"From what I hear, either way you'll be moving on tomorrow."
"Which is why I have to duck out tonight."
"Good luck."
"You too."
Kendra exited and closed his door, then slipped down the hall to Cody's room. She quietly eased the door open. "Who's there?" Cody called, alarmed. "It's just Kendra."
"Kendra?" Cody repeated, his voice only somewhat quieter.
Kendra shushed him gently. "Not so loud. I don't want to get busted. I have to ask you something that couldn't wait until morning."
"Sure, come in," he whispered. "Sorry. You startled me."
"I have a sure way out of here. I'm leaving tonight. You could come if you'd like. Should be easy."
Sitting up, Cody switched on a reading light. He shielded his eyes until they adjusted. "I know you're worried about leaving with the Sphinx tomorrow. But there is no way out of this place. Trying to bust out will only make matters worse in the morning."
"It isn't wishful thinking," Kendra insisted. "I've had some outside help, and I now have a guaranteed way to escape. I'm talking immediately. You won't slow me down and it shouldn't be too tough. Do you want to come or not?"
"Have you asked Haden?"
"He turned me down."
Cody picked up a mostly empty glass of water from the low table beside his bed. He took a sip and set it down. "I suppose if the getaway is as sure as you make it sound, I wouldn't mind leaving this place behind. If I manage to find a comfortable place for Haden on the outside, I could always come back for him."
"So you'll come?" Kendra said.
"If I agree that your method of escape looks sensible, yes, I'll join you."
"Get dressed and come to my room. Be quick and quiet."
Cody slid his legs out from under the covers. They looked white and thin. "I'll be close behind you," he assured her.
Kendra jogged down the hall. The disappearance of Cody would raise questions. There was no stingbulb to replace him. They would certainly interrogate Haden, since he and Cody were so close. Could it lead them to suspect the authenticity of the Kendra duplicate? Possibly, but if Cody wanted to come, leaving him behind was not an option.
Returning to her room, Kendra found her duplicate sitting on the bed. The husk from the overgrown fruit was gone. "What did you do with the husk?" Kendra asked.
"I cleaned it up and dropped it into the knapsack," the duplicate replied. "Are the old guys coming?"
"Cody," Kendra said. "His disappearance will raise questions. You'll have to be ready to act oblivious."
"I'll make you proud," the duplicate said. "They won't suspect."
Kendra felt confident that she could rely on the duplicate. It was like relying on herself. "Thanks, I'm sure you'll do great."
Kendra sat down on the bed next to her duplicate. She had to wait longer than she liked for Cody to show up, and was just getting ready to return to his room when he entered quietly. Diffused light from his room illuminated him faintly. He wore a dark green topcoat and a matching homburg hat with a brownish band and an upturned brim.
"You look sharp," Kendra remarked.
"Torina got me the outfit," Cody said. "You're right about Haden. I went by his room and gave it a shot, but he's set on staying. How do we escape?"
"We climb into this knapsack," Kendra said.
"The knapsack?" Cody said incredulously. "I'm sorry, Kendra, I can't see a thing in here."
Kendra clicked on a light.
"Two of you?" Cody gasped.
"Long story," Kendra said. She lifted the flap of the knapsack. "This backpack has a magical compartment. Climb down the ladder. I'll take care of the rest."
"Now I've seen everything," the old man muttered, peeking into the knapsack.
It took some twisting and some steadying from Kendra, but eventually Cody got his feet onto the rungs and started down. The generous mouth of the knapsack stretched as his shoulders squeezed through. Had Cody been a heavyset man, he might not have fit very easily.
"Just chuck the bag out the window," Kendra reminded the duplicate. "I'll call up from the bottom when I'm ready."
"I'll wait for your signal," the duplicate confirmed.
'"Bye," Kendra said. "Thanks."
"I exist to execute your will. Thanks for the intriguing mission."
Kendra descended through the mouth of the knapsack into the unlit room below. When she reached the bottom, she gazed up at the duplicate peering down at her. Kendra gave a thumbs-up. "We're ready."
The mouth of the knapsack closed. Kendra waited. There was no sense of motion.
"What's happening?" Cody asked. "I can't see my hand in front of my face in here."
"She'll throw the knapsack out the window."
"Out the window? We're three stories up!"
"We won't feel it in here." She hoped it was true.
From up above, Kendra heard the window slide open. A
moment later, she heard the knapsack hit the ground. The room didn't tilt or tremble.
Kendra retrieved the damaged wicker chair from among the goods heaped against the wall. "You can sit here," she offered.
The wicker creaked as Cody took a seat. Despite the numerous broken, missing, and protruding fibers, the brittle chair looked like it would hold him fine. Kendra rushed over to the rungs in the wall and climbed up to the closed mouth of the bag. Reaching up, she pushed open the flap.
"Where are you going?" Cody inquired.
"I'm going to take the knapsack someplace safe," Kendra said. "Sit tight."
"You're the boss."
Kendra climbed up through the opening, into the side yard of the big house. Above her, the bedroom window she had fallen from was dark. The house remained quiet. There was no sign of pursuit from the whisper hound. Kendra closed the knapsack, picked it up, and hurried away across the crunchy snow. Fortunately the snow looked pretty chewed up, so leaving footprints probably wouldn't be a problem. Just to be sure, she dragged her feet so that whatever footprints she did leave would look misshapen.
She reached a sidewalk and started down the road. Slipping on a patch of ice, she fell hard, banging her elbow. She remained on the ground for a moment, breathing icy air, feeling the cold from the concrete seeping through her clothes, before rising carefully and continuing. She had seen enough of the neighborhood to know it consisted of large, old houses on good-sized lots. Her first goal was to put some distance between herself and her enemies. She turned down a couple of streets, heading for what she thought was the center of town. Not much after four in the morning, the chilly streets were quiet. No light seeped down through the cloudy sky.