Xander shrugged, his face pale. "Sounds like as good a plan as any."
Calder studied him for a minute. "Let me see your back."
Xander looked like he thought about protesting, but then turned around. Small dots of blood stained the back of his shirt, making the dark material darker in spots. I sucked in a breath. "It's really not that bad," Xander said. "I think I just need to change the dressings."
Calder lifted up Xander's shirt and checked under an edge of the cotton dressings. I couldn't see what he was seeing from where I was, but Calder frowned and put the shirt back down. "Okay, we'll get you cleaned up when we get inside." He pushed Xander gently toward the hotel and handed him the canvas bag, I guessed so it looked like he was a traveler. "Make me proud," he said, winking.
Xander laughed. "Don't I always?" He turned around and walked backward for a second, "Twenty minutes," he said. We nodded and he turned and walked quickly to the front door as we watched.
I sighed and leaned back against the doorway like Xander had just done.
"How you doing, Morning Glory?" Calder asked softly, walking over to me and leaning into me as he put his arms around my neck.
I put my arms around his waist and burrowed into his chest, inhaling his comforting scent. I nodded my head up and down indicating I was fine.
I turned my head to the side so that my cheek was resting against his shirt. "Do you think he's looking for us?"
Calder was silent for a few seconds. "I don't know. But it doesn't matter. He won't find us. This is a big, big city, and by tomorrow, we'll just be any ordinary people, in ordinary clothes, doing ordinary things."
I nodded my head, wondering if I'd ever feel ordinary.
We leaned against each other quietly and after a few minutes, I closed my eyes and rested against him. After what seemed like just seconds, Calder nudged me.
"I think it's been about twenty minutes. Let's go."
I took a deep breath as Calder leaned back and took my hand. "Stay just a little behind me and don’t make eye contact with anyone. But don't look nervous either," he instructed as we started walking.
A minute later, we were pulling open the doors of the Holiday Inn, me holding Calder's hand and walking slightly behind him. The lobby was mostly deserted, except for an older man using a vacuum on the carpet. He was humming softly as he worked. He didn't even look back at us. There was a sign that said, "Check In" with an arrow pointing around the corner. I let out a breath. We wouldn't even have to walk past anyone.
Suddenly, Xander walked out of a hallway. "Hey guys," he said, "going up?" He winked and walked toward a sign that said, "Elevators."
We both sucked in a surprised breath and followed, my heart leaping with hopeful excitement. Calder squeezed my hand. Xander frowned at the doors on both sides of the hallway as he looked between them and the card in his hand. I leaned forward and pressed the up arrow. Sometimes I knew something and I couldn't remember how or why—I figured it had to be something I'd learned in the past—but the specific memory or memories of actually doing it were gone.
A second later, the doors in front of us dinged open and we all peered inside, Xander stepping in first, Calder and I following behind. When we were in, Xander looked at the card in his hand again and said, "ten," under his breath. Then he looked at the buttons on the wall and pressed the number ten.
The doors closed and the elevator lurched. Calder sucked in a breath and put one palm on each wall, bracing himself. I laughed softly and Xander looked back at him and laughed, too, and then the elevator was rising swiftly. When it stopped and the doors opened, Calder grabbed me and jumped off, stumbling away from the open doors as quickly as possible. I couldn't help grinning. Calder looked at me and shook his head. "That can't be natural."
Xander snickered. "You can take the stairs tomorrow." He pointed at a sign that said, "Stairway."
Calder nodded. "I will." He looked back at the sign. "At least everything's labeled in the outside world." I tilted my head at Calder and laughed softly, raising my eyebrows.
We followed more signs to get to the door with the number on the card Xander carried and then took a few minutes to figure out that we opened the door using the card. It was like some kind of electronic key.
When we spilled into the dim room and shut the door behind us, we stood there still for a minute, looking around. Were we really here? Had we made it? Joy, swift and complete filled my body and I let out a small incredulous laugh and launched myself into Calder's arms, laughing and crying at the same time. He picked me up and laughed into my neck, squeezing me tight.