Crossroads → Nicholas Scratch [CAOS]

xv. the ma'lak box

THE MA'LAK BOX
CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Though it stood far from her, the mysteriousness of the box and its large size wasn't any less intimidating to Dani. The entire time Matthew, Calum and Nick were loading it out of the car's trunk and onto a platform cart, the brunette found herself doing nothing but staring. It was the same rusty, metallic box with sigils wielded onto the top that Dani had seen the first time she entered her dad's office. Even despite the several times she had seen it when in her dad's office when being taught about the history of the Monroe's and witches, Dani had always been repelled from it. Maybe it was how ancient it or how secure it looked... how it was big enough for a person to be trapped in. She never liked tight spaces. There was just something about it that told Dani to stay away.

Her eyes only left the large object when the sound of footsteps made their way to Dani's ears. She turned around to see Sabrina in a beautiful, gold dress making her way toward them with her aunts, Ambrose, Harvey, Theo, Roz and a few unfamiliar faces made their way towards her. "Everyone knows the plan, right?" Sabrina glanced between everyone but made sure to ignore Nick. "Where's the Acheron Configuration?"

"There's no way it'll be strong enough to hold him." Calum patted the box. "This might be, though."

"What is it?" Harvey asked, stepping forward to eye it. It seemed that Dani wasn't the only one who felt uncomfortable being near it. Everyone aside from the two hunters avoided standing too close.

"It's a Ma'lak Box. Secured and warded. Once inside, nothing gets out... " Matthew explained, tracing his hand over one of the sigils. "Not even an archangel."

"It's never been used before, so there's no guarantee it'll work but it's our best shot," Calum added and Matthew nodded in agreement.

While the others continued taking, Zelda approached Dani with folded material in her hands. "Put this on. You'll need it if you're coming in." She handed Dani the lilac dress, setting a matching mask with pink and indigo gems on top of it when it was in the younger girl's hands. Dani nodded and walked behind the car to slip it on. It was a beautiful silk dress that flowed to her feet. She would have been so excited to wear such a stunning dress had it been for a dance or any other fun occasion. Tonight, she hadn't even given herself a few seconds to look at it before putting it on to register how pretty it was.

Coughing to rid herself of the dryness in her throat, Dani walked back into the small crowd of witches, warlocks and people. With both of her icy but sweaty hands, she gripped onto the skirt of her dress to try her best to hide how much they were shaking. "How are we going to get it in there?" Dani asked after noticing they were still discussing the box. The more they discussed the plan, the faster her heart raced. While of course everyone was nervous, they all managed to stay cool and collected unlike Dani who could barely stop her teeth from clattering. Lucifer was right passed the door they were standing by, waiting for the masquerade to begin so he could crown Sabrina his queen. Noticing her inability to stay still, Nick rested a hand on Dani's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"I'll use a Glamour." Nick said, a small side-smirk on his face as he continued speaking, "the Dark Lord won't see what's coming."

"Good. This is the spell everyone needs to read while Sabrina distracts Satan. It'll get him into the box." Calum held out a wrinkled sheet of paper that a few sentences were written on. "Can you remember this?" He looked at everyone, hoping to receive nods.

"We know this one," a girl Dani didn't recognize with dark skin and buzzed, platinum-blonde hair confirmed after reading over it. Hilda, Zelda, Ambrose and some others agreed.

"Do you guys think you can memorize this?" Sabrina asked Theo, Harvey and Roz, handing the paper to them.

"I think so," Roz said, nodding after looking over the Latin words. The three repetitively read the spell under their breaths to engrave it in their brains. Just the thought of possibly forgetting the incantation put Dani on edge and she started chewing on her bottom lip. She had been given the paper in the car so she could memorize the spell by the time they arrived. While she was seated in the car, she had it covered. Now that the ball was only seconds away from starting, though, Dani struggled to recall the words in her head.