by L. EE
“So in order to help us relax, she bought a party,” said Arthur with an affectionate smile.
“Not a party, simply a little refreshment. Anyway, the Academy will be covering the expenses.” Nia signed the bellboy’s chit and he slipped out again.
So this is how it feels to be a high-roller, Gail thought as she accepted a glass of something from Arthur.
It wasn’t a bad day. Gail and the magicians spent most of it chatting about nothing. Gail told them about some cases she’d worked on – sticking to the funny ones and the ones that ended happily. After a while, Arthur and Nia were looking at her with big bright eyes like she was some kind of hero from a picture show. It made her feel like a liar for not telling them about all the times she’d screwed up and all the times things had gone wrong despite her best efforts, but those stories could wait for a sunny day. Later, Nia described some of her magical experiments, going into such minute detail that both Gail and Arthur were left glazed but impressed. Then, with significant prodding from Nia, Arthur told them about how he had once saved the life of an Academy bigwig when they hadn’t been able to get ahold of a magician skilled in healing magic quickly enough.
“I only assisted,” Arthur said modestly. “That’s even what it says on the report. Assisted by Arthur Graves.”
“I don’t care what the report says.” Nia looked surprised by her own words but went on without hesitation. “Everyone knows he would have died without your help.”
Arthur only gave a one shoulder shrug in response, but he was smiling.
Sometime after that Nia, once again “slightly inebriated,” dozed off on top of the blankets. Gail and Arthur exchanged amused looks then occupied themselves by unfolding the crumpled newspaper and rereading the old news.
Gail tilted her half of the paper toward Arthur in order to get his opinion on something stupid the mayor had said about how the new mayoral mansion he was building would bring great prestige and civic pride to New Crossbridge. Yeah, we’re all very proud of your five new bathrooms and personal greenhouse. But Arthur was no longer paying attention to the news. He was holding a small envelope and turning it over and over in his hands.
“What’s that, doc?”
Arthur started, pulling the envelope back toward himself. “It’s – uh –” He glanced at Nia, but she was still sleeping soundly, holding one of Gail’s pillows against her chest. “It’s a note.”
Gail waited for him to elaborate.
“I wrote it. I thought you could – uh – ” Clearly frustrated with himself, Arthur scowled and practically whipped the envelope into Gail’s lap. “It’s for your friend.”
“For Xavier?” Gail picked up the envelope. “You remember his name, right?”
Arthur didn’t snipe back. “You can read it and tell me if it sounds stupid. I just wanted to thank him for – for –”
“Showing you a good time?”
Arthur chuckled down at his hands. “That makes it sound a little cruder than what it was, but yes, basically. I had a very nice time. It’s been a long time since I’ve actually had a nice time with anyone outside of Nia, so yeah. I wanted to say thanks.”
“Xavier had a good time with you too. He told me so.” And she wasn’t just saying that either. Sure, Xavier had been a little uncertain about how to approach the whole Academy magician thing, but apparently Arthur had been charming enough to override that. He’d actually asked her if Arthur might be interested in keeping in touch after he went back to the Academy, which forced to Gail to awkwardly explain that she didn’t think it’d be possible. She was pretty sure Xavier hadn’t understood and she might have hurt his feelings a bit, but he’d gotten the idea that asking Arthur for his Academy address probably wasn’t a great idea.
But now Arthur was the one reaching out, so she supposed that changed things. And since he was still watching her expectantly, she carefully opened the envelope and read through the few lines written in Arthur’s technically neat but painfully cramped handwriting. He hadn’t written much. The note just thanked Xavier for spending time with him, told him what a nice time Arthur’d had, and apologized for not being able to keep in touch. The curt explanation, It’s an Academy thing, sounded bitter to Gail, but that was probably because she knew the details. Xavier would probably take it at face value and figure Arthur was just too busy with magician things to worry about dating.
When she folded the letter and put it back in the envelope, Arthur said, “Well?”
