keeping its limbs on. The muscle structure had been altered and several organs were completely missing.
It was a flesh golem with demon parts sewn on.
Eva shook her head. She wasted no time digging her flaming claws into the base of its neck.
Her claws did not make it very far.
The thing’s wing batted Eva into the wall of the building.
Pain lanced up her side. Her skin was unbroken, but something hurt. A broken rib perhaps.
Nothing to worry about now; Nurse Naranga could put her back together. The creature was already getting up.
Forcing down the pain, Eva brought her hands together. She channeled magic into the largest fireball she’d ever created. It took a moment, but she did it.
Mostly. Zagan’s class provided ample opportunity to practice and she had been getting better. The fireball was still unstable. It bubbled and twisted like a boiling pot of water rather than any sort of proper fire. Holding it too long would wind up with it splashing all over Eva.
So she projected it forwards.
The bird-golem shrieked as its feathers went up in flames.
Eva did not waste her opportunity. Ignoring the heat, she jumped onto the flaming bird and dug her claws into its throat.
She didn’t stop until it did.
The heart in its chest was not a human heart. Eva almost started to convert it to a bloodstone despite that. It wouldn’t be hard; she even had actual fingers now instead of fumbling around with her elbow. Unfortunately, it already ceased beating.
Eva pulled herself off the creature and ran over to Irene. She hadn’t moved since she fell, but her heart was beating. Her eyes were shut and her breathing somewhat shallow. Eva knelt and gently smacked her across the face. “Don’t be unconscious. We need to move.”
Irene failed to respond.
A crash and crumbling of walls brought Eva’s attention to the window they had escaped from.
A six-legged elephant stumbled through a hole in the wall. She could see an almost full human body somewhere in the center of its mass. Only the head poked out. It turned until it found Eva–it twisted almost fully around, facing directly backwards. Without turning back, the thing started charging.
Eva scooped up Irene into her arms. Ignoring the pain accompanying a grinding in her side, Eva started running. If it wasn’t for Arachne’s legs, she’d have collapsed in five steps. Irene was not light. The strain on Eva’s arms and back was unsustainable.