Secret of the Giants' Staircase by Amy Lynn Green

advisor or someone important?”
    â€œShipbuilders are important,” Owen insisted hotly.
    Jesse had identified Owen’s accent as District One, Jesse’s home district, but now he was sure he knew exactly where Owen had lived before the Guard. “You’re from the coast of District One, aren’t you?” Jesse asked.
    Owen nodded. “My father was a merchant,” he said. “Is,” he quickly added. “At least, I think so. I’ve been gone for so long….”
    There was a lonely sound to that trailed-off sentence. Jesse knew every Youth Guard member could make a statement like that. It was sad, not being able to know for sure what your family was doing while you were gone. Or, in my case, not knowing if my family is alive .
    â€œShipbuilders are important,” Jesse said, breaking the silence, “ if you live in District One, on the coast. But there’s no sea near here. No lake, even, unless you count the tar pits or muddy ditches, and I doubt the Lidians did any sailing in those .”
    â€œMaybe he was important because he was rich,” Owen said.
    â€œBut why would a shipbuilder come here, of all places, as far away from the sea as possible?” Jesse studied the statue.
    â€œMaybe he wanted to build a miniature fleet for the sovereign’s bathtub.”
    â€œBut he didn’t just come,” Jesse continued. “He was ‘bidden.’ Called. Why? And what are the walls that ‘push back the sand’?”
    â€œYou just won’t stop, will you?” Owen muttered. He started to walk toward the staircase, and this time he didn’t turn back. “Listen, Jesse, a lot has happened today. You almost died and all that. What say we get some sleep, eh?”
    Reluctantly, Jesse turned away. He got the distinct impression that there was something important here. We’ll be back , he thought. The three figures standing in front of the windows didn’t answer, but he was sure they would approve.

Chapter 9
    The next morning, with the sun up and streaming through the windows, the old citadel didn’t look nearly as frightening as it had the night before. The rugs were bright, with intricate patterns. The faded tapestries on the walls, the ones that weren’t torn or burnt, showed cheery scenes of nobles, dancing around blossoming trees. The statues still looked stern, but not nearly as ominous.
    It was almost hard for Jesse to believe this was the same city where people vanished, except for the fact that Silas, Parvel and Rae weren’t with him anymore.
    â€œI don’t understand it,” Jesse said, pacing around the room. “How could people wander into the city at night and just…disappear?”
    â€œIt’s haunted,” Owen said, like that was a perfectly reasonable explanation. If anything, a night of sleep had made him even more energetic. “Cursed, by the vanished Lidians and their missing treasure.” He grinned.
    Jesse knew that grin. They were both from District One, where stories were prized and the storyteller with the most exciting tales could be the hero of the village.
    â€œTell me about the missing treasure,” Jesse prompted. Owen didn’t need any more encouragement. He sat down in the middle of the room on the Lidian crest, and Jesse sat next to him.
    â€œThe giants from the mountains in the west attacked Lidia, put it under siege for three months before they finally gave up and broke down the city walls with brute force. Ripped them up with their bare hands.”
    â€œNo,” Jesse corrected. “I saw the damage to the wall around the tower. It looked like the work of a battering ram or catapult.”
    â€œThey ripped them up with their bare hands,” Owen repeated, crossing his arms. “But when they entered the city, there was no one there.”
    â€œThe people vanished?” Jesse asked. “That’s not possible.”
    â€œAnd guess