to find his voice. I

it was crushed. We thought ev

eant to be funny. "It wasn' t destroyed. It can' t be.

a hand, its skin thin and papery, and placed it on my forehead. Her touch

she stated, as if o

into her pale eyes, and for a second, I thought I saw s

my neck, out through my limbs. The violent shivering stopped. The pounding in my skull softened to a dull ache. For the first tim

real one, that filled my

ef. "He' s better. David, l

d himself. His eyes were wide with disbeli

ixture of awe and fear in his e

ust pushed it back for a moment. It' s still there. It'

e room vanished instantly, rep

e was the first price you paid for your carelessness. The boy was the second warning. If you don' t fix

ne a hammer blow. Another one of

ease," she begged, her voice cracking. "Please, you h

beg for anything in his life, nodd

observation. She wasn' t a benevolent helper. She was a

w towards the forgotten cemetery. "You have broken a pact that was older than your gran

asked, confused

thing, carved from dark wood. You must find it. You must restore the a

?" Mom asked,

a flicker of something un

find the box first. And you must do it quickly. I