“It’s nice. He’ll be glad to get it.” Reaching behind her, she tucked the letter into the pocket of her coat which was hanging off the back of the chair. “I’ll pass it on.” She hesitated a moment, then figured it was worth a shot. “If he wants to write back, can he –”
Arthur looked away.
“Got it. No problem. He’ll appreciate the thought.” Seeing that she hadn’t exactly put Arthur back in the party mood, Gail poured him a brimming drink from the cart and set the glass in front of him.
Picking up the glass, Arthur took a deep swallow then set it down with a thud. “Thanks. And don’t worry about it. It wasn’t like I didn’t know what I was getting into.”
Yeah, but sometimes that didn’t help. But Gail knew bugging him about his troubles wouldn’t make them go away, so she settled for topping off his drink and forcing him to look at the mayoral mansion article. She managed to get a few laughs out him. By the time Nia woke up, he seemed to have forgotten about his romantic troubles. Even better, Gail had almost forgotten about the storm.
Almost.
She could still feel it at her back through the curtains, but the room was warm and bright and that helped push the rain to the margins of her thoughts. It didn’t hurt that Nia’s nap had revived her sunny cheer and she soon had Arthur and Gail laughing as she tried to sing along with songs she had never heard before on the radio.
As the afternoon slipped toward evening, Arthur got up, stretching his arms over his head. “That might be all I have in me tonight. I’ve got a novel to finish reading.”
“What about dinner?” Nia asked him, blinking at him. “You can’t go hungry.”
After a moment of consideration, Arthur filled a plate with lukewarm food from the cart and tucked a bottle of wine under his arm. “I think I’ll be fine.”
“A book and a bottle, that man knows how to live,” Gail said to Nia as Arthur walked to the door.
He saluted her with the bottle over his shoulder. It was too bad Xavier had already gone back to Gracetown. Gail guessed Arthur would probably have rather spent the night dancing with him than reading in his hotel room. She wondered if he resented whatever was going on with her and Nia. She hoped not.
After getting the door open – which involved some skillful maneuvering of plate and bottle – he looked back and smiled. “Have a pleasant evening, ladies. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“What wouldn’t you do, doc?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” He winked playfully and left.
Nah, no resentment there. The doc was a good guy. Gail hoped he ended up meeting someone nice at the Academy. Maybe even an Illuminator, just to fuck with the higher-ups.
Nia kept watching the door for a moment after Arthur had gone. Gail wondered if she was thinking something similar, but before she could think of a way to ask, Nia hopped off of the bed, walked to Gail’s chair, and told her to move over.
“This is a one person piece of furniture, you know,” Gail said even as she shifted over to let Nia slide in between her and the arm. “You’re not gonna be comfortable.”
“I’m just fine, thank you.” Nia rested her head on Gail’s shoulder. When the thunder rumbled again, she curled closer.
Gail laughed, though she had to admit she was moved by the protective gesture. “I’m all right, princess.”
“I never said you weren’t,” Nia murmured, forehead resting lightly against Gail’s neck. “I just happen to be extremely fond of this chair. If you will not relinquish i
t to me, you will have to share.”
Gail toyed with a lock of Nia’s hair. “I guess I can tolerate that.”
As it turned out, Nia was not quite as fond of the chair as she claimed, given how quickly she decided that they should both abandon it in favor of the bed. That definitely helped Gail put the storm out of her mind, at least for a little while. Later, curled warm under the blankets, drunk on food and drink and Nia, the memories came back but fuzzier and more easily felt. When Nia asked her what was on her mind, Gail found herself telling Nia about Dad. Not everything, of course, but a little.
“That’s why you don’t like the rain,” Nia said softly.
“Well, that and the whole poisonous thing, but yeah, that’s a big part of it.” She reached out and poked Nia in the forehead. “Don’t look so glum, princess. It’s not your fault.” She turned her gaze toward the ceiling. “It sounds like the storm’s let up a little anyway.” It was true. The thunder was little more than a sullen growl and the rain’s steady pitter-patter was hardly audible over the other sounds in the hotel.
