The Ruby Circle
Page 69
Neil remained silent and nearly as motionless as Alicia had been.
“Neil?” I said, a little unnerved by his shell-shocked state. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll help you. We’ll make sure Olive’s wishes are honored—that Declan lives a happy, normal life. Once this business with Jill is over, we’ll get you and Declan together and—”
“No,” said Neil, suddenly coming to life. He looked up at me sharply, and though his expression was hard, there was a terrible sadness in his voice. “I can’t ever see him again.”
Chapter 17
THE WARRIORS’ COMPOUND WAS QUIET and still as I crept through the night. Trey and Sabrina had said the Warriors could have wild parties when they wanted, but when curfews and discipline were laid down, everyone obeyed. That was certainly the case now. Most people were tucked away in their dorms, and the people who passed me as I crept invisibly toward the masters’ headquarters were those on patrol. None of them seemed to expect much to happen overnight, and they made their rounds with relaxed confidence.
Another open window allowed me to slip inside the masters’ building easily, right in front of a guard assigned to watch at the front door. Inside, I found mostly quiet and empty rooms, and like in my building, most of the doorways were open. There were, of course, a few rooms with real doors, and as luck would have it, it was in one of those that the masters chose to have a meeting. At least, that’s what I assumed was going on. Two guards were posted in front of a closed door, and I could hear muffled voices behind it. Noting its position, I went back outside and circled around to it, hoping I’d find its window open to allow me to climb in and spy. When I reached it, I found it only partway open, enough to let in air in the hot night but not enough for me to climb through. Sabrina had said one of the masters usually carried pertinent information about their organization at all times—sometimes in hard copy or sometimes on a laptop, depending who it was and how tech savvy he was. My plan had been to rifle through said information in the hopes of finding where Jill might be held. For now, I’d have to start with eavesdropping.
As it turned out, I’d arrived just in time for the beginning of their meeting, which I initially thought was a stroke of luck. It meant I hadn’t missed anything. Unfortunately, it meant I had to endure a lot of preliminary material—including more of those absurd psalms. Then someone got sidetracked and started asking about baseball scores. All the while, I was conscious of my invisibility. It was long lasting, but not that long lasting, and it was a relief when the group finally started talking about the business of the day.
“All in all, it was a strong showing,” a voice I recognized as Master Angeletti’s said. “We had a good turnout, and they put on a commendable show.”
“Some were a little out of line,” a sullen voice grumbled. I knew that one too: Chris Juarez.
Master Angeletti laughed. “Still put out that that girl tricked you? I say more power to her. We need more thinkers around here.”
“Not too many.” That was Master Ortega.
“No, no, of course not,” said Master Angeletti. “But if we’re going to be dealing with the Alchemists more, we need to be able to outsmart them.”
My ears pricked at that. The Alchemists? I’d once done some reconnaissance for Marcus and discovered that there were indeed Alchemists and Warriors working together, but Marcus had yet to learn the full extent of how deep that relationship went.
“We’ve already outsmarted them,” said Master Ortega. “We’ve gotten them to do business with us.”
“Yes, but don’t get too comfortable with that arrangement,” said a new voice that must have been one of the council members. “Didn’t you say you got a call about that girl, Alfred?”
“Yes, yes,” said Master Angeletti, not sounding particularly concerned. “But it was just preliminary. One of them claimed they’d gotten a tip we might be holding her, but I think they were just covering their bases. I checked with the guards, though, and they said there was no sign that anyone had been snooping around or was coming for her. I’ll keep logging everything here, though, just so we’ve got a trail if anything happens.”
I didn’t know what he meant until I heard the click of fingers typing on keys. I tensed, waiting for them to elaborate about “that girl,” but they switched topics, moving on to more about the trials. Nonetheless, excitement surged through me. Sabrina had been right. There was a computer or laptop in there that Master Angeletti was apparently keeping records on. Was there other information about “that girl” recorded? I didn’t know for sure if they were referring to Jill, but it was promising, as was the laptop’s existence. I needed to make obtaining it my goal. That wasn’t going to be easy, seeing as how I had no idea how long this meeting was going to last or if Master Angeletti would leave his laptop behind when it ended. I was mentally listing all the possible distractions I might cause when the Alchemists came up in conversation again—in a way I totally didn’t expect.
“Well, just be careful,” Master Ortega was saying in response to someone else. “Don’t screw up this deal with the Alchemists. If your contact can really deliver on what he’s offering, we won’t have to focus so much on the candidates’ physical prowess. We can make our recruits as strong as we like.”
“I still don’t like it,” muttered another unknown council member. “We’re dabbling in unholy substances.”
“Not if we purify those substances first,” said Master Angeletti. “And use the strength they give us to fight back against the evil.”
I frowned as I tried to determine what they might be referring to. “I’ve seen what these substances can do,” remarked Chris. “I saw them when they were used at my cousin’s school. If the Alchemists really do have more of them, they’re letting them go to waste if they aren’t using them in the fight against evil.”
“The Alchemists fight evil by cataloguing it,” chuckled someone.
“Don’t make those kinds of comments around our contact,” warned Master Ortega. “He’s already hesitant about doing business with us. His people won’t like it if they find out what he’s doing.”
“I know what I’m doing,” snapped Master Angeletti. “And believe me, I’m paying him enough to get over any hesitancy he might have.”
