Oathtaker

Just then, Mara jumped up. “Oh! Oh my! Oh my!” she cried, flapping her hands and stomping her feet as in a frenzied rain dance.

“What is it?” Dixon shot to his feet.

Ted followed suit.

“I don’t know!” she cried. “I feel this strange . . . buzzing. It’s like a— Oh! Oh!” She slapped at herself and then, tentatively, reached into her pocket where earlier she’d placed the silver compact she’d found at the hut along with Rowena’s scattered belongings. She touched it, flinched, then pulled her fingers back. Slowly she reached into her pocket again, grabbed the compact, then pulled it out and dropped it into her chair.

“What? What is it?” Dixon asked again.

“That thing!” she cried, pointing to the compact. “That thing buzzed or—or something! Oh, dear Good One!” she exclaimed, breathing heavily. She put her hands to her face, trembling.

He picked up the compact. It vibrated, visibly. He took Mara’s hand and placed it in her palm.

It tickled. She looked at it, then back up at him.

He scrunched up his shoulders. “I don’t know what’s happening, Mara. I’ve never seen it do that before.”

Ted took the trinket. It went still. “Where’s this from?”

“It was Rowena’s,” Dixon said.

Ted placed the compact back into Mara’s hand. Again, it vibrated. “Does it hurt?” he asked.

“Noooo.”

The three stood, transfixed.

Ted scratched the back of his head. “You game to opening it?”

Mara placed her fingers on the clasp. Slowly, she opened it. When she looked inside, she shrieked, then sent the compact flying.