FULL NOVELXO Chapter Chapter Thirty-Three
“You’re sure you don’t need anything?” Ronny double-checked.
“No, I’m good, “Cadence reassured him.
“Okay. I need to make my rounds. Check on a few things. You can show yourself out whenever you’re ready to leave. Be sure to rinse that cup out when you’re done! Our moms don’t work here, ya know.”
Ronny and Cadence exchanged chuckles.
“I will. I promise,” Cadence crossed her heart. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Ronny nodded a little two-fingered salute and left down the hallway.
Cadence sipped down the last of the room-temperature coffee. A light surge pulsed through her body as her recent distractions faded and the real reason for her stop at the mansion bounced back into her thoughts. She worried for the boys and quickly checked her phone, hoping to see a message from one of them. There was nothing. She was beginning to feel awkward just sitting in the employee lounge despite how comfy the wingback chair may be. She gathered her cup and saucer and walked into the kitchen. She rinsed the dishes clean and dried them with a slightly damp towel that hung over the front edge of the sink. She was about to set them on the counter and realized that she had left her envelope in the lounge.
“The cup belongs in there anyway,” she thought to herself.
She returned the cup and saucer to whence they came and retrieved her envelope from the end table.
“Bowoooo…”
A faint sound caught Cadence’s attention.
“Bowoooo…”
Cadence cocked her head in the direction the sound seemed to be coming from.
“Bowoooo…”
She followed the sound into the hallway that leads to the aviary.
“Dory, is that you?” she called out quietly.
“Bowoooo…”
The call beckoned her toward the aviary doors. It sounded again as the rush of warm air caressed past Cadence as she pushed through the doorway.
“Bowoooo…”
The call echoed, again and again, leading Cadence across the indoor oasis and down a passageway that ended at a simple yet elegant door. A porthole framed by a cast brass Kraken was positioned at eye level. A glowing light rippled in the darkness beyond the domed glass.
Cadence reached for the handle. Rather than finding a smooth orb her hand was met with a metal wedge. She took a step back to examine the thing that was not a doorknob. The protrusion, also brass, was adorned with polished tentacles, continuing the cephalopod theme. The surface that faced outward was covered with a grid of raised buttons that looked like the suckers on the surrounding décor and functioned as a keypad.
“Damn!” Cadence huffed. She peered through the porthole and then back at the keypad. She scanned the buttons. Their surfaces were well-worn, but the numbers and letters were still legible.
“What do we have here?”
Cadence leaned in to examine the bottommost button. It held two entwined fish facing in opposite directions. She reached into her envelope and pulled out the note.
“The yin-yang icon,” She said to herself. She ran her fingers across the letters. “R_O_C_K_S_T_A_R,” she whispered each letter as she entered them on the touchpad. She heard a crackle as the seal loosened around the door and it popped open. She slipped past the door and headed toward the rippling lights.
The short, dark hallway opened to a room very similar in size and layout to the employee lounge that she had just left. It was covered in the same rich wooden paneling and had a fireplace centered in a nook to her left. There wasn’t a large flat screen in this room. Instead, overstuffed bookcases were bursting at the seams with hardbound volumes encased in leather and cloth. The fireplace’s hearth was sandwiched between piles of manuscripts that couldn’t find a place on the shelves. An oversized davenport holding a small selection of books sat centered in the alcove. The tomes lay open with bookmarks securing the reader’s location and post-it notes flagging specific passages. The largest book appeared to also be the oldest. Its pages were irregularly shaped pieces of paper-thin leather. Cadence scanned over its pages as waves of light rippled across its surface. A circle of five glyphs dominated one of the pages. Unfamiliar text flanked each symbol. The text and illustrations were raised, which on closer inspection revealed them to be stitched onto the page using exceptionally fine thread. Each icon had its look, but they shared an overarching theme. They all looked to represent some form of misery or disdain. The cluster of glyphs appeared again on the adjoining page within a tangle of intertwined lines that, based on the illustrations of sea creatures devouring ships within them, represented bodies of water.
“Bowoooo…”
A quiet call sounded in front of her. She looked up from the pages and across the room. A thick glass half-wall held back a considerably large amount of crystal-clear water. A light deep below the turquoise surface illuminated the liquid from within. A softball-sized bubble rose and popped as it breached the surface. The resulting ripples reflected waves of light about the room.
Cadence abandoned the book and crossed to the huge tank. A cluster of bubbles floated up and broke the surface, releasing the pleasant scent of coconut with floral overtones as they did.
“The healing water,” Cadence thought. She caressed the surface with her middle fingers. It felt warm and comforting, just like her fuzzy robe when she pulled it fresh from the dryer. She rubbed her thumb against her wet fingers and a pleasant tingle traveled through her body as if she had just twirled a cotton swab inside her ear.
Far below the water’s silky surface, a golden-finned silhouette slid into view. It made a lazy “s” as it glided out of sight. Cadence scanned the glowing teal void for any additional signs of movement. She grasped the polished green edge of the glass and leaned over the wall to get a closer look. The creature suddenly appeared, moving quickly and much closer to the surface. Cadence jumped, startled. The metallic-scaled, sofa-sized tank dweller turned and dove away from Cadence, splashing her with a slap of its tail as it disappeared beneath the surface. Deep within the opposite end of the tank, it made a flip turn and ascended diagonally back towards her. It coasted to a stop squarely in front of Cadence and raised its head to examine its visitor. Cadence examined it right back.
The majestic creature shimmered in shades of gold and burnt orange highlighted by a pearl white mask and other facial markings. Its pectoral fins ran the length of its body and fluttered like wings as it bobbed in place. Droplets of water clung to its beardlike barbels. It tilted its head as it gave Cadence the once over.
“Aren’t you a beauty?” Cadence cooed at the fish.
“Bowoooo,” the fish replied sheepishly.
“Pleased to meet you, Bowoo,” Cadence curtsied.
“Bowoo” bowed in response.
He moved closer to Cadence and lowered its head encouraging her to make contact. She reached out and placed her hand gently between his saucer-sized eyes. She expected to feel something cold, wet, and scaly. To her surprise, he felt like snuggling a puppy while eating a warm chocolate chip cookie. At least that’s the image that came to her as soon as she engaged the creature.
Bowoo purred.
A “KACHUNK” of metal against metal sounded from within the ceiling overhead. A churning of gears followed to Cadence’s right as a sliver of light began forming in the darkness at the other end of the room.
“I told you a photo of the book wouldn’t suffice, but you knew better. Maybe you should listen to me once in a while, Mr. Know-it-all!”
Voices penetrated the crack as it grew wider.
“Maybe you should listen to me…” a second voice mocked.
Cadence panicked and searched the room for a place to hide. She took a step away from the tank and felt a tug at her arm. She looked back to see that Bowoo had closed his mouth around her wrist. Cadence tugged to no avail. Before she knew it her arm was elbow-deep in the fish. She began to panic and braced against the glass and pulled with all her might. Bowoo rose from the water, lifting Cadence into the air. He pulled backpedaled into the center of the tank and plunged back into the water taking Cadence with him.