Force of Nature ▸ House of Anubis [3]

chapter seventy-four. house of distraction

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            Realistically, I got maybe two hours of sleep. Two hours that was constantly interrupted by Mara shaking me awake to make sure I haven't slipped into a coma, which was a nice sentiment but also I'm exhausted. On the plus side, staying awake almost the entire night helped me brainstorm ideas. Unfortunately, all those ideas involve me as bait.

            Let me explain. So we're pretty certain the Evil Ones don't need me as a sinner, because if so why wouldn't Frobisher have taken me hostage until midnight when I went to the gatehouse? So since they don't need me as a sinner and they've got four out of five, realistically it makes the most sense to send me in as bait. I think that they don't truly need me until they've got all five sinners in their grasp, so as long as there's only four, I won't be forced to aid in bringing the soul devourer to the mortal realm.

            I mean, there's still the tiny detail of getting everyone back to who they were, but we just need to stop them from taking a fifth.

            "Where's Eddie this morning?" Trudy's voice shakes me out of my zoning out.

            "Oh, he, uh, left early," answers Fabian, who's met with a glare every time he looks at me. "Mr. Sweet wanted to talk to him."

            "Oh," says Trudy. "Ashley, how's your head?"

            "Mara kept me awake, so I'm decidedly not comatose," I answer. "Right, Fabian?"

            It's worth it to mention that KT and Alfie are not with us at the table. It's me, Patricia, Fabian, Jerome, and Mara's in the kitchen. But Joy joins us shortly after, speaking quietly to Mara. Not interested. I just want breakfast before I tell my non-sinner Sibunas the plan.

            Oh, speaking of breakfast, just as I reach for the milk, Fabian throws part of his muffin over at Jerome. My eyebrows furrow out of confusion because of it. I expected Fabian to act more like Patricia, not like Alfie and Jerome when they start food fights. Jerome looks over at me with a look that's like, 'What just happened?' I shrug in response, watching Fabian as he pours a spoonful of jam into the milk.

            This is strange, even for a sinner.

            "Trudy!" Joy shouts all of a sudden. I jump because of it. "Trudy, please tell me the trash hasn't gone out yet."

            "Oh, sweetie, that was collected this morning," Trudy answers.

            "Joy, what's wrong?" I inquire, noticing her and Mara's look of dread. Fabian putting jam in the milk is creeping me out and I need to get away from it, so I leave the rest of my breakfast at the table as I go over to her and Mara. "What, throw your phone in the trash?"

            "Willow's hedgehog," Mara answers reluctantly.

            "Willow has a hedgehog?"