You’re already the most handsome man I ever saw and now you’re in a tuxedo. I think you stopped my heart.
Arthur made himself smile again, like his own heart didn’t ache like half of it was missing. Polite society couldn’t match Rory’s rough sincerity, and no one here was going to call Arthur thelight of their eyes.
“As if I ever turn down a chance to surround myself with beautiful women,” he said, and followed her to the other side of the salon.
Rory stood behind the tree on the Central Park side of Fifth Avenue and stared at Mansfield’s mansion. “How long will Zhang take?”
“Patience, darling.” Jade straightened Rory’s bow tie. He tried not to fidget or watch the mansion with obvious nerves. “Zhang will be here, but there’s a lot of house to scope.” She raised her gaze to his face. “How’s your mind? Clear and in the present?”
“I’m okay.” He closed his eyes briefly, then shook his head in frustration. “I don’t sense the relic, though.”
“That’s why they keep it in a lead-lined box, specifically because of paranormals likeyou.”
The air next to Rory shimmered, then Zhang came into view. “There’s a second-story picture gallery on the back side of the mansion. Not far from the ballroom. It’s empty.”
“Perfect.” Jade patted Rory’s shoulder. “You up for a bit of climbing?”
There was a narrow alley behind the mansion and a high gate hiding the mansion’s garden. The gate was locked with a combination padlock and a security guard was patrolling just in front. Rory stood on the street corner and tried not to look too obviously like he was scoping the guard out. “How’re we getting past him?” he whispered.
Jade subtly moved one hand, and a moment later a car horn blared, echoing off the brick walls of the alley.
“Hey!” The guard took off running. “You can’t loiter here, this is a private event!”
“Oh, you’re the cat’s pajamas,” said Rory. “Magic swapsies?”
Jade grinned. “Except now you’re up. He’ll be terribly confused to find only an empty parked car. I’ll keep him busy while you get us through that lock.”
It was easy enough to scry the lock’s combination and get Jade and himself into the garden. They clustered together behind the bushes at the base of the mansion, directly below a large second-story window. Zhang’s astral projection blinked in and out as he split his watch between the grounds and the mansion. Jade took her bag from Rory and knelt with it on the ground, rummaging in the bag until she pulled out a long coil of rope.
Rory shed his coat, the cold night air cutting through the thin waiter’s uniform. “Yousureyou can’t just lift me up?”
“For the third time,” Jade said, “my telekinesis doesn’t work on humans and is simply not strong enough to lift an object with a young man on it.”
Rory gave her his coat and she traded him for a folded white apron before stuffing his coat into the bag. “But your telekinesis was strong enough to get me outta the road.”
“Yes, and it wasn’t easy—we were both very lucky it worked. I’m not eager to test my limits again.” She got to her feet, loop of rope in hand. It began to unwind itself, the end slowly slithering up the mansion’s brick wall like a snake. “But I tie a very good knot and I’ll spot you from the ground.”
Rory tied the apron around his waist as he watched the rope reach the window, watched the window open itself and the rope slip inside. He’d be going in too, looking for that amulet. He shivered.
Zhang’s projection reappeared on the ground with them. “It’s clear. He can go in.”
“Why aren’t you coming up with me?” Rory said to Jade.
“I wish I was.” She sounded sincere. “But Ace and I both feel that I need to be on the ground, just in case.”
“Just in case what?”
She nudged him. “Climb, Rory. Find the other waiters.”
“And then findAce,” said Zhang. “This is not a house to be discovered as paranormal. Ace will protect you.”
Rory could cling to that thought. He grasped the rope in one hand and gave an experimental tug. It held solidly.
As Zhang shimmered out of view again, Jade held up a silver tray. “Once you’re in, I’ll send this up to you.”
Rory took a breath and began to climb.
Chapter Twenty-Six
