Me and the Devil: Sebastian Sallow

Chapter ONE OH FIVE - Uneasy Hope

The curl of the darkness and the heat of the candles should have felt a comfort in the abyss of my thoughts, yet I felt little more than the rough calluses along Sebastian's palms as I traced my fingers over them.

We sat in the undercroft, suitcases deposited quickly in our rooms before seeking solace in each other once more. It hadn't been a decided thing, at least not out loud, but none of us had wanted to be left alone to our thoughts.

Sebastian had barely smiled since we left and Ominis had been wary to leave his side. Even though the thought of food had nearly made me ill, I'd forced myself to stop by the kitchens, give Tooby a hug and pick up three bland sandwiches. Each of which now sat directly in front of us on top of the the crumpled brown bags. A single bite from mine, two nibbles from Ominis' and Sebastian's wholly untouched.

We'd spent the day with our noses in our books. Sebastian had even pulled Salazar's spellbook from his bag and was reading it only inches away from Ominis. The entire ordeal twisted my gut but I kept quiet as he thumbed through the pages.

Flip

Flip

Flip

Eyes scanning quickly, patience seemingly thinner with each turn.

Flip

Light came and left and Ominis begun to drift off to sleep, propped up against one of the pillars. I'd continually had to shift his weight back up to keep him from toppling face first against the floor. 

My attention clung to Sebastian's fingers as they brushed down the edges of the current page. A small, dark inked drawing of some sort of pyramid sketched into the very center, words I couldn't read scribbled around every bit of blank parchment. His pointer finger had ran along each angle and corner, touching it as gently as he had my own skin.

I'd pulled my eyes to the ceiling, desperately wishing I could see the stars. The bits of magic and wonder of the undercroft weighed down with thick, murky desperation.

"Oof!"

Oops.

Ominis popped his neck as he pulled himself from the floor.

"...I think I shall make my way to bed... Sebastian?"

Ominis collected his things into a neat pile before brushing his bag up over his knee and tucking them inside.

"-Sebastian."

"Not now Ominis." 

I could have sworn I saw the blonde boy flinch but his movements were too minuscule to truly rule out a trick of the light.

Sebastian tilted his nose back over his shoulder for a moment but made no move to look completely away. "-I just- I'll meet you down there in a bit... I'm not finished with my- chapter." 

The most words he'd spoken since we arrived back at the castle and yet none of them made me feel any better.

Ominis turned his head to me and held it there for a few moments. No words needed said aloud.

Our shared unease and sorrow embodied in brown hair and eyes.

"I understand. I will see you shortly then..." The edge of his lips curled up slightly, uneasy but full of anticipated hope.

Sebastian didn't take the bait. Jokes insignificant to the brush of dark magic.

Ominis dropped his head, pulled his bag over his shoulder and nodded to me.

"Good evening Atley dear. I shall see you first thing in the morning."

"Goodnight Ominis."

Almost as soon as the clink of the metal grate slammed against the floor behind Ominis, Sebastian hurtled up from the ground and lunged quickly to the shadows of the far wall. He pulled a thick wood bucket from corner, head ducked inside in an instant. His shoulders shook, fingers flexed around the edges and stomach heaving out little more than dry air. Wretches soon gripped back to silent sobs.

My boots moved before my brain, laces wound tightly around my heart as I stepped up behind him. All thoughts of jokes and stars tossed into the pail with Sebastian's emotions. My fingers tapped gently against his back, unsure if he would prefer my presence or absence more.

Wiping an arm over his mouth, he pulled away from the bucket, bones and muscles sunk to the floor. His eyes still red rimmed and puffy, he lifted his gaze to my shoulders but no higher.

The silence tinged red and burning.

His breaths hung and heavy.

His partial smirk laced with uneasy hope.

"I think I found something."