“Afraid your old schoolmate won’t want to bunk with you, darling?”
“I know he won’t,” Elton muttered. He let out a soft snort and returned his attention to the file on his knee. “At least the couches are comfortable.”
Nathan tutted at him. “Don’t be ridiculous, Elton. Do you think I’ll bite?”
The blond raised his eyes to the man across from him without lifting his head, staring without answering.
“He looks like he thinks you’ll bite,” Cora said in a stage whisper.
“Honestly; Elton trusts me to share a bed with a beautiful young woman, but not himself.”
“Cora’s about the only person on the planet I can trust you not to grope,” Elton said. He leaned back in his seat and crossed his legs, shuffling his file as though to call attention to the fact that he was attempting to study it.
“I feel I ought to be offended by that,” Nathan laughed.
“Me too, for some reason,” Cora agreed.
“In any case, where’s our Mr. Proctor gone off to? We need a new destination, don’t we? I’d much prefer we get to the next people in time to do something to help them, if at all possible.”
“I don’t think he wants to come with us,” Elton said. “He’s not really the direct-confrontation type. But he’ll need somewhere safe to stay.”
“Doesn’t he have any friends willing to tuck him away in a corner somewhere? He doesn’t take up much space.”
“The short jokes never get old,” Thomas’s dry voice sounded from the doorway. He moved into the room but didn’t seem inclined to sit. “And no—I don’t want to come with you. I...know my limits. I won’t be any help with the kinds of things you’ll need to do. But I do have contacts, and it’s not the first time I’ve had to relocate. I can set up shop somewhere else.”
“Where will you go?” Cora asked, turning on the sofa to look up at him.
“Nowhere, maybe,” Thomas shrugged. “I don’t even have any identification, since the Magistrate confiscated everything. I’ll have to see what I can scrounge up.”
Nathan drummed long fingers on the arm of the sofa and pursed his lips in thought. “Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone here who might help you,” he said.
“You don’t know anyone somewhere,” Elton echoed, disbelief in his voice.
“New York is a garbage heap, Elton; why on Earth would I spend enough time here to make friends?”
“You know,” Cora laughed, “most people seem to have a pretty good opinion of New York, actually.”
“Most people,” Nathan scoffed. He shooed her away with one hand and tilted his head up toward Thomas. “This isn’t where you want to set up shop, Mr. Proctor, believe me.” He paused and touched a finger to his lips. “Set up shop,” he murmured. “That’s not the worst idea, actually. Mr. Proctor—how do you feel about Boston?”
“I’ve never been.”
“It’s charming. You’ll love it. And I know just the place to put you.” He glanced back at Elton with a winning smile. “And even you won’t object to such a short drive, will you?”
“As long as I’m driving.”
“Excellent. I’ll arrange for a car for us in the morning. We ought to be off first thing.” He pushed himself to his feet on the arm of the sofa. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to avail myself of the luxuriously deep soaking tub I saw earlier. I expect you’ll have the bed warm for me when I get there, won’t you, Elton?” He let his hand brush the blond’s shoulder as he passed by, laughing at the slight scowl the other man gave him as he shrunk away from the touch.
Cora hid her snort in the back of one hand. Once Nathan had shut the bedroom door behind him, Elton sighed and attempted to return to his file.
“He’s very...affectionate,” Thomas said.
“Nathan has a crush,” Cora chuckled. “He thinks he’ll wear Elton down someday, I think.”
Thomas hesitated a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was slightly softer. “Where’s Jocelyn, Elton?”
“Vancouver,” he answered without looking up. Cora’s brow furrowed at his suddenly curt tone.
“And you’re here,” Thomas continued.
Elton let out a quick sigh. “I thought you didn’t want to be friends again, Thomas?” He lifted his head to stare flatly at the other man.
Thomas frowned with his hands in his pockets. “No. I don’t.” He turned toward the hallway. “I’m taking the room at the back.”
