“It doesn’t have to be one of you,” Eddie said, catching the unspoken message between Marcus and me. “Heck, I’ll do it.”

“They might not believe you,” I said, smiling at his vehemence. “They might not even believe me.”

Trey had been quiet while discussing the group he’d once been a member of, but he finally spoke up now. “There’s also a good chance the Warriors will deny it, even if the Alchemists do come asking about it. They’re kind of obsessed with control too. They might be difficult out of spite.”

“You’re right,” said Sabrina. “Which is why we have one more option.”

There was a warning note in her voice that put me on alert. “Which is?”

She exchanged glances with Marcus and then turned to Sydney. “The Warriors are going to be initiating some new members next week. You could go undercover and then try to infiltrate the higher tiers of power to find out where Jill’s at.” She spoke in a rush, as though that might help reduce the overall absurdity of the suggestion.

“You want me to join the Warriors?” Sydney exclaimed.

“No,” said Eddie and I in unison.

“You’d just be participating in their recruitment,” said Sabrina, as though that were some kind of reassurance. “It’s like an orientation.”

“Or a sorority rush,” said Marcus, which really didn’t improve things.

Trey shook his head in dismay. “I know what you’re talking about, and it’s crazy.” He turned to the rest of us. “They round up a bunch of potential recruits, bring them in secret to a Warrior compound, and make them compete in all kinds of ordeals to prove their worth. Remember when I had to fight my own cousin?”

The Warriors had once held Sonya captive and used her as part of a ceremony meant to “test” its young members. Along with fighting his cousin, Trey had then been expected to kill Sonya. He hadn’t planned on going through with it, and those plans went awry anyway when a group of guardians disrupted the whole ceremony to bust Sonya out. Sydney had also caused a fair amount of chaos, and the Warriors certainly weren’t her fans.

“The Warriors know Sydney’s face,” Eddie reminded us. “She can’t do it. Send me. I wouldn’t mind throwing a few of those freaks around. I’ve already had lots of practice.”

“You have,” agreed Marcus, “but Sydney’s had a bit more practice with breaking and entering to retrieve intel. And they probably know your face too.”

Sydney frowned. “Can we both go? I wouldn’t mind the backup, and I’ve got a few tricks that could disguise us.”

Are you going to sit by and let them go ahead with this? Aunt Tatiana asked me.