“’Cause it’s gonna be real easy to explain,” Rory muttered.
“We’ll tell the story without magic,” Wesley said. “Arthur came up to Tarrytown because he heard there were dangerous bootleggers, and he didn’t call the police like a sensible fellow because he was too busy charging into danger trying to protect others.”
Arthur winced. “John will believe that, yes.”
“But then Arthur was kidnapped by these villainous bootleggers,” Wesley went on, “and so were his friends. What luck it was that Sebastian and I followed John’s lead on Arthur’s whereabouts and we all foiled the bootleggers’ plot. We don’t have to tell them what that plot was.”
“What about the bouncer?” Zhang asked.
“Langford killed him,” said Wesley. “That’s perfectly true.”
“And the storm?” Jade said.
“I hear the weather in New York is very unpredictable in the fall,” Wesley said.
“And Alasdair?” said Arthur.
“Needs a hospital,” said Wesley. “I think it’s pretty obvious Langford was the true mastermind,” he said, a little tensely.
“I’m sorry,” Sebastian whispered.
Wesley tightened his arm around him. “None of that. It’s not on you; this was all Langford’s plan.”
“Was it, though?”
Wesley glanced over at Jade, who looked deep in thought.
“Was Langford truly the mastermind behind this?” Jade said. “Or could there have been someone else pulling his strings as well?”
That was not a reassuring idea. “Something to think about,” Wesley said, meeting her eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Six
As they emerged on the second floor, the police were coming up the main stairs, John and Walter with them. Sebastian found himself propped in a large leather chair in a well-appointed library with a thick rug and built-in bookshelves that stretched to the ceiling. Jade and Zhang smooshed themselves into a single chair across from him, murmuring softly to each other.
“How’re you feeling?”
Sebastian glanced to his left, where Rory had taken a seat in the chair next to him. “Tired, but alive,” he said, a little cautiously. He and Rory had gotten on well in London, and Sebastian liked him a lot, but it was hard not to feel guilty every time he looked at Arthur or Rory.
Rory sat back in the chair, eying Sebastian. “So. You and Fine.”
“Um.” Sebastian couldn’t exactly deny it; he’d kissed Arthur’s ex-boyfriend in front of all of them. “Yes.”
“Guess when we asked you to keep an eye on him, you took us real serious, huh.”
That started a smile out of Sebastian. “I guess I did. Is that—does that make everything even more complicated?”
“Nah,” Rory said. “I’d say you’re screwy for wanting him, but he said Langford was his commanding officer. Fine must be for real, when it comes to you.”
Sebastian winced. “Wesley never should have been put in that position.”
“You’re not the one who gave him no choice,” Rory said. “Don’t go blaming yourself. I get the feeling you might be good at that.”
Several books pulled themselves free from the bookshelf to hover in the air nearby. Jade grimaced. “I’ll get the hang of the brooch,” she promised. “Probably not until I’ve had some sleep, though.”
“I always enjoy having a book to read,” Zhang said supportively.
Rory’s eyes flicked down to Sebastian’s wrist. “So is your magic really gone?”
