They were testing the door.
Beneath his hand, Lord Fine’s lips started to move. This stupid dick, who didn’t know about magic—he’d be so fucked and Arthur’d liked him once—
Rory jammed his hand down harder over Lord Fine’s mouth.“Enemies,”he whispered, hoping the word would sink into the part of Lord Fine’s brain that had gone to war. “They’re here for me. Stay. Down.”
Lord Fine’s blue eyes widened. Then he started shaking his head.
Rory winced. Lord Fine had been a soldier like Arthur. He was an asshole, but Rory’d bet all his dollars he wasn’t a coward, and he wasn’t gonna stay down unless he knew why he had to.
There was a metallic snap, like someone had broken the chain that locked the front door.
Rory ducked his head to whisper into Lord Fine’s ear. “There’s an eight-year-old girl upstairs.”
Lord Fine stilled.
“Her name is Lizbeth.” Rory’s heart was pounding as the front door squeaked open, the bell jingling with perverse cheerfulness. He lowered his voice to the barest whisper. “She’s in danger. So’s Ace. You gotta keep them safe.”
“Mr. Brodigan?” A menacing voice, deeper than Arthur’s, with an accent just like Lord Fine’s boomed through the antiques shop. “Or should I say,SignorGiovacchini?”
Lord Fine’s wide eyes darted to the wall of the office, then back at Rory.
Please, Rory mouthed at him, with silent desperation. He got to his feet, putting his hands together like he was praying, holding Lord Fine’s gaze.Please.
Lord Fine stared at him but didn’t move or speak.
Rory swallowed, then put his hands up and stepped out of the office.
Hyde stood in the middle of the antiques shop, taller and broader than even Arthur, with close-cropped white-blond hair and anemically pale skin. He had giant shoulders and a soldier’s ramrod straight posture, his hands behind his back in a parade rest as ice-blue eyes tracked Rory’s every move. Behind Hyde was Shelley, from the vision, with her short blond bob and red lipstick, the wide collar of her dress open at the neck to show off her choker.
The third member of their group was a good-looking stranger taller than Rory but not Arthur’s size, with short brown hair, light brown eyes, and olive skin like Rory’s. Rory swallowed and kept his hands up, carefully not looking back into the office.Please, let that English asshole stay put.“I’ll come quiet. I’ll cooperate.”
Hyde’s lip curled, revealing a flash of too-sharp teeth. “Look at that. We have a hero.”
“He matches the description the mobster gave us.” The stranger had a soft accent Rory didn’t recognize. “Of the boy from Coney Island.”
Shelley smiled, touching the gray stone at her throat and almost caressing it with her fingers. “The other subordinate paranormal.”
Hyde was still looking at Rory like he was the prize in a Cracker Jack box. “If you’re a subordinate paranormal, you saw us with the relic this morning.”
“I told you to wait for me,” Sebastian said.
Hyde sneered, showing teeth. “I will not be chained to anyone.”
“Then you’re going to be found,” Sebastian said flatly.
“It served us this time.” Hyde ran his tongue over sharp teeth. “Giovacchini would have seen me take care of those two at the library. He’s being so cooperative because he knows what will happen to everyone in this building if he’s not.”
Rory swallowed hard.
“Enough,” Shelley snapped at Hyde. “The baron sent us here on a job, not to fool around. You wasted enough time on those two idiots this morning. Sebastian, take care of the boy and let’s go.”
Sebastian raised one hand, and where the sleeve of his coat pulled up, the swirling edges of a tattoo were visible on the inside of his wrist, over his pulse point. The air seemed to crackle, like someone was tuning a radio, trying to get the signal.
Then Sebastian frowned.
“What?” Shelley asked.
He quickly shook his head and stepped back.
