But that would be neither here nor now.
They had a doll to deal with first.
“I’ll go,” Zoe said before Eva could open her mouth. “As a member of Brakket staff and someone who wants to ensure that the students are kept safe—safe as can be at Brakket anyway—it falls to me.”
“I’ll follow along at a distance, ready to blink in if anything goes wrong.”
“Eva…”
Eva held up a hand. “It will be great if you can shoo the doll away. Unfortunately, this is a demon thing. You’re not much of a demon.”
“Thanks. I think.”
“I’ll be there as well,” Genoa said, stepping forward.
“Mom, no. They can handle it.”
The older woman sighed, glaring down her daughter. Juliana drew herself up, unwavering under Genoa’s gaze.
“You’re staying right here,” Juliana said, voice firm.
Closing her eyes, Genoa shook her head. “You’re not supposed to be taking care of your old mom for several years. At least.”
“Then focus on recovering. You can go back to being mom after that.”
“Very well. But if something does happen–”
“If something does happen, you can cast long-range support from up here. I’ll be up here to protect you from anything that might come near.”
“If that doll comes up here, I’m running away. I’m not going anywhere near that doll,” Saija said, hands on her hips and chest puffed out with a certain amount of pride that didn’t really fit her words.
Half-hiding behind the succubus’ wings, Irene glanced down towards the ground. “Me too.”
“That’s fine,” Eva said. She hadn’t been counting on either one of them for any kind of support.
“If you do get into a fight, try not to die quite as fast as Timothy did. I mean, it was cool, but a drawn out fight would be better I think.”
Eva gave the succubus a light glare. Just a simple glare of annoyance.
That didn’t stop Saija from jumping backwards, trading places with Irene to hide behind her back.
Cowering behind a human? Eva had to stop herself from speaking aloud. It was amusing, but she just rolled her eyes in the end. Especially because saying something might just bring up the topic in everyone else’s minds. They had surely noticed how the demons acted when in Eva’s presence. It was annoying enough to deal with as it was.
“Right,” Eva said. “I’ll keep that in mind. If there is nothing else of note, let’s get moving.”
Arachne moved in front of Eva, leading the way down the stairwell. Zoe, though she was supposed to be the one speaking with the doll, was trailing behind. Her cellphone was out, typing away almost like Catherine with a deep scowl on her face.
Eva found the reason for her typing as soon as they hit the ground floor.
Wayne teleported in. He appeared entirely unannounced and just about got one of Arachne’s limbs through his throat for his troubles.
To his credit, he didn’t flinch. Though that might have just been him not noticing until Arachne had already started to draw back. Or maybe his mind was accelerated to the point where he had processed the shock of everything already.
Were Eva in his place and she saw Arachne’s leg coming straight for her, she would have moved out of the way. Just in case Arachne didn’t stop in time.
“I told you not to come,” Zoe said. “We don’t want to startle the doll into rash action. We already have more than enough people with Eva and Arachne.”
Wayne just gave a light grunt before narrowing his eyes in Eva’s direction. “We could argue. I’d win. Let’s just get this over with. I have tomorrow’s classes to prepare for.”
“Wayne–”
He turned and marched out of the the lobby ahead of everyone else, leaving no opportunity for argument.
Zoe just looked on, somewhat stunned as Wayne threw open the lobby doors and beelined towards the doll. She recovered fast enough and chased after him. Eva had to step to the side in order to avoid being trampled.
Following along behind the two of them, Eva just hoped that he wasn’t about to do something rash. Poorly thought out actions didn’t seem like the kind of thing that Wayne would do often. In fact, he was quite level-headed. But who knew what Zoe had sent him in her texts. She might have said something that would set him off.
Now that she was on ground level and fairly close to the doll, Eva could clearly see the woman. Only with her own eyes. As before, Eva couldn’t sense the slightest sensation of blood from the woman. Her silver hair framed her face. The entrance and exit of Prax’s domain had been lit, but not nearly as well as proper daylight. As such, Eva wasn’t entirely sure if she had noticed the doll’s eyes.
They were bright silver. Almost glowing.
And currently staring off into nothing. They didn’t move to track Wayne and Zoe as the two approached. They just… stared.
Neither Wayne nor Zoe spoke. They stopped about ten feet away, more at a loss of what to do than anything else. Both seemed to expect the doll to speak first. A fact made evident as Wayne cleared his throat. Loudly.
The doll didn’t react. Not even a twitch of her gloved fingers.
“Can we help you?”
Wayne shot Zoe a questioning glance out of the corner of his eye.
Zoe answered with a shrug. ‘We had to say something,’ she mouthed back.
“Perhaps,” the doll said, drawing all attention back to it. “I am locked in indecision.”
Literally, it seems, Eva thought.
She had moved her mouth, but the doll was still as a statue even after acknowledging the two professors.
“Well, we can help you come to a decision,” Zoe said. “Though I must ask before anything else, do you intend harm—physical or otherwise—to any of the humans around the area?”
“Not at this time,” the doll responded in a whisper. Her head turned slightly. While her eyes were still unfocused, Eva got the distinct impression that she was staring straight at the prison.
Eva immediately made a mental note to warn Devon that an enforcer from Hell might have an interest in him. Of course, the prison was a fair distance away. For all Eva knew, the doll was staring at something else. Maybe one of the demon hunters around town was off in that direction and had done something to displease the doll.
Still, best to err on the side of caution.
“That’s good,” Zoe said after a moment of silence. She probably didn’t like the phrasing, but would take what she could get. “Why don’t we move somewhere to sit down and discuss this then?”
Somewhere away from the children, Eva mentally added.
But the doll didn’t move. A brief moment of silence passed before she spoke. “The target of my indecision is present. I was considering tracking down my target, but that option has been removed. Until I have come to a decision, none shall move. Leaving may allow an escape.”
Up until the doll spoke, Eva had been fairly calm. With both herself and Arachne present, she was suddenly somewhat concerned.
She had several vials of blood. Both her own and Arachne’s. She could form shields and she could attack with ease. But would she be able to in time? Juliana had spoken of the doll’s speed from her experience in Hell.
In preparation, Eva uncapped one of the vials behind her back and prepared a decently sized shield. It would be up and around her in the blink of an eye.
Zoe shared a brief look with Wayne before continuing her questioning.
“What is it you’re having trouble deciding?”
“A demonic beacon was taken from Hell to the mortal realm by a demon. Multiple times. A crime worthy of five centuries imprisonment.”
“That doesn’t sound like much of a problem from where I’m standing,” Wayne grumbled. “Less demons around, the better if you ask me.”
“Why don’t we not interrupt the… person,” Zoe said, clearly fumbling for words to call the doll. Facing the doll again, she said, “What is the problem anyway?”