As the door slammed on Brunhilde's opening notes, Sabrina shuddered with relief. I couldn't stand 'Hannibal' when Carlotta sang it, and I don't think my hearing would last through Brunhilde's rendition. I REALLY hope that isn't what she likes to sing in her spare time…
"Ready to go to the next room?" Leota suggested.
"Is that a rhetorical question?"
"Do you want a sarcastic answer?"
"No," Sabrina rolled her eyes. "It's okay. Which room is next?"
Leota pursed her lips in thought and frowned. "There are a few places that I can think of, but the Museum is the closest."
"How much money did this guy have?" Salem squalled. "It wasn't enough to have a collection of samurai suits or to have a Sun Room—he had to have a Museum, too?"
Leota gave a shrugging gesture.
"I'm guessing that if he was alive, Edward could outclass Donald Trump or Bill Gates with the sheer amount of money the Graceys had," Sabrina remarked, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes.
"Back in the heyday of the Gracey empire," Leota sighed. "If they weren't the wealthiest family in the New World, then they certainly were one of the most important; the family was one of the most influential in the South before the War Between the States. Stop, we're here."
Sabrina skidded to a halt, Salem tangling around her feet. After a brief moment of removing his claws from the laces on her boots, the blonde straightened up and removed the barrier on the door.
Her first thought was that the Gracey family must have bought marble in bulk, and she hoped they got a really good discount on it, too.
The Museum was massive, roughly the same height of the Ballroom, and constructed of a streaky gray marble. The floor was constructed in a chessboard fashion, of gray and charcoal-colored marble squares. Two massive vertical blocks of stone that served as columns stood directly in the middle of the room, suits of armor positioned at various corners.
Medieval and Renaissance tapestries covered the walls, many of them depicting scenes from the Age of Chivalry: King Arthur and Camelot, Tristan and Isolde, and even Robin Hood. A few swords and daggers were mounted on the wall, small bronze plaques identifying them as belonging to such-and-such nobleman from the 14th century, or being used in a certain battle.
A few marble and bronze statues littered the room, mingling with glass cases containing exquisite pieces of jewelry at least a few centuries old. Sabrina reverently passed her hand over a case containing the ruby and pearl necklace of an Italian countess. All sensibilities aside, she was still a typical teenage girl, in love with jewels.
Her head jerked up sharply, as she continued to survey the room. The far wall contained a massive marble fireplace, complete with velvet-lined chairs on either side, and topped with a golden Fabergé mantle clock. To the extreme right of the fireplace was a marble-laid recess with five statues of armor arranged in a line near the front.
Charming. Looks like one of the Graceys was big into the Middle Ages…okay, enough of that. Where's that switch?
Sabrina sighed and closed her eyes. The pulsing of the switch, she had begun to notice, had a signature aura much like the kind she felt in the presence of the sun. Ergo, the switch and the sun both have the same energy of light. Weird, how I can pick up on aura types now…
The familiar pulsing made a hum she could feel in her bones, resonating throughout her body. Moving toward it was instinct, and tapping its power was necessity. It's coming…from behind the armor? Indeed, on the far wall of the recess, pulsing faintly, was the light switch.
"So where is it?" Salem grumbled, amber eyes darting around the room.
"There," Sabrina raised her arm to point. "The statues seem to be conveniently blocking the way."
"How considerate. You want me to slip between them?"
"We'll see," she murmured. "Let me finish looking at some of the stuff first."
She carefully examined a carved teakwood cabinet, inlaid with ivory. Through the glass doors were small silver trinkets—a miniature tea set, a snuffbox, a letter opener, and a brush-comb-and-mirror set—said to have belonged to an Austrian empress. Where in the world did they get this kind of stuff? Was it because Grandpa Gracey was in the shipping business, so he came back with nifty little presents? Or did they get involved in something a little darker… Like…a black market on antiques?
