She brightened. “See? I knew you couldn’t resist.”
CHAPTER 15
MS. TERWILLIGER WAS WAITING in the lobby when Julia and I returned to the dorm. “Seriously. Do you have a tracking device on me?” I asked. Julia took one look at our teacher’s serious expression and quickly made an exit.
“Just excellent timing,” Ms. Terwilliger replied. “I understand you have news.”
“Surprisingly, yes.”
Ms. Terwilliger’s face was hard as she led me back outside to more privacy and yet another top secret outdoor meeting. These days, she hardly resembled the scattered, hippie teacher I’d met when I first started at Amberwood. “Tell me the news,” she ordered.
I told her about Alicia’s call, and her dismayed expression didn’t really inspire me. I’d kind of hoped she’d reveal some amazing, foolproof plan she’d secretly been concocting.
“Well, then,” she said once I’d finished. “I suppose I’ll have to go out there.”
“I’ll go out there,” I corrected.
She favored me with a small smile. “You’ve done more than enough. It’s time I step up and deal with Veronica.”
“But you sent me to that place before.”
“When we weren’t even sure where it was or what she was doing there. This time, we have an eyewitness confirming she’s there right now. I can’t waste this opportunity.” She glanced at a clock near the door and sighed. “I’d go tonight if I could but haven’t made the necessary preparations. I’ll start working on them now and go in tomorrow evening. Hopefully I won’t miss her again.”
“No.” The defiance in my voice surprised even me. I didn’t contradict teachers—or any kind of authority—very often. Okay, never. “She eluded us before. Let us scout it out. You don’t want to tip your hand yet, just in case something goes wrong. You’ll be ready tomorrow night? Then let us go in the day . . . I mean, provided someone could get me out of school. . . .”
A little of that tension faded, and she laughed. “I suppose I could do that. I hate that I keep putting you in danger, though.”
“We passed that point a long time ago.”
She couldn’t argue against that logic. I made arrangements for Adrian to pick me up the next day—after first scolding “Jet” for giving out “Taylor’s” number. When morning came, Ms. Terwilliger was true to her word. I’d been excused from classes for a “research trip.” The thing about being a star pupil was that none of my teachers had any problems with me skipping classes. They knew I’d get the work done. I probably could’ve taken the rest of the semester off.
During the drive, I told Adrian that I’d managed to score a trip to St. Louis in order to pursue Marcus’s daunting task. Adrian’s expression grew darker and darker, but he stayed silent on the matter. I knew what a conflict it was for him. He didn’t like Marcus. He didn’t like me taking on this potentially dangerous mission. However, he also trusted me to make my own decisions. Contradicting me or telling me what to do wasn’t in his nature—even though he secretly may have wanted to. His only comment was one of support.
“Be careful, Sage. For God’s sake, be careful. I’ve seen you pull off some crazy shit, but this is extreme, even for you. You’re probably the only one who can manage this, but still . . . don’t let your guard down, even for a moment.”
When I told him about how I was hoping to use Ian to get more in-depth access, Adrian’s troubled look turned to one of incredulity.
“Hold on here. Let me make sure I’m following this. You’re going to seduce some guy to help you with your espionage.”
Seduce Ian? Ugh. “Don’t jump to conclusions,” I warned. “I’m just going to try to use his feelings for me to get what I want.”
“Wow. Cold, Sage. Very cold.”
“Hey, now.” I felt a little indignant at the accusation. “I’m not going to promise to marry him or something and then dump him later. He wrote me about going to dinner when I’m there. We’ll have a nice time, and I’ll try to talk him into letting me tour the facility. That’s it.”
“And ‘talking him into it’ doesn’t involve putting out?”
I glared at him and hoped he could see me in his periphery. “Adrian. Do I really seem like the kind of person who’d do that?”
“Well—” He stopped, and I suspected he’d held back from some snarky comment. “No, I suppose not. Certainly not with a guy like him. Did you get a dress?”
Here we were again, Adrian randomly jumping topics. “For dinner and the service? I’ve got plenty.”
“I guess that answers my question.” He seemed to wage a great mental battle. At last, he said, “I’m going to give you some advice.”
“Oh no.”
He looked over at me again. “Who knows more about male weakness: you or me?”
“Go on.” I refused to directly answer the question.
“Get a new dress. One that shows a lot of skin. Short. Strapless. Maybe a push-up bra too.” He actually had the audacity to do a quick assessment of my chest. “Eh, maybe not. But definitely some high heels.”
“Adrian,” I exclaimed. “You’ve seen how Alchemists dress. Do you think I can really wear something like that into a church service?”
He was unconcerned. “You’ll make it work. You’ll change clothes or something. But I’m telling you, if you want to get a guy to do something that might be difficult, then the best way is to distract him so that he can’t devote his full brainpower to the consequences.”
“You don’t have a lot of faith in your own gender.”
“Hey, I’m telling you the truth. I’ve been distracted by sexy dresses a lot.”
I didn’t really know if that was a valid argument, seeing as Adrian was distracted by a lot of things. Fondue. T-shirts. Kittens. “And so, what then? I show some skin, and the world is mine?”
“That’ll help.” Amazingly, I could tell he was dead serious. “And you’ve gotta act confident the whole time, like it’s already a done deal. Then make sure when you’re actually asking for what you want that you tell him you’d be ‘so, so grateful.’ But don’t elaborate. His imagination will do half the work for you. ”
I shook my head, glad we’d almost reached our destination. I didn’t know how much more I could listen to. “This is the most ridiculous advice I’ve ever heard. It’s also kind of sexist too, but I can’t decide who it offends more, men or women.”
“Look, Sage. I don’t know much about chemistry or computer hacking or photosynthery, but this is something I’ve got a lot of experience with.” I think he meant photosynthesis, but I didn’t correct him. “Use my knowledge. Don’t let it go to waste.”
He seemed so earnest that I finally told him I’d consider it, though I had a hard time imagining myself wearing anything like he’d described. My answer satisfied him, and he said no more.
When we reached the bed-and-breakfast, I put on the brown wig so that we could be Taylor and Jet again. I braced myself as we approached the door.
“Who knows what we’re walking into?” I murmured. I’d been very brave while speaking to Ms. Terwilliger, but the reality that I might be going right up to an evil sorceress was sinking in. I had yet to develop the ability to sense magic in others, so I could very well be taken by surprise if she had a way to hide her appearance too. All I could do was have faith that Adrian’s spirit and Ms. Terwilliger’s charm would mask me. If Veronica was there, we’d just seem like an ordinary couple. I hoped.
Alicia was reading another magazine when we walked in. She still sported the same hipster glasses and clutter of gaudy necklaces. Her face lit up when she saw us. “You’re back.”