Okay, so I know I just updated yesterday, but I have a schedule to keep up, people! I try my best to update every Mon., Wed., and Fri. So, um, thanks for putting up with me, and I hope you enjoy this chapter, one of the few I've had to rewrite (you'll thank me when I tell you I had made Victor the bad guy at first. I know, stereotypical, right? So I changed it to some unknown guy who wants something from Senkarah, and no, he does not want that.)
Chapter seven: House of Challenges
Eddie
At about nine thirty the next morning, I came out of my room. Everyone else was already awake, but I was still half asleep. My dreams had been haunted by Senkarah all night. She really hated me. When I got to the kitchen, Trudy, a decade older but still working hard, was cleaning up from breakfast. She noticed me, her eyes growing wide.
"Is that Eddison Miller?" she said. "The famous author? I never would've guessed that you would choose that profession, dearie, but you are pretty good at writing."
"SH!" I quieted her. "I don't want them to know what I do for a living. They think I'm a journalist like Nina. I mean, what if they don't like the books?"
Trudy laughed. "I don't think that's what your really worried about, is it? You think they might be upset if they realized you used them for inspiration without them knowing about it. Don't give me that look," she reprimanded me as I stared in shock. "I've read those novels, and it's plain to see that you based your characters on your friends."
She had me there. I had based my books on my friends, but I had no idea Trudy would've read them. I had no idea that anyone I knew would've read them. Trudy was nice enough to let me go into her kitchen and make breakfast for myself, which was something I almost never did. Patricia was a great artist, and her talent definitely included cooking. The last time I tried to help her, however, I think I gave her food poisoning.
Once I had my breakfast in hand, I made my way to the table and sat down in my seat by the end, the same place I had sat during my stay at Anubis House. Man, I had had no idea how much I had missed being here until I came back. As I ate the breakfast sandwich I made, I looked around the old house, remembering some of the crazy things that happened there.
When I finished eating, I went back to my bedroom and flipped through one of my books, The Mask of Gold. I needed to remember how to get through the tunnels. Unfortunately, Patricia hadn't helped with the first few challenges, so I had no idea what to expect. I had made up a few simple challenges, like Name the God and Place the Ankh in the Lock, but I knew those probably weren't the right traps.
I found Nina afterwards, searching the house for something. She had her locket around her neck, which I thought was a nice touch. I had no idea that she had kept it, since the locket only worked in Anubis House. When she noticed me, she ran over and trapped me in a firm grip around my arm.
"Eddison Sweet," Nina growled in a low voice. "Where were you?! I had to go to the tunnel by myself. The challenges have reset themselves! We've got to go to the Frobisher Library."
The petite brunette dragged me out of the old house and across the school grounds until we came to a semi-secluded library, one that I knew well. This was where Senkarah had tried to pull Nina to the Egyptian Afterlife all those years ago. I opened the old, creaky door and stepped inside. As both Nina and I looked around, we let out a collective gasp.
The floor had a massive crack down the very center.
Nina walked around the crack, looking on in fear and worry.
I felt the same, and I knew that the same thought was going through both of our heads: Was this how Senkarah got out? Was this how she escaped?
I bent down and trailed a hand over the ripped floor, my hand trembling. How had this happened? What had caused this? Who had done this? As my fingers brushed the torn floor, I was pulled into my first vision in years.
I was in the library, alone, in the dark. What was going on? When was this? The past or the future? It didn't take long for me to find out. A man walked into the library, his face shrouded under a cloak. A familiar voice came from him as he chanted in a strange language, probably Ancient Egyptian.
Who was he?
As he chanted, I found I was able to understand what he said. When had I learned how to speak Egyptian? Then I heard what he was saying.
"Ancients from the world beyond, open the gate and release the one who was taken from here! Release the spirit that you have taken from this very spot! Ancients, release the forgotten ruler! RELEASE SENKARAH!"
The room trembled at his words, dust raining down from the ceiling, books falling from the shelves, artifacts tumbling to the floor. I covered my head with my arms protectively, as though I could stop this with my action. As I watched in horror, a loud, echoing noise spread through the chaos. The floor seemed as though it was being pushed open from underneath.
