If Zosa were part of the games, I had to find her. There were extra mops along the wall. I took one and followed the crowd.
The game room was as large as a grand ballroom and lit to look like a night sky sprinkled with stars. Dozens of box-shaped glass rooms filled the dark space, each containing a group of people.
My face fell. I didn’t see Zosa in any of them.
“Greetings, traveler!” the woman’s effervescent voice chimed in my head. “Welcome to the Glass Puzzle, Hotel Magnifique’s inclement weather game of danger and escape. The rules are simple: follow the clues to find the way out. But be forewarned, once you’re inside a game, there is no stopping it until the exit is discovered. Bonne chance!”
Each room held a handful of guests alongside a suminaire.
In one glass room, I spotted Hellas’s silver hair and deep gold skin. The Botaniste fanned himself with his deck of playing cards while guests picked through a small forest of his white paper trees. In a different room, a young girl with brown skin and delicate features blinked bubbles from a monocle and braced herself as guests pushed against the walls, rocking the entire room back and forth. Another room held a miniature storm. Ladies floated a foot off the ground as a pale, liveried boy blew through a pocket-size weather vane. More magical objects.
In a nearby room, the red-haired suminaire from the soirée poured a stream of never-ending liquid from a thimble. A group of soaked guests—all with the same blonde hair and tan skin—searched the wet ground with their fingertips. My heart skipped a beat when the red-haired suminaire looked right at me. Then her gaze shifted back. I turned, but behind me was a wall.
“They can’t see us,” the maid shouted above the din.
“What do you mean?”
“Just what I said. Once you’re in a game, you can’t see out.”
“But the walls are glass.” I stepped forward to examine the room.
The maid jerked me back. “Don’t get too close.”
“A group is coming out!” a voice roared.
We both jumped and the maid knocked into me. My hand shot out to brace myself against the room, but instead of stopping, it passed through the glass. I tumbled headlong, landing in a puddle of warm liquid. My right foot still poked outside. When I pulled it the rest of the way through, the ballroom disappeared. The glass walls turned opaque white. I knocked. Solid.
“How fun. A maid has joined us,” said a guest in thickly accented Verdanniere. She twirled a costume mustache like a spy from some theatrical play. Her ruffled dress was soaked through.
The liquid felt like bathwater, but from the scent, I knew it was tea. The walls shined like ceramic. The opening of a spout curved across the ceiling. We were trapped inside a teapot. I counted. With eight people, the room was snug.
“Maids aren’t allowed inside the games,” said a high-pitched voice.
I turned. The red-haired suminaire stood in the corner. “I didn’t mean to—”
“Des Rêves’s in charge. If she catches you, you’ll be fired.”
She spoke so casually, but it managed to shake me to my core. “Can you let me out?”
Her fingers squeezed her tea-pouring thimble. “I’m afraid you’ll have to wait. Once you’re inside a game, there is no stopping it until the exit is discovered.”
The same words as the woman’s effervescent voice. Except the walls were solid with no exit.
A guest waved. “There’s no clue that leads to the exit. We’re doomed to drown.”
“You’re allowed one hint,” said the red-haired suminaire. “Do you want it now?”
Everyone chanted, “Hint. Hint. Hint.” followed by cackles of laughter.
“Very well. But the hint has a price.” At her words, a series of letters pushed out from the wall.
“What’s the price?” I asked.
The suminaire lifted her thimble. It poured faster, the tea climbing quicker. Right.
I didn’t recognize the language of the hint, but I trudged over, trying to understand the puzzle so I could find the exit and leave.
“Look, the maid has come to save us all!” one guest howled, waving an empty wine glass.
“What could you possibly try that we haven’t?” said another guest.
I agreed with him. I had no idea what to do.
I sloshed back to the suminaire. “What’s your name?”
“Red,” she said.
Made sense. Her hair gleamed like a ruby.
“Well, Red, I’m certain the guests have had too much to drink. You have to let me out.” When Red didn’t move a muscle, I wrapped my fingers around her thimble. It sizzled with magic.