was, I don’t know, Zachary Johnson.”
“Or Zeke Jones,” supplied Eddie.
The cat came by with a refill for Marcus’s lemonade, and I soon had proof that it was a woman. “Thanks, love,” Marcus said, giving her a smile that nearly made her swoon and drop the tray. When he turned back to us, he was all business. “That’s where Sabrina comes in. Not long before Wade got the list, she overheard Master Jameson talking to one of his cronies about an upcoming trip to St. Louis and how he was going to find out about leads on some missing girl. The timing lines up.”
“It’s an awfully big coincidence,” I said. Yet even as I spoke, I was reminded of something Sonya Karp always said about the world of Moroi and Alchemists:
“What missing girl were they talking about?” asked Eddie carefully.
I met his eyes and immediately understood what he wasn’t saying. A missing girl that the Warriors were interested in. There was one missing girl that the Moroi were very, very interested in as well. And whom the Alchemists were determined to keep safe. She was the reason I was stationed in Palm Springs in the first place. In fact, I was pretending to be her sister.
I said nothing and focused on Marcus again.
He shrugged. “I don’t know, just that finding her would create a lot of problems for the Moroi. The details aren’t important yet. First we have to prove the connection.”
Those details were immensely important to Eddie and me, but I wasn’t sure how much Marcus and friends knew about Jill. I wasn’t about to show too much interest.
“And that’s what you want me to do?” I asked, recalling the arcade discussion. “How would you like me to do that? Go visit Master Jameson and ask him?”
“Every visitor is recorded on video if they’re going through the secure access point,” said Wade. “Even the top secret ones. All you have to do is steal a copy of that footage. They store it all in their computers.”
These people had a very different idea than me of what “all you have to do” meant.
“I’m a field Alchemist in Palm Springs,” I reminded them. “I’m not a computer hacker. I’m not even in St. Louis! How would I walk in and steal something?”
Marcus tilted his head to study me, allowing some of that golden hair to slip forward. “It’s more of that resourceful vibe I get off you. Couldn’t you find some way to get to St. Louis? Some reason to visit?”
“No! I’d have no . . .” I trailed off, flashing back to the wedding. Ian, with his lovesick eyes, had invited me to visit him in St. Louis. He’d had the audacity to use church services as a way to further his chances with me.
Marcus’s eyes sparkled. “You’ve already thought of something, haven’t you? Brilliant, just like I thought.” Amelia looked mildly put out at hearing me complimented.
“It’d be a long shot,” I said.
“That’s kind of how we roll,” said Marcus.
I still wasn’t on board. “Look, I know someone there, but I’d have to get permission to even go, which wouldn’t be easy.” I stared at each of them in turn. “You know how it is. You were all in the Alchemists. You know we can’t just take vacations whenever we want.”
Wade and Amelia actually had the grace to look embarrassed, but Marcus was undaunted. “Can you let this chance pass? Even if you don’t want to join us or alter your tattoo, just think about it. You saw the Warriors. You saw what they’re capable of. Can you even imagine what could happen if they had access to Alchemist resources?”
“It’s all circumstantial,” argued the scientist in me.
“Sydney,” said Eddie.
I turned to him and saw something in his eyes I’d never expected to see: pleading. He didn’t care about Alchemist conspiracies or Marcus’s Merry Men. What he cared about was Jill, and he’d heard something that made him think she was in danger. That was unacceptable in his world. He would do anything in his power to keep her safe, but even he knew stealing information from the Alchemists was out of his league. It was pretty much out of mine too, but he didn’t know that. He believed in me, and he was silently begging me to help.
Marcus pushed his advantage. “You have nothing to lose—I mean, if you aren’t caught. If you get the footage and we find nothing . . . well, so be it. False alarm. But if we get hard proof that Jameson was there, then I don’t have to tell you how big that is. Either way, you should break your tattoo and join us. Besides, after a stunt like this, would you really want to stick around?” He eyed me. “But that part’s up to you. Just help us for now.”
Against my better judgment, my mind was starting to figure out how I could pull this off. “I’d need a lot more information about operations,” I murmured.
“I can get you that,” said Wade promptly.
I didn’t answer. This was crazy—a crazy idea from a crazy group. But I looked at Marcus’s tattoo and the way the others followed him—the way even Sabrina followed him. There was a dedication, an ardent belief that had nothing to do with Marcus’s silly flirting. They might really be on to something.
“Sydney,” said Eddie again. And this time: “Please.”
I could feel my resolve weakening. A missing girl, who could cause lots of trouble if found. If they were really talking about Jill, how could I risk anything happening to her?
But what if I was caught?
With a sigh, I looked back up at Wade. “All right,” I said. “Give me the scoop.”
CHAPTER 13
WADE TOLD ME EVERYTHING he knew. It was all useful, but I didn’t know if it would be enough. First, I had to get to St. Louis . . . and that was going to be tricky. I braced myself for the phone calls I’d have to make, hoping I had enough Alchemist wiles to pull them off.
Before I took on that task, I just wanted the normality and comfort of my own room. Eddie and I drove back to Amberwood, analyzing every detail of our meeting. He was chomping at the bit to make progress, and I promised I’d keep him in the loop.
I had just reached my door when my phone rang. It was Ms. Terwilliger. I swear, sometimes I thought she had a sensor outside my room so that she’d know the instant I returned.
“Miss Melbourne,” she said. “We need to meet.”
My heart stopped. “There hasn’t been another victim, has there? You said we have time.”
“We do,” she replied. “Which is why we need to meet sooner rather than later. Reading up on spells is one thing, but you require some hands-on practice. I refuse to let Veronica get to you.”
Her words triggered a mix of emotions. Naturally, I had my knee-jerk reaction against practicing magic. It was quickly squashed by the realization that Ms. Terwilliger cared about me and was so concerned about keeping me safe. My own personal desire to not be in a coma was also a strong motivator.
“When do you want to meet, ma’am?” I asked.
“Tomorrow morning.”
I realized tomorrow was Saturday. Already? Where had the week gone? I was driving Adrian to pick up his car in the morning, which hopefully wouldn’t take a long time. “Could we meet at noon? I’ve got an errand to run.”
“I suppose so,” said Ms. Terwilliger, with some reluctance. “Meet me at my place, and then we’ll go out to Lone Rock Park.”
I was about to lie back on my bed and froze. “Why do we have to go out to the middle of the desert?” Lone Rock Park was remote and rarely saw many tourists. I hadn’t forgotten how terrifying it was the last time she’d brought me out into the wilderness. At least this time we’d be in daylight.
“Well, we can hardly practice on school grounds,” she pointed out
“True. . . .”
“Bring your book, and the components you’ve been working on.”
We disconnected, and I jotted out a quick text to Adrian:
