Touch of Fear ▸ House of Anubis [2]

chapter eighty-two. house of memory

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            "I can't believe you asked Joy to help without checking with us first, Fabian," Amber complains as Sibuna walks into the house together, and rightfully so. We should have made this decision unanimously, he shouldn't have told her everything without checking with me at least! "The first rule about Sibuna is you do not talk about Sibuna."

            "I told you," Alfie adds, "we should've had Mara and Joy fight it out between them, a chess-off. Two cute girls in a brainy grudge match." Amber rolls her eyes and elbows him.

            "We don't have time for that," Fabian insists. "We don't have time for anything."

            I look between them and sigh. "Look, guys, it's better we have Joy than Mara. At least Joy already knows about Sibuna. She knows what she's getting into."

            Fabian nods. "Thank you."

            "That doesn't mean I'm not upset with you for going behind our backs," I tell him, crossing my arms. "I was on your side and now, just out of spite, I'm not."

            Fabian rolls his eyes. As if on cue, Joy's voice loudly stays from the top of the stairs, "Sibuna." We quickly shush her as she comes down the stairs happily, adding, "Has Fabian told you? He asked me to join the gang." Oh, did he now? She doesn't seem to notice the rest of us looking at him with raised eyebrows. She stands next to him, putting the wrong hand over the wrong eye. "Sibuna!"

            Just want to make one thing clear: Joy's not going to become an official Sibuna. She's helping us with this task and that's it for her. Nonetheless, I slowly reach my hand up to my right eye, correcting her, as Alfie takes her wrist and fixes it. Amber loudly exclaims, "No!" and Alfie drops her wrist, nervously laughing.

            "As a temporary member, that's all," Fabian clarifies, giving us an uneasy smile.

            "Yep," Joy confirms, beaming. "So, Fabes, you want to teach me how to play this game or what?" She takes his arm and drags him into the living room, leaving the rest of us to exchange matching eye-rolls.

—

            "Yeah! And the human wins again!"

            Joy is pretty good at this, I'll admit. She's won every game of senet she and Fabian have played so far. Whatever our misgivings about her and Fabian bringing her in on the loop without checking with anyone, choosing her was definitely a good idea. I'm just worried now about the whole Nina thing, considering that article Joy wrote and everything else she's done.

            "Well done," Fabian compliments as he high-fives her.

            "I can't believe there's a whole set of tunnels down there," she says. "I can't wait to see him."