The artifact was small, and half covered in dirt and dust, but Lisa could still make out the shape of a square. A smile spread across her face at the discovery of her first artifact. Carefully she dusted off the box with her little brush and ran her finger over the symbols she could now see.

“Professor? I think you should come see this.” Lisa stood up and peered out over the ten by ten-foot dirt hole she was assigned. The hole was only three feet deep, and she scanned the crowd of people looking for her teacher.

She finally spotted him talking to another student. He turned her way, and she waved her arms then waited as he approached.

“What is it, Lisa?” The older man moved with a speed you wouldn’t think possible for a man of sixty. He was clean-shaven with a full head of graying hair. He looked down into the hole.

“I found a box of some kind, and it has strange markings on it.” She stepped back away from the edge and waited as professor Miles climbed down.

He looked down at the metal box half-covered in dirt, studying the pictographs on the outside. “I’m not sure what any of those markings mean. They don’t look like anything I have seen before. After you finish unearthing it, bring it to the main tent to be examined.”

“Yes, professor.” Excitement bubbled inside her. A find at one of the digs was at least school paper worthy. If it turned out to be something more, it could be national news. She got back to work uncovering the box.

An hour later, she was on her way to the main tent with the artifact tucked safely under her arm. It wasn’t very big, a small six by six square, but it felt like it was made of led.

Two lab techs stood in the corner, examining numbers and letters on a screen, and one of the other archaeologists was taking pictures of his find. Lisa placed her box on an empty table as far away from the other people in the room as she could get. She had a sudden need to keep the box hidden from the prying eyes of others.

The young man taking pictures stopped to look at what she brought in. “Is there something inside the box?” He craned his neck to try to see around her without leaving his spot.

Lisa smiled at him. “I’m not sure. I haven’t got it open yet.” She had seen the tall, dark haired man several times around camp. Darek was his name, she thought. She turned back around and continued to clean off the artifact with a damp cloth.

The more she wiped, the clearer the markings became. A bird with only one wing, a cat with no ears or tail, and maybe a fish. She had never seen markings like these before. She should call the professor. A small voice inside told her not to. If they saw the markings, they would take the box away from her.

“Cool markings! I’ve never seen anything like it.” In her momentary loss of focus. Darek had left his table and came to stand behind her.

Lisa snatched the box up and cradled it protectively in her arms. “Don’t you have work to do?”

Darek's eyes drew together, and his lips formed a tight line, but he left her table to continue working on his own. She would have to be more careful and not let someone sneak up on her again.

She knew she was getting possessive of the artifact, but she couldn’t stop herself. It was her find, so it was her artifact. She set the box down on the table once again and went to work cleaning it.

The more time she spent with the box, the more she wished no one knew she had it. The urge to protect it from these people was so strong she did something she would never have done before.

She left the tent with the artifact wrapped up in a cloth hiding in her pack. It was against the rules to take any artifact from the tent once it was cataloged. She couldn’t remember actually clocking in and writing the box done when she entered the tent, so maybe no one would notice it was missing.

The moon cast eerie shadows between the tents as she weaved through the camp. She kept to the dark corners as much as possible until she reached the wooded area. Then she took off running. Somehow she managed not to trip as long vines grabbed at her ankles, and tree roots jutted up from the ground.

She had no idea where she was going. It felt as if the artifact was leading her, guiding her through the woods. She stopped only when she reached the entrance to a cave. Her brows furrowed. How on earth had she known that cave was there? She pulled a flashlight from her pack and flipped the switch, chasing away the darkness from inside the cave.

Tentatively she took a step inside and looked around. There wasn't much room. Lisa guessed it was only about twenty feet from the mouth to the back wall. She sat down in the dirt and rummaged around in her pack until her fingers brushed against the wooden box.

Smiling, she pulled it from her pack and set it down on the ground in front of her. A clip on the front was the only thing holding the lid down. With a flick of her finger, the clasp came up. She took a deep breath and opened the lid. A whoosh of air hit her in the face and sent her curly brown hair swirling around her face.

She pushed her hair from her face and shined the flashlight into the box. A blue heart-shaped pendant lay inside. Her head cocked to the side as she studied the glittering blue rock.

It called to her in the sweetest voice she had ever heard. Her fingers reached out to wrap around the pendant lying before her. In one easy motion, she swiped up the necklace and shut the lid. The box tumbled from her lap and onto the hard ground.

The necklace gravitated towards her neck, she couldn’t have stopped it if she wanted to. It was hers, whether she wanted it or not. Her fingers worked without thinking to latch the necklace in place.

The moment the latch closed on the chain of the necklace, Lisa ceased to exist. Her eyes glowed blue as the being who had been trapped inside the pendant for thousands of years took over her body and mind.

Discovery