Zach pressed one hand against his left side, managed to get to his knees, the pain easing faster than he was used to. He realized why as he looked over at the standing stones. The box was there.
“Tell me you found it.” Diana’s high-pitched voice scraped over his ears. He tried not to flinch.
“It’s close.” Pretending he didn’t see her hand, he stood on his own, his legs shaky, the shallow knife wounds burning hotter with every breath. “But before I take another step, it’s time for let’s make a deal.”
“What are you—”
“The second I give you the box, we’re done.”
“Ah.” She crossed her arms, smiling as she looked up at him. “You think you have the upper hand. Please allow me to enlighten you.” Dread crawled up his spine. “This knife?” She waved it in front of his face, Mom’s blood still staining it. “It carries a spell, and a nasty one at that. Whoever owned this blade had quite the temper. When it impales completely, it releases an ugly, irreversible poison. Even if the wound is not fatal the person will die. No need to worry for yourself, boy. Your cuts were too shallow to do more than hurt you, maybe cause more than the usual discomfort. But your mum—hers is a killing wound.”
Everything in him stilled, and for the first time, he understood the desire to kill. Before Diana could stop him he knelt beside Mom. Her chest rose and fell, a slight movement that scared the hell out of him. He clutched his amethyst. Her heartbeat pulsed through it, slow. Too slow. “Is there a counter spell?”
Diana smiled. He wanted to punch her. “Ah, you are a witch’s child. Yes, there is a counter spell. Find the box, and it is yours.”
Without another word, Zach pushed to his feet, moved to one of the standing stones. Only the pain from his knife wounds hounded him as he got closer to his target. Instead of the pain of finding, a dark, hot need whispered across his skin. He knew it came from whatever was trapped in the box. Just the brush of that power terrified him, and he planned to get both him and Mom as far away as fast as possible after he located the box.
Several holes marred the ground, a couple so deep he could see the buried edge of the stone. “You already tried to find it.”
“You are not one of those weepy eyed purists? I did what I had to—”
“Filling in the holes would have been nice.” Zach walked right past her efforts, drawn to what he knew was the heel stone. Here. The power licking at him, hot and hungry, was here. “Your box is buried here. Now I want the counter—”
“Once the box is in my hand.” She pushed back the cloak, set her oversized bag on the ground and dropped to her knees, chubby hands tearing at the long grass, exposing the dark, rich dirt underneath. “It will go faster if you help me, boy.”
“Zach.” He lowered himself to the ground, his side burning, wanting to be done with this, with her, ASAP. The low hum of fear for his mom kept getting louder, harder for him to push away. He needed to get this done, get the counter spell, stop the damage. “Let me.”
His long fingers shoveled through the soft dirt—and hit up against icy, engraved metal. Every inch recoiled from just the touch of it. Taking in a shaky breath, he pushed through the rain soft dirt until his fingers closed around the box, and pulled.
It jerked free, trailing dirt after it. Zach dropped the box and lurched to his feet, backing away from it with a sense of panic he couldn’t define. The thing was surprisingly small—but it radiated menace like he’d never felt before. He flinched when Diana picked it up, and he clapped one hand over his mouth to stop the scream clawing up his throat when she pressed her cheek to it.
“At last,” she whispered, caressing the dirt encrusted sides. “I never thought to find you. But here you are, living, breathing, in my grasp.”
“I want the counter spell.” Zach’s voice shook over the words. He didn’t care; they made a deal, and it was time for her to live up to her part of it. “I found it. Now give me the spell.”
“There is time yet, boy.”
“She’s dying!” He felt it, the pulsing inside his amethyst weaker with every minute that passed. He looked over at her, and swore her face was paler, her breath more shallow. “I can’t do anything more for you.”
“Ah, but you can.” She grabbed his wrist before he had the chance to react. Contact drove him to his knees, an alien voice screaming in his head. “I thought as much. You have some kind of connection to it. You will help me release it, boy. Then our bargain will be complete.” Horrified, Zach could only kneel on the grass and shake. Most likely, they’d both be dead. “Get up, now. I have already prepared the space.”