Page 61 of Ashes of Gold
But my eyes are fixed on the curious trunk with the bouquet of locks. I tug at one and insert a key from the giant ring. I twist left, then right, but it doesn’t give. I try another. This one turns left, then clicks. But when the lock swings open, another lock appears on the cluster.
Huh?
I try another lock and successfully unlock it and several others. But as each opens another new lock appears. I work through the enchantment, opening them all, and each time one less reappears as the others eventually disappear. Until the only one left is a star-shaped one. I cup it in my hand, studying its odd opening. It doesn’t have a keyhole. Instead, it has a glass square like a fingerprint scanner. I press my thumb to it and it warms. Then it vanishes, my hand closing around air.
A second later the entire chain and bouquet of locks dissolves into dust.
“Whatever’s in here must’ve been extremely important to Totsi,” Bri says.
And… something she wanted me to find.
The trunk creaks as I ease it open, and a cloud of dust scratches my throat. I fan the air and find a thin bone and two gold coins inside.This can’t be all that’s in here.I feel around the bottom, sure I missed something, but all that’s in the trunk are the three small items.
“What is it?” Bri turns the bone in her hand. “Is it… human?”
“I mean, I don’t know,” I say, suddenly creeped out. “It’s thin and light. I dissected a fetal pig in science once and the bones were really dense and thick. So, yes?”
“Bones are the currency of death,” Zora says, bringing it to her nose. “It is not human.”
I shudder and shove the coins and bone in my pocket. The last trunk in the closet is wedged in the farthest corner and a tug on its handle does nothing.
“Help me with this, will you?”
The three of us grab hold.
“One… two… three!” I rear back, gritting my teeth. The handle pops off, but the trunk doesn’t move, as if it’s welded to the floor. “See if you can get your hands under the bottom.” My fingers search for a divot, an in to slide underneath, but the trunk is flush with the floor. “How is this?…” The lines of the trunk blend seamlessly with the ground. As if it’s… wait… part of the floor?
“Back up,” I say, standing. I lift the trunk top instead of pulling. “Quitzi.”
The entire floor of the closet lifts like a lid, and a wrinkly-faced woman beneath it glares at me.
“Well, you’re not Totsi,” she shouts as something big and blunt dents my peripheral and smacks me in the face. The world goes black.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
IRUB THE THROBBING SPOTon my head. My watch is a ray in the darkness. The pillow under my head is soft, and I yank myself up.
“Bri? Zora?”
Silence answers and I blink, eyes adjusting to the darkness. The bed beneath me is musty and the spot next to me is cold. I press my feet to the stone floor and blink several times, and I can see a bit clearer. Stone walls, a tall ceiling, and the telltale smell of moldy earth. I’m underground.
My heart rams in my chest and I hop up, scanning. No bars, a bed, a glass of clear liquid on a small table. I ease out a breath, my panic a flame fighting for air. There’s a door and no windows but for a tiny hole in the ceiling in the room.
“Bri? Zora?” I say louder, walking around the perimeter of the room. The floor is so chilly. My foot nudges something on the floor. I scoop up my Air Maxes and slip them on. They took my shoes off? Gave me a bed? I listen for something, some sign of where I am, when my wrist shakes again. I tap it with shaky fingers.
Julius: Aye, you up?
My pulse ticks slower as I read Julius’s words over and over,clinging to the only thing rooted and sure in the world right now. At least I have signal in here. Underground, it’s a toss-up.
Julius: You must be sleep. I told T you said she could have three dogs. Hit me when you get up.
Julius: Okay, I know you won’t get this till later, but I was thinking about that time we drove down to Galveston to go to the beach, but it rained all day. We should go back there sometime. When it’s sunny.
I remember. I close my eyes and let the memory of home still my thudding heart, slow the cadence of my breath. I clutch my wristwatch tightly.
Five… four… three… two… one.
Julius had, like, ten dollars to his name. He filled up the hooptie and we hit the road. Ran out of gas when we got there. We tried doing street flows for some change. Threw his snapback on the ground upside down and everything. I did the beat and he bust the flow. In. The. Rain. We got like two dollars from some eclectic tourists before calling it quits. I ended up begging Ms. Leola to drive down and give us some money without Moms knowing. Julius’s mama was livid when she woke up to go to work and her car was just gone. Jue and I was always wildin’, I swear.
