Paige and the Quest for Truth: Book 2 in the series

13

Chapter 13

Kyle was lying on Maude's couch, both feet resting on the armrest. He had a clipboard, furiously scribbling away at it. He would cross something out, bite his lip, and start writing again. Paige tried to peek at his work, sitting on the opposite end of the couch.

"What are you doing?" Kyle pulled the clipboard out of her reach, turning around to sit up and face her.

He grinned sheepishly and looked up at her. "I'm sorry, I am used to keeping my work private, and old habits die hard. I am trying my hand at the riddle Poppy gave us. Darkness and light, sorrow and wonder, I am wracking my brain, but I've got nothing here." He gave her a small smile and returned his attention to his paper.

Paige considered Poppy's words. "In the darkness, there is light, we end at the start, try as we might. Whisper words, sweet like thunder, the place of sorrow, is a place of wonder." Where is there a light in the darkness? She had sure been deep in the darkness lately.

She cleared her throat, directing her attention to Maude, who was busying herself in the kitchen, as always. She was heating a blue tea kettle, standing in front of the stove, seemingly lost in thought.

"Maude, what do you think..." When she turned around, Paige's voice died in her throat. Maude tried to discreetly wipe her eyes, but Paige did not miss the gesture.

"Are you alright, Maude?" Paige walked slowly towards the kitchen, stopping a few feet from the stove.

Maude cleared her throat and seemed to be going with the option of pretending that everything was fine. "Yeah, Paige, I'm fine hun. What was it you wanted to ask me?"

Despite her curiosity, and frankly, her sense of empathy, Paige decided to grant Maude her silent request, and ignored the shining redness in her companions' eyes. "What do you think of Poppy's riddle? Why give us a riddle, and not, I don't know, clear freaking directions?"

Maude let out a small laugh at that. It sounded more dripped in sarcasm than something actually humorous. "Poppy is nothing, if not mysterious. I'm going to tell you something here, that you absolutely can not repeat, not if you want to protect Poppy's safety."

She pulled Paige to the far side of the kitchen, speaking in a low whisper. "I suspect, judging by the residual warding on your note, that The Erases went to great lengths to protect their secrets. Whomever Poppy acquired this information from, there may have been magic protecting them from speaking plainly about the zoo's location. The riddle may be a workaround, a loophole, if you will, to speak the location without giving plain directions."

Paige nodded, slipping away to sit down at the kitchen table. She supposed that made sense. Maude busied herself, preparing tea for the three of them. Paige absently wondered if Maude even did anything else besides making tea. Kyle eventually made his way to the table as well, and they quietly sipped their tea, lost in thought.

Not for the first time, she wished Maude would serve something stronger than tea, her mind far too clear, her emotions far too unhindered from distraction. Of course, it was another riddle. Paige hated riddles. She laid her head down on the table, feeling defeated. This just reminded her of the riddles from the Talking Tree and reminiscing the past was something that she could not do. Not if she was going to be able to hold herself together. She had too. Long enough, at least to rescue Billie, or...well she wasn't going to let herself consider the other possibilities.

Suddenly, it dawned on her. The Talking Tree, some of its riddles were personal. Personal to her, to whomever it was talking too. What if the same idea applied here? Sitting us suddenly, she slapped the table, startling her companions out of their stupor. "I have an idea! What if it's not a literal 'place' of darkness and light? What if it's a metaphor, what if it's personal to the individual seeking the place out? Is that possible?"

Kyle nodded his head, pulling his clipboard back out of seemingly nowhere. Where did he keep that thing, anyway? His pockets were far too small to fit something that big. As much as he denied it, it was moments like these that reminded Paige that her friend was, in fact, a wizard.

Despite herself, Paige snorted softly, trying not to laugh. She had no issue with wizards, only finding it funny that he denied it so much. She did her best to control herself, not wanting to offend her small friend. Good thing he couldn't read minds. Well, she assumed that he couldn't read minds.

Kyle threw a glance her way, raising an eyebrow at her. Well, crap, maybe he could read her mind. He smiled softly, before replying. "Well, I do suppose that it is possible. Magic tends to be personal, weaving itself to fit the individual. I assume, Paige, that since you are the one seeking this location, that the riddle may apply to you personally."

Maude nodded along, like this all made sense to her. "Paige, you have to consider, what location would fit the riddle, for you."

She repeated the phrase in her mind, trying to wrap her brain around it. "In the darkness, there is light, we end at the start, try as we might. Whisper words, sweet like thunder, the place of sorrow, is a place of wonder." Suddenly she knew. The light in the darkness, the place that for her, holds both her sorrow and her wonder. We end at the start. She didn't know why she didn't see it before. Of course, it was so simple, she laughed out loud. Only, it came out as more of a sob, her breath hitched as she clamped a hand over her mouth.

Maude's hand was on her other one in an instant. "Paige, hun, what is it?" Concern shone in her eyes, as she lifted Paige's chin, forcing her to look her in the eyes.

Paige's breath hitched, as only one other person had ever done that to her. She had to fight even harder to keep herself under control. Blinking against the burning in her eyes, she tried to speak despite the thickness in her voice. "I know, I know where we have to go."

She forced herself to hold Maude's gaze. "We have to go back." She whispered. "We have to go back to where this all began. Where the best, and worst chapter of my life started. We have to go to Parkerville. To the Library, to the supply closet. We have to go to the place where I fell."