Touch of Fear ▸ House of Anubis [2]

chapter eighty-four. house of trouble

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            I stare at the wall in front of me, pressing my lips together as my best friend gets sucked into the ground. I hear him scream, and I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to keep quiet. Why him? Why not me?

            First Nina, now Alfie. We're two down, and there are only four of us left to play the game. And the time Senkhara gave us to get Nina back is running out. If we don't complete the game by then, Nina and Alfie both are lost to us forever. We don't have much time to do this, and we're a player less now.

            "What was that?" Vera asks suddenly, not sounding too concerned about Alfie. "I tell you, I heard something."

            "Yes, the sound of a boy falling to an uncertain fate," Victor replies. At least he seems to care a little, considering it was his uncertain move that lost Alfie. "Harming the students was never part of the plan."

            "Well, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few..."

            "Release them."

            "No."

            "Rutter, Williamson, Millington, Adams, turn around," Victor orders. I take a silent, shaky breath, fighting to keep my face blank as I turn around. Vera has her arms crossed defiantly and Victor's holding his hand out like he's silencing her. He points at her. "Say the release words."

            "Victor, the—"

            "Say them!"

            Vera sighs and reluctantly pulls the paper we saw Rufus give her out of her pocket. She says a phrase in Egyptian which Anubis translates for me, turning around and leaving just after through the tunnel. Victor follows her out.

            Once we're sure both of them are gone, Amber turns back to the square Alfie fell through and screams, "Alfie!" She doesn't get a response back. "We lost him."

            "He must be with Nina," I tell her, trying to convince myself as well. It was a different square, they might not even lead to the same room! But I hope to God it does.

            Joy appears out of nowhere—she must've followed us down, and honestly, I'm a little glad she has. If she saw the game, she'll understand the stakes and agree to help us again. "Victor's a brilliant senet player, is he?"

            "All right, I got it wrong," Fabian concedes hesitantly.

            "Big time. For a minute back there, I thought they'd actually taken control of you."

            "Guys!" Amber exclaims. "Alfie. Come on, Fabian. We have to find out if he's with Nina."

            Joy glances at us before telling us, "Come back the way you came."