When I glance around at the guys, I can’t help but watch Jax. His body language. He’s not happy, but he’s also not saying anything.
“How was he stopped? I assume he was stopped because I haven’t heard of this Mist of Morreux floating around and killing people.”
“He was stopped. But it was very tricky. Weapons and magic did nothing to hurt him. He was -is, very powerful.” Callum glances up at Jax and gives him a sorrow-filled glance. Like we are getting closer to a truth, the truth, some truth.
“Helsgard worked with members of both the Seelie and Unseelie courts to come up with a series of strategically planned attacks. They were able to break off pieces of the… mist so they could study it. They quickly learned they had to keep the pieces separated. When it came together with other parts… or pieces- I don’t know what you want to call it, it began to move and think.”
Eyes snapped wide open in shock. I glance at Lizzy, who is just as enraptured in this story as I am. Jax catches my attention when he shifts, propping his foot against the wall and crossing his arms. I’m dying to know what is going through his head right now. To know how all of this relates to him, because it definitely does. I’m still just missing some key pieces.
“Are you ok?”I ask him.
His eyes settle on me, watching me for a moment before he tosses me a wink and nods his head back towards Callum.
“Think?” Lizzy whispers, mostly to herself.
A shiver runs up my spine just visualizing this dark mist moving through the air with thought.
“So what happened? Do they have him all contained together, or are parts of him scattered around? If someone gets enough parts, will it then come back? How do you contain a mist?” I ask rapid fire, thoughts moving a mile a minute.
Callum chuckles and places his hand on mine. “They found a way to contain it. Rather, a poor boy in a village did, by accident.”
My brow creases, but I try to hold my tongue.
He smiles, like he’s about to go into another story. “Before the mist existed, many, many years ago, there was a beautiful flowering tree called the Urgsam tree. This tree was beautiful. Its trunk was hearty and smooth, with a mixture of light brown and cream swirled through it. It had large green leaves with flowers that hung like pink and yellow bells looking like ballgowns around the tree. At night, the tree would almost glow and sparkle. There weren’t many of these trees that existed and some believe the Gods planted them throughout because no one ever saw them grow. They were… breathtaking.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“Most haven’t,” he says, frowning and etching his nail into the countertop.
“I don’t know what started the rumors, but because of their beauty, people thought they were magical. Believed they held a mystical property. So the humans cut them down. They’d seen the fae and heard rumors of their powers. They believed this tree was the cause.” He shakes his head and his face falls. “It was a beautiful tree that held no mystical powers.”
“They cut down all the trees?” A ball of pain forms in my chest, thinking about these beautiful trees that were destroyed for no reason.
“It took them a while to realize they had no magic. The magic was simply the beauty of the tree. They abandoned the trees and tried to sell the trunks for scraps, but no one wanted them. So they just littered the ground until they turned to nothing. A poor village boy found a scrap piece of wood and carved a ring box for his mother.” He pauses for a second. “Now all of this was happening at the same time Helsgard planned their series of attacks on Morreux. I don’t know the specifics, but somehow a piece of Morreux ended up in this boy’s ring box for his mother. This boy’s ring box was the only thing that was able to contain the mist. Helsgard went out in search of this Urgsam wood, but by this time, most all the wood was gone or had been destroyed. All they could find were little chips.”
“So what happened? They obviously found a box,” Lizzy asks with her muffin paused halfway to her mouth.
“Helsgard had expanded their search for the Urgsam tree and found it in another realm. They were meeting with a woman named Pan on her island for an unrelated matter. She wouldn’t say where she got the box from, only that it was a gift. Helsgard took it against her wishes, but said they would name it after her.”
“Pandora’s box,” Lizzy and I sigh in unison, everything starting to click into place.
“So you have the Book of Maldor?” I ask.
Callum and Jax pass a glance at one another and I don’t miss the slight head shake Jax gives Callum.
“We don’t have the book anymore.”
“Where did it go? We can just go get it.”
“I don’t know where it is.”
“Well, fiddlesticks and biscuits.” Lizzy swipes her arm in an awe shucks kind of movement.
“Do we know how the mist can stop Samara?” I ask, grabbing my trash and throwing it away. The skin on the back of my neck prickles, but I fight the urge to look at Jax. I know he’s watching me. I can feel it. My skin can feel it.
Lizzy pants loudly and fans herself.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, completely confused and concerned.
