“Uhhh faw dothers,” she told them.
“Can you finish chewing and say that again?” Ida asked.
Josephine swallowed. “I saw the Brothers.” She wiped her mouth and moved some of the curls from in front of her face.
Ida’s eyes widened. “The Brothers? They were here?”
“Yesterday. And they were running right toward me.”
“They saw you?” Ida was gobsmacked.
“I cried for help, and then I cried fire, and then Kitchen Maggie came up here and threw out some pigeons, and then they went away.”
“They went away? Did she say anything to them?”
“Uh . . . yeah . . . she told them that she’d have ‘merchandise ready’ for the Master ‘in two days.’ Who is the Master?” she pleaded.
Ida’s face fell and she cursed quietly. “Hot maggot breath, I thought we had a few more weeks.”
Fargus suddenly looked frightened.
“What?” Josephine asked. “What’s the matter? What kind of merchandise is she talking about?”
“Us,” Ida groaned. “Fargus and me. We’re the merchandise.”
“What do you mean?”
“Every month Maggie and Ruth give an orphan to the Master.”
No one had yet told her who the Master was, but Josephine could tell from the fear in Ida’s voice that he must be very horrible. “So how do you know it will be you or Fargus this time?”
“Because we’re the only two left.”
Josephine felt sick. “What do you mean? There aren’t any other children here?”
Fargus shook his head.
Josephine tried to process this information. She had a terrible thought. “Maybe Kitchen Maggie meant me. Maybe I’m the new merchandise.”
“I wish,” Ida said thoughtlessly, “but Stairway Ruth can’t wait to get rid of me. Ever since I put that mouse in her bed . . .” She stood up. “This changes everything. Fargus, is our bag ready?”
He stood up too and nodded his head confidently.
“Right,” Ida said. “We don’t have much time. We have to leave while it’s still dark.”
“Leave? But . . . but . . .” Josephine stammered. “You mean, take me back to my house, right? Because we’ll be safe there. There are no Brothers or Master or—”
“Kitchen Maggie has locked the cellar so we can’t get back in. And even if we could, we might not be able to find the passage in time. Fargus told me it took him hours and hours to find the exact right spot. We can’t risk it. We have to leave tonight.”
Josephine felt tears forming.
Ida added, “Plus, it will really help us to have a third person, right, Fargus?”
Fargus nodded.
Josephine didn’t care. She didn’t want to be the third person. She didn’t care if she saw Ida or Fargus ever again. She just wanted to be home.
“No. I won’t do it. I won’t go.”
“Fine. You can do whatever you like,” Ida replied with a dismissive wave of her hand, “but Fargus and I are going, and then the only one left to give to the Master . . . is you.”
Josephine began to panic and felt desperate to talk them into staying. “But what happens if you get taken to the Master?”
Ida’s green eyes flashed with anger. “Kids get taken to the Master and they never come back. Ever. Do you understand?” She got in Josephine’s face and growled, “The Master murders children, peels off their skins, and then eats their bones. Maybe you want to meet him, but I would rather take my chances outside.”
Josephine trembled. “But the Brothers—”
Ida cut her off. “Only come out during the day, which is why,” she added in a casual tone, “we have to leave tonight. Are you coming or not? We don’t have time to argue.” And with that she marched out the door and down the stairs.
Fargus took Josephine’s hand like a caring friend and pulled her toward the door. Josephine couldn’t believe it. She actually wanted to stay in the smelly pigeon room. At least then she would still be in the Institute, close to the strange passageway that had brought her here. If she left, perhaps she was giving up her only chance of ever getting home.
However, the logical side of Josephine knew that Fargus and Ida had been in the Institute far longer than she and that they probably knew what they were talking about. And she had no one else to trust. So she begrudgingly let Fargus pull her to the door, and the two of them followed Ida down the stairs.
Before Ida opened the door at the bottom of the stairs, she turned to them and said, “Stairway Ruth will be checking the classrooms now. We have less than ten minutes to grab food and the bag.” Josephine and Fargus nodded, and Ida opened the narrow door with a creak. The coast was clear.
The three of them did a quick raid of the kitchen and grabbed dried meat, cheese, and bread. After they had all they could carry, they tiptoed into the dining hall, careful to avoid the loose floorboards, and Josephine saw enough tables and stools for a small army. A large grandfather clock stood in one corner. Fargus walked up to it and opened a wood panel that revealed the inner mechanics of the clock. Josephine noticed a canvas sack had been shoved into the clockworks.
Fargus removed the sack and shut the panel. He tiptoed back to the girls, and Ida took the sack and placed their foraged food inside. Josephine could see that there was already a decent stash of food in the bag. Ida and Fargus had been planning this escape for some time.
