Touch of Fear ▸ House of Anubis [2]

chapter forty-one. house of envy

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            As we stare at the giant metal spider hanging from the ceiling, Amber grabs my arm and squeezes her eyes shut, telling herself, "Just remember, if you can't see it, it's not there. It's not real, it's not real."

            "It's not real, Amber," Fabian informs as he and Nina walk toward it.

            "That's right, Fabian. Say it with me."

            I pry Amber's hand off my arm, informing her, "No, seriously, Amber, it's not a living spider. It's made of metal or something. Nina, do you think—"

            "I think," Nina confirms with a nod, smiling. "This is what we've been looking for. The spider that fits in the hole in the task room."

            The rest of us step forward to see the spider closer. It's definitely less terrifying up close than it was shrouded in shadow. Okay, so we've got to somehow get this thing across the threads and into the carving on the wall. There's an inscription on the back which Fabian reads aloud, "To pass beyond the weaver's throne, lay her daughters in their home. Move with care through her poisoned loom. The scarlet thread may spell your doom."

            "Spiders weave webs," Patricia remarks. "So is that where her throne is? The big web in the tunnel?"

            "But who are her daughters?" Amber asks. "And where are they?"

            I raise my hand and suggest, "I say we go down and check them out tonight."

            "Maybe we should synchronize schedules," Alfie comments with a teasing smile, "because tonight is Fabian and Joy's," the aforementioned boy tries to get him to stop talking but Alfie keeps on, "first date."

            First date? This better just be Alfie being Alfie. I turn to Fabian, crossing my arms and giving him a hard look. "Excuse me? What was that he just said, Fabian?"

            Fabian glances at Nina's fallen face and denies, "No, no, it's not a date. It's more like a, um...it's more like, um..." Is he going to get a word out any soon? I tilt my head, eyebrows raised as he stutters out, "...a misunderstanding. We're just going to see that film that Jasper was on about. It's hardly a date."

            "No kidding," Patricia remarks.

            Nina says to him, sounding completely heartbroken, "I thought we could go see that."

            "Hey," Amber says loudly all of a sudden, "why don't we all go? You, me, Joy, Fabian. Nah, let's not crash their date."

            "Amber!" Fabian exclaims frustrated. "Tell her it's not a date. You were there. You were telling me what to say."

            "I'm sorry, go back for a sec," I say, gesturing to Amber. This just got even more confusing that it was before. First Alfie says Fabian's got a movie date with Joy, then Fabian says it's not a date and looked to Amber to defend him because she was telling him what to say? "Did you just say that Amber Millington, literally the number one 'shipper' of Fabina, was telling you what to say to Joy and somehow you've wound up going on a date with her?"