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.