Page 6 of Galen

“Cool. If you need any help, just let me know.”

“Will do.”

Kyo was my only employee and came in five days a week. We were closed on Sundays, and he had Mondays off. Even though he was young, he had been a huge asset to the shop. He was always bringing in new customers and had designed my website. He ran it too, dealing with online buyers and keeping up the shop’s social media presence. On top of all of that, he was also kind of my best friend. One of my only friends, really.

I’d be lost without him.

Moving on to the second crate, I found an eighteenth-century iron lantern, a wall clock that I debated on keeping for myself, and a terrifying clown cloth doll that I hoped and prayed would sell because I didn’t want the thing near me.

Then, I came across a small wooden box.

Symbols were etched into the sides, and as I turned it over in my hands, a weird sensation landed in the pit of my stomach. Holding it up to my ear, I shook the box and heard a faint thud from the inside. Something was definitely in there. I jiggled the lock on the outside before searching for a key. If there was one, they didn’t include it.

I checked the inventory sheet and found it at the bottom listed as “mahogany box.” No other details.

“Dammit.” I placed the box down and stood up, stretching my arms out. I’d been hunched over for a while and needed a break. I gave the mysterious box one last glare before leaving the storage room.

Kyo was speaking to an older woman about a Victorian chair near the window, telling her how old it was and where we purchased it. I walked to the small break room at the back of the store where I kept snacks and drinks stocked and grabbed a bottle of water from the minifridge.

I could break the lock on the box. Or smash the whole damn thing if that didn’t work. The box itself didn’t seem to be that valuable. But what the hell was inside it? And what was with those strange symbols?

When I returned to the storage room, I went over to the box with bolt cutters and nearly pissed myself.

The lock was open.

“Fuck no,” I said, shoving away from the box. “I’ve seen this movie. I know what happens. You little demonic box can just go right back to hell where you belong.”

“Hey, Si?”

I squeaked and flung around.

Kyo released a surprised laugh. “Um. You okay?”

“Y-Yeah. What’s up?”

“The lady up front offered me two seventy-five for the chair. The tag says three hundred. What do you want me to tell her?”

“Make the deal,” I said, my heart still hammering in my chest. “That chair’s been sitting at the front for over a year.”

“Awesome.” Kyo went to leave, then stepped back into the room. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re kind of pale.”

“I’m fine.”I think.

Kyo looked me up and down. “Mmkay. If you say so.”

I placed the box on a shelf against the wall, putting it out of mind for now. I finished sorting through the rest of the inventory, logged some of it into the computer, then joined Kyo at the front counter.

As the day went on, I began to feel silly for how I’d acted. It was an old lock. Maybe it had been loosened when I jiggled it, and then it popped open because the internal mechanism was broken. Yeah. That had to be it. Ghosts, demons, magic, none of that was real.

My overactive imagination though? Nowthatwas real.

Sometime after lunch, Kyo and I were placing some of the new items on the display shelves when the bell above the door dinged.

“Holy shit,” Kyo muttered from beside me, his eyes going wide.

I turned around to see what he was gawking at and nearly snapped my neck to do a double take. The man was a giant. He was so tall that he had to duck his head to get through the doorway. And fuck, he was sexy. Short dark brown hair that was longer on top, muscles I wanted to trace with my tongue, and legs for days. He stepped farther into the store and glanced around.

I quietly cleared my throat and stepped toward him. “Uh, good afternoon. Can I help you find anything?”