Thanks for reading. If you don't know already, this is the sequel so please check out the first bit "Mysteries of Anubis". I'm going on a trip tonight so I will not be able to write anything. However, I'll only be gone for a week so yeah. Let's say the next chapter update is June 23rd, alright? Seems like a long wait, but I think you're up to the task.
This chapter goes out to houseofanubisfan2, who has been review my story since chapter one!
CHAPTER ONE HOUSE OF FREQUENCIES
It's not that I hate trains. It's the long periods of time sitting in them that drive me mad. But it is all worth it. My name is Mary Ann Norton. I'm American and I go to an English boarding school. My best friend is my roommate, Amber Millington. She came up with Sibuna, a club that is devoted into discovering the mysteries behind Anubis House. Last year, we uncovered a secret society where our teachers tried to live forever!
This required the Chosen One, the Chosen Hour, the Elixir of Life, and the Cup of Ankh. They thought a girl named Joy Mercer was the Chosen One, so they withdrew her from the school. The Cup was actually broken into seven pieces scattered throughout the house. Only the Chosen One, during the Chosen Hour (which happened to be during our end-of-term prom), could assemble the seven pieces to form the Cup. Then they would drink the Elixir of Life from it and gain immortality. But, as it turned out, Joy wasn't the Chosen One and couldn't make the Cup. Didn't I mention?
I am the Chosen One.
I made the Cup, watched as the evil Rufus Zeno drank from it, found out the elixir he drank was a fake, retrieved the Cup from the furnace, and still made it back in time to be crowned Prom Queen. Yeah, it was a crazy term.
I also go to kiss Fabian. He was the first to accept me into the school, and helped me with the mysteries before there even was a Sibuna club. He was my first best friend, but now he's more than that. At first, I wasn't sure if he liked me in the way I liked him, and our housemates kept teasing us about it, but we finally got together.
I couldn't wait to see him again while I was in America. We texted, called, and emailed all the time. But it wasn't the same as actually talking face-to-face.
But getting to the school was a pain in the ass. Not only did I have to take an airplane from California to England (which is eleven hours long, mind you), but I also had to take a four-hour train, and then a cab for the thirty-minute-long trip from the train station to the school.
Again, it was all worth it.
I read a book in the cab. I was so engrossed in it, I blindly paid the cabbie and read whilst walking into the house. I had walked through those doors a million times before, so it was easy to navigate through. I left my suitcase in the hall with all the others.
The one thing I didn't see was that Trudy left the doors into the living room closed.
BAM!
Everything blurred and my head hit the floor. I stared up at the ceiling, stunned for a moment. I then moaned, rubbing my head. I sat up from my sprawled state on the floor. The living room doors opened and a head peeked out.
A sharp squeal attacked the sound waves around. "Mary Ann!" my roommate-and-best-friend screeched happily. I smiled shyly at her.
"Aw man!" I groaned, picking up my book. "I lost my page! And it was at the best part!"
"I take it that means you're OK?" Patricia's voice joked. The doors flew open and I saw Amber, Patricia, Mick, Mara, Joy, and Fabian.
"Yeah, massive headache though…" I rubbed my head again. Amber helped me up and then hugged me. I hugged Patricia and said hi to Joy as I entered the living room. Mick and Mara were all snuggly on the couch so I smiled that them. Mara got up to hug me. I said hi a lot.
"Still American?" Patricia asked jokingly.
"Still Patricia?" I replied the same. She, Amber and I laughed. I looked over at Fabian, who was smiling at me. I smiled even brighter. He hadn't changed at all. "Hey."
"Hey." He replied.
"OK, time to make a discrete exit, everyone!" Amber called out, not so discretely. But I was still grateful to be alone with Fabian. Patricia left to show Joy her room that she was going to share with Mara and her. Amber and the others went who-knows-where. It was just me and Fabian left. I walked up to him.
"So, em," I laughed. He still stuttered. "How was your flight?"
"Ugh, don't remind me." I shuddered at the memory. He laughed. "It was far too long. You?"
