Read Online Endless by Amanda Gray - Free Book Online Page B

world of relics, not to mention this kinder, gentler Ben.
    “I think there’s one … more … ” He moved his arm around, trying to get ahold of something. When he pulled his arm out of the box, he was holding a big wad of fabric in his hand. “ … thing.”
    “What is it?” Jenny asked.
    “I don’t know.” Ben let his hand bounce a little with the weight of it. “But it feels heavy.”
    Jenny scooted a little closer. “Open it!”
    “Okay, okay.” Ben lifted his long fingers to the fabric, peeling it back a layer at a time. Jenny had no idea what was inside, but it took forever for Ben to reach the last layer. When he finally pulled back the last of the cloth, it was to reveal a finely crafted wooden box with violet colored insets edged with silver.
    “What the … ” Ben started, turning the thing over in his hand. He pulled at the top, lifting it on hinges set into one side of the object. “There’s a keyhole here. I think it’s a music box.”
    Jenny leaned in, peering at the box. Inside it was empty and lined with worn, indigo velvet.
    “No key,” she said.
    “No. But I think that’s what it must be. It looks really old.” Ben turned it over, peering at the bottom. He tapped the underside once and then twice more.
    The bottom swung open. A small key fell out, along with a piece of paper that fluttered to the floor. Jenny picked it up, holding it to the light to study it.
    She shook her head. “It looks like the same language as all those other papers.”
    “Wait!” Ben almost shouted as she lowered the paper. “Hold it up again.”
    “What? What do you mean?”
    “Just … ” He waved his hands around. “Hold the paper up to the light again. Like you did before.”
    She sighed. “Okay, but I’m telling you, we’re not going to be able to read it.”
    She lifted the paper, holding it to the light as her eyes skimmed the oddly shaped characters.
    “Do you mind telling me what I’m looking for?” she asked from behind the paper.
    “You aren’t looking for anything,” Ben said. She heard the excitement in his voice as he reached up, plucking the paper from her hands and turning it so she could see the other side. “I am.”
    “What?” She peered at the paper. The ink was faded, the light dwindling fast in the attic as nightfall approached.
    But she saw it, and she felt Ben’s excitement build inside her as the letters began to coalesce into actual words.
    She met his eyes. “This side’s in English.”
    He nodded. “Read what the top part says.”
    She lowered her eyes back to the paper, reading aloud. “Instructions for Mesmerization must be followed exactly.” She shook her head, meeting his eyes. “Mesmerization? But that’s … isn’t that like … hypnosis ?”

EIGHT
     
     
    “I’m no expert, but that’s what it sounds like,” Ben said. “Let me see it.”
    Jenny passed him the piece of paper, already pondering the words and their strange hiding place inside the music box.
    Ben held the paper close to his face, lowering his hand a second later as he considered the words.
    “Maybe it’s some kind of game,” Jenny suggested. “It’s a music box, so it might have been owned by a child.”
    Ben shook his head. “I doubt it. The handwriting sucks, but it doesn’t look like a kid’s writing to me.”
    He reached for the box. Jenny could see the look of concentration on his face. Closing the bottom of it, the piece of paper still on the floor next to him, he turned the box right side up. It glimmered a little, and Jenny saw that it was encrusted with jewels. No doubt they were fake, but it was still a strange find in an attic that, until now, had produced only junk and some cool clothes.
    Ben put the key in the hole and turned it. Then he opened the lid. A few creaky, tinkling notes stumbled from the box.
    “It works!” Jenny laughed.
    It was obvious Ben was as surprised as she was. “Wait a minute … ” He stopped, a look of total concentration falling