The night was moving along smoothly. At least I wasn't having to work alone tonight. I was cleaning a glass chess board, each piece in the set being a perfectly preserved finger that was sealed in glass. Delicate, pale fingers to one side, crooked, harsh looking fingers to the other. All the while, I heard Elise at the counter greeting a rough looking man who came in. His huge beard, heavy boots, and outdoor attire would have easily made him fit in on any hunting trail. I could smell the scent of tobacco on him even from well across the room. He had been carrying a sort of sack, which he sat on the counter in front of her to open.

Obviously, he had come to sell rather than buy. That made me pay slightly more attention from afar. While I trusted Elise to handle the preservation of our inventory and make sales here and there, I was weary about her buying things. She was definitely new to this line of work. Any work, actually. She had confessed to me during her interview that this was her first job.

For the first month, I made sure to keep her focused on the cleaning while I handled the people. In her second month, I finally allowed her to touch the register. This being her third month, I was finally, painfully, might I add, allowing her to engage with clients and customers. All through this time, I was ever vigilant and adamant about reminding her of the various rules within the shop. After all, if we don't adhere to rules, then we're nothing but savages- and not to mention our inventory could cause a lot of harm if not handled appropriately.

I tried my best to give her a little independence. Baby birds have to fly at some point. I just wasn't the type to risk kicking her out of the nest just to see what happens. Especially not here. One mistake could be horrendous. I prided myself on handling any and all damage control concerning the shop, specifically before the boss found out. So here I was now, polishing the same chess set continuously because it was conveniently placed where I could see her at work yet not too close to hear their exchange or look like some overprotective big brother that was suffocating her existence.

I tried to study her face, looking for any sign of uncertainty. Whatever he had placed on the counter was hidden in front of him. I would have to fight every cell in my body not to rush over there if I heard that till open. I would need to force myself to hang back until he was out of the shop to see what had taken place. I could see her shake her head at him, gently swaying her long black hair that fell in waves over her shoulders. She must not have been saying what he wanted to hear. An unhappy customer. My anxiety was steadily climbing. He could be one of those crazies. I needed to assure myself that this was fine. She needed to learn how to handle any and all situations on her own. I wouldn't always be here to swoop in and save the day. No matter what was happening over there, I wouldn't get involved.

Again, she shook her head, her eyebrows creased apologetically over her empathetic blue eyes. The man slapped the counter hard, causing her to flinch back some. He was yelling now, "I know what the hell I'm talking about! I've been hunting my whole life! I ain't gonna have some little girl tell me what's what! My damn boots are even older than you!"

Not going to get involved. I polished and polished even harder. This was her deal. She didn't need me. I didn't need to get involved. This was all a part of the job. She was a big girl. She could handle it. This was a learning and growing experience. This was for the best. It needed to be done. Let the little birdie fly. I heard him hit the counter again. This time, I could see he was pointing his finger in her face. Going to get involved. This is my deal. She needed me. I needed to get involved. This is my job. She shouldn't have to handle this. This was a headache of an experience. This was not for the best. It needed to be stopped. The birdie can wait to fly.

I came right to her side, meeting her gaze for only a moment as quick reassurance before turning to stand before the man. She took a small step back as if to hand over the proverbial reins. The tobacco smell was most definitely stronger and more pungent up close. His face was hard and weathered. His hands were dry and callused, probably from all that hunting he had mentioned earlier. When he saw me, he seemed to calm down a peg. He let out a sigh as if to say finally, someone else to talk to. Poor Elise.

"What seems to be the issue?" I asked him plainly.

His tone still held a trace of his annoyance, "I ain't come here to get yanked around, ya hear? I know the routine, and I know what's what. This ain't my first rodeo. I expect to get my money's worth for the things I sell, and I'll get what's owed me. This here's the Duke's Beast, and I expect Duke's Beast pay." He gestured down to the item in front of him for me to see.

The Duke's Beast he was referring to was nothing more than a large skull he had wrapped in a sack cloth that piled in a bundle around it. I looked the skull over carefully. I mean, clearly, it was legitimately the skinned and cleaned skeletal remains of an animal, no doubt. I was sure those sharp, three inch teeth had ended the lives of many a poor creature. As is the circle of life. Yet I was certainly no expert in zooarchaeology. Especially when it came to beasts that weren't exactly well documented.

"He took out two of my men." The gruff voice came from the other side of the counter through a beard that was stained with years of smoke, "And four of my hounds." He growled now as he recalled this. In his resentment, he turned his head to the left and spat at the floor. It was then that I saw a dribble of brown leak down his beard, too. Maybe I was wrong about his beard being stained with solely smoking tobacco. I was now also concerned with that spot on the floor. He was obviously upset about his hounds, but who did he expect to clean that up? "Thems was good hounds." He said after he noticed I was staring at him hard.

