So… all the books could be lies? To make people behave one way? Huh. To be honest, Briony thought that sounded like a brilliant idea and that whoever had had it to begin with was clearly a demon because she didn’t think the angels would lie that much. Not to everybody all at once. But she’d gotten distracted by what Daniel had actually said. “Blessed if I know,” she repeated, somewhere between thoughtful and amused. The phrase ‘damned if I know’ would have slipped out of her own mouth easier, but she knew that was because she lived with a mortal family who thought that being damned – like she was – was a bad thing. Daniel’s version made more sense. She didn’t want to be blessed. It made her feel sick. Wasn’t something she thought she had ever said herself before, though, and if Rachel ever caught her Briony knew she would probably pitch a very real fit. “Daniel,” she started, in the way that stated very clearly that a question was going to be asked. Even though she hadn’t meant to sound like that. Littler kids than her sounded like that. “Is the Devil real? Because—because Rachel says he’s not. But she says there’s a god and even her Bible says that he created the world in whatever. So,” because there was definitely more, “if Hell’s real and all… Is he real?” It was a serious question, maybe, and she actually didn’t know or care just how serious it was – just that she got some form of answer. “Hah! I was right!” Wrists, not hands – something that merited a small victory twirl. “I watched Misery with Hayden and he doubles up with, uh… What d’you call them? Sympathy pains. They get twitchy over real stupid stuff.” Like broken bones. What was so bad about broken bones? She resented the very strong suggestion that she didn’t understand the movie because, oh, she understood it better than he did. He cried through most of it. “Anarchy should be the Principal!” The string of giggles that erupted eventually gave way to a partially sulky pout. Her toe kicked at the floor as her shoulders sagged. Some things just weren’t fair. “I want to go to Hell! I want to see it!” Why couldn’t she? How did you even get there, anyway?
Really, Briony didn’t care who the horse – Thunder – was asking. “Isn’t that like asking if a human curse’ll do anything to a demon? I’m gonna damn his coffee.” She didn’t care what this spell was for. But she did. She really did. If he hadn’t thought it to her yet then it was one of the good ones… which made it a nasty. “Toothpaste,” she provided, holding the apples out to Daniel. “Do they smell like chocolate-covered strawberries to you?” It was a weird question but a valid one. Because they did to her.
Experimenting was fun. Especially when someone gave pointers. Like when that Excess – Persephone! – told her that the further she pushed things the better they got. See, she remembered and everything. Now, now… there were more tools and while she was still pretty sure the hammer was her most favourite, the others were fun too! “Screwdrivers must hurt if you get stabbed with them. They’re not sharp.” There was a better word than ‘not sharp’ but she’d forgotten it while she wrinkled her nose at the pliers. “Those’re too big for me. My hands are too small. I need to grow up faster…” So she could grip pliers properly. “I think the hammer’s still the best. Especially ‘cause no one’d think I could swing it like that. And, ooh, d’you have one of those… things you hit with the hammer? Like, what’s it called… a chisel!” She wasn’t full sure how you’d use a chisel on a person yet other than just stabbing them, but she’d figure it out soon enough. What she would then do with all this knowledge was, again, a work in progress.