Page 40 of Baking and Angels

Joining her at the door, he stared at the white, multilayered cart. It had a little awning above with a cheerful blue-and-white striped pattern. Hanging from around the top were pretzels dipped in various kinds of chocolate and pressed into sprinkles, candy, or nuts. The two shelves below had three different kinds of cakes and a mini–ice cream station with so many possible toppings in jars all around. There were also brownies and cookies in drawers along with several prepackaged candy andnut mixes.

“Oh my word, Rafferty, look! They really do have everything!” Helena pointed at a medium-sized bowl in the middle.

“Are there eggs in that raw cookie dough?” Rafferty asked, gesturing tothe bowl.

“No, sir. It has everything else, but not the eggs. So it is safe to consume,” the attendant said. “Would you like a scoop of that along with a scoop of ice cream?”

“Yes! Please!” Helenasquealed.

“We also have some RumChata in a chocolate shot glass,” she said, indicating an unmarked bottle in the back ofthe cart.

“I’m dying. I’ve died. This is amazing, yes, please!” Helena cried, overly giddy.

“And what would you like, sir?” the attendant asked as she finished preparing Helena’s order.

“I…” He looked over the cart. “May I have some of that flourless chocolate cake?” He gestured at the plate in the middle nearthe back.

“It has a hint of orange if that is alright?” she added as she reached for a small paper plate to dish the pre-cutslice on.

“How can it not be?” he said, and he accepted the dessert.

“Anythingto drink?”

“Milk!” Helena called from inside their compartment, having already retreated back to the seat. “Definitely need some milk.”

The attendant retrieved two cold bottles from the end of her cart. “Would you like me to charge it to the car?”she asked.

“Yes, please!” Helena called back, and Rafferty accepted that the issue of payment was taken care of.

“Oh my gosh, I am so glad that lady at the ticket counter offered us the free upgrade. This is the best!” Helena declared once the cart moved on. She had already devoured half of the small train-shaped bowl the scoop of cookie dough and ice cream had come in.

Rafferty settled into the single seat across from her since she had decided to sit cross-legged and take up the entire double-seater. He didn’t mind. He enjoyed watching herenjoyment.

“This is so nice,” she said, smiling at him. “Getting to travel with my boyfriend. It’s like a slice of normal,you know?”

“Is this normal?” he asked. “I have no frame of reference.”

“Hmm.” She nodded around a full mouth, sliding the spoon out with a sensual slowness. “When Cindy and I were coming home from college, we convinced our boyfriends at the time to comewith us.”

“At the time?” Rafferty asked.

“Yes, I’ve had quite a few before I met you,” she said, then cocked her head. “Is that aproblem?”

He shook his head. “No, of course, forgive me. I know you had a life, and lovers, before my existence.”

“We did just share a memory of one of your own,” she pointed out.

His jaw stiffened. “She wasn’t my lover,” he said, the words making the chocolate cake taste bitter. “I wouldn’t call her that. Nothing I did with her I would call love. Love requires a choice, and I had very limitedchoices.”

He stuffed a larger bite of his dessert into his mouth, simply to have something more to dothan talk.

“I suppose I know that,” she said, her words soft and tender as a feather brushing the air. “I know we never really talked about this before, but if someone would summon you, what happens to you if they ask something of you that you don’t want to do?”

He swallowed, the cake sliding down his throat like a rock, threatening for a moment to choke. His gaze went long as he remembered the calculation. “There is a price that has to be paid when we are summoned. If we don’t do as our masters’ command, if we break our word… There is something in all of this, that binds us to our agreements. There is also something that prevents us from taking what we need without one. We aren’t sure what it is. Our summoners can send us back without paying the price if we don’t make a deal. Then it falls on us. If we break the agreement, the price is higher than if they simply sent us back. If we fulfill our end, then we can take what we were promised by any means and there is nothing our masters can do tostop us.”

Watching her take this in, he could see her reliving the consequences of such an imprudent deal like the one Yosef had made. Helena’s gaze had gone long as she listened, tapping her spoon in her bowl. “So when I accidentally summoned you the first time…”

“I kept the price low. My trip there and back and the tiniest bit of power to make the ingredients I needed. It only cost you a memory. A vibrant memory. I didn’t gain anything from it but didn’t lose anything either. We can’t risk saying no to anyone. Though, we don’t want those who summon us to know that if they don’t already. Then we can get away with all kinds of things.” It didn’t exactly feel good to say that aloud, but there was some strange relief in it as well. These were things he would have never said to anyone, but revealing them to Helena felt right. He was safewith her.

---