"Mhm." I took a glance back at the skull, which still sat between us on the counter. If I had to guess, I would say it was definitely canine-ish. To be fair, I don't think I've ever seen a natural wolf's skull, so I didn't really have anything to go on. It had some weight to it when I lifted it to examine the structure, to be sure. About thirty pounds. Again, I really had no reference here to contrast and compare what I was seeing short of a werewolf skull. This wasn't the same yet had its similarities, a dogman, perhaps. Canine in nature while the Duke's Beast was almost always described as being more bat-like.

He must have understood my blank stare as some sign of mistrust or doubt, "That's it." He said suddenly in unwarranted protest, "That's the Duke's Beast. Right there."

"Where is the rest of it?" I asked him. More out of curiosity.

"The rest of it?" He was surprised or confused by my question.

"Yes." I pointed to the skull, "The bigger part that this thing was attached to. Where is the body?"

At this point, he just sounded downright offended. He huffed in his anger and shook his head while his face reddened some, "Hell if I know! Was I s'pposed to haul the whole damn thing the miles walk back to my truck and drive it through open town to force it through that damn hole you call a doorway?"

His attitude aside, he did sort of have a point. If the skull was this heavy by itself, I could only imagine what the whole thing would weigh. A body could have helped to identify it. Still. Seeing as this was just this and only this, I still couldn't be certain what I was really looking at. Sure, it was freakishly large and I wouldn't have wanted to run into this thing when it was alive, but I wasn't about to hand out a Duke's Beast payment if this wasn't in fact the Duke's Beast. Seeing as that creature was pretty much a one of a kind, would anyone even be able to determine if it was authentic or not? Especially without the skin and the rest of the body? This was not really my department. Well, none of this entire job was. Yet I was here, and I had to make a call one way or the other.

I narrowed my eyes and ran my fingertips along one of the sharp teeth protruding from the skull. After what I assume was too long of a pause for him, I finally said, "This is a werewolf skull. Not the Duke's Beast. Now, it's a big one, maybe an interspecies, I'll give you that. I'm willing to take this off your hands at a reasonable price. I'm sure I can find a buyer who is looking for a sick centerpiece somewhere."

The man didn't like this at all. "You're just as thick-headed as this one!" He pointed toward Elise, "which makes you twice as thick as this beast. I should be selling your skulls to people who know what they're talking about!" He was upset, but I don't think he was upset enough to jump the counter. Clearly, he was competent enough to remove heads from bodies. I wondered how long that sort of process took and if Elise would be fast enough to escape should he start with me. He was a full head taller than me and twice as broad. I wasn't sure which method to take in order to de-escalate the situation. I tried my hand at intimidation, which was probably a poor call seeing as if push came to shove, I imagined he could fold me into a pretzel in what would be considered record time at his rodeos.

"Human skulls sell for a pretty penny, too." I assured him. "But you have to know the right people in that market. I don't know how many you know, but I happen to know a few. And I also happen to know they prefer them alive to start. Makes them more fun to hunt. I'm sure you know all about the thrill of the chase."

He glared daggers at me, his face steadily reddening further. The man was a hothead, but he had enough composure not to act on his impulses. I continued in his silence, "Should you ever find the Duke's Beast, my advice would be to bring it in alive. Heavily subdued, at that. As for this skull, I can make an offer but you won't like the new figure I've come to. So you can settle for that, or you can go and enjoy this piece all for yourself in whatever way you see fit."

This was it. The ball was in his court. I wasn't sure if he thought it through or if this was just his arrogant display of pride, but he wrapped the skull back up and carried it right out the door. I felt a sudden wave of relief to be rid of him.

Elise spoke up softly from behind me, "I told him no. I told him I wasn't going to buy it at that price."

"You don't have to explain." I assured her, "You did well. You are going to face a lot of people like that. Just stand your ground and don't allow them to bully you."

Now that he was gone, I could see she was relaxed. She let out a small laugh, "I thought he was going to punch you."

"The night is still young." I reminded her, "He can always come back to punch me. Or hide outside by the dumpster so he can take a lead pipe to my knee caps when I take the trash out. Maybe even throw me in the dumpster. I mean, we don't really know how creative he is. it could be worse."

"Nah," She scoffed. "He wouldn't beat you with a pipe. Be real, Jericho. He's a hunter. He will shoot you or knife you in the kidney."

"Oh yeah." I agreed. "Lucky me." I walked around the counter again in order to return to my cleaning. I picked up from where I left off at the extremely polished finger chess set. Elise took to organizing the receipts from the day. I left her to it, yet I knew that before I left for the day, I would double-check her work. Without her knowing, of course. I made my way down a full shelf and started on the next.

"This is cute. Where'd it come from?" I heard Elise calling to me. I turned around to face her again and felt my entire body tense up when I noticed she was holding a doll. A very average looking doll. A very average looking doll that was supposed to remain inside her cage.

"What are you doing?" Was the only thing I could force out in my moment of mini panic.

"Cleaning up." She answered casually, not at all concerned with holding a demon in her hands, which made sense considering it had completely slipped my mind to even mention the woman from this morning.

