The Book of Miranda | gxg | ✔︎

(32) Demon In The Details

I ask Barnabas about lock-picking tools first, like any self-respecting delinquent. He doesn't answer immediately, but his foot shifts, then pauses.

"What kind of lock is it?" he asks.

"Dunno. Can't tell."

"Is it accessible?"

"Only if you have something that can reach around the door."

"I'm not that good." Barnabas returns to his former position and says nothing more. I'm still standing awkwardly in the middle of the floor, but I've never been good at comforting people, and this is no exception.

"Mind if I join you?" I say at last, because I'm tired of standing, and I think people are generally more amenable to talking if you're not staring them down from the opposite side of a room like they might bite at any moment.

"Doesn't matter."

That's ambiguous, so I make the executive decision to take it as a yes, and come sit closer to Barnabas. He doesn't move.

"Can I ask a question?" I say.

There's a shuffle of fabric on stone. I'm pretty sure he just shrugged, but it's impossible to tell.

"For whatever accusations of witchcraft might be flying around," I say, "may it be known that while I would love to have a black-cat form, I can't see in the dark."

That gets me a quiet huff; I made him laugh.

"Oh good, you are sane," I say.

"I've been told otherwise."

That makes two of us. "Well, you're better than some of the other ones I've talked to. Let me tell you, I'd have thrown myself into the nearest frog pond if I had to spend more than half an hour in most of their presences. I've always liked frogs better."

"They're not so bad once you get to know them."

"Easy to say for the one who seems to make friends with everybody."

Another shrug. "They're an audience like the next. You just have to play them right."

"I've never been the acting type. Always preferred the tricks with fire in them."

Barnabas is chuckling again. He's probably not okay, but I seem to have at least broken the ice between us. "I'm surprised you haven't lit the school on fire yet."

"Figured pyro-boy had it covered."

"Ansel?"

"Sure."

Silence falls between us. After a long moment, Barnabas says, "Why haven't you lit the school on fire yet? If you knew... what was really going on."

I sigh. "We wanted to see if there was a way to get people back first." That's taking too much credit. "Well, Exie wanted to. We've been trying to investigate. We didn't realize how bad it was until... well, until after you got taken. I didn't burn anything because there was still so much we didn't know."

"Do you know now?"

"No. Well, not everything we wanted to. I was hoping to ask what you remember."

Silence again. I could fill this one, but I decide to wait it out instead.

"Not much," says Barnabas at last. He pulls up his knees and hugs them again. "It's been fading ever since..."

He fails to finish that sentence.

"Since what?" I ask.

"I don't know how long I've been awake."

"Strictly speaking, about three minutes."