Page 97 of Barbie: Dreamscape

“I really hope Sunny knows what he’s doing,” I mutter out loud before I begin racing down the spiraling stairs toward Robin. Not her projection or apparition, but the real Robin.

According to the compact, she’s in the deepest depths of Swancrest.

She controls all the magic in Heartland. She’s dangerous. She’s been lying to me all my life.

And now—

I’m headed right toward her.

Doomspiral

When I was little, I loved to sit at the top of the spiral staircase leading to the lower levels of the school and push a marble down the top step. I would listen to it bounce, stair by stair, echoing, going around and around, until it finally rolled to a stop somewhere far below.

The depths of Swancrest were always a mystery to me: I knew an old armory lay far beneath us, full of the weapons we didn’t need anymore now that there was peace.

It was just one more place I wasn’t allowed to visit, even as I grew older. I never wanted to disobey Robin, so I never went down.

Until now.

My armored steps echo against the wide stone stairs, taking me around and around, deep into the underbelly of the school.

I’m a third of the way down. My head is clear. I’m ready to confront Robin.

But suddenly the stairs beneath me fold away, the stone turning smooth. My feet fly out from under me. My back hits the rock with a painful jolt. My breath is stolen from my lungs, and I reach out as I slide downward, fingers scraping against the curved walls for purchase as I fight to slow down.

But there’s nothing to hold on to. My armor scrapes against the stone in an earsplitting scream as my body whirls faster, around and around. All I can do is watch as the rest of the staircase below me transforms. The walls cave in, leaning together. The school’s gothic arches become gaping mouths.

There’s a landing coming up fast, a break in the stairs that leads to one of the lower levels. Maybe if I can reach its ledge, I can stop myself and regroup. I fling my arms toward the landing’s edge in a desperate attempt to get off this slide of doom, only to see that the floorboards in the hall past the landing are splintering into bared fangs, ready to devour me.

I haul myself back. I guess I’m not getting off this slide that easily.

What will I soon be falling into? A coil of snakes? A horde of wolves? A bed of teeth?

I inhale sharply as something rips through the stone at my side with an explosive crack. Many more follow. The flattened stairs have started to re-form—but only at the edges. The middle of the stairs remains smooth. And those sharp corners… they’re getting closer.

They’re going to trap me, smother me, bury me in these steps like a stone tomb.

But I’m done flailing and sliding. I grip my mother’s sword—and stab it through the rock with all my might.

My shoulder nearly pops out of its socket as my body comes to a sudden stop. My sweaty palm grips the heart-shaped pommel, until I’m holding it firmly in my grasp, pulling myself up. I stagger to my feet, placing each one on separated bits of newly emerged stair.

I’m not going to tumble directly into Robin’s clutches like I’ve been caught in a snare.

I start descending again, carefully, using those scraps of steps, jumping to each one, sword up and ready to face her.

For four stories, there is only silence.

Then there’s the faintest sound of grating metal far above. Barely a whisper. I come to a stop. My gaze slides up the swirling steps. I squint into the shadows. Nothing.

I take a step forward.

Then I scramble back.

Just in time to avoid being crushed by a massive knight who lands before me, crouched, with so much force the stone splinters beneath its feet. It stands to its full height, towering before me.

I know this knight.

I’ve hidden behind it during countless games of hide-and-seek. I’ve pressed my forehead against its steel, waiting for Robin to find me. It’s one of the suits of armor that line the hallways… now come to life.