"What are you doing with that doll?" I tried again.

"I was looking at it." She told me, "I saw it over here and wanted to take a closer look. What, is this cursed or something?"

I made my way to the counter carefully. Every step I took was cautious as I anticipated for something- anything- to go wrong. After all, the woman had not told me what all this doll was capable of. When I came to stop on the other side of the counter, I finally answered, "It has a demon in it." Yet I had to follow it with an uncertain, "I think."

"Oh?" She held the doll under its arms as a child and lifted it up to look at its face closer. "Seriously?"

"Maybe." I was really on the fence about this. While I wasn't seeing any proof, the woman's display still made me feel a slight unease for this whole situation. Maybe I was overreacting. If I put too much thought into this, the only thing that doll would be possessed by is my placebo effect. My tone was calmer now, "Actually. It's probably also likely that I was swindled but to be safe, and due to my short attention span, I left the doll alone in her cage. Apparently, the bird cage was..." I paused at the absurdity before my ramble ran on, "Magic. And it kept the demon from hurting people. And you can't kill it with water or fire even though she held a lighter to it, and that seemed to scare it, which doesn't add up now that I think about it. Though it did talk. Normal talk. She said it didn't have batteries and -" I held my hand out, "Give it to me, I need to check something." Might as well. This cat was out of the bag, so what did I have to lose now by checking the doll for any electronic devices.

Elise handed it over the counter, and I took hold of it. Now that I was touching this thing, I felt a bit silly. Such a tiny and innocent child's toy. Seemed a little light to contain such a heavy and dark entity within it. I examined her back as well as every other spot on her. I suppose there were really only two routes this could take on what I would find. Yet I was still surprised to see that it was as the woman claimed. There were no sort of batteries or speakers within the doll. I thought more about it. Maybe the woman was a ventriloquist and could throw her voice. She could be out there making a living off haunted dolls that weren't really haunted. That would be an interesting yet creative career choice. Good for her.

"Well, no batteries." I confirmed for her curiosity, "So it's either possessed or I was tricked. Which has been my dilemma ever since I bought the thing."

"It's doesn't look possessed." She pointed out.

"Yeah," I agreed, "You'd think these demons would make it easy so we don't unknowingly bring these types of things into our homes to give to our innocent and vulnerable children."

"What are you going to do with it?" Her tone almost made it sound like she wanted it for herself.

"Try to sell it." I shrugged, "I don't know how to label it, though. Potentially possessed, maybe." I sat the doll on the counter. I would have felt silly to put the thing back into the cage. "Why, you like it?"

"Oh, no." She shook her head, "I have way too many dolls and stuffed animals at home. If I bring home another, I won't have any more room on my bed."

"Gross." I said flatly. I was not a fan of dolls. At all. This one alone was weird. It was beyond me how people could surround themselves with these things. Possessed or otherwise. "Well, I guess I should take the trash out. If I don't come back in five minutes, you should mentally prepare yourself to find my headless body out back."

"You want me to come with you?" She offered. So thoughtful.

"You already have his description to give to the responding officer, so we're good. Just hold down the fort."

"Aye, aye." She gave me a salute and went back to her cleaning.

The rest of the night was rather uneventful. No attempts were made on my life. At least none that were evident. Had a steady flow of people. None of which seemed interested in buying the doll whose new home was sitting right by the register. At the end of our shifts, I made sure to lock up as usual and walked Elise to her car just in case there were any vengeful patrons.

The next night, I trudged through heavy rain, sprinting up to the door in my attempt to dodge the rain drops. I made it inside and pressed my code for the alarm just to lock the door behind me again. In my usual routine, I turned on all the lights, reset the cash till, turned on a radio just to fill the silence, and did my rounds around the shop to confirm nothing was out of place. Besides the things that were normally out of place, that is. I unlocked the front door once again to the public and took my spot behind the counter to wait for what the night would bring me. While standing there, drumming my fingers in boredom on the counter, it took a little bit too long for me to notice. Upon my usual and ever vigilant inspections, I supposed I overlooked something until now. The doll. The doll that should have been sitting in front of me, next to the register. She was gone. I looked up to her cage only to find that it was empty. I looked back at her spot on the counter. I looked back and forth for a full minute as if by some crazy chance, I had overlooked her sitting right there. This was, in a word, odd. I did another quick look around the shop, once again scanning all shelves, closets, bathrooms, and most places I could imagine a doll to fit. No trace of her. I could have sworn she was right there when we left. Elise wouldn't have taken it without telling me. She would have bought it. Elise couldn't have come back in when I locked up. She didn't have a key. The doll was locked up in the shop. Did it... return to the biker woman anyway? Was it really possessed with a demon? Did I really allow a dark entity of unknown potential out into the world that could cause harm or destruction? Most importantly, did I just lose five bucks?

"Hm." I spoke to myself aloud, "I'm sure this will in no way negatively impact future events to any degree whatsoever." I shrugged with a 'what can you do' frown, then began my night.