The Red Crystal

Present Day: The Beginning

It was starting off to be a damn good day. Hundreds of rare antiques appeared at today’s show. Mr. Theodore never fails to bring up the priciest items.

He held his auction show at one of the luxurious locations in the world—Paris, France. The building was built with roman fixtures and glass chandeliers hanging above us. The walls and ceilings were ordained in gold.

Sitting in the front row seat, I listened to Mr. Theodore auctioned off a hundred year old Chinese antique—historical, priceless, and the sole reason for Mr. Li’s appearance today. He wanted their treasure back.

Bidding has gone up to three million and still going.

Leaning back in my seat, I waited patiently until it was my turn. Like Mr. Li, I was also here for a reason. I have a collection of crystals in my castle. According to Mr. Theodore, it was an antique I wouldn’t want to miss.

Silas leaned closer to me and whispered, “I heard the staff talking and everything being auctioned off today is authentic.”

Silas Wilder was my closest cousin and advisor. We’ve been together since the day we were born. Although we are 120 years old, Silas and I looked no more than thirty-five in human years.

Tapping my fingers patiently on my biceps, I listened to Mr. Li quickly winning the bid with six million dollars.

When the next artifact arrived, I slid up in my seat. A black cloth covered the artifact to further intensify the bidder’s desire to buy. When the staff slipped the black cloth off from the artifact, I stopped breathing.

It stood a good foot tall and was as wide as my hands. Crystals this large take years to form. It would need time to gather the earth, minerals, water—all of earth’s natural resources to form. This was an extremely precious and rare artifact. The red crystal was by far the largest crystal I’ve ever seen in my 120 years.

“This item has been tested on the Moh’s scale. You can trust me when I tell you that you wouldn’t want to miss this bid. It is absolutely rare to find.”

“Fuck,” I muttered.

“That is something alright. I’ll prepare our accounts,” Silas agreed.

He knew me too well.

This red crystal was mine.