Page 104 of The Little Shop of Curiosities, The Music Box Part 2

“Where did you come from?”

I look up at Sam, who says, “I think you’d better tell him the truth, Prickles. All of it.”

“But—”

He shakes his head. “I don’t know why we were brought here, but I do know we may not be able to get home without their help.”

He’s right. Given no other viable option right now, I shift my attention back to Cornelius and Ichabod.

“Not where, but when,” I begin, taking a deep breath. “We’ve been thrown back in time, over a hundred and forty years.”

Ichabod snorts. “Impossible.”

“Until an hour ago, I would’ve said the same thing.”

“Why this, though?” Cornelius stares at his sister’s music box.

Sam’s fingers tighten on the back of my neck to ground me, and I know I have to tell them all of it.

“Because I’m one of you,” I confess quietly.

“I beg your pardon?” Cornelius replies.

“I’m a Crawshanks.” I watch as his eyes widen. Wow, it’s really strange to finally say that out loud. “I am a direct descendant of your sister Constance.”

He blinks slowly and shakes his head. “How can I know you are telling the truth?”

“I guess you can’t, not really. Some of this you’re going to have to take on a little faith, but…” I hesitate.

“Go on, Prickles,” Sam encourages. “Finish it out.”

Exhaling loudly, I stare at Cornelius. “I know about the demon,” I say, and he sucks in a breath. “I know about The Book of Lala Khal that Cordelia stole from that village in India before your parents brought you to England. That you and your sisters accidentally opened a portal in your family home in Whitechapel when you were children. I know what your father did to Cordelia, sending her to Crowscroft, and everything she suffered there at the hands of Dr Whyte and the Demon Club.”

This time, it’s Ichabod who inhales sharply, his gaze snapping to Cornelius in alarm at how much personal knowledge I seem to have, but I continue on. I have to get it all out if I have any hope of convincing them to trust us, let alone help us.

“I know she raised a demon named Ishaan and set him loose on Dr Whyte and his associates. Just like I know you trapped that very same demon in a devil’s trap in your home, where I suspect he is right now.”

“How?” Cornelius whispers harshly.

“I told you. I come from a time many years from now.”

He shakes his head. “But that doesn’t explain how you know the most personal and shameful secrets of my family.”

“No, it doesn’t,” I mutter. “For the past several months, I’ve been having these…dreams, I suppose we could call them. I saw firsthand what Cordelia and her demon did.”

Cornelius and Ichabod share a glance that I can’t decipher.

“Look.” Hit by a wave of exhaustion, I’m grateful for the feel of Sam’s hand on the back of my neck in silent support. “I don’t know why we’re here. I’m not even sure who cursed your sister’s music box or why it was left on my doorstep or by who. What I do know is that Sam and I need your help. We can’t figure out a way home on our own.”

Cornelius and Ichabod once again share a loaded look, almost as if they are communicating without words.

“We need to get them away from here,” Ichabod says after a moment. “If what they say is true, we can’t risk anyone else seeing them.”

“Agreed.” Cornelius nods and pulls out his pocket watch. “By now, most of the guests should be too preoccupied to notice our departure.”

“I’ll summon the carriage.”

Ichabod unlocks the door and slips stealthily into the corridor. For several long moments, the three of us stand in awkward silence. Cornelius studies us with a contemplative gaze, and I have no idea what the hell he’s thinking with Sam in his underwear and me in my quirky nightwear.