"I came by car?" he said. We both laughed.
"You know what I mean." I rolled my eyes. I gave him a hug and tilted my head up. He leaned down and our lips barely touched when–
"Do you mind?!" Jerome exclaimed rudely as he barged into the living room. I jumped. "People are eating in here, thank you very much." Alfie came in as well, snatching a brownie. I stuck my tongue out at Jerome and then swiftly pecked Fabian on the lips.
Fabian offered a plate of brownies. "All mine," I said as I took the plate and made a defensive stance over them. He and Alfie laughed.
~ Next morning ~
I snuck out of the house early and ran to the school. I didn't want to leave it unprotected, but I had to.
I pulled out a plank in the stage in the drama studio. The Cup of Ankh gleamed back at me in the sunlight. I smiled. Yes, no one found it! I picked it up, feeling the familiar rush in my fingertips.
"Take it," Sarah had instructed me last year after she relieved the curse. "Hide it. Keep it safe." A door banged open. I got up and ran behind a door.
"Is somebody in here?" Mr. Sweet's voice called out. I held the Cup to my chest and hoped he wouldn't spot me. I heard his footsteps close by. He tut-tutted and I knew he found the plank I took out. He fixed it and then left. I sighed silently in relief. I glanced back at the Cup.
"Now where to put you…." I muttered. I got up and returned to the house.
~ Breakfast ~
I entered the living room. Almost everyone was sitting at the table eating breakfast. I sat down at my normal seat. "Good morning." I greeted.
"Hey, I was wondering where you were!" Fabian said.
"Just had something to fix." I replied mysteriously. He intertwined his fingers with mine.
"Everything OK?" he asked.
"Yeah, totally."
"You sure?"
"Yes." I rolled my eyes. He smiled at me and I grinned back.
"It's gotten very couply in here!" Joy commented as she walked into the room.
"Not wrong there, Joy," Alfie said, scooting next to Amber and holding her hand.
"Uh, what are you doing?" she questioned, taking her hand back. They had a short conversation before I lost interest.
"Em, your last mail mentioned something about your grandmother coming over?" Fabian asked me.
"Hmm?" I swallowed the piece of banana I had in my mouth. "Yeah! She's coming to England and staying at a hotel in town. She's delighted to finally be able to meet you all. Especially you, Fabian."
"Yeah, we do breed better geeks over here." Patricia joked. We all cracked up. I looked at Fabian. Yes, yes they sure did. Amber tapped my foot. I leaned over.
"Sibuna reunion, midnight feast in the attic." She informed. "Pass it on."
I nodded and tapped Fabian. "Midnight Sibuna feast in the attic." I told him. He nodded.
~ Midnight ~
When all was quiet, Amber and I snuck into the hall. Patricia tiptoed over to us from her room, holding a flashlight.
"Do we have anything to pick the lock?" Amber asked as we walked to the attic door. On cue, the attic door opened. All by itself. I jumped and Amber and Patricia gasped.
"I forgot the house was alive." I whispered. The attic door creaked wider.
"Whoa." Amber stated.
"Welcome back to Creepy Towers," Patricia joked.
"Maybe this midnight feast should take place in daylight?" Amber asked in scared tone. "Good night!" She tried to back away but Patricia and I dragged her back. We walked up into the attic, Patricia closing the door behind her. The boys came up a moment later, after the girls and I had already set up a blanket. We sat in a circle.
"Sibuna, everyone." Amber said, right hand over her right eye. "Welcome back." The rest of us did the Sibuna gesture.
"No trouble with Victor?" I asked the boys.
"No," Fabian replied, "he wasn't in his office. Maybe he's finally changed his way and gone to bed early." I chuckled.
"Well he needs his beauty sleep," Amber said, "He is a hundred and one."
"Ninety-six, actually." I corrected. We all laughed anyways.
"Hey, talking about creeps obsessed with living forever," Patricia said. She took a flyer out from a bag. "I thought you guys might be interested in this." She passed the paper to me. My eyes skimmed over it and I gasped.
