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Augustus had tried to understand this part of the teashop's magic with little success. Mara and her family's magic was strange and incomprehensible to a classically trained sorcerer.
Augustus was known for his natural abilities and the innovative way he adapted and altered spellwork, but the Corvo magic was so wild and blatantly improbable that he couldn't comprehend how it worked at all.
Augustus crossed over Lonsdale Street and ran a hand through his dark curls before opening the shining red door.
Mara was talking with a rabbi as she escorted him towards the door. She looked up at Augustus, and her smile was there and gone lightning quick.
"Thank you, my girl. You've done this old man's heart good today," the rabbi was saying as he took his coat from the rack. He noticed Augustus and gave him a friendly smile before turning to Mara and saying, "I'd keep an eye on this one. He looks like a rake."
"Two eyes, I promise," she said with a wink as the rabbi left the store.
"What is it about me that people feel the need to warn you off?" Augustus muttered looking down at her. She was wearing a rich purple sweater, her lips painted the same distractingly lush color. Like a plum just waiting to be…
"Hello Augustus," she said, dark eyes glittering in amusement.
"Do you have time for me, little saint, or should I leave and return later?"
"How about you leave and not return at all?" Athanasius growled by Mara's feet.
"Hey, puss, I've bought something just for you," Augustus crooned.
"Don't you condescend to me, you good for nothing—" Athanasius's rant was cut off as he streaked after the small object Augustus had tossed to the other side of the store. The cat rolled onto its back, a tiny colorful mouse gripped in its paws and teeth.
"Catnip," Augustus whispered, and Mara exploded with surprised laughter.
"Come on in," she said with a tilt of her head towards the bar.
"Don't think I've only come with presents for the cat," Augustus said. He pulled out a book and placed it on the bar before sitting down.
"You brought me a book?" Mara asked, feigning suspicion. She took away the rabbi's teacup and saucer before setting another one in front of Augustus.
"You left so quickly the other night you didn't get a chance to take one with you," he explained.
"You gave me a lot to think about. I forgot all about books after seeing a map of Melbourne's magic." She picked up the book and read the title. "A History of England's Great Sorcerers.Sounds riveting."
"I was hoping to change your mind about us, or at least expand your education beyond the bastards who managed to cause problems for your family," Augustus explained. He should've picked a different book. She was going to throw him out for being such a presumptuous…
Mara opened the cover. "I'll take a look and see what I think. It begins with Merlin… Of course it does." Mara looked up from the page with trouble in her eyes. "I heard a story once that Saint Anea was of a descendant of Morgan le Fay."
"I'd believe it with the size of the grudge your family has against sorcerers. There's a theory that all English magic users are descendants of Merlin, so wouldn't it be something if both were true?"
"What is truth? My mother told me stories of Saint Anea that were so contradictory I don't think any of them were true, even though she believed them."
"Truth and belief are very different things, and neither one needs the other to be real."
Augustus was rewarded with one of her rare smiles. She stopped as soon as she realized she was doing it.
She boiled water and took out a teapot from a small cupboard. It was cast iron and almost black with age. Augustus could see the cupboard contained more than one, and his inquisitiveness got the better of him.
"How do you choose which one to use?" he asked.
"I don't know. It's like a sensation in my fingertips. And before you ask, yes, it's the same for the tea. I wander the store as someone talks, and my fingertips do the rest."
"Instinctual magic."
"I keep telling you it's not magic. At least, not the kind that you use." Mara tapped her chest lightly, a frown on her face as she tried to gather the right words. "I can feel the miracle inside of me. It builds up as I hear the petitioner's story, and the tea helps me channel it. Does that make sense?"
"About as much as the rest of it does. Just because I don't understand it doesn't mean I can't feel it's powerful. I can feel it around you, around the store. It's wild magic that sorcerers have long given up trying to use. Most don't even believe it exists."
