“There’s something I think you should see.” One of the movers finished stacking the old crates and turned to me. “It was in the living room; I’ve never seen anything like it before.” He led me two rooms over and stopped short just inside, crouching and signaling for me to stand back.

His hand pressed heavily against a wooden floor panel as it screamed in complaint at the weight. The other side lurched upward, revealing to me its gaping maw and the wholly unusual site therein. It was a skeleton, roughly the size of a rat but with a human shape, and a piece of paper folded carefully inside her rib cage. Thick layers of dust clung to the bones.

“Read it,” he urged. His grin and the glint in his eyes appeared sinister to me after this discovery. Even still, I bent down and cautiously removed the note, making sure not to touch the remains. It was folded four times and crackled as I held it and spoke it aloud.

“Box 7: DO NOT REMOVE . Magical Artifacts, Thomas L. Creech, Esq. Basement. Caution suggested.”