Nia, clearly unconvinced, moved closer until her cheek was pressed against Gail’s shoulder.
As she combed her fingers through Nia’s hair, Gail wondered what Dad would make of this whole situation. Not only was Gail a PI, she was a PI currently working to reassemble a criminal magician. Oh, and she was a PI who took time out of said criminal-magician-reassembling to fool around with an Illuminator.
She didn’t have to wonder very hard. Dad would have been beyond proud of what she’d managed to accomplish in her career. See, Gail-baby, he’d say. I told you that you could do anything you put your mind to. You were always that way, even before you were walking. The rest of it wouldn’t concern him all that much, he’d just tell her to be careful or at least as careful as she could be.
And Nia? He’d like her. She’s a sweet girl, he’d probably say, and clever. You don’t always get those things together. Just make sure she doesn’t work too hard. Some people don’t look after themselves properly. Your mom was the same way.
She probably spent a bit too much time imagining her dad’s voice.
Nia shifted closer to kiss her cheek and Gail turned her head to return the kiss properly, letting the memories run away like water down a drain.
51
Gail Lin
The next morning, the storm had faded to a light drizzle and Gail was carrying a disembodied head in a hat box under her arm. She’d gotten off easy. Arthur was carrying the largest suitcase they had and in that suitcase were Connery’s arms and legs.
“Why are we bringing him with us?” Gail asked, waiting for Arthur to wedge his suitcase into the trunk before setting the abnormally heavy hat box on top.
“Nia said she’s not sure where the next part is,” Arthur answered, slamming the trunk closed. “She says we may not make it back to the hotel tonight, so we should take everything with us just in case.”
Gail didn’t much like the sound of that. It reminded her too much of Nia’s earlier plan of camping out in the subway tunnels. Hopefully Nia had learned her lesson after that particular disaster, especially since the complimentary food and lodging had been the best part of this whole assignment.
An unfamiliar giggle turned her head. Nia had set her bags down on the ground to talk to a little girl walking with her mother. Gail immediately recognized them as members of the hotel cleaning staff, heading home after a long night of work. The little girl had been dozing against her mother’s shoulder, but now she was awake and gazing wide-eyed at Nia, who by drawing a circle on the pavement had made a crystal flower grow out of the concrete. Another chalk line and the flower became a glittering bird that flapped up to perch on the girl’s head before vanishing in a poof of sparkling dust that decorated her hair and dress like diamonds.
The girl looked in wonder at her plain gray dress made lovely by the magic. “Thank you, it’s beautiful,” she whispered to Nia, who smiled and said, “So are you.” Then she reached into her handbag and gave something to the girl’s mother that made her say thank you almost as heartily.
When Nia finally joined them at the car, Gail gave her a questioning look. Nia shrugged awkwardly in reply.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that I know very little about what life is like for those outside of the Academy,” she confessed. “I am – trying to rectify that.”
All right, so the complimentary food and lodging is the second best part, Gail corrected in her head. She leaned over and kissed Nia’s cheek, which made the other woman smile before saying, “Shut up, Arthur.”
“I didn’t say anything,” he replied through a nearly face-breaking grin, taking Nia’s bags and putting them in the backseat.
“You didn’t have to.” Arms crossed over her chest, Nia frowned at the car. “Do you think we brought enough?”
“Ni, we each brought one suitcase, which for Gail was everything she brought with her. Unless you want to repack the entire car, which took me about a day of strategizing the first time, you’ll have to leave some things behind for now.”
“Arthur, don’t even pretend that you didn’t bring as much or more than I did.”
“I’ll take that bet. I bet the hotel would let us borrow a luggage scale.”
