“No, no!” Seymour tried giving her a light bop on the top of her head. “No devouring!”
Day hissed loudly.
MAYBE A TINY BIT
“Attempting to devour Mr. Morénas-Mostro is very unwise,” Sariel cautioned. “He owns the Reliquary and?—”
“Yeah!” Seymour snapped. “No shit!”
“What is going on?” Neil asked, his brow pinched in worry. “Why is Day’s jaw opening up like a fucking snake?”
“Because she wants to eat Lou!” Seymour wrapped both arms around Day’s middle. “Fuck, she’s strong.” He glared at Sariel. “Lil’ help, please?”
Sariel frowned. “I do not believe she will listen to me?—”
“How ’bout youtry?”
Sariel took a deep breath and advanced, saying firmly, “Now, you will behave, little one, or?—”
Day whirled and snapped her giant gaping mouth at Sariel. The sound of her teeth cracking together sounded like a bear trap slamming shut and had the promise of similar, if not worse, destruction.
Watching Sariel—a literalangel—flinch away was hilarious, but Seymour wasn’t laughing.
Maybe later.
“Oh, oh, oh!” Myrna squealed and waved her arms. “We can’t let Lou get eaten! Quick, someone make a mess?—”
“No! No messes!” Neil argued, quickly getting in front of Lou. “Let’s talk about this, huh? Why does Day want to eat Lou?”
“She’s sayin’ Lou killed my dad!” Seymour wrangled Day against his chest and held tight. “Hey, hey, calm down. Didn’t Clancy tell you to hide in the Inro, huh?”
“Yes!” Day wiggled. “I heard all this awful noise and then it got quiet. I know Clancy had told me to stay put, but I came out to see what had happened. That’s when I saw Clancy on the floor! And that man there—” She waved a paw at Lou. “—was standing over his body. Helaughedand then left.” Her eyes glimmered with tears. “I… I should have gone after him… but I…” She burst into a sob and went limp in Seymour’s grasp. “I didn’t… I didn’t know what to do.”
Seymour turned Day around to gently cradle her against his shoulder. “It’s okay, lil’ girl. It’s okay.”
“I should h-have helped him!” Day whimpered. “I… I should have done something! I, I just started crying and I couldn’t st-stop!”
“It’s all right,” Seymour soothed. “I got you now.”
Lou did not seem moved in the slightest, asking flatly, “Can someone translate that?”
DAY SAW YOU STANDING OVER CLANCY’S BODY
SHE REGRETS NOT EATING YOU
SHE WOULD LIKE TO RECTIFY THAT SITUATION NOW AND EAT YOU WITH KETCHUP
“Is that really what she said?” Neil asked.
CLOSE ENOUGH
“Basically, yeah.” Seymour continued petting Day’s head. “I think she got scared, so she just hid until me and Sariel showed up. But she’s definitely sayin’ she saw Lou standing over Clancy’s, uh, body.”
“And when exactly does she claim this happened?” Lou drawled.
“Well, my dad died last Friday.”
“I was with Lou that entire day and I can promise you there was no murdering!” Myrna said sternly. “I would remember!” She glared at Flanders. “Flanders! Say something!”
