In his room, Seth examined the bruises forming on his forearms. Something was definitely out of whack with his sister. Was she having trouble at school? Getting a B in some class? Maybe she had received bad news from Gavin. Whatever the cause, he definitely needed to go easy on her for a few days. Clearly, something had upset her enough to drastically alter her personality.
Seth awoke late that night to a gentle tapping at his window. He sat up, blinking, and squinted at his digital clock--3:17 A.M. The only light in the still room came from the face of his clock and the moonlight seeping in through the softly glowing curtains. Had he really heard a tapping sound? He plunged back into his pillow, curling up and snuggling into his comforter. Before sleep could enfold him, the tapping was repeated, faint enough that it might be only a twig scraping his windowpane as a branch shifted in a gentle breeze. Except there was no tree near his window.
More alert now that he realized the tapping had not been hallucinated, Seth scooted out of bed and crossed to the window. Pulling a curtain aside, he found Warren, looking a bit haggard, crouched on the narrow shelf of roof beyond the glass. He had already removed the screen.
Seth reached to unlock the window, then hesitated. He had been burned before by recklessly opening a window. There were creatures in the world that could disguise themselves with illusions.
Warren nodded, acknowledging the hesitation. He gestured toward the street. Leaning his cheek against the cool glass, Seth could see where Elise stood beside one of the cars they had been driving. She waved.
It might not be concrete proof, but Seth felt convinced. He opened the window. Shockingly cold air flowed past him.
Warren crept inside. As far as Seth knew, this marked the first time any of his bodyguards had entered the house. Back when Tanu was watching them, he and Seth had talked quite a bit, but it had always been outside. Only something extraordinary would have motivated Warren to drop by like this.
"You're not going to turn into a goblin and try to kill me?" Seth whispered.
"It's really me," Warren said quietly, "although you probably shouldn't have let me in, even after seeing Elise. The Society would stop at nothing to get to you."
"Should I get Kendra?" Seth asked.
Warren held up both hands. "No, I approached you like this so we could talk in private. Elise and I are concerned about your sister. Have you noticed any odd behavior recently?"
Guilt surged through Seth. "She wasn't herself today. Mainly it was my fault. She caught me snooping around her room and went ballistic."
Warren eyed Seth thoughtfully. "Did her reaction seem extreme?"
Seth paused. "I shouldn't have been in there. She had a right to be mad. But yeah, it was really extreme."
Warren nodded as if the description fit his expectations. "Kendra snuck out of the house earlier tonight, a little after one. She went over the back fence. Elise was on watch. She spotted Kendra and followed from a distance."
"Kendra knows she isn't supposed to go anywhere without you guys," Seth interrupted. "Why would she try to give you the slip? It isn't how she operates."
"You're right, it doesn't fit her behavioral pattern, but it gets much worse. Elise followed your sister to a public mailbox, where Kendra deposited a letter. You understand, Seth, our mission is to protect you from outside influences, and part of that mission includes protecting you from yourselves. Once Elise made sure that Kendra was safely back in the house, she verified that I was on guard and returned to the mailbox. She got inside, located the envelope Kendra had mailed, and checked to see what information it contained."
"You guys go through our mail?" Seth asked, unsettled.
"Routine screening," Warren assured him. "We have to make sure you don't accidentally leak compromising information. Especially when a letter is mailed under such suspicious circumstances. We don't check the mail you send through us to your grandparents--just communication to outside parties."
"I assume Kendra messed up?"
Warren held up an envelope. "The message she sent was no mistake. Have a look."
Seth accepted the envelope. Warren clicked on a flashlight. The envelope was addressed to T. Barker at a post-office box in Monmouth, Illinois. "Any idea who this is?" Seth asked.
"No clue. Doesn't ring a bell?"
Seth considered the question. "I can't think of any Barkers. As far as I can recall, we don't know anybody in Illinois."
"Read the letter."
