“Sydney—”

“Eddie,” I said firmly, “I can handle this. You have to trust me. Go with Sabrina and be ready to speed away as soon as I get through the gates.”

I thought he might still protest, but at last, he yielded. The two of them took off for the gate, and I ran back to the masters’ meeting room, having to dodge frenzied armed Warriors and fotianas along the way. Fortunately, things were so chaotic that no one paid any attention to one lone recruit. They probably thought I was lost and confused. In fact, the odds might be good that they’d assume our disappearance was out of fear and never link Sabrina and us to the missing laptop.

As I’d hoped, the masters had run out of their meeting when the commotion started. I got into the empty room easily and nearly whooped with joy when I saw the laptop sitting out. As I’d suspected, the screen was locked, but that’d be a problem for later. I picked it up and turned to the door—where I nearly ran right into Master Angeletti. He stood there stunned for a moment, his eyes going from my face to the laptop and then back to me.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he sputtered out, blocking the exit.

So much for not implicating ourselves in the laptop’s theft. I deliberated for only a moment. If my cover was already blown, I might as well go all the way. Summoning back Malachi Wolfe’s training, I wound up and punched Master Angeletti, landing a hit he clearly hadn’t expected. I’d totally forgotten about the strength spell the witches had laid on me. With the extra power behind my punch, he went flying back several feet, landing flat on his back. Groaning, he put a hand to his head but didn’t come after me as I sprinted over him and hurried back out through the compound.

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.”