Chapter Sixteen

                                    

                                          
         
                          
I don't understand her excitement, so I attempt to get a closer look at the pages to see why she's practically bouncing.
                          
"And there was the rock in the barn," Sin says. "Of all objects to fall out, it happens to be the one thing we needed at the time. Hell of a coincidence."
                          
No matter how much I look at the book, I don't understand her excitement. "How is the book what you need?"
                          
She holds the page closer to me and I squint at the writing.
                          
"That's my name. It's written for me, from Gran."
                          
It's convenient she would speak about needing information from her Grandmother only to have such information come through the box. And one idea was drilled into our heads at the University; there are no coincidences when it comes to magic. But still...
                          
I shake my head. "It doesn't explain me. How would Lou ever need me?"
                          
She looks me over carefully, studying me more closely than when I'd first come through the box and was still tiny. You'd think with her being so much smaller now in comparison, her stare would be less intimidating. It isn't. Her eyebrows raise a fraction, but it's enough to show she's figured something out.
                          
"What?"
                          
She doesn't say anything while she scrutinizes me again. When she's done she shrugs and focuses back on the book.
                          
"Stewart was probably getting too close. She needed to find out about magic in order to protect herself and what better way than through a person she could trust?"
                          
I can sense a half-truth almost as well as I can sense magic. I've told enough of them in my life.
                          
As I open my mouth to demand she tell me whatever she's hiding, she slams the lid of the box shut.
                          
"That has to be it," she says. "There's no other reason why these things would've fallen out when they did. And I bet if I could actually read this book, I'd be able to prove it. The magic must sense what its owner needs. Since Lou is... the box became mine which means it started sensing what I need."
                          
I ignore Sin's stumble and say, "Still doesn't make sense, why would it have pulled me through as opposed to anyone or anything else? She could have discovered her magic a hundred different ways."
                          
"Course it doesn't make sense to you. You're a guy and by definition, dense. I mean look at poor Rose. Never mind, at least now we have an idea of how it works. But how can we use it to our advantage?"
                          
Rose? What did she have to do with anything? I don't get a chance to ask. Sin's expression turns determined and she concentrates intently on the box for a short time before she once again flicks the latch and opens the lid.
                          
Nothing.
                          
Disappointment causes her shoulders to sag and she looks about ready to toss the box across the field.
                          
"I don't understand. It's worked every other time."
                          
"It's not like anything I've ever heard of before," I say. "But even sorceresses need time for their magic to rebuild. The box is probably no different."
                          
She perks up a little. "You think?"
                          
It's odd that her exhilaration is so catching. "I can't be sure, but it would make some sense."
                          
"Yeah." She smiles at the box and jumps to her feet. "That has to be it. It just needs to recharge. It'll work in a few hours."
                          
There's something more to her excitement than simply understanding the box.