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When I reach the top, I straighten up and find myself looking down at a wooden pedestal a few yards ahead of me. Eventually, I reach a decision, desperately hoping it’s the right one.
I slowly climb down the other side of the rock and when my feet touch the forest floor again, I pause for a moment. Again, I listen out and hear nothing but silence. My eyes are drawn to the incongruous pedestal. There are burning torches positioned around it, illuminating the object sitting on top of it.
I swallow hard and slowly approach it. The sense of danger increases until it’s almost too much. I’m tempted to turn and run. But then I’ll never solve the puzzle. The moon symbol on the door must mean something. It has to.
My breathing is slow and shallow as I step up to inspect the object: a small wooden box. I reach out with a pounding heart and touch the cool wood. Nothing happens, so I cautiously lift the lid. As soon as it opens, I hear a melody that sounds a little scratchy and off-key. There’s a small figurine in the center of the box – a ballerina in an elegant pose rotating to the rhythm of the eerie tune. The music box looks old, and the ballerina’s movements are jerky rather than smooth. The ballerina has a few black patches where the paint has peeled off. The face is marred by a chip broken out of it. The melody continues to fill the air as I watch the little figure. I’m slowly reaching out to touch it when I hear a quiet, angry hiss.
I spin around but can’t see anything. What was that? I glance around nervously, but there’s nothing there, and yet the feeling grows stronger: I’m not alone. Someone or something is here. And all at once, I feel it as clearly as if a voice is screaming at me: I need to get out of here. Now!
I snatch up the box, hold it tight, and dash back to the rocks. I wish I had a backpack to stow it in. I have to climb with one hand and slide the box over the edge of the rock as soon as I can reach high enough. I pull myself up in a panic and hurtle down the other side, letting myself drop the last few feet onto the soft ground. I scramble to my feet as I hear the hissing sound again through the trees. With a racing heart, I sprint back, dashing past the branches and ferns. As I’m running, I pull out my key on the chain and try to summon a door. But it doesn’t work. I guess the keys don’t work in the worlds of the Odyss or at least not in this one. I curse under my breath and strain to keep up the pace. I keep glancing over my shoulder, but I see nothing.
Cold sweat trickles down my back, and my lungs burn. I’m not sure how long I can keep this up. Branches and thorns scratch my face and tear at my pants, but I barely register them. When I finally see the door ahead of me, I breathe a sigh of relief, reach out, and grab the handle. I frantically open the door, jump through it, and slam it shut behind me.
I lie on the ground, panting, and stare at the wooden door. There’s not a sound to be heard, and I see nothing moving. My fear that my pursuer might throw itself against the door and try to open it proves unfounded.
Exhausted, I drape my arm over my face and wait for my pulse to calm down. What was that? What was behind me? I recall the strange sound – that hiss. But I saw nothing. What could it mean? Are my nerves shot? I just had a pretty unpleasant experience, and then there was that creepy melody coming from the beat-up old music box. I’m still holding it tightly in my right hand. I hold it up and inspect it. I’m pretty sure it’s the next clue to the library. The question is, how long will it take to unlock its secret?
I gradually calm down and stand up. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the door slowly receding into the distance. In a matter of seconds, it disappears into the darkness. I stand here for a moment, holding the music box and wondering if it’s a good idea to take it with me on my search for Noah. I should probably find a safe place for it first, and anyway, I need time to recover from my scare. I turn a full circle, but there’s no one around. No Frida, nothing. I should get out of here.
Chapter 16
There’s no door that will take me directly back to the Fabricis, so it takes a few tries before I finally land in a street near the house. Yoru is waiting there for me and rubs up against my legs affectionately.
“It went okay,” I say, ruffling his fur. I’m not surprised to find him waiting here instead of in my room. “Now we just need to get back into the house,” I mutter. That’s always the hardest part because I have to climb up the wall via the downspout and along ledges to get to the window. A risky business that I don’t take lightly.
When we reach the alley below the open window, I look up. Yoru goes first. For him, it’s a breeze. A few leaps and he’s up on the window sill where he pushes the window open with his snout. Before I start to make my way up, I pull an empty plastic bag out of a trashcan and put the music box in it, then tie it to a belt loop on my jeans. That way, I have my hands free for climbing.
I take a deep breath and follow my key spirit. Compared to Yoru, I’m slow, and my heart is pounding, but I eventually make it and pull myself up the last couple of feet. I tumble awkwardly through the window and land on the floor.
I stay there for a moment, listening out for noises, but all is quiet. Hopefully, the Fabricis are still out.
A little calmer now, I walk to the end of the corridor, down a flight of stairs, and turn into my corridor. I feel sleepy and drained. The strain of the last few hours is beginning to take its toll. But I want to take a closer look at the music box when I get to my room. Maybe I’ll find some clue, although I’m not too hopeful. And I’m too tired to think clearly.
As I open the door and enter my room, I hear a soft growl. I glance at Yoru with a frown.
“Hey, little guy. What’s up?”
I switch on the light, and I’m about to bend down to him when I hear a voice behind me.
“He sensed my presence. At least your key spirit’s not utterly incompetent.”
Startled, I straighten up and see Alfredo sitting in my chair. He’s leaning back casually with an angry look on his face.
“I figured you wouldn’t waste the opportunity. So I came back early to see if I was right. Fooling around with your boyfriend, I suppose?”
I raise my eyebrows. I’m so appalled and shocked that it takes me a moment to find my voice.
I’m about to yell at him when he holds up his hand and says, “I don’t care what you’ve been up to. What matters to me is that you broke the rules again. I actually thought you were making progress and that you’d at least learned that lesson. I’m hugely disappointed to find that you haven’t.”
“First of all – what the hell?!” I snap at him. “What are you doing in my room? You can’t just come in here and make yourself comfortable. I don’t care what twisted justification you come up with, it’s unacceptable!”
“Oh, really? Unacceptable? You seem to be forgetting where you are. You’re under our roof, whether you like it or not. This is our house, and everything you see here is our property. And we have you right where we want you. What are you going to do about it? You can’t escape us. So I suggest you abide by our rules, or you’ll get to know a whole new side of me.” He stands up and strides past me. “Since you obviously have enough energy to go visit your boyfriend in the middle of the night, you shouldn’t have any objection to an extra training session. Get changed and meet me downstairs!”
With that, he sweeps through the door leaving me speechless. I can’t believe what just happened, and my hands shake with rage.
“Bastard,” I hiss. I feel like kicking something. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. I’m a prisoner; it’s as simple as that. He’s just made that clearer than ever.
I reach behind me and untie the plastic bag from my jeans. Luckily, Alfredo was too fired up to notice it. I take out the music box and hide it in a drawer under my underwear, hoping he won’t stoop so low as to riffle through that.
