8. The Unexpected Pearlmonster

Halek didn’t even react anymore, his face contorted by exhaustion and the toxic gas. The more tired he became, the more all the shadows morphed into shapes that resembled … nothing.

Jaco also struggled for air. “Such bright green moss is the perfect plant to conceal Gripglass.”

“Gripglass? It really exists? That’s just a scary story for children.”

“Of course it exists! Children’s tales aren’t lies.”

“Oh. Then what about the monsters under our beds?”

“Absolutely! I’ve done my duty and laid under a child’s bed before.”

“Huh? What? Why?”

Jaco walked away, coughing and shaking his head.

“You know, sometimes I really don’t understand Florian customs. You all live on the fear of others, rather than life force and wonder. That’s why I’d like to return to the other lands, away from this sandy hell.”

He walked to the stones and used his dagger to scrape away the moss. Little green dots on top of the rocks seemed to slowly shift positions.

“They communicate with each other. No one knows how this plant was ever created, because they seem like particles, materials. Like clothing or water. But if you touch one, they all swarm together, and before you know it you’re completely covered. They never let you go, ever.”

“I understand the gripping part, but why do they call it glass?”

Jaco shrugged. He surveyed the room and saw there was no other passage. They could only go back.

He hadn’t heard Gidi in quite a while. Each time he looked over his shoulder, she barely kept her eyes open. When he asked her something, Gidi only responded by nodding slowly.

“She doesn’t have much time left,” he whispered to Halek. “I think the exit is hidden here somewhere. I hope so, for Gidi’s sake. Look for clues—but don’t touch anything!”

“Why are you whispering?”

“So Gidi can sleep, it’s better for her.”

He had barely finished the sentence when they heard light snoring, like a soft wind blowing past leaves. They both had to cough at the same time and chose opposite sides of the wall to inspect.

Once Gidi was properly snoring, Halek firmly grabbed the jackal.

“Why are you doing this? What’s your interest in saving the royal family?”

Jaco had checked that the ferns didn’t have any Gripglass. He carefully laid Gidi down among them and observed that she really was asleep.

“The dune gazelles who seized power were the best thing to ever happen to Floria. They were good rulers. I couldn’t stand to see her grandfather go mad and destroy everything. I know someone had enchanted him, a powerful enchantment only doable for a demigod, but I couldn’t find the culprit.”

He stopped searching to stare Halek in the eyes. “I didn’t find Gidi. I abducted her at night, after giving the entire royal family a potion that made them sleep for days.”

Halek’s breathing quickened. “That explains why we were able to so easily come in and …”

“So … she’s the only one left … "

Halek took a step back from Jaco and studied Gidi, who slept innocently.

“It’s done. The dune gazelles were always a better creature than us. What you did was very noble.”

“I wouldn’t use that word. Soon, soldiers from all folks will knock on Floria’s door to murder the criminal Jaco. They’ll want to uphold the laws of Companions … as far as they still mean something.”

“Why are you still here then? Do you think Isis can protect you? Undo your banishment?”

“She could, but I don’t think Isis wants to be found. No living person has ever seen her. I do think, however, that a big treasure and piles of gold coins can protect me.”

“If you step out of this pyramid draped in gold chains and pearls, they’ll certainly think you’re a criminal.”

“They already think I’m a criminal! There’s no changing that. I’ll just have to bribe those Companions.”

“That kind of thinking is exactly what turned me into a Shadowshifter! Everyone saw a fennec and labeled me a criminal, so I stopped bothering to prove them wrong. I was nearly murdered by my own friends, imagine that.”

They had combed the entire wall. Besides the usual meaningless symbols and scratches left by frustrated treasure hunters, they found nothing.

“Why do you stay with us then? Why not turn in the Shadowshifters to the Council of Kame, collect the reward, and start a better life for yourself?”

“You said it yourself: there’s a curse on this pyramid! Otherwise I would have left long ago. Would have already devised ten ways to make life miserable for those other Shadowshifters.”

Jaco laughed. “Gosh, I can’t believe you fell for that. I’m just making stuff up. I’ll say anything if it saves my life and Gidi’s. A curse? What would such a curse even be?”

“So … I can leave?”

“If you still remember the way back out of this maze, be my guest.”

