The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines, #3)(52)

When class ended, a girl from my English class caught my attention and asked if she could borrow some notes since she'd been out sick yesterday. Eddie was gone by the time I finished with her, so I didn't get a chance to ask him about San Bernardino until lunch.

"Sure," he said, snapping into that fierce guardian mode.

Jill already knew about our errand because I'd told Adrian about it. I felt a little bad about taking Eddie from Jill. Okay, really bad. Removing Eddie was a serious risk, though I reminded myself that he wasn't always with her every single second. Sometimes it was impossible, which was why we'd acquired Angeline. Still, if anyone in the Alchemists found out I was using her main bodyguard for personal errands, I'd be in big trouble. Well, actually, I'd probably be in big trouble regardless, seeing as I was meeting with a group of rebels. I turned to Angeline, who was trying to decipher some notes about the quadratic equation.

"Angeline, you need to stay with Jill until we're back," I said. "And you should both actually just stay in your dorm, to be extra safe. Don't wander campus."

Jill accepted this, but Angeline looked up in dismay. "I'm supposed to meet Trey for math. How do you expect me to pass?"

I was helpless against an academic argument. "Study in the dorm lobby. That should be safe enough. Jill can just do homework with you."

Angeline didn't seem entirely pleased about that alternative, but she didn't protest it. She started to return to her notes and then did a double take. "Why are you wearing that scarf?" she asked. "It's so hot today." It was true. The unseasonable temperatures had returned.

Eddie, to my surprise, said, "I wondered the same thing."

"Oh, um . . . " Please don't blush, please don't blush, I ordered myself. "I've just been cold today."

"That's weird," said Jill, perfectly deadpan. "For someone who always seems to be so cold, you sure can warm up pretty fast."

It was straight out of Adrian's playbook. Jill knew perfectly well why I had on the scarf, and I gave her a warning look. Eddie and Angeline appeared completely mystified. I stood up, even though I'd barely touched my food. Probably none of them would find that weird.

"Well, I've got to go. I'll find you later, Eddie." I hurried off before any of them could question me further.

I'd been a little hesitant to let Eddie in on Marcus. Eddie certainly wasn't going to turn Marcus or me in to the Alchemists for sideline plotting. That being said, I also didn't want Eddie to think the Alchemists were involved in nefarious schemes against the Moroi. That might very well be something Eddie would relay back to his own people, which could in turn cause all sorts of diplomatic problems. Even this hint of the Alchemists potentially being in contact with the Warriors was dangerous. I decided that having Eddie as protection was worth the risk of him hearing something he shouldn't. He was my friend, and I trusted him. Still, I had to give him a little background information as we made the drive to San Bernardino.

"Who are these people exactly?" he asked.

"Ex-Alchemists," I said. "They don't like all the procedures and red tape and just want to interact with Moroi and dhampirs on their own terms."

"That doesn't sound so bad." I could hear caution in his voice. Eddie was no fool. "Why do you want me along?"

"I just don't know much about them. I think their intentions are good, but we'll see." I thought very carefully on how to phrase my next words. I had to give him a heads-up. "They've got a lot of conspiracy theories. Some even, um, think there might be Alchemists working with Warriors."

"What?" It was a wonder Eddie's jaw wasn't on the floor.

"They don't have any hard proof," I added quickly. "They've got a Warrior girl who spies for them. She thinks she overheard something . . . but it all sounds sketchy to me. They want me to help, but I don't think there's anything to uncover. I mean, the Alchemists helped raid the Warriors, right? Disrupting their crazy execution ritual wouldn't exactly foster good relations."

"I suppose not," he admitted, but it was clear he wasn't entirely at ease.

I decided to move on to safer territory. No need to worry about Marcus and his Merry Men (I couldn't get Adrian's name out of my head) until we heard them out.

"How is everything?" I asked. "With Angeline? Jill? I've been so busy with, uh, stuff that I feel like we haven't talked much."

Eddie didn't answer right away. "Quiet with Jill, which is good. We want things to be as boring as possible for her. Things are better with her and Micah too. At first, a lot of his friends wouldn't talk to her after the breakup. But he's gotten over her enough that they can just be friends . . . so, the others have decided they can too."

"That's a relief."

When we'd first come to Amberwood, Jill had had trouble fitting in. Dating Micah had opened up a lot of social circles for her, and I'd worried about what would happen after they split up. Things had worsened when I'd forbidden her from modeling for a local and very assertive fashion designer, Lia DiStefano, who risked exposing Jill. Jill had felt like she'd lost everything, so I was glad to see things were coming together for her again.

"Jill's easy to like," I added. "I bet most of them were happy to stay friends with her."