“Neil?” I said, a little unnerved by his shell-shocked state. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll help you. We’ll make sure Olive’s wishes are honored—that Declan lives a happy, normal life. Once this business with Jill is over, we’ll get you and Declan together and—”
“No,” said Neil, suddenly coming to life. He looked up at me sharply, and though his expression was hard, there was a terrible sadness in his voice. “I can’t ever see him again.”
Chapter 17
THE WARRIORS’ COMPOUND WAS QUIET and still as I crept through the night. Trey and Sabrina had said the Warriors could have wild parties when they wanted, but when curfews and discipline were laid down, everyone obeyed. That was certainly the case now. Most people were tucked away in their dorms, and the people who passed me as I crept invisibly toward the masters’ headquarters were those on patrol. None of them seemed to expect much to happen overnight, and they made their rounds with relaxed confidence.
Another open window allowed me to slip inside the masters’ building easily, right in front of a guard assigned to watch at the front door. Inside, I found mostly quiet and empty rooms, and like in my building, most of the doorways were open. There were, of course, a few rooms with real doors, and as luck would have it, it was in one of those that the masters chose to have a meeting. At least, that’s what I assumed was going on. Two guards were posted in front of a closed door, and I could hear muffled voices behind it. Noting its position, I went back outside and circled around to it, hoping I’d find its window open to allow me to climb in and spy. When I reached it, I found it only partway open, enough to let in air in the hot night but not enough for me to climb through. Sabrina had said one of the masters usually carried pertinent information about their organization at all times—sometimes in hard copy or sometimes on a laptop, depending who it was and how tech savvy he was. My plan had been to rifle through said information in the hopes of finding where Jill might be held. For now, I’d have to start with eavesdropping.
As it turned out, I’d arrived just in time for the beginning of their meeting, which I initially thought was a stroke of luck. It meant I hadn’t missed anything. Unfortunately, it meant I had to endure a lot of preliminary material—including more of those absurd psalms. Then someone got sidetracked and started asking about baseball scores. All the while, I was conscious of my invisibility. It was long lasting, but not that long lasting, and it was a relief when the group finally started talking about the business of the day.
“All in all, it was a strong showing,” a voice I recognized as Master Angeletti’s said. “We had a good turnout, and they put on a commendable show.”
“Some were a little out of line,” a sullen voice grumbled. I knew that one too: Chris Juarez.
Master Angeletti laughed. “Still put out that that girl tricked you? I say more power to her. We need more thinkers around here.”
“Not too many.” That was Master Ortega.
“No, no, of course not,” said Master Angeletti. “But if we’re going to be dealing with the Alchemists more, we need to be able to outsmart them.”
My ears pricked at that. The Alchemists? I’d once done some reconnaissance for Marcus and discovered that there were indeed Alchemists and Warriors working together, but Marcus had yet to learn the full extent of how deep that relationship went.
“We’ve already outsmarted them,” said Master Ortega. “We’ve gotten them to do business with us.”
“Yes, but don’t get too comfortable with that arrangement,” said a new voice that must have been one of the council members. “Didn’t you say you got a call about that girl, Alfred?”
“Yes, yes,” said Master Angeletti, not sounding particularly concerned. “But it was just preliminary. One of them claimed they’d gotten a tip we might be holding her, but I think they were just covering their bases. I checked with the guards, though, and they said there was no sign that anyone had been snooping around or was coming for her. I’ll keep logging everything here, though, just so we’ve got a trail if anything happens.”
I didn’t know what he meant until I heard the click of fingers typing on keys. I tensed, waiting for them to elaborate about “that girl,” but they switched topics, moving on to more about the trials. Nonetheless, excitement surged through me. Sabrina had been right. There was a computer or laptop in there that Master Angeletti was apparently keeping records on. Was there other information about “that girl” recorded? I didn’t know for sure if they were referring to Jill, but it was promising, as was the laptop’s existence. I needed to make obtaining it my goal. That wasn’t going to be easy, seeing as how I had no idea how long this meeting was going to last or if Master Angeletti would leave his laptop behind when it ended. I was mentally listing all the possible distractions I might cause when the Alchemists came up in conversation again—in a way I totally didn’t expect.
“Well, just be careful,” Master Ortega was saying in response to someone else. “Don’t screw up this deal with the Alchemists. If your contact can really deliver on what he’s offering, we won’t have to focus so much on the candidates’ physical prowess. We can make our recruits as strong as we like.”
“I still don’t like it,” muttered another unknown council member. “We’re dabbling in unholy substances.”
“Not if we purify those substances first,” said Master Angeletti. “And use the strength they give us to fight back against the evil.”
I frowned as I tried to determine what they might be referring to. “I’ve seen what these substances can do,” remarked Chris. “I saw them when they were used at my cousin’s school. If the Alchemists really do have more of them, they’re letting them go to waste if they aren’t using them in the fight against evil.”
“The Alchemists fight evil by cataloguing it,” chuckled someone.
“Don’t make those kinds of comments around our contact,” warned Master Ortega. “He’s already hesitant about doing business with us. His people won’t like it if they find out what he’s doing.”
“I know what I’m doing,” snapped Master Angeletti. “And believe me, I’m paying him enough to get over any hesitancy he might have.”
