“You don’t mind waiting until tomorrow? As much as I hate to admit it, I think I’ll need the day to recuperate. That should be sufficient, I think.”
“It’ll give me the chance to catch up with my friend.”
“Oh, good. Thank you, Callum. That’s very kind of you.” Auggie reached out and placed a hand over mine.
I gazed down at Auggie’s hand on mine. His were soft hands, as if he hadn’t worked particularly hard and had lotioned them regularly. My calluses must have felt garish by comparison, and I pulled my hand away self-consciously, hiding my hands in my lap, as if he would insist on seeing them.
“You didn’t have to carry me long, I trust?” Auggie asked.
“No, not long,” I said, waving a hand dismissively, my arm choosing that moment to remind me how sore it was and throbbing with strain. “It was a pleasure to hold you. Er … carry you, that is.” Gods, the heat in my face was scalding. And why did I have to say “pleasure?” Could my mind not conjure up something a little more creative and less … intimate?
I roused myself, finding that I enjoyed this boy’s company far too much. “I should let you rest now.”
I stood to leave, but Auggie reached out and grabbed my hand. He held my eyes with an intimidating stare that felt far too intimate, yet I couldn’t look away. “Thank you.”
I sucked in a breath. “For what?”
“For caring about a random stranger. Not many people would these days.” He dropped my hand. “I try to make up for that by doing as much as I can for people.” He looked away. “I’m grateful that you’ve proven there are others as well. I’ve relied on the kindness of strangers since my mother’s death. She rented a room above the pub. The owner took pity after she died and let me stay on. She even offered me a job to pay for it and to make a little money of my own.”
“I’m … sorry to hear about your mother,” I mumbled, unsure of what else to say. Nothing could be adequate.
“Ah, it’s all in the past. And anyway, I think that’s why I like to help people.”
I nodded thoughtfully. I saw the holes in his logic. The pub owner had gotten a capable employee, one who’d grown up around the pub and knew the ins and outs, no training necessary. Auggie was labor to her. He had to work to retain his lodgings. Auggie may have benefited from her needs, but nonetheless, it hadn’t been a completely selfless act. Humans were not saints—not even Auggie—although I was searching for flaws aside from his stubbornness and naivety. “You know, Lexi is just trying to help people too.”
Auggie sent me a look of disbelief, as if the very idea was absurd. “Yes, well, witches have ulterior motives.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Lexi literally just helped you without asking for a thing in return.”
He waved a hand. “Because you know her. I bet she frequents your herb shop.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. “That’s not … Lexi’s not like that. You can ask anyone in town, and I’m sure they would sing her praises.”
“Yeah?” He gestured around him. “She can afford this on charity, then?”
“I’m sure she … harvests ingredients to make coin.”
He rolled his head to look at me. “That’s how you know her then?”
I hesitated. “Yes.”
Auggie pinched his lips together momentarily. “How does she prioritize who she heals? She can’t see everyone with a hangnail.”
“Well, I’m sure—”
“People must offer to pay for her services to see her sooner,” he interrupted. “And some illnesses might simply be beyond her or require more energy than she’s willing to spend.”
“She gets her energy from other—”
“And if someone couldn’t pay the price, she would let them die, never mind who they’re leaving behind.”
“I hardly …” I noticed a tear gathering in the corner of Auggie’s eye.Oh.
Auggie angrily swiped at his eyes as I looked away, a pang in my heart.
I wish I could say it surprised me that a witch could behave with so little empathy as to let a sick mother die, but … it didn’t. I wish I knew the ingredients of my shop were guaranteed to go into the hands of witches of high caliber, but the truth was those ingredients could be used for good intentions or for bad. It was all up to the user. I merely provided the ingredients. I hoped for the best, but at the end of the day, a witch like the one who’d neglected Auggie’s mother could have just as easily been a customer of mine.
“Your mother must have been quite a woman,” I said softly.
