The Lost Unigon Box: The Unigon Box, #1

The Lost Unigon Box

Claudia Disney

Published by Daffodil Books

Copyright © 2020 Claudia Disney

All rights reserved..

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

This book is dedicated to Millicent, Cole, Lydia, Emily, my editor Terri and long suffering husband Jim.

Without their support this book would have remained a crazy idea in my head.

He stood on a hill overlooking the forest. The sun changed the sky to orange, and reflected off his silver dragon scales. He had a bad feeling ever since he woke up this morning, and the beautiful orange sky did nothing to make him feel better. Something was going to happen, he could sense it. Something big. And it would be something nobody could control.

It only takes one event to change the course of a whole life….

Chapter 1

Ariana looked out over the snowy hills behind her house and sighed. Why does this world need a winter? It already has three other seasons, is a freezing fourth one really necessary, she thought. Most ten-year-old children get excited about fluffy white snow, they spend hours playing in it, but Ariana has never seen the fun in it. As a matter of fact, she has always thought winter is a punishment to those who do not appreciate the beauty and warmth of summer.

She tucked a few stray hairs under her woolen hat, and pushed her hands deep inside the pockets of her fleece jacket as she trudged through the snow to the old woodshed on the other side of the yard. The air felt crisp and snow crunched under her little feet. Best to hurry along, the sun was almost gone, being out in the yard after dark was always scary, she thought.

Make sure you get a large bundle of wood, Granddad had said. This winter will be colder than all the others, and we need to keep the house warm at all times. Right, like Ariana had not noticed yet that this winter is colder. Her dripping nose and cold hands were normally a good indicator of winter.

The old woodshed was a sturdy building, built by Granddad well before Ariana was born, and it was designed to keep wood and hay dry. The old door was starting to sag a bit on its hinges and the roof bent under the weight of the snow, but it did a good job of keeping rain and rot away.

The door slowly opened as Ariana put her weight behind it, groaning and protesting in the process. She had to stand in the doorway for a little while to allow her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness. The old woodshed had no natural light. The sound of little feet and rustling of hay told her that mice had once again moved into the shed.

Well, Ariana said to herself, it makes sense, mice also don't like winter, and they too need a place to keep warm and dry.

Ariana walked to the back of the shed as soon as her eyes adjusted. She sighed. Granddad had almost used up all the wood. She’ll need to help him in the next few days with the chopping of fresh wood. Ariana rolled her eyes. Great, she thought sarcastically, more time in the freezing snow, more time to enjoy frozen fingers and toes.

She quickly gathered up an armful of wood and was about to walk back to the house, when she heard a strange buzzing sound. The type of buzzing you would hear when you stood near a beehive, except there were no bees around in winter. Ariana stood very still to listen, her frosty breath hanging in the cold air. There, it was coming from that dark corner behind the woodpile. Curious, Ariana dropped the wood and carefully walked over to the buzzing sound. She had not imagined it, lying in the far corner was a strange object, no bigger than Ariana's shoe. Strange I've never noticed something there before, she thought. Then again, it must have been lying under the wood for years and years. Ariana could not remember the last time the woodpile was this low.

Her heart pounding in her chest she slowly crept closer. The tips of her fingers were tingling and her scalp itched under the wool hat. The buzzing sounded eerie in the dark shed, and Ariana felt more scared than she would like to admit. What if something jumped out and bit her? Or what if this something grabbed her and dragged her into a dark hole? Stop it, Ariana said to herself, you're just scaring yourself more! Granddad always told her she had an overactive imagination and scared herself more than necessary. It was probably just another prank played by Billy, the irritating freckled boy from next door.

Last winter he hid behind the woodshed, and when Ariana walked in to get more wood he whacked the snow on the roof with a broom handle, and the whole lot fell on top of Ariana. Billy thought it was very funny but there was so much snow that she thought she would suffocate. Putting something in the shed to scare her would be so typical of him.

Ariana picked up a piece of wood, better to be prepared than sorry. At least this way if it tried to attack her she had something to defend herself with. The closer she got to the object the louder the buzzing became, almost as if it could sense her creeping closer. Common sense told her to leave the object alone, and return to the house to find Granddad. But curiosity is a strong motivator, and Ariana had always been a very curious girl.

With the buzzing vibrating in her skull, Ariana crept closer and went down on her hands and knees to have a look at the strange object. It is a box, she thought. Just an ordinary wooden box with a black lid. She almost laughed. You were scared of a box, imagine what Billy would say if he knew. She put the piece of wood she was holding on the ground and stretched a hand out to touch the box.

The moment she did the buzzing stopped. It felt warm, smooth and soft. Wait, that can't be right. It is not possible for a wooden box to feel soft. And yet it did as if the box itself was covered in velvet. Ariana picked up the box, enjoying the warm fuzzy feeling it gave her. It was light, so light she thought it was full of air. She wondered what was inside it.

By the time she walked outside with the box it was dark. Ariana carefully walked back to the house, the box snug under her jacket. She pushed open the door to the house and smelled Granddad's pipe the minute she walked in. Granddad looked very relaxed sitting in his favorite chair next to the fireplace, staring into the flames, smoking his favorite pipe.

Oh Ariana, he said. I’m glad you are back. You took such a long time that I was getting worried about you. And where is the wood I asked you to get? He frowned at Ariana with his bushy eyebrows, and she blushed.

Granddad, she said, we’re nearly out of wood but look what I found. She took the box out from under her jacket and put it on Granddad’s lap. Granddad stared at the box for a little while. It was still buzzing, and the wood still looked like wood and not velvet. Suddenly, Granddad jumped up so fast that Ariana got a fright. His eyes were huge, and his face had gone very pale. He held the box in his large hands and could not stop staring at it.

Granddad, Ariana said, what is wrong? She had never seen Granddad like this, he was normally so quiet and calm. Ariana felt her eyes prickle, she must have done something terribly wrong. But she won’t cry. Billy said only little girls cry, and she was no little girl.

Ariana, where did you get this box?

I found it in the shed Granddad, but I’m happy to put it back. I should not have touched it I’m sorry. Ariana’s lip trembled. Oh, if only she could turn back time she would never have touched the box, she hated seeing Granddad upset. He was old, and it could not be good for his heart.

Did you open it? Granddad stared at her with his bright grey eyes, long and hard making Ariana fidget.

No Granddad, I did not. I just touched it, promise.

Granddad sighed in relief and sat down again, the box on his lap. He gestured to Ariana to sit down in front of him.

Sit down my dear, and let me tell you a story so you can understand why this box is very, very dangerous. Once I am done with the story, we will bury the box and forget about it. Ok? Ariana nodded. Anything to make Granddad smile again.

Ariana sat down at his feet. She knew this was going to be a good story.

Once upon a time, Granddad started. Ariana smiled.

Granddad, all stories start with that. She laughed. Granddad laughed as well.

No Ariana, only good stories start with that, he said, now listen, because this is important. You have to understand the dangers of the Unigon box.

Ariana gasped.