As her fingers brushed away the dust from the glass to get a better look, Salem padded towards the fireplace. The chairs on either side were bound to be better napping places than the marble floor, he reasoned, even if the chairs were most likely stuffed with horsehair.
Something rattled and clanked as the cat drew closer. Did Sabrina break something again? I'm going to have to give her a strict talking-to… Annoyed, he looked up.
Four Armors, axes raised high, stood above the cat, poised to attack.
"KYYYAAAA!" Salem screamed and shot towards the fireplace, hoping to blend in with the soot, or maybe climb up the chimney.
The four axes crashed simultaneously into the floor a split second after the cat bolted. The suits of armor grunted as each began to pull its weapon back.
Thankfully, the sound of solid steel smashing into marble stone is very noticeable, even more so to Spirit Detectives who are prone to violent behavior in haunted houses. "EAT THIS!" Sabrina screamed, hurling an Ultra Shot toward them, and finishing with a three-way attack.
The most disturbing thing about the Armors, she decided, were the human-like screams and groans they gave when they were attacked, and when they were defeated. "I wonder why they do that?" she mused as she watched them disintegrate into nothingness.
"Do what?" Leota asked, muffled by the backpack's flap, which covered part of the ball.
Sabrina bent down and whisked the flap off. "Why they scream like that. It's like…" she trailed off.
"Like what?" Leota gently prodded.
"Remember…when I touched that doll back in the Toy Room, and I knew more about Emily?"
"You're saying this has something to do with your perception?" Leota frowned.
"Sort of…I think." The Spirit Detective hesitated. "I think that some of the energy from the people who used to wear those suits is lingering in the suits of armor themselves… and that Thorne is manipulating those small traces of energy with his powers."
"But couldn't he just be animating them with his own magic?" Salem suggested, slowly crawling out from under the chair where he'd hid.
"Maybe…possibly…oh, I don't know!" Sabrina moaned as she leaned against a column. "It was just a thought."
"But that shows that you're starting to analyze situations with your new powers," Leota pointed out. She paused. "That's a good thing, honey."
Salem rolled his eyes. "Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Martha."
"It's Leota," the psychic groaned.
Salem smirked, gracefully leaping over to Sabrina. The cat began to weave in and out of her legs. "This then begs the question of what we're going to do now."
"Find the light switch. I thought that was obvious," Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I'm on it; don't worry." She turned to face the gallery with the suits of armor, rolling her eyes as she went.
Salem scowled slightly after her, tail twitching in annoyance. A faint pulsing in his ears quickly caught his attention. Out of the corner of his eyes, tucked in a corner, was a bookstand, a brittle-paged tome open upon it…
Sabrina stood in front of the gallery, scratching her head as she examined the five statues before her. Do I just move them out of the way, or what? I don't think I have the upper body strength required to pick up a 100+ lb. suit of armor. Maybe I should get Salem to go through their legs and turn on the switch.
Turning around, she flicked a braid over her shoulder. "Hey Salem, I…"
Before she could finish her sentence, a gust of wind whipped around her. Dust and wind combined to swirl around the small gallery, enclosing the blonde witch in the miniature typhoon. Sabrina squeezed her eyes shut, shielding them with her hands to prevent dust from temporarily blinding her.
I'd really like to know what is up with all these vacuums sucking me into these twisted puzzles that Thorne comes up with.
As the wind stopped sucking at her skirt, she slowly lowered her arms. Lack of dust thrown in my face indicates that the mini-tornado is gone. Time to see if I'm in Oz…
She carefully pried her eyes open to discover that she was standing on a chessboard. On either side were suits of armor in the positions of chess pieces. The side she was facing was composed of suits that had been brightly polished to mirror sheen. The angle that the light hit them caused the suits to reflect white.
Knights were suits carrying lances, riding on the armor that was used for horses. Cannons were used in place of castles; bishops carried bowling ball-sized maces; and the king and queen carried beautifully made swords, crowns placed on their heads. Average-looking suits served as the rest of the pieces.
