“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.”