House of Anubis: House of Mistakes

Part XIII

It took a moment for KT's throat to produce a sound, suddenly dry and closed off. "No," she rasped, taking another shaky step away from Eddie. "It's you? How is... How did they... How?"

It didn't make sense. None of it made sense. Her previous shock over Alfie was nothing compared to now. And that begged several questions: Was Alfie also a traitor? How long had Eddie been working under her great-grandpa's orders? Why had he gone to the trouble of cluing them in that there was a traitor in the first place if it had just been him all along?

She suddenly— ironically— recalled a history lesson with Ms. Denby a few months before. "To divide and conquer," she'd said, "is a policy in which discord and infighting is encouraged by a superior force, whether that be a domestic or foreign power, so the group will be weakened and won't turn against the enemy together."

They'd all be played for fools.

"Surprise!" Eddie cheered in a jovial tone that contrasted so starkly with his sinister expression that KT almost looked around to see if someone else had spoke. "It was so difficult keeping this from you, KT, it really was. But we tell each other everything, right?" His hand shot out faster than she could jerk away and grabbed her forearm in a bone-crushing grip. "So I thought we could share this secret, you and me. Won't it be fun?"

"You're not going to turn me into a Sinner," she managed to spit out through gritted teeth.

Eddie squeezed her arm impossibly tighter, and she cried out in pain, trying in vain to shake him off. "Actually, KT," he whispered conspiratorially, leaning in like he was about to impart a juicy tidbit of gossip, "I think you'll find that I am."

He gave her a rough shove backwards and advanced, herding her towards one of the back rooms. She fought like mad, but he dodged any and all attempts to hit him with infuriating ease. With his palm, he held KT against the wall by her chest bone, practically crushing her lungs, and with the other he grabbed the key to one of the locked doors in the hall.

Despite him squeezing the air out of her, KT found herself begging. "Eddie, please, you're my best friend," she wheezed, scratching weakly at his wrist. "Don't do this."

He paused with the key in the lock. "What's the magic word?" he asked, and his voice sounded so sincere, KT felt yet another treacherous glimmer of hope.

"Please?" she offered, then gasped when Eddie pressed her harder into the wall.

"Wrong," he snarked. "It's 'goodbye'. Goodbye, KT. I'll see you after midnight." And with that, he turned the key. The lock clicked, and almost immediately the door was thrown open and a willowy figure launched out, hitting Eddie with enough force to send him careening into the opposite wall.

She took a deep, gasping breath, but had no more time to recover before Harriet grabbed her hand and started to run. "Come on, Frobisher girl!" Harriet shouted, dragging KT along behind her. "Go now! Now!"

The pain in her right arm and chest was agonizing, but the adrenaline pumping through her veins and the sound of Eddie thundering after them was enough to keep her running down the stairs, out the Gatehouse, and into the woods. Soon, she overtook Harriet and sent them veering off course, back toward Anubis House.

"That's right! Just keep running!" Eddie's voice pierced the air from somewhere behind them, which only served as an incentive for KT and Harriet to run even faster. "Wherever you go, I'll find you! This isn't over— not by a long shot!"

—

"How could you have let this happen?" Robert hissed, his furious gaze trained solely on Caroline. "You should have dealt with this troublesome sister of yours long ago. You will find her and make amends."