“You know I can protect you from Paul Kelly. Your mother, too. I would have done it years ago if you weren’t so damn stubborn and proud.”
Harte stopped where he was, but he hated Dolph that much more for knowing the one thing that would keep him listening. “I’m still not willing to pay the price for your help. I’m not taking your mark,” he said. He kept his eyes focused in front of him.
“I haven’t offered it,” Dolph said, his voice tight.
“You did once.” He turned back to look at Dolph and let his old friend see that he wouldn’t be swayed. “I came that day, you know. I saw what you did to that man—what your mark did to him.” It had taken him two years more to gather enough of Kelly’s secrets to negotiate his exit from the gang, but he’d solved his own problems then. He’d do it again if he had to.
“I didn’t realize . . .”
“Did Leena know?” Harte asked. “Did she have any idea what you were playing at?” Back then Harte had left because he was afraid, but now he knew enough to understand that what Dolph’s mark had done stank of ritual magic.
Dolph’s jaw went tight. “That’s none of your—”
“Leena never would have been okay with it.”
“She didn’t know how dangerous things were,” Dolph snapped, “or how precarious our position was.” He took a breath as though trying to calm himself. “Leena was too good for this world,” Dolph said softly.
“Your Leena?” Harte laughed. “Maybe she was a saint—she must have been, to put up with you—but she was also tough as nails and smarter than anyone. I bet she was livid when she found out you were dabbling in ritual magic. I would have bought tickets to watch that fight.”
From the flush in Dolph’s cheeks, Harte knew he was right. “She understood.”
“I bet she did,” Harte mocked, shaking his head.
“Do you really think I’m the first Mageus to try strengthening my power?” Dolph asked.
“Of course not.” Stories of Mageus trying to make themselves stronger by using ceremonies or ritual objects were as old as magic itself. ?They were the source of legends about witches and shamans, magical creatures the Sundren feared.
No, Dolph wasn’t the first to try to claim more than he was born with, and he wouldn’t be the last.
“Weren’t you the one who taught me the cost of what the Order was doing, the way they damaged magic itself each time they manipulated the elements and claimed power that wasn’t theirs?”
Dolph scowled at him. “You weren’t around then. You don’t know what it was like—I didn’t know who I could trust or who I could depend on. So, yes, I did what I had to do to protect mine. How else was I supposed to fight against the Order?”
“I don’t know.” Harte shook his head. Dolph couldn’t even see how many lines he’d crossed to get what he wanted. “But you weren’t supposed to become them.”
“I’m nothing like the Order,” Dolph snapped.
“No?” Harte pressed. “The Order thinks what they’re doing is right, that they’re only protecting what’s theirs—their land, their people, their country. That’s how everyone else sees it too. The whole city believes them, believes Mageus are something to be feared and lets the Order have their way. ?Your mark could destroy a person—did destroy a person. How is that any different from what the Order does? How will you be any different if you get this book you’re after?”
The muscle in Dolph’s jaw jumped, and his whole body radiated tension. “Considering how cozy you’ve been getting with Jack Grew, I can’t imagine you really care.”
“You’re right. I don’t.” ?The Order, the Bowery, the city itself. It was all the same to Harte. Each one was holding him down, holding him back. He’d throw them off one by one, until he was free, or he’d die trying.
Dolph glared at him. “Did you come because you’re finally willing to join us, or only to remind me of my failures?”
They’d finally come to it. He wasn’t sure he could do it until the words were already out: “You want my help,” Harte told Dolph. “I’m willing to give it in exchange for protection. I want Kelly off my back—for good—and I want my mother safe. But you’ll have to take my word for a guarantee. I won’t be branded by you. Not for anything.”
It was a gamble. If Dolph rejected his offer, he’d have to deal with Kelly on his own. If Dolph demanded that Harte take his mark, he’d be as shackled to Dolph as he’d been to Paul Kelly, and Harte wouldn’t—couldn’t—let that happen.
A long minute passed, the two of them standing in stony silence, waiting to see who would break first.
“Fine,” Dolph said. His hand was gripping his cane so tightly his knuckles were white. “I’ll take your word. But if you go back on it, I’ll destroy the life you’ve built for yourself one piece at a time. I’ll make sure the entire city knows what you truly are. If the Order doesn’t finish you off, ?Viola will.”
“Fine with me,” Harte said. If everything went to plan, he wouldn’t be in the city to care. And if things went as badly as they could go, he’d gladly take a quick death at Viola’s hand over whatever Paul Kelly or the Order would dish out. “I have to say, I’m a little surprised you agreed.”
“Things have changed,” Dolph said. “We can’t afford to wait for the Order’s next move.”
He told Harte about what had happened to Tilly, about how she’d had her magic stripped from her. How at that very moment, she was fighting for her life.
“You think the Brink has moved?” Harte asked, chilled by the idea.
“I don’t know, but this latest attack makes me more sure than ever—we have to take the Order down. To do that, I need the Book. To get the Book, we need a way into Khafre Hall as well as a way out that doesn’t involve getting everyone killed.”
Harte gave a hollow laugh. “Is that all?”
“Probably not, but it’s the minimum. If you don’t have Jack Grew on the hook already, you will. It’s only a matter of time. I’ve heard about him: brash, quick-tempered, and has something to prove. He’s the perfect mark.”
“That’s the problem. Everyone’s heard about him, and he knows it. He’s skittish,” Harte said. “Unpredictable. His family knows it, and they watch him pretty closely. I’m not one of them, no matter how well I shine up. If they warn him off, he’ll listen, because he has too much to lose with them right now.” He gave Dolph a knowing look. “Especially after that mess at the Metropolitan.”
“So make him think he can’t lose.” Dolph gave him an impatient glare.
“I’ve been trying, but it’s not so easy. He wants me to find out what happened at the museum.” He paused, never blinking, as he sent the clear message that he knew Dolph had been behind the robbery. “I’m assuming you don’t want him to discover the truth.”
“So give him something better.”
“What are you proposing?”
“Use the girl,” Dolph said. “She can help you hook him. She’s already established her cover, hasn’t she?”