Arthur’s stomach flooded with ice.
Mansfield looked between them. “You know Kenzie,” he said slowly, “and Kenzie here knows about magic?”
Arthur ignored Mansfield. “There are no special paranormals in my life,” he said, keeping his voice steady, holding his body perfectly still. “In fact, there’s no one special in my life at all. If you check the society pages, you’ll find me lambasted for my eternal single state—”
“Please.” Gwen drew a circle in the air over Arthur’s heart. “I see it here, clear as you see faces—powerful magic.”
Beneath her hand, Arthur’s heart began to pound. “I don’t have magic.”
“It’s not yours.” She crouched to eye-level with Arthur. “But it’s here nonetheless, because a paranormal has woven his magic straight into your aura.”
What?
“You didn’t know?” She touched the air above his heart again, her pupils jet-black pools rimmed by yellow. “Such rare magicisspecial, Ace, and it tells me that you’re special too. He’s made sure he could find you anywhere. You must be priceless to him.”
Arthur stared.
Mansfield’s anger had been subsumed by avarice. “Powerful, rare magic means another subordinate paranormal, maybe one who could do something with relics.” His nasty smile slowly turned to a frown. “How do you know it’s ahe?”
Her pupils abruptly constricted. Still kneeling in front of Arthur, Gwen turned her gaze up to Mansfield, and her lips curled in a small smile that sent shivers down Arthur’s spine. “Because he saw Ellis.”
Ellis?
Mansfield made a sudden, horrible gasp. Arthur tore his eyes from Gwen as bright red blood bloomed in a horizontal line across Mansfield’s throat. The air around Mansfield seemed to shimmer, and then a once-familiar figure materialized in a three-piece suit, blade in hand.
“Gwen.” Ellis clucked his tongue, and in his unchanged North Carolina drawl said, “You spoiled the surprise.”
Gwen spread her hands with a smile and a shrug, not looking sorry in the least. Arthur stared helplessly as puzzle pieces fell into place: the henchman Rory had seen but the sailor hadn’t, that Mansfield hadn’t, that Arthur hadn’t. The man who stood up straight like a soldier. Ellis, invisible, but not to a paranormal like Rory.
“Ellis,” he said hoarsely, “what have you done?”
“Nice to see you too.” Ellis watched dispassionately as Mansfield gurgled and lifted one hand toward his throat. The other hand raised the pistol at Ellis—then spasmed and froze in midair.
Ellis plucked the gun from Mansfield’s now-motionless hand. “It’s no use trying to move,” he said, uncocking it calmly and handing it to one of the mobsters. “Tell him, Ace.”
The knife. “The Venom Dagger.”
Ellis lifted the blade up, admiring it in the light. “And isn’t she a beauty?” He held the blade in front of Mansfield, who was still frozen like a statue. “I have a relic too, see,” he said, turning it back and forth in front of Mansfield’s terrified eyes. “The Venom Dagger, they call it, ’cause one cut enchants the blood like poison and leaves the victim paralyzed.” Ellis tilted his head. “You threatened Gwen when you thought she was alone. You would’ve sent her to death or worse and not looked back. Not so tough now, are you?”
“Ellis, stop—” Arthur lunged forward, but the two mobsters grabbed his arms again and yanked him back. “Are you mad?” he snarled up at them. “He’s going to murder your boss—”
“We’re in charge now,” Gwen said calmly.
“I put on a similar show with a sailor.” Ellis pointed at Mansfield with the knife. “Turns out, given a choice between a bigoted asshole like Mansfield or an invisible man with a magic knife, these fine gentlemen were happy to fall in line.”
Arthur pulled uselessly at the mobsters holding him. “What happened to Philippe?”
“Baron Zeppler had the relic, but he didn’t know how to unlock it. He put Philippe and me in a cell, tossed the Venom Dagger in, and told us to fight it out to see what would happen.”
Arthur snorted in disgust. “So it was you or Philippe, and you chose yourself.”
“I choseGwen,” Ellis said harshly. “I never wanted to hurt Philippe. I would’ve walked through his fire to save his ass if I could’ve. But only one of us was walking out of that cell, and Gwen didn’t need Philippe, she neededme.” His eyes narrowed. “You weren’t there, Ace. You didn’t see what Baron Zeppler did to us, how he corrupted our magic with this relic. You don’t get to judge.”
“But you knew it was wrong,” Arthur said harshly. “You faked your own death so Jade and I wouldn’t find out.”
Arthur had questioned the Le Havre harbormaster himself. In hindsight, how easy it would have been for Ellis to wear Philippe’s clothes, to set fire to a boat, and then, invisible himself, jump into the harbor and swim to safety.
“Philippe should’ve had better friends. I threw my soldier tags in some ashes and y’all were more than happy to believe he burned me up and then himself.” He held up the blade again. “When I stabbed Philippe, his magic went crazy. Lit everything, everyone, the entire place was on fire. The baron ran. I barely got out myself. But the power in this dagger had somehow unlocked. This relic chose me to work its magic and it made me whole again.”
