The Cypher Wheel (5 page)

“Nothing in this one,” Jocelyn called.

“Nor this one,” Etyran said.

“I'll look further up,” Faen told everyone.

At one end of the long room was a snug, a little room
with a couple of chairs and a fireplace. If they were going to brew
tea anywhere, it would be in the snug.

She poked her head in the tiny room. A kettle and
teapot were positioned on the hearth in front of a fireplace. She
lifted the lid off the teapot. Sure enough, a golden card was
tucked inside.

“Found it!” Faedra exclaimed as she plucked the clue
from its hiding place.

This time the clue was written in what the organizer
had told them was Angel script. Enochian. The others joined her as
Faedra moved the circles of the cypher wheel letter by letter,
relaying the Latin equivalent back to Jocelyn who started to
studiously scribble them down on her notepad.

“This is so much fun, isn't it?” Jocelyn squealed,
excitement getting the better of her.

Faedra gave her friend a big smile as she returned
the clue back to its hiding place. This was turning out to be a lot
of fun. Faedra suddenly realized she had spent so much of her
energy trying to figure out the clues and find where they were
hidden, she hadn't once had to think about holding her power back,
and, as yet, she hadn't blown anything up, either, which was a
bonus. This was turning out to be a very good idea.

Sounds of footsteps echoed up the stairwell. The next
group of treasure hunters had discovered where the clue was. It was
time for Faedra and her friends to make an exit. She didn't want to
discuss the next possible hiding place in front of anyone. There
was a chance that they may just win this thing after all. They
hadn't seen anything of the giggling girls, so she was pretty sure
they had gone looking in the wrong place and she knew her group was
second out of the pub.

Downstairs, in the cloisters, they took a moment so
that Jocelyn could read out the next clue. Faedra couldn't help but
feel the odd sensation coming from across the square again. She
turned to look through the arches. Did someone just pull back into
the shadows? Just as she was about to lean further over, Etyran
commanded her attention.

“Hey, don't flake on us now,” he said.

“Huh?”

“You didn't hear a word Jocelyn said, did you? Focus,
Faedra.”

Color rushed to Faedra's cheeks. “Sorry, Jocelyn,
could you repeat it?”

CHAPTER FIVE

“Looks like battlements, but it's not a castle.

Has stained glass windows, but it's not a church.

Justice was dealt here, council business, too.

Behind the lion's shield is where you'll find the
clue.”

“What other building in Norwich looks like it has
battlements?” Faedra mused to herself. “And stained glass windows?”
She looked around at the other’s blank expressions, waiting
expectantly once more. Great… a lot of good they were. A moment
later a long forgotten memory forced its way to the forefront of
her mind. Almost as if she had asked someone to pull a file out of
a filing cabinet and hand it to her. There it was, as clear as if
it only happened yesterday. A middle school field trip.

“Of course. The Guildhall!” she exclaimed with
excitement. It was one of her most memorable field trips of that
age and not for good reasons.

The others retained their blank expressions.

“Middle school history,” Faedra explained. She
inwardly shuddered as she remembered the old jail cells and how
they closed the doors on several students at a time to give them an
idea of what it would have been like to be imprisoned there
centuries ago. She remembered teetering down the narrow spiral
staircase that led down to a large crypt that was used like a
dungeon. What she couldn't remember were any lions down there,
thank goodness. At least she knew where not to bother looking.

“Come on,” she said to her group. “We need to run.
Anyone else who had history in middle school will figure this clue
out in a heartbeat.”

Faedra turned and took off through the cloisters and
out through the passageway, her boots clunking on the flagstone
floor and echoing off the walls and ceiling. Mid-stride Jocelyn and
Faen took to their dog forms and flanked Faedra as she ran through
the gates; Etyran followed a stride behind her.

“Hey, that's cheating!” she chastised her two furry
friends as they all trotted across the road and into an alleyway
that ran behind the cathedral. Jocelyn turned her snout and gave
Faedra her signature toothy grin. A minute more and they were
running across the cathedral grounds and through the main gate
towards the center of the city.

