The Secret of the Scarlet Stone (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book One) (38 page)

“Oh,
que
linda
, it’s so beautiful. Look at the color; it’s the same color as our pendants,” Rosalinda exclaimed.

Gabrielle reached over, softly touching the expensive
-
looking burgundy velvet. She quickly glanced down, pointing to the inside of the chest. “Oh
,
look, there’s more inside!” She reached in
,
pulling one out.

The robe was identical to the one that
Zora
held in her hand.

Rosalinda looked at them with wide
eyes
.
“Okay, does anyone else think that this is weird? For goodness sake, there just happens to be robes in a chest
.
”
S
he waved her hands around wildly. “And let’s not forget all of these lit torches behind a strange waterfall.”

Jessica looked over at Rosalinda with obvious annoyance
.
“Rosalinda, in case you didn’t get the memo, everything about this day is weird. Jeez, even I figured out that someone deliberately left the robes for us to wear because they knew that we would be wet from the waterfall.”

Gabrielle snickered
,
causing Rosalinda to give her an irritated gla
nc
e.

Zora
adjusted her glasses then quickly pulled on the robe
.
“And obviously the lit torches are here to guide us on our journey through the cavern.”

Gabrielle pulled on the robe that she held in her hand, quickly pulling her damp
,
curly hair from her ponytail and squeezing out the water. “Whew, that feels much better,” she said gratefully as she rubbed her hands together for warmth.

Jessica reached into the chest and pulled
out the remaining two robes, handing one to Rosalinda and putting on the other.

Rosalinda looked around
.
“So, I guess I’m the only one that cares about who left the robes here. This is crazy
…
you’re all crazy.”

Gabrielle rolled her eyes
in
frustration
.
“Okay
,
Rosalinda
,
get
a grip and get with the program. Girl, you are wasting so much time with your constant yapping. So, as soon as you put on your robe, we’ll continue our Gabby Girls Adventures and finally find out what or who is behind all of this craziness.”

Breathing out angrily, Rosalinda pulled on the robe
.
“Fine,” she said huffily.

“Okay, let’s go,” Gabrielle instructed as she turned on her heels and stomped away.

Zora
squinted at the chest
.
“Wait! I see something else in the
re.
”

Gabrielle stopped cold in her tracks.

Zora
reached in, carefully pulling out a yellowed piece of parchment paper
,
and read it aloud
:

The key you seek is near your heart and it will lead you to the very start.

Rosalinda looked at them
.
“Okay, so should I even ask what exactly does that mean?”

Jessica laughed softly and hugged her
.
“Nope
…
don’t even bother
,
Rosa.”

Rosalinda looked at her sternly then burst
out in uncontrollable laughter
.
“That’s what I thought.”

“Wait, that’s not all
;
it has some mysterious numbers written along the bottom of the parchment paper,”
Zora
added.

Rosalinda threw her hands in the air with exasperation
.
“Great!”

Gabrielle rubbed her hands together with anticipation
.
“Okay, so what do we do with the numbers?”

“Well
,
I think the
y
have something to do with the gold compass that we found,”
Zora
responded as she pulled her notepad, pencil
,
and the compass out of her backpack. She twirled the compass around between her fingers.

“I think I got it—look at the two dials on the compass. One dial has letters of the alphabet and the other has numbers. I think the numbers should match the letters of the alphabet.”

“What!” Rosalinda screamed hysterically. “This makes no sense at all.”

“Jeez
,
Rosa, would you please calm down! She’s trying to tell us something and I can’t hear her over your constant yapping,” Gabrielle yelled.

“Thanks
,
Gabi
. A
s I was trying to say, the numbers should match the letters of the alphabet. Okay, let me show you what I mean
.
Jessica, please read out the numbers and
,
Gabi
,
you write down what I say
,
okay?”
Zora
asked.

They both nodded in agreement as she passed the notebook and pen to Gabrielle and the clue to Jessica.

Jessica held the yellowed paper, reading aloud
:
“
Twenty, eight,
five
…
”

Zora
adjusted her glasses
.
“Okay, slow down
,
Jessica.”

Jessica smiled
.
“Sorry
.
”

 
“Okay,
twenty
equals the letter T because it’s the
twentie
th letter in the alphabet,”
Zora
stated.

“You’re right
,
Zora
. L
et’s go
…
we’ll have this clue solved in no time. Keep reading
,
Jess,” Gabrielle responded somberly.

Jessica continued
:
“
Twenty, eight, five, nineteen, five, three, eighteen, five, twenty, three, nine, eighteen, three, twelve, five, twelve, nine, five, nineteen, twenty-three, nine, twenty, eight, nine, fourteen, five, one, three, eight, fifteen, six, twenty-five, fifteen, twenty-one.
”

Zora
chirped
out the letters confidently
:
“T-H-E-S-E-C-R-E-T-C-I-R-C-L-E-L-I-E-S-W-I-T-I-N-E-A-C-H-O-F-Y-O-U
.
”

Gabrielle scribbled the letters furiously in the notebook.

“Okay, so what do you have
,
Gabi?”
Zora
asked quickly.

Gabrielle scratched her head with puzzlement as she examined what she wrote.
“Hmmm
,
give me a second
…
okay, I got it
!
It says
,
‘
The Secret Circle Lies within Each of You.
’
”

“So, exactly what does that mean?” Rosalinda asked.

“Well, I don’t know
,
but it’s time to find out what or who is behind this whole mystery. Let’s go
,
Gabby Girls.”
Zora
took the paper from Jessica, folding
i
t
and placing it carefully into her backpack along with the gold compass.

Jessica,
Zora
,
and Gabrielle quickly turned on their heels and started down the long cavern.

“Stop!
I’m not going anywhere!” Rosalinda screamed angrily.

Zora
sharply turned around, looking at her with annoyance
.
“Look
,
Rosalinda, stop wasting time.”

Rosalinda giggled loudly as she held out her hand facedown. She looked at them expectantly.

Smiling knowingly, Jessica walked over to her, placing her hand
facedown
on Rosalinda’s.
Zora
giggled softly, walking over
and
placing her hand on top of Jessica’s.

Gabrielle looked at them like they were crazy
.
“Gabby Girls, we don’t have time for this right now.”

Jessica’s face was bright red from laughing
.
“Oh
,
come on
;
we always have time. Come on
,
Gabi
,
we’re waiting.”

Rosalinda cracked a wide smile
.
“That’s right
…
get over here. After all, you started this whole Gabby Girls thing.”

Gabrielle threw her hands up in the air
in
defeat
.
“Okay
,
okay
…
you Gabby Girls are just the craziest.” Walking over, she placed her hand
facedown
on top of
Zora’s
.

They looked over at her expectantly, causing her to roll her eyes skyward playfully. “Okay
,
okay
…
”

They lifted their hands in the air, screaming at the top of their lungs, “Gabby Girls Adventure!”