"An obituary for Renee Zeldman!" I told the others. Renee Zeldman's real name was Rufus Zeno, the evil guy from last year.
"Rufus…" Alfie said. There was a moment of silence. Even though he had lied, kidnaped, and almost killed us multiple times, it was still hard to believe he was just… gone.
"Guess he found out he wasn't immortal the hard way." Fabian said. To ruin the moment, Alfie opened a can of soda, which spilled everywhere and made Amber screech.
"ALFIE!" she complained. The rest of us laughed. Suddenly the attic door could be heard unlocking.
"What was that?" Fabian asked.
"Someone's coming." Alfie said. The inner attic door creaked open and I braced myself for the worse when–
Joy's head popped in.
"Joy!" Patricia exclaimed. I relaxed greatly. At least it wasn't Victor. "You scared us to death!"
"Guys!" Joy called down the stairway. "They're in here!" In came in Jerome, Mara and Mick.
"Nice hangout, guys." Mick commented.
"I can't believe you're having an Anubis midnight reunion and you didn't invite us." Joy said. I glanced at Sibuna.
"Surprise!" Patricia covered.
"Aye!" I added with the others. They didn't buy it.
"We wanted to welcome you back properly." Patricia lied. Joy rolled her eyes.
"Up here?" she asked.
"Hey, she locked me up here during my first week, at least you have a picnic." I told her. Most of the kids laughed.
"While I'm asleep?" Joy continued to question.
"Yeah," I went on. "Isn't it such a surprise?" They cracked smiles.
"I'll just get another sheet." Amber said. The others came into our circle. I scooted closer to Fabian to make room.
"Wow…" Amber said, standing a few feet away. I looked to see a… dollhouse? Of Anubis house? "Help me move it, Mary!" I got up, but picked it up easily.
"Really?" I asked her with an eyebrow raised. "It's not that heavy."
While everyone laughed, Alfie said, "Or maybe you're just really buff."
Irked, I brought the dollhouse close to the ground and then dropped it on his foot. He screeched an "ow!" and hopped around on the other foot, clutching the first one.
"Oh my toe!" he hopped away.
"Sorry." I said sarcastically. "I'm just so buff, you know." The others laughed.
"Shush you two." Patricia said. I brushed a finger over the front of the dollhouse, collecting a layer of dust and wondering how the hell I never saw it before.
"You know, I've always wanted a dollhouse." Amber said absentmindedly.
"Even one that's a replica of the old Anubis House?" Fabian asked.
"Where dollies go to die." Alfie said in a funny voice. I rolled my eyes with a light laugh.
"WHOEVER IS UP THERE," Victor's voice boomed from downstairs. I jumped. "COME DOWN IMMEDIATELY." People rushed to put things away. Fabian and Amber hid the dollhouse. Jerome went to the door. The rest of us put the food away. "DID YOU HEAR WHAT I JUST SAID?" Everyone started to file out of the room. But something forced me to stay, an invisible outside force. I opened my bag and stared at the Cup of Ankh.
Realization hit. Where to put it, where should I put it?
I glanced around. Somewhere no one would look, somewhere safe. The panel was beyond question, Victor smashed it in.
"MARY ANN NORTON!" Victor called. "ARE YOU UP THERE TOO?" A small but bright light caught my eye. I ran to it. It was a piece of stone, jutting out. It had an oval-shaped cut, just like on the panel, like on my locket! I reached under my shirt and pulled out the necklace. Placing it on the cut, a panel opened. It had enough space for the Cup! I shoved it into the panel and resealed it. I was about to exit the door when it opened, Victor rushing in.
I was so surprised that I jumped back. My hand hit a box and it toppled over. "What are you playing at?" he yelled. "Just look what you've done." He pointed at the spilled box and growled at me. "Get out." When I didn't move, he yelled. "GET OUT!" I ran into the stairway. Before I could leave, I heard a little girl's voice. The recording of a voice, by the sound of it.
