“Look,” said Sierra. “There are hooks on the walls. Let’s arrange the paintings to match up with their constellations.”
They scrambled about, grabbing the paintings and hanging them according to the star chart. Once the last painting was up, they stood back, expecting more flickering lights or some message from the fortune teller . . . but nothing happened.
“Did we get one wrong?” asked Beck, peeking over Carter’s shoulder to study the star chart.
“It spells something new now,” said Adi, pointing to each painting in turn. “TENTH. THIRD . . .F U.”
Carter giggled abruptly, then clapped her hand over mouth. “Wait, really?”
“Hold on,” said Sierra. “Tenth, third? As in . . . October third?”
“Maybe . . .” said Adi, sounding unconvinced.
“What are we supposed to do with that?” asked Beck.
“No, I don’t think it’s a date,” said Carter, approaching the locked trunk with the four-letter code. “Adi, what are the tenth and third letters of the alphabet?”
“JandC.”
She spun the dials.J. C. F. U.
The lid popped open.
“You’re kidding me,” said Adi. “The last two letters didn’t fit the pattern. That’s . . . I don’t know. Cheating.”
“Actually,” said Sierra, her voice with a newly sharpened edge, “it seems like someone is sending a message.”
Adi raised an eyebrow.
Sierra glanced at the clock. “Carter, what do we have?”
“A box with a six-digit numeral code,” said Carter, pulling their new props from the trunk, “a bunch of scarves, a ribbon with a code or something on it, and . . . incense sticks.”
Adi grabbed the ribbon from her hand to check the code.
Oaelnibtskati klciIcectiphc ailedthoileee yvuBihiufltfw teeydanliehii eSstftdderinl aeshiwAndwsal mapenanoBotlb srocdsatuniee lctoAlrbttmjm ohtfrereteeui othfefejhsAsn kheiltsuectte
“Okay . . .” He tried to pick out a pattern.
“Oh!” said Carter. “There were those holes in the sideboard! I bet the scents of the incense match up with the symbols.”
“Yes, good call,” said Sierra. “Who’s got a strong sense of smell?”
“On it,” said Beck, taking the incense sticks to the sideboard. “But you’ll have to stop talking because it messes with my olfactory senses.”
He started to sniff through the incense sticks.
Adi went back to studying the code on the ribbon, but he hadn’t made any progress before Beck shouted victoriously—something about “it’s a pine branch, not a feather!”—then popped in the final stick. The locked drawer in the sideboard popped open, and the clock on the wall froze at twenty-three minutes, nine seconds. They were in the homestretch.
“Tarot cards!” Beck yelled, flaunting some fancy shuffling trick before spreading them on the table.
“There has to be a mistake. There’s no purple here!” Sierra and Carter were poring over the chakra scroll, the colorful scarves scattered around them. Sierra looked peevish.
“Maybe it’s not the scarves?” Carter suggested.
“It has to be the scarves!” Sierra bit back, making Carter recoil.
“What’s going on?” asked Adi.
