The Box Omnibus #1 (The Box, The Journal, The Sword) by Christina G. Gaudet Read Free Book Online Page B

it. In exchange, you will tell me where the portal is.”
    “No,” Cindy says firmly before I can say anything. “Do not open the bag, Lou.”
    “I don’t plan to. I don’t know why I’d want to.”
    “You don’t know?” Stewart says, fake charming smile replacing the cruel one from earlier. Somehow, seeing him more like how I had every day around Mom makes the whole situation so much worse. “Has no one ever explained to you what’s inside this bag?”
    “Leave her alone,” Cindy says.
    “It’s gross old toenails,” I say again, though this time I feel a lot less sure. Why is he dangling it in front of me like a prize to be won, and why is Cindy so afraid I’ll take it?
    “Those might be the physical contents,” Stewart says, “But not all it holds. You, much like your sweet old grandmother before you, were born a sorceress.”
    “Don’t,” Cindy warns, though this time she’s speaking to Stewart rather than me.
    “What?” I laugh since the very idea is ridiculous. “I don’t have magic. I didn’t know magic existed until tonight.”
    His smile widens and he moves half way around the post to get a better look at Cindy, and so both of us have a perfect view of him.
    “Of course you don’t,” he says. “Your family has done a particularly good job keeping it from you. They went so far as to strip the power from you before you were able to wield it. Ooh, not what loving family members are supposed to do, is it?”
    Nothing he’s saying makes sense. Born with magic? Me? “I don’t understand.”
    “They took your magic, child,” he says slowly, face revealing his frustration. “They took a part of you and they bound it inside this bag.”
    I stare at the object he dangles in front of me.
    Cindy starts in on another string of swear words and warnings I ignore, while focusing on the object in his hand. There is something about it I can’t quite figure out. It’s almost like being a kid again and seeing someone else with my favorite toy. The bag is mine, and I need it back, right now.
    “Why doesn’t he take the magic?”
    I almost jump out of my skin at the sound of Al’s hushed voice. He’s alive! I haven’t killed him. But I’m also not sure where he is. His words seem to be coming from inside my own head, not from my necklace. I can’t look for him without drawing attention, and worse, I can’t ask him any questions. 
    I want to know where he’s been or if he has any ideas about how we can free ourselves. And while it’s the least of my concerns, I want to know what he means by taking the magic. Is it possible?
    While it might not be on the top of the list of things I want to know, it is the only one I can ask aloud.
    “I don’t understand,” I say again to Stewart while my voice quivers with nerves. “If it’s full of magic, why don’t you take it for yourself?”
    “Unfortunately, it’s not so easy,” he says with his usual false smile. “This magic is connected directly to you. You’re the only one who can use it in its current state.”
    “And you’re offering it to me?” I’m starting to realize what’s made Cindy so mad. He’s too determined for me to open the bag. There must be some benefit to him, and he’s just using me to get what he wants. “Why? What’s the catch?”
    Stewart looks all too pleased with the way our conversation is going, and I feel like he’s playing me with every single word flowing from his lips. “No catch. You tell me the location of the portal you’re protecting and the bag is yours.”
    Even though I know better, part of me still believes he’ll actually help once I give him what he wants. It’s that part of me which blurts out, “I don’t know about any portal.”
    His amusement starts to fade. “This is your one chance to regain your magic. Without it, you will have no way of stopping Borin here from killing your sister. Painfully. In front of your eyes. Do you understand?”
    “Don’t listen to him,” Cindy