The two of them then crab walked down the hall to the locked door.He put the key in the lock and cringed when he turned it there was athunk.Hue tensed, but when no one came, he turned the handle and pushed the door open.
It was an office.There was a large desk with bookshelves covering the wall behind it.A banker’s lampanda red candle glowed on the desk.Both of them crept in.Hue closed the door andlockedit.
“In case the guards check,” she explained.
He nodded and went over to the desk.He stared at the top of it.There was a green blotter on top and several piles of papers.He took one while Hue took another.They rifled through as quickly as they could.
“Nothing here,” he said.
She shook her head and set down her pile.“None in mine either.Maybe it’s inside the desk?”
They both started pulling out drawers.Each one they went through though contained nothing of any interest.Soon, they were standing up and facing one another.
“Maybe it’s hidden beneath a drawer or under the desk top,” Grayson suggested.
Hue nodded and they each proceeded to search.“I assumed they would make this easier as this is just the first part of the challenge.We’re supposed to finish tonight.”
“Me, too.I wasn’t even expecting a locked door,” he confessed.
“There’s nothing here.Are you certain that this is where the maps are kept?”she asked.
“Must be.The key was hidden in another room but indicated by one of these candles.”
He pointed to the red candle whose flame flickered as the breeze came in through the open window.He wondered if Hue intended to climb out that way.He leaned a hip against the desk while Hue prowled the room.He was hugely conscious of time slipping away.His gaze unconsciously slipped to the bookshelf behind the desk.He still loved reading.He wondered what these Helm Vampires had brought with them.But then he frowned.
The books were not in English or any other human language that the Vampires would know.Instead, they all had those glyphs that he had seen on the crates down below.He blinked and tried to refocus his eyes as the letters began to slide across the spines and smear like neon lights through a rainy window.The books must be original to the space.But that was when he saw the silver bird statue sitting on the very solid base that was holding up a row of books.It looked… very shiny.
Very new… no, polished.To stick out.Bookcase… secret compartment..
He grasped the head of the bird and tipped it forward.There was aclick,thunkand suddenly the bookcase was retreating into the wall.
“Hue!”he whispered and gestured for her to see.
She spun around.Her lips parted in surprise and then she grinned.She was just stepping over to him when the door rattled.They both froze and waited.There was another rattle and then silence.Grayson realized he was holding his breath and forced himself to breathe out slowly and draw in another lungful of air.Finally, they heard soft footsteps retreating.
“Good call on locking the door,” he told her.
She nodded.
The two of them clustered at the entrance to what was a small alcove.Sure enough, there was a stack of packets with a map of locations and information on each building or structure the treasure was in.There were more than enough copies for anyone who wanted one.Grayson handed a copy to Hue and grabbed one for himself.He then closed the secret door.Seeing how many pages there were–and just attached by a paperclip–Grayson was not going to toss these down to Amana.They would go everywhere.He rolled them up and stuck them into his inner jacket pocket before zipping it up securely.Hue had done much the same.
They headed for the door when the handle was violently jiggled. Both of them jerked back.It was likely just another student or team of students trying to get in.But the hair on the back of Grayson’s neck was standing on end.
Grayson, don’t open the door,Balthazar’s voice was filled with alarm.
What?Why?Sect?But Grayson knew it wasn’t the Sect.
Whatever was down in the basement has come upstairs to find you,Balthazar answered.
There was acrackand the door’s lock splintered.Hue grabbed his arm.
“Grayson, out the window!”she cried.
The door shattered and something was standing there.Grayson only saw the blue-white eyes before he was spinning around and heading towards the window.
Found you,a voice whispered that had ice filling Grayson’s veins.
He grabbed Hue’s hand and the two of them jumped out of the window with something very close behind.
