Chapter 7 #2
Within the stone frame was an earthen set of stairs that led into the darkness below the ground.
Without delay, the two of them stepped into the narrow entrance and began their descent.
The stairs went so deep that by the time they reached the end, the light from the opening only provided the faintest glow.
Edith could barely make out the shape of her own hand in front of her.
From what she could tell, they now stood in a slender passageway.
The walls were cobbled stone, and the floor was packed dirt.
The thrill of being in a place no one had walked in for centuries spurred Edith onward despite the dark.
She kept her left hand on the wall as she followed the tunnel, Thomasin close at her heels.
The further they walked, the more complete the darkness became. Thomasin took hold of the strap of Edith’s satchel so as to not lose track of her. Each step became slower, more hesitant. There was no way to tell if her foot would find solid ground or not, but she kept moving.
She only screamed once. The cobweb that she walked right into clung to her face, and she batted at it.
“Stay still,” Thomasin ordered. Edith managed to obey, and Thomasin’s rough fingers brushed the webs away from her skin.
“Thank you,” she breathed.
“It’s nothing,” Thomasin said, giving her bicep a bracing squeeze.
They continued down the passage until, finally, a pinprick of orange light broke up the dark.
Edith picked up the pace, her heart beating a wild rhythm in her chest as she followed the light.
The passage came to an end with a stone archway that led to a circular chamber.
Thomasin had to duck her head to step through the threshold.
The very moment they passed into the room, a loud mechanical thunk shuddered through the walls. Thomasin and Edith spun around to face the archway, but it was too late. A wrought iron portcullis slammed into place, trapping them inside the chamber.
Edith’s mouth dropped open, equal parts terror and glee.
Yes, she was in an underground room and the only exit had been sealed, but on the other hand, this proved that there was something here.
Thomasin, though, did not seem to appreciate this silver lining.
She stormed the portcullis the same way she’d stormed the constables.
Unfortunately, wrought iron bars did not respond to brute force the same way humans did.
Thomasin pried at the edges of the gate, trying with all her might to lift it back up.
She kicked and shook the bars, growling ferociously all the while.
The low sound coming from deep in her chest set off an odd flutter in Edith’s stomach.
It wasn’t until Thomasin whipped out her pistol that Edith intervened. She grabbed hold of Thomasin’s arm, pulling it down as Thomasin tried to aim at the portcullis.
“Bullets ricochet!” Edith bit out as she struggled with the effort of wrestling Thomasin away from the archway. “Thomasin!” Edith shouted.
This finally seemed to get her attention. She slumped against the wall, chest heaving with frustration and the effort of trying to engage a door in hand-to-hand combat. Edith slowly released her grip on Thomasin’s arm and said, “We can’t get out of here with brute force. We have to be smart.”
“Well, that’s your department,” Thomasin replied with a sardonic smile.
“Hey,” Edith said, ducking her head to meet Thomasin’s eyes. “That’s not true. C’mon, help me figure this out.”
Edith turned and took in the odd scene of the circular chamber. At the center of the room was a pedestal with a flickering candle underneath a glass dome. The source of the light. She approached it and ghosted the tips of her fingers over the glass. She could feel the heat of the flame.
“This candle has been burning for centuries,” she whispered.
“Or someone comes and lights it every day,” Thomasin said.
“Agree to disagree,” Edith said distractedly.
Past the candle, at the far left side of the room, was a marble statue carved into the shape of a tree.
There was a perfectly round hollow halfway up the trunk.
Edith drifted toward it to examine it up close.
It was a beautiful piece of artwork. The rough divots in the marble gave the appearance of tree bark, and the branches were impossibly delicate.
They looked as if Edith could reach up and snap one off like an icicle.
Inside the hollow, there was a little gold tray set into a recess carved into the base.
She touched it, and the tray dipped under the weight of her fingers with a little click. Nothing else happened, though.
Edith furrowed her brow and stepped away from the tree.
On the right side of the chamber was another marble statue.
This one was even more peculiar but just as eerily beautiful.
It was shaped almost like a cauldron, but the surface wasn’t flat.
It resembled a roiling sea, with crashing waves and bubbling sea-foam.
On top of the circular sculpture, at the direct center, was a large basin.
The marble was veined with shimmery blue.
At the bottom of the basin was a little opening, like a drain.
Edith leaned forward to look directly down into it, but she saw nothing but blackness.
She moved back to the center of the room and surveyed the two sculptures before her. Edith looked over her shoulder at the locked portcullis and smiled. This was a puzzle.