Page 48 of Inkpot Gods

“You. All the alchemy in the world couldn’t have prepared me for you. It’s just words and recipes. You’re a person, and you’re lovely. Fun and funny and so passionate about the things you care about! Even if those things are alchemical. And you weren’t wrong about this place. There’s a lot you can learn here.”

“If I die here, I guess I’ll learn what it’s like to be eaten by an etiäinen,” says Lilianne.

“Don’t even think like that,” says Smita firmly. “You’re not going to die here.”

“That’s what you think.”

Footsteps in the distance, hard soles against tile floors. Not the sound of someone who’s removed waterlogged shoes after a slog through the sewer; not the sound of another etiäinen, either. Smita brightens, sitting up straighter.

“You’re not going to die here,” she repeats, more firmly. Then she raises her voice and calls, “This way. I’m over here, this way!”

The sound of footsteps becomes the sound of running, and a moment later, two figures swing around the corner of the hall. Erin, strawberry hair skinned back into a ponytail, and Artemis, holding a moon-dark bow with an arrow already notched, the whole thing glittering faintly in her hands.

Smita smiles. “Took you long enough,” she says.

The two etiäinen hiss, and the one on the dry side of the lab whirls, lunging for the pair. Artemis releases her arrow, which flies straight and clean to embed itself in the etiäinen’s throat, sticking out like an exclamation point. The etiäinen makes a choked gurgling sound, then falls sideways, landing in the water with a splash. A dark cloud begins to spread out from the point of impact, staining the water black as pitch.

Smita turns to the remaining etiäinen. “Run,” she suggests politely. “Run, and don’t look back. You helped me, so I can try to keep them from chasing, but you have to run, or they’ll kill you where you stand.”

The etiäinen blinks at her. Its eyelids move side to side, not up and down, and Smita spares half a second’s thought for the reasons behind that: what could have encouraged the alchemists to design their creation in such a way? Then it shakes its head.

“You have no reason to be kind or trust me,” it says. “I’ve had a taste of your companion. I’ll take another, if I can. This is a promise.”

“You won’t have the opportunity,” says Smita. Erin and Artemis are moving toward the edge of the water, Erin pausing to kick the fallen etiäinen’s hip and confirm to her satisfaction that it’s dead.

“Go,” says Smita. The etiäinen looks unsure. “You can attack Lilianne later, if you have the chance, and we’ll stop you, and you’ll die. Or you can run, and live peacefully here in this lab for as long as you’re able. You won’t leave, I’m sure of that. The world outside won’t be able to sustain you.”

“Yes, run,” calls Artemis, drawing her bow again.

The etiäinen hisses, then ducks under the water, vanishing without a ripple. Smita sags.

“Shouldn’t have done that,” says Lilianne. She’s almost slurring her words, exhaustion and blood loss catching up with her and stealing the hard edges from her already-sugared diction. “Can’t trust them. Not the life we make in labs.”

Erin laughs, a hard, bitter little laugh, and steps into the water. “You should listen to your new friend, Smita. She’s saying all the right things.”

“Quiet, you,” says Smita. “What took you so long?”

“It took me a while to realize that you were actually gone-gone, not just hung up at the store. After that, I had to follow you all the way to the storm drain, find the tetractys, and realize where you must have gone. That’s when I called Artemis. The people who built this lab were sneaky assholes, and I didn’t trust them not to have activated some sort of security precautions before they left. I wanted backup.”

The thought of Erin, terrifying Erin, feeling the need for backup is almost as frightening as the situation. Smita shudders, watching Erin wade toward them. If the etiäinen is just lurking for another attack, this is when it will come.

But nothing happens. Erin reaches the desk and holds her hands out for Smita to take, easing her down into the water. “That was really stupid of you, just so you know,” she says. “You shouldn’t go running off with strange alchemists, no matter what the circumstances. You could have been seriously hurt!” She pauses. “You weren’t seriously hurt, were you?”

“I’m not hurt, just really, really cold,” says Smita. “I think I may have the beginnings of hypothermia.”

“Dumbass,” says Erin fondly. She looks past Smita to Lilianne, expression hardening. “I remember her from campus earlier. She was awfully interested in you before. Is it just because she was trying to lure you off somewhere alone?”

“No. We ran into each other when I was going out to get milk after dinner. She’s hurt, Erin. Can you be chill until we know she’s not going to bleed to death?”

Artemis is still pacing at the top of the stairs, arrow notched and aimed at the water. If anything moves, she’s ready to shoot it. Erin glances back over her shoulder at the Lunar.

“Afraid to get your feet wet?” she asks, snidely.

“Afraid of whatever nightmares the alchemists may have decided to pour into the pool,” says Artemis.

“You’re a goddess of healing, aren’t you?”

“A patron,” Artemis corrects. She stops pacing. “I can’t actually heal people by laying on hands, but I can understand what’s wrong with somebody if I get close enough to have a good look. I am not close enough, and I’m not getting in the water if I have any way to avoid it.”