Nicole went first, running low and fast across the clearing until she reached the safety of the cottage, disappearing into the shadows around it.
The others waited, squinting into the darkness until they saw the pale blue light of her torch flash twice. After that they followed her one at a time. First Rachel, then Sylvain, then Allie.
For Allie, the run across the clearing seemed to take for ever – she felt so exposed. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the pain in her knee, forcing herself to run faster than she’d thought she could. Trying not to limp.
It only took seconds.
When she was safely beside the others, leaning against the cold stone of the house, she bent down with her head hanging between her shoulders and struggled to catch her breath. Glancing up, she saw Rachel watching with concern.
‘You OK?’ she mouthed. Allie nodded, aware of the irony of Rachel worrying about her.
When the others had made it across, Zoe led them around the building to the far side where she’d heard Eloise’s voice before. A boarded-up window was just above their heads.
Nicole stood on her toes to whisper. ‘Eloise?’
They all stopped to listen. There was no reply.
‘She could be asleep,’ Rachel whispered. ‘It’s late.’
They hadn’t thought of this possibility. As they exchanged blank looks, Allie’s heart sank. Had they risked so much for nothing?
Reaching up, Sylvain felt around the edges of the plywood covering the old window.
‘Here,’ he said, tugging gently at the lower right corner. The wood had been poorly nailed down and it could be pulled out a few inches – far enough for him to slip his hand underneath and tap the glass behind it.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
‘Eloise?’ he whispered. ‘Are you awake?’
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Allie pressed her ear to the wall as if she could hear the librarian through the foot of stone that separated them. Silence.
Sylvain stopped tapping. ‘Maybe she’s not in there. Perhaps she —’
They all heard it at once, coming from the other side: Tap. Tap. Tap.
‘It’s her!’ Zoe hissed. Reaching up, Sylvain tapped their reply.
‘Is that you, Eloise?’ he whispered.
‘Yes.’ Her reply was so faint it was hard to believe it was real. Through the walls it sounded ethereal; ghostly.
Her love of Eloise making her forget her concerns, Rachel stepped to Sylvain’s side. ‘Are you OK?’
A pause. Then, ‘Yes.’
Carter leaned towards Sylvain. ‘Ask her if she’s guarded now.’
‘Is someone in the house?’ Sylvain asked. ‘Guarding you?’
‘Yes.’
Allie pictured Eloise standing by the window, whispering to them through the glass, lonely and imprisoned. Someone must be in the next room, keeping watch on her. As if she were a criminal.
Anger rose inside her like white heat.
She turned to Sylvain. ‘Ask her if there’s some way we can get her out.’
‘Can we help you escape?’ Sylvain asked. ‘Is there… a way out?’
This time the pause was very long. ‘No.’
Allie wanted to weep with futile rage. There had to be something they could do.
Rachel turned to Sylvain. ‘May I?’ He inclined his head and stepped back, holding the plywood up so she could speak to the glass.
‘Eloise, we know you didn’t do it,’ Rachel said. ‘Or at least we think you didn’t. I mean, you were with Jerry. Is there something we could do from this side to prove you’re innocent?’
The silence that followed was so long, Allie wondered if Eloise had been found out – silenced somehow.
Then… faintly, Eloise spoke again. ‘The key.’
Rachel leaned closer to the window. ‘What about the key, Eloise?’
‘Isabelle’s office… the one I used… find the key.’
Doubt squeezed Allie’s chest like a vice. Why did she want them to find it? Did she expect them to take it so the teachers couldn’t find it? To protect her? Was she guilty after all?
Wrapping her arms across her torso, she stared at the ground.
Rachel reached up to the window ledge. ‘I don’t understand, Eloise. What do you want us to do?’
When the librarian spoke again, Allie got the impression she was crying. Her voice sounded muffled. ‘Zelazny gave it to Jerry and then… he took it back. I think he… hid it. Find it. A small, silver key. Give it to Isabelle.’
At her words, Allie’s head snapped up. Her eyes met Carter’s. She could see the shock in his eyes.
Is Eloise saying Zelazny set her up?
Sylvain stepped closer to the window. ‘Why would he do that, Eloise?’
She didn’t reply.
Allie felt drained. They’d toyed with the idea of the spy being Zelazny but none of them had truly believed it. If he knew where the key was hidden…
Anger made her shake.
How could he do that to her? How could he let her be held like this and not say anything?
The only reason for him to do that would be if he had something to hide.
She was so lost in her angry thoughts the faint creaking sound didn’t register at first.
Then the front door thudded shut.
Allie’s heart seemed to stop. She and the others stared at each other in horror. The moment seemed to stretch on for ever.
Without warning, Carter grabbed Allie’s hand and began to run.
It all happened so quickly Allie didn’t have time to react. By the time she thought about Rachel it was too late.
Sylvain will help her, she told herself. He was standing right beside her. Surely he would have grabbed her, knowing she didn’t have training.
She kept trying to look back to see if the others were behind them, but Carter gripped her hand so tightly and moved so quickly through the rough terrain she could see nothing but darkness and blur.
They jumped over the stream and a twig snapped sharply under her foot; she winced and kept going – they didn’t have time to be quiet now. They just had to be fast.
Air burned her lungs like fire and each step sent pain jolting through her knee. Carter’s pace was relentless; they ignored the branches grabbing roughly at their arms and faces, and the stones that skittered under their feet. They crashed through the dried bracken and winter-dead brush. They must have run half a mile and Allie was just beginning to wonder if she could go much further when they reached a natural dip in the ground, shielded by a fallen tree. Leaping down into it, Carter pulled Allie in after him, down to the forest floor.
Then all was still.
For long minutes they lay without moving. Allie strained her ears to hear footsteps but the woods gave nothing away. A breeze blew through the branches high above them, crashing them together in a low roar.
When the wind finally quietened, the only sound was her heart hammering in her ears and her strained breaths.
They were completely alone.
Slowly her breathing returned to normal and she could pay more attention to where she was. She was aware of Carter’s weight – he was almost on top of her, one arm thrown across her shoulders, his head resting in the cold, loamy soil next to hers.
She could feel his chest rise and fall against her with each breath; his body heat cut through the chill emanating from the damp earth.
Slowly, she turned her head to the right – careful not to make a sound – until she could see his face. He lay watching her steadily. She could sense a shuddering tension in his stillness – as if he was waiting for something.
She didn’t know how long they lay there, unmoving – just staring at each other and listening for any sign that someone had followed them. At first she counted her breaths but then she lost track. Carter’s proximity distracted her. She was hyper-conscious of his hand resting between her shoulderblades. And of the way he was looking at her.