The envelope had been expertly opened. Nothing ripped, no evidence of intrusion. It could easily be resealed and mailed. He removed the folded paper inside and read the following:
Dear Torina,
They keep a close watch on me here. I'm not sure if I'll find another chance to forward more info. I'm unsure whether they have the phones tapped, so I'll probably stick to mail. By the way, so far so good. Nobody suspects, although Seth has been a pain.
I have key information. They found one of the artifacts! The Chronometer is in their possession at Fablehaven! They also have a journal from Patton Burgess. He claims to know the location of other artifacts. Those locations are not described in the journal, but are hidden at Fablehaven in a secret room beyond an area in the dungeon called the Hall of Dread.
I'll try to write again if I learn anything essential. Before I finish here, I will try to hide Patton's journal near the old tree house at the creek along Hawthorn Avenue.
Faithfully yours,
Kendra Sorenson
Seth looked up at Warren. "What is going on?"
"Good thing we screen letters, although we never expected a note like this. Imagine the consequences if this message fell into the wrong hands."
"It looks like her handwriting."
"I'm confident that Kendra wrote it."
"Is Vanessa out of the Quiet Box? Maybe she was controlling Kendra in her sleep."
Warren shook his head. "I considered the possibility and contacted your grandfather. He checked. Vanessa remains in her prison. But that sort of thinking may be along the right lines."
"Somebody must be blackmailing her or controlling her. She would never just betray us! Not on her own!"
"I can't imagine that she would. Yet it is tough to read this letter and not see a deliberate attempt at crippling betrayal. Elise doesn't know Kendra very well. She wants to take her into custody."
Seth stood up. "She can't lock up Kendra!"
"Simmer down. I'm not saying that is the only option. But whatever the method, given all that is at stake, immediately silencing Kendra has become necessary. I don't want to incarcerate your sister, but we have to get to the bottom of this."
"Do we confront her?" Seth wondered aloud. "Spring this on her and watch how she responds?"
"I'd love to hear an explanation. I haven't managed to conjure up a reasonable one."
"Unless somebody is using mind control."
Warren shrugged. "After reading that letter, nothing would shock me. Whatever we do, we mustn't disturb your parents."
"You want to confront her right now?"
"We can't wait on this. Besides, moving now should catch her off balance. If she's a little groggy, it may help us extract honest answers."
"Okay." Seth led Warren to his door. "You're right that we don't want to wake Mom and Dad.""They don't appreciate strange men visiting their home in the middle of the night?"
Seth chuckled darkly. "It wouldn't be a good scene."
"Let's go find out why your sister is mailing potentially disastrous letters."
Seth led Warren into the hall and tiptoed to Kendra's door. He gently tried the knob. "Locked," he mouthed. He leaned close to Warren. "We don't need a key. Just a pin or a paper clip. Something skinny to poke in the hole and pop the lock."
Holding up a finger, Warren removed what looked like professional lock-picking gear from a pocket. He quietly inserted one of the slender instruments into the tiny hole by the doorknob, and the lock clicked. Pocketing the tools, Warren swiftly opened the door and strode into the room with Seth right behind him.
Kendra sat cross-legged on her bed reading a letter. She looked up, annoyed at first, then perplexed as she recognized Warren. "What is it?" she asked.
Seth closed the door.
"You're up early," Warren said.
"I've had trouble sleeping," Kendra replied, folding the letter.
"We need to talk," Warren said. Kendra shifted uncomfortably. "Why?" Warren held up the envelope she had mailed earlier in the night.
For a moment her face betrayed pure terror. Then she scowled. "How dare you go through my personal--"
"Don't even try it," Warren cut her off. "I need honest answers right now or we're carting you away. There was nothing personal about this note. It was naked treachery. Why, Kendra? We need an immediate explanation."
Kendra's eyes darted around the room as she flailed for a response. "I wasn't sending it to an enemy."
"I never said you were," Warren replied. "Sending this type of information to anyone outside our circle of trust would qualify as a major betrayal. I have never heard of Torina Barker. Who is she?"
