Page 50 of The Grandest Game

Three paths?Lyra wondered at that. The words faded, and others appeared.

A hint remains

But must be earned

Lyra couldn’t look away, didn’t so much as blink as new lines kept replacing the old.

A riddle

A puzzle

A Hawthorne game

Once more with feeling:

They’re all the same

Each team’s challenge is their own

A crown, a scepter, an empty throne

Of all the words that had appeared on the screen, those stuck with Lyra the most.A crown. A scepter. An empty throne.That was a clue of some kind. It had to be. Lyra inched forward.

All for one

And one for all

Grayson came to stand closer to the screen—and closer to Lyra.

When you’re ready

Make the call

The screen went black. Lyra’s gaze locked on to the retro telephone, and then, before she or Grayson or Odette could say a word, the metal walls around them began to whir and shift again.

Chapter 38

GIGI

Gigi turned in a circle, the words of the poem echoing through her mind as the walls of the sci-fi-worthy chamberwhoosh-whooshedaround them.When you’re ready, make the call.An old-fashioned red phone booth that looked like it had been lifted straight from the streets of London took up a significant portion of the room, making the remainder of the metal chamber nice and cozy—maybetoocozy, given the rhinoceros-sized tension between Brady and Knox.

Thewhooshingof walls stopped, and the effect was as if an invisible hand had peeled back one layer of metal for another. On the surface of the new section of wall, there were words.

I COME BEFORE FALL

AFTER THE CENTER

AND NOT BAD AT ALL

IN FRONT OF A HORSE

NAMED LILY OR ROSE

OR COOLNESS IN SHADOW

I’M ALL OF THOSE

WHAT AM I?