Pizza delivery, part IX

Callan's band is anxious, and it's my fault.
Or more accurately, it's because of Smoky the wraith.
It's been a week since I trapped him in my delivery bag, and we haven't been attacked since.
Not even by the killer rabbits.
Now, I don't mind not being attacked. That first day in the forest was exciting enough. But Callan's band is full of experienced adventurers who have traveled through the forest before.
According to them, being attacked is a normal thing in the forest.
"There's the end." Callan called from the front, and an eagerness filled the men.
At least the lack of attacks cut half a week off our journey.
"How's your hand?" Brend asked as he matched my pace. I lifted my right hand and looked at it. You'd think that week would be plenty of time to get used to constantly chilly fingers.
Nope.
"Still the same. Any tests today?" Flexing my numb fingers, I looked at the wizard. Since capturing Smoky was a first, Brend had been recording everything he thought might help us understand the wraith.
And possibly get rid of it.
"There is, but it is necessary." He motioned ahead, where the trees were thinning. "What happens when a wraith is taken out of the forest?"
I frowned. "Aren't there wraiths outside the forest?"
"None. Or at least, none that anyone has ever seen."
I let out a sigh, and rested my right hand on the delivery bag. "Well, if Smoky's going to come out on his own, it will probably be then."
Brows furrowing, Brend tilted his head. "You named the wraith?"
Rubbing the back of my neck, I glanced away. "Carrying around something that wants to kill you is a little easier when that thing has a name."
We paused at the edge of the trees, where Callan stood waiting. "You ready, laddy?" Callan asked, offering a confident grin.
"What'll we do if it comes out?" I asked, and Callan's grin faded.
"We'll do our best to ward it off while you run away from the forest. If you get far enough, hopefully it'll give up." He said, and I forced a nod. From what I'd learned, that wouldn't work.
But a false hope was better than none.
"Well, no use putting off." I said, gripping the delivery bag's strap with numb fingers. Inhaling, I strode forward.
After several steps, nothing happened.
My hand loosened, and I released a breath. Looking back, I waved at Callan and Brend. They moved forward,  and I turned to head toward Callan's band.
Another step away from the forest.
Heat coursed through my right fingers, and I screamed.
The chilling numbness was gone, replaced with a blistering fire the made every movement agonizing.
Yet like the cold before it, this heat filled only my fingers.
Only where Smoky had touched.
Blood pounding, I shuffled forward another step. The fire grew hotter, and I expected flames to visibly engulf my hand.
"What's wrong, Alex?" Brend's voice seemed muffled.
"Fingers are burning." The words escaped between clenched teeth, and I forced another step forward. Smoky hadn't come out of the bag yet.
Another step, more agonizing heat.
"I'm not turning around." I glared down at the delivery bag and took another step.
The heat vanished.
I stumbled as the pain faded, knees hitting the dirt.
"You alright, laddy?" Callan asked, his voice reaching my ears clearly.
"They've stopped." I said, unclenching my hand. The heat was gone, and the cold hadn't returned. I stared at the delivery bag, wondering.
"Smoky, can you control it?"
A nip of iciness in my fingertips, followed by an uncomfortable heat.
"It answered me."
"What?" Brend asked, and I met his wide gaze.
"The heat vanished when I said I wouldn't turn around, so I asked if Smoky could control it. I'm assuming a bit of cold followed by heat was its way of saying yes."
A flash of heat. Then after a moment, there was another nip of iciness, and then the heat.
"Is that maybe?" I asked as the sensations faded.
The icy nip returned.
"Does icy fingertips mean yes?" I looked away from Brend to the delivery bag. The iciness returned, a little stronger. I flexed my hand. "So a bit of heat means no?"
Icy fingertips.
I looked at Brend. "Has anyone talked to a wraith before?"
The wizard shook his head. "I've never heard of this. We didn't even know they could communicate."
Callan offered me a hand. "Will it let you continue away from the forest?"
Taking the hand, I stood. "Smoky?"
Iciness filled my fingertips, followed by a flash of heat.
"I got a maybe." I said, shrugging as we started toward Callan's band.
"Will it let you leave if you continue to carry the delivery bag?" Brend asked, and immediately my fingertips grew icy.
"Yes."
"I need to write this down." Brend said, giving the delivery bag a long look before shuffling through his bag.
"Does the beast still want to feed on you?" Callan asked. A long moment passed, then heat filled my fingers.
Glancing from Callan to the bag, my eyes narrowed. "Are you lying?"
A shock like static electricity coursed through my fingers, followed by the icy nip.
"I think it laughed at me." I looked at Callan, and he shook his head.
"Well, at least its presence helped us get through the forest faster."
And now that I knew the wraith could communicate, maybe I could convince it not to eat me.
Though I wasn't sure I could handle another bout of static laughter.