The Society of Imaginary Friends (Book 1 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 13

Valerie reached the bottom of the stairs and saw a long, narrow tunnel stretching ahead of her. Her heart thumped wildly as she stepped inside. She was only a few steps in when she tripped, catching herself against the wall at the last second. Her night vision goggles slipped off and landed beside her with a crunch. When she picked them up and put them back on, she saw only blackness. They were broken. She panicked for a second, and then remembered the flashlight in her pocket. She pulled it out and frantically pointed the beam in all directions.

The tunnel was completely empty, and the walls were lined with rough stones. The air inside smelled stale, as if it had been stagnating in here for years—which it probably had. The passage was only a few inches taller than she was, and so narrow that she could touch both sides of it without extending her arms completely.

She was being squeezed by the close space, and she struggled to keep her breathing steady so that she wouldn't hyperventilate from her fear. Ever since a terrifying experience of being locked up at one of her foster homes, small spaces always robbed her of her self-control.

It took all of her strength not to turn around and race back outside to safety with Thai. But she considered the life that was waiting for her back there—the sickness that was sucking her strength away and the emptiness inside her that made her heart ache. At least if she moved forward, she had a chance of a fresh start.

So she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other, and her body obeyed even as her mind was tortured by thoughts of what was lurking further ahead. Without her flashlight, she would be in complete darkness. What could be hiding in the darkness beyond the circle of light?

Her panic swelled inside of her, and she began to run, faster and faster, hoping that the tunnel would finally widen. Would it ever end? Had she somehow failed the Sphinx's test and this was her punishment? Abruptly, the tunnel narrowed and the ceiling began to taper down so that she had to crouch in order to move forward. Her breathing came in gasps, and she scraped her hands against the sides of the walls as she tried to propel herself forward. The lack of oxygen made her dizzy.

She had a sense that she was directly under the Great Pyramid, and the vibrating of its magic rattled her to the bone. It was as if the entire weight of the massive monument was upon her shoulders, bearing down on her. The tunnel curved sideways and angled upward.

Finally, she crashed into a barrier and collapsed to the ground. Her head was spinning as her lungs ached to breathe something other than the musty air of the tunnel. Her flashlight had shut off when she fell, and she frantically, blindly felt around the ground until her hand closed around the handle.

She turned the flashlight on and said a silent prayer of thanks that it hadn't broken from her fall. She shone the flashlight beam on the barrier. It was the door that marked the entrance to the launch room. At last.

The door was covered in symbols and numbers that made up hundreds of complex equations. She recognized some of the symbols from her algebra class, though most of them appeared to be in a language that she couldn't understand. Some of the symbols were the same as the ones embroidered on Chisisi's sash, and her anxiety for him, which had been driven out of her mind by her harrowing journey through the tunnel, returned.

She rested her flashlight on the ground and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Then she pressed both of her hands against the door, ready to push. But she didn't have to do a thing. She watched as light poured out of her fingers and traveled through the entire door, illuminating the equations with a translucent, neon blue light. Slowly the stone door disappeared, leaving only the glowing equations like a veil between the tunnel and the room behind it.