The Serpent's Curse by Lisa Maxwell (read an ebook week .TXT) 📕

whether they were under duress. And that’s if they were actually willing. Most of the time, the arrangements weren’t as equitable as the sellers here would have everyone believe.” He shook his head. “Once I realized what it took to make my watch, I found I didn’t have any interest in finding another piece like it. I don’t need that kind of weight on my conscience.”

The stone in the cuff on Esta’s arm felt somehow heavier than ever. Unlike the stones Seshat had made in her attempt to preserve the heart of magic—objects that she created willingly from her own power—the Order’s artifacts drew their power from the affinities of Mageus that Newton had sacrificed in his attempt to control the Book.

From what Harte had witnessed, the lives of other innocent Mageus had been taken more recently to recharge the stones. He’d described for her the bodies of the missing Mageus he’d found in the Mysterium. They’d each been suspended in a web of dark, unnatural magic. All to preserve the Brink and the Order’s power.

The origin of the Order’s artifacts wasn’t news to Esta. Someone had died, and because of that lost life, she could use the stone to slip through time. That was a fact. Every time Esta used the Key, she used that stolen power. Another fact. She’d tried to ignore those facts for a long time now. She’d told herself that she was using the stones for an honorable purpose, but standing there amid the swirling eddies of magic—natural and corrupt, hot and cold power alike—Esta wondered if she’d been conning herself all along. What did it mean that she was still willing to use power that wasn’t rightfully hers? How did that make her any different from Thoth?

“It’s not the same thing,” Harte whispered, easily guessing the direction of Esta’s thoughts. Her surprise must have shown, because he slid his palm against hers, tangling their fingers in a moment of stolen comfort.

She didn’t even pretend to deny that he was right. “How is my using Ishtar’s Key any different?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Maybe it’s not, but the world isn’t black or white, good or evil. Ever since the day you came back for me, every choice you’ve made—right or wrong—has been because you believed it would help in some way.”

“Not always. Not in St. Louis…”

“In St. Louis you made mistakes. We both did. We’re trying to right those now.” He squeezed her hand gently. “It’s all we can do.”

“I don’t know if that’s enough.” Esta started to pull her hand away. She didn’t deserve his comfort or his understanding.

But Harte caught her hand again and laid a kiss on her palm. “No one is blameless, Esta. Even saints had their sins. It isn’t possible to live a perfect life, and even if you could, it wouldn’t be very interesting.” He released her hand then, and when he spoke again, his words came slowly. “You make mistakes. You learn. We all do. Sometimes it takes a little bad to cause an enormous amount of good. Dolph Saunders understood that. Would you blame him for the life he chose? For the sins he committed?”

Esta thought about the father she hadn’t really known. She wasn’t sure what to do with the goodness he’d shown to her and to the people in the Bowery, or with the terrible things he’d done as well—especially what he’d done to her mother. Finally, she shook her head. “I honestly don’t know.”

“That’s fair enough,” Harte said. “But it’s like you told me back on the train—it’s not your fault. Having the cuff, using it. You didn’t create any of this. All you can do is figure out how you want to live in it.”

He was right. The stone in her cuff had been made through the worst possible means. The mistakes she’d made in St. Louis had been terrible. But Esta wasn’t walking away from her responsibilities. Not now. Not ever.

“Maybe you’re right,” she admitted. “But look at all of this, Harte. These are Mageus buying and selling power that isn’t theirs to trade. How is this any different from what the Order does? It’s all the same—people forgetting that the affinities we hold inside of us aren’t separate from who we are. Maybe I didn’t create any of this, but it’ll be my fault if I allow it to remain.”

Harte’s mouth curved a little, and his eyes held promises that she wasn’t sure he could keep. “Then by all means, let me be the one to help you tear the whole damn thing to the ground.”

THE NITEMARKET

1920—Chicago

North didn’t realize he’d lost Harte and Esta until Everett tapped on his arm.

“Your friends are still back there,” his son said, giving North a look that reminded him of Maggie in its directness. And its impatience.

He knew Everett was itching to know more about the two strangers they’d picked up at the Green Mill, but the Nitemarket wasn’t the time or the place to explain things—especially not to speak the name of the Thief. She was still something of a legend both loved and hated, depending on who you were talking to.

Since he didn’t want to draw any more attention to their group than they already might have attracted, North retraced his steps rather than shouting for the two to pick up the pace. They were about twenty yards back, their heads close together as they spoke in voices too low for him to hear. Whatever they were talking about, their expressions were too serious for his liking.

“You two coming or what?”

Esta seemed startled by the interruption, but in a blink her expression transformed itself from surprise to her usual calm composure. She gave him a look so blandly disinterested that if North hadn’t known better, he never would have thought she’d been lagging behind the group to start with. The problem was, he did know better.

Finally moving again, the four made their way deeper into the