With a jolt, I realized that is exactly what had happened. The Ancients, whoever they were, were opening the floor to release Senkarah. The floor cracked, black smoke billowing from its depths. The cloaked figure fell to one knee, bowing before the dark spirit.
"You have freed me," she said, taking on definition. "Why?"
"You have your chance at taking revenge," the figure said, his eyes trained on the ground. "The ones who trapped you there are coming back, and you have the chance to become a god again! They are weak now; they will be easily manipulated by you."
"I have to admit, it is a tempting offer" Senkarah mused. "But what is it you want in return? I can promise nothing."
"I want the Cup of Ankh," he demanded the spirit. "I need it to live forever."
"I can manage that, but you have to understand they may not make it out of this week alive. There is nothing you can do about it. Be gone, and I shall call on you when you are needed."
"Eddie? Eddie?! EDDIE?!" Nina yelled, shaking my shoulders. I jerked my arm back, away from the crack in the floor. "What happened?"
"I had a vision," I said in awe. "My first vision since I left here."
"What did you see?"
I frowned. This wasn't good. "I saw a guy in a cloak release Senkarah. Whoever he is, he really doesn't like us. He told Senkarah he was fine with it if we didn't leave here alive!"
"Did anyone mention a name?" Nina whispered.
I thought back. "Um, no, she didn't, but he sounded familiar."
Nina paled. "Who would want us dead? I can't believe someone wants us dead."
Before I could tell her why Senkarah wanted the Cup, Nina darted off through the library and came running back a minute later, a hardback book in her grasp. She said nothing to me, just ran out the door and back to Anubis. I followed her, wondering where she was going. When we got there, Nina and I snuck into the kitchen. Was this really the best time for a snack?
Nina bent down and placed her locket in a lock beside an old metal oven. The locket glowed, opening the door just enough for us to crawl through. I followed Nina down the tunnel, through the cellar, and into Frobisher's secret study. Nina threw me an amulet and made me go through the bookshelf with her.
When we got inside, she placed the book on a shelf next to several other books. When she set the book in place, I realized what they spelled out. Robert Frobisher Smythe. A light started to glow from behind us, and I whipped around. A pedestal rose up from the ground, a cube resting on top. Nina immediately picked it up and broke it.
"What are you doing?!" I cried as she set the pieces on top of the pedestal.
"I'm completing the next task, idiot," Nina grumbled as she rearranged the broken cube into an unbroken pyramid. Once that was done, she took the pyramid and placed it in the hole in the design on the far wall. The room shook, making the wall move out of the way to reveal the next challenge.
"Well, that's not what I thought was going to happen, but it was cool," I said. "Do you remember what the next challenge is?"
"Hopscotch."
I looked over at the Chosen One, wondering if I had heard her right. Hopscotch? That was the best the great Robert Frobisher Smythe could come up with? Hopscotch?
Instead of going down the tunnel and playing hopscotch, Nina turned around and ran through the tunnel, heading back up to the rest of Anubis House. I followed, confused and worried. What was going through her mind?
Nina
I can't believe I forgot how to do the next challenge. I cannot believe I forgot how to do the next challenge. How could I have forgotten? You'd think that if something had your life depending on doing it correctly that you wouldn't forget how to do it, but you'd be wrong. Somehow, someway, I had to figure out how to complete the challenge, and fast.
Maybe Amber still knew how to get across the hopscotch challenge? She seemed to remember the most random things about the tunnels, so maybe she remembered the challenge? It was worth a try. So once I got out of the tunnel, I ran back up to Anubis House. I didn't care if Eddie was following me or not. I was still reeling from the embarrassment of not remembering the challenge. How could I have forgotten?!
When I found Amber, she was sitting in the common room, watching TV with Jerome. I still couldn't believe they were together, but it didn't matter at the moment. I had a more pressing matter at hand. I strode over to the blonde and grasped her arm, pulling her away from her boyfriend. She protested a little, but I was able to get her into the kitchen.
"What is it, Nina? I was watching a movie!" Amber complained.
