Hot, Hard & Howling - OpenDrive

Mari Freeman
Sonja put the ominous wooden box back on the table. They all contemplated the
consequences of opening this particular package. “We need to call the Prime. Twice
you’ve been attacked over this box.” She picked up the notes and paged through them
as she spoke
“No way, no how, am I dealing with that Prime ever again.”
Mi-ma huffed. “I believe Sonja is right here, Nelly.”
Nell grabbed the box off the table and walked it over to the kitchen counter.
Turning it slowly under the brighter light in the kitchen, she examined it. “I think we
should at least try to open it ourselves first. I don’t need the Prime to figure this out.”
She retrieved a knife out of the dish rack and poked at the side.
“Nell!” Trina shrieked. “What the heck are you doing? What if it’s spelled?”
Nell balanced the box on its side and poked the blade into another spot. “Haven’t
you noticed all the giant moths floating around me? You know, the harbinger-of-death
bugs?” She banged the wooden box on the counter, scattering a couple of them. She
inspected it for damage then scrunched up her face in frustration. “More like hexed, I
suspect.”
Trina walked up beside her. “You are so stubborn.” She took the box and looked it
over.
“No scorching, please,” Nell said. Trina’s Demon gift was rare and hard to manage.
They were all a little unpredictable with their powers but Trina had to be the most
careful. Fire starting was useful at times, backyard barbecues and lighting candles and
such, but the rest of the time it was dangerous. Trina lived in a cinderblock house and
still had problems when she got upset. She stayed away from people. That way, she
prevented herself from singeing strangers with an absentminded hand gesture.
“Not funny.” Trina brushed the top of the box with her fingertips. She returned to
the dining room and handed it back to Mi-ma. “Feel the texture of the reddish grain. It’s
slightly raised.”
Sonja looked at Nell over her glasses, dark hair falling into her eyes as she did so. “I
think we need some reinforcements.”
“No Prime,” Nell insisted. “He won’t know what the hell to do with it either. He’ll
just turn it over to the Council. They’ll keep it for their own use. If it’s worth killing
over, it’s bound to be valuable. I want to know what it is first.”
Sonja sat. “I didn’t think about that. You’re right. We shouldn’t show Trent. Heck,
it’s ours. It was in our basement. Why does he need to know anyway?”
Nell eyed her sister. That was quite the one-eighty. But then, Sonja had always lived
here and routinely remained uninvolved. Happy in her little cottage tucked in the
mountains. Happy to stay close to Mi-ma and family. Nell was pretty sure the thought
of having to deal with the Council in any way frightened her little sister. It should.
“Right. It’s ours.”
Unless someone else comes looking for it, Nell thought.
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