Rayna blinked awake, she had no idea how long she'd sat there or how she managed to drift off to sleep in the cramped dark basement. Rubbing her face she paused and tilted her head, she could hear the morning bird calls, and she shifted forwards, wincing at the aches in her muscles. She pulled her stiff arms up, stretching and letting out a sigh. Leaning back against the stone wall Rayna looked up the stairs. Light sliced through the narrow openings in the boards.
Was it finally over?
As Rayna sat against the cool wall, she listened. Trying to hear if any creature lingered above. It was rare that they would stay around human settlements. However, her family had chosen to live closer to the forest instead of cities that were protected. Countless nights of laying awake curled up under her bed in terror, waiting until morning came. Her parents just hummed and continued as if it was music to their ears.
Rayna swallowed the unpleasant memories and shifted herself to her knees, trying to hear.
Nothing. Nothing but the static hum of silence and the occasional bird call from beyond the house reached her ears.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she started to move until she caught a glimpse of something strange across the room. Her skin pebbled in fear.
Leave it. A part of her whispered, fear lacing through her body like venom.
Rayna's curiosity got the better of her, she turned.
There was a box sitting across the room, which she'd never seen or known of before. It looked as if someone had tried to hide it. It sat on the ground, in front of a hole in the wall. Cobwebs and dust marred the walls all around her. But it sat untouched. Not a spec of dirt or dust marred its shiny black surface.
Swallowing, she eyed the door above her, then the box once more.
'I should leave it….' Her mind screamed over and over. But why was it here? With a frustrated sigh, she turned.
'Idiot, idiot, IDIOT!' Her mind continued to scream as she crept forwards and sank. Rayna hesitated for a moment before reaching for it.
Fear pricked her skin, and she pulled back for a moment. She looked back to the door. Anxiety was building inside her as she sat contemplating what to do. It was unsettling, similar to the feeling you get when you touch something your parents tell you not to. Or as if it was a place one was not allowed to tread. A forbidden place. It felt as if she was disobeying an order. It made her skin crawl.
There was a part of her that didn't want to touch the box. Why was it even here?
It was pitch black, so black it seemed to eat the light around it. With black latches shaped like claws, or maybe they were teeth?
Taking a deep breath, Rayna reached for the box. Grabbing hold of it. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment before lifting and pulling it towards her.
It was heavy. And cold. It felt as if she was submerging her hand in an ice-covered lake in the middle of winter. Rayna dropped it into her lap with a hiss, rubbing her hands together. She pulled at her cloak to get a better grip onto the box as she lifted and tilted it side to side, examining it. Not sure what to think. Why did her parents own such a strange thing? Did it hold something of value?
Still holding her breath, she started for the latch and realized blood still coated her hands. Her mind shuttered for a moment in disgust and horror before she shook her head and sighed, shoulders dropping.
Flexing her hands, she touched the latches, sliding her finger down them in a trance. Pain caught her fingers, and she cursed under her breath. Rayna yanked her hand back, her fingertips dripping in blood. A soft hiss came from the box, and she jerked back, pushing it from her lap, eyes widening as it groaned and opened. The sharp teeth on the edges unfurled in a fluid unsettling way. She scrambled back a few feet, eyes wide in fear. What had she opened?!
Her heart slammed against her ribs as she waited, horrified to see what would come out.
Nothing moved or burst out, so she nervously shifted forwards, narrowing her eyes.
She blinked.
A book?
The cover was black as the night sky, with deep intricately cut symbols scrawled through the obsidian-colored surface. She tilted her head and leaned over the box, frowning in confusion. She was unsure what to make of this. She was expecting something a little more unsettling.
She had never seen a book like this. Not even in the city's library did they hold books that looked like this. Though, books were becoming rarer by the day inside the walls. Citizens caught by the Guardians with books typically were interrogated and accused of being Cultists. Her eyes fell back to the book, and she ran a hand over the freezing cover.
Why would her family have this?