“Whatever it is, I don’t want to be involved,” she said.
“It’s about Sydney,” said Marcus.
“And she said to ask you if college made you want to take on Cicero’s philosophy on life,” I added helpfully.
Carly’s eyebrows rose at that, and after a moment, she sighed and opened her door to admit us. Two other girls, looking freshman-aged, sat on her floor, and she gave them an apologetic look. “Hey, I’ve got to take care of something real quick. Can we finish planning tonight?”
As the girls stood and made parting comments, Marcus leaned toward me and whispered, “Are you sure you got Sydney’s pass phrase right? Cicero was more of a statesman than a philosopher. Not that he didn’t have some good moments.”
I shrugged. “That’s what she said. And Carly let us in, didn’t she?”
Once the younger girls were gone, Carly sat on the edge of her bed and beckoned us to find spots on the floor. “Okay. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from a Moroi and a guy who’s not an Alchemist but has a very suspiciously placed tattoo?”
“We need your help to locate Sydney,” I said, finding no need to waste time.
Carly tilted her head in surprise at that. “Is she missing?”
Marcus and I exchanged looks. “Have you heard from her recently?” he asked.
“No . . . not in a very long time, actually. But that’s not unheard of. Dad used to disappear for a while too. It’s part of the job. He told all of us that she’s just wrapped up in something top secret.” When neither Marcus nor I responded, she glanced between the two of us. “Isn’t that true? Is she okay?”
“She’s okay,” said Marcus slowly, and I could tell he was choosing his words carefully. “But she’s not on assignment. She got in trouble for something, and we’re trying to get to her before that trouble gets worse.”
Carly shot him a fierce look. “Don’t sugarcoat things. I know what getting in trouble means with Alchemists. They’ve locked her up somewhere, haven’t they? Like they did Keith?”
“Have you talked to him?” I exclaimed. “In person?”
Her face filled with disgust. “In person and in email. He showed up out of the blue like you guys did, back in March, with this big sob story about how sorry he was and how he needed my forgiveness to go on and how I should turn him in to the authorities.”
“Back up,” I said. “Keith told you to turn him in? Did you?”
“No.” She crossed her arms and put on a smug expression that seemed to be at odds with the topic. “And he didn’t tell me so much as beg. He was terrified he’d be sent back into Alchemist custody one day and seemed to think he’d be safer in a regular prison. So I said no. Now he can live in constant fear, just like I used to.”
It was such a bizarre twist of logic, I didn’t really know how to respond. Marcus looked perplexed, and I remembered he didn’t know the whole history. “She and Keith had a, uh, falling out,” I said, hoping to gloss things over.
Carly met Marcus squarely in the eye. “Keith raped me while we were out on a date and made me think I’d led him on and that if I told anyone, they’d think it was my fault. I convinced myself of that too and let it eat me up inside. The only person I told was Sydney, and that was on conditions of secrecy. It took me years to realize what an idiot I had been. Now I make sure other girls don’t go through that.” She nodded toward more posters on her walls, and only now I realized they were all anti-rape culture. “If I can save even one person from going through that kind of shame and self-doubt . . . well, I’ll feel like I’ve lived my life’s purpose.”
Marcus, who was not easily surprised, looked completely awestruck as he gazed at her. I’d seen plenty of girls fall at his feet, but this was the first time I’d seen him drool over one. “That’s incredible that you’ve been able to do that,” he said. “And very brave.”
As amusing as it was to see him lovestruck, we had to stay on track. I snapped my fingers in front of his face. “Focus.” I turned back to Carly. “But you still won’t turn Keith in now?”
She shook her head. “It sounds crazy, I know, but he suffers more this way. He wanted me to do it. Was almost in tears when I wouldn’t. I don’t care about him, though. I care about Sydney. Tell me what I can do to help her and stop whatever those bastards have done.”
“Do you know a way to help us find Keith?” I asked.
“I can do better than that,” she said. She fished a phone out of her pocket, scrolled around, and handed it over. “Will this work?”
I took it and saw Keith’s name, along with a phone number and address in Boise, Idaho, of all places.
“Boise?” I asked. “Hasn’t he suffered enough?”
Marcus looked over my shoulder and grinned. “There’s an Alchemist research center there. It’s exactly the kind of place I’d expect him—desk job, no real fieldwork or dangerous situations. Are you sure he’s still there?”
Carly rolled her eyes. “Positive. He emails me every month, asking for forgiveness and telling me to get in touch if I change my mind. If he moved, I’m certain he’d let me know a hundred times over.”
Marcus copied the information into his own phone and handed hers back. “I don’t think we should give him the benefit of a warning before we talk to him. You up for another road trip?”
My geography wasn’t that great, but even I knew that was a much bigger undertaking than what we’d just done. “As long as we can stock up on snacks before we go.”
“Will finding him really help Sydney?” Carly asked, face grave.
Marcus’s expression softened as he regarded her, but I didn’t know if that was because of his infatuation or because he had bad news. “We don’t know for sure, but we hope so. We think Keith was held at the same place Sydney is. If we can find out where that is, we can go get her back.”
Carly blanched. “The same place . . . you mean the place that’s so bad, Keith would rather be sent to jail than risk going back?”
“We’ll get her back,” said Marcus gallantly. “I swear it.”
“I want to help,” she insisted.
“You already have.” He held up his phone. “This address may have done it. You don’t need to risk yourself anymore.”