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“Most of it didn’t make sense,” he said in a rush. “I don’t know what his notes meant. What I do know is I found a description of a music box just like that, and it said the box was cursed!”
“What kind of curse?” I demanded.
“I—I don’t know,” he stammered. “It didn’t say.”
Grant handed me the box, and I looked it over. I didn’t feel anything at first, then I sensed a faint bit of magic I hadn’t felt before. “There may be something here…”
Grant’s features dropped. “What kind of curse? I’ve been touching that thing all semester!”
“It’s not very strong,” I remarked. “I don’t even know if it’s enough to hurt you. But this could be why you haven’t been able to fix it. Gregory’s telling the truth.”
Lucas relaxed his grip on Gregory's shirt, then raked his hands through his hair. “For Alora’s sake, Gregory, get some help.”
“What, like a shrink?” Gregory spat, sounding offended.
“Yes,” Lucas answered seriously. “It sounds like you really need one. I know a great therapist when you’re ready to talk to someone.”
Gregory crossed his arms. “I’m doing fine on my own, thanks.”
He wasn’t interested in our help. We let him go, and the four of us turned our attention to the music box. I felt the smallest hints of a curse rattling around inside of it, so I drew it out and transformed the spell. It was so small that only a few sparks flew from my fingers.
“We can fix it now!” Grant exclaimed. “I’ve got the parts in my room.”
“If there’s a spirit inside, we’ll need Miles to draw him out and interpret for us,” I said. I pulled out my phone and began typing a message. “Grant, you go get the parts. I’ll get everyone together, and we’ll meet at the Gravestone ASAP.”
Within ten minutes, a group had gathered in our secret room. Not everyone had gotten my message, but Miles, Chloe, and Mandy had shown up.
I stood at the head of our meeting table. “By now, I’m sure you’ve all heard what happened to Lena. The priestesses claimed it was the fae, but we believe Leto did this. We’re still not sure exactly how his spell works or how to stop it. Based on what we learned from Angelica, it’s possible Adrik Harvey banished Leto when he was in Octavia Falls forty years ago. Up until now, Adrik’s spirit has been stuck inside Talia’s music box. Grant fixed the box, and we’re here to get answers.”
Talia stood with the music box in her hands. “This is a vengeful spirit, and he may be confused. Are you all ready for this?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Miles said.
“Let’s see what’s inside that box,” Mandy agreed.
Talia took a deep breath and opened the box—and my heart stalled in horror. I didn’t know what I expected to happen, but it certainly wasn’t this. Spirits came flooding out of the box, swirling around the room in their spectral form. There had to be dozens of them, screeching as if they were being chased by an axe murderer. The lights overhead flickered, then went out. The ghostly voices overlapped one another, and I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying.
A woman’s spirit slowed in front of me, glowing slightly so that I could make out her features. “It was him!” she screamed. “He did this to us!”
She was there for a mere second before she lurched away, pulled by an invisible force with the others as they swirled around the room like a cloud of smoke.
Another man flung himself at me. “Leave, demon scum. Or die!”
It had to be Adrik. The man flicked his wrist, and an invisible blow landed against my chest. Lucas and I were both blasted off our feet, and we slammed against the wall. The air knocked out of my lungs, and I gasped as I hurried to right myself. Lucas was at my side in an instant, helping me up. It all happened so fast.
Miles threw his hands over his ears and shouted, “Talia, close the box!”
But Talia couldn’t hear us. Though she stood firmly in place, her eyes had rolled back into her skull, and her eyelids fluttered rapidly. She must’ve been having intense visions.
“The demon did this!” one of the ghosts screamed.
Chloe and Grant rushed forward at the same time. Chloe grabbed the box and slammed it shut. In the same moment the screaming vanished, Talia collapsed. Grant reached her just in time to catch her, and he gently lowered her to the ground.
“Tal!” Grant cried. Talia blinked a few times at the sound of her name, and she gave a shudder.
I stripped off my cloak. “Let’s get her comfortable.”
Grant propped Talia up in his lap, and I draped my cloak over her. Her shivers didn’t seem so intense anymore.
