I do the four-beat tap again, just for emphasis, and Kit does it as well.
Hang on.
No, there’s absolutely no way. That has to be a coincidence.
Eyes glued on my fingers, face pressed against the window, holding my breath in fear Kit will notice what I’m doing. I slowly lift the pointer finger of my left hand and watch as thehand on my body follows suit. I continue to watch as I lower my finger back to the couch. Kit has to be fucking with me. He must see what I’m doing in my void. But then I lift my middle finger, then my ring finger, then my pinky, all one by one, lifting, then placing them back on the couch. Slowly, I make a fist, watching my fingers curl into my palm. I release the fist.
I have control of this hand. Kit doesn’t seem to notice. He would have said something if he did. Is it only the hand or the entire arm as well? I attempt to lift my arm. My hand twitches, but that’s all. Then I watch in horror as the arm does lift and I am not the one controlling it. Kit scratches his nose then drops the arm. I lift my pointer finger again, but my hand does not obey the command.
Dammit.
Temporary control, like when Kit was drunk? Or something that I can gain back if I keep working, if I really concentrate? Because if that’s the case…well, I could use that to my advantage.
“Hey, Lace?” Kit says, pulling me from my schemes.
I look up and notice the show has been paused. Gently, I sit back in my seat. “Yeah?”
“If you’re up for it, I was thinking we could try another ghost hunt. I don’t think we should go back to Voyager’s Mansion. Unless you want to. But with the bees…I want you to be safe.”
“Yeah, I agree. No Voyager’s Mansion. Plus, I don’t love that people live there. Like, the video I’m submitting could potentially be aired on TV or posted to the network’s website or socials. If those people happen to catch it, well, I could get arrested for trespassing.”
“Right. And that would be bad.”
“Correct. I prefer to trespass in vacant buildings. Less people to notice me.”
I can feel his grin. “Well, there’s this old abandoned grist mill, a bit out of the way. Everything good and haunted is out of the way, right? We can do some research on it beforehand, if you want? Make sure you like it. This is your thing. I don’t want to take over—I just want to assist. And I don’t think there will be bees there, especially if we go at night. I’ll make sure to bring your EpiPen just in case. I mean, I’ll make sure to always have that from now on. And, well, yeah.”
I purse my lips. He’s worried about me—like he’s not my biggest problem. But I appreciate it. And the doing research bit? He’s actually helping. No one ever wants to assist me with my investigations. Like, Meggie will make sure I’m being careful, but she’ll never hide her opinion that I’m being reckless. Matthias will ask questions and talk to me about my investigations. But neither of them ever offer tohelp. Out of all people, humans and demons alike, you would think Kit would want to assist me the least. I can’t help myself from saying, “You’re kind of sweet. Do you realize that?”
He huffs in bewilderment. “I amnot. I am a fearsome, evil demon.”
Demon, yes. Evil, eh. Fearsome, no. He’s all talk. “Have you ever killed anyone?”
“Well, no.”
“Have you ever been sexually violent toward anyone?”
“No, of course not.”
“Have you ever seriously maimed or injured anyone?”
“I punched an eighth grader, once.”
“Were you also an eighth grader when this happened?” I ask, eyes narrowed.
“No.”
I roll my eyes. “Were you in seventh grade? Is that why you’re so proud of this?”
He groans. “Howdid you know that?”
“You’re not nearly as mysterious as you think you are.”
“I’m incredibly mysterious,” he argues indignantly.
“So, the one physically violent thing that you can think of that you’ve done happened not while you were a demon, but a thirteen-year-old child?”
He shoots back, “Twelve-year-old child.”
