The stag and bull were lifelike and magical in their realism, neither touching the ceiling nor the floor. They’d been set about six feet apart in front of an intricately painted forest mural. The stag was on his hind legs, head angled as if challenging the bull. Mina touched the soft fur of the stag and felt heat emanating from the life-size pieces. The stag swayed and slid a few inches to the right. Pressing her head to the wall, she could see that the animals were attached to sliders on the wall. Perhaps it was some sort of puzzle.
Taking a few steps back, she looked at the two animals and decided that they were about to converge in battle. The bull looked angry, but the stag bore another expression entirely; it seemed fearful and determined at the same time. This must have been a very talented taxidermist. She first went over to the heavy black bull and pushed as hard as she could, half expecting it to come alive at any second. Grunting and biting her lip, Mina struggled with the bull piece until she had moved it to the center of the wall.
When she knew she had pushed it as much as she could, Mina tackled moving the large stag piece. Unbelievably, it slid with ease toward the bull, almost eagerly. But at the current rate, as she pushed the stag, she realized it would be positioned dangerously in front of the bull’s horns. The thought made her uncomfortable, so when the stag had nearly reached the bull in battle in the exact center of the mural, she pushed up so the rearing stag would have the advantage. She turned and heard an audible click over her shoulder, followed by ominous creaking.
Mina only had a moment to react as the giant bull unhinged from the wall and fell forward toward her, horns aiming for her heart. Leaping to the left, she dodged the heavy piece as it collided with the stone floor under the stag, breaking in half. When the dust settled, a door appeared where the bull had been moments before. “How can that be?” Mina thought.
Dusting off her hands, she looked toward the stag and blinked in surprise. It was gone, but there was no door where the stag had once been. She supposed she had no choice but to try the door that appeared behind the defeated bull. She opened it slowly, looking behind her shoulder for Nan, reminding herself that it was better if she weren’t involved. The door led to a dead-end circular room built of large stone blocks. She looked around the walls for clues but found nothing but solid stone. Wait!
Below her, there was something carved into the floor. Crawling on her hands and knees, Mina did the best she could to wipe away what looked to be hundreds of years of accumulated dust. Whoever cleaned the shop upstairs hadn’t bothered with this place. Her fingers could feel the distinct outline of something. Getting excited, she blew on the engraving, scattering dust particles everywhere. They were all over her clothes and hair, making her sneeze, but that didn’t deter her.
“So that’s where you went!” Mina spoke quietly as her fingers traced the outline of a fighting stag, glorious antlers in full array. It looked as if it were a seal or cover for something. Mina stood up and looked around the room for something to break the seal. Finding nothing, she turned to leave, stepping directly on the stone circle. As her foot touched it, the ground shifted beneath her, causing her to fall to her knees.
The stone circle was dropping from underneath her into what looked to be…nothingness. Scrambling, Mina leapt away from the circle and dug her fingers into the cracks between another stone in the floor. The stone circle stopped moving and waited almost patiently until her fingers gave out and she slid back into the hole to land ungracefully on her backside. Once she was properly seated again, the stone circle continued its descent, although slower, as if not to scare Mina further. It didn’t help; she was still terrified. Finally she heard a loud thump, and the floor stopped moving. She could tell by a burst of air she’d descended to a larger room, though it took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust in the near-total darkness.
Mina wasn’t sure how she’d get out of here, and thought about calling for help, but felt power gathering again, warning her that something was about to happen. Never leaving the circle of light cast into the hole, Mina waited. A small voice inside warned her to not step off the stone circle. What if it decided to float to the ceiling again, shutting her in the dark forever? What if she ran into the bull out there? There were too many “what ifs” convincing her not to leave the stone tablet.
That was, until her eyes alit on a clear glass coffin.
Mina averted her eyes, afraid of what she might see within. It could have been the bones of a small child or animal. When her mind was through playing tricks, Mina cast another glance to see that the glass coffin was not a coffin, but a glass chest. Instead of holding the remains of someone who had passed away, it held a yellowed scroll. Her heart began to thud with anticipation. Was this it? Was that the Grimoire?