Page 82 of Unruly
“Obviously.” He glances up at me, and his eyes startle me. They’re pure white, without a hint of color or the outline of an iris. “I’ve been expecting you.”
As I thought. “How?”
“Call it a feeling.” His voice is eerie, somewhere between masculine and feminine, alive and dead, soft but firm. “I suppose you’re here because of our friend, Mr. Wolcott.”
“He is no friend of mine. How did this happen?”
“I was given a box, passed down through generations of my family, to be opened on my twenty-fifth birthday.” Calex pushes a wooden box toward me, staring just past me. “Open it.”
Carefully, I lift the lid, finding a scroll inside.
“Twenty-five is also when my powers fully matured. That was four months ago. You’ll see the instructions on the parchment are for a spell. That spell awakened Mr. Wolcott’s spirit. You see, I was simply following instructions, except for one crucial piece.”
“Yes?”
“I was to wait for an advantageous moment, but I was, as I always am, impatient and far too curious. I completed the spell right away, and though I hate to admit it, I believe it was a mistake.”
“How so?”
“My family is very powerful. Our magic is stronger than most, and we can wield it however we please. I thought I could control it, but the opposite has been true. Thisthingtook off on its own and while I’ve been able to detect it from time to time, I have no influence or control. I’ve tried numerous spells to send it back to where it came from, but it seems immune.” He places his hand on the table, leaning towards me, his dead gaze lookingright through me. “No one is immune to my magic. What is this spirit? You must know.”
“It’s not a simple spirit. In my world, we call it a Horror, a terribly nasty soul meant for confinement in the underworld.”
“You’re from the underworld?”
“I am. It’s my job to get that Horror back where it belongs, but I thought it shouldn’t have been able to get here again anyway. Then I learned about the cursed objects.”
“A gift from my great-great-grandmother. She made a deal with Mr. Wolcott, and I brought it to fruition. It doesn’t even understand the modern world. It thinks it can rule the world, and doesn’t listen to any sort of reason.” He exhales slowly. “I am a lot of things, none of them good, but even I can see my error in judgment in unleashing this thing. Can you stop it?”
“Yes, but I need to know what started this and if there are any more objects out there that I should be aware of.”
Calex blinks his eerie eyes. “Well, yes, there is one thing.” He stands, moving to a cabinet that he opens and removing a smaller wood box. “The only thing keeping him somewhat contained is in this box. If he were to get this, he could very easily return in corporeal form.”
I sit up. “What is it?”
Calex opens it, revealing a shriveled object that, upon closer inspection, appears to be a human heart.
“Mr. Wolcott’s heart. It’s enchanted and requires nothing but contact to reanimate. I very wisely kept this part to myself. Even Mr. Wolcott doesn’t know. You see, my ancestor was a wise woman, and took extra care to ensure she could utilize this spirit to do her bidding.” He closes the box. “After seeing what happened when I did the first spell, I decided to hold this back until I understood it better.”
“I need that. Please.”
“Certainly. Everything has its price.”
“You want money for it?”
He chuckles. “Oh please. Of course not. I want something only you can give me. Immortality?”
“I do not grant immortality. I am not a god.”
“You are something powerful. I can sense it. Tell me what you are?”
“I am not at liberty to do so. I cannot offer immortality though. Is there something else?”
Calex taps his chin. “Are you a magic user?”
“No. What I do is for those who are good of soul. Is that you, Calex?”
He frowns, narrowing his white eyes. “There must be something. A tour, perhaps.”
