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"Who are these people exactly?" he asked.
"Ex-Alchemists," I said. "They don't like all the procedures and red tape and just want to interact with Moroi and dhampirs on their own terms."
"That doesn't sound so bad." I could hear caution in his voice. Eddie was no fool. "Why do you want me along?"
"I just don't know much about them. I think their intentions are good, but we'll see." I thought very carefully on how to phrase my next words. I had to give him a heads-up. "They've got a lot of conspiracy theories. Some even, um, think there might be Alchemists working with Warriors."
"What?" It was a wonder Eddie's jaw wasn't on the floor.
"They don't have any hard proof," I added quickly. "They've got a Warrior girl who spies for them. She thinks she overheard something . . . but it all sounds sketchy to me. They want me to help, but I don't think there's anything to uncover. I mean, the Alchemists helped raid the Warriors, right? Disrupting their crazy execution ritual wouldn't exactly foster good relations."
"I suppose not," he admitted, but it was clear he wasn't entirely at ease.
I decided to move on to safer territory. No need to worry about Marcus and his Merry Men (I couldn't get Adrian's name out of my head) until we heard them out.
"How is everything?" I asked. "With Angeline? Jill? I've been so busy with, uh, stuff that I feel like we haven't talked much."
Eddie didn't answer right away. "Quiet with Jill, which is good. We want things to be as boring as possible for her. Things are better with her and Micah too. At first, a lot of his friends wouldn't talk to her after the breakup. But he's gotten over her enough that they can just be friends . . . so, the others have decided they can too."
"That's a relief."
When we'd first come to Amberwood, Jill had had trouble fitting in. Dating Micah had opened up a lot of social circles for her, and I'd worried about what would happen after they split up. Things had worsened when I'd forbidden her from modeling for a local and very assertive fashion designer, Lia DiStefano, who risked exposing Jill. Jill had felt like she'd lost everything, so I was glad to see things were coming together for her again.
"Jill's easy to like," I added. "I bet most of them were happy to stay friends with her."
"Yeah." It was all he said, but there was a lot of emotion in that one word. I glanced over and saw a dreamy look on his face. So. Micah might be over Jill, but Eddie wasn't. I wondered if he even knew it. "How's Angeline?"
The dreaminess became a frown. "Confusing."
I laughed. "That's pretty accurate."
"She goes from one extreme to another. When we first started going out, she, uh, couldn't stay away from me." I didn't entirely know what that entailed, and I really didn't want to think about it. "Now I can hardly get five minutes alone with her. She's started going to basketball games for some reason. I think she's just kind of dumbstruck at a game that's got so many rules, compared to whatever insanity the Keepers do for fun. And she's really into fixing that math grade too. I guess that's a good thing." He didn't sound too sure. I, however, was thrilled.
"I think the idea of getting kicked out really scared her. Despite all the tough adjustments she's had here, she doesn't want to go back home." When Rose had been on the run, I'd hidden Dimitri and her with the Keepers. That was where we'd first met Angeline, and even back then, she'd begged Rose to take her away from that rural world. "Give her time. This'll settle down, and her, uh, enthusiasm will come back."
We reached the address in San Bernardino, a hardware shop that seemed like a strange location for a secret meeting. I pulled into the parking lot and texted Marcus that we were here. No response came.
"That's weird," I said. "I hope he didn't change his mind."
Eddie was over his girl troubles and had that sharp guardian look in his eyes again. "I bet we're being watched. If they're as paranoid as you say, this probably isn't the place we're meeting. They've sent you here and are looking for signs to see if you were followed."
I turned to him in amazement. "I never would've thought of that."
"That's why you've got me along," he said with a smile.
Sure enough. Ten minutes later, Marcus texted with another address. We must have passed the test. This new location was in another loud, busy place: a family-friendly restaurant with actors walking around in giant animal costumes. It was, if possible, more absurd than the arcade.
"He picks the weirdest places," I said.
Eddie's eyes were everywhere. "It's brilliant actually. Too loud to be overheard. One exit in the back, one in the front. And if the Alchemists did show up, I'm guessing they wouldn't create a scene around this many children?"
"I guess."
Marcus met us in the lobby and waved us forward. "Hey, gorgeous. Come on, we've got a table." He paused to shake Eddie's hand. "Nice to meet you. We can always use more for the cause."
I'm not sure what I'd expected of the Merry Men. Maybe a bunch of rough-and-tumble outcasts with battle scars and eye patches, like Wolfe. Instead, what we found were a guy and girl sharing a plate of chicken fingers. They had golden lilies on their cheeks.
Marcus directed us to two chairs. "Sydney, Eddie. This is Amelia and Wade."
We shook hands. "Sabrina's not with you?" I asked.
"Oh, she's here," said Marcus, an enigmatic note in his voice.
I picked up on the subtext and glanced around. I wasn't the only one who'd brought protection. Sabrina was hidden somewhere in the crowd, watching and waiting. Maybe in an animal costume. I wondered if she'd brought her gun in here.
Amelia slid the plate toward us. "Want some? We've got mozzarella sticks on the way."
I declined. Even with my resolution to eat more, I drew the line at deep fryers. "Let's talk," I said. "You're supposed to tell me about the tattoos and this mysterious task you have for me."
Wade chuckled. "She gets down to business."
"That's my girl," said Marcus. I could almost hear an unspoken That's why we need her for the cause. He waited for our waitress, who was dressed like a cat, to bring the mozzarella sticks and take our drink orders. At least, I think it was a waitress. Gender was a little hard to determine under the mask.
"The tattoo process is simple," Marcus said, once our privacy was back. "I told you that the Alchemists are able to put Moroi compulsion in it, right? To limit communication . . . and other things, if needed."
