Page 91 of Coordinates of Death

He turned the knob. “It’s unlocked. We go carefully. SBK is watching. He knows you figured it out.”

Aurora scanned the room, but no cameras were visible. “He obviously had hidden cameras installed. There’s no way he would have known otherwise.” She scooped up her bag and unleashed her weapon, positioning herself in front of the basement door. “I feel like I’m watching a horror movie and want to yell at the television Don’t go into the basement! I don’t like this.”

“Me either, but we have no other choice.” He whipped out his Glock. “Ready.”

She raised her flashlight and gun in unison, revealing weathered wooden stairs. “Be careful. The steps look a bit worn.”

He tested the first one. “Stay on the outside.”

They slowly descended into the mildewy lower level.

Torchlike wall sconces snapped on, illuminating the hallway with an eerie glow. A jutted-out shelf holding a retro gramophone flicked on, and a creepy scratching sounded before a robotic voice said, “Hello. Welcome to the second part of your game, Rory and Kord. Do you like my special gramophone? I crafted it myself. You need to solve my riddle in order to find Candace. Time’s a-wastin’. Note, the mansion doors will unlock at dawn when the game is over—one way or another.” Suspenseful music played over the gramophone. “Are you ready?”

“Do we have a choice?” Kordell said.

“Not if you want to win this round and save the girl.” A throat cleared before the creepy voice continued, reciting his special riddle.

Here beside the stones I wait,

In the shadows where I hate,

Deep within the darkness, I hold my breath,

Doors without hinges and locks conceal my depth.

Echoes surround me, haunting low,

No one detects the pathways I know.

Passages of solitude, chilled and slim,

A stream of darkness, bottomless and dim.

Secret footfalls hush their sway,

Silent and deceitful doors that lead astray.

A puzzle detected by a careful hand,

Glimmers of moon on glistening sand.

Entry admitted to the brave,

Weary sojourners find the cave.

The suspenseful music blared through the speaker as a page spit out from the bottom of the gramophone, then fluttered to the floor.

“I’ll give you a gift. The clock resets to ten hours. Now you have everything you need. Solve my riddle and find Candace. You both have failed in the past, so will you be quick enough this time?” SBK’s evil laugh echoed in the stone hallway. “Your move.”

The gramophone screeched like a needle scraping across a record, leaving them in haunting silence.

Aurora scooped the paper from the floor. “It’s the riddle.”

“Good, because my brain didn’t remember anything past the first line. I figured yours would, but not mine.”

Thumps sounded above them as if someone had dropped a heavy object.

“We’re not alone,” Kordell whispered.