Secret Places and Hidden Things

Chapter Fifteen

Jack was reading poetry. It wouldn't have been his first choice, but the book Daerk had given him was full of it. He was hoping it would help him find that mysterious trinket room with the locked box that had felt so important.

The book had already helped him once before. The moment he'd left Wynne's balcony, on the day he had received the book, he'd gone to the dining room and tried to find something that would help him roll up the table the way Daerk was able to. There had been no instructions, just a single poem going on in an endless stream of thought, but the abstract verses must have put him in the right mood because, after reading for a bit, the table had curled up next to him, reading over his shoulder.

Now he was wandering the hallways, reading as he walked. Once in a while he took a door at random, trying to keep the feeling of the poem in his mind, but after hours of exploring he didn't feel any closer. He sat down on a ledge in front of one of the large windows to read a few pages.

There are rainbows living in fallen leaves

I am blind

Until I open my other eyes

And allow the light to break

My

Thoughts

Do the ants move

Because they want to move

Or do they just move

They are the tiny eyes hiding behind rocks

They can see my ignorance

Until I walk by

And the wind from my footstep

Blows them on their way

Jack felt a warmth against his leg. He looked down to find the fox lying next to him. It stretched languorously, twisting its back and curling its tongue in a graceful wave. Then, putting each leg down in a precise sort of way, it rose to his feet like a dancer on a tightrope and leapt off the window ledge. It looked back over its shoulder at him.

Jack got up and the fox padded away with that bouncing walk it always did, nails clicking lightly on the floor. Following along, Jack felt his heart beat faster. It seemed like the fox knew where it was going. It kept looking back, checking to make sure Jack was following.

After a few turns, the fox started scratching at a door. Before Jack could get to it, though, it opened and Elliot appeared.

"Oh, hi little fox," he said cheerfully, scratching the fox behind its ears. It closed its eyes and rubbed its cheek against his hand. Elliot looked up. "Heya, Jack Jack. What are you up to?"

Jack shrugged. "I was looking for a room. It has all these funny looking clockwork objects in it. Daerk showed it to me the first day I was here, but I haven't been able to find it since. I was following the fox," he said, smiling sheepishly. "I thought he was taking me there."

Elliot looked at Jack from under his heavy brow. "You must be talking about my store room. I can show you were that is, but I'm sure you've already been there. I saw you in there just the other day..."

Jack shook his head.

"Always two steps ahead!" Elliot said, laughing. "If you knew where it was, and that was your future, I guess that means I showed you now."

As Elliot went to leave his room, the fox nosed its way in and stuck its head back around the corner, looking at Jack.

"Yeah, why don't you come in here for a bit? Then we can go find the storeroom. I was just working on something." He held the door open for Jack.