Sage removed her dagger from her belt and began to help scrub at the top of the door. She carefully brushed the etched symbols and curved lines carved into the metal. She stopped and squinted before her eyes widened. “Letters,” she gasped.
A warm tingle of hope spread throughout Raven’s body. She leaned forward, eager, and asked, “Can you read it?”
Even though Raven’s comment was directed at Sage, Marcus shook his head and answered, “It’s coded.”
The group’s attention shifted to Sage.
Sage’s shoulders slumped, and she looked at the ground despondently. “I don’t have the code anymore.”
Raven silently cursed Christian’s father for taking the parchment. She turned to the door, her mind desperately searching for an answer. But without the code, she didn’t know how Sage would decipher the message.
“You know it,” Marcus told Sage. “You can recreate it using the first line of the directions. Take main road east to first crossroad.”
Silence stretched as Sage stared at the ground, her brows furrowed in thought. After a moment, she slowly nodded. “I can do this,” she said more to herself than anyone.
Raven grinned. If anyone could do it, Sage could.
Sage knelt, holding her dagger, and began to scratch letters in the dirt. Tiny pebbles scattered as each letter was slowly and carefully drawn.
As Sage labored, Raven glanced at their group. Everyone was watching Sage. Willow locked eyes with Raven, and a sideways grin stretched over Willow’s lips. It was almost as if Sage thought it was a game, unaware of the danger they could all be in. The questions seemed endless. What had been hidden away so carefully? Who had gone through all this trouble to keep it concealed? Were they meant to find it?
Raven fingered the key around her neck anxiously. Was this the key to finding the answers? What were the chances that the same code used to unlock the book was also used to open the door?
Time crawled by as Sage worked. Raven walked to Landyn, who sat with his knees bent, leaning his head against the wall. With a soft sigh, she lowered herself to his side and rested her head against his shoulder.
Willow sat beside Christian, hitting her boots into his rhythmically. Anything to pass the time.
Raven scanned her surroundings wearily. Everywhere she looked in the dank tunnel, she saw stone and darkness. She briefly thought of the possibility that they might never escape, and it felt like a heavy weight on her chest. She entwined her fingers through Landyn’s, seeking his warmth for comfort. The cool dimness of the corridor was like a tomb. Would this be their tomb?
More time passed. Raven opened her eyes, realizing she must have fallen asleep. She blinked and squinted in the light of Marcus’s torch. Its flame had burned lower, and she wondered how long it would hold the blackness at bay.
Marcus loomed over Sage and nodded in approval. He tenderly stroked the back of her brown hair as he read her translation, “Guardian in the hall holds the key.” His voice sounded loud in the silence, echoing off the cavernous walls.
They all rose slowly in anticipation. Goosebumps ran along Raven’s skin. What did it imply?
Christian furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “What guardian?”
“Why does the same code for the book translate this door?” Raven asked. “Could this be a trap?”
Willow edged down the hallway, her eyes and hands trailing along the stone walls. “Maybe the puzzle was meant for us.”
“Stay in the light, Willow,” Christian advised, watching her move away from the door.
“What are you suggesting, meant for us?” Raven wondered, trailing after Willow.
Willow stopped to face Raven, her hand on her hip. “Christian was giving the book to Brother Nicolas, and Brother Nicolas was going to teach Sage to decode it. Maybe that’s what the head guy who handed Christian the book wanted all along.”
“Grand Master De Molay,” Christian supplied.
Willow ignored him. “Maybe no one else could have done what Sage did. Maybe no one else could have translated the book and followed the directions.”
Raven considered her words. Could Willow be right? She grasped the key on her chest and rubbed it, feeling its cold metal surface against her skin. If their father’s key unlocked something, she might consider Willow was right, and this puzzle was intended for them. But right now, she couldn’t bring herself to believe it. Right now, this was nothing but a coincidence.
Christian took the torch from Marcus and held it over his head, coming up beside Willow to cast a circle of light around her.
Raven advanced a step closer, her eyes scanning the walls. They were stone covered in a thin layer of soil, and she could make out the gray outlines of cobwebs hanging over them like ancient tapestries. It was as if the corridor had been carved from the earth itself, the only supportive structure hidden behind its murky walls.
“There!” Willow exclaimed and lurched forward.