Cora leaned against the arm of the sofa to watch him go, and as soon as he turned the corner, she reached across the coffee table and swatted Elton sharply on the knee.
“What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ me. He was worried about you. Don’t be a dick.”
Elton glanced down the hallway with a faint frown on his lips, but then he shut his file and stood. “Get some sleep, Cora. I’m going to try to do the same.”
“You know Nathan’s going to be naked when he goes to bed,” she called after him.
“I know,” he answered, resignation in his voice.
4
Elton lay sleeping on his stomach, only stirring at the ringing sound of heavy curtains being drawn swiftly open. Sunlight hit his face, let in by a stranger in a suit who deftly tucked the drapery behind its hooks to keep them open. Elton started at the intrusion, reflexively sitting upright and on guard with one hand already reaching for the short stack of talismans he’d left beside the bed. He relaxed slightly when the stranger jumped, clearly more startled than Elton had been. He heard the rustle of paper behind him and looked over his shoulder to see Nathan on the other side of the king bed, sitting against the headboard amongst a small mountain of pillows and holding an open newspaper in front of him.
“Don’t alarm the help, darling,” he said without moving his eyes from the page. Nathan was, as expected, obviously naked under the comforter—a fact which Elton had been made uncomfortably aware of more than once throughout the night. He’d stopped counting how many times he’d woken up and had to remove the other man’s arm from him.
Elton was also aware, somewhere in his sleep-fogged brain, that despite the sleep pants hidden by the pooled blanket at his hips, he probably looked naked to the hotel employee, too. But he didn’t even bother with, ‘It isn’t what it looks like.’ Now that he’d thrown in his lot with Nathan, if the worst thing that happened to him today was that a stranger mistakenly thought he was gay, he was probably doing pretty well.
“Coffee, Elton?” Nathan asked, finally turning his eyes to the blond.
“Please,” he half groaned, running his hands over his face to wake himself up.
“One cream for sleeping beauty, please, Stewart, and two sugars for me.”
The man placed a cup of coffee for each of them on either nightstand, leaving a tall silver pot on its tray on the small table at the foot of the bed. Nathan thanked him and folded the newspaper over in his lap as the butler excused himself. Elton took his coffee in both hands and let the warm scent of the steam wake him up for a moment before he took his first sip.
“When’s your birthday?” Nathan asked, one elbow on his knee as he peered down at the newsprint.
“What? Why?”
“So we can know what the stars have in store for you today, of course.”
Elton frowned and leaned slightly closer to see what Nathan was looking at, a soft scoff escaping him as he read the small headline. “Horoscopes? You don’t really believe in that, do you?”
“I absolutely do,” Nathan replied earnestly. “I told you before—everything is fixed. The moment you were born, everything about your nature was already decided for you. Granted, most self-titled astrologers are making it up as they go, but it’s worthwhile to listen to what the universe has to say about you every now and then. Now, when is your birthday?”
Elton shook his head and took another sip of coffee before answering. “April 23.”
“The bull, hm? I should have known.” Nathan paused. “Why, my dear Mr.
Willis. That’s only five days from now. Were you planning on telling anyone?”
“It’s not exactly high on my list of priorities right now.”
The other man gave a skeptical hum. “I shall keep it in mind regardless.”
“Please don’t.”
“In any case. Taurus.” Nathan flattened the newspaper with one hand and bent lower to read it. “Don’t get stuck in a pattern. Let go of a past indiscretion and be open to opportunity. A difficult situation forges new relationships. Be generous with a partner,” he added with a sly smile, “and tonight, take time for a loved one.” He tilted his head up at the blond. “Are you going to take time for me tonight, darling? Be generous with me?”
“I’d put you more in the ‘difficult situation’ category than the ‘loved one.’“
“You’re so cruel. Remember that I didn’t choose you in this affair, Elton. You quite literally hunted me down, and you invited me on this adventure. So let’s see what the stars say about me, hm? Ah. Scorpio. Once more, others follow your lead. You call the shots, whether you know it or not. Do stop and check in with an older friend or relative. Your time might be precious, but you have no idea how much your attention is appreciated.”
