Page 80 of Mistaken Magic

Thething tilted its head, blinked, and then made a no gesture, much like shaking its head.Ihadn't expected that.Oh,I'dtried, butI'dhonestly expected the bird to just nod again, some avian antic my human brain was trying to turn into my language.ThefactJackseemed to say yes and no on command?Orat least gesture in a way that meant such things?Mind.Blown.

"Keir?"Iasked. "Doweird things like this happen a lot around here?"

"No," he assured me. "Imean,I'veseen some birds around, but mostly like, robins, and usually whenSheeba-Bracken'scat - catches one."

"Whendid the crows come here?"Iasked.

"Jack!" the bird announced.

Keirchuckled at that. "Um, couple of weeks ago?"

Whichwas about whenI'dmoved here.Therewas no way this was the same bird, was it?TheSparkslived on the other side ofPlainsboro, which was at least half an hour away by car.Thenagain, cars were stuck to roads, and there was a saying about "as the crow flies" for a reason.

"Jack?"Iasked. "Didyou follow me toSilverOaks?"

Henodded again, bigger this time.Thenhe bent to nibble one of my fingers.Iflinched, his talons gripped my arms and his wings flared, but the bird didn't fly away.Healso didn't bite me.Itwas almost like he was looking for...Food.I'dfed him bread!I'dmade friends with this bird whenI'dgiven it a bookmark and some treats.

"Idon't have any bread, buddy,"Itold him. "ButwhenIcome to class tomorrow,I'llbring some, ok?"

Thebird tilted its head the other way. "Jack?"

"ForJack,"Iagreed, hoping that was what he meant.

Thenthe crow cawed and took off.Myentire arm was shoved down at the force of his lift off, but it was kinda cool.Thatwas a big crow, and he looked like he was in good shape.Theone at theSparks' place had been the same, but most crows were big, and they were always black.Icouldn't exactly tell them apart that well.

Still,IwatchedJackfly over the gym and find a spot in one of the large evergreen trees behind it.Theones that looked right over the building, which meant he could see us walking between the institute and the gym.Eerie.Sure, it was probably a coincidence, but a strange one!

"Ithink you have a friend,"Keirteased.

Ijust blew out a breath and began walking back towards the dorms, not surprised when he followed at my side. "So, the reasonI'mhere is because a crow flew into my foster family's house.Igot it calmed down and outside, but they thought it was witchcraft or something and called my caseworker."

"Liam," he realized.

"Mhm,"Iagreed. "Thingis, there was this crow that kept coming to my bedroom window.Imean, there were iron bars onit..."Idebated mentioning howTorianwas the reason for those, then decided to skip that part. "Well, the crow said 'Jack,' just like that one.Iassumed he'd been socialized by people.Maybeinjured and rehabilitated or something.Nowhe's here?"

"Sosure it's the same crow?"Keirasked.

"Notat all,"Iassured him. "It'sjust that while they make some noises, saying ‘Jack’ isn't one.Tohave two crows, in the same town, both do it?Didsomeone namedJackrehab a lot of crows or something?"

Keirpulled in a breath, shifting just a little closer so he could lower his voice. "So, this might not be the advice you want, butIthink you should askAspen.Sheknows about a lot of the conservation stuff, or how to find it."

"Yeah?"

Hejust nodded. "Yeah.Besides, you two do need to talk.Avoidingher isn't going to make things any less awkward, and the longer you take, the more weird it will be."

"Whyare you being so cool about all of this?"Ifinally asked, turning to face him as my feet stalled out.

Hereached up, running his fingers through his golden hair.Fora little too long, he didn't answer, but the expression on his face said he wasn't avoiding my question.Rather, the guy was trying to figure out what to say to me.

"Allof this?" he finally asked. "Doyou mean the magic taught in class here?Doyou mean the way we all flinch from iron?Themagical plants growing in the atrium we all pretend are just tropical exotics to outsiders?Rain, a crow is pretty normal.Aproblem with a suitemate or someone liking you?Justas normal."

"Butwhy are you,Idunno, helping me?"

Hestepped in a little closer. "HaveIbeen too subtle?Ilike you,Rain.You'recute.You'rethis strange mix of too serious and so naive about all of this, andIcan't get enough of hearing theawe in your voice.Ilike you, and it only took me two seconds to figure out you aren't the kind of girl to beg for attention."Heducked his head a bit. "Thatonly makes me more interested."

"Soyou're being cool about the weird crow stuff and the weird suitemate stuff because it makes me interesting?"Yep, no matter how many waysIlooked at that, it did not compute.

"Ihave a different yardstick to measure by," he countered. "Thecrow thing?Maybethe magic here is affecting the local animals?Maybethe same reason we fae find you interesting applies to those birds.Theyused to cross the gates, you know.Oneof the few animals found in both worlds."

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