What Lies Beneath ▸ House of Anubis [1]

chapter fifty-six. house of hush

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Rufus has such a death-grip on me that I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have some bruises if we ever manage to get him to let go of me. Jerome and Nina are pulling on my arms, trying to help free me, but Rufus letting go comes when I decide to start kicking at him. When he lets go of me and starts to crawl out of the passageway, I move myself backwards, bumping into Jerome who immediately grabs onto me.

But before we can lock the passageway and trap him in the cellar, Rufus runs out of the kitchen—and the house, if he's smart. Out in the hall, I can hear Victor asking why they're not in bed and telling them there was an intruder who's gone now, and Fabian accuses him of letting him get away, which he totally did.

I push myself up from the ground, shaking my wrists as Jerome asks, "You okay?"

"Yeah," I answer as Alfie and Fabian come in. "You?"

Jerome hands me the puzzle piece, once again safe and sound with us. "I hope this is worth it."

"It is," I tell him. Getting it back was more difficult than I expected, but at least it's back now, even if we didn't get to trap Rufus. "Thanks for doing this, Jerome. Means a lot."

"I'm just sorry Rufus got away," Nina says regretfully.

"Hey, no problemo, Nina," Jerome replies. It's most definitely a problem, I know him.

"Really?"

"No, not really," he retorts. "Now listen up, I have kept my side of the bargain. I got you back that—that thing," he points to the piece in my hands. "Now you keep your side. And you will protect me from that—that maniac. Or else."

"Or else what?"

"I am going to the teachers myself," he threatens. You're kidding. "And I am telling them everything you have told me. About the search, about the puzzle pieces, about that Sarah woman, and about your little Scooby gang."

—

"Look, Nina," I say to her the next morning, trying to calm her down from what Jerome said last night, "forget his threat. He's not going to do it. And if he tries, I'll stop him. I think he'll listen to me."

"He'll definitely listen to you," Patricia agrees. "But don't worry, Jerome's just bluffing 'cause he's scared of what Rufus might do. Can't say I blame him."

Yeah, apparently Rufus has threatened to mummify Jerome alive? Not to mention the very real things he did, kidnapping Patricia and last night when he grabbed me (and yeah, I do have some faint bruises on my wrist because of him, which is the worst!). Rufus is one scary guy.

"And here he is," Fabian remarks as Jerome enters the dining room for breakfast. "Good work last night, Jerome."

"Nice one, mate," Alfie adds with a grin.