A flash of doubt crossed Nia’s face, but backing down clearly wasn’t part of her genetic makeup because she drew her shoulders back and said, “I think you will –”
“All right, children.” Gail put a hand on each of their shoulders and steered them toward the front of the car. “Let’s get this show on the road.” Once the magicians were safely stowed inside the automobile, Gail slid into the backseat and opened that day’s newspaper, using Nia’s bulging suitcase as an armrest.
Nia sat in the passenger seat beside Arthur, holding the much creased plastic bag of Connery’s hair. Over breakfast, she had argued that using the most recently found item would be more effective, but Arthur had told her in no uncertain terms that she would not ride around in his car with a severed leg across her lap, so she had been forced to find another way.
“One more thing, Ni,” Arthur said before pulling out of the parking lot. “Obviously, you’ll have to give me a general idea of where to go, but I know the streets better than you, so don’t start shouting at me if I take a detour or a short cut. I probably know what I’m doing.”
“I had no intention of shouting at you,” Nia responded peevishly.
“You shout at me a lot.”
“I do not!”
Arthur glanced over his shoulder. “Doesn’t she, Gail?”
Meanwhile, Nia didn’t so much glance as stare menacingly. “Yes, do I, detective?”
“Uh.” Gail looked back and forth between the siblings then hid her growing grin behind the paper. “How are we defining ‘shouting?’ exactly”
“As shouting, you coward,” Arthur replied with a smile.
“Look, doc, I have to think about myself here. I don’t want her shouting at me.”
Arthur grinned smugly at his sister. “Hah.”
Nia turned back around, pouting. “You are both terrible.”
Arthur reached over to pat her hand then immediately recoiled when he realized that meant also touching the bag of Connery’s hair.
“Hah,” said Nia.
52
Nia Graves
Things were not going well. They had been driving around New Crossbridge for – by Nia’s count – four hours, twenty-seven minutes, and fifty-seven seconds.
Fifty-eight.
Fifty-nine.
Arthur paused at another intersection. “Any opinion on which way I should turn here, Ni?”
Nia just waved a hand.
“Left then.”
Left, right, it hardly mattered. Nia couldn’t feel Connery anywhere. After redoing the magic that morning, she had found him still at that mysterious point in the distance. At least that meant he wasn’t moving, but the slight pulse of magic wasn’t strong enough to give her any more
guidance than “vaguely southwest.”
So they had driven vaguely southwest and for a while the magic seemed to be getting stronger and then – nothing. It was like it had vanished off of the edge of the map, or worse, was snuffed out of existence. No matter how many turns Arthur took, she couldn’t locate it. Sometimes she thought she could almost feel it, ringing on the very edge of her senses, but when she focused on it, it would slip from her mind like a conversation held in a dream.
After a while, the buildings around them grew more careworn until they were passing entire blocks of boarded up windows and gaping doorways. Once, a rat the size of a cat scampered across the street with a piece of garbage trailing behind it. Arthur had to stop short to keep from crushing it.
At another corner, a group of very ragged children gathered to stare at them as they rolled by.
“They’ve probably never seen a car as nice as this one before,” Gail explained from the back seat.
Nia turned in her seat and watched the children with almost as much curiosity until they turned on to another street and left them behind. “So this is Gracetown?” she murmured when she turned back to front.
“Yep,” answered Gail. “Part of it at least. The start of it, really.”
“Oh. I’ve never been.”
There was a strange edge to Gail’s laugh that Nia couldn’t quite decipher. “I know, princess.”
Before Nia could think of a response, she was struck by Connery’s magic. It was suddenly so close at hand that it might as well have been screaming in her ear.
“Arthur, stop!”
“What, here?”
“Yes, here!”
Arthur did as he was told, pulling them to the side of the narrow street. Almost before the car had stopped, Nia opened the door and leapt out. It was nearby. She feel it vibrating in her bones. There. To the left. She took off in pursuit.
“Nia, wait! Nia, I can’t leave the car here!”