The City of Crows by Bethany Lovejoy (novels in english .txt) 📗

the ability; but I’m just another witch trying to keep her head down. I can’t help you, I’m not capable of curing you. That hope died out hundreds of years ago.”

“But you can!” He retorted, his face insistent. “I don’t need you to cure me, I just need you to--”

“I can’t,” I closed my eyes, taking a long sip before continuing, my eyes watering from the heat of the water. “Leo, I’m sorry, I really am--”

His face was far less kind when I looked again, lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed. I didn’t know what he was thinking or what insane hopes he had. Everyone knew that magic had far less power than it did before. I understood the desperation, but gripping onto false hopes wouldn’t help him-- “You’re very concerned with appearing human, aren’t you?” He said, his voice taking on an irritated tone. “Fine then.”

“Thank god you understand,” I said, finally allowing myself to indulge in a sip of tea.

“I wasn’t going to tell others before, but now I most certainly will,” the drink left my lips no sooner than it had entered, dribbling back into the cup. He grimaced, his hands tightening on his cup, the tips of his fingers growing white. “If you won’t help me, then I suppose I have no other choice. I don’t want to do this, but I also do not want to die. If you won’t help me, then…”

“You said before that you couldn’t!” I countered, attempting to steady myself. He couldn’t, he said it before, I knew that he wouldn’t.. “I’m inclined to believe that you’re far too good of a person to back down from that statement.”

“Yes, well,” he faltered before nodding to himself, leaning down to take the smallest sip of tea and then seeming resteeled in his declaration. “You understand my situation, Lyra. I have a mother still out there, she’s already lost enough and has no idea what’s coming. I… I really don’t want to do it, but I have to make a choice. I don’t want to die, but if you refuse to help me, then… I’m sorry, Lyra.”

“You can’t just keep threatening me,” I retorted, my hands slapping against the counter as I stood up, challenging him to continue with his warnings. “There are laws these days!

He showed no alarm at my threats, rising from his spot across from me with an air of exasperation. He looked to me once more, his eyes more seeing through me than looking at me as he straightened, towering above me. His hands cradled the drink, holding it close to himself as the steam brushed past his skin.

“I don’t know what fantasy land you live in, but do you know how people treat witches in New Haven?” I spat, glaring at him. “I’m not my roommate, I don’t grin and bear it, and I am not going back to The Stakes! I’ve built a life for myself here, and I’ve worked hard for it! Only an idiot would choose to live life as a witch. Don’t you dare threaten me.”

“Only an idiot? That’s why hundreds of witches choose to live so transparently, your mother included,” he rolled his eyes, finally lowering his cup back down to the counter. “I’m not asking for much; not a spell, potion, or charm! If anything, you don’t have much to lose at all. You’re a part-time cashier at a store with a boss that would rather see you dead if he knew what you were. The girl at the counter so much as said it with how she acted.”

I cringed at his statement, grasping at straws for my own rebuttal. “Y-you’re asking for me to help you break a curse,” I stammered.

The man’s eyes widened, a sense of tiredness seeming to overcome his whole body. “Do you know what Lyra is?” He asked, his face set in determination. “It’s a constellation,” he informed me, lowering himself back into his chair. His voice was calm and even, “sailors used constellations to navigate, you know. Your mother knew; she has a whole lecture on it.” I didn’t need to inform him that I’d already heard it, he’d already gathered as much by my reaction. “All I’m asking is for you to do the same for me, lead me.”

Lead. Easier said than done. And yet, what other choice did I have. He pushed his mug across the table, the ceramic edge clinking against mine in mock cheers. Despite the action, his face was deadly serious. I reached for the cup once more, sinking back into my chair. I sipped my tea, relishing in its sweet tang, comforted by the warmth of it going down my throat.

“You know Magictown, you know the people, and you know these streets. I’m confident that if anyone can help me, it’d be you. And, if we fail…” He paused, once again fingering the handle of his mug. “Well, in two months’ time, I won’t be your problem anymore.”

I knew Magictown far too well to want to return, I didn’t want to be lurking in the streets and digging around in the backrooms of antique stores. But what other choice did I have? I sighed, body tensing despite myself. Despite his attempts to seem confident and persuasive, I could see the regret behind his eyes. Would he have done it? I don’t know, but it seemed like he grew more determined by the minute. If I were my mother, I would have laughed; I would have laughed and directed him straight out of my office door. The problem was, I wasn’t her. I was nowhere near the witch my mother was.

“When this is over, you disappear,” I informed him. “I don’t want to hear from you and I don’t want to see you. You give up, you go. You find your cure or finally realize it’s futile, and you never show up at my door again.”

“It’s a promise then,” he said. “You give me back my life, and I will take