“This one,” he said as he picked up the tallest one, “goes here.” He set it down on the left scale plate. The scale itself did not move, as it was carved of stone. But when he placed the second bottle, the sound of chains pulling through metal sounded from behind the statue.
Sabine nodded. “So far, so good. Do you suppose if you get one wrong the flooring in here collapses as it did in my game of Thistle?”
“Let’s not find out.” He lifted another bottle and eyed both sides of the scale, then finally set that one back down and retrieved another one.
Carefully he placed bottles, and each time they heard the chains. Finally, only one bottle remained. He leaned forward, and Sabine put her hand on his arm. “Wait. Before you set it down, examine them all and make certain you’re correct.”
He heeded her advice and checked all the bottles he had already placed. The one in his hand was short, but very round. He looked again at the scale, and the tallest bottle caught his attention. He picked it up and tried to weigh each on his palms.
“I think this is right. Four on this side”—he set down the round bottle from where he’d retrieved the tall one— “and two on this.” He placed the final bottle, and both Max and Sabine stood still waiting for what would happen next.
The chains creaked and through the wall another compartment opened. Inside was a small leather pouch, much like the one they’d found in Mr. Travers’s grave.
He reached in and grabbed the wrapped packet, then handed it to Sabine. “You read this one,” he said.
Sabine reached for it to unwrap it at the same time as the stone shifted back into place, and then the ceiling began to move, shifting downward.
“I think we’ve fallen into a trap,” Max said.
The ceiling had closed in on them so quickly that Max already had to hunch over. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out with him into the spring-fed pool room. Stones fell from the columns, and the amphoras, as if in unison, broke free of the women’s sculpted hands and crumbled into the empty pool beneath them. The pool itself split as if the earth sat ready to consume the entire space.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Max said.
“Quickly,” Sabine added. Her heart beat so furiously she was certain she’d choke on it. She moved as fast as she could behind Max as he continued to drag her along.
A large stone fell right beside her. She screamed. They kept moving.
The floor shifted, and they both fell. Max sliced his arm on a broken piece of marble, and blood immediately appeared on his sleeve.
“Max, you’re bleeding,” Sabine said, reaching out to touch his forearm.
“We don’t have time.” He pulled her to her feet and out of the arched area just as three columns crumbled to the ground. “This whole place is falling apart. If we don’t get out of here before that happens, we’ll be buried alive.”
They reached the tunnel, and the very walls of it shook. The instability of their surroundings frightened Sabine to her core.
“Run, Sabine,” Max yelled.
She ran. Behind her, the tunnel seemed to disappear into the ground. But she kept moving forward, her heart pumping so fast, she felt certain it would explode.
Finally, they reached the stairs that wound back up to the storeroom. Max ran up the stairs, and Sabine was right behind him, but once she hit the second stair, something shifted beneath her feet and suddenly she was falling. Strong arms grabbed her wrists, and she met Max’s gaze.
“Do not let go,” he said.
Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes as her legs dangled under her. The floor beneath her completely disappeared, and in its place was a gaping hole that was swallowed in darkness. “Max!”
“I won’t drop you. Hold on.” He leaned on the floor above where the stairs had been and pulled her upward.
Her stomach scraped across the rough edge. She drew her legs up, struggling to find her footing.
Once she was able, she pushed herself up onto the floor and fell against him. Their labored breath mingled.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Any time. Now, let’s get the hell out of here.”
CHAPTER15
They ran out of the building, Max still holding tightly to her hand. Then they jumped off the front stoop. The wood creaked, and the red bricks started to crumble and fall. Together they stood back and watched as the house shifted to the right, then fell in on itself, until it was nothing more than a pile of wood and bricks.