Free The Pyramid Waltz by Barbara Ann Wright Page B

history.”
    Katya scanned the hallway behind them. Starbride did the same and saw no one. When she turned back, Katya was disappearing behind the tapestry. With a wink, she let go of the heavy wall hanging, and it fell as flat as if she’d walked through the wall.
    Starbride let her mouth hang open for a moment. At first, she thought of pyramid magic, but she’d never heard of anyone using it to disappear. She waved to dispel the cloud of disturbed dust and touched the rough fabric of the tapestry. The wall was solid behind it. “What in Darkstrong’s name?”
    And then it hit her. Secret passageways! One of her childhood fantasies come to life! She heaved on the weighty tapestry, but revealed only blank stone behind it.
    “Well.” She pushed on the cold bricks and tried to turn them. Seconds had passed between when she’d looked away and when Katya had slid behind the tapestry. The mechanism couldn’t be that complicated. She slipped behind the tapestry and let it shroud her in darkness; soundlessly, a door in front of her swung open.
    On the other side, Katya waited, holding a lantern. “I knew you were smart.”
    Starbride couldn’t help it; she stuck out her tongue. From miles away, she felt her mother die a little. Katya threw her head back and laughed. Like schoolgirls, they ran down the passageway, hand in hand, until they reached a narrow staircase only wide enough for one person at a time.
    Katya held the lantern high and started up the stairway. “My brother and I discovered this one while we were playing, years and years ago.”
    “How many are there?” All thoughts of learning Farradain trade law blew from Starbride’s mind as she thought of the enormous palace and all the secrets it could hold.
    “Who knows? I’ve found quite a few.”
    “Was this one your first?”
    “For me, not for my brother.”
    “How many hours did you spend looking for more after this one?”
    “Too many! And quite a few that should have been spent sleeping.”
    Wan light filtered down the staircase. The top of the passage was guarded by a rusty old gate, not very secret from that side. Unlike the stone door, the gate creaked in the stillness of the evening as they emerged onto an old balcony. The view of the countryside around Marienne made Starbride stop in wonder. The palace lay on the west side, and she’d only seen the view of the east, that of the city. Rolling hills spread to the west, covered with a checkerboard of fields, dotted with the occasional tree. Past the fields wound the Lavine River, and the setting sun turned the waterway into a ribbon of gold. “It’s gorgeous.”
    Katya set her lantern down and leaned on the worn stone railing. “My childhood tutor called it Hanna’s Retreat, seventh century, as you pointed out. One of my ancestors used to climb up here to clear her head after dull meetings. It drove her staff mad the way she could walk down a hallway and disappear.”
    “Your tutor knew about the secret passageways?”
    “Only that they exist. He didn’t know where, and I didn’t tell him the actual location of this one.”
    “Wise. Your brother may want to use it someday. Does your father ever come up here?”
    “No, he retreats to his rooms and hides behind my mother.”
    “I saw your parents at the Courtiers Ball. Your father didn’t seem like a fading flower, and your mother didn’t look particularly threatening.”
    “Well, you have one correct observation and one incorrect. I won’t tell you which is which. Thank you for the meringues, by the way. What did the letters on the box say?”
    “Dawnmother—she’s my maid—painted the words. They say, ‘please accept this gift,’ more or less. It’s traditional for a gift in my homeland. And you’re welcome.” She laid her chin on one fist and studied the countryside. If she squinted, she imagined she could see far-off Allusia. She shouldn’t have left the library. She had so much to do.
    “Why were you reading about