The Demon in the Pastry Shop

38: Even in the Dark

 Once Kit closed the door, Silus couldn't see a thing. He was sure (mostly) Bell Spirits couldn't see in the dark. Kit's golden aura did glow faintly, but this kind of aura wasn't the sort that would illuminate anything. It was more like a punctuation mark that followed someone around. Silus could see the bellish outline of her skirt, but that was about it. The general idea of where she was, that was it.

Silus could take light away from people, but he couldn't give light where there was none. He expected Kit to lead them into some back of house part of the restaurant, but she remained in the closet without any indication they would leave.

"We should look for the door," he said, reaching out to the side to do just that.

Kit stirred and suddenly he felt her hand slap against his chest. She brought her other hand to him and then let the first feel along his arm, the one which was extended. Then she pressed it back to his side.

She didn't want to leave then.

He needed to know what was happening. Lovell and Remis were waiting for him. He needed to tell them something.

"One tap for 'yes', two taps for 'no'. Does that work?" he offered.

Kit poked his shoulder once.

"Are we supposed to stay in here?"

She poked him once, on his chest this time. It seemed like she aimed for the same area and was a little off.

"Is it because we need something from here?"

Kit used two fingers to tap his collarbone twice. With a shiver, Silus realized he just orchestrated a scenario in which Kit was about to touch him quite a bit and wondered if he should be ashamed of himself or pleased. Though he tried not to let this thought bleed into his voice when he asked his next question.

"Are we waiting for something?"

One tap on his collarbone again.

Yes or no questions could only get them so far. How could Silus possibly suppose what they were waiting for? Was it another person? Jude? Was it for Lovell and Remis to go away? They'd never find that out if they stayed in here.

"Are we waiting for... a person?" he tried.

Kit touched his shoulder twice. The second jab came in a little hard and Silus heard Kit inhale almost apologetically in the dark.

"Are we waiting for a certain amount of time to pass?" His snakes were getting fidgety over his head. They wanted to be in the light. They wanted to be active. He had too much caffeine today and they were declaring how unsleepy they felt.

He almost missed it when Kit poked him twice.

Silus sighed, "are we-"

Kit stepped in close and swept her hand across his chest until she got to the other side of him. Very slowly, firmly but not harshly, she began to draw letters.

Silus' snakes hissed with excitement until he stop them sharply in his mind to shut up. But even as they quieted down, he still heard their din in his head and it paired against a buzz of his own. His eyelids fell closed as her finger moved just on the other side of his shirt and he felt he was being kind of silly but he pictured how close she must be standing to him and how focused she must look with two crinkles between her eyebrows like the creases in her pie crusts.

After a second, Silus noticed her touch was gone and he hadn't paid attention at all to what she was writing.

With a tinge of embarrassment he cloaked under frustration, he said, "do it again, I didn't catch that."

He didn't need the lightbulb to see the way Kit rolled her eyes and threw her hands up. She edged closer (he heard her shoes shuffle) and started again.

I. '. M. and then underneath, T. H. I. N. K. I. N. G.

"You're thinking?" he verbalized.

One touch, feeling very victorious.

"I think Lovell and Remis went back to the restaurant. They said they were going to order a meal while I handled you. I don't know if they actually did that, but they're lurking somewhere around The Cherry Tree," Silus informed her.

Kit tapped her index finger at his sternum, three times. The timing of it was impeccable because Silus knew instantly she meant '...' as though what he said made her rethink her plans.

Then she carefully spelled E. N. T. R. E. E. ?.

"It sounded like Remis was hungry so it could be a full meal. They're trying to flush you out of your hiding place and Lovell will probably take his time about it," Silus admitted. He couldn't believe how easy it was to give up this information to Kit. This sort of thing was punishable by death in Lovell's world.

Her finger swiftly added D. E. S. S. E. R. T. ?.

"Considering they know you're a pastry chef, I imagine Lovell would think ordering a cake from you before he captured you would be... stylish. You have an idea?"

She tapped his chest once.

"We should look for the door then."

Kit placed her whole hand against his chest and patted him twice.

"You know what you want to do?"

She touched the tip of her finger to his sternum, a slow touch, but a 'yes' nonetheless.

"What's the plan?"

W. A. I. T.

Silus raised his eyebrows, "you want to stay in here longer?" Not that he was complaining. His feet sparked up into his toes thinking about hiding in the dark with Kit's hand on his chest. "What are we waiting for exactly?"

He didn't need the lightbulb to see her smile either.

D. E. S. S. E. R. T.