Touch of Fear ▸ House of Anubis [2]

chapter forty. house of wires

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            "And when I turned around," Nina finishes telling Sibuna the story of her latest run-in with our resident evil spirit lady, who definitely seems to be targeting Nina more than she is me (I think Nina's in more danger from her than I am or any of us with the Mark), "she was standing right in front of me."

            "And she just basically said to hurry, right," Alfie states, "or else..."

            "Yeah, but she was angry. Angry like you wouldn't believe. It was really scary. She said the raven is poised to swoop."

            "And you think it means Victor?" Fabian inquires. It has to be Victor, right? 'Cause of Corbierre.

            "Well, Victor didn't have the amulet," Amber reminds us. "Jerome did."

            "That's why I don't understand," Nina say.

            I bite the inside of my cheek, nodding. It is strange that Jerome would find it and give it to Poppy. But we've got it back now, so it's probably not a priority. However, the ghost lady threatening Nina yet again definitely is. "Did she say anything else?" I ask.

            "She said this ruler may be forgotten," Nina answers, "but she will not be ignored."

            Yeah, definitely threatened her. This ghost has to understand we're doing our best to get to the Mask of Anubis, but it's a bit hard when we haven't yet gotten past the web task with the venom. And when we have no idea what the hooks are for or whatever goes in that spider carving.

            "Sounds like a spirit with self-esteem issues," Alfie comments.

            "So, what's the latest with the clue, Fabian?" Nina questions.

            Yeah, apparently the dollhouse had lit up again and Nina found another cryptic clue inside. Fabian has it in his hands. "It's pretty obscure," he tells us before reading it aloud. "Upon the foundation on which this house rests, lies the solution to the spider web test. To find the armorer and scholar's hollow, the silver thread of fate you must follow."

            "Armorer and scholar's hollow..." Nina murmurs.

            Sounds weirdly familiar... Alife and I look at each other, stating at the same time, "The library."

            Fabian looks between us. "How did you two figure that one?"

            "That's where the suit of armor used to be," I explain.

            Alfie nods and adds, "Armor, armorer, right? And, I don't know, isn't scholar, like, an old style word for massive nerd?"

            Picking up on what he's saying, Amber looks pointedly at Fabian and goes, "And where do you find that?"

            "So I spend a lot of time in the library," Fabian defends himself. I bite back a laugh. "This doesn't mean that I'm a massive nerd, okay?"

            "Sure," I reply dryly.

            Nina chuckles lightly and says, "Okay, so Fabian and I will research online while you three go check out the library."

—

            My and Amfie's quest to search Frobisher Library did not turn up anything. No clue as to the silver thread of fate the riddle talked about, no armor since it's still in Sweet's office (probably still put together as badly as we tried to put it back), or anything else that could be the answer to the riddle. We even went and checked out the regular library just in case, but there was nothing there either.

            "So, any luck?" Nina questions as we enter our Sibuna room upstairs, sitting on the floor by Nina's bed. She, Fabian, and Patricia (officially not blind anymore) have been researching online while we've been out in the field snooping around Frobisher Library.

            Alfie says, "We checked the library. No armor, hollows, or silver threads of fate. Just your normal nerd herd of dorks with books."

            "Wait, wait," Fabian pipes up, "I think I found something. This is all about last names and what they mean. So I thought I'd look up Frobisher, which comes from an old French word for 'bisseor,' which means 'to shine.'"

            "Fascinating," Amber replies plainly. "And he says he's not a nerd."

            "Well—which is a last name most commonly given to armorers," Fabian finishes. Seems our resident nerd might've actually found the answer to the clue on a website about surnames.

            "Okay, now that is actually pretty interesting," Patricia remarks.

            "What—thank you," Fabian replies. "Look, so what if I am a nerd? There's nothing wrong with that. It was nerds like me that invented the wheel, e-mail, pretty much everything you couldn't live without."

            "I feel your pain, my friend," Alfie, probably one of the last people who would ever be classified as a nerd. "I get hassled 'cause I want to be a ninja." The rest of us stare at him blankly for a long moment while he does a ninja move with his hands.

            Nina gets us back on track. "So, the riddle's about the Frobisher-Smythes?"

            "Well, he was a smart scholar, wasn't he?" Alfie asks.

            Fabian nods. "Yeah, and foundations could mean founders. And who built this place?"

            "The Frobisher-Smythes," Nina answers with a grin. "The picture of them in the dining room. Maybe the solution to the task is behind it."

            With that, the six of us jump up and head for the door, practically running (or rather speedwalking) out of the room and the corridor. Victor scolds us to walk and not run at the top of the stairs, and we all utter an apology before heading down to the dining room to check out the painting.

            Alfie and Patricia take the painting off the wall, setting it on the floor carefully. Fabian knocks on the wall, and it makes an echo-y sound. "It's definitely hollow."

            "I wonder what this does," Alfie comments, lifting a silver string that's attached to the wall.

            I shrug. "It's a picture wire."

            "Or the silver thread of fate?" Nina suggests. Of course!

            "Then let's follow it," Fabian decides.

            Nina looks at Alfie. "Do it, Alfie."

            So Alfie pulls on the string, and almost immediately, there's a squeaking and rumbling from above us. Usually that'd be a sign to stop, but considering there's most certainly something behind this wall, Alfie keeps pulling on it. The rumbling gets louder and louder, and we all share cautious glances, until something drops from behind us, and I whirl around, heart pounding—only to find that there's a giant spider hanging from the ceiling.