The City of Crows

by Bethany Anne Lovejoy

  Move, that as all I wanted to do, all I had to do. But I couldn’t as the footsteps began slowly to round the edge of the shelf. All I could think to do was grab my phone, my thumb pressing down on the button just long enough to signify it was turning off as I shoved it into my back pocket. It was better that Leo not message now.

  The footsteps grew louder, a crop of dark blond hair appearing from behind the shelves. The thought came once more to run, and yet when I tried to, my limbs felt heavy; far too heavy. It was as if my bones had turned to cement, my body rooted in place, though not by my own will.

  I broke into a cold sweat as the figure approached nearer, his fingers running across the spines of the book as he grinned, far too aware of how all the air had left my body. Sharp green eyes, dark blond hair, pointed features in every regard, prominent yet not thick stubble crawling up his jaw. He had a way of looking, as he always had, like a cat playing with a mouse. I guess in this situation, he really was. White button-up shirt, deep blue wool pants, and brown suspenders. He’d pulled himself together since the last time we’d seen each other; somehow, that only made him more dangerous.

  “Lyra,” he breathed, finally stopping far too close to me, his hand reaching up to grip my chin in between his thumb and pointer finger. “Look at you,” he lifted my chin to view me properly, the rest of the world seemed to stop moving as he did so. “You know, I really shouldn’t have to do this, we should be friends. But I know that if I so much as drop this,” my eyes narrowed at the confirmation of the spell, “you would run.”

  “Rowan,” I spat. “I swear to god if someone sees this--”

  “What? You’ll lose your mediocre job?” Rowan scoffed, “they’ll call the cops?” He should have been a lot more concerned about those two ideas than he was. “Or will the new boyfriend be upset to see me hold you like this?” He dropped my chin. “I remember when being held by me was all you wanted.”

  “He’s not my boyfriend--”

  “Yes, well,” Rowan rolled his eyes, informing me, “I’ve gathered as much. Unlike my cousin, I am no idiot. Doesn’t answer why you’re spending time with the human,” my mind blanked at this statement. He shouldn’t have known that. “But I’m not here to ask about who or what you’re keeping for entertainment, Lyra. Passing phases are no interest of mine,” his tone suggested otherwise. “And for your information, no one will see us. I’ve enchanted the aisles; one look down this one and Emma will see you bored out of your mind, shelving books and wishing that you’d grown a spine.”

  I withered at that statement.

  “No, can’t I visit you because I miss you, Lyra?” Rowan asked, a degree of tenderness in his voice. “Six years of our lives, that’s a long time, isn’t it?” His face changed, softer for a moment as he remembered. But then, just as suddenly as it came, it passed. “No, I suppose I can’t,” Rowan admitted, more to himself than me.

  “Then, why are you here?” I demanded.

  He blinked owlishly like he was surprised that my voice could take on such a harsh tone. “Why’d you take a human to the Green Man bar?” He flickered back to his previous disposition, practically barking his question at me.

  “How do you know he’s human,” I fired back.

  He snorted, looking at me in disbelief. When my face didn’t register the same joke as him, however, his eyebrows knitted together. A mix of confusion and curiosity flew across his face one after the other. He loomed closer, looking almost happy as he asked. “Don’t you know where he is, Lyra?”

  My mouth flew open, all of the air in my body seeming to escape with it.

  “Astounding,” he replied, hand dropping down into his pocket. Withdrawing his wand, he made a flicking motion and with it, all weight seemed to leave my body. It appeared he’d finally found a way to keep me still, just as he wanted. “And I thought you’d keep track of your pet.”

  “Where is he?” I began. A thousand scenarios ran through my mind, not a single one of them good. I could feel the bile rise in the back of my throat at the notion of Leo being hurt.

  “Right now? Oh, don’t worry, Lyra,” Rowan mocked. “He’s on his way here.” Amusement flashed on his face at the way I stood up straighter at the statement, head swiveling around to look over my shoulder. “Endearing,” he said dryly.

  “How far--”

  “Maybe you should pay attention to the matter at hand, my dear,” Rowan chided, his body skirting around mine to slink into view once more. “Again, I did not come here to exchange pleasantries. I came here because, quite simply, you were poking your nose around where it doesn’t belong.”

