Page 252 of The Defiant Curse

Oh, well, they all hoped so. The atmosphere was getting chillier, and there was a mist forming.

“That can’t be good,” Elizabeth said, pointing at the mist heading their way. “Did it get darker out, or am I suddenly having a medical issue?” she asked.

Oh, no, it definitely got darker.

That’s when they saw him.

“What the hell is that?” Elizabeth asked, as the horses all got spooked.

They went up on their back legs and took off, racing out of there.

Without.

Them.

Well, that couldn’t be good, now could it be?

As Graham turned, he saw something not far away, and it raced at the three men at the hole, slamming into them.

Graham fell backward, and had Michael not had excellent reflexes, he wouldn’t have caught him before he fell into the hole. Yes, it was only four feet deep, but he still could have hurt himself.

As soon as she saw him, Gabby knew who it was.

“That had to be Oison. When we looked up Ceit’s family, that’s what he reminded me of.”

Well, shit.

“I don’t like this,” Elizabeth said.

Gabby either.

“It’s like he doesn’t want us opening that grave and getting that necklace.”

Exactly.

Well, in that case, they needed to do the opposite of what the dead dude wanted.

“Bring him up.”

Reaching in, they grabbed onto the wooden box, and the three men hefted it up, the women helping once it was out of the ground.

It was placed down, and now, though, they had a problem.

“The crowbar was on the pack,” Graham admitted. “We don’t have a way into the box.”

Well, that sucked.

Yes, yes, it did.

Well, there was one way to get into the box, but it wasn’t going to be pretty.

Michael picked up the shovel.

“Well, step back,” he said, getting ready to swing it down and into the wooden box.

Because it was old, it might just give under his swing.

As he began beating on the box, there were SCREAMS and howling like someone was physically being hurt.