Page 48 of With the Potion in the Courtyard

"Oi, what's that?" Robbie pointed to the wall where, projected like a shadow puppet, was the image of his own butt.

"Uh..." My cheeks flamed with embarrassment.

"Thinking nice thoughts, are we?" he said, before standing up straight and pressing a quick, soft kiss to my lips. The surprise left me momentarily breathless.

"So, the horse figurine projects what you’re thinking about on the wall," Jessie said. "That’s absolutely fascinating. And might be useful. Make sure to hold onto it."

"Agreed," Robbie said. "Although we’ll have to think less about my butt. Maybe Cendi should put it in her pocket, just in case."

"Jerk," I said, though my heart was doing somersaults. "Let’s focus. We still need to find Jaylyn."

"Right," Robbie said, grin lingering as we gathered more artifacts in our pockets and bags, each one stranger than the last.

"That might be enough," Jessie said. "We can’t have so many things that we’re weighed down."

She was right, even though some part of me wanted to keep collecting the powerful items. "Now what?"

"Go back the way we came?" Robbie asked.

We headed back the way we came, inching along carefully, watching out for more tricks and traps. Only, there were simply hallways filled with the dark drawings and the strange swirling of colors. Jessie pulled out the map, and we followed thepaths that would take us to the center of the lair. To the place the Lizard Wizard was most likely to be hiding, and the place we hoped to find Jaylyn.

Time ticked by. We had to duck and hide, waiting for guards to leave, several times, but no one spotted us. Thankfully.

We edged closer to the inner sanctum, our steps almost silent on the rubbery ground. The hallway widened in front of us, and we instantly hid from sight. Jessie made a motion for us to be quiet, and look. We did, carefully, poking our heads out to see what was ahead of us. This hallway was as wide as a house, with a dozen different halls branching off from it. But right in front of us, there was a doorway, lined on both sides by our enemies. Cricket guards with blue armor and red eyes stood watch. A barrier between us and the room we were trying to get to.

Robbie gave me a nod, and I knew what to do.

"Here goes nothing," I whispered, clutching the horse figurine. I focused hard, thinking of the biggest, most terrifying bird I could imagine.

In an instant, the wall beside the guards came alive with the shadow of a monstrous bird, itswings spread wide, and talons outstretched. The crickets let out ear-splitting screams and scattered in all directions, tripping over their own feet to escape.

"Nice one," Jessie chuckled, patting my back as we slipped toward the now unguarded entrance.

The door to the inner sanctum loomed before us. Two statues flanked it, their lopsided eyes seeming to follow our every move.

"Okay, so how do we open this thing?" I asked, eyeing the door warily.

"Wait, there's something written here," Robbie said, crouching down to squint at the scrawled letters. "It's a riddle."

"Hit us with it," Jessie said, her brow furrowed in concentration.

Robbie cleared his throat. "I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?"

We pondered for a moment, the silence stretching between us.

"Comeon, brain," I said.

"Could it be a toy?" Jessie suggested.

"I don’t think so," I said. "What about a television?"

"I’m not sure they have televisions here," she answered with a frown.

"Robbie, any ideas?" I asked. He’d been awfully quiet.

"Guys, it's a map," Robbie said, his face lighting up with excitement.

"Of course," Jessie slapped her forehead. "Nice work,"