Page 84 of Gilded Curses

When Sahira’s fingers found another piece, Pip pointed to a missing section. “I think that goes there.”

Since the brownie could see it better than her, Sahira didn’t argue with her as she moved the piece and clicked it into place. Her heart raced, and her arms and legs ached as sweat cleaved her shirt to her.

She kept waiting for her sweaty fingers to lose their precarious grip and to plunge onto the spikes, but somehow, she held on and continued moving through the puzzle. It became easier as she moved more pieces until she and Pip flew through the rest.

When she put the last piece into place, a small creak filled the air as the floor rose and clicked securely. Sahira’s legs trembled when she set her feet on the floor and sank to her knees.

“You okay?” Pip asked.

“Yeah. Just give me a minute.”

Resting her hands on her legs, she took a steadying breath and shook out the cramps in her fingers before finally using her arm to wipe the sweat from her eyes. Her blurred vision cleared enough for her to see the puzzle was a picture of a pretty young girl who looked to be about five or six.

When the door started to vibrate, Sahira leapt to her feet and prepared to run from whatever might rush out the door. Nothing emerged, and once the door settled into place, the puzzle pieces fell apart and scattered along their tracks; the rocks closed over the top of them again.

“Good job,” Pip said as Sahira stepped into the hallway beyond.

“You too.”

Just inside the doorway, Sahira stopped to study the next hall. It was almost identical to the one they’d left and ended in a metal door. The hair on Sahira’s nape rose; she had no idea what horrors or games this hall held for them.

When the door behind her rattled, Sahira turned to watch it slide across the way. She could jump through there and run back to Orin’s room, but at this point, it was no safer there than it was here.

The door clicked into place with a note of finality, and Sahira saw no other way to open it or any rocks that might be hiding a game. The only way back was to go forward.

Yay, she thought sarcastically as she turned back to face the other door.

“More fun,” Pip muttered.

Now that she knew what to look for, Sahira searched the door across from them for out-of-place rocks. She didn’t see anything there, but they were still far enough away that it could be hidden from her.

There’s some way to get through that door, and we’ll find it.

When she stepped forward, her foot landed on a rock that sank beneath her boot. At first, she didn’t understand what happened, but as a click sounded in the room, her instincts screamed at her to move!

Sahira threw herself backward as the floor beneath the stone she’d stepped on fell away. Unable to stop her backward momentum, she fell on her ass and sat with her hands on the cool rock as she panted for breath. Pip’s hands twisted into her damp tunic.

When she was sure she wouldn’t vomit on the floor, she leaned toward that space and looked down to discover more spikes in the ground below. The lethal points shone in the light reflecting off them.

Leaning away from the death trap, Sahira examined the hundred-foot-long hallway. It wasn’t far, but the other door felt like it was miles away, and she had no idea which stones could lead to a bone-piercing, agonizing fate.

“Shit,” Pip muttered.

Pushing herself back up, Sahira examined the floor around the stone that had given way. She could easily avoid falling into it, but some of these other stones would be traps too.

The stones were four different colors: dark gray, light gray, medium gray, and another shade somewhere between them all. They were all similar enough that they blended together but distinct enough to separate them if someone was looking for it.

“They’re different colors,” Pip said.

“They are.”

“Maybe we’re not supposed to step on certain colors.”

“Maybe. Did you happen to see what color I stepped on?” Sahira asked.

“No.”

“Neither did I. So, we’ll have to pay better attention.”