A Criminal Magic Quotes

“Our turn,” Joan whispers.
She sparks to life a small sphere of light, maybe the size of a globe, right above the audience’s heads. And then she breathes life into it, slowly expanding it, like she’s blowing up the world’s most brilliant, glimmering balloon.
I whisper beside her, “Incredible.” Because despite how dangerous magic can be—how it’s been used to hide murders, cover up robberies, send people spiraling into the throes of addiction—there’s just no denying that it is.”
― Lee Kelly, A Criminal Magic

“Uncle Jed stopped sorcering manipulations around the time he lost himself to shine, but I remember this same awed feeling creeping over me and settling in, as I watched him conjure a lemon tree or shady oak in our yard. Creating something real from nothing, or protecting something with magic, or linking and binding things that have no business being linked: pure magic might only last a day, but its hold on you lasts far longer.”
― Lee Kelly, A Criminal Magic

“Back when the line between magic and reality was a lot more blurred, before this world started regarding sorcery with such fear and suspicion, magic was like a language among sorcerers. It was a thing to share, not a thing to hide. And for a long time, it was rumored that a worthy ring of seven sorcerers could unlock a magic within the magic. That seven was the key to strengthening gifts and surpassing weaknesses—and could even bend and flex the laws of magic itself.”
― Lee Kelly, A Criminal Magic

“My fate is tied to this man’s fate. The fate of this sadistic, scheming enigma of a gangster.”
― Lee Kelly, A Criminal