Shoppers gave Faedra and Etyran odd looks as they
legged it through one of the pedestrianized shopping lanes that
networked through the ancient city. Around one more corner and the
building Faedra sought came into sight.

The Guildhall stood at the top of a small hill. Taxi
cabs lined up in front of the austere building waiting for their
fares. The bustling hub that was the undercover market place stood
to its left. The building stuck out like a sore thumb, such was its
shape among the more modern buildings surrounding it. It was oblong
with arched windows and doors. The walls were lined with flint and
what looked like battlements, accented the roof.

Faedra and Etyran ran up the hill still flanked by
their furry friends. A couple of taxi drivers, who were deep in
conversation, stopped to look at the four run past, creased their
eyebrows, shook their heads and carried on their conversation.

When they got to the entrance, Jocelyn and Faen
changed back in a split second upon walking through the door. They
stood in the main lobby while Faedra did a cursory look around.

“We need to split up. I don't know which of the rooms
has a lion that could hide a clue,” Faedra instructed. “Jocelyn,
you and Etyran take this floor and Faen and I will look
upstairs.”

Jocelyn nodded and she and Etyran turned to scope out
the main courtroom which was now a beautiful backdrop to a swanky
cafe.

Faen and Faedra took the stairs two at a time. When
they got to the top, they stood between two more rooms.

“I can look in this room, if you would like to take
that one,” Faen suggested with a gesture first to the council
chambers and then to another courtroom, much plainer than the one
their two friends were scoping out down below.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Faedra said with a smile.
“Good luck.” They turned back to back and walked towards their
respective rooms.

Faedra felt the carpet beneath her feet disappear as
soon as she stepped foot into the ancient courtroom. No longer used
in present times, but many a poor soul convicted to horrendous
punishment in times gone by. She stole herself for the onslaught of
energy that was bound to plunge itself full force into her
psyche.

Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes for a
second, calming the maelstrom of emotions that surrounded her. She
had to find a way to control it and now was as good a time as any
to start.

Faedra opened her eyes and looked over to the
“holding pen” in front of a large window. The shadows of several
men sat on a bench, heads down, awaiting their fate.

Faedra took another step into the room. The
floorboards creaked under foot making her flinch.

“Focus, Faedra,” she reprimanded herself. “You'll
never find the bloody thing if you keep your eyes closed most of
the time.”

She steeled her resolve and shook the spookies from
her head. Another step forward, but this time she was scanning the
wooden paneling that covered the walls. She couldn't immediately
see anything that remotely resembled a lion. The whole room was
very dowdy; everywhere she looked was wood. Wooden walls, wooden
floors, wooden benches. No color or texture at all in this
depressing room.

The lion obviously wasn't there. Maybe Faen was
having better luck. She turned to leave and bumped straight into
his chest.

“I think I found it,” Faen said, his excitement
making him oblivious to the look of surprise on Faedra's face.

“Don't do that!” Faedra cursed.

“Do what?”

“Sneak up on me. I could've hurt you.”

Faen gave her a look that said he didn't believe that
for a second, then took her by the arm and led her out of the old
courtroom.

“In here, I think I found the lions.”

They walked across the hallway to another room.
Stunning by comparison to one they'd just left. Plush carpet
adorned the floor. Benches with red velvet cushions lined the walls
and a beautiful stained glass window took up half of one wall. This
must have been the council chambers. At the entrance to the
chambers were two carved lions, one on either side. They were both
holding a shield.

“Definitely lions,” Faedra agreed. She ran her
fingers over the smooth wooden statues.

“There's something behind the shield on this one,”
Faen said.

Faedra turned just in time to see Faen pluck a golden
piece of paper from behind the lion's shield.

“Here, you do the honors,” Faedra said, handing her
Guardian the pad and pencil.

She pulled out the cypher wheel and started spelling
out letters.

A few moments later, Faen and Faedra were dashing
down the stairs to give Jocelyn and Etyran the good news. They
walked calmly into the cafe, not wanting to disturb the guests
dining there.

