Escape From Riddler's Pass by Amy Green Page B

much larger. Right next to it were twin pillars of stone, framing another gaping hole.
    â€œThere’s something carved on the wall,” Rae said, sounding excited.
    She was right. In large letters at the top of the wall that could be seen even from a distance were these words:
    Here in the stone are riddles three;
    Symbols of your destiny.
    Those who solve them soon will find
    The key for entrance is the mind.
    â€œRiddler’s Pass,” Silas said, nodding. “It makes sense. The riddle must be some sort of key for navigating the tunnels.”
    â€œNavigating?” Rae asked.
    Silas nodded and pulled out Noa’s map. “Look at this.” Jesse looked at it more carefully than he had in New Urad. It was almost like a maze in its complexity. “They have the tunnels drawn,” Silas said, “but not labeled in any way.”
    â€œSo the map is useless,” Rae summarized. Silas nodded. “I hate riddles,” she muttered to herself.
    Jesse had already limped closer to the stone. There, carved in smaller letters, were three blocks of text, spaced along the middle portion of the wall. Each letter was crisp and well-formed. So they are recent , Jesse decided. Although, with no wind to beat at them, who knows if that’s true?
    â€œRead the first aloud,” Silas instructed Jesse.
    Jesse did. The letters, though bold, were hard to see in the glowing stone.
    To own it you must win it, and risk a world of ache.
    Your quest to steal this treasure
    may cause your own to break.
    There was silence in the cavern for a few moments. “‘Your own,’” Jesse said out loud. “If you already have one, why do you need to steal another?”
    â€œI don’t know!” Silas groaned. “I wish Parvel was here. He was always good at mind games.”
    They stared at the rock, as if the answer would suddenly appear. “And if you have to win it to own it,” Rae said thoughtfully, “then how can you steal it?”
    It was a good point, but not a very helpful one. Jesse felt even more confused.
    â€œMaybe trying to steal it doesn’t work,” Silas offered. “It said that something will break if you try.”
    That’s it . “It’s a heart,” Jesse said. Rae looked at him blankly. “To win someone’s heart, you must risk ache,” Jesse explained. “And your heart may even break if you try to steal another’s heart and are rejected.”
    â€œIt must be the answer,” Silas agreed. “Good work, Jesse.”
    Jesse tried not to grin with pride. It didn’t work well. “Here is the next one,” he said, taking a step to the right.
    Within me there is life and hope,
    far from the fish and fin.
    My walls of stone are strong and thick,
    but see no battle din.
    I do not keep out friend or foe, but keep my contents in.
    â€œA prison,” Rae said immediately. “It keeps something in.”
    â€œTrue,” Jesse acknowledged, “but what about the first part?”
    Rae shrugged. All of them had been in a prison, back in Da’armos, and Jesse knew it was not the place to go to find life and hope.
    â€œNo, no,” Silas said, staring at the riddle. “I wonder….”
    â€œAnd aren’t fish and fin the same thing?” Jesse interrupted. “Why did they need to repeat it?”
    Silas nodded. “‘Far from the fish and fin’—far from the river, perhaps. And the life and hope of the river…water. But what about the walls?”
    â€œSo a prison with no water,” Rae suggested. “Maybe the moat around it is dry.”
    Jesse shook his head at her, the last detail of the riddle falling into place. “Think about it,” he said. “Something made of stone that keeps in water.”
    â€œA well,” Rae said, finally understanding.
    â€œYes,” Jesse agreed. “A well.”
    â€œOnly one more,” Silas said, sounding