"Yes, boy. The box in your hands."

A vague memory came to Max, a memory of sitting at a table fiddling with a box. He concentrated hard to raise his arms. In his hands, he held the same box.

"This? It was my father's."

The voice drew closer. "Oh? Well, I like it very much. May I have it?"

Max struggled to find his voice. "No, I haven't found out what's inside of it yet."

"Really, why not?"

"The latch is stuck."

The voice was right next to him. "Perhaps I can open it. Hand it to me."

Max started to hold out the box, but pulled it back to himself. "N-no, what if you don't give it back?"

The voice became stern. "A locked box will do you no good. Give it to me."

Max felt a tingling sensation all over his body. The blue sky started to turn gray as his body sank towards the ground. He clutched the box tightly to his chest.

"No, you can't have it."

"I have no time for this. Give me my box!"

The anger in the voice re-awakened Max's senses. In the distance he heard another voice.

"Maxy, where are you?"

Eve!

The alleyway snapped back into focus. "Eve, over here, in the..."

Max felt a tug at the box. He looked back just as the little girl yanked on it again.

"How did you...?"

The girl let go of the box and let a small knife slip out of her sleeve and into her hand.

"Let go I said!"

She stabbed at his left hand. Max twisted his body enough that the blade missed its target, instead striking his bracer and bouncing off. She swung again, this time the blade slid across the top of his hand. A streak of blood welled up in the long cut. Startled by the pain, Max backhanded the girl, hitting her square in the face. She rocked back on her heels, lost her balance, and fell. Max yelled towards the street.

"Eve! I'm over here!"

Dust whirled behind him. When he turned back, the girl had disappeared. Eve, Melody, and Lysander ran up behind him. Melody fought to catch her breath.

"Here you are. Why did you wander off like that?"

Max stared dumbfounded at the empty alley. "I...I followed someone."

Melody scanned the alley. "Who?"

Max shook his head in an attempt to clear it. "I don't know, a strange little girl holding a parasol, but...she disappeared."

Melody stared accusingly at Lysander. "Lysander, did you slip Max some beer at the tavern?"

Lysander tossed his hands in the air. "Hey, I had nothing to do with this! Maybe the alcohol fumes got him."

Eve's ears twitched. "No, there was another person here."

Everyone watched as Eve stepped farther into the alley. She sniffed at the air, her ears erect and alert.

"I smell flowers, but it's not from a perfume."

Max pointed at Eve. "Yes! That's what helped me follow her!"

"It's very strange though. It's new, yet very old at the same time."

Melody gave her a curious look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you know how babies and old people smell differently?"

Everyone nodded.

"It's like that, only all at the same time."

Eve sniffed again and made an odd face. "Then there is this hint of decay or sickness, like a pile of old, rotten leaves."

"I think the furball is getting her smells mixed with all the farmers around here."

Max nodded. "Yeah, I only saw one person, and she was definitely a child."

Eve glared at Max. "Have I ever been wrong?"

Max cringed. "No, no, sorry."

Eve shook her head. "No, it's all from the same person. I...I think I've smelled it before, but I can't remember where."

Melody sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "Well, at least we know Max isn't drunk on fumes, or anything else."

Eve nodded at Max. "The cut on his hand was enough proof for me."

Max lifted his hand. "Huh...oh."

A trickle of blood flowed down the back of his hand, dripping off of his fingertips. Everything had happened so quickly, he had forgotten about the cut. Now that things had settled down, the pain returned. He grimaced.

"I blocked the first strike, but she got a second in before I knocked her down."

Melody seemed doubtful of his sobriety again. "She attacked you?"

Lysander's eyes grew cold, frightening Max. "You knocked down a little girl!"

"Sh...She wanted the box. When I wouldn't give it to her, she stabbed me with a knife."

"How did she get the jump on you, private?"