Sabrina felt her mouth go dry as she surveyed the field. She was standing in the middle of the board—in the midst of a battlefield, as it were. Glancing to the side, she realized that the edges of the chessboard were in darkness; the board hovered as if suspended in the darkness. It reminded Sabrina too much of the pool table back in the Game Room, so she shut her eyes and turned to face the army behind her.
A mirror image of armored figures greeted her, the metal tarnished and blackened with age.
"They're white and black…like in a chess game," she murmured. Well, duh, Sabrina, you are on a chessboard, after all. She frowned. Something's not right here. But what?
She squinted, surveying the rows of armor. Sure enough… "There's only one knight!" she gasped. The space where the second black knight should have been was only occupied by its armor-horse.
Sabrina's brain pieced together the information it was given. She was on a chessboard. The black side had one knight. Ergo, she was to be the black knight.
Sabrina blinked as the suits of armor in front of the missing knight's space moved aside to make room for her. "I really hate chess," she moaned as she walked towards the space.
Clambering onto the horse's back wasn't overly difficult; Sabrina pretended she was climbing onto a carousel horse. But the tight clenching of her stomach warned her that the ride ahead was going to be anything but fun.
Sabrina surveyed the battlefield. She'd only played chess a few times, one of them being the time she'd dropped in on a chess club meeting after school. Gordie Rhinehart, the team captain, had been noticeably flustered when she asked him to teach her to play. After all, not many people willingly flocked to the "geeks."
She hadn't been bad for a beginner, but Sabrina had only played a few times after that. I really hope that it's one of those games that sticks with you forever, like Go Fish…
White moved first, sending a pawn ahead two spaces. Sabrina began to command the chess pieces, instructing them when and where to move. I feel like a general in an army…
"Pawn to E-4!"
"Bishop, move diagonally four squares to the right!"
Slowly, piece by piece, Sabrina's confidence began to return, with each piece the black army defeated. In this game, the chessmen weren't removed from the board; they wobbled on their square and slowly sank into the ground with a grating noise, disappearing from view. Sabrina wasn't sure she wanted to know where they went. She only wanted to avoid being sent to the same place.
She was shaken up as a few of her own pieces were taken; the other knight was crushed by the white queen, and she shuddered in partial sympathy, partial fear.
Her eyes darted from square to square, mind whirling to work out ways to win. I've got to win, I've got to beat this stupid game and get out of here!
It was only after nearly being defeated by the white queen (the detective realized just in time that she would be taken on the next move) that Sabrina found herself able to move three squares diagonally to the right, and checkmate the king. A giddy sense of euphoria washed over her. I did it! I really did it! I definitely need to thank Gordie when I get out of here.
The statues all began to wobble and sink into the ground, as the chessboard beneath her feet rumbled and shook from side to side. Sabrina shrieked and clung to her horse. "NOOO! I don't wanna go through the floor!"
The shaking reached a crescendo, with her teeth rattling in her head. Is this what an earthquake is like? Great, now I'll fall off the horse and crack my head…
The rumbling slowly subsided, finally stopping. Sabrina finally pried her eyes open. Somehow, she was back in the Museum. She was hunched on the floor, gripping her knees. Where did the chessboard go? How did I get there in the first place, and how…oh, never mind. There are things about this place that I'll never figure out.
She carefully unwound, wincing at the white crescent marks her nails left on her knees. "Salem?" she called experimentally. "I'm back!"
The cat had climbed onto the ledge of the lectern and was examining the text. "Had you gone?" he asked absent-mindedly.
Sabrina scowled. Stupid cat…doesn't even notice when I'm sucked into a pocket dimension to solve a stupid puzzle. Shaking her head, she walked across the small gallery (the suits of armor had disappeared), and flipped on the switch.
An enormous iron chandelier lit up above their heads, looking much like a torture device from the Inquisition. As she searched for Shriveled Souls, the Spirit Detective kept looking over her shoulder at her familiar, still reading. What's so fascinating about the Tome of Shadows?
