“You were right,” I told Sabrina. “Master Angeletti does log his information on a laptop. And I heard what sounded very much like a suspicious reference to them holding Jill.”

Eddie perked up. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go take it.”

“Actually, that’s kind of what I had in mind,” I said. “I mean, maybe there are more delicate ways to go about this, but do we have that kind of time? We’ve lost so much with Jill.” I turned to Sabrina. “Marcus hinted that you were prepared for if your cover was ever blown. Is that true?”

She arched an eyebrow. “You plan on blowing it?”

“Not if I can help it,” I said. “But the end result of all this is going to be the laptop gone and Eddie and me never finishing the recruitment. If they link us to the theft, they’ll link us to you. You could be in trouble.”

“Understood,” she said. “If I leave this gig with a prize like his laptop, it’ll be worth it.”

“I just worry about them coming after you,” I said.

Sabrina remained unfazed. “Don’t worry about me. These guys aren’t as connected as the Alchemists, and I know how to avoid them. Now, what’s your plan?”

“Kind of simple, really,” I admitted. “Create a big distraction. Steal the laptop in the chaos.”

She looked a little disappointed, probably because she’d been expecting something more sophisticated and stealthy. And really, if I’d had the time to concoct a more elegant plan, I would have. Eddie, meanwhile, had no problem with my idea. It was straightforward, which he liked.

“Fire?” he suggested.

“I considered it. But with as close as these buildings are . . .” I gestured around at how tightly packed in everything on the compound was. “Well, I don’t like these guys, but I don’t want to kill all of them if a fire gets out of hand. So, believe it or not, I’m going to take a page out of Alicia’s book. Spell book, if you want to get technical.”

“Alicia probably would burn this place down around them,” he pointed out.

“Probably. But she does have less violent methods. While I was waiting around in Palm Springs, I looked up some of the spells she used on us. Most were pretty advanced, but I think I could pull off the fotianas.”

“The what?” asked Sabrina.

“Think of them as annoying mutant fireflies,” Eddie told her.

I nodded in agreement. “I feel like a swarm of them would be a pretty good distraction—enough to get the masters out of their meeting. Then I can grab the laptop, and we can all run out of here in the chaos. Sabrina, do you think you’ll be able to get out and get your car ready?”