"I don't really know. One moment she was standing at the far end of the alley, the next she had grabbed hold of the box. When she stabbed me, I just reacted by swinging my arm out." Max pointed at the ground. "She fell right there. I turned to yell for you guys, and when I looked back, she had vanished."

Eve got on her knees to sniff at the ground. "The scent is stronger. I know I've smelt it before."

Eve sneezed, sending dust everywhere. Melody brushed her cloak off while she thought.

"I wonder why she wanted the box. She could not have known where it came from."

"Lord Avram sent Max and I here to check our reports of a camp of troublemakers. They're probably thieves, and she's one of them."

Max shook his head. "She didn't look like any thief." Max held up the box. "Besides, there is nothing fancy about this box to attract attention."

Eve pointed at one of the latches on the box. "Max, the lock!"

Max took a closer look. The left pin had slid out of its locked position, letting the latch flip open.

"How?"

Melody reached for the box. "May I take a closer look, Max?"

Max handed the box to Melody. She examined it for a moment then took a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the left lock clean. The pin slid back in place.

Max was horrified. "Melody!"

Melody returned the box to Max. He tried pulling the pin, but it wouldn't budge. "What did you do?"

Melody showed him her handkerchief. "I wiped the blood off of it."

"Why?"

"To test a theory. I've heard of a device called a Blood Box'. The locks of this device only react to the blood of the person who initially locked it. Try it."

Max let a drop of blood from his hand touch the pin on the lock. It slid open. He tried the other lock, but nothing happened.

"Another person must have locked the other side, Max. Supposedly that was a common practice between two parties who traded with one another. Since only fresh blood works, both parties had to be present to reopen the box. The downside; however, is that one person could kill the other, and they had his fresh blood." Melody put her cloth away.

"I've never come across this box before. Why would my blood unlock one side?"

"Blood from direct family members worked as well. Your father must have helped lock that box. Maybe the second person is a Protector."

"Maybe, I guess I'll ask when we return. Melody, are you sure there is no other way to unlock it?"

"Not that I know of."

Eve bounced up and down. "Hey, maybe the Collector will know."

Max looked at her blankly. "Who?"

Lysander nodded at Eve. "While you were out getting into fights with little girls, the furball actually found some usefully information."

"Yep! The girl I talked to told me about a camp outside of town."

"It must be the group of thieves and other rabble that headquarters told us about." Lysander smirked. "They probably thought Evangeline belonged with them."

Max heard a low growl start in Eve's chest. Having been on the receiving end of it once or twice, he knew where it might lead. He tried to get her back to his early question.

"So who is this Collector, Eve?"

Eve's eyes drilled into Lysander. "He is an old man in town who collects all sorts of junk. Apparently, he knows how to find the camp."

"He is also who Lady Metis sent me to give a message to, so, we need to head there anyway."

Max put the box into his backpack. "That's great! Even better if he knows another way to open dad's box. Let's go."

Eve relaxed, smiling. "Kay". She took off out of the alley and down the street with the others in tow. "They said his place is pretty hard to miss."

CHAPTER TWENTY.

Max stood and marveled at the ma.s.s of statues, furniture, wagons, pieces of various sc.r.a.p and other a.s.sorted items surrounding a rundown building.

"Pretty hard to miss is an understatement."

Paying no attention to the collection, Eve entered the home. Pulling his attention away from the sight, Max entered in behind her. Inside, he found the same clutter with every sort of trinket imaginable lining row after row of shelves.

Melody stepped into the doorway behind Max. "Wow! Careful, Lysander, it's a tight squeeze."

Max moved forward to let Melody and Lysander in. He heard Lysander mumble something before a commotion of sc.r.a.pes and rattles shook the shelves to Max's right. Melody shot her hands out in time to catch a rock carving that fell from an upper shelf.

Melody gasped. "Lysander!"

Max heard an unintelligible curse from Lysander.

Melody stifled a laugh. "Maybe you should wait outside."

"Agreed."