Two is Company (House of Anubis)

Chapter 88: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

"Do you think KT was there?" Eddie asked once they were back at the house. The girls' corridor was mostly empty, and the plan was to hole up in Patricia and Kira's room for a bit to strategize about where to look next for KT, since Mara was out with her parents for the night.

Fabian shook his head. "No, there didn't seem to be any sign of her."

"But we didn't check the tank room!" Kira pointed out, ashen with worry. "Guys, I'm freaking the fuck out. Where is my girlfriend?"

"We'll find her!" Eddie snapped, his sister's worry making him worried. "Please relax."

"She's right, though," Patricia said as they made their way down the hall. "We didn't even check."

"So you both think we should have gone up there, and... what? Said 'Hi, Mr. Frobisher-Smythe! Have you seen your great-granddaughter around here recently?'" Alfie snorted, but no one thought it was particularly funny.

"Forget about Frobisher. What was Victor doing there?" asked Patricia.

"Maybe he and Ms. Denby are dating," Alfie joked again. "Or something worse? Yeah, definitely something worse."

"Okay, well if she's not there, then where?" Eddie carded his fingers through his hair. "At this rate we need a bloodhound to find her!" He looked over his left shoulder into Joy's and Willow's room, then did a double-take. There was good ol' Letdown sprawled lazily across a hot pink towel.

Well, when life gives you lemons...

Fabian followed his line of sight and grinned. "Hey! Um, Joy, do you think Mara would mind if we borrowed Letdown for a minute?"

Joy looked up from her book and shrugged. "I guess not," she said slowly. "But please be careful with him. She'll kill me if anything happened to that dog."

"Don't worry, Joy!" Patricia chimed in reassuringly. "We'll take good care of him!"

"I'll go grab a shirt of KT's," Kira whispered to Eddie, and she scampered off in the direction of the attic.

"Oh, he smells nice!" complimented Fabian as he picked up the leash.

Joy smiled privately. "Like flowers..."

"Okay... well, thanks!" Alfie chirped, and they tugged the dog into the corridor, leaving Joy to her book. Then, he sneezed. "Ugh, I seriously need to take my allergy meds."

Kira burst back through the attic door with a tank top in her hands and tossed it to Fabian. "Are you sure this'll work?" She asked.

"Nope!" he answered while he held the top up to Letdown's nose.

The dog gave a short bark and took off, dragging Fabian along behind him. The others shared wide-eyed looks before running after them. "He's doing it!" Fabian exclaimed. They thundered down the stairs with Letdown in the lead, and the dog began sniffing around the front door and coat closet. "C'mon, boy, where is she?"

Naturally, Victor chose this moment to come in the front door and the five students froze like maybe if they didn't move, he wouldn't see them. "What is that?" the caretaker asked icily. Letdown took one look at Victor and growled, pressing back into Fabian's legs with his tail between his legs. "Pets are not permitted at Anubis House," he growled back.

Alfie chuckled nervously. "See, it's actually not a pet," he explained. "It's Mara's inheritance!"

Victor raised a menacing eyebrow and extended his hand toward the leash. "Give it to me," he ordered, leaving absolutely no room for argument.

Eddie watched helplessly as Fabian handed off Mara's dog. Kira and Patricia looked like they wanted to melt— Mara was going to kill her roommates first, before coming after the boys.