Page 12 of Forsaken Secrets

5

Kaiya

"Kaiya! Your order is ready!"

Mr. Harlsted's voice pulled me out of the book. I rubbed my tired eyes, then stretched my sore fingers.

Gods. How long had I been working?

I looked at what I'd written and grimaced. It would really help if I could draw worth a damn. At least the words seemed accurate, though.

I closed the book and returned it to the pile.

"Kiddo?" Mr. Harlsted popped his head through the curtain and laughed. "Of course. I should have known you'd still be back here."

I quirked my brow and shrugged. What could I say — he knew me too well.

"What did you discover?"

"I couldn't translate much, but there are SO many creatures in there! More than I've ever even heard of. It'll be worth a fortune if that monster hunter sees it."

He twisted his mustache and looked down at me. "Well, if you get a chance, you're welcome to come back and try again."

"I'm just in town today to grab supplies and drop them off at the shop. Then I need to get work done at the estate. Aunt Grace is pushing hard with the Season around the corner."

"Fair enough. I'll try to keep it around as long as I can, just in case."

My stomach twisted. "You really don't need to do that." I slipped my journal into my pocket and grabbed my bag before meeting his eyes again. "What permit was it under, though?"

How had someone found something like this? I'd searched everywhere and only found dust and overgrown trees.

He chuckled. "The Reaper didn't say — you know how they are. But I got the impression it wasn't from around here. He just said the Empire didn't want it, so I gave him credit for it instead. I figured it would be a unique addition to our collection here, if nothing else."

I rolled my eyes. We both knew it would sell within a few days of being shelved. Artifacts like that were too rare to stick around long. Even though magic and the histories about the Age of Mages were publicly taboo, there were several collectors on the Ridge, and they, with their deep pockets, bought up every artifact the Empire didn't confiscate.

I followed him to the front counter, surprised to see that the shop had gotten busy again. The storm must have passed.

"What were you two talking about back there?" Mrs. Harlsted's cheerful voice asked.

"Oh you know, solidifying our plot to take over the world," he said.

I laughed and glared at him before leaning onto the counter and meeting Mrs. Harlsted's twinkling eyes. "So, what's the verdict? Is it all junk?"

She cocked a brow. "Of course not. We sold it all to you in the first place! Unless you think we sell junk?"

I looked pointedly at a display of gaudy pearl rosaries and jewelry and winked. "You? Junk? Never."

Mr. Harlsted let out a bark of laughter. "Fair enough. Take a look at this price sheet and let me know what you think." He withdrew a small sheet of paper from beside the cash register and passed it to me.

I let my eyes skim the long column of figures written neatly there, stomach clenching tighter with each new line.

"Just what do you think you're doing with this?" I said. "It's more than I paid, and they're now used items." I slid the paper across the counter and leaned back, crossing my arms across my chest as I awaited their explanation.

"See. I told you she wouldn't let us do it." Mrs. Harlsted elbowed her husband.

"It was worth a try, and you know it," he said, shaking his head and pulling a small silver pen from behind his ear.

He sighed and crossed out each line, replacing them with much more reasonable numbers.

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