While they were huddled to one side of the entrance,
Faedra could feel the odd sensation she had at The Great Hospital.
She looked around. She couldn't see anything untoward in the cafe.
Several tables full of friends or couples chatted over cups of tea
and scones. One person in the corner was holding their menu up,
concealing their face.

“Well, Fae, what do you think? Do you have any idea
what this next clue means?” Etyran said, pulling Faedra's thoughts
back to the treasure hunt. They were doing really well so far,
maybe they were in for a good chance of winning after all. Just as
she thought that, a couple of groups burst through the entrance,
conferred for a moment, then split up.

“Let's read it outside,” Faedra suggested.

They moved to an alley across from the entrance. Once
outside, Faedra read the clue out loud to her team.

“Find the place where merchants once traded,

A building restored that once was jaded.

Your gains can be found in the treasure chest,

But beware, the dragon doth not protest.”

Faedra looked up from the clue to see three expectant
faces peering back at her.

“Really, guys? You are the most hopeless treasure
hunt team in the history of mankind.”

“Yeah, we know, but it's fun watching you try and
figure it out,” Etyran chirped. “We're just along for the
ride.”

Faedra gave him a mock glare. Just as she did, a lady
came to view in her peripheral vision, accompanied by the unusual
sensation she'd felt a couple of times earlier in the hunt. She
didn't get a clear picture of the woman's face, as her long hair
hung like a curtain down the side of her face. Faedra was sure she
recognized her from somewhere. This person was throwing off anxiety
and impatience. Faedra stretched around Etyran to get a better look
at the woman, but when she did, there was no one there. Etyran
turned and Faen leaned over to follow Faedra's line of sight.

“Something wrong?” Faen asked.

“What's up?” Etyran said at the same time as his
friend.

“Hmm...” Faedra chewed on her lip and brought her
attention back to her friends. “I thought I recognized someone,
but, I guess, it wasn't anyone. Okay, back to this clue. The only
trading hall I know about that has any connection to dragons is
Dragon Hall. It was re-discovered recently after it had been
divided up into shops and flats for centuries. They spent a lot of
money restoring it to its original state. Apparently, there's a
beautiful carving of a dragon in one of the roof beams. I've seen
pictures but I've never been there. Only thing is, it's all the way
over the other side of the city. Faen, can we fly there?”

“No, Faedra, that would be cheating,” Faen answered,
waggling his finger in a cheeky way.

“Oh, and you two turning into dogs to run over here,
wasn't?” she asked, a sly curve bending her lips.

“What am I? Chopped Liver?” Etyran grouched. “It's
all right for you lot, but somehow I can't see Jocelyn being able
to carry me.”

Jocelyn put hands on hips and gave him a look that
said 'I'm not that weak'.

Faedra smiled at the Lightbender's outburst. “Point
taken,” she said. “Well, I guess we are going to have to leg it
across the city again. This treasure better be worth it.”

Faen moved to one side and made a sweeping gesture
with his arm. “Off you go, then. We will be right behind you.”

Faedra narrowed her eyes at him which garnered her a
wink and a cheeky grin. Then he looked around, gave her another
smirk and blurred into his dog form, followed a second later by
Jocelyn.

Faedra looked at Etyran. “Bloody fairies.”

“No argument from me,” he said.

The two left standing, walked out of the alley and
took off at a jog, followed by their two furry friends. Their route
would take them past the taxi cabs, along Gentleman's Walk, up past
the castle, the mall, and the newspaper.

Strangely enough, even though they were running at a
fair clip, Faedra did not fall out of breath, and she hardly
classed herself as fit, but now she felt energized. The blood
pumping through her veins was pushing her forward with ease.

Eventually, they arrived at Dragon Hall and burst
through the entrance, much to the surprise of the attendant who was
sitting behind the counter in the gift shop.

“Do you have a treasure chest here?” Faedra asked,
cringing at how corny that sounded.