"Do you remember the hopscotch challenge?" I asked.
Her eyes grew wide. "Why do you want to know?"
I made up a convincing lie quickly. "Um, because I was explaining the tunnel traps to Eddie, but I couldn't remember how we got through the hopscotch challenge. Please tell me you remember the order."
"Of course I do," Amber said, filling me with relief. "Bark hiss neh meow quack moo."
It took me a second to decipher what she said. Dog snake horse cat duck cow. Of course! Now I remembered it! I shot the blonde photographer a huge smile. (A/N: I'm not sure if that's the actual path they took, but it's as close as I could manage! Also, I think I might have the combination for the door in the cellar wrong. Sorry if I do!)
"Thanks, Amber!" I said, rushing off. I had to find Eddie and tell him about the challenge.
Before I could find the other American, Fabian came up to me. He had a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a small basket in the other. What was he up to? Though I loved him, I needed to find Eddie. I really didn't have time for this.
"Hey, Nina," Fabian said. I almost giggled. I hadn't noticed it until we came back, but during the years Fabian spent in America, he slowly started to pick up on the accent. Now he sounded like he was half American, half British. I sort of hoped that a week spent back in his home country would fix his accent. I didn't want my British fiancé to become too American, after all.
"Yeah, Fabian?" I said impatiently. I had to get back down to the tunnels. Right now.
"I was wondering if you would like to go on a picnic with me. It won't be long, but I thought we should go and have a nice lunch together. If you want, you can pick where we go."
Internally, I smirked. Maybe he'd go in the study with me? It was worth a try. "Why don't we go have lunch in Frobisher's study? It would remind us of old times."
Fabian looked at me like I was crazy, but I found I didn't care. I had to find the Mask, which meant staying close to the tunnel, but I had to keep him safe, which meant not telling him about the search for the Mask. The two problems seemed to clash a little too much to be simple, but since when was Anubis House simple?
I unlocked the entrance through the kitchen so we could sneak down to the cellar, since everyone else was in the common room and they would see us if we picked the lock to the door in the hallway. I caught a glimpse of Eddie sitting with Patricia, a worried look in his eyes as they met mine. What were we going to do?
As soon as we got down to the alcove that hid the room, I turned the combination lock until it read 1809. Once the door unlocked, I pulled Fabian inside. We spent the next few minutes setting up the picnic, laying a blanket over one of the tables and setting the flowers in a tall glass he had brought. Fabian was too good for me.
"So, why did you want to come down here?" Fabian asked as he handed me a sandwich. I had to admit, he was a better cook than me. I wasn't a great help in the kitchen. It was a running joke with us that if someone asked if I could cook to say 'She can burn water.' As we ate, I wondered how we got to where we were. I don't mean actually where we were, but relationship-wise. How did I end up with such a fantastic guy like Fabian Rutter?
Once lunch was over, I volunteered to clean up, but he wouldn't let me. I wanted to scream. I had to get back to the tunnel! I had to complete the hopscotch challenge!
"Nina, is something wrong? You seem . . . agitated," Fabian said in a concerned voice.
I sighed. "Nothing's wrong, Fabian. I just feel like there's something I'm not seeing. Does that make sense?"
Fabian laughed. "Yeah, it does, actually. Maybe there's another something going on here, and you're sensing it. It wouldn't surprise me, love. You're very intuitive."
I didn't correct him when he said I was intuitive. I didn't feel like I was, and I didn't act like I was. If I was intuitive, then I would've been able to get past all the challenges on my own, without needing help from Amber.
A thought struck me right then. If I couldn't get the Mask, would I at least be able to get the Cup? Was it still in the attic? I sincerely hoped it was. If it wasn't, then I was going to die. My friends were going to die.
If I couldn't get the Mask and the Cup, then we were all going to die.
Um, so how'd I do? I'm sorry they're rushing through the challenges all through the story, but they only have a week, so . . . yeah. Thanks for reading you guys, and I hope you know that it means a lot to me when you review (hint hint). Now that the sappy crap is out of the way, see ya Monday!
~C
