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“Wait, I’ve got to grab the idiot.”
“I hate you,” the pixie said. “I was hoping you got flattened.”
“Yeah, well, too bad for you.” Paige slung the carrier strap over her shoulder and leaned forward to waddle under the low ceiling to the other side.
They ducked through the door into a new chamber. The flashlight glinted off the gold walls as flames sprang to life around the chamber.
“Wow,” Paige said breathlessly as her gaze traveled around the room.
“And look,” Dewey said, pointing the flashlight beam at the center of the room.
“The crystal,” Paige exclaimed.
They glanced at each other, grinning before they raced forward.
“Wait,” Dewey shouted, pulling back.
Paige froze in a half-run position, her arms balancing her on either side and her eyes wide. “What?”
“Maybe we shouldn’t run. What if there’s a trap?” Dewey’s gaze floated around the space in search of something that might harm them.
Paige did the same. “I don’t see anything.”
“Me either.”
The pixie pounded against the mesh carrier. “I hope an axe slices you two in half.”
“We need to find like a tiny gag for him,” Paige said.
“Just ignore him. Okay, let’s proceed with caution.”
They inched forward, with Paige creeping on her tiptoes and Dewey fluttering close to her side. They made it to the center pedestal where the crystal sat enclosed in a glass box.
“What do you think?” Paige asked as Dewey circled around it.
Dewey narrowed his eyes, a digit tapping his chin. “It can’t be this easy.”
“Indiana Jones situation? Like we’ve got to replace the crystal with something of equal weight, or else it triggers a trap?”
Dewey twisted his neck, studying the pedestal. “That didn’t work for Indiana Jones either.”
“So, should we just go for it? Grab the crystal and be done with it?”
“Go ahead. Grab it,” the pixie taunted.
“If you don’t stop talking, I’m going to use you as the counterweight and leave you here,” Paige warned.
“Well, I don’t see that we have many choices here. There are no instructions. At least none we can decipher,” Dewey said, studying the stone pedestal and walls surrounding them. “We’re just going to have to try for it.”
“Okay. First, I’ll lift the glass box.” Paige spread her arms out around the box.
She wiggled her fingers while hovering them on each side of the glass. She licked her lips and flicked her gaze at Dewey. He offered her an encouraging nod. She returned the gesture before she focused her attention on the glass box again.
Inside it, the magenta crystal glowed under the flickering flames. She snapped her gaze upward, searching the ceiling for something that might drop and chop her hands off. She spotted no traps in the smooth stone above them.
Her heart beat faster, and blood rushed into her ears as she slowly closed her hands toward the glass case. She bit into her lower lip hard enough that she tasted the metallic tinge of blood on her tongue.
Her fingers finally brushed against the cool, smooth surface.
