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Kaitlyn was moved But before she could speak, Anna did Anna’s face was even more compassionate than before, more sad-and more certain

"No, Rob," she said quietly "That’s the one thing we can’t do It doesn’t belong to us; it’s just on loan

Ti the crystal We can’t just go around using thatbad would coentle hand on Rob’s shoulder "You’ve got power of your own that you can use to help people-and that should be enough You’ll have your chance, Rob"

Rob stared at her for a long h the web, Kaitlyn got just a gliht He ed and a little confused at being caught between these two farsighted wootten so hile he’d stayed duree

"So it’s settled," Kaitlyn said quietly "I’ll take the shard and go back to the Institute, and you’ll go back to Tony’s friend’s apartment"

"We left Tamsin there," Anna said "We’ll tell her what you’re doing She’ll be rooting for you, Kait, and so will Marisol"

Kaitlyn was glad to talk about so that any"Marisol’s really that much better?"

"She’s still in the hospital because her ain But Tony says it’ll only be a few days before she’s walking Oh, Kait, I wish you could have seen his face when he came to see us! And his mom and dad-they called and just thanked us over and over We couldn’t get theht a candle for you," Lewis put in "You know, in church Because Rob told hier"

Kaitlyn’s throat ollen and her eyes kept filling ar"

Rob knelt and opened the duffel bag he’d brought He took out the crystal shard, opened Kaitlyn’s backpack, and put it in Kaitlyn knew that he was doing it hi, an adht to make every move

He stood up, very pale, and held the backpack out to her

"Call us when it’s over," he said "Or if you think you can’t do it before tomorrow And, Kait?"

"Yes?"

"If you don’t call us by tootiable, Kaitlyn; that’sthat so, and all bets are off"

What could Kaitlyn say?

Good luck, Lewis said silently as she hugged hi about you

Be careful, Anna said Be as clever as Raven and get yourself out safe She added a feords in Suquamish, and Kaitlyn didn’t need a translation It was a blessing

Last of all, she hugged Rob His eyes were still sore from the hard lesson he’d just learned He held on to her very tightly Please co

Howoff to war?

The swelling in Kaitlyn’s throat was getting bigger by the minute I love you all, she told them Then she turned around and walked toward the back door of the gy their eyes on her She knew they stood in perfect silence as she went out onto the blacktop, and then onto the baseball field, watching and watching until she was out of sight

Kaitlyn was heading straight back for the Institute It was only about a ht have to wait for days to get to the crystal, but she knew that her best chance was right now Bri, Renny, and Lydia were at school-and Gabriel was supposed to be That left Frost and Jackal Mac in the house with Joyce

I should be able to get in without theo into the back lab or soet to the panel

The as actually pleasant Kaitlyn found herself noticing the sky, which was a beautiful blue with just the right amount of wispy clouds The sun ares by the sideere dotted with starlike yelloers It’s spring, she thought

Strange how you enjoyed the worldit soon

Even the Institute looked exotic and beautiful, like a giant grape monument

Now caht, but do it without looking sneaky

So that if she were caught, she could say she’d coht, she let herself in the kitchen door The kitchen was right by the front lab, but no one in the lab could see her until she passed the lab doorway

Music was co fro her shoulders, Kait walked boldly by the lab doorway, forcing herself to glance inside casually, forcing herself not to tiptoe

That one glance showed her Frost sorting through a tray full of watches and keys, while Joyce sat beside her with a notebook Frost was facing the back lab-great Joyce was facing Frost, but bent over her notebook Pretty good

Jackal Mac was nowhere in sight Kait prayed he was in the back lab, in the tank

Still forcing herself not to be stealthy, not to creep, she walked through the dining room and out and around the staircase She looked around the corner and saw the little hallway that led to the other door of the lab

Okay, how to ot to wait hereher eyes off the figures in the lab, she knelt and undid her shoelace Then she stayed that ith the laces in her hands, watching Joyce

I can’t go into the hall until she turns around or goes into the back lab It takes a few seconds to get the panel to slide back, she could just glance up and see an to feel heavy, dragging at Kaitlyn’s shoulders

Co Go change the CD Do anything, just move

Joyce stayed put After what see to have to risk stepping out anyway-and then she saw Joyce was getting up

Kait’s vision seeo double Joyce’s face was a tan blur Then Joyce’s back was a pink blur Joyce was going into the back lab

Oh, thank you! Thank you!

The instant the last bit of pink disappeared, Kaitlyn stepped into the hall No ti casual All that ers stabbed out at the wood paneling, once and then again The click seelance at Frost-Frost still had her back turned

The panel had recessed Kaitlyn stepped into the gaping hole

Down the stairs Quick Quick

She’d never learned the secret of closing the panel froot to the crystal She didn’t care if they discovered her after that

As she reached the bottoed off her backpack and pulled out a flashlight She’d taken it fro

Quick Move quick The little circle of light showed her the way

Aha There it is

The co like so from a science fiction set A door to the starship Enterprise

Although her heart was beating in all sorts of funny places-her throat, her ears, her fingertips-Kaitlyn felt calht

Put the backpack down Flashlight in your teeth Take out the paper with the possible combinations on it

Make every an to punch in nuave under her fingertips, and the number she’d punched appeared on an LED

display at the top

14122592 Enter Nothing The LED display blanked out Okay Next!

14251292 Again, nothing Tiny threads of panic began to unwind in Kaitlyn’s gut Okay, so she still had six coo, but she’d used the best two What if Mr Z had changed the nuht to ht of that

Wait a minute I didn’t press Enter She pressed it I sound that re to work With a soft click, the door opened away from her I did it! It worked! Oh, thank you, Colu all over now, her entire skin tingling with the pulses Excitement and fear swam inside her, and she had to take a deep breath to keep her head

Okay, quick, now, quick A light et the shard out first

She fuht kept sliding out from under her chin The paper with the conored it

Okay Got it

With both hands, she held the crystal shard

It had never felt so good to her Cold and heavy and sharp, it was like a weapon in her hand, strengthening her It see froet s froht Now

In the end, it had almost been too easy Why had Rob been so worried about her?

Standing tall, holding the crystal like a spear, she pushed the door open and stepped into the office It was dark and she’d lost the flashlight She reached for the wall, fingers groping across it She found a light switch and got ready to throw it, planning to charge toward the great crystal as soon as she could see A battle yell, soathered in her throat

Now