whispered, “they have moved me to a new location.”
“I’ve got you,” Sean responded immediately, “and you will never believe where you are.”
“You are talking to the guy who just spent two years ‘swimming with the fishes’,” Royce responded. “I’ll believe just about anything.”
“Let’s not dwell on the past.”
“That’s easy for you to say.”
“You remember Ryker’s house on Isle of Palms?” Sean quickly diverted, “It looks like you are on his deck.”
“No shit? Come and get me,” Royce growled, “I think my spleen is bruised from being pushed out of the truck bed.”
“I’m en-route now Boss; I should be there by mid-morning. I’ve talked to Joanna who said the moonlight should have triggered the unlocking sequence associated with the spell. It looks like they vaporized your body, but she said everything should return to normal when the crate opens,” Sean reassured him, then added slyly, “with little or no side effects.”
“This son-of-a-bitch is still locked up tight,” Royce said as he tested the top and sides of the crate again with his fists. “I guess I’ll sit tight, and I do mean that literally, for the next few hours. Tell Joanna she had better be right about this.”
“She is working on a contingency plan, just in case,” Sean said cheerfully. “I’m getting ready to go through the mountains, so I may lose you.”
“Alright, just hurry,” Royce urged. Thinking back to what Sean had said earlier, he asked, “What ‘side effects’ are we talking about?”
Of course, there was no immediate response.
“Sean? Sean! Damn it, this is not funny.”
“Sorry Boss, just kidding.”
Royce heard rustling sounds from Sean’s end of the conversation. He was multi-tasking; Sean could never do just one thing at a time. He had too much energy. It wore a man out trying to keep up with him.
“I’ve got to take this link from the council. I’ll see you soon,” Sean said in a rush, disconnecting before Royce could get a straight answer about the possible “side-effects” Joanna had mentioned.
What the hell is going on with the Council? He needed a full update on the status of all missions. He also needed this damn crate to open, his body was becoming more solid, and the son-of-a-bitch was getting tight. Why were the Witches involved, Royce wondered, and why did they care about the coins? He could not believe they had done this to him. He had known the majority of all practicing Witches for most of his adult life, counting them as friend, not foe. It didn’t hurt that his sister was half Witch, which probably explained why they hadn’t just killed him. He might as well try to get some sleep while he waited for the moon to work its magic. As he closed his eyes, trying not to dwell on how hot it was getting inside that box, he wondered what morning would bring.
Inside the house, Becki turned out the lights and headed to bed. Before putting her phone on the charger, she sent a quick text to Kurt; Stop by tomorrow? Need ur help. Nothing wrong! Night love u B. She added the part about there being ‘nothing wrong’, because she didn’t want him to jump in his truck and drive over to her house the second he was conscious enough to read the text message.
Kurt was very much like his father, Becki’s grandfather. Both men were fiercely protective of their girls and worked hard to keep them all happy. Papaw always said he could “fix anything but a broken heart”. He could too, she thought smiling. The world needed more men like that.
Becki thought about the crate, imagining what might be inside. Just before sleep claimed her, she felt a shimmer of unease crawl down her spine and prayed she had not found Pandora’s Box.
* * * *
CHAPTER TWO Kurt knocked, well actually pounded for the third time, while continuing to press the button that activated the doorbell.
“Becki, what is going on?” he yelled, “open the door!” That girl ran full-steam ahead, and when she crashed, she was hard to wake up. He dialed her cell number hoping that if he could make enough noise, it might just wake sleeping beauty. Actually it would be more like waking a sleeping beast as she tended to be extremely grouchy if her eyes were forced to open before noon. Kurt didn’t have a choice today; he had to meet subcontractors at the jobsite this morning.
Pressing the doorbell button with his left hand, while beating on the door with his