25. Chapter 25 #2
Sienna reached with shaky hands and lifted the vault lid.
Her breath caught. Inside were several items wrapped in some sort of protective cloths.
The first was a small square. The next a larger box about eight or so inches square across, and the last shape had her heart kicking into overdrive since it looked like a book.
Before she could reach for the items, John held up his hand. “I think we should wait to open these until we’re in the car.”
She curled her fingers into her palm and nodded as he picked up the three items and placed them in the box Charles gave them. They walked out of the room toward the front. Charles looked up from the desk in surprise. “That was quick. Can I help you with anything else?”
“I have some questions about how these boxes work. You keep records of all the comings and goings, correct?”
“Absolutely.”
“Can you tell me when my mother set up the box?”
Charles typed on his keyboard. “She opened the box fifteen years ago on May eighteenth.”
That was only two months before her accident. “And do you have records of any other visits?”
Charles reviewed the screen. “Yes, most of the time we request our customers to reach out in advance if they plan to come in. Of course, that isn’t mandatory, but it helps.
Your mother accessed the box a month later on June eleventh.
” He paused. “She had also reached out to us about coming in on July twentieth, but she didn’t keep the appointment.
” He looked up with kind eyes. “We found out later that she had passed before her visit.”
Sienna’s stomach dropped. Two days before her planned visit. “How did you find out my mother died?”
“With our inheritance boxes, we use software to track obituaries. Some people reference the boxes in their wills, which makes the process easier, but we find that isn’t always the case.”
“Thank you for your help with all this.”
Charles smiled. “Of course. Would you be interested in transferring the box to your name?”
“Not at this time.”
As they left the building, Sienna’s stomach rolled like she had eaten bad sushi.
She sucked in a couple of deep breaths. As she drew close to the car, Ryan frowned slightly before opening the back door.
Sienna climbed in. John handed her the box, and she slid to the far side before he followed inside.
Ryan was in the driver’s seat and pulling out of the parking lot before she had her seat belt on. “Are you okay? You look a little green.”
Sienna nodded. “Just overwhelmed.”
“Ryan, pull into that fast food restaurant on the right,” John ordered.
“Are you seriously hungry right now?” Sienna asked.
“We’re going to get you something to drink. I think you need a little sugar,” John answered before putting his finger to his mouth to tell them to be quiet.
Ryan pulled into the lot and parked. John opened the cardboard box and placed the items from the vault in the space between them. He then took the box and chucked it in the garbage can next to the restaurant before climbing back inside.
“What was that?” Sienna asked.
“You can never be too careful. We don’t know if there was a bug or tracking device in the box.”
“Paranoid much?”
He frowned. “I’ve been attacked multiple times. It pays to be paranoid.”
“Sienna, do you want me to get you something to drink?” Ryan asked.
Sienna shook her head. “No. I’m fine. Let’s get going.”
Ryan backed out of the parking space. “What was in the vault?”
“I don’t know yet. Mr. Paranoid didn’t want us to open anything until we were in the car.”
“Good idea,” Ryan said.
Great. She was dealing with two paranoid males.
She blew out a breath and reached for the small box first. Sienna unwrapped the cloth around it and found a ring box.
She flipped open the lid. It held a man’s signet ring.
Picking it up, she ran her fingers over the raised sentry symbol.
“This ring has to be for Eric. It must represent the shield the second storybook talks about.”
Sienna reached for the flat cloth-covered article next and unwrapped it to find another leather-bound book. Her nerves danced when she saw the familiar writing of her great-grandmother. “It’s the continuation of the story.”
“Read it out loud,” Ryan said.
“I will. Give me a moment. I have one more thing to open.” She reached for the item and revealed a wooden box.
She pushed the latch and opened the lid.
Inside was a small metal bowl. She lifted the bowl from the blue velvet it sat on.
On the side, the sentry seal was etched around the bowl in four places.
“What do you think this is for?” she asked.
John went pale and shook his head.
She stared at him. “What’s wrong?”
He hesitated. “There’s something about the bowl.”
“You’ve seen it before?”
“I…don’t know.”
She placed the bowl back in the box and closed the lid, and he seemed to breathe easier. “We can worry about that later. How about I read the next part of the story? We might get it done before we get home.”
Sienna opened the book again, turned the page, and began reading out loud.
The longer she read, the more tension clogged the air.
Because this story was all about the youngest sister, Evie, and her quest. A quest that would have her facing off with trolls, a trickster, and an ogre.
Sienna kept reading until she got to the point where Evie knighted her brothers and they became dragon sentries.
“What does all this mean?” John said.
Sienna could see Ryan’s worried eyes in the rearview mirror. “Your brothers are going to lose their shit when they hear that you have to go on a quest.”
“I know. But it can’t be helped. And it doesn’t say that they come with me, which is going to make it worse.”
John shook his head. “We won’t let anything happen to you.”
Sienna picked up the book again and flipped the page, only to blink at the damaged book. “The last pages have been ripped out.”
Noooooo, Veronica wailed.
Sienna had prayed that the end of the story would hold the clues to finally breaking the curse. But it was gone. And she didn’t know what that meant for her or her brothers. She let the book drop to her lap, and John rested his hand over hers. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Ah guys, we have another problem right now. We picked up a tail.”
Sienna twisted to look out the tinted back window. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. It’s a pickup truck that’s been behind us for a bit now. When we were on the main road, I was less worried, but they took the same exit and just turned again when we did.”
“What do you think they want?” Sienna asked.
“Could be what you found in the vault,” Ryan said.
John stiffened. “Or they could be after me.”
Sienna clutched the book to her chest. “Can you lose them?”
“I’m going to try. They waited to get closer until we were on this side road.” Ryan sped up and the truck did as well. “Hang on, they’re coming fast.”
Sienna turned again just in time to see the truck come up behind them and tap their bumper.