"Awake?" Grandma inquired from the neighboring bed. "Yeah. You too?"
"I've been up for some time, resting in the dark. Something about hotel rooms has always made me lazy."
Kendra pulled the shades open, flooding the room with cloud-dimmed light. "Any word from Grandpa?"
"He phoned earlier. The raid on the Sphinx failed. The house was vacant except for a series of traps and a few old men."
"They found Haden?"
"Yes," Grandma said. "Don't fret about your friends. The Knights have a substantial fund set aside for victims of circumstances like these."
"So the Sphinx and Torina and all of them got away?"
"Vanished without a trace."
"Did they take the stingbulb?" Kendra wondered.
"No phony Kendras were found, so probably."
"How was Midwinter Eve?"
"According to your grandfather, boisterous but safe. Considering what happened, we may have been wiser to sit tight at Fablehaven and endure the commotion. Of course, most decisions are simpler in hindsight."
Tanu came out from the bathroom in a T-shirt and shorts, his hair damp. "We lived to see a new day," he said with a broad smile.
"Good work," Grandma said. "Stan thinks we may as well head home."
"Warren and I monitored the hotel and the surrounding grounds all night," Tanu said. "Everything stayed quiet. Seth's ability to see the goblin assassin really foiled their plot. The wolf and the gargoyle were only there as backup."
"You think we're under the radar?" Grandma asked.
"Looks like the Society has lost track of us. Still, we'll all be safer back inside the walls of Fablehaven."
Grandma got out of bed. "What about the goblin?"
"We loaded him into the back of the SUV, trussed up and heavily drugged. We'll press him for information once he's secure in the dungeon."
"Let's start collecting our things."
Kendra went to the bathroom and washed up. By the time she was ready, the bags were packed and waiting. She strolled with Seth to the elevator, rolling her suitcase behind her. Seth looked pensive.
She leaned into him, bumping his shoulder with hers. "So now you're seeing invisible assassins?"
"I'm relieved it was actually there. I was starting to wonder if maybe I was the only one hearing zombie voices because I was crazy."
"I wouldn't write off the crazy theory without further investigation."
"At least I wasn't kidnapped by a duplicate of myself."
"It does sound a little schizoid." They reached the elevator. Kendra pressed the down arrow button.
"Why do you get to push the button?" Seth complained.
"What are you, like three years old?"
"I'm the official button pusher. I like when they light up."
"You're a goofball."
The elevator doors opened. The car was empty. Warren hustled to catch up.
"Is it really empty?' Kendra asked, moving from side to side to examine the vacant space from various angles.
"Very funny," Seth replied. "I think so."
Warren joined them in the elevator. Seth pushed the L button. Then he pushed 5, 4, 3, and 2. "Race you down," he said, dashing out of the elevator before the doors closed, leaving his suitcase behind.
"I think he's going to beat us," Warren said, leaning against the wall.
"If he doesn't get kidnapped on his way down the stairs."
"Tanu is already down there. Ruth will be along in a minute."
The doors opened to a similar view on every floor. On the second floor somebody actually got on. When the doors opened in the lobby, Seth stood there waiting, trying to look bored.
"I got to push the most buttons," he gloated while reclaiming his suitcase.
"Plus you earned fifty idiot points," Kendra said. "A new record."
"What you call idiot points, I call awesome dollars."
Tanu had brought the SUV to the front doors of the hotel. Sparse snowflakes fluttered down from light gray clouds. Warren loaded their bags, and Kendra climbed inside. Grandma followed shortly, and insisted on driving since Tanu hadn't slept.
The ride back to Fablehaven was boring. The roads were clear, but Grandma drove cautiously. To make matters worse, they had to listen to Seth complain about the heater for the second half of the drive. Eventually Grandma turned it down.
Finally they left the road and started along the driveway. Kendra had her head down when Grandma exclaimed, "What is that?"
