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"Those ephemeral beingsseeking to linger in an effort to escape their Afterlife are to be considered unnatural and must be banished to restore balance." — Sorcery in the Age of Reason.
Augustus had no intention of seeing Mara that day. After dinner the previous evening, he had decided not to seek out the saint for a few days.
After all, a man could have too much of a good thing, and sorcerers could be notoriously pushy when someone had their attention.
The saint, most certainly, had his attention.
Augustus liked to walk the streets when he was thinking. He didn't feel the hooks dragging him to Mara's teashop, but every corner he turned, there was the red door of her teashop, waiting for him. Augustus wanted to give Mara space; the door had different ideas.
Maybe it's not you that it wants to help. Mara might need the company.
After an hour of fighting against it, Augustus had gone through the door that opened for him despite Mara's wishes.
Now, Mara walked beside him, dressed in her cute red jacket, her silver curls loose around her shoulders. Augustus's lips still tingled treacherously every time he looked at her.
He had planned to ignore the letter in his mailbox about the ghost, but he needed an excuse to get Mara out, and it seemed like as good an idea as any.
"How do you know about the haunting?" Mara asked. Augustus fished about in his pockets and passed her a receipt.
"Someone was almost convinced to jump in front of a train because of it," he said.
'Help me. It's trying to make me kill myself every day,'Mara read the scrawl of blue ballpoint aloud. "How do they know you are the one to help?"
"No idea. Word gets around, I suppose. I certainly don't advertise."
"Do you like being the Judge?"
Augustus almost crashed into a street sign. "How do you know they call me that? I thought it died out last decade."
"No such luck, sorcerer. A bartender told me. She was quite taken with you but is too afraid to ask you out," Mara said. She gave him an appraising look. "Though I don't know why."
"Really? I might take her up on it. It's been a while," Augustus replied. It had been more than a while, not that he was going to admit that.
"She was far too young for you," Mara said, some of the teasing gone from her voice. His lips tingled again, and he rubbed at them irritably.
"Everyone is too young for me, saint. It is part of the problem."
"Is the other part that you scowl so much that you scare them away?"
Augustus huffed an almost laugh. "You tell me. It hasn't done much good keeping you away."
Mara's crooked smile was all mischief as she tapped under her eye. "It's because I see through your scowl. You don't frighten me."
"You haven't seen my war face yet," he answered, which was true, and he hoped that she never did. Truth be told, he was more terrified of Mara than she could ever be of him, and for a myriad of reasons, he never wanted her to know.
They hopped on a tram at La Trobe Street and rode it slowly down the hill to the train station. Augustus was wary of everyone who looked at them for too long, magic tingling under his fingers in his urge to throw up a glamour around them. He didn't mind people, but he didn't like the wash of humanity pressing up against him either.
At the Flagstaff Station stop, Augustus held out his hand to assist Mara down the steep steps of the tram and onto the street. It was a knee-jerk reaction, something he hadn't done in ages, and now found himself falling into old manners and patterns. He blamed Mara.
She smiled her sphinx smile that could mean anything and took his hand, accepting the assistance and making the gesture seem less awkward.
As a sorcerer who was always far too observant, Augustus didn't fail to notice how Mara's small hand fit perfectly into his. He let it go quickly and stuffed his into his coat pocket before it got him into any more trouble.
Mara dropped some coins into a homeless lady's hat on their way into the station, and they rode the flights of escalators under the street and into the warm fog of humanity, grease, and frying bacon from the station cafe.
"Any idea what platform we are looking for?" Mara asked, her dark eyes scanning her surroundings.
"Let's have a look. Don't let me crash into anything," Augustus answered.
