Touch of Fear ▸ House of Anubis [2]

chapter seventy-eight. house of pitfalls

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"So it's a cross between Snakes and Ladders and checkers," Patricia recaps as we stand around the tile board in the library, which is on Jasper's desk. Nina still hasn't joined us, and we haven't seen Jasper the entire time we've been here, except for when he let us in. What we have seen is this small board, which has the real rules to the game on the back. Anubis got it right. We know the rules Frobisher played with; all we have to do now is practice.

"Check and chadders," Alfie mashes the words together. "Checkadders. No. Sneckers!"

I roll my eyes. Fabian says, "Okay, the journey across the board represents the journey from this life to the afterlife."

The door to the library opens. Finally, it's Nina walking in! We greet her and she asks, "How's it going?" I open my mouth to answer with 'pretty good' before telling her about the board, when she sighs and says, "Okay, we need to—"

The door opens again, and this time it's Jasper. He's entering the library with something familiar in his hands—the replica Mask of Anubis we spray-painted and had him give to Rufus, passing it off as the real thing. It's back in Jasper's hands. Which means only one thing.

"Hey, isn't that..."

"Mysteriously returned," Jasper confirms Nina's question. "No note or anything. And only slightly damaged. I restored it to its original state."

Nina sighs. "That means Rufus knows it's a fake."

"It would appear so, yes. I'm afraid this also means," Jasper says as he glances toward me, "he might try and make a play for you, Ashley."

"What else is new?" I reply flatly. Okay, so number one on the agenda of Ashley Amelia Adams: don't get kidnapped by Rufus and/or Vera. Should be easy.

Amber says sarcastically, "Good, so he's going to be very, very disappointed, might try and go after Ashley, and sniffing around for the real Mask anytime now."

"Which is why it's good that we found Robert's senet board," Fabian informs, holding it up.

Nina laughs at his words and at the sight of it and Amber brags, "I'm the one who found it."

"No way!" Nina exclaims, leaning forward to see it closer.

"And look." Fabian turns the board around to reveal the game rules on the back of it.

"The rules?"

"Trust Frobisher to know the true ancient rules to the game."

"And what about the key Trudy mentioned?" she asks. "The clue from the dollhouse."

"Well—"