“Here it is,” Sierra says, dropping the theatrics. She carefully pulls the box from the earth and sets it down.
It’s just as Alexis described. A small wooden box that looks so innocent in the dark.
“There are fragments here,” she murmurs, more to herself than to me. “Ghosts. Surrounding us and the box. Can’t count how many. They’re all screaming.”
“Think we should open it?”
“Is this what I think it is?”
“Yeah.”
“Think it’ll unleash a plague or something?”
“Only one way to find out.”
“Fair,” she says and steps back as I kick the top of the box. The lid opens.
Sierra takes another step back, and I follow. I flick my staff to full extension. It’s cold in my hand, but it reflects the little bit of light that gets through the trees; good thing I put some energy into it before I left.
Above us, I hear the cry of what might be a crow. Do they have crows in Germany? Do they have crows in evil forests?
Then it appears. Black mist, streaming up from the box and rolling over it. I reach out to feel its signature and recoil. The only things I can name are rotten meat and sugar. Sickly, acid, sweetness.
Fun Dip, I think wildly, and nearly laugh. I take another step back, pushing Sierra further behind me. She’s whispering something that sounds like Latin, but from the tone, I bet she’s swearing.
“Hi,” I say, to the terrifying hell cloud. “What are you?”