“It’s not like he’s going to know Chester was using him.” Arthur swallowed. “Hyde and Shelley are paranormals.”
“Yeah, I got that much, but how do you know them?”
“I think Shelley is the one who has been giving my brother his nightmares.”
Rory furrowed his brow. “How?”
“I don’t know,” Arthur admitted. “The only somnolent magic I know of are the dream-readers, but they’re subordinate paranormals. They can pick up the dreams of the sleeping mundane. I’ve never heard of someone able to inflict dreams on others any more than I’ve heard of a psychometric who could make others see history.”
Rory looked troubled. “And Hyde?”
Hyde’s voice echoed from a buried memory six years old.You will talk to me.Arthur shoved it down, keeping his expression neutral. “A shape-shifter. Apparently.”
“I saw,” Rory said, impatiently. “I wanna know howyouknow him.”
Arthur’s hand made an automatic move for the scars on his chest. He forced it to stay at his side. He had never wanted Rory to have to hear this story. “I met a lot of paranormals in Europe.”
Rory’s jaw clenched. “Was it a bad meeting?”
“Why would you ask that?”
“Because you go all still when you hear his name.” Rory leaned closer, anger vibrating just under the surface. “I know a bad guy when I see one. He slaughtered those two fellas for no reason and I think he enjoyed it. I don’t like that you know him, not when you can’t protect yourself.”
Arthur blinked. “I’m not helpless.”
“You’re notmagic,” said Rory. “Hyde oughta pick on someone as paranormal as he is.”
“Not you.” It didn’t matter that Rory had more magic right now than any other paranormal Arthur had ever met, except possibly Gwen. Arthur didn’t ever want Hyde and Rory to meet. “And speaking of magic, why didn’t you follow the link out of the vision?”
Rory looked troubled. He leaned back into the seat as the cab made its way south on Fifth Avenue. “Because you were there, and then you weren’t.”
“What?”
“The link’s usually part of the vision, like a lighthouse, a full moon, or fireflies.Light of my eyes, right?” Rory rubbed at his bare finger, the one where the ring had been stuck. “But tonight, I saw the stars glow bright, then go dark. There was no way out.”
Arthur’s heart stopped. “Is the link—”
“It’s still there,” Rory said quickly. “But it feels like it’s hiding. And I don’t know why, and I don’t know why you wouldn’t wake, except that relic was bad news.”
The hairs on Arthur’s neck stood up. “What do you mean?”
But the cab crossed 42nd Street and pulled to the curb in front of the stunning library.
Jade and Zhang were already in front of the north lion affectionately known as Lady Lenox, but Jade came down the steps to their cab. “I heard you wouldn’t wake,” she said to Arthur, as he got out.
He spread his hands. “Who understands anything about magic?”
She folded her arms. “I would prefer the unpleasant side of magic not get too close to you.”
“That’s what I said,” Rory interjected.
“If you two are trying to show me how it feels to be on the other side of mother-henning, then you’ve succeeded. I’m quite all right. I didn’t even see the vision.” Arthur raised his voice. “Find any more clues, Zhang?”
“Most of the blood’s been washed away,” Zhang said, coming down the shallow steps to join them.
“But something’s lingering.” Rory had wandered a few steps down the sidewalk, where he was now crouched. He reached out toward an empty patch of the pavement, finger stopping an inch away from making contact. “Here’s where the relic stopped. It’s left a mark.”
“I don’t see it,” Arthur said, coming up behind Rory.
