Page 88 of The Tracker's Dawn: Sunderverse

Damien approached Lucia, holding a box in each hand. They were exactly like the one that had exploded. I guess he’d brought spares just in case.

“What are those?” my sister asked.

The mage handed her one to examine. She turned it around in her hands and frowned at the hole.

“She looks so calm and collected,” Rosalina whispered in my ear. She, Jake, Eric, and I were reclined against the gun cabinets in the back.

“She acts that way no matter what she’s feeling inside,” I said. “She got like that after Dad died.” I always wondered how different she would’ve turned out if Dad was still here. Being the youngest, his passing had hit her the hardest—not to mention that she always got along better with him than with our mother.

Thoughts of Travis and Olivia surfaced in my mind, adding to my roosting guilt. I pushed them aside with a shake of my head.

Eric huffed. “She wasn’t calm and collected that day at the high school.”

I elbowed him. “What did you expect?”

He shrugged. “Just saying.”

“What is the hole for?” Lucia asked, handing the box back.

“For the demon to enter. I will order it to go inside, then you’ll use your powers to keep it inside. The box represents Jake,” Damien said.

I glanced over at Jake, who shuddered at the words. He hadn’t been here when the box blew up, and I still didn’t know if I was glad about it. Maybe if he’d witnessed the explosion, he wouldn’t be so bent on letting a demon enter his body.

“Isn’t the box kind of small?” my sister asked.

“It isn’t. You’ll see. Besides, it’s just a test. We’re only trying to make sure that we can contain the demon and stop it from going for Jake’s heart.”

Lucia’s expression tightened for a split second, but I noticed. And I wasn’t the only one. Jake did too. He stepped away from the cabinet.

“Lucia,” he said, “if at any point you don’t want to do this, you’ll tell us, right?”

My sister glanced up at him and answered carelessly, “Sure thing.”

“I’m serious. You don’t have to feel obligated because of me.”

“Or me,” I piped in.

“It’s cool, guys,” she said. “Let me try first, and then we can talk.”

Jake shook his head and threw a worried glance my way as if he was wondering whether or not we could trust her to be honest with us.

“It’s fine,” I mouthed. I knew my sister well. She would never do anything she didn’t want to. But more importantly, she wouldn’t do anything that would embarrass her. If at any moment, failure seemed like a possibility, she would make up an excuse to get out.

Damien cradled the boxes in his arms as if they were babies. “All right, is everyone satisfied with the pentagram?”

We all took some time to examine the lines, and after a quick inspection, gave it a go.

Setting the boxes on the floor, the mage stepped to the south end of the pentagram and stretched his neck. Lucia stood across from him while the rest of us took positions at the east and west ends.

Damien struck a match and tipped it toward Lucia. “Light the candles?”

She smiled crookedly and the match floated out of Damien’s hand and lit each candle in no time while Lucia just stood there without moving a muscle.

“Impressive!” Damien said.

When she was little, she used to reach out with her hands to use her powers. It was how we discovered what she was. Even before she learned how to walk, she could procure her own pacifiers, blankets, teddy bears, or whatever it was she wanted. Things got particularly dicey when she became a toddler and tried to reach for absolutely everything she saw. Talk about baby proofing. Mom nearly went crazy. Good thing, by then, Daniella’s healing abilities were well developed. She had to heal bruises, cuts, and even burns more than once.

Damien rubbed his hands together. “Now, my turn.” He cleared his throat and spoke the conjuration. “From the depths of hell, I command you to come forth. The circle will bind you. The flames will charm you. Velthgrek, you are summoned.”