Free Riddle in Stone (The Riddle in Stone Series - Book One) by Robert Evert

.”
    He turned up the flame.
    They were at a top of a deep grotto. Drops of water plummeted around them, falling like thousands of shooting stars into a shimmering pool below. To their left, a waterfall cascaded over a rock outcropping and sent sheets of white water pounding against polished stone. To their right, a small stream burbled out another narrow passage. Above, reflections from Edmund’s red lantern light danced among the countless cream-colored stalactites.
    It’s beautiful!
    Edmund’s heart quickened, his fear replaced by hope and joy.
    This certainly seems to be what Isa described.
    Then there should be a way out through the tower.
    “Remember, the boy I told you about—Isa?”
    Thorax shook her head, a drop of water having pelted her brow.
    “He, he . . . he was the boy who brought Iliandor’s diary to the Hansen’s ranch just outside of Rood. Anyway, this must’ve been how he escaped from the bandits. He climbed right up to this shelf and crept out the tunnel that we just crawled through.”
    Edmund surveyed the grotto in wonder.
    “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? It’s like walking into the history books. You know what I’m saying? Why, we’re probably the only beings to have ever been here since Isa fled.” He sighed.
    A drop of water hit the top of the lantern, causing the flame to hiss.
    Thorax sniffed the damp air again. Another drop of water struck her head. She shook herself.
    “I still can’t believe it,” Edmund said after a few moments. “I honestly feel like crying, in both a good and bad way, you know? I mean, here we are, which is wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. It’s heaven! Yet . . . yet, it’s sad. I mean, I . . . I wasted so much of my life, so much of my life sitting in that horseshit of a town, dreaming and waiting . . . when I should have been out here exploring and doing something of consequence. Who knows what I could have done in my younger days. What things I could have found or discovered. Who knows . . . ?” His voice trailed off, but haunting echoes lingered.
    The lantern sputtered again.
    Turning down the flame, Edmund got to his feet.
    “Speaking of doing something of consequence!” He said, hoisting his backpack onto his shoulders.
    Thorax appeared puzzled.
    “Our mission, remember? The Star is probably somewhere right above us and all we have to do is walk up and get it!”
    And my first adventure will almost be over! I wonder what I should do next. Perhaps the King has other tasks he’d like me to perform.
    Thorax examined the ceiling, a droplet striking her right between the eyes. Annoyed, she rubbed her face with her front paws.
    Edmund flicked his chin across the grotto. “See that waterfall? That’s where we’re headed. Behind it actually.”
    He began picking his way carefully down from the ledge onto a slender stone lip that encircled the pool.
    “You know,” he said, “it seems that in every story I have ever read, important things are always hidden behind waterfalls. I don’t know why. It’s kind of like how every barkeeper is portly, bald, and absentminded. It’s just how things are, I suppose.”
    Picking Thorax up, he set her on the ledge behind him.
    “It’s kind of like how big battles are never fought during cheerful spring days,” Edmund went on. “You know? They’re always fought during a storm or at night or something dramatic. The black clouds roll in, everybody fights, then the clouds part, sending a shaft of bright light down upon the victor. And they always fight in grim places like the Battle of Bloody Hills or the Battle of Deadly Dike. I’ve never heard of a battle fought in a field of fragrant wild flowers. But I suppose people wouldn’t write about ‘the Battle of Daisy Meadow.’”
    He inched along the edge of the pool. Thorax followed, staying close to his heels.
    “And another thing. Ever notice how princesses and queens are always beautiful? I mean, what happens to the ugly ones? Or even the plain ones? Why