There was no way she was about to tell Serena that the old ritual had been essentially painless. If the vampire wanted to think that she had always been a tough kid, who was she to correct her?
“But,” Serena said with a ponderous expression, “you’re a blood mage. You have to cut yourself daily.”
“Yeah, there might be some connection there. Maybe I picked up those blood magic books because of the needles.”
It was entirely possible. Eva hadn’t thought of that before.
“But,” Eva said, “speaking of blood.” She pulled the tee-shirt she had changed into up to her nose and gave a few light sniffs. Nothing smelt especially unusual. But that was why she was bout to ask Serena for her opinion. “When we first met, you said that I had a good smell. At the same time, you didn’t seem so fond of Arachne’s blood. How about now?”
Serena glanced at her with a quirked eyebrow. Her lips peeled back into a smirk, revealing her sharp fangs. The storm clouds in the back of her eyes lit up.
I should not have asked, Eva thought as she averted her eyes. It was just an idle curiosity. She didn’t need to know the answer. Now she had gone and made Serena shift from a sixteen year old girl to a hungry vampire.
It took a great deal of effort not to pull back as Serena leaned closer and drew in a deep breath.
How long has it been since she last fed? Eva thought with a sudden start. The vampire had been lounging about the prison for at least the last week. There weren’t people around here. No one to turn into midnight snacks.
The profound yearn for blood emanating from Serena died off. She slumped away from Eva to stare off towards the ritual circle.
Eva just about sighed in relief. Not that she was worried. She was strong. Her hands and legs made it so that she was never unarmed, plus she could light herself on fire. Vampires didn’t like fire. Even if she couldn’t fight off the vampire had Serena decided to clamp down on her neck, Devon and all the demons would have been able to put her down.
Well, Devon would have stepped in to help his precious research subject. Lucy probably would have done something as well. Zagan? Doubtful. If Eva guessed correctly, he would have considered such a thing a mere failure in her being–not worthy of becoming a demon or something along those lines.
Catherine might have helped out. But she might not have. It was hard to say. A friend would have helped out, but Eva could very well have been too hasty in naming Catherine a friend. She hoped not, but the possibility was there.
“No good?” Eva asked, trying not to let her relief come across as too obvious in her voice.
Serena glanced up with a tooth-filled grin. “Oh, no. You smell delicious. I was just thinking. Reflecting, really.” Her grin slid by the wayside as she turned back towards the ritual circle. “Not so long ago, there was a cloud of blood overhead. I am always hungry, but I didn’t feel anything about it. No desire to go slurp it all up or anything.”
“Because it was demon blood? Or something else?”
The vampire put a finger to her lip as she hummed out a thoughtful tune. “Don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “Could be a huge part of it. Perhaps it is like sugar?”
“I don’t… you’ve lost me.”
“Demon blood. It’s like sugar. With you, it’s like a sweet cake. Sugar with all kinds of other things mixed in. Them, however… well, you wouldn’t want to eat a spoonful of raw sugar, would you?”
“I suppose not.”
Her tongue traced the edges of her lips. “Buut,” she drew the word out, “it has made me hungry. Hungrier.”
“That’s a shame.” Eva kept her voice steady and as neutral as she could force it. “Perhaps you should go find someone willing to give you some blood.”
“Come on. It won’t even hurt. Just a little bit.”
“Sorry.” Eva pointed at herself. “Blood mage. I’ve become a bit protective of my blood lately.”
Serena let out a long groan. “So, what’s all this then?” Serena asked, changing the topic while waving her hand out towards the ritual circle. “You’re not doing it again, are you?”
“Not for me. Catherine wants a try.”
“It seemed unpleasant enough with you. Are demons usually masochistic?”
“Catherine being so wouldn’t surprise me. As I said, I’m not looking forward to additional treatment.”
As they watched, Devon placed his hands on his hips, leaned and cracked his back. “The circle is ready,” he said, not even looking towards the assembled demons.
“Well,” Serena said, “I think I’ve had enough screaming demons for one day. Unless you’re going to help satiate my hunger…” She trailed off with a glance at Eva.
“Sorry,” Eva said without meaning the word in the slightest.
“Then I think I’ll head off and seek a meal elsewhere. Need to get going and get back before daybreak.”
As Devon started organizing the demons into their proper spots, Serena stalked off with her hands behind her head. Eva only watched her go for a few moments before turning her attention to the yelling going on around the ritual circle.
“This was not part of our contract,” the carnivean said, hair-tentacles dancing in the air in rage. “Find someone else to be your pet. I’ve had enough of myself being drained away for one day.”
Devon looked about ready to toss a fireball at Qrycx. His hand was outstretched with the rings on his fingers lightly glowing in that sickly green he used for his fire.
Turns out, he needn’t have bothered.
A large hand clasped around her head, completely ignoring the tentacles as they lashed out to attack the invader of her space. The carnivean’s legs dangled beneath her as Zagan lifted her off the ground with the single hand. She was a good few feet off the ground—she was only about half as tall as Eva and yet Zagan had his arm almost parallel to the ground. He twisted his wrist once she made it to eye level, facing her towards him.
As soon as she saw who had a hold of her, Qrycx went still. Her tentacles dropped to her sides, not a single muscle in them even twitched. With her tentacles smoothed over her body, her tiny form looked even smaller.
“You will participate,” Zagan said with a smile. Qrycx’s stillness failed as she started shaking. “There might even be something in it for you.”
Qrycx actually stopped her trembling to glance up at Zagan. Or she tried to. Zagan released her. She fell the short height and landed on her feet. Without sparing a moment for hesitation, she moved out of the way as Zagan continued towards his position.
It still took her a moment to move to her spot. Her fists clenched and her teeth ground together. Yet she went with no verbal complaint.
Lucy was under no such reservations. Between the bounces in her steps and the occasional giggle, she actually looked excited to participate. Devon did have to fuss with her a bit to get her facing the proper direction–a task complicated by the fact that Lucy was an axopodia. How was she supposed to sit with her back to Catherine when she was just a bunch of tightly wound spaghetti noodles?
Somehow Devon figured it out. It took a lot of doing, but he had managed to rearrange Lucy’s tentacles. She still looked like a human, but a dark spot on her neck stood out.
Once everyone got to position, Catherine stepped into the center. She rotated once, eyes roving over the ritual circle for one final check. Satisfied, she knelt and gave Devon a short nod.
He replied with a scoff.
Kneeling down himself, Devon placed his hands at the edge of the circle and started channeling magic.
Eva watched with rapt attention. She had never actually seen someone else’s treatment before. The terminal child from the hospital was the only one who had received Devon’s treatment to her knowledge, and she had been simultaneously groggy from her own treatment and off helping Ylva clear enigmas out of her domain. She had only caught the tail end of it.