The Secret of the Scarlet Stone (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book One) (40 page)

Zora
said,
“Look ahead of us
.
I see something at the end of the passageway.”

“Please don’t tell me it’s another dead end
,” Rosa said
.
“
I just can’t take this anymore.”

Zora
took off her glasses, wiping them clean on the front of her shirt. “No, I don’t think so
;
it looks like a door.”

Gabrielle quickly stepped around
Zora
, examining the huge stone door that blocked their path. She scanned the door, noticing that in the middle there was a large carved circle with a big scarlet stone surrounded by five overlapping small circles of scarlet stones.

“
Zora
, let me see your magnifying glass
;
there’s something really strange about this door,” Gabrielle
said.

Zora
opened her backpack, digging around frantically
.
“Here, I found it,” she responded as she pulled out the magnifying glass, quickly handing it to her.

Holding the magnifying glass
up
to the door, Gabrielle passed it slowly over the five overlapping circles of scarlet stones.

Zora
looked at her anxiously
.
“So, what’s so strange about the door?”

Gabrielle squinted warily at the circles
.
“Well, first of all, some of the circles are missing scarlet stones. I counted about five missing stones.”
She rubbed her eyes tiredly
.
“The second thing is that I counted thirty circles
surrounding
the gigantic scarlet stone in the center. So, since some of the circles have scarlet stones in them but some don’t, I’m guessing that it’s some sort of lock.” She handed the magnifying glass over to
Zora
.
“Here, take a look for yourself.”

Zora
quickly grabbed the magnifying glass and began to examine the circles. “Gabi
,
you’re right
…
it’s some sort of weird lock. But how in the world do we open it?”

Gabrielle plopped down tiredly on the ground
,
sending a whiff of dust around her. “That’s a good question
,
Zora
. The way I see it
is
we need some sort of key.”

Jessica walked over to the stone door
.
“Well
,
have you thought about just turning the handle and seeing if it opens?” She grabbed the handle that was shaped like a circle and tried to turn it
,
but it would not budge.

Rosalinda rolled her eyes skyward
.
“Brilliant idea
,
Jessica.
Did you really think that it would be as simple as turning the handle and the door would magically open?
Duh!”

Zora
sat down tiredly next to Gabrielle
.
“Well
,
I think it was a good try
,
Jessica
,
but I could have told you that it wouldn
’
t work.”

Jessica plopped down tiredly
.
“Great, so we’re stuck again!”

Rosalinda looked over at them with disgust then threw her hands up in the air angrily. “So, what’s this? We’ve come this far and all you can do is just sit here? What happened to all that Gabby Girls Adventure stuff?”

Jessica looked up tiredly
.
“Face it
,
Rosa, we’re stuck and there’s no way out. We give up.”

Rosalinda slammed her hands on her curvy hips, tapping her foot angrily. “There is just no way that we’re giving up, not after we’ve come this far. My father always says when you feel like giving up, that’s when you dig deeper into your heart and try harder. So
,
Gabby Girls, get up, dig deeper
,
and try harder.”

With defeat written all over her face, Gabrielle breathed out tiredly, “But—
”

“No excuses! Gabby Girls do not make excuses
;
we make things happen. So, let’s start thinking about a way to open this door,” Rosalinda said confidently.

Jessica fidgeted with her pendant
.
“That’s right
…
let’s think. What could possibly be the key?”

Gabrielle suddenly perked up
.
“Remember what one of the last clues said
?
‘T
he key you seek is near your heart and it will lead you to the start.
’
” She quickly stood
up, pacing the floor in deep thought.
Then she
stopped in mid-pace, looking over at them excitedly. “Okay, I think I figured it out. Now
,
remember, this whole Gabby Girls Adventure started out because of our pendants and then our pendants gave us light just when we needed it.”

They looked over at her like she was crazy.

“Gee
whiz
,
Gabi, we already know
all that,” Rosalinda said loudly.

Gabrielle looked at them expectantly
.
“Don’t you get it?”

They gave her blank stares.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes
in
frustration
.
“Duh!
The empty holes in the circles
.
”

Jessica eyes bulged
.
“And?”

Zora
jumped up
and
down excitedly
.
“I get it!
‘
The key you seek is near your heart and it will lead you to the start
’
—it’s our pendants.”

Zora
and Gabrielle grabbed each other, jumping up
and
down excitedly
,
as Rosalinda and Jessica looked at them
in confusion.

Gabrielle
explained,
“Gabby Girls, our pendant is the key. Quick, everyone take off your pendants and let’s go to the door.”

They screamed with excitement as they took off their pendants, holding them in their hands.

“Now what?”
Jessica asked.

“Push your pendant facedown into an empty hole. I’ll go first,”
Zora
said quickly as she snapped her pendant into an empty hole then stepped back anxiously.

They jumped nervously as the door clicked softly.

“It’s actually working,” Jessica whispered.

Zora
looked over happily
.
“You’re next
,
Gabi.”

Gabrielle stepped forward, snapping her pendant into an empty hole
and
stepping back excitedly.
The door clicked again.

Rosalinda cautiously stepped forward, snapping her pendant into an empty hole. The door clicked
once more.
  

Jessica stepped forward, snapping her pendant into an empty hole.

Startled, they jumped back when the air was pierced by a large
,
booming sound, and then the cavern went completely silent. They stood deathly still, looking at the door expectantly.

“Gabi, something tells me it’s time to turn the handle,” Rosalinda whispered.

Gabrielle gulped anxiously as she placed her hands on the large circle handle and twisted. It did not move; she looked over at
Zora
helplessly. “I need some help; it’s too hard to turn by myself.”

Zora
stepped closer, placing her hands on the top part of
the
handle
;
they turned the handle together. It turned a little but was still too hard to turn completely. Gabrielle looked over at Rosalinda and Jessica for help. They stepped closer, gripping the handle.

Zora
smiled mockingly
.
“Well
,
I guess we get the point by now
;
we have to turn the handle together or the door will not open. Okay
,
Gabby Girls, let’s turn this handle and finally get out of here.”

As they twisted the handle tiredly, it slowly moved with each turn
,
making a sharp clicking sound. With the last click, they stepped back.

A booming sound erupted from the door and
it
slowly slid open. They stood back silently, peering in awe at the brightly lit room that opened before them.

Zora
scratched her head with amazement
.
“I don’t get it
;
why did it work? There were five empty holes and we only had four pendants.”

“
Zora
, just be happy that it did,” Gabrielle said.

Rosalinda looked at them
.
“Well, let’s go
…
what are you waiting for? This is what we’ve been
looki
ng for
:
a way out.” She quickly walked toward the room.

Zora
pulled Rosalinda back
.
“Wait! Don’t forget to take your pendants. I have a feeling that we just might need it.” She pulled
out each of the pendants, handing them over to the
girls
. As they placed the necklaces on their necks, they stepped into the room, breathing out in awe at the huge
space t
hat looked like a large
,
cozy living room.