Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina returns to the basement to eat with Pa. Just as she senses that he feels intense pressure to get the dynamo back to working order; she feels pressed to resolve the mystery and conflict with the Man in the Black Cloak that night, as Braeden otherwise might leave in the morning with her leading suspect. Pa tells her again to stay put overnight, but Serafina cannot obey. As soon as Pa is asleep, she sneaks outside to the edge of the forest. She feels no animosity toward it despite her scares of the previous day; in fact, she feels as though she and the forest share an energy and kinship. Entering the woods, she thinks about how she might catch the Man in the Black Cloak.

As she walks deeper, she wonders if the forest is the place where she belongs, and whether the ease with which she was able to sneak, fight, hide, and lie over the last days means she aligns more with darkness than light. Seeing the stars overhead and thinking about the inscription on the angel statue, it occurs to Serafina that she must bait the Man like the rat that he is.