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HARTE
The Docks
As Harte Darrigan waited, tucked back into the shadows of one of the long warehouses that lined the docks, he thought of another night not so long ago. For him, it hadn’t been that long since those terrible, lonely nights after the job at Khafre Hall, when he was an enemy to everyone—the Devil’s Own, the Order, and Esta as well. He’d been utterly alone as he had executed his careful plans, but being alone had been necessary—it had been the best chance of slipping past Nibsy’s defenses and to protect Esta and the others as well.
Then, the city had felt like his inevitable tomb. He’d had no hope of escaping. He had not expected to live beyond the following day, much less escape the Brink and travel across a continent and through time itself.
After all he’d been through, he suddenly found there was a strange comfort in the familiarity of the city—of his city. He’d seen Manhattan soaring to impossible heights, had seen the speed of the world by train and automobile, had seen another sea as well. None of it had brought him the peace he’d been searching for. None of it had been enough.
Esta’s profile was clear against the softness of twilight, and as he looked at her, something in him settled, as it always did.
“What?” she asked, noticing his attention.
He shook his head as though to say, Nothing, but when she continued to frown, he attempted to explain. “I was considering how strange it feels to be back.”
Her expression softened then. Sadness eased the tension around her eyes. “I’m sorry, Harte,” she whispered, misunderstanding his meaning.
“Don’t be,” he told her. “I’m exactly where I want to be.” He leaned down and kissed her.
“Me too,” she told him. “But I wish it could have been different. We were so close.…” She let out a long sigh. “We wasted so much time when we should have just come back and taken the Book from Jack here and now. So many people got hurt because of it.”
“There’s still time to change that,” he told her. “We’ll figure it out soon enough, but right now it’s time to pay Jack a visit.”
Jianyu appeared suddenly. “He is inside, just as we expected. Viola is waiting nearby, close to the building, to make sure he cannot leave.”
“It’s time,” Esta said, sounding suddenly nervous. Her breath hung in a cloud around her.
“This is going to work,” Harte told her, slipping his hand into hers. “We have everything we need. Jianyu will get us in, Viola will slow Jack down, and before he even knows what’s happening, we’ll have him trapped with the sigils. Once we take care of Thoth, we’ll worry about the Book and the artifacts with one less enemy at our throats.”
“But what if I can’t destroy Thoth?” she asked. “It was challenging enough to take care of a piece of silk, but that bit of counterfeit magic was nothing compared to what Thoth has been able to accumulate over the centuries.”
“You can do this,” Harte told her. “And this time, Thoth won’t be able to get away.”
Esta nodded, but she wasn’t wearing her usual brash confidence, so he drew her close again and gave her the kind of kiss that told her everything he felt. You can do this. We can do this. It will be okay, because I believe in you.
“You can do this,” he told her, in case she hadn’t received the message, and then kissed her once more.
“If the two of you are finished?” Jianyu looked vaguely uncomfortable to be witnessing their show of affection.
Harte gave his old friend a grin. “I don’t think I’ll ever be finished with that particular activity, but we’re ready enough.”
Esta smacked him softly, but he could see the tension had eased from her a little. A small, secret smile had replaced the worry that had been bracketing her mouth.
They took Jianyu’s hands, and Harte felt the world wobble, as it had on the bridge that day so many months ago, when Jianyu had saved him from the death he’d originally planned for himself. Around them, the city shivered and breathed, and for once, the familiarity of it felt like a comfort. He knew this city. He’d mastered it once, and he would reclaim it.
They were nearly there when Viola came flying out of the darkness. “He’s leaving,” she said, pointing toward the narrow alleyway between the warehouses.
Harte could just make out the silhouette of a man running in the opposite direction.
“I couldn’t stop him,” Viola told them. “There’s something blocking my magic. I can’t even hear his blood.”
“Thoth,” Esta told her, as they saw Jack turn toward the water.
The four of them took off after him, but as they rounded the corner, Jack was already getting into a boat. Harte knew they’d never be able to reach him if he was able to pull away from the shore.
Esta must have had the same thought, because they’d barely taken another step when the world went silent around them. After grabbing Harte’s hand, she reached for Jianyu’s as well and brought him into the circle of her affinity. Together, they ran toward the water’s edge and the waiting boat, but with their hands joined they couldn’t go half as quickly as any one of them might have alone.
They were nearly to the boat when Jack emerged from the small pilot’s house and tossed off the lines attaching the craft to the dock.