Kendra raised her head and saw a car smashed against the Fablehaven front gate, the hood badly crumpled, fumes flowing from the exhaust pipe into the winter air. She didn't recognize the vehicle.
"Stop the car," Warren barked. "Get Stan on the line."
Grandma slammed on the brakes and the SUV skidded to a halt. They could hear the horn of the crushed car blaring endlessly.
"This has to be a trap," Tanu muttered, opening his potion pouch.
The cell phone rang before Grandma could dial. She answered. "We're here, we see it... how long ago?... okay, we'll wait."
Grandma hung up and shifted the SUV into reverse. "The car just slammed into the gate a moment ago. Stan wants us to get back on the road until he figures out what is going on."
The passenger door of the damaged car opened and a girl tumbled out. She crawled awkwardly to the gate, using the wrought-iron bars to pull herself up. The girl looked exactly like Kendra.
"Oh my gosh!" Kendra exclaimed. "Stop, Grandma. It's my stingbulb!"
Grandma hit the brakes, making their heads tip back. "Your stingbulb?"
"The one I made when I escaped. I told her to try to get information, escape, and come to Fablehaven. I gave her the address."
"Still probably a trap," Tanu warned.
"Let me check it out," Warren offered, opening the door and leaping from the SUV. Knife in hand, he dashed toward the smashed car. Kendra scanned the leafless, snowy woods at either side of the cleared driveway, but noticed no evidence of other people or creatures.
"The car is totaled, but the gate isn't even dented," Seth observed. "How'd that happen?"
"The gate is much stronger than it looks," Grandma said. "Don't forget where we are. Appearances can be deceiving at Fablehaven."
Warren reached the crippled car. Knife ready, he stealthily peeked in the windows. The girl at the gate turned to face him, her face a mask of terror. Blood oozed from a wound on her forehead. She raised her hands protectively and sank to the ground.
Warren lowered his arm with the knife and held up an empty palm. As he spoke to the girl, her expression softened. Soon she was craning her neck to see the SUV, hope in her eyes.
Kendra scooted out the door. Grandma and Tanu followed, calling her back, but she didn't heed them. When she locked eyes with her duplicate, the beleaguered girl's face instantly brightened. Kendra ran to her, crunching over the cold gravel.
"You came," Kendra said when she got close. She had to speak loudly to be heard over the damaged car's incessant horn.
"You told me to," the duplicate answered, slumping back against the gate. "My left leg is broken. Same with my left wrist."
"Why did you bash the gate?" Kendra asked. Grandma, Tanu, and Seth caught up, listening.
"I was afraid. I have urgent information. I didn't know how close behind they were. The gate looked flimsy."
"You really messed yourself up," Kendra said.
"Most of these injuries are from before. The gash on my head reopened when I crashed."
Kendra scrutinized her duplicate. "You came here alone, of your own free will, right? This isn't a trap?"
"I can't be certain if they're chasing me or not. I don't think so. I've traveled a long distance."
Grandpa, Dale, and Coulter were approaching from the far side of the gate. Dale and Coulter rode on ATVs. Hugo carried Grandpa.
"Let me share my news," the duplicate said. "I'll feel better once it isn't just in my head anymore. The Sphinx used the Oculus. He had trouble, but he survived."
"What does he know?" Grandma asked.
The duplicate blinked at Grandma. "It's so strange to see you outside of my memories. Um, he was trying to find the location of the key to an artifact called the Translocator. He had previously purchased information from a member of the family that manages the Obsidian Waste preserve in Australia. Apparently Patton took the key from the preserve and hid it."
"Did the Sphinx find out where?" Kendra asked.
Dale unlocked the gate. The duplicate had been supporting her weight against it. Wincing, she leaned forward so Dale could pull it open. "Yes. The key is at a dragon sanctuary called Wyrmroost, north of Montana. He plans to send in somebody named Navarog to retrieve it."
Grandma raised a hand to her lips. "The demon prince. The dark dragon."
