After the breakfast rush had died off, Frankie used the down time to take a breather at the bar. He was feeling the effects of waking up so early to venture out to W 26th and Raspberry Streets. Levi, meanwhile, fussed behind the bar, restocking glasses—which were now only used for non-alcoholic beverages—and drying whatever remnants of dishwater was still left on them.
“You know,” Frankie started, “maybe I could use Hecate to my advantage.”
Levi raised his eyebrows. “How so?”
“To get me back to my time.”
“She has the power to do that?”
“I would imagine so,” he said. “Even if she doesn’t, she certainly knows someone who can. Whether they’re dead or alive.”
“But can you trust her?”
“Can you really trust anyone? That’s how I got stuck in 1924 to begin with.”
Levi nodded and slid another glass on the run below the counter. “I guess that’s true. So how are you going to convince her to take you back? I mean, I’m sure you’re going to stick around long enough to make sure that whatever she’s covering up is taken care of before you go traipsing back to your time.”
“No, I wouldn’t leave you guys high-and-dry.” Not only did Frankie care about his friends in the 20s, but it left a whole list of unanswered questions about what the repercussions that kind of negligence would have into the future. The one Frankie was trying to return to. He wanted to make sure the time he wanted to get back to was the version he remembered and not one that had already been altered by his presence in the past.
“So then, what’s your plan to get her to help you?” Levi asked.
“I could always trade in my soul.”
Levi froze and stared at Frankie. “Are you serious?”
The witch shrugged. “It’s crossed my mind. But only if she agrees to take me back to my time.”
“But then you’d be soulless.” Levi set the glass down and gripped the edge of the bar. It was the only release he could get for his annoyance with Frankie. How could he even think of doing such a thing?
Frankie shrugged. “So?”
“So then it wouldn’t matter whether you were home or not. You wouldn’t care. You’d be completely apathetic.” It took all of Levi’s effort not to let the edge creep into his voice.
“Maybe.”
Levi shook his head vigorously. “No. That’s exactly what’s going to happen. When your soul is gone, so is your humanity.”
“You say this as if you have experience.”
“You don’t—” Levi stopped his outburst and leaned in closer to Frankie, forcing himself to speak in a whisper. “You don’t have to be a witch to know what having a soul means.” He sat up straighter. “This is a bad idea and you know it.”
“Then what other solutions do you have?” Frankie asked. “How am I supposed to get back to 1984? To my family? We’ve tried to send me back there ourselves—many times—and none of it’s working. I need someone else to help. I need to see my daughters again.”
Levi was quiet for a second. He felt for his friend, but he still couldn’t let him give up his soul. “What are your daughters going to think when you return to them, only to have them look you in the eyes and know that you’re not really there?”
“They won’t know the difference. Even if my soul is gone, they’ll just be happy that I’m home.”
“Maybe at first. But you won’t be the same. Not really. Removing your soul will fundamentally change you. And it’ll alter their perception of you. Any good times you’ve had with them will be tarnished by the monster who returns to them, because you’ll be a different person. A shell of a man.”
Frankie took a deep breath and looked away. Levi was relieved his words were finally sinking in.
Levi sighed. “I know you want to get back home. I know you miss your daughters. I know you’re getting desperate. But selling your soul? Come on. You know that’s not the answer. We’ll find another way. Magic makes anything possible, right?”
Frankie laughed humorlessly. “If only that were true.” Another sigh, then, “You’re probably right. I should probably keep my soul intact. I mean, without it, how am I any different from the person we’re trying to stop?”
“That’s a good point.” Levi picked up the next glass and resumed drying it off. “We’ll find another way to get you home.”
“Maybe. It’s just that, even if I had lost the ability to feel something by returning home, it would mean something to my girls. It would allow me to explain to them where I’ve been. Help them to know that I didn’t just abandon them.”
Levi shook his head. “No. If you return to them as a shell of the man that you are now, what they’ll have is more questions and worry, than happiness and relief. In that case, you’d be better off staying away.”
Frankie shrugged. “Well, it was a thought.”
A terrible one, Levi thought to himself, but decided not to voice it. Frankie didn’t need more ridicule. He needed a friend he could discuss an idea with. Someone who wouldn’t crucify him for the thoughts he’d had. After all, Frankie was just a man who wanted to be reunited with his family. Levi couldn’t fault him for that.