The Ruby Circle (Bloodlines #6)(56)
Author: Richelle Mead

Marcus was unconcerned. “That’s the least of our worries. They’ll give us a place to stay. And their kitchen’s always well stocked.”

That was true, at least. So long as we could survive on junk food, we’d be in no danger of going hungry anytime soon. I’d never seen so many boxes of Twinkies in my life. Patty was as dazedly friendly as her husband, assuring us we could make ourselves at home and stay as long we liked. The two of them probably spent most of their time in the basement or in the garden outside, growing the various plants they then consumed or sold. Once we were settled, they disappeared downstairs, leaving us to make plans. I learned then that while I’d talked to Rose and my mom, Marcus and Sydney had been gathering other info.

“Sabrina got back to Marcus. She’s going to take Eddie and me to the Warriors late tonight,” Sydney said. “Very late. We apparently have to arrive at dawn. Ms. Terwilliger’s going to come out beforehand with Eddie to help with some spells and prepare us.”

“I hope it goes without saying that Eddie will be careful in coming here,” said Marcus. “By now, the Alchemists probably have eyes on everyone you know in the area.”

“He’ll be careful,” she said confidently. “He knows how to avoid being followed.” She turned back to me. “Ms. Terwilliger will then take you with her, for when the witches unfreeze Alicia. Promise me you’ll be careful, Adrian. Go easy on her. Only use as little compulsion as necessary. Remember, the odds are good she may not even know where the Alchemists are holding Jill.”

Go easy on her? Even though I knew Sydney had meant that as a way of looking out for me, it was impossible to imagine. How could I go easy on the woman who’d kidnapped Jill? Who was the reason Jill might very well be suffering at the hands of those madmen? Sonya had been in bad shape when she’d been rescued from the Warriors, and they’d had Jill much, much longer.

Alicia will pay, Aunt Tatiana promised in my head.

To Sydney, I said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

My phone rang, and I felt a dry sort of amusement at the display. “Not many people can claim to talk to the Moroi queen twice in one day. Hello?”

“Adrian?” came Lissa’s voice. “What have you done?”

“Why do you assume I’ve done anything?” I asked.

Lissa sighed. “Because an angry Alchemist bureaucrat just called, pretty worked up about how you and Sydney are at large in Palm Springs! They made it very clear they aren’t going to pull any punches in trying to get her back. I thought you guys were lying low.”

“We were, we were,” I said. “It was kind of an accident. But we’re safe for the time being.”

“Well, try to stay that way. On the bright side, I was able to get through to someone to ask about the Alchemists possibly putting pressure on the Warriors.”

Hope filled me. It would save Sydney from infiltrating the Warriors and me from interrogating Alicia if the Alchemists could just rescue Jill for us. “And?” I asked.

“It’s what I feared—they want more proof. I mean, the person I talked to made some vague comments about making ‘inquiries,’ but I didn’t really feel like he was taking me seriously. I think he thinks I was using it to deflect from you and Sydney being outside of Court.”

My hopes fell as I looked at Sydney across the room. She was trying to sit in an overstuffed beanbag chair. The thought of her going off to sneak around the Warriors’ compound made me ill. It had been one thing when she’d left with Eddie and Ms. Terwilliger, but now she was walking right into the hands of some of our enemies. What if she was found out? What if the Warriors tried to renew their friendship with the Alchemists by using her as a bargaining chip? What if the Warriors decided to make an example of the woman who’d married a vampire?

No good can come of any of this, Aunt Tatiana reiterated.

“I’ll keep working on them, though,” Lissa continued, oblivious to my churning thoughts. “And I assume you guys are doing your own things to get answers?”

“So it seems,” I said.

“Well, let me know if I can offer any help. I talked to Rose earlier, and it sounds like you’ve already got her working on something. Feel free to use her and Dimitri and Neil however you can if it’ll help get Jill back.”

Lissa’s tone sounded perfectly innocent, and I realized Rose must have kept the news of Declan secret even from her best friend. It made me grateful but also drove home the precariousness of Declan’s situation. Lissa’s mention of Neil also reminded me that we still hadn’t yet had a chance to sit him down and explain what’s going on. Too many complications just kept coming up.

The rest of the day was spent waiting for Jackie and Eddie to come by. Marcus, who’d spent so much of his life on the run, seemed perfectly at ease cooped up in the cabin’s small living room. Sydney and I, who’d grown used to our freedom, short as it was, had a harder time. We made all the plans we could with our friends remotely, and then mostly tried to pass the time. Despite the private location, we were hesitant to go outside. The house’s one TV was in the basement, and the secondhand smoke coming out of there was strong enough to keep us away. That left a stack of old Reader’s Digests as our remaining entertainment.

“There’s a car pulling up,” said Marcus later that evening. He’d been standing near the window, occasionally looking out the drawn curtains. A frown crossed his face. “I don’t see Jackie or Eddie.”

Sydney leapt up and joined him at the window. After a few moments, her tension faded. “It’s okay. I know them.”

Marcus opened the door, and two women I recognized entered. One was Maude, the senior member of Sydney’s coven, who’d helped at the lake. The other was feisty old Inez, giving me a wink as she stepped across the threshold. Maude lingered at the door, keeping it open as though she expected someone else to come through. No one did, and after several seconds, she nodded for Marcus to close it. I knew enough from Sydney to realize someone invisible had entered, and as that realization hit me, the spell surrounding that person broke.

“Eddie,” Sydney exclaimed, running to give him a hug.

He grinned back. “You guys okay?”

“Fine,” I said. “Just stocking up on carbs and waiting for the next phase of craziness to start.”

“You’re sure no one followed you?” asked Marcus, tugging the curtains around the front windows closer together.