"The person you guys let out of the Quiet Box," the duplicate said. "Anyhow, using the Oculus exhausted the Sphinx. If he wasn't weak and in a rush, I doubt I would have escaped."
"How did you get away?" Grandma asked.
"I jumped out of a moving car," the duplicate responded. "But let me tell it in order. The Sphinx used the Oculus at Torina's house the morning after Kendra escaped. They had no idea we'd switched places. Nobody even noticed that Cody was missing. The Sphinx was excited because he thought he'd had a breakthrough on how to use the Oculus without losing his mind. He postponed their departure so he could try. They had me in the room while he did it.
"He succeeded, although it seemed touch and go at the end. Once free of the Oculus, he was groggy but excited, and started making plans about recovering the key from Wyrmroost. They took me from the room before I heard very much. I only know the details I told you.
"About an hour after the Sphinx came out of his trance, somebody noticed that the house was under surveillance. The Sphinx was furious. They took me through an underground tunnel to a different house at least a block away. They had cars waiting, and we got out of town quickly.
"Right after our first stop for gas, I faked like I was feeling carsick and begged them to roll down the window. My hands were tied. The window came down as we were accelerating along the on-ramp, and I immediately dove through the opening. We were going fast. I broke my leg and wrist and picked up some nasty road rash. A bunch of motorists behind us pulled over, so the Sphinx kept right on going."
"What did you tell people?" Seth asked.
The duplicate grinned. "Hey, Seth. I told this big, nice trucker that my uncle had tried to kidnap me. Wasn't hard to believe. My wrists were still tied."
"Where did they take you?" Kendra asked.
"Back to the gas station. I pretended to call my family. I couldn't remember Grandpa's cell-phone number. People were talking about taking me to a hospital. I saw an old lady pull up to the gas station alone. She came inside and went straight to the bathroom. I pretended that I needed to use it too and hobbled in after her. I cornered the old lady in her stall and told her that the trucker was an abusive man who had picked me up hitchhiking. I stressed that I needed to get away from him. I asked her to pretend to be my great-aunt and take me to the hospital. She agreed."
"So you faked like the lady was your relative!" Seth said.
"They bought it enough to let us leave," the duplicate said. "The lady didn't know how badly I was hurt, although she could see where I was scraped up and bleeding. I told her that the hospital was just an excuse to get away from the trucker, then asked if she could take me to her house so I could use her phone. I lucked out. She was local, and she didn't have a cell phone.
"After we got to her place, I pretended to call Grandpa again. I told her he was coming to pick me up, but he lived over two hours away. She invited me to eat with her. She was really kind. I noticed that she had a computer, so I asked if I could check my e-mail. Fortunately, the street and number of the Fablehaven driveway lingered in my brain. When I logged on, I printed up driving directions to this address. While she was fixing dinner, I wrote a note. I explained that I was stuck in a life-or-death emergency, and promised to return the car along with a bunch of reward money. I took a single credit card from her purse, snagged her keys, slipped out the door, and stole her car."
"Let me guess," Seth said. "That's the car."
The duplicate nodded. "Her address is on the driving directions in the passenger seat. Maybe you guys can fulfill my promise to her. Either way, I had to get here."
"You've been through quite an ordeal," Grandma said. "You're lucky you weren't apprehended by the police, let alone the Society. You used the credit card to buy gas?"
The duplicate nodded. "It didn't work the last time I tried. The tank is almost empty."
"We'll see that the woman gets a new car and a generous reward," Grandpa promised. "For now, we had best get you into the house. Tanu will see to your injuries."
Tanu scooped up the duplicate. She grimaced, then settled into his arms. He carried her gingerly.
"Good job," Kendra said to the duplicate.
"I'm relieved I found you. Getting here felt like a long shot."
The endless honking stopped abruptly. Dale and Warren had pried open the hood and stood hunched over the crippled engine.
"She seems just like you," Grandma murmured to Kendra as Tanu moved away. "It's uncanny."