01_-_The_Alchemyst

irregular clumps of arm-length crystals emitted a milky white light.
Somewhere in the distance, a sound that was caught between laughter
and screaming echoed down the corridors. With their rubber-soled sneakers
making no sound on the floor, they darted across the corridor into Josh’s
room.
“How did we ever get into this mess?” Josh wondered out loud.
“I guess we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Sophie
said. She had remained standing by the door, watching the corridor. But even
as she was saying the words, she was beginning to suspect that there was
more to it than that. There was something else going on, something to do with
the prophecy that Flamel had referred to, something to do with them. And the
very idea terrified her.
The twins slipped into the corridor and moved through the circular
rooms, taking their time, peering into each one before entering. They kept
stopping, listening as snatches of conversations in almost recognizable
languages or music played on unidentifiable instruments floated down the
corridor. Once, a high-pitched howl of maniacal laughter sent them ducking
into the nearest room as it seemed to approach, then disappear again. When
they crept back out of the room, they noticed that all the light crystals in the
corridor had dimmed to a bloodred glow.
“I’m glad we didn’t see what passed by,” Josh said shakily.
Sophie grunted a response. Her brother was in the lead; she followed
two steps behind, her hand on his shoulder. “How do you know where we’re
going?” she whispered, bringing her mouth close to his ear. All the rooms
looked identical to her.
“When we first came into the house, I noticed that the walls and floor
were dark, but as we moved down the corridors, they became lighter and
paler in color. Then I realized that we were walking through different shades
of wood, like the rings of a tree trunk. All we have to do is to follow the
corridor that leads to the dark wood.”
“Smart,” Sophie said, impressed.