“Don’t touch my artéfact.” Red ripped the thimble away.
Artéfact. It was the same word inscribed on that plaque in the lobby. I stared at the thimble.
“There was a plaque with the word artéfact—”
“Hush,” she whispered, suddenly fearful. “That word doesn’t leave this building. It was foolish of me to say it out loud.”
Red was as cagey as Béatrice. Before I could question her further, she swiped back a clump of wet hair, revealing a circlet of small dots tattooed across her forehead. I’d seen that same pattern across the brows of sailors in Durc.
“You’re from the Lenore Islands, aren’t you?” The small chain of islands was a two-day trip southeast of Verdanne. Bézier once told me the tattooed dots mimicked the star formation directly above the main isle.
Her jaw tensed. “I don’t recall.”
“You don’t recall where your home is?”
She turned away from me. “I need to get back to my job.”
A tremor of unease moved through me. Béatrice and Bel had both danced around answering any questions about their home. Now Red didn’t seem to remember it. My worry was only growing the more I heard.
I grabbed the nearest guest, the mustached woman. “Where did you enter the hotel?” I asked. “Do you remember your home?”
“Stanisburg? Of course I remember it.” She sniffed. “The ma?tre promised me I wouldn’t forget a thing until after I check out, and certainly not my home.”
Of course. She would soon return home because she was a guest.
I shivered. At the moon window, Bel said workers couldn’t see their homes. He never mentioned anything about forgetting where they were from. But then again, he never mentioned being the Magnifique, either. It seemed he’d left out a lot.
I remembered Durc perfectly, though. It must have something to do with the guest contract I’d signed. In that contract there were the paragraphs of languages—anything could have been hidden inside it. The maids would have all signed staff contracts. If those contracts altered their memories, it might explain their strange behavior.
I rubbed my face. Thinking about any of it now wouldn’t do much good. If Des Rêves wasn’t outside the room, she was on her way. If they sent me back to Durc before I could get to Zosa—
“Please let me out,” I begged Red.
Her mouth tightened to a slash. “I’m not allowed. The only way out is to find the exit and end the game.”
“How? I can’t read the language the clues are written in, and the guests aren’t in any hurry.”
“I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to wait.”
“And be caught by Des Rêves? Fired?” I glanced around. “Can you at least tell me where a door might appear?”
She sighed. “I’m not allowed to tell you where the exit is, but I will say it’s not a door.” Her gaze flicked up to the inside of the teapot’s spout above us.
“That’s the way out, isn’t it?”
Her lips pressed together.
It must be. “But there’s no way to get up there.”
“There will be once everyone solves the clues.”
“What if we can’t?”
She lifted her thimble and tea gushed out. “Either Des Rêves will let us out or we’ll swim.”
I wanted to scream. I looked around. There had to be another way up, but the walls were slick and the room was narrow. Then a thought struck.
“I figured it out,” I said. I’d seen guests rocking a room. I shoved my shoulder against one wall, then rushed over and pushed on the opposite wall. “If we all push in unison, we could tip the room over and crawl out the spout.”
“It’s my job to make sure guests follow the clues to the exit,” Red hissed. “I’ll be in trouble if they don’t.”
Whatever trouble she might find herself in couldn’t be worse than me getting sent back to Durc.
Ignoring her, I shouted, “Everyone push!” But the guests weren’t listening. I couldn’t tip the room on my own.
An older guest turned to me. “You’re not very convincing.”
His words gave me an idea. I cleared my throat. “The sooner we tip over the room, the quicker you can all collect your prizes.”
“Prizes?” a woman asked.
Red glared at me.
“Fantastical prizes,” I said. “Better than a firework display in your palm. And”—I paused for dramatic effect—”you get to take them home with you after checkout.”