“I can only think of—no.” Her eyes widened. “Lord Fine? In the colonies?”
“As my date, for all intents and purposes.” Arthur set his half-empty drink on Benson’s desk. “I’d rather take Gwen.”
Jade let out a soft whistle. “Rory’s going to cast a kitten.”
Arthur paused, fingers still on the glass’s stem. He hadn’t considered how Rory might take it. “Rory and I aren’t—well, I mean, we are, but we’ve never said we’re—I don’t know what exactly we are.”
“He linked his magic to your aura, Ace,” Jade said dryly. “He might as well have tattooed you with his name.”
Despite himself, Arthur smiled. “That would be a big tattoo. He’s got a lot of names.”
She smiled too, then it faded. “I do wish we understood more about your link with him. He has so much magic now, far more than Zhang or me, more than anyone we know except maybe Gwen. The poor thing was a near-recluse for almost four years and this must all be very intense for him, new feelings and a new power to control the wind, all wrapped into a magic lifeline no one truly understands.”
“I don’t think his magic would hurt me.” Arthur wasn’t sure why he felt so certain about that, except that he remembered the freezing night on Coney Island, when Rory had followed the link back to him. Maybe he couldn’t feel anything in his aura now, but he’d felt it then, the sensation of warmth all the way into his bones, and he still trusted Rory’s magic. “But this is exactly why I’m not making assumptions about his feelings. It’s all very new to him, and that doesn’t mean he’s serious.”
“So it’s casual for you?” she said, one eyebrow up. “You wouldn’t mind Rory scarpering off with another man?”
The unfamiliar jealousy flooded Arthur’s stomach again. A little humbling to realize this was all very new for him too. He was saved from having to examine his feelings more closely as the office door opened.
“Oh look, it’s Zhang in the form I can see,” Arthur said, grateful for the distraction.
But Zhang looked frustrated. “Edgar Barnes slipped my tail.”
Arthur exchanged a look with Jade, who looked as surprised as he felt.
“I followed him to Midtown, to Grand Central,” said Zhang. “He was sweaty and muttering, something about should’ve been enough, why wasn’t it enough as he went into the terminal. And then he went under the arches and—he was gone.”
“How?” said Arthur.
“I don’t know. The plane seemed to—distort, for a moment, and then it was fine but Barnes had vanished.”
Zhang sat on the edge of the desk next to Jade. She patted his hand. “I’m sure it’s not your fault. It’s the subway. There could be all sorts of lead down there, in the paint, the tile, the pipes, who knows.”
“I suppose.” Zhang didn’t look happy. “I couldn’t find him again. I’ll check his house later, see if he returns and what I can learn.”
“Maybe we can get Rory in there to scry.”
“Ah.” Arthur twitched. “Rory doesn’t actually know about Edgar.”
Zhang and Jade stared at him. “You didn’t tell him Luther Mansfield’s lawyer was asking questions that could be about magic?” said Zhang.
“Or that one of Mansfield’s items is missing, and we only know it’s called a lodestone?” added Jade.
“It’s not like we’ve had a great deal of time to chat between my demanding family and the ice rescues,” Arthur said defensively.
“Mmm,” Jade said skeptically. “So it just slipped your mind because you were busy?”
“Yes.” Arthur’s conscience needled him until he added, “And I didn’t see the point in worrying him until we came back.”
Jade raised her eyebrow.
“What?” said Arthur. “Oh, I suppose you think I’m being overprotective again?”
Jade held up her hand, her thumb and index finger about an inch apart.
Arthur rubbed his forehead, but Jade’s words had loosened something. “There was a woman in John’s office tonight, a Miss Shelley from some ladies’ society. She was taking John to task over the Coney Island cleanup.”
“Some ladies’ society,” Jade repeated dryly. “I love when people assume a group of ladies would only do frivolous things so no one thinks too hard about it. Gwen and I talked about starting one once.”
“There’s a bone-chilling thought,” Arthur muttered. “Miss Shelley was wearing a necklace with a stone. She seemed—familiar, somehow.”
“You said John’s been having his nightmare for a few days,” Jade pointed out. “The same few days Mansfield’s mysterious lodestone has been missing and Miss Shelley has been visiting him. Could be a coincidence...”
“But I know the miracles you’ve pulled off while men assumed you were nothing more than a pretty woman there by coincidence,” Zhang finished, looking rather smitten.
Jade grinned. Arthur made a face. “You two could wait for me to leave before you flirt, you know.”
“Whether or not this woman is involved in any of this,” Jade said, ignoring his whining, “we still don’t know why anyone would want to curse an alderman.”
“Maybe it’s not because John Kenzie is an alderman,” Zhang said slowly. “What if it’s because he’s related to Arthur?”
“What could that have to do with it?” said Arthur.
“You’re up to your ears in the paranormal,” said Zhang. “I just think we shouldn’t rule out that you might be the real target.”
A cold anger mixed with dread went down Arthur’s spine. This was something else he hadn’t anticipated in America. Abroad, he was alone. Here, he was intricately entangled with his entire family of innocents.
“If someone out there takes issue with me, they had best come for me,” he said tersely. “And not for my brother or anyone else I care about.”
Jade’s and Zhang’s expressions said they understood. But of course they did; they had it even harder. They had non-magic family they loved and worried about too, and their families weren’t just in danger from magic, they were at risk from their own country’s laws, and great, now Arthur was worried about their families.
“Can you describe Shelley?” said Zhang. “I’ll look for her too, and I’ll check on your brother and parents.”