Alkimiya - A Fantasy Mystery Series

TWENTY~NINE - Wrong Step

Tilde's death had rattled Mimi, and a rattled Mimi made everyone uneasy. She sniffled uncontrollably, her vibrant hair a limp frame around her face. Carver mourned quietly in the shadows. Scarlett chewed her bottom lip, leaving smudges of blood over her large front teeth. James simmered quietly with rage. The wound on his forehead transformed his naturally colorful visage to something dark and sinister.

"Should we take another vote?" James unfurled his arms and stepped away from the corridor wall. "Or do we all agree that coming into the pyramid was a terrible idea and that we should have headed back to the airship when we had the chance?"

How anyone could misread the clear sign of guilt in Carver's downcast chin and Mimi's lack of bounciness astounded Zenetra. "Playing blame games isn't going to help us, James."

"Tilde's dead because we came in here!"

"That is no one's fault!"

The muscles in James' face began to twitch. He held back tears. The corridor had gone silent save for the echoing whispers of Zenetra's latest outburst.

Zenetra fought for control of her own emotions. She knew, as they all did, that arguing would be counterproductive to getting home. "We should go. The entryway is large enough to camp in. We can wait there until daybreak."

"This way," sniffled Mimi. Though she held her wrist aloft, it no longer resembled a shield. Scarlett followed, limping and leaning on the wall for balance.

They moved sedately. Carver hung far back to where the light receded, sometimes disappearing entirely into the darkness. He blended so comfortably into the shadows that Zenetra resolved to keep one eye on him at all times.

A while later, when the silence stretched too long, James asked, "Was this hallway always this long? Could have sworn we passed rooms on the way in."

Mimi paused.

"Ah," said Scarlett, glancing around the much more narrow corridor than the ones they entered the pyramid through. "I make mistake. This is wrong way."

There was a smarting crack as James slapped his hands over his face. He mumbled incoherently about, "His luck," and, "Starving," and ended with a troubling whimper of, "Rosemary."

Carver spoke from the perimeter of the light, turning to face the shadowed hallway behind him. "Let's make our way back."

"We can't go back to that room," whined James.

"The transmutation would have turned that whole floor to gold by now." Carver's gaze met Zenetra's. "Wouldn't you agree, Cadet?"

Zenetra promptly ignored the glare coming at her from James. "By now? Yes. The Hall of Guardian's should be finished transmuting."

"And with nothing left to turn to gold," pressed Carver, "the transmutation would be nullified. Isn't that right?"

"Theoretically."

Theoretics were enough for Carver. "Well then, let's head back."

From the look of James, with his darting glances and grayish tint, he was reliving what had happened to Tilde. They had grown close in the short time they knew one another. As close as siblings.

Try as she might, Zenetra could not keep the events from replaying in her own mind. Tilde's death was as vivid as Xuxa's last parting glance. Her shrieks echoed, her begging became a haunting mantra, and the yellowness of her golden statue would forever be imprinted in her memory. A slackened face, a hand forever gripping the CF rod—

Like one of Scarlett's captions, Zenetra's mind froze on a single fragment of memory. "Wait. Tilde—her rod is touching the scepter."

James stiffened with an impending tirade. To stop it before it started, Zenetra placed a hand on his arm. "Listen. The rod and the scepter were connected when we ran. The transmutation may still be active."