She pocketed the Death Certificate piece she'd found as she walked towards the cat. She inhaled the dusty scent that was quickly overtaking the stench of decay. Ahhh. Much better.
"Sabrina…you may want to read this."
Tome of Shadows
Volume V
Page 613
It is the fortune-teller who has been thwarting my minions at the mansion. How ironic that she now stands between me and my acquisition of the Beacon. She may be able to handle the lesser evil spirits, but she will not fare so well when I unleash the others. With the chaos of the war and the city in flames, I'm afraid the secluded estate is no place for a lady…to be alone.
A. Thorne
Grand Master
The Order of Shadows
June 21st, 1862
"Leota…did you know Thorne?"
The psychic paused. Her crystal ball swirled navy and indigo. "In a way."
"Ya know," Salem drawled. "Knowing that would have kinda helped before."
Leota sighed. "Just hear me out. This is one of those things that had to wait for the moment."
"Then tell me," Sabrina commanded gently.
"Remember how Edward told you that Thorne had spies who told him that the Beacon was hidden in Gracey Manor?" She paused as her audience nodded. "Once Thorne had the information he needed, he immediately began traveling to New Orleans, in search of it. However, he didn't know that the Brotherhood employed spies of its own." She grinned for a moment, before continuing.
"Once he arrived in town, I was immediately alerted by Brotherhood agents at the port. It wasn't easy, since Union forces had invaded part of the city. I had forced the Graceys to leave for the country without me, so I could defend the Manor. Somehow, he found his way there…" Leota trailed off, her voice becoming slightly husky.
"Then what?" Salem urged. "Did he find the Beacon?"
"He challenged me for it. I battled some spirits he raised—he'd sent spirits to find the Beacon before, which I defeated, so it was easy—and then we dueled." Leota smirked at the memory. "He'd been out of practice for centuries, and I was much stronger than he thought. I ended up beating his sorry behind."
"You go, girl!" Sabrina cheered.
The Creole woman beamed. "Right on. He was so upset that he left in the usual pompous, overblown villainy way—vowing revenge upon us all, blah blah blah. But the important part was, the Beacon was safe."
"So, you two were rivals?" the witch mused.
"Sort of."
"Did you ever have another duel?" Salem asked, wide-eyed.
"Well, we…what on earth is she doing?"
Sabrina blinked and examined herself. Leota's comment, however, was directed towards another occupant of the Museum.
The ghost of a young girl in a frilly blouse, tailored skirt, and ruffled pinafore (reminding Sabrina of Alice in Wonderland) was examining the far wall, occasionally rapping at the stone, and pressing her ear against the wall.
Sabrina picked up Leota and drew closer.
"The walls have secrets…" the ghost murmured. "If only one could listen…"
Sabrina's eyebrow twitched.
The girl sighed in annoyance. "Where is it? Where is the ring?" She returned to examining the walls. "It must be here somewhere."
Sabrina began to carefully back away, worried by the ghost girl's behavior. What ring? What is she talking about?
She carefully stowed Leota in the backpack and grabbed for Salem, heading for the door. "I wonder why she wants that ring so badly," Sabrina pondered as she opened the door. "It must be something special."
I know virtually nothing about chess. What is written in the puzzle is mostly taken from J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone". In the actual game, you are plopped onto a chess-like grid with statues that periodically swivel to face different directions. The goal is to move across the board without them "seeing" you. And you do it five times. Each time gets harder. My little sister cried when I made her play it for me, because she hates the Museum puzzle so much.
Oh, and Gordie Rhinehart is an actual character from the show: he's this geeky kid who gets pushed around a lot by Mr. Kraft and Libby. He's a member of the chess club, a community service volunteer, and had (at least it seemed to me) a very small crush on Sabrina. Hence why he gets so flustered. ^^
Next chapter: You would think a place called the "Children's Room" would be a happy place. Instead, it seems like Sabrina's caught in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a hidden adversary…