“Thus further confirming that these are all bullshit.”
“I know how much you appreciate my attention, darling,” Nathan purred, but Elton only sighed and pulled himself out of bed with his coffee cup in one hand.
After everyone had had their fill of breakfast and Stewart the attentive Maître d’Etage had carefully packed up all of their belongings and had them brought downstairs, the group waited on the sidewalk for the valet to bring their car. Elton was fairly certain that it was a courtesy car the hotel would expect returned to them in the evening, and he was positive that no one in New York would ever see this vehicle again. It was already nine in the morning, after all; why shouldn’t he commit the day’s first felony?
He had to put a hand on Nathan’s chest to physically block him from the driver’s seat, but once they were all inside, the biggest problem was the traffic between them and Boston. Thomas sat in the passenger seat with his eyes pointedly out the window and away from Elton, and Nathan and Cora sat together in the back and practiced her ability to break her teacher’s binding spells.
It was about a four-hour drive to Boston, made to feel slightly longer by Nathan continually turning on the radio without touching it and instigating enthusiastic sing-alongs in the back seat. Elton barely even noticed the casual weight of the other man’s arm when Nathan reached over his shoulder to provide him with a lit cigarette, and he turned his head to take the offered filter between his lips, glad for the familiar, calming burn of smoke in his lungs as he inhaled.
“I thought you quit,” Thomas said, barely sparing a glance at the former Chaser.
Elton took the cigarette in his fingers and let his breath of smoke out through the cracked window before answering. “I thought I had, too.” He could see the other man staring at him out of the corner of his eye, but Thomas returned his attention to the passing scenery without further comment.
The blond focused on the scratching heat coating his throat, finding it preferable to the small knot of guilt that had settled in his stomach. He was being too gruff with Thomas. His old friend must have been miserable at the prospect of traveling anywhere with the man who had indirectly caused the death of his fiancée. Elton was lucky Thomas spoke to him at all other than to swear at him, and here Elton was being purposely short with him.
Elton twisted his grip on the steering wheel, refusing to look over at the man beside him. Even if he could say something to Thomas without making it worse, he couldn’t do it in front of Nathan and Cora. Thomas didn’t deserve to be exposed to any more of Nathan’s mocking sarcasm than was necessary.
The quiet was broken again by Nathan’s forgotten cell phone ringing in his bag, and the rest of the car was treated to his half of a long, cheerful conversation in Creole. Elton guessed Adelina had made it to Haiti.
When they finally entered Boston, Elton tried to call back to Nathan, but he wouldn’t rouse from his nap until Cora shook him by the shoulder.
“Where are we going?” Elton asked as Nathan ran a hand through his hair to smooth it. “Do you know where this person lives?”
“Oh.” Nathan gave a short laugh that made Elton grip the steering wheel tighter. “No. No idea. Let’s see. Her shop was just down the road from Copley Square, I believe. We can leave the car there and find it on foot.”
Elton seemed unimpressed with this plan, but he followed the directions Cora gave him from the GPS on Nathan’s phone until they reached a large green space dotted with benches, where a pair of obelisks stood in front of a Gothic brown church. Elton parked along the side of the street near a fountain and left the keys in the ignition when he climbed out to get his bag from the trunk.
“Since we’re in Boston, did we just pahk the cah?” Cora asked.
“Don’t be rude,” Nathan scolded, but he was smiling.
They gathered up their belongings and waited for Nathan to finish lighting a cigarette before heading off. Nathan walked as though he knew where he was going, but Elton suspected his confidence was no indication of actual knowledge. They couldn’t afford to be so cavalier out in the open—not knowing that the Magistrate had sent out fis scél. Who knew how far from Toronto they had sent them? Possibly all over North America. At least the Chasers here probably weren’t actively looking for them yet.