"The athenaeum is the place to look. Lift the wings to find the book. Hidden in this book of old, water of life and tears of gold."
What?
~ Morning ~
"What do you mean you can't remember our arrangement?" Alfie asked Amber as they walked into the living room.
"I don't make arrangements within forty-eight hours of advance, unless it's spontaneous." Amber replied.
"But you promised you'd be my girlfriend last term. I have witnesses!" He gestured to us.
"Heard it with my own ears." Jerome agreed.
"Me too." Fabian piped in.
"Patricia, Joy, help me out here." Amber said.
"What about me?" I cried. Jerome laughed.
"Actually Amber," Joy said, "you did say that."
"Yes, OK, but I thought he was dying!" Amber excused. "That's what Daddy calls a loophole."
"I say no, if anyone cares." I muttered. "She said she'd be his girlfriend if Victor helped him stay alive. Victor didn't, so it is invalid." Of course, only Fabian heard, which he chuckled to.
"Patricia?" Amber asked. "What about you?"
"Come on, Judge Trixie." Alfie said.
"OK, no." she replied. "Amber didn't quite say that." Amber smiled and Alfie looked confused.
"Thank you." Amber said.
"What she did actually said was," Patricia continued, "Yes, yes, yes. Anything." I cracked up along with Jerome. Alfie high-fived Fabian.
"Thanks a bunch." Amber said sarcastically. "So much for the sisterhood."
"In there, please, I want a word with all of you." Mick and Mara entered the room, Victor shooing them. "Sit down, please! Sit!" He stood behind me, leaning on the back of my chair. What was with him doing that? I gripped Fabian's hand as the hairs on the back of my neck rose.
"So," Victor continued, "First night back, and already you are up to no good! Well, I shall not stand for your nonsense this term." He started passing around toothbrushes. "Do you hear me? Well?"
"Yes, Victor." We chorused.
"Wait, does this mean all of us cleaning one toilet?" Mick smiled. No, Mick, it wouldn't be that easy. It never is.
"No, Mr. Campbell, no." Victor said, leaning over my chair. "It means all of you cleaning every single toilet in the entire school." We all groaned.
"This is a fifty pound manicure, I'll have you know!" Amber cried after Victor as he left.
"He's definitely missed us." Jerome noted.
~ School ~
"Something about water of life, and tears of gold." I told Fabian. "And the doll mentioned an old book that can be found in an… athenaeum?"
He shut his locker. "I don't know about tears of gold, but an athenaeum is another word for library."
"And this is why I love dating a word nerd." I teased. He laughed.
"And you can guess what water of life means." He said.
"Self-explanatory." I shrugged. "Elixir."
"Hey guys." Mara bounced over to us, Mick close behind. I smiled at her. "Mick and I are going into town tomorrow night to catch a movie. Want to come?"
"Yeah, sounds great." Fabian smiled at me.
"I'd certainly love to." I agreed. Mick and Fabian did a handshake at the couple walked off.
"Oh finally!" Fabian cheered to me. "A proper date! And this time no evil maniacs or poisonous flies." I laughed. Jerome walked past us, hat and scarf covering his head.
"Hey Jerry." I greeted. He continued to walk. "Fine then." Maybe it wasn't Jerome. The two of us walked into class. I kept an eye on the guy in the hat. It was Jerome. So why didn't he say anything… I turned around to sit when I saw Joy sitting next to Fabian.
"Oh, Joy…" Fabian pointed to me, awkwardly standing there.
"Oh," she said in realization. "Is this…" I nodded. "We, we used to share… I, I forgot." She picked up her stuff. "I'll go." She got up.
"Sorry." I told her sincerely as I took her spot.
"Morning!" Mrs. Andrews walked into the room. We echoed a hello.
"Loving the new hair, Mrs. A." I commented, and then pretended I didn't say anything. She had grown out her hair since last term.
"Thank you, Miss Norton." She said. I blushed and Fabian laughed, holding my hand on the desk. "Right, uh, world literature. Fairy tales and folk stories. Hand these out, page twenty-two please."
