“But that was the last Zeppler likely heard,” said Arthur. “Because Miss Shelley was murdered, and Hyde incapacitated, and Sebastian de Leon ran off to London with Gwen and Ellis. Instead of gaining a psychometric and a relic, Zeppler lost three henchmen that night. He must be looking for answers.”
“Somehow I doubt he’ll come to America himself,” Jade said grimly. “After all, why directly attack when others can take all the risks for you? And it’s one thing to prey on a lone subordinate paranormal, quite another to start a fight when he knows Rory is now tied to several other paranormals in New York. He may be looking for a back door instead of a confrontation.”
Arthur pursed his lips. “What are my chances of getting Rory to agree to hide?”
“Oh, somewhere between zero and zero,” Zhang said dryly.
“But what if I suggested the Caribbean? We’re trying to destroy a Spanish pomander—let’s look for an answer in the places that speak Spanish.”
Zhang looked at Jade. “San Juan?” he said hopefully. “Havana?”
“As enticing as the Caribbean sounds,” she said, “there’s a world’s fair in Paris.”
But they couldn’t take Rory to Paris. Arthur stared at his fork. He wasn’t so selfish he’d risk the world so he didn’t have to be alone, but the thought of leaving Rory an ocean behind made his chest ache.
Jade exchanged another look with Zhang. “There is perhaps one more option,” she said slowly. “But don’t get mad.”
“Well, that’s ominous,” Arthur muttered.
“We go to London and find Gwen.”
Arthur’s eyebrows flew up. “You’re not serious—no, I can see that you are. Why on earth would we do that?”
“She saved your lives,” Jade pointed out. “And she wants the same things we want: Baron Zeppler out of commission and the pomander neutralized.”
“Her solution to dealing with a relic that enslaves non-magic minds is to bind it to another paranormal and thereby unlock its powers,” said Arthur. “I’m afraid I’m going to object from the bottom of my non-magic heart.”
“So we leave the pomander here, in New York.” Zhang leaned forward. “When you were on that ship, you met that other paranormal, Sebastian de Leon, the one who seemed to know something about relics. Do you remember what he said to you?”
Arthur wasn’t likely to forget it. “That the question I should be asking wasn’t what did he know about relics, but why didIknow anything about them. Why they were suddenly being found again after being buried for four hundred years.”
“And he was on the ocean liner to London with Gwen and Ellis, right?” said Zhang. “Maybe he’s still there.”
Arthur sat back in his seat. “But London is close to Paris.”
“None of us are going to take Rory to Paris, or anywhere else we suspect Zeppler might haunt,” said Jade. “And I don’t think Gwen would give Rory to Zeppler, if for no other reason than Zeppler could pluck history straight from Rory’s mind. She might even help us protect him.”
Arthur chewed his lip. “Zeppler uses henchmen. Rory himself would be safer if he stayed on this side of the Atlantic.”
“And I’m sure your family said the same thing when you went to war,” she said softly. “Sometimes we don’t get to decide that the people we care about will stay safe. Pavel decided trying to destroy the pomander was worth risking his mind. Leaving America should be Rory’s decision.”
You just took on my dad for me. And if Paris could be for you, if it makes you happy—
Arthur sighed again. “All right, let me get through our Boston trip,” he said. “And then we can talk about it.”
Jade and Zhang exchanged a knowing look. “Well, one other thing,” she said, leaning forward. “We finally have a name for the warehouse buyer.” She bit her lip. “A Mr. Mercier.”
Arthur stilled. “That was Philippe’s last name.”
“Jade said that.” Zhang glanced between them. “Your paranormal friend, the firestarter, the one Ellis killed when Baron Zeppler made them unlock the Venom Dagger relic?”
Arthur nodded once. It stirred old emotions to hear Philippe’s name, loss and sadness and guilt. “But I suppose, to be fair, it’s hardly an uncommon surname.”
Jade looked a touch shaken as well. “The buyer used an American broker but has an address outside of Paris.”
Arthur pursed his lips. “Paris again.”
Jade spread her hands. “This could all be a coincidence.”
