"Hopper! That's right. Such a sweet name."
"Yeah, awesome." I tried to think of a polite way to phrase my next question but simply chose directness. "Look, Alicia, how did you get this number?"
"Oh, Jet gave it to me."
"He did?"
"Yup." She'd apparently gotten over her disappointment and now sounded bright and chirpy again. "He filled out an info card while you guys were here and put down your number."
I nearly groaned. Typical.
"Good to know," I said. I wondered how often Adrian gave my number out. "Thanks for following up."
"Happy to. Oh!" She giggled. "I nearly forgot. Your friend is back."
I froze. "What?"
"Veronica. She checked back in yesterday."
My first reaction was excitement. My second one was panic. "Did you tell her we were asking about her?"
"Oh, no. I remembered you saying you wanted to surprise her."
I nearly sank in relief. "Thank you. We, uh, wouldn't to ruin that. We'll have to stop by and visit - but don't tell her."
"You can count on me!"
We disconnected, and I stared at the phone. Veronica was back. Just when we thought we'd lost all leads on her. I immediately called Ms. Terwilliger but was sent to voice mail. I left a message and then followed up with a text, saying I had urgent news. My phone rang again, just as I was about to call Adrian. I almost hoped Alicia had more to tell me, but then I saw that it was Stanton's number. After first taking a deep breath, I tried to answer in as calm a way as possible.
"Miss Sage," she said. "I received your message yesterday."
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you for calling me back."
I'd called her yesterday, just before meeting up with Adrian. Ms. Terwilliger's magical training had taken priority at the time, but I hadn't forgotten my deal with Marcus.
"I have a, um, favor to ask," I continued.
Stanton, who was rarely surprised, was clearly surprised now. "You're certainly entitled to ask . . . but you're just not usually the type who does."
"I know, and I feel bad. So, if you have to say no, I understand." In truth, if she said no, I would have a number of problems on my hands, but it was best not to sound too eager. "Well, I've been thinking about how I have to spend Christmas here - with the Moroi. And I definitely understand that, ma'am. It's part of the mission, but . . . well, I'd be lying if I said that didn't bother me. So, I was wondering if there's any way at all I'd be allowed to go to one of the big holiday services. It would make me feel . . . oh, I don't know. More connected. Purified, even. I'm just always surrounded by them here, by that taint, you know? I feel like I can't even breathe half the time. That probably sounds ridiculous."
I cut my rambling off. When Marcus had first suggested taking advantage of knowing someone in St. Louis, I'd immediately thought of Ian. Then I realized that wasn't enough. Alchemists on assignment couldn't just ask for casual time off to visit friends. Time off for something more spiritual and group-oriented - say, the Alchemists' annual holiday services - was a different matter. Lots of Alchemists were given clearance to travel and attend those services. They were tied to our faith and group unity. In fact, Ian had even brought it up at the wedding in the hopes of luring me to visit him. Little had he known his trick would pay off. Kind of.
"It doesn't sound that ridiculous," Stanton said. That was promising, and I tried to unclench my fist and relax.
"I was thinking maybe I could go before we're out for winter break," I added. "Jill can stay within the confines of the school, so there shouldn't be too much risk. And Eddie and Angeline are always with her. I could just hop over to St. Louis for a quick weekend trip."
"St. Louis?" I could almost see her frown through the phone. "There are services in Phoenix as well. That would be much closer."
"I know, ma'am. It's just. . . ." I hoped being genuinely nervous would help me sound convincing. "I, uh, was hoping I could also see Ian again."
"Ah. I see." There was a long pause. "I find that more surprising than you wanting to attend services. From what I saw at the wedding, you didn't seem to be that charmed by Mr. Jansen."
So. I'd been right that Stanton had noticed his crush on me. However, she'd also noticed I didn't return his affection. She was observant, even to little details, which brought Marcus's warnings back to me, about how the Alchemists paid attention to everything we did. I started to understand his fears and why he pulled his recruits out of the Alchemists so quickly Was I already attracting attention? Were all the little things I did - even asking for this - slowly building a case against me?