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. Whoever came
up here, he thought, went out right here.
"There must be a secret door!" he cried aloud.
Tas groped across the cobweb-covered surface,
searching for a hidden trigger or latch to open the
door. He prodded and wiggled the bricks, twisted
them and tapped them with the handle of the butter
knife. Nothing happened. After several fruitless min-
utes, he dusted off his hands and decided to try a dif-
ferent tack.
"Perhaps the trigger isn't here at all," he told him-
self, "but somewhere else in the room." He scanned the
room. The missing book? Not very likely. If the book
was the trigger, it would need to be attached to some-
thing and could not be taken from the shelf.
It took several minutes before Tas's experienced eyes
picked out the lever behind the desk. He gave it a quick
flip and looked toward the wall. Already each of the
bricks was outlined with a bright green glow and mist
was pouring through the cracks. Colors swirled across
the floor, up the walls, and around Tas's ankles and
knees. Then the wall disappeared completely, replaced
by a pulsing, flashing, pearl-colored pane. The mist
roiled inside the pane and poured out the edges, blan-
keting the walls and ceiling. Tas's heart thudded
against his ribs. This was no ordinary secret door!
This was magic, and it could lead anywhere! Tas took
two quick steps toward the portal but was stopped by
a voice from the stairwell.
"You found it! I knew you'd be good for something!"
Tas turned and saw Denzil, framed by the doorway
and the swirling mist
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