He caught up at the front door, where Rory was getting into his coat. “Rory—”
“Screw off.” Rory went for the door.
“Theodore—”
Rory whirled on him, white with fury. “You don’t get to use that name,” he snarled in a half whisper. “And I don’t care what you bribe or blackmail me with. You can take yourrelicsand shove them. I’m not your fucking hunting dog.”
“That wasn’t—” Rory turned, but Arthur got between him and the door, both hands up in surrender. “Hear me out.”
“The hell I will.” Rory jabbed a finger in Arthur’s chest, chin up so he could look Arthur in the face. “Miss Lorna warned me about people like you, people who’d want to drain me for their own gain, and here you are, asking me to risk my life, my sanity, for your hobby.”
“Hobby?” Anger spiked in Arthur. “I don’t do this for sport. What do you think will happen if an object of unspeakable power ends up in the hands of unspeakable evil? The world just fought the worst war in its history—now imagine it with magic.”
Rory went rigid. Arthur drew himself up to his full height. “Seven years ago you were a child, but I was in Germany,” he said, glaring down, “and that wasn’t ahobbyeither. These relics mustbe found. But if you’ll stop assuming the worst of me for even a moment,Rory, you’ll notice I haven’t asked you for a single thing.”
Rory opened his mouth—then shook his head. “I came to your meeting. Pay Mrs. B.’s debt and leave me alone.”
And he shoved past Arthur and out the door.
Rory ignored the elevator and thundered down the four flights of stairs. He’d just burst out of the doors of Arthur’s fancy building and onto Central Park West when he heard the footfalls behind him. “Rory, wait.”
Don’t stop. Don’t listen.
Arthur was getting to Rory like a craving. Rory’d overslept that morning; he slept like garbage most nights and heneveroverslept. But one day with Arthur and Rory was sleeping like a baby, leaving Hell’s Kitchen, acting like he got to do the things normal people did. But Rory wasn’t normal even byparanormal standards and he couldn’t afford to forget it.
“I said screw off,” he snapped at the handsome figure on his heels.
But Arthur was in his path. “Rory, please.” Geez, for a big fella Arthur could move fast. He hadn’t even put on a coat to chase Rory out, but he didn’t seem to care about being cold, standing tall and strong in nothing but his shirt and vest. “You could be in danger—”
“Yeah, fromyou,” Rory snarled. “I was fine until you and yourreliccame along and I’ll be fine again when you leave.”
“Because you’ll lock yourself up in that jail cell of a room?” Arthur said, with surprising heat. “Like you’re dangerous, like you’re some kind of criminal?”
Rory’s jaw tightened. “You don’tunderstand.” To his humiliation, his voice cracked, and he whirled away.
But Arthur stayed with him. “You could explain it to me.”
“Or you could go chase yourself,” Rory bit out over his shoulder.
“I can’t,” Arthur said, more quietly. “I can’t watch another paranormal become Pavel Ivanov.”
Rory paused, fists clenched.Don’t be weak, don’t be tempted, don’t let Arthur in—
“Who’s that?” he said, before he could stop himself.
“A Russian subordinate paranormal on the Lower East Side.” Arthur’s expression was sober. “An alchemist. He can touch an ingredient and scry its alchemical potential, create potions of the most wondrous magic you’ve ever seen.” He swallowed. “And I’ve never heard him speak.”
Chills went down Rory’s spine. He wrapped his arms around himself and said spitefully, “Maybe he doesn’t like you.”
“Who could blame him?” Arthur said lightly. “Pavel’s sister, Sasha, says he used to talk all the time. But something happened during their war and now his alchemy subsumes him. He spends most of his days lost to scrying. And Pavel is not the only paranormal I’ve known to suffer, Rory. Magic is dangerous.” His eyes softened with what might have been pity. “I’d wager you know that better than me.”
Rory shivered and looked away.
“Pavel saw you when you opened that ring box, you know.”
Rory drew back. “Saw me?”
“An unbound relic will broadcast its magic like a radio,” Arthur said. “And you subordinate paranormals in range will pick up the signal, whether you want to or not.”
