CHAPTER#95

"So they put it in this box?"

"The box is an ordinary container. After the incident, a powerful forest deity wandered into the abandoned town and used her magic to seal the box. She then took it to her home, but a fox demon stole it from her and it has been bouncing from hand to hand since then."

"Which deity?"

"Baba Yaga herself. She is a very old witch, but not the human kind. A vicious woman with a lot of magical power." She stroked the box. "I have no idea how Emily got it here, but it was a very recent addition to the Labyrinth. It's also the reason it started transforming on its own. The thing generates an aura of strange, alters the world around it in subtle ways that you don't think about until after its been happening for a while."

The story tickled a memory in Mike's brain, but it slipped away. He was more enthralled by the fact that when Ratu held the box, part of her would disappear through the goggles. Even with them on, a cold pit of fear had opened in his stomach, threatening to swallow him whole. He wanted to run away and never look back.

"So what do we do?" Mike asked.

"You will open the box," she said, tapping it with her fingers. She pulled a candle stick out of her kimono. "You will have to hurry. This piece of flesh is no bigger than the tip of your pinky. You will use these silver tongs to hold it in the flame until it has burned away." She pulled tongs out of her sleeves, making Mike wonder what else she had stored in there.

"Is this a special candle?" Mike asked, inspecting the candlestick. Up close, the pearly surface looked more like clouds rolling across each other.

"It is. The wax is made from the rendered fat of a dead god, and its flame is capable of destroying anything it touches. However, it can only be used once."

"And you had this just laying around?"

"It's an old family heirloom." Ratu said, taking it from him and setting it on the table. "I will be right behind you with my eyes closed. If something goes wrong, I should be able to withdraw to the surface for help. If you haven't gone mad, we can try again. Otherwise, the goblin will be responsible for helping me."

"Fuck," Mike whispered. Could he really do this? Swallowing the lump in his throat, he switched places with Ratu, standing over the box. A tiny piece of some long banished god was inside this magic box, and his whole body was wracked with a sudden bout of chills.

"Whenever you are ready," Ratu said, her voice tense.

"No time like the present." Mike held up the candle. Ratu snapped her fingers, and the wick lit.

"Don't put your fingers in that," she said. "Your whole body will burn up like a moth in a bonfire."

"I'll do my best." He set the candle on the far side of the table. Grabbing the lid of the box, he saw several runes appear over the Russian letters of the box, glowing symbols that rapidly swirled before him. Flicking through the lenses of the goggles on instinct alone, he quickly saw that most of these glowed an angry red. Five of them, however, glowed a soft blue with numbers next to them, and he touched these in order, avoiding the angry red runes. The runes disappeared, and a thin line appeared in the middle of the box. Mike grabbed the edge of the seam, taking a deep breath.

"Are you going to keep standing there?" Ratu asked.

"It just opened."

"You've been standing still for almost half an hour." Ratu squeezed his shoulder. "Time is already distorting. You need to act fast."

"Jesus." Grabbing the tongs, Mike pulled open the box. The room filled with the stink of rotting soil, a sinister wind wrapping itself around Mike. Ratu's arms slid around his waist, holding him tightly. Her dark hair blew against his face, briefly obscuring his vision.

A black mist burst out of the box, clutching at him with spectral claws and swallowing them both in darkness.

-

Beth watched Tink running around on the shore. The fairies were flying in circles over the goblin's head, and Tink was jumping in the air, trying to catch them. The fairies laughter sounded like the gentle tinkle of bells, contrasted heavily with the cackles of glee from Tink.

"How long will they be down there?" Abella asked Asterion. The minotaur said nothing, his eyes on the ice.

"I wouldn't think too long," Beth suggested. "I guess there's probably some sort of ritual involved, and if it was going to take them a while, they would have brought it back up. Choosing to stay down there for hours would be..."

She was interrupted by a loud crack which ricocheted off the ceiling of the Labyrinth. The lake rumbled in front of them, and sections of the ice cracked and then crumbled. The tunnel in front of them shook, and Beth heard the collapse farther in. Standing there in shock, Beth realized that the ringing in her ears was Tink screaming at the entrance, Abella holding the little goblin back.

"What do we do?" Beth asked the minotaur. Asterion lifted his axe, fixing her with intense eyes.

"We dig." Walking into the tunnel, he was soon followed by Tink and Abella. The fairies rushed in behind them, and Beth found herself bringing up the rear. About twenty feet down, a large block of ice had fallen down, blocking farther passage. Asterion was knocking giant chunks off with his axe, and Abella was lifting them away from the middle. The fairies circled near the top of the cave — Tink was handing them blocks of ice which they were melting into the cracks and then refreezing to keep the ceiling secure. Sofia's eye would occasionally flash, and she would immediately redirect their efforts.