  “Landon offered it--”

  “And your boy asked for more, tried for more,” Rowan warned, his upper lip curling. “Now Landon’s taken care of, and I’m telling you not to make the same mistake. Your passing fascination shouldn’t be a nail in the lid of your coffin, don’t let it become that. Whatever you’ve got going on with this guy, you clean it up so we can get back to what we were meant to be doing.” A flicker in his eyes suggested that he meant more than my normal life, he regarded what I was meant to be doing as what I was meant to be doing with him.

  “What do you mean Landon’s taken care of?” I interrupted, my voice rising. But no answer came from Rowan, not then. A bell chimed in the distance, drawing both Rowan and I’s eyes as we became aware of the world around us.

  Leo entered, his black, wavy hair hanging in front of his face, his brilliant, dark green eyes scanning the shop. His pale skin held a waxy sheen that made him look borderline ill, his hand braced on the desk as he peered down the aisles, searching. My breath hitched just as his did, his eyes finding me, no doubt seeing the illusion cast by Rowan.

  To my side, Rowan stiffened, his shoulders tensing at the sight. “Lyra,” he warned, his voice low.

  “I’m not going to stop.” when had I decided that I would help Leo? I didn’t know. But just seeing him enter the shop, it suddenly felt like one of the most important goals in my life.

  “I’m trying to help you.”

  I tore my eyes away from Leo as he began to walk toward us, a frantic need to get rid of Rowan filling my veins. “You can start by leaving,” I informed him, gesturing down the aisle, praying that Rowan would follow my orders. Surprisingly, he actually began to move like he was going to leave.

  I expected him to go the other way, but he didn’t. With a heavy sigh, he told me, “fine then, Lyra, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. And when it comes down to it, don’t expect more from me than you should.” My eyes shot back to him, my mouth opening to speak. But before I could, he began to walk. Long, quick strides approaching Leo, I almost thought that he would stop and say something to Leo. He didn’t. Instead, Rowan brushed past him, his squared shoulders colliding against Leo’s with more force than necessary and sending the man backward a bit, his back bumping against the shelves.

  “Sorry,” Rowan said flatly, his voice sounding anything but.

  Confused, Leo blinked, sparing a glance back at Rowan, then at me. He tilted his head, as if momentarily confused, the illusion he was presented with likely not including Rowan’s presence. But just as suddenly as confusion came, he brushed it off, carrying on toward me. He dug in his pocket, withdrawing his phone to wave it at me as he smiled, “Lyra.” It was as if, just by seeing me, whatever illness he’d had then passed. There was color on his face once more.

  10

  Convenient

  Long charcoal lines trailed from the tip of a pencil, their curves and edges painting a scene across the page as the young man creating them placed his cheek against the wooden desk. Black smudges coated the side of his face, yet he did not pay them any heed, the edge of his tongue sticking out between his lips as he seemed entranced by the action. To be honest, though, he wasn’t the one entranced, not by far.

  I was left to close that afternoon, and for the most part, I’d done my job. The front door was locked, the till counted, and today’s book deliveries were cataloged and put on
the carts for tomorrow. And yet, still shaken by my earlier encounter, I could not bring myself to disturb Leo. He sat in the back of the shop, not realizing that the light above him was one of the only ones that remained. His hands moved with the steadiness and certainty that only a well-practiced artist could achieve and though his skin was still pallid and sickly, he looked alive as he drew. I couldn’t help myself, relief being my guiding force as I peeked past the shelves I hid behind, watching him work. Leo was captivating.

  And concerning. A white paper coffee cup sat by his side, the mysterious contents unknown but puffs of steam still escaping the cup every time he opened it. Once more, the smell of licorice filled the air. With every sip of the dark liquid he seemed to experience a sense of relief, his shoulders lowering and a hefty sigh exiting his body. Just as quickly as he drank from it, he would close the lid, attempting to keep any of the heat from escaping. So familiar to him was the motion that he seemed to do it unconsciously. Leo didn’t even have to tear his eyes away from the page to pop open the cup, his hand not stopping as he drank from it.

