Twilight Witch

Chapter 26

"What's down this hallway?" Dusk peered down the dimly lit upper-west hall.

"I don't come here often, but we might have lockers up here," I said.

"Training lockers I'm guessing?"

"Yeah," I paused, "Um... thanks for everything. I doubt we could've got more information from 4758 without your help."

We walked down the hall, peering into the doorways of the rooms.

"Being a lie detector's kind of my thing. Always has been," Dusk said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that why your father was so... objective with you and your purpose? Is that ability magic?" I asked.

"He hated all magic, even accidental, sixth sense magic. Never explained why."

"I've just always lived as a witch and an assassin. Magic's just as much my thing as blood and bringing hell to my enemies."

"Just not something we'd talk about aloud."

CLAMP. The sound of a metal door opened echoed through the hall. I tilted my head at the unusual sound.

We walked toward the sound, finding a new silver-etched door at the end of the hall.

"Where the hell did this come from?" I asked.

I pulled on the handle. Locked. Of course it was locked. Written words painted themselves on the doorway for me to read.

"What's this all about?" Dusk asked.

I shook my head. "I've never seen this room before, idiot."

"There's an inscription here: What's light, yet not bright, pure yet not gold, a symbol of helping others, and prophecy foretold?" Dusk read.

"A riddle. Crap... I was never good at these..."

"I used to read a lot of poetry and chants with Ember. This is pretty similar."

"So what does this mean?"

"I'm not sure... this one drags in a bunch of elements. It could be sunlight, rubies, a blade..."

"What's light but not bright... it'd have to be connected to light magic... pure but not gold... a metal. A symbol of helping others..." I approached the door. I guess I'll go with my gut. "Silver. The answer is silver."

Gears within the door turned and clicked and pulled back a bolt keeping it closed.

"Wow... guess you're better at riddles than you thought, eh?" Dusk chuckled.

"My mother said silver was a sign for helping people," I said, "It was a lucky guess."

I turned the door handle, and the silver door squeaked open. Light peered into the dark room, cobwebs covering the area. As soon as the door opened fully, a light lit in the center of the room.

I coughed. "This place looks like it's been abandoned for years..."

A pair of green eyes stared fixated on a book on top of a desk. The book laid flat open like the creature was reading.

"Suerte, what are you doing here, silly cat?" I asked.

"Must've pounced in as soon as the door opened," Dusk said.

Books and drawings littered the room, each covered by a fair share of dust. Weapons hung along the wall, each with a silver sheen. In the center of the room was a suitcase similar to Zolona's.

"Get a load of this place! What was this used for?" I asked.

"No clue. Maybe looking around can help us find out," Dusk said.