Touch of Fear ▸ House of Anubis [2]

chapter sixty-two. house of magic

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"Another door," Fabian says with a sigh the next morning at breakfast. A door we can't even get through because just our luck, the amulet that opens it is in the possession of who is currently our archenemy. "We need that amulet now more than ever."

"Okay, let's go over the plan," Alfie suggests. He's been planning his amulet-swap trick for the dinner tonight. "Okay, I take the fake amulet and place it up my sleeve. Then I take the real amulet from Victor and wrap it in a handkerchief. Then I take off my shoe...and smash it!" I jump as his voice raises, sharing a glance with Nina. "Don't worry, that bit's an illusion. While Victor's panicking, I do a switch and give him the fake amulet in one piece. While Victor thinks he's got the real amulet, he hasn't, because the Amazing Alfredo has kept the real McCoy."

I blink at him. Patricia asks, "Huh?"

Fabian shoots down the plan. "No. No, just do a...just do a standard switch. Please, Alfie."

"Look, why don't you just take the real one," Nina advises, "make it disappear, swap it, and hand over the fake? Victor's happy, Gustav's happy, and we have our amulet back."

"Which makes us happy," I agree.

Alfie looks at us, unimpressed. "Yeah, if you want to be boring."

Fabian pulls up his sleeve, pointedly showing Alfie his bare wrist as he asks, "Oh, sorry, what time is it?" Alfie mockingly laughs and I chuckle, shaking my head.

"Listen, so I've been thinking about the seventh reflector," Patricia states. "Fabian, can I see the photo of Victor's zodiac?" He nods, passing down his phone to her. She takes it, pressing some of the buttons before passing it back down. "Look, in the corner. There's some kind of drawing, and I think it's old. Like, from the '20s."

"You think it could be a clue from Frobisher-Smythe himself?" Amber questions.

"I thought it was worth mentioning."

Fabian hands Nina the phone so she and I can look at it. Nina squints at it, saying, "It...looks like a flower."

A flower. "That's not just any flower," I state, recognizing it immediately. I should've realized it sooner! "That's a lily."

"As in Lily Henry," Alfie states. "What about her ring? Could that be a reflector?"

I shake my head. "No, this was given to her long after Frobisher-Smythe died and her dead fiancé was American. No way he knew Robert. But...I may have an idea. Stay here."

Without another word, I get up and leave the dining room, taking the stairs two steps at a time. Once I'm through the corridor doors, I open the door to my bedroom, going over to my bed and kneeling beside it. I slide out the box of Lily's things Sarah gave me, opening it and taking out the diary. With the box under my arm, I leave the room and start flipping through the diary in search of the entry I'm looking for.