Page 78 of Ex Marks the Spot

“Okay, okay, will you stop being Mr. Grumpypants now?”

Kennedy coughs to cover up a laugh and I bite down on the inside of my cheek to do the same. That wasnotpart of the script.

“If you get me the hell out of this room, then yes. No more Mr. Grumpypants.”

We stand up and Hartley shuffles our papers, bringing the one with the answer to the top. “Let’s give this back to the instructor and tell him we’re leaving.”

As I hook my backpack onto my shoulder, Mitchell and Kennedy huddle together and start whispering.

I think it’s working, I mouth to Hartley.

This is confirmed a few minutes later when the A Team comes barreling out of the building.

“Don’t let that taxi follow us,” Hartley says to our driver as we leave the parking lot.

“No problem.”

When we reach the road, she checks the clue again.

Ask Marsam’s employees for the water buffalo to receive your next clue.

“And you’re sure it’s a hotel?”

The driver shrugs. “It’s the only Marsam I know.”

Hartley turns to me with bunched brows. “Why would a hotel have a water buffalo?”

It turns out Marsam really is a hotel, and water buffalo milk ice cream is a thing.

It’s actually pretty good, although Egypt’s summertime temperatures may have something to do with how much we enjoyed it. Now we’re heading to the solo challenge. The envelope from Marsam asked, “Who wants to rest in piece?” so I volunteered thinking I’d be doing some sort of puzzle while sitting down. An easy task for someone whose ankle doesn’t hurt, right?

Wrong.

Because of course this isn’t a regular puzzle.

Go to the Lotus Alabaster Workshop. When you complete a five-by-ten-foot puzzle, you will receive your next clue.

When we arrive, Hartley and I drop our backpacks on the ground and peer out at the literal chunks of stone that have been cut into puzzle pieces. I’m already not excited.

“Did it work?” Alexis asks.

Hartley grins. “It did, and Court and I are now nominated for best actor and actress.” As the Bombshells exchange a high five, she turns to me. “Is your foot going to hold up to this? Your right one I mean, since we’ve established that your left one feels great.”

“What’s wrong with your foot?” Gianna asks.

“Big Mike plowed into him at the market last night and he rolled his ankle.”

I wave a hand through the air. “It’ll be fine. It’s not even swollen anymore.”

Well, as long as you have bad lighting and don’t get too close.

“And now Court’s manifesting his healing. According to him, he’s the picture of health.”

Gianna glances at my foot and eyes me skeptically. “How about we manifest this puzzle instead?”

I follow her over to our workspaces, which are spread out in a dirt field in two rows of three. What we have includes a wooden frame in the dimension of the finished product, a massive pile of alabaster blocks, and gloves.

What we don’t have? Any idea of what we’re supposed to be making, because of course we didn’t get a picture to work from. My best guess is a desert scene based on the overwhelming amount of khaki on the face of each piece. After a brief discussion, we decide to finish unstacking Gianna’s pieces and sorting the edges. After that, we’ll do the same for mine and start building our respective puzzles.

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