  My mind flashed back to Rowan as I watched Leo take another sip, reminding myself that he had stated Leo’s humanity. Yet that cup stood as a testimony to the unusual, something he wasn’t telling me. Was he embarrassed? Somehow I felt offended at the idea that he could be.

  “Have you turned off all of the lights, Lyra?” Leo called out, his head finally rising as he put his pencil down, picking up the pen beside it and removing the cap. Evidently, he’d been paying more attention than I thought he had.

  “Nearly,” I called back, jerking myself back into reality.

  A furious scribble could be heard, followed by the pop of a cap onto a pen. “Good,” Leo began, I could hear the rustling of items being moved into his leather satchel. “I know it’s been a while but, tonight we should try to get more done,” he said. I looked at him, catching him gulp down the last of whatever was in his cup before speaking once more. “You know one of them, right? Maybe if you have an idea of where they spend time, we could happen to run into them, or else run into their friends. I’m curious about how this may turn out.”

  “I am too,” I admitted.

  His head swiveled in my direction, eyes squinting as he began to look for me. “Are you putting books away in the dark?” He asked, bemused. Throwing the bag over his shoulder, he began to walk towards me, his head tilted in curiosity.

  Quickly, before he could round the corner, I pulled one of the books out by its spine, leaving the edge of it in the bookshelf so I could slide it into place just as he came into view.

  He popped his head around the corner as I did so, an amused smile playing upon his features. “I didn’t know that witches had such good eyesight in the dark,” he said, stumbling down the aisle towards me, the faint light from the lamp on the desk guiding his way.

  I swallowed as he stepped closer to me, his hand landing on my shoulder. “One of the many talents magic gives you, I’m afraid,” I lied. I’d watched Leo from afar for the majority of my shift, while attempting and failing to earn my twelve dollars an hour rather than lounge around for it like Emma did. Up close, Leo was even more potent. A strange tightness filled my chest, and I found myself pulling his hand off of my shoulder. “Yvie’s home today,” I informed him, “as is Gigi, they could be really helpful.”

  The raucous laughter when we approached the door, however, suggested otherwise. Of course, that was one of the defining traits of Gigi, but Leo didn’t know that. I felt the question he didn’t dare to ask lingering in the air behind me as I struggled with the lock on our white front door, my key refusing to work. Sighing and checking that our neighbors weren’t in the hall, I left the key in the lock, withdrawing my wand from my pocket. Leo snorted as I whispered a few words, a flick of my wand unlocking the door, the deadbolt, and the latch. No wonder I wasn’t getting in before.

  “Lyra!” A voice squealed as soon as I had opened opened the door, thick, tattooed arms wrapping around my body as errant strands of curled hair brushed by my nose, the owner tilting her head so that it did not come into full contact with me. From just a sniff, I could smell the hair dye taking effect. The owner of said hair lifted me slightly, then dropped me entirely as she looked over my shoulder.

  A gasp, then far quicker footsteps moving across the floorboards, the large woman moving to scoop Leo up into her arms as she squealed in delight.

  “Gigi!” A voice called from the living room, Yvie’s hurried body rushing past me with her wand in hand. She was unable to hold back her laughter, ducking behind Leo to slam the door shut with a suspicious look on her face. “Not in the hallway,” she declared, referring to our apartment rule of only using magic in our unit. My eyes looked up to see Gigi’s once black hair turning a shade of bubblegum pink rather quickly, and I realized what magic was at play.

  Gigi withdrew from Leo, both hands still upon his shoulders as she grinned wildly at him. Gigi was, in many ways, sunshine incarnate; but also far too excitable. Yvie’s girlfriend of god knows how many years, I’d gotten to know Gigi fairly well over time. She was a larger woman with heavy set shoulders and a decent amount of weight on her hips, tattoos of various quotes obtained over her life played over every inch of her arms and shoulders. She was a comfort in many ways, the kind of person who befriended everyone she met. A witch who had never used her magic for anything practical in her life yet was all the better for it.

  “Yvie and Lyra have said so much about you, Lyra especially!” Gigi declared, pulling back from him and shoving her hand towards him. “I’m so excited to meet you; you’re exactly like I imagined! I can barely tell that you’re dying!” She said as she shook his hand in unmatchable joy.