"Please, Warren, you have to trust me, you know I would never--"
'"I will try to hide Patton's journal near the old tree house at the creek along Hawthorn Avenue,'" Warren read. He lowered the letter. "You're right, Kendra, I would never have suspected you capable of this kind of disloyalty. Explain yourself."
Her mouth opened and closed wordlessly. Suddenly her eyes filled with pain and worry. "Please, Warren, don't ask more questions, I had to do it, they made me, I can't explain."
Warren studied her shrewdly. "This feels like an act. Seth?"
"She's lying," he agreed.
Abruptly Kendra looked angry. "I can't believe you would treat me like this."
"What I can't believe is how clumsily you keep jumping from tactic to tactic," Warren said. "Who am I speaking with? I'm not convinced that Kendra's mind is behind these words."
"It's me, Warren, of course it's me. Remember how I
helped restore you from being an albino? Remember how we faced that three-headed panther with Vanessa? Ask me anything."
"Why did you forget the combination to your locker?" Warren wondered.
"What?"
"I was watching you at school today. You had to go get help from the office to open your locker. Why?"
"Why does anybody forget anything?" Kendra protested, her voice unsteady. "The numbers just slipped my mind."
"Why did you come home early from day care?" Seth asked.
"Rex was out sick. The lady replacing him said she didn't mind if I ducked out early."
Seth took a step toward his sister. "That is not a very Kendra-like thing to do. You're right, Warren. This isn't her. I don't think it has been her all day."
"I'm your sister," Kendra insisted, eyes pleading. She jammed her hands into her pockets.
Seth waved a finger. "No. You are definitely not my sister. Know what you are? You're a pig! I've never seen anyone down so many Cocoa Krispies!"
Warren grabbed Kendra's arm. "I need you to come with me, whoever you are, until we can ensure you have released your hold on Kendra's mind." He spoke harshly.
Kendra slapped her free hand to her lips and swallowed. Warren pushed her back onto the bed, trying to swab her mouth with his finger. Kendra laughed. "Too late, Warren," she said around his intrusive finger. She started to cough.
"Quick-acting, leaves almost no trace. Everyone will think it was a stroke."
"That was poison?" Seth asked, looking stricken.
Kendra pouted at him and nodded. "No more big sister. Hope you two are," she started gagging and then recovered, "are proud of yourselves."
Her body began to convulse.
"Do something!" Seth urged.
Warren leaned forward, gripping Kendra's chin. "Whoever you are, you will pay for this."
"Doubtful," Kendra choked.
The convulsing stopped. Warren checked for a pulse in her neck. "She's not breathing." He pressed an ear to her chest, then started CPR.
Seth watched in horror, his legs weak beneath him, as Warren relentlessly attempted to revive his sister's body. He wished she was awake and angry and punching him, whether her mind was in control or not--anything but this!
After several minutes, Warren finally backed away from the dead body. "Seth, I don't know what to say."
"You better leave," Seth sobbed, cheeks soaked with tears. "Mom and Dad can't find you with her like this."
"I should have... I didn't realize..."
"Who could have seen that coming?" Seth said hoarsely. He approached his sister, trying to find a pulse, caressing her face, searching for any sign of life. There was none.
Warren helped Seth tuck her in under her covers. Mom and Dad would think she had passed away peacefully in her sleep. Seth could not stop crying.
Finally Warren helped Seth back to his own room and into bed, then slipped out the window and replaced the screen. Seth found he could not sleep. Soon his pillow was drenched. He could not stop obsessing about the lifeless body in his sister's room. After all they had been through together, Kendra was gone.
Chapter 4 Captive
When the minivan eased to a stop in the darkness, Kendra had no idea whether they had reached their final destination. Bound and gagged in a cramped, enclosed trailer hitched behind the maroon vehicle, she had surrendered to the dismal theory that she might spend the rest of her life being shuttled from campground to campground.