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“Told you so.” Brooke had recovered from her shock, but her tone was playful, rather than smug.
Deacon turned on the first lamp and shone it down the stairs. It penetrated the darkness to what might be dirt-packed ground or stone, but not beyond. “If you’re lucky, you’ll win more than the previously mentioned spiders and dirt.”
“Like the Declaration of Independence.Ooh, if that’s down there, can I have it?” Hey, a guy could pretend, right?
Deacon laughed and took a tentative first step. “Only if Brooke doesn’t claim it.”
“I’d be too afraid of Nicolas Cage coming after me. You can have it.” She followed closely behind Deacon.
I took up the rear. “I’d take him, too.”
Deacon glanced back at me. “Dude. Why?”
“I’m weird. Do I need another reaso…Whoa.” I paused halfway down, as Deacon’s light hit the first shapes which looked distinctly like sheets over furniture. Or oddly shaped ghosts. This was way better than figuring out why the drone design I’d 3D-printed didn’t fly the way I wanted it to.
We finished our descent into what might as well have been a whole different world. As long as we stayed closer toNational TreasurethanCabin in the Woods, I’d be happy. “We should see how much of the room we can light with the four lamps, and then uncover things.”
Deacon set one lamp on the ground near the foot of the stairs. “I’ll go east, you go south, and we’ll meet at the fourth corner?”
“On it.” One of the things I liked about Deacon was that he understood where I was going with a lot of my ideas, without my having to explain them. Better, he didn’t call any of themnutsortoo out there.
Passing so many shapes and not taking a look was killing me. With just a little more luck, the anticipation would pay off. I reached the edge of the light and set my first lamp down. With a right turn, I headed off toward the last corner of the square, and arrived about the same time as Deacon.
His excitement reflected mine. “You still there, Brooke?” His voice echoed off brick walls and stone floors.
“Nope. Ghosts got me.Ahh, I’m a zombie now.” She had moved to the middle of the light and stood in a circle of sheeted chairs.
Far be it from me to correct someone, but— “Ghosts don’t turn people into Zombies.”
We joined her.
“I was right about the basement. Do you want to bet me about the ghost-zombies while I’m on a lucky streak?” she asked.
“It’s not a streak if you’ve only done it once, and no. No, I do not.” I knew to quit when I was ahead.
Deacon pointed at the nearest pieces. “Pick where you want to start, Ms. I Told You So.”
Brooke pointed. “That one.”
I had no idea if she’d picked it because it spoke to her, or if that was just the first thing her gaze fell on. I didn’t care, as long as there was something weird, cool, or what-the-fuck under the sheet.
Deacon yanked the covering away, and dust clouded the air. “I should’ve”—he coughed—“thought”—more coughing—“that through.”
As the dust settled and the chair became more than a silhouette, my jaw almost dropped.
“It’s a pope chair.” Brooke hovered her fingers over the purple velvet but didn’t make contact.
“A what?” Deacon stared at her.
I was pretty sure no pope ever sat in a chair with wrist straps on the arms and a hole in the seat. At least not that The Vatican would admit.
Brooke pointed at the seat. “Back in the day, there was a woman who tricked everyone into thinking she was a man, and she became pope. Because of that, they made a chair with a hole in the middle, so they could… uh… check a pope’s junk.”
“I mean, I’m pretty sure you’re right about at least half of what the chair is for.” I stepped closer and shone the light from my phone on the details. The intricate hand carving was beautiful. It was also a series of stylized people fucking. I gestured for her to come closer, to see.
“I—Oh.” Brooke stepped back, a flush on her face. “But then, what’s it…? Rather, how does it…? I don’t…”
Deacon toed a second, smaller piece into view from its spot behind the chair. It could’ve been an ottoman, but there was a wooden dick sticking out of the middle, and a handle on the side.
