A loaded silence fell. Then Arthur’s brow furrowed. “But you said—”
“Jade’s waiting, gotta go,” Rory hurriedly blurted. He stood on his toes to press a quick kiss to Arthur’s stubbly jaw then dashed out the door.
Chapter Twenty-Four
As Arthur had hoped, Zhang knew a shop that could take an unassuming silver Parisian cigarette case and hide a thin layer of melted lead on the inside. Arthur examined the shop’s shelves as he waited, admiring a teapot with a painted dragon. “I don’t suppose this shop sells coffee percolators?”
Zhang gave him a puzzled look. “I doubt it. Why?”
“Just wondering.” Arthur moved to the next shelf to look at the many kinds of tea. As he bent to examine an oolong, he ran a hand absently over his jaw. It still prickled with the echo of Rory’s kiss. The innocent, no-expectations-attached affection was lingering with Arthur longer than entire nights with previous lovers. “So. You and Jade.”
Zhang raised an eyebrow. “We’re going to talk about this?”
“She’s my best friend. I hope you didn’t think you were going to romance her without the appropriate threats. You know,don’t hurt her,I know where you sleep, that sort of thing.”
Zhang snorted. “You don’t have to worry. And no disrespect, but she’s scarier than you are anyway.”
“In Jade’s defense, she can always be trusted to do the right thing,” said Arthur. “Yes, she can kill you with her mind, but if she does, it’s because you had it coming.”
“Fair,” Zhang said, sounding just a little besotted. “How is your friend Gwen the scarier one?”
There had been a time in Paris when Gwen had been sweet and fun, when she’d make Arthur laugh by reading his aura like a Coney Island fortune-teller. But that was before Baron Zeppler and his relic, before they’d failed to find any way to help her, before she’d disappeared without a trace only to return tangled up with a loathsome Fifth Avenue mogul and another relic. “What kind of shape would you be in, if your magic had control of you for two years?”
Zhang winced. “Not a good one.” He picked up a brass tea strainer. “So Gwen’s a wild card. Then again, so’s the psychometric.”
“Rory’s a kitten,” Arthur protested.
Zhang raised an eyebrow.
Arthur sighed. “Fine. A hellcat in a cap and specs who could possibly figure out how to unlock all the relics and take over the world. But he’s scared of his own powers—”
“I like him too.” Zhang gave Arthur a look that was a little too knowing. “And I don’t think he means to be a danger. Then again, did your friend Gwen?”
Arthur’s jaw tightened and he didn’t answer.
Jade brought Rory into the Magnolia through the alley door. He lingered for a moment just inside the door, memories playing out in his mind, of Arthur half carrying him out of there, protecting a drunk twenty-year-old who’d lied like the fool he was.
“Tell me who and where you are.”
“You’re very strong. Strong and bossy.”
“Strong and bossy enough to handle a mouthy brat who defies the laws of man and nature. Now stay out of those visions and tell me your name.”
Geez. He’d known Arthur less than two hours before he’d demonstrated what a screwball he was. And instead of locking him right back in the asylum, Arthur had found a way to reach Rory and pull him out. Only Mrs. Brodigan’s sister, Miss Lorna, had ever managed that, and it’d taken days of scrying possible futures until she found a way to break the magic.
Arthur thought he hadn’t done anything special, thoughthewasn’t special.
He was special to Rory.
The Magnolia was mostly empty in the morning, save for the cleaning crew and Jade’s sleepy-looking brother, Benson, who was sitting on the edge of the stage with a cup of coffee.
“You again,” Benson said with a yawn as he looked at Rory. “You’re Ace’s, right?”
You’re Ace’s. As if Rorybelongedto Arthur. He stuffed his hands in his pocket and shrugged.
Benson yawned again. “You sober up okay?”
Rory ducked his head. Had the whole club seen him stuck in his own head, streeted by Arthur, talking bunk? “Eventually.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry if I was trouble—”
