Of course, that assumed the world would still be around in the far future.
Zoe pushed that sour note from her mind.
“Using air magic, one can essentially wrap air around one’s body…”
— — —
Eva slowed her run, sniffing at the air. She held up a hand and waved it in a silent gesture for her companions to slow down. They did so, though Eva couldn’t tell if it was because of her hand motions or simply because she had stopped.
Frankly, she didn’t care so long as they weren’t charging ahead and weren’t attacking her.
A few more whiffs of air had Eva thoroughly confused. There was something familiar in the air. Something she couldn’t quite place. A slimy feeling. Or maybe more spindly.
“What’s wrong?”
Eva glanced back at Anise. “Do you smell anything?” she asked in a nearly silent whisper.
The nun-trainee wrinkled her nose with a frown, staring at Eva as if she were setting up some trap. She did eventually try smelling at the air.
“Nope,” she said with a shake of her head. “I smell pine and wood. Maybe a little rotting plant-life? Nothing too unusual for where we are.”
Eva frowned and looked towards Emily.
The other girl shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe it is some demon thing?”
“I don’t think so. My sense of smell isn’t much better than most humans.”
Eva paused, thinking to herself. She actually hadn’t ever tested such a thing. Really, Devon should have thought of it. Her statement still held true. She hadn’t noticed any significant changes in her sense of smell.
While it was possible that it had been a gradual thing that she wouldn’t have noticed over the years, the large leaps with her recent treatments had brought drastic changes. If her sense of smell had been enhanced or just altered, she likely would have noticed along with everything else.
“Just keep up your guard,” Eva said, moving forwards again at a far more cautious pace.
The two followed after her, Emily turning her head this way and that while Anise’s glowing eyes had started up again. Emily’s wand darted around everywhere she looked. So far, she hadn’t used a single spell. If they did end up fighting, Eva really hoped that she would use a spell before then just so she knew what kind of mage she would be fighting.
Anise didn’t have a wand out. With the eye in her chest, she really didn’t need one. Assuming she was like other nuns and relied on the Elysium Order’s magic, Eva had a good idea of what to expect. Though she was very well aware that they could use thaumaturgy if they felt like it.
Though the sensation was growing stronger, Eva glanced back over her shoulder as a thought occurred to her. “I don’t suppose either of you know of any creatures with platinum scales?”
Emily shook her head in a negative.
However, Anise froze for a split second. Her eyes lit up a few shades brighter, filling the surrounding forest with light before returning to their normal luminosity.
“I don’t know of any creatures with literal platinum for scales. None that are still around,” she added, effectively confirming Arachne’s experience with the gorgon. “There are a number of reptile breeds that have scales that might appear metallic. In fact, almost every magical reptile can be specifically bred for specific scales.”
Eva groaned. “That doesn’t narrow it down very much.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Oh, just something that is in here with us might have scales looking like platinum. A few friends of mine suggested gorgon–”
“But they’re extinct.”
“I know.”
If she actually had the scale, showing it to Anise might be enough for her hive mind to identify. Unfortunately, Randal had kept a hold of it. Assuming he had even brought it with him. If he had, she would need to run across him out in the forest.
Something that would be much easier if she could just sense the demon inside him.
Eva froze. She stopped suddenly enough that Emily bumped into her back. Not hard enough to knock either of them off balance. Enough for Emily’s heart rate to briefly spike as she jumped away from Eva with her wand raised.
“I’m so stupid,” Eva said, ignoring the wand at her back.
Both girls blinked, glancing at each other before focusing on Eva.
“It wasn’t a smell. Why would I think that? How does something even smell slimy?”
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s a demon out here with us.”
Anise immediately turned to scan the surrounding area. Her fingers started to crackle with white lightning.
Emily didn’t take her wand off Eva. “Friend of yours?” she asked with narrowed eyes.
“Normally. Used to be?” Eva wasn’t quite sure. “At the moment, I doubt it.”
“We should move,” Anise said. Her voice was tinged with actual fear. It even trembled slightly. Emily’s heart rate had risen, but Anise was in a whole other league. “We don’t– I can’t– A real demon?”
Eva frowned. Do I not count? Sure her treatment wasn’t complete, but it was close enough.
Then again, Anise’s hive mind likely labeled her as an abomination rather than a demon.
“Yes a real demon,” Eva snapped. What was she so worried about anyway?
The answer came almost as soon as she wondered.
The Elysium Order had found themselves embarrassed by demons several times over the past two years. Not a single engagement had gone well for them. At least none Eva had been involved in. Lynn Cross and the Charon Chapter had been driven out of town with a few losses. Ylva had demolished their inquisitorial squad after they had abjectly failed in their mission to recover Nel. Eva had stolen an artifact right from under their nose and dumped it on their front porch after she had finished with it. Which was probably a fairly large embarrassment on its own.
The only damage they had really done to demons in return had been killing Arachne.
Perhaps Anise, being a mere student and trainee, didn’t have the power necessary to pull off a similar stunt.
“It won’t matter anyway. She already knows where we are. Following us won’t be difficult.”
Especially given other demons’ ability to sense Eva. Not that she was going to admit that to her companions.
“We can’t fight a demon. Are you insane?”
Eva glanced at Emily, pointing a finger at herself with an incredulous look on her face.
The Mount Hope student just shrugged and turned a pitying look on Anise.
While they sat around talking, the demon closed in on them. The slimy sensation grew stronger and stronger.
Right up until Eva’s sense of blood registered something other than the few animals and insects that were still around.
Thin tendrils, each no thicker than a pencil, swarmed across the forest floor. They managed to maneuver through the trees and brush without winding up tangled around anything despite being spread out enough to half-surround Eva and her group. The care they took in crawling through the brush kept even a single leaf from rustling.
If it weren’t for her ability to sense both demons and blood, it was entirely possible she wouldn’t have noticed until it was too late.
Though, as she had just said, she doubted there would be an escape.
Eva crossed her arms and sighed.
Tendrils snapped out of the brush, all of them leaping as one.
Emily managed to get off the ground, leaping from a pillar of earth that hadn’t been there a moment ago. She wasn’t quite fast enough. The tentacles caught her in the middle of her jump, wrapping around her waist and pinning her arms to her side.
Anise didn’t fare half as well. Lightning crackled at her fingertips, but she didn’t get a chance to actually fire it before becoming wrapped up like a mummy.
Eva didn’t bother to move. She could have blinked away. She could have fought back with explosive fire. But escaping would have wound up with her leaving Anise behind. Something she really didn’t want to do at the moment. Not until the vampire had been incapacitated.