The Ruby Circle (Bloodlines #6)(71)
Author: Richelle Mead

No one stopped me as I headed toward the main gate. The Warriors were too busy swinging their weapons at the fotianas, shouting about the last battle and sending their enemies to hell. The gate guards had abandoned their posts to join the fray, and I slipped out easily, happy to find Sabrina’s car running and ready for me. I tumbled into the backseat, and she had her foot on the gas before I could even manage to shut the door.

“You got it?” she asked, once we were speeding away.

“Got it,” I confirmed, fastening my seat belt. “But it, uh, wasn’t as covert as I hoped. You might want to go with that staying-away-from-them plan after all.”

She snorted. “No problem there, especially if that laptop pays off.”

I hugged it to me. “Let’s hope so. Where are we going to take it?”

“To Marcus, of course.”

Marcus was still staying at Howie’s cabin in the desert, and it was nearly sunrise when we reached it hours later. I was hoping Adrian would still be there, but when we walked into the living room, we found only Marcus on the couch, eating an oatmeal cream pie for breakfast and leafing through a copy of Reader’s Digest. “I think he’s staying with those witches of yours,” he explained, immediately handing over my cell phone.

I, in turn, gave him the laptop. “Know anyone who can get into it?”

Marcus grinned. “Our host, actually.”

I stared stupidly for a moment. “Howie?”

“Yup. Believe it or not, he used to work in computers before ‘retiring’ to the herb business. I’ll give it to him right away.” Marcus disappeared through the beaded curtain.

I promptly dialed Adrian, and it went to voice mail. It was hard to say what schedule he might be on, and if it was anything human, he might very well still be asleep. Stifling a yawn, I decided that didn’t seem like too bad of an idea after my all-night venture. Eddie and Sabrina were on the same page, and Marcus assured us he’d make sure no one bothered us while we camped out in the living room. I fell asleep almost instantly and woke a few hours later to the sound of Eddie and Marcus whispering. Sabrina was still asleep, curled up on the beanbag chair.

“What’s up?” I asked quietly, walking over to join Marcus and Eddie.

“Howie got in pretty easily,” said Marcus. “Master Angeletti wasn’t that big on security. I’ve spent the last hour or so perusing some of the files.”

“Did you find anything about where they’re holding Jill?” I asked eagerly.

Marcus nodded. “That’s what I was just telling Eddie. It’s all here—well, almost. They mention her, talk about how long she’s been held, have schematics for the place they’re holding her. There are even specifics on the terms they negotiated with Alicia.”

“Terms?” I asked.

“Apparently, they cut some sort of deal. Alicia wanted her held a while—probably so that she had a bargaining chip with you—but the Warriors eventually want to use her in some sort of barbaric execution ritual.”

My heart stopped. “Just like they did with Sonya.”

“It would seem so,” said Marcus grimly. “Per the deal they struck with Alicia, they only have to hold her for three more days.”

I had to stop my jaw from dropping. “Three days?”

“We have to get there—now,” said Eddie, his face like a thundercloud. I was inclined to agree.

Marcus shot him a look of sympathy. “That’s the thing. Remember I said we ‘almost’ had all the info on her? The one thing we don’t have is the location of where they’re holding her. They refer to it as their ‘Judgment Day Complex.’”

I would’ve laughed if the situation wasn’t so dire. “Stupid name. But it might be enough for the Alchemists to go on. I’ll talk to them myself this time and see if I can get their attention.”

“Oh,” remarked Marcus. There was a dry smile on his face I couldn’t fully interpret. “I’ve got something that might help with that. Did you know the Warriors are buying enchanted vampire blood from rogue Alchemists?”

I thought back to what I’d overheard at the compound. “I did, actually. I was going to see if you could find anything on the laptop about it—I take it you did. Is Keith the one doing it again?”

“No,” said Marcus, turning the screen toward me. “Here’s a list.”

I read it. “I see.”

“Yup. I bet the Alchemists would be interested in that—and a number of other Warrior and Alchemist interactions that have been going on.”

I agreed with him, but before I could respond, my phone rang, showing Adrian’s number. “Hang on.” I answered, relief surging through me. “Adrian, are you okay?”

He chuckled on the other end of the line. “Of course you’d ask that. You’re the one who just went undercover with the Warriors, not me.” He paused. “You are back from that, right?”

“I am, and we got what we needed—kind of. We have all sorts of details about where they’re holding Jill, just not the actual geographical location.”

There was a long pause. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said. “That was about the only thing we got from Alicia. It’s in St. George. But we couldn’t get any other info from her about the setup—not without, ah, extra force. She insinuated that there might be some obstacles there.”

“St. George,” I repeated. I wanted to sink to the ground in relief. “That’s it. The last piece. We’ve got the rest—the layout, whatever obstacles she meant. Now we’ve just got to get everyone mobilized—only we’ve got three days to do it.”

“Why three days?”

“Because they plan on killing her then, just like they were planning with Sonya. It was an arrangement they had for holding her for Alicia while she played her game with me.”

More silence, but I could sense the shift in Adrian’s tone. “Three days.” I knew how hard it had to be for him. The thought of her trapped and undergoing torture was eating me up, and I didn’t have nearly the bond he did with her.

“We’ll get her,” I said. “Don’t worry. Now that we have all this, I’ll make the Alchemists help. You contact the guardians—see if Rose and Dimitri can organize that. And check on Declan while you’re at it—”

“I have,” he interrupted. “Checked on Declan, I mean. I think I’m driving my mom crazy with all my calls. They’re fine. But Sydney . . . I told Neil.”