~ Break ~
Fabian, Patricia, Joy and I sat in the lounge. We were deciding Fabian's new profile picture on Chumchatter.
"That one," Joy said. "I love you in that shirt."
"Mary Ann?" he asked me.
"I love you in all of them." I shrugged. "But I like this one the best." I pointed to the one of him smiling straight at the camera. "It makes your eyes stand out more."
"No way!" Joy protested. "Patricia, tell him."
"I think he looks like a dork in all of them." Patricia said, calling neutrality. After a small moment of thinking, Fabian chose the picture I picked out. The screen shifted to his main page. "Hey, it still says single, Fabian!" Patricia noticed. They all looked at me.
"Change it immediately!" I said in a deep voice. "Or the consequences shall be severe!" They all laughed.
"Sorry, I'll change that." He typed away on the computer. Patricia walked around the chair to sit next to Joy.
"Hey Jerome." We all said, looking at him. He sighed and took off his glasses and hat.
~ After school ~
"Here it is," Fabian led me to an abandoned building. "The Frobisher Library." I linked arms with him. "It's been closed since the 70s, I always wondered what was in there." I chuckled. "What?"
"I should have known our romantic stroll would lead to a library." I teased, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He laughed. "Do you think this is the athenaeum from the riddle?" I asked as we walked closer.
"If the doll is as old as you sat it is," he replied. I unattached myself from him and ran to a blocked window. I climbed on a step and peered in. "Then the library we use at school wasn't even built, so yeah." He summed up. I could see anything through the old wood. I smiled back at him. I walked back to him and we went to the door. He pushed it and it… opened?
"Huh?" I said in surprise. Wasn't it supposed to be closed?
"It's open," Fabian said. "Did your locket do that?"
"Don't look at me for this." I said, hands in the air. He looked back at the door with puzzlement. "Let's check it out." I pushed the door open wider and stepped in.
"Mary Ann!" Fabian whispered. I entered further to find another door. Fabian followed close behind. We walked in and I heard Mr. Sweet's voice.
"What exactly are we looking for, Victor?" he asked. Fabian and I snuck behind a bookshelf covered in a sheet. What, Victor was here too? What were they doing here?
"Press the wings to find the book," Victor recited from the doll. I mouthed 'riddle' to Fabian, who was standing right by my shoulder. "The goddess Isis is depicted as having wings, perhaps some kind of engraving or carving…"
"It could be anything." Mr. Sweet said. "What about on one of these bookshelves?" I shut my eyes. Please don't find us, please don't find us, please don't–
FLAP!
Sweet started coughing. I sighed silently. He didn't find us.
"I think it highly unlikely that Robert Frobisher-Smythe would hide the book of Isis on a bookshelf, Eric." Victor said. It felt weird, hearing Mr. Sweet addressed by his first name. Mr. Sweet continued to cough. I peered over to find Victor looking away. I snuck over to the next bookshelf, Fabian following.
Victor recited the line from the riddle. I curled up on the floor behind the bookshelf. Fabian crouched down, leaning over me in an almost protective pattern. Something creaked sharply, and then the scratching sound off rock against rock.
"ERIC!" Victor cried. A moment, and then, "No… It's gone! The Book of Isis is gone!" I glanced at Fabian, who had the same confused look on his face as I did. "The recipe for the Elixir eludes me still." I looked startled towards Fabian.
"Perhaps we should just face the truth, Victor," Mr. Sweet said calmly. "The Elixir is finished, the Cup has been destroyed, and it's over. You have said so yourself."
"We had the Elixir, Eric." Victor argued. "It would by us time. And with time, alternative solutions can present themselves." A book from our bookshelf fell over. Fabian leaned away as another fell as well. The two adults went silent.
I hugged my knees and held my breath. Fabian leaned over me, so close I could practically hear his heartbeat beating fast. The flap, flap of the sheets as Victor ripped them off filled the silence.
There was a silence before the sheet on our bookshelf rustled. I squeezed my eyes shut and Victor yanked the sheet back.