We got out of the car and followed Marcus to the door. He had to knock three times—getting progressively louder—before the door finally opened. A fifty-something guy with scraggly hair and round-lensed glasses peered up at us, squinting at the sunlight like a Moroi might have. His face brightened with recognition. “Marcus, man, been a while!”

“Good to see you too, Howie,” Marcus replied. “My friends and I need a place to stay. Is it okay if we crash here?”

“Totally, totally.” Howie stepped aside so we could enter. “Come on in, man.”

“Howie and his wife, Patty, grow and sell all sorts of herbs,” explained Marcus.

I inhaled deeply as I walked around the living room, which could have come straight out of 1971. “Especially one herb in particular,” I added.

“Don’t worry,” said Marcus, his lips quirking into a smile. “They’re good people.”

Sydney wrinkled her nose. “Not going to do us any good to evade the Alchemists if we then get arrested in a drug raid.”

Marcus was unconcerned. “That’s the least of our worries. They’ll give us a place to stay. And their kitchen’s always well stocked.”

That was true, at least. So long as we could survive on junk food, we’d be in no danger of going hungry anytime soon. I’d never seen so many boxes of Twinkies in my life. Patty was as dazedly friendly as her husband, assuring us we could make ourselves at home and stay as long we liked. The two of them probably spent most of their time in the basement or in the garden outside, growing the various plants they then consumed or sold. Once we were settled, they disappeared downstairs, leaving us to make plans. I learned then that while I’d talked to Rose and my mom, Marcus and Sydney had been gathering other info.

“Sabrina got back to Marcus. She’s going to take Eddie and me to the Warriors late tonight,” Sydney said. “Very late. We apparently have to arrive at dawn. Ms. Terwilliger’s going to come out beforehand with Eddie to help with some spells and prepare us.”

“I hope it goes without saying that Eddie will be careful in coming here,” said Marcus. “By now, the Alchemists probably have eyes on everyone you know in the area.”

“He’ll be careful,” she said confidently. “He knows how to avoid being followed.” She turned back to me. “Ms. Terwilliger will then take you with her, for when the witches unfreeze Alicia. Promise me you’ll be careful, Adrian. Go easy on her. Only use as little compulsion as necessary. Remember, the odds are good she may not even know where the Alchemists are holding Jill.”