The Demon in the Pastry Shop

55: The Last Stone in the Wall, Part 1

It looked like a rock. Only a rock. Not something that used to be a rock, then got struck by lightning, came to life, lived perfectly, was stolen, and then became a rock. It was a rock.

His heart filled with sorrow. The new one, not the rock in Ravitavah's hand. Shouldn't he know his heart when it was right in front of him? Shouldn't he be filled with excitement and joy? His old heart -that chunk across from him- didn't look like it could go back in his chest. Kit's face brightened and she touched his arm so softly he didn't have the strength to show the rubble of his hope.

She scribbled on the takeout menu while Ravitavah told him, "I found it taking up the space of a missing cobblestone on the street. I think whoever put it there thought you would never find it. But I know a special stone when I see one, so you're in luck."

Silus heard the crinkling of the paper Kit handed him and for a moment, thought it might be the sound of his soul on account of its turning paperthin and weak and liable to blow away with his next breath. Somehow he managed to lift his hand and take the menu and read her message.

"I can't believe it came back to you after all. I'm so happy for you!"

Something felt wrong when Ravitavah gifted his heart back to him. Silus' snakes could sense it, but couldn't find the shape of it yet. It was a imperceptible rumble in the distance. A quirk of the air. Silus frowned as he tried to pinpoint it.

"And you just..." he said to Ravitavah, eyes focusing on something invisible, "found it?"

The Ace nodded, "yes, it was bizarre to say the least."

Kit wrote quickly, thrust it under Silus' nose. He reluctantly pulled himself away from his vigilance to read her, "Didn't Lovell have your heart? He said so in the bubble-gram. Would he have hidden it from you as a cobblestone in some random street?"

Silus breathed cold, "not a random street."

As if they were the magic words, the house trembled from fear of whatever had come for it from the shore. The dishes on the coffee table rattled and chips flew off of them like nervous sweat. Ravitavah shapeshifted into his cat form, leaping onto the table and pressing his paw down onto the cookie plate to keep it from shuddering.

"Oh, I know what I've done," he realized, feeding Silus his exceptional understanding through his remorseful gaze. The lights flickered and Ravitavah said, "I've brought him right to you."