“Aha!” Nathan said when they turned a corner. He hastened his step toward a narrow-windowed storefront with painted grey columns at each corner and a checkerboard of multicolored stained glass at the top of each pane. The lettering on the glass was slightly chipped but had clearly been painted with a great level of care some time ago.
Nock’s Nick-Nacks
The windows were full of riser shelves lined with trinkets and toys that moved on their own. Painted animals of all kinds filled an entire window—tiny mechanical lions stretched in silent roars, dogs wagged their tails, and horses reared back and brandished their hooves. On another shelf, a pair of robots beat their tin drums within a circular track, where miniature stock cars raced along on little rubber wheels.
“Holy crap,” Cora said, pressing as close to the glass as she could without actually mushing her nose against it. “They’re so cool! Are they magic?”
“Not at all,” Nathan answered. He bent to look under the painted letters on the window and peer inside. “She’s just very good.”
A couple of children rushed around the shop with their parents desperately trying to keep their hands from snatching everything within reach. At the back of the store, a long counter separated the toy-filled shelves from the employee space beyond, and a woman with brown hair in a messy ponytail stood on a step-stool to reach a box on a high rack. She balanced it on her shoulder as she returned to the floor, and when she glanced toward the window, she froze. Cora swore she saw the woman’s face go pale as Nathan wiggled his fingers at her through the glass. The woman dropped her box on the counter with a thunk that they heard even on the street, and she pointed right at Nathan, then, with a frown twisting her lips, crooked her finger at him and pointed to the space in front of her as though commanding a disobedient child.
Cora peeked up at him. “Is anyone ever happy to see you?”
“Not anyone with any sense,” Elton muttered behind them. “She looks young to be a friend of yours.”
“It’s bad manners to discuss a woman’s age, Elton.” Nathan dropped his cigarette butt and scuffed it out with his shoe, blowing out the last of his smoke as he pushed open the shop door. He made his way through the aisles, dodging running children, and when he reached the counter, he leaned both of his hands on it and tilted his head with a smile.
“What are you grinning about?” she scoffed. Her voice was lower than her small frame suggested, and it had a rough, raspy quality that sounded like scraping on concrete. “With the stories
about you coming out of the Magistrate?”
“How is it that you’ve gotten even more beautiful since I last saw you?” Nathan asked, completely ignoring her accusing question.
“I moisturize,” she answered flatly. She looked up at him through round green eyes. “Who are your friends? Or ‘accomplices’ is probably the better word, right?”
“This is my apprentice, Cora,” he said with a light hand on her shoulder. “The taller broody one is Elton, and the shorter broody one is Thomas.” He glanced behind him to nod at them in turn, then gestured toward the woman, who folded her arms over her chest. “This is Nock.”
“Charmed,” the woman said without looking at them. “What are you doing here, Nathan?”
“I need a favor.”
“Big surprise.”
“Can we talk in private? It’s a rather large favor.”
Nock chewed her lips, thinking, and looked each of the strangers in the face. “I close at six,” she said. “Come back then. But don’t you let any Chasers follow you back,” she warned, prodding Nathan in the chest with one finger.
“I’d never bring trouble to your door, beloved.”
“History does not bear you out. Now get out of here; you’re in the way of paying customers.”
“You are an indulgent and magnanimous treasure,” Nathan assured her, taking up her hand and giving her knuckles a peck before retreating back toward the door with his companions in tow.
“Who is this woman?” Elton asked once they were on the street again.
“An old friend. She’ll help Mr. Proctor; don’t you worry. I think the two of them will get along very well.”
“So what do we do until six?” Cora asked, and Nathan pondered for a moment.
“Let’s take the time to resupply, shall we? We can find better sundries than we were able to pilfer from poor Mr. Proctor’s abused shop.”
Thomas didn’t seem to know whether to be upset at the reminder that his livelihood had been destroyed or offended at the implication that there were higher quality goods to be found elsewhere. Whichever he decided on, he only scowled at the back of Nathan’s head without comment.
The Left-Hand Path: Prodigy Page 4