“Ah, as a wise man told me, I’ll just keep my right paw against the right wall, and I’m bound to find the entrance eventually.”

They laughed, interrupted by Gidi’s moaning. They scanned the room. They couldn’t peel their eyes away from the shimmering waves in the center, but didn’t dare come closer to the Gripglass.

“I’ve never experienced this before. The answer was always quick to find. The legend already said the Pearl Pyramid was the pride of the gods—that it was the best guarded—but I didn’t expect this.”

“What did you just say? Pearl Pyramid?”

“Yes, that’s what they call this deceptive inflated triangle.”

“But isn’t that the answer then?”

“I don’t think shouting the words pearl pyramid will help us.”

“No, look at that big pearl on the pillar. And all those pearls in the water.”

“There are no pearls in the water, that’s the reflection of the one big pearl.”

“Are you completely sure about that?”

Jaco walked to the pool, though the stones prevented him from getting close enough to peer deep into the water. “And then what? How does it help us if there are pearls lying in this water?”

“Maybe they form a pattern. Spell out a clue.”

“Hmm, not the dumbest idea. But we can’t get any closer.”

“Gidi is small enough to slip between the stones without touching the Gripglass.”

“No. Gidi will not be sacrificed.”

Halek smoothed his whiskers. “Ah, then I’ll just do it. I’ve done thousands of things more dangerous than this.”

“Then those were a thousand too many. If you don’t make it, and neither do any friends of yours, your species will be extinct. Think about that!”

“Listen who’s talking! I don’t care one bit about my kind and neither do they. They’re awful. We’re the weeds everyone pulls from their gardens. It’s better if we’re gone for good.”

Halek stepped forward, leaned over the stones, and placed his front paws against the large pearl. He expected to find support, but instead pushed the pearl off its pillar and into the water.

Losing his balance, he grabbed the pillar with one paw, but only caught air with the other paw. He swiveled to the side, hanging above the stones and water like a cable car, the muscles in his limbs pulled taut.

Jaco ran toward him, but was too late.

Halek slipped and fell on top of a rock. He tumbled forward and landed in the water along with the stone. Air bubbles rose to the surface, but Halek stayed down.

“Swim, swim to the top!”

Jaco’s shouts awoke Gidi. Together, they could only watch as Halek’s hind legs grew greener and greener, as he swam circles under the water’s surface.

“Quick, give me the rope! We’ll pull him up!”

“We don’t have it anymore!” Gidi plunged her paw into the water, but Jaco yanked her back forcefully.

“We can’t touch him anymore. I’m sorry.”

A head burst from the water and two green paws clung to the part of the pillar above the surface.

“I can’t do it.” Halek spit a waterfall between his sharp teeth. “I can’t feel my legs anymore. I hope you find Isis.”

“No, we’re going to find Isis together. You’ll get a new start for your kind.”

Halek went under again, but managed to surface. His neck was green. The Gripglass now crept over his face too.

Gidi cried. Jaco kept looking for solutions.

“Ah, at least now I can go and lie under children’s beds as a monster.”

Halek was completely green now, except for his eyes. He let go and sank into the depths. Jaco and Gidi watched him for a long time, but no air bubbles appeared at the surface, and no fox ever came up.

The shadows around them regained their expected shapes. They lengthened and sharpened.

They’re becoming arrows!, Gidi thought. And the arrows pointed to the symbol of a staff on the wall. Halek is pointing to the only symbol that appears only once.

Jaco trudged to the wall, his head dropped. He gently pressed on the symbol. Next to him, two stones rotated inward like swinging doors.

Gidi still stared into the water. Jaco picked her up and laid her across his aching back once more. His legs wobbled, nearly giving out. His vision grew increasingly blurry.

“We have to go. We’ve breathed in too much gas already.”

Gidi rested her chin between his soft ears again. They shuffled on. When she looked back, the shadows were nothing more than the shape you’d expect.

A wide staircase led to a spacious opening far deeper underground. It was well lit. No dust covered the steps, unlike the rest of the pyramid, and the stone perfectly reflected the torchlight.

The air was fresh. Gidi felt her constricted throat open up more and more, and her heart beat slower and slower.

Halfway down the stairs, they suddenly heard rumbling and roaring. With ever step, a new sound seemed to appear.

I thought we had captured all the foxes?