  Leo’s face fell notably as he took Gigi’s hand. It was far more than just a sore subject to him, but not to Gigi.

  I could tell that he was only expecting a handshake because when she took advantage of his grip to drag him further into the apartment, he looked surprised. “Him next,” Gigi declared, smiling so that every single one of her perfect white teeth was visible. “He’ll look amazing with the pink, and then we can match!” She clapped her hands, practically flinging Leo into the couch.

  “Gigi…” Yvie let out an exasperated sigh, following close behind. “We’ve not even finished your head.”

  “More than that,” Leo interrupted. “I don’t want pink hair.”

  Gigi pouted. “Well then, how will he fit in at the party?”

  “Gigi, this isn’t that type of party,” Yvie said, crossing the room once more to grab a bowl containing more of the pink concoction from the coffee table. To the side of it laid several of Yvie’s glass vials, empty with their labels stripped so that they could go in the dishwasher. “And, I told you, Lyra’s phone was off. She doesn’t know.”

  Gigi’s attention turned to me, her lower lip jutted out. “Well then why hasn’t she checked--”

  Yvie chuckled, reaching up to cover one of the many twists atop Gigi’s head in the pinkened dye. “Impatient as ever, my love.” She wrinkled her eyes as Gigi scrunched her nose, another laugh escaping my roommate before her attention turned back to me. “Party tonight, Lyra? A client gave me an invite and I have a plus one… Which we all know means they also get a plus one, right? And that one a plus one as well.” Her amber eyes turned pleadingly to me, “Right?”

  Yvie logic.

  Leo didn’t mind, though. “A magical party?” He asked, his eyes glinting over at mine. “One of the upper crust?” I could already read his mind, and obviously, Yvie had anticipated his reaction. “That could be of use, couldn’t it, Lyra?”

  “See, I knew it would interest the two of you,” Yvie replied. “You and your trouble.” She exchanged glances with Gigi, all but confirming that the secret that was shared with only Yvie had already passed to Gigi. Thankfully, Gigi wouldn’t tell a soul, not if Yvie adequately warned her. “Of course, Leo, as usual, just reeks of humanity.”

  “Does humanity have a smell
--”

  “She’s teasing you,” I informed him. “She just wants to dye your hair.” I rolled my eyes at Yvie, who leaned upon Gigi’s shoulder, cocking a hip and grinning widely. Crossing the room, I offered my hand out to Leo; it was better to get him away while there were two of them, lest he risk leaving our home with a less than advisable new look. “We’ll be in my room,” I informed Yvie, pulling Leo to his feet.

  “Ah,” I could practically see Yvie’s tail dancing in the air behind the young witch. “You’ll take your dead flowers with you too, won’t you?” She called. “Since it seems you won’t be replacing them anytime soon, and I don’t know why we still have them out.”

  It was a masked tease, and I didn’t miss it. Jerking Leo forward with me, I snatched the flowers from the vase on the table, their dried stems and leaves practically crumbling in my hands. Leo shot me a questioning look, but I ignored it, pushing down the handle of the door to my room and opening it with my hip as I pulled him in.

  I cringed at the realization that the flowers in my hands were not the only dead ones. Of course, I’d been such an idiot that my room was practically covered in them. From the top of my dresser to my bed, the dead flowers leered out at me. Reminders of the life I once craved, now unwelcome as I tried to focus on something else for a while. I’d been sleeping on my couch for so long that I’d nearly forgotten.

  “So,” Leo joked, “a bouquet when it’s all over then?” He had no doubt noticed the dead petals that had fallen from their stems and landed on my pillows.

  “Shut up,” I gave him a light shove, rolling my eyes. “Be glad that, unlike some people, I have a room. You don’t want to sit in there while Lyra and Gigi are getting into trouble.”

  “Ah yes, a very big room, great for getting away from people. I’m sure that you get lots of peace and quiet here,” said Leo, who was well aware that his studio was more than three times bigger than the size of our apartment. “You know, I bet that for the same money in Magictown, you might be able to fit in a queen-sized bed instead of a twin. Though, perhaps with magic you could do the same here, if you never washed your floors or spilled anything. You should look into it.”