Page 61 of The Tracker's Dawn: Sunderverse

“Velthgrek,” Damien’s commanding voice instructed, “get inside the box.”

The demon’s head snapped in the mage’s direction. Ours did likewise. He hadn’t explained what the box was all about. How was the huge thing going to get inside that tiny box?

“Do it NOW!” The mage’s order was unequivocal.

Velthgrek bared sharp fangs, but the grimace lasted only a flash, then the creature dissolved, turning into dark smoke, reminding me of that trick Mekare had pulled when she’d escaped us.

Taking the shape of a floating snake, the demon dived into the box through the hole, quickly disappearing like a hose being reeled in.

As I watched its tail-end vanish, I realized the box represented Jake. My stomach twisted into a knot at the thought of a deceitful creature from hell slithering into him. Did we really want to do this? Were we making a big mistake? What if this craziness became the biggest mistake of my life?

Damien cracked his neck, appearing satisfied but also a little tired. I held my breath expectantly. This was progress, I guessed. Though I still couldn’t make up my mind whether it was for better or for worse. Maybe the sane alternative would be to fail. Maybe fate should make the decision for us, so we could be spared from a huge screw-up.

The mage blew air through his pursed lips, then shook his arms loose and pointed his hands toward the box again. His fingers twirling in an intricate pattern.

“Now, I have to try to hold it in place. I’ll have to release it in order for it to eat out the curse. Also, once it gets its first taste of blood, it’ll be impossible to control it through verbal commands,” Damien explained.

I watched on pins and needles, a little confused about what was happening, then Damien spoke again, issuing another command for the demon.

“Velthgrek, get out of the box!”

Sweat broke out on the mage’s brow as he stared intently at the box. A moment later, it began to shake in place. Damien crouched and leaned into his weaving hands, concentration pinching his features.

As I watched, another realization hit me. Damien had said that the demon would try to go for Jake’s heart and that he would have to use telekinesis to hold it back. If Velthgrek got out of the box, it would represent Jake’s heart being devoured.

The box continued shaking, at first subtly, then quickly. Soon, the container was bucking, its corners coming off the floor. Damien’s arms and hands were stiff and shaking as he held them out. Suddenly, the box jumped as if it had a frog trapped inside, moving dangerously close to the edge of the pentagram.

Rosalina gasped and took a step back.

“It can’t get out,” Damien said between clenched teeth as he continued struggling to hold the demon in.

Did he mean the box couldn’t get out of the pentagram? Or the demon couldn’t get out of the box? Either way, I figured that was good news, and we—

The box exploded, sending bits of cardboard flying everywhere. The black cloud that was the demon expanded into something that looked like a mushroom cloud. Bits of box rained all around the pentagram.

“Shit!” Eric cursed under his breath.

In a few beats, the cloud coalesced into the shaggy creature it had been moments ago. It glanced happily around, panting and marching in place as if eager to play another game.

I stared at the fragments of cardboard, my lower lip trembling and tears pooling in my eyes. I barely noticed when Rosalina and Eric rushed to Damien’s side and caught him before he collapsed to the floor. I was too busy worrying about one question.

If Velthgrek getting out of the box represented Jake’s heart being devoured, what the hell did it mean that the box had exploded?