I hesitated. “Yes. The Alchemists have no interest in them. They might be curious about why they’re in town, but they won’t break into Clarence’s house or anything to find out, not without some other provocation. Other Moroi and dhampirs have stayed with him before. Can I talk to one of them?”

After some shuffling, Rose answered. “I can tell by your mom’s face that something went wrong.”

“The Alchemists know Sydney and I are here,” I told her. “They managed to track Marcus when he came to town and stumbled into us in the process.”

I couldn’t be certain, but I think Rose swore in Russian. “So what’s the plan?”

“We’re on our way to an allegedly safe place,” I told her. “From there, Sydney’s going to investigate the Warriors, and I’ll eventually interrogate Alicia.”

“I want to be in on that,” Rose said promptly.

“I know, but I really, really need you guys to stay with my mom and Declan. I was just telling her that she can’t leave the house. I don’t think the Alchemists know she’s in town, and I’m hoping it stays that way. But if something weird happens, I need you guys to protect them.”

“What do you mean, ‘something weird’? Why would anyone care about them?” Rose, like my mom, was beginning to suspect something odd was happening.

“I can’t tell you,” I said. “Just trust me—it’s important. At least one of you needs to stay with them at all times. If there’s a way you can safely meet me when I talk to Alicia, we’ll make it happen. But in the meantime, promise me you’ll take care of them.”

A long silence followed, and I could guess why. Rose, like everyone else, wanted to find Jill. With so many potential leads, it was understandable that she’d much rather be involved with that mission than literal babysitting. But Rose had seen enough at the commune—and was enough of my friend—to finally accede. “Okay. We’ll keep an eye on them. But if there’s anything we can do to find Jill—anything at all—”

“I’ll let you know,” I promised. I disconnected and looked around. “Is this it?”

We’d left the urban sprawl of Palm Springs, going off into the desert to a place that made Wolfe’s compound look downright civilized. A small, lone cabin sat alone on a scrubby landscape, and the car’s tires kicked up clouds of dust as we turned toward it on a sandy dirt road.

“Yup,” said Marcus.

“Well, it’s certainly remote,” noted Sydney. “But is it safe?”

“Safe as we’ll get for now,” Marcus assured us, pulling the car up to a stop outside the house. “No one followed us here. No one knows of my connection to these people.”