Chapter 304

[ 1,020 words ]

~Devon~

We didn’t mean to open the box.

Well, okay, we totally meant to. But not in a bad way.

Diana grabbed it first when Mom and Dad were yelling about the scroll. She shoved it at me and whispered “Let’s look while they’re busy.”

So we snuck to the back corner of the vault where the shadows were thicker and Mom couldn’t see us good.

The box was heavier than it looked. Cold too. Like it had been sitting in a freezer.

“You open it.” Diana pushed it toward me.

“Why me?”

“Because you’re the boy.”

“That’s dumb. Being a boy doesn’t make me better at opening boxes.”

“Just open it!”

I flipped the little wolf clasp and the lid popped up easy.

Inside was hair. Just hair. Silver-blonde and tied with a ribbon that was falling apart.

“That’s it?” Diana leaned closer. “Just old hair?”

“I guess.” I touched it careful with one finger. It felt normal. Like regular hair.

Then it got warm.

Not burning hot. Like when you hold your hands near a fire.

“Devon, it’s glowing.” Diana’s voice went all high and squeaky.

She was right. The hair was lighting up. Silver light that got brighter and brighter until I had to squint.

“Should we close it?” My hands were shaking.

“Too late!”

The light exploded out of the box. Shot up toward the ceiling. Started forming shapes in the air.

A person. A woman. Made of light but looking real enough to touch.

“Whoa.” That’s all I could say. Just whoa.

The light-woman opened her mouth and sound came out. A voice. Soft and sad.

“If you’re seeing this, I’m dead.”

Diana grabbed my arm so hard it hurt. “Is that Grandma?”

I couldn’t answer. My throat had stopped working.

The light-woman kept talking. About Black Moon. About betrayal. About someone helping the bad guys.

Her face looked like Mom’s. Same nose. Same way her mouth moved when she talked serious.

This was definitely Grandma.

“We gotta get Mom.” Diana was already standing up. “She needs to see this.”

“Wait up for me!” I started but Diana was gone, running toward where Mom and Dad were still arguing.

“MOM! MOM COME QUICK!”

The light-woman flickered when Diana yelled. Started fading.

“No no no, don’t go away yet!” I held the box tighter like that would help.

But she kept fading. Her voice getting quieter.

Mom appeared next to me, breathing hard from running. “Devon, what is it? You know we don’t have time for pranks.”

She saw the light-woman and stopped talking. Her whole face changed as she listened to what Grandma had to say.

Then the light went out completely. The hair in the box turned to dust. Gray powder that smelled like old books.

“No.” Mom choked out. “No, bring it back. Devon, make it come back.”

“I can’t. It just… it turned to dust.” I showed her the box full of gray powder.

Mom dropped to her knees like her legs stopped working. Made a sound that wasn’t crying but wasn’t not crying either.

“Mom?” Diana knelt next to her. “Are you okay?”

“That was her. That was my mother.” Mom’s hands were shaking really bad. “Seeing her again after all these years, I don’t know how to handle this. Oh goddes, I’ve missed her.”

She made that sound again. Started crying for real this time.

I didn’t know what to do. Mom never cried. Not like this. Not where we could see.

Luckily, Dad was here to console her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and whispered to her but she moved away from him like a plague.

Just Mom being Mom.

“Do you think they are fighting again?” Diana questioned, her voice laced with concern.

“I hope not.”

“Why do they always have to fight?”

Uncle Killian showed up then. Except it wasn’t really Uncle Killian anymore. His eyes were still purple. His veins were still all black. But he was walking and talking instead of trying to eat us, so that was better I guess.

He looked at Mom crying. Pulled something from his pocket. A white cloth.

“Here.” He handed it to Mom. “It’s clean.”

Mom took it. Pressed it against her face. “Thank you.”

Uncle Killian just nodded. Stayed standing there like he didn’t know if he should leave or stay.

Dad was watching from across the vault. His face had gone all stiff, his veins throbbing. Even a blind man could tell that he wanted Uncle Killian gone for good.

Purple appeared then. He’d been hiding somewhere during all the yelling and the light show. Now he crept forward, sniffing at the box in my hands.

“Hey boy.” I held it down so he could smell better. “It’s just dust now.”

Purple sniffed the dust. His ears went flat. He whined. Started backing away from the box.

“What’s wrong with him?” Diana moved toward Purple but he kept backing up.

Purple hit the wall. Stopped. Looked at the wall. Sniffed it. Whined louder.

“There’s something there.” I moved closer. “Purple smells something.”

“It’s just a wall.” Lila had been quiet this whole time but now she walked over. Looked at where Purple was sniffing. “Unless…”

She pressed her hand against the stone then she pushed.

A section of wall moved inward with a grinding sound.

“It’s a door.” Lila pushed harder. The stone section swung open, showing darkness behind it. “A hidden passage.”

“Where does it go?” Mom was on her feet now, moving toward the opening.

“I don’t know. This wasn’t in any of the records I saw.” Lila pulled out her flashlight, shined it into the passage. “But it’s been used recently. Look at the floor.”

She was right. The floor had tracks in the dust. Footprints going in and coming out.

“Someone’s been using this passage.” Dad had moved back to stand with us. “Recently.”

“Black Moon.” Lila announced. “This must be how they’ve been getting in and out without triggering the main entrance wards.”

“A secret exit.” Mom stepped closer to the opening. “We need to see where it goes.”

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