Chapter Six

The stones had rearranged themselves once more to form an arch. Ash took her hand and stepped forward.

“Not you, boy.” The voice hissed. “The girl answered the riddle. Only she can step in.”

“but-” Ash looked indignant.

“If you enter my house. I will not let you leave.”

Ash looked like he wanted to argue but Amaris squeezed his hand lightly. “I won’t be long.” She whispered before letting go.

“Something else you should know.” The voice spoke once she stepped inside. “You have until the last pebble to leave too.” The stones shifted again, this time forming another hourglass above the arch, the bigger sibling to the first one.

“We didn’t agree to that.” She protested, watching the first pebble fall down.

“I was gracious enough to let you into my home, girl. I make the rules.”

“Be careful.” Said Ash from outside. He was fisting his hands and shuffling his feet, restraining himself not to step to her side.

“I will.” She said softly. “Just stay there.”

“One last word of advice, girl.” The voice spoke once more. “Never forget your answer to my riddle.” Confused, Amaris nodded and spun around walking further into the villa.

Her footsteps echoed on the shattered tiles accompanied by the sloshing and dripping of her clothes. The house was in a slightly better condition on the inside. The wallpaper was ripped, curling into itself. The columns were cracked and the outer walls were all covered with a layer of stone. Once she lifted her head to the ceiling, she noticed the thick beams of rocks and vines snaking their way between the chandeliers, breaking through the top of walls, spreading to every room. Suddenly Amaris didn’t feel so alone in there. Sapienti was with her. It was all around her, probably watching her every move.

She pushed open one door and stepped inside. It was a drawing room. Or what was left of it. One of the loveseats was broken, its fourth foot lying across the room, the table was in two pieces as if broken down by a heavy weight. The carpet was covered in mud and mold, though if Amaris squinted at a few patches she could make out a light pink color underneath, probably faded from a deeper red. But what caught Amaris’ eye most of all were the three statues around the room.

Two were standing near the far wall. Amaris stepped closer. They were two men. They looked like they were of humble origins, if their carved on clothes were any indication. What worried Amaris more were their poses. They were both caught in the middle of banging on the wall. One’s fist was mere centimeters from the wallpaper. The looks on their faces were even more unsettling. The way their brows were furrowed, in anger or panic, Amaris wasn’t sure. The way one had a tear perfectly carved on his cheek. And most of all, the way their mouths were gaping open, forever stuck in a scream no one would hear.

Amaris couldn’t stomach looking at them further and strode across the room to the third statue. It wasn’t much better. This one was a girl. She was on her knees, her dress flowing around her, her face buried in her hands, her shoulders hunched in a way that Amaris could almost hear the sobs.

Amaris knelt down beside her. The level of detail on this was too unnerving. The stray hair standing up at her forehead, the strands tangled in her rings, the small tear in the skirt of her dress. Who would pay so much detail to a statue? Not to mention, who would want a statue like this? Of pure agony and despair.

“Ah,” The croaky voice almost made Amaris jump. “I see you’ve met my guests.”

Amaris’ blood ran cold. She’d had a hunch, but she didn’t want to believe it. “These,” her voice was shaking. She cleared her throat. “These are the ones that came before me? The ones who got the riddle wrong?”

“Oh no, the girl got the riddle right. She was smart enough to get into the house, this one. She simply wasn’t wise enough to leave.”

Amaris realized that she was still kneeling before the frozen girl and jumped to her feet. “This is how they keep you company?” Bile rose up her throat.

“No,” the voice sounded almost sad. “I got bored of these. That’s why they are frozen as you see. Their complaints and cries were getting too bothersome so I muted them.”

Amaris gave the girl one last look, wondering if she still felt and heard what was happening around her. She couldn’t bear to know the answer. She all but ran out of the room.

“Did you find anything?” She almost jumped at Ash’s voice. He was still on the porch beyond the arch.

“Not yet,” she said, glancing at the hourglass above. Only half the pebbles were left.

“Hurry.” He said.

She nodded and opened another door. This one was a dining hall, and fortunately for her, the table was set. Rows of plates and goblets lined the buffet. Jugs and platters filled with every food and drink Amaris craved were on display. The smell made Amaris’ stomach growl. She hadn’t eaten anything in two days. She shook her head. She could eat on the ship. Now she just had to get the Blessed Tool. She picked up a plate but it was too flat. The healer wouldn’t be able to mix the potion in it. She placed it back on the table and reached for a goblet. She hoped it was large enough.

“Amaris?” A voice called for her. It must have been Ash.

“I got it I’m-” But the voice was coming from deeper within the house. It was familiar but definitely not Ash’s. It sounded older and deeper.

Amaris placed the goblet back on the table and walked to the door.

“It is you.” The voice said. “Come quickly. Look who I found.” The voice was definitely familiar, though much happier than she had ever heard it. Amaris couldn’t believe who it was.

“How…” She mumbled as she turned the corner and saw him standing in the courtyard. She stepped closer. But he wasn’t alone. Although she’d never seen the woman before, she recognized her instantly. The airy laugh, the blonde hair that was so similar to Vanya’s and her grandmother’s, the bracelet around her wrist that was twin to her own. “Mother?” It came out more a choked whisper rather than a word.

Before Amaris knew what she was doing, she found herself sprinting to the courtyard; to her parents. The captain was smiling at her encouragingly. Her mother had her arms wide open for her to step into. Amaris’ vision was blurring as she crossed the threshold.

“Amaris!” Suddenly someone called from behind her. She turned around, dazed and lost. Ash. She snapped back to reality. She was in Sapienti’s villa. She was here to get the Blessed Tool. And her parents- she spun around.

They were gone. The atrium around her was filled with nothing but stone statues and potted plants. Just as she turned around to leave, a stone wall started falling into place at the door.

“No!” Amaris yelled as she reached for it.

She jumped for the exit, knocking a statue of a young man over, but it was too late. The stone wall was almost complete. It stopped half a foot off the ground, where the statue had stopped its descent. But the gap was too small. She could barely get her arm through let alone her entire body.

She sat there on her knees, her heart pounding and her blood flowing from her forehead where she hit it on the wall. “No! No!” she said again, punching the wall.

“I warned you girl.” Sapienti said, sounding pleased with itself. “Do not forget your answer. Do not stray from your purpose.”

“You tricked me!” She yelled, glaring up around her. She was met with the somber evening sky and the rows of statues peering at her through the second story balcony. “You showed me visions.”

“Like I said, child. This is my home. I do what I desire.”

“You said I could walk out of here freely.”

“Only if you make it out in time. I am just. I shall keep my word. If you manage to step out the door before the last pebble falls, you may leave.”

“Then lift your wall.” She demanded.

“That, I will not do. Find another way.”

Frustrated, she walked around the courtyard, trying not to touch the statues, the humans, around her. She could find her way out. She had to. Mecheye’s life depended on it. All the doors and windows were closed with the same wall of stone as the one she came from, even the ones on the upper level. She looked at the dried up fountain in the middle, searching for a draining grid she could slip through but it was too small.

“This is cheating!” she finally declared. “There is no other way. And you call yourself just. Where is the justice in this?”

“Do not insult me girl. I am just. I have given you a chance. You still have it.”

“Where is my chance if you’ve already locked me in a cage before my time is up? Give me an opportunity to gain my way out of this. Give me another riddle.”

The Beast didn’t answer straight away. “Fine.” It said. “I shall indulge you.”

Amaris let out a breath to steady her nerves.

“But not with a riddle. With a different test.”

“What test?” she asked, dread already eating at her.

A small clink sounded on the other side of the wall and Amaris knelt down to see it. A small round emerald lay on the ground.

“This,” Sapienti said, “is your fair chance. If you can get that jewel and press it in my wall I shall lift it for you.”

She looked at the emerald. It lay more than two meters away. “It’s too far.” She said.

“That is all I shall offer, girl. Take it or accept your fate.”

Amaris started to panic. She pushed her arm through the gap and reached for the stone but it covered less than half the distance. She pushed harder, knowing that it was useless. Finally, she stopped, panting.

She sat up and looked around. There had to be something in this place that would help her get out. She stared at the statues around her, all in different states of fear or despair. She could not stay there. She would not be one of them. She looked at the statue at her feet, bearing the weight of the wall she threw him at. She wished he was already dead, that he didn’t feel it crushing him, sending webs of fine cracks through him.

“Sorry” she whispered to him. His face was on the other side of the wall and she was glad she couldn’t see his expression.

She got to her feet. She looked around for a broom, a pipe, anything long and thin she could use to get the stone. She was about to give up when something caught her eye, a piece of metal glinting in the moonlight. When she got closer, she realized what it was. A sword. The statue above it had his palm open right over its handle, as if it fell out of it as whatever power took his life away.

She picked it up quickly. It was old and rusting in some places, the leather at the handle eaten away by rats, but it was long and sturdy. It would do. At the feel of the metal handle in her palm, a new surge of confidence filled her. She could do it. She would get out.

She lay back near the wall and slipped her arm beneath it once more, this time, clutching a long sword. She kept pushing until her shoulder met the rocks. But it wasn’t enough. The stone was centimeters away from the point of the sword but it wouldn’t reach it. Amaris tried harder, pressing her shoulder into the wall until she felt the rocks digging into her skin. She didn’t stop even when the blood in her forehead got into her eye and painted her vision red. At last, she felt the sword touch the emerald. Just as she dared to hope, the jewel rolled even farther away.

“Come on.” She muttered trying again, but it was too far now.

“Amaris!” She heard someone call. “The time is almost up. Hurry.”

Ash. She swallowed a sob. “I’m coming.” She said casually. “I’m almost done.” If he knew she was trapped he would want to come and help her. She wouldn’t trap him here with her.

“Did you find anything?”

“No, I’m still looking.”

“Hurry up and get out.” Oh how she wanted to do just that.

She tried again. She pushed against the rocks. Her arm brushed the torso of the statue beside her and that made her stretch it even farther. The metal of the handle was hot and slick with sweat by now and she struggled to keep her hold. She had to get out of there. She thought of Mecheye, sweating, breathing heavily, hallucinating of meeting his sister again. She thought of the look on Ash’s face when the arch would close and she wouldn’t show up, she thought of all the things she still had to do. She was not going to die here.

At that thought, a tingling started at her fingertips and spread to her whole palm. The handle of the sword grew hotter and then, the sword melted in front of her eyes. The blade turned to liquid and thinned at the edges. The excess slithered its way to the emerald. It curled around it like a hook. Then, just like that, it turned solid once more. Amaris gaped at the item she was now holding. Not a sword exactly, but a very thin dull blade with a hook at its end.

“Amaris!” Ash’s voice snapped her out of her shock. She quickly pulled the weapon and the stone rolled towards her. She grabbed it. As fast as she could and jumped to her feet, pressing it to the center of the wall.

“Well that was unexpected.” Sapienti said. “No matter, you will not make it out in time.”

Amaris didn’t answer it. Instead, she crawled out the door as soon as the gap was high enough then stumbled to her feet running at full speed and turning the corner.

Ash was still at the entrance, looking more worried than she ever saw him. She ran towards him. The hourglass above only had six pebbles left.

She ran as fast as she could.

Five pebbles.

She passed an open door. The golden platters sparkled.

Four pebbles.

She turned back around and sprinted to the dining room. “What are you doing?” Ash yelled.

Three pebbles.

She grabbed a goblet and ran out of the room.

Two pebble.

Three meters separated her from the door. She wouldn’t make it.

One pebble.

“Catch!” she yelled and threw the goblet out the door. It flew over Ash’ shoulder and landed near the stairs.

No pebbles.

The arch started closing. Amaris jumped the last few steps. The crunch of stone on stone resounded behind her just as she crashed into Ash. The two tumbled over, her landing over him, heart pounding and hands shaking. She made it out of the villa.

“Well, it seems you won, girl.” Sapienti was disappointed. “This time. Come visit again soon.”

Amaris shivered. She would never voluntarily step into that house again.

***