Mentally cursing Wesley again, Arthur grabbed Rory by the wrist. “Come on, storm-starter, let’s go.”
Rory was gonna kill that fancy English bastard.
And he wasn’t gonna do it quick—he’d seen some things in history, he could make Lord Fine suffer—
“Um, Rory?”
He glanced up at Jade’s gentle question. She, Zhang, and Arthur were all staring at him from their seats at the library’s big round table.
Jade cleared her throat and politely looked up. The sealed brass sphere was still up at the top of the hanging pendant lamp, and from within came the loudclink, clink, clinkof the Tempest Ring smacking itself against the ceiling like an angry trapped bee.
Rory folded his arms over his chest. “Sorry,” he bit out.
Clinkwent the ring.
“What did you do?” Zhang said to Arthur.
“Ace didn’t do anything,” Rory said immediately. “Not his fault and I’m not mad at him.”
“You’re mad at someone,” Zhang pointed out.
“I bet I can guess who,” Jade muttered. “Rhymes with crime?”
“It doesn’treallyrhyme withcrime,” said Arthur. “Fine has ann, not anm—” He caught Rory’s narrowing eyes. “Not the point. Right.”
An awkward silence fell at the table.
Clinkwent the ring again.
“Can’t you get that thing down?” Arthur whispered to Jade.
“I’m telekinetic, not a tempest,” Jade whispered back. “It’s too strong.”
Arthur frowned. “I still think I can reach it if I stand on a chair—”
“I already said no one touch it,” Rory cut in. “I don’t wanna hurt anyone.”
“Your magic wouldn’t hurt me,” Arthur insisted.
“We don’t know that,” Rory said tightly.
Another awkward silence fell.
Zhang clapped his hands together. “Well, ring aside, we have other problems—”
“Oh yeah?” Rory snapped. “Bet you’d think it was a problem if some ritzy asshole kissed Jade.”
“Finekissedyou?” said Jade, as Zhang said, in the same breath, “Who tried to kiss Jade?”
Arthur buried his face in his hands. “Don’t we have paranormals to find and not one buttworelics to steal back?”
“The ships aren’t going to stay forever.” Zhang tapped the table. “The amulet is the least of our concerns. If Hyde and Shelley and this possible third paranormal have it, there’s nothing they can do with it. It’s already bound to Gwen.”
“But the pomander relic is ownerless, as far as we know,” said Jade. “And maybe enchanted with violation magic?”
“Violation magic? In a relic?” Arthur had gone very pale. “We have to destroy it.”
“Wait,” Rory said. “We can’t destroy it. We gotta give it to Pavel.”
