The Secret of the Scarlet Stone (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book One) (37 page)

Twisting and turning her arms, she watched with fascination as the water cascaded and danced in the light
;
she blinked quickly when she noticed the soft gold light
that
reflected through the water. Curiously
,
she pushed her arms deeper and deeper into the water, recoiling with shock when she felt a strange
,
cold air tickling her fingers. Quickly, she pulled her drenched arms out of the water with excitement.

“I found it! I found it!”
Zora
screamed.

Gabrielle raised her head tiredly from
the
table, looking over at her with irritation. “You found what?” she snapped.

“I know what the message on the scroll means.
‘
The end is near and crystal
-
clear. Just walk right through it if you dare.
And
if you’re feeling faint at heart, let that person make a start,
’
”
Zora
said excitedly.

Rosalinda tiredly walked over to her
.
“Okay
,
Zora
, you’ve got my attention.”

Zora
shook with barely contained excitement
.
“It’s the waterfall—it’s crystal
-
clear
,
and
look
…
”
S
he swiftly shoved her hand into the water. “When I stick my hand in, it goes straight through to the other side. I can actually feel an opening on the other side.”

Jessica and Gabrielle walked over, looking at the gushing water skeptically.

Rosalinda gave her an incredulous stare
.
“Are you serious?
Because I’m not stepping one foot into that water again
.
I almost drowned in there.”

Gabrielle looked over at her, snorting with disgust as she confidently jumped down into the water. Her body bobbed up
and
down in the water as she stuck her arm into the waterfall. “Yep,
Zora’s
right. There’s an opening behind this waterfall.”

Jessica bit her lip nervously
.
“All right
,
then, let’s go.”

Rosalinda looked over at Jessica with shocked
eyes
.
“Are you serious? How are we going to swim through a waterfall? Besides, it could be dangerous
;
we don’t know what’s behind there waiting for us.”

Jessica’s eyes lit
up with confidence
.
“Rosalinda, we’re still alive
,
right? Besides
,
we can’t give up now; we’ve come too far. Anyway, I don’t believe that whoever brought us this far mean
s
us any harm.”

Rosalinda looked at them with tired acceptance
.
“Okay, I guess
,
as usual, I’m outnumbered on this one, so who’s going in first?”

Jessica gave them a brave smile
.
“I will. I’ll go first.” She stepped down into the lagoon, the force of the waterfall pushing her body around effortlessly.

Gabrielle’s body bobbed up
and
down effortlessly in the water. “Good job
,
Jessica. I’ll go last, just to help if anyone needs it.”

“Stop
,
Jess, don’t move an inch,”
Zora
screamed.

Jessica and Gabrielle look
ed
up at her nervously.

“Remember the message on the scroll. It said
‘
if you’re feeling faint at heart, let that person make a start.
’
So I think Rosalinda should go first because she is the most scared of going in
.
”

Rosalinda backed away.

“Come on
,
Rosa, we know you can do it. Besides
,
this end of the lagoon is really shallow, see
?
” Gabrielle encouraged as she pointed to the visible bottom. “You can practically stand
up in it with no trouble.”

Rosalinda looked over at them for support
;
they smiled at her confidently. She gritted her teeth with determination
.
“Okay, I will go first.” She cautiously stepped down into the water, yelping like a scared puppy dog as the cold water swallowed her legs.
 

Gabrielle waded through the water to support her
.
“Okay, stand
up
,
Rosa
.
G
et your footing. I’ll stand right behind just in case
,
but don’t worry; I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Rosalinda carefully stood
up, her clothes drenched from the cold water. She shuddered fearfully as she bit her bottom lip. Breathing in deeply, she held her breath
and walked slowly through the waterfall.

They watched in amazement as her body quickly disappeared.

Jessica smiled nervously as she waded through the water. She breathed in deeply, held her breath
,
stepped through the waterfall
,
and disappeared.

Zora
stepped down into the water and waded toward the waterfall
.
“Well
,
I’m next
,
Gabi; see you on the other side.” She
took a deep
breath
and walked through the waterfall
.

Gabrielle looked around the brightly painted room one last time and smiled
.
“Yes
,
Zora
, I’ll see you on the other side.”

She held her breath; stepping into the waterfall
,
with cold water softly running over her body, she quickly disappeared.

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

20—8—5—19—5—3—18—5—20—3—9—18—3—12—5—12—9—5—19—23—9—20—8—9—14—5—1—3—8—15—6—25—15—21

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

C
oughing and gasping for air, Gabrielle looked around the brightly lit cavern. Shivering from the cold air,
she
briskly rubbed her hands together for warmth.

“The first thing I’m going to do when I get out of here is take a long
,
hot shower,” Rosalinda muttered softly as she squeezed the water from her long hair.

Shivering from the cold air, Jessica rubbed her arms together for warmth
.
“I second that
,
Rosa.”

“Wow, it’s absolutely freezing in here,”
Zora
whispered as puffs of cold air circled her lips with each word she uttered. Looking around the cavern curiously, she dug into her backpack for her glasses. Putting them on
,
she adjusted them
and
looked at the lit torches that lined the walls. Her gaze stopped at the corner of the cavern, her mouth dropping open at the sight of a golden chest neatly tucked away.

Quickly
,
she walked over to
the
chest, kneeling down to take a closer look. With hands carefully gliding over the scarlet stone
-
encrusted top, she smiled with appreciation; these stones were similar to the ones in their pendants.

 
Gabrielle stared at the chest with wonder
.
“This whole thing gets weirder and weirder by the minute.”

Startled,
Zora
jumped at the sound of Gabrielle’s voice so close behind her. “You scared the
bejesus
out of me.”

“So, what’s the deal with the chest?” Gabrielle asked as she pointed down at
i
t
.

Zora
looked
up at her
.
“My guess is that it’s another clue.”

Rosalinda and Jessica walked over, hovering curiously around the chest.

“For Pete’s
s
ake, just open it already,” Rosalinda demanded impatiently.

Jessica bit her bottom lip
.
“Yeah
, o
pen it—oh
,
wait
…
but open it slowly
,
okay? It might be another trick.”

Zora
placed her hands on top of the chest
.
“Okay, here goes nothing.” She held her breath as she cautiously pried
up the heavy top. Looking around greedily at the contents of the chest, she breathed
out with relief.
“Awesome!”

They all leaned over to take a closer look, fascinated by the chest lined with bright burgundy cloth.

Jessica jabbed a finger at the soft mound nestled in the center of the chest.

“Okay, so what’s that?” she
asked.

Zora
cautiously ran her fingers over the soft mound then quickly pulled it out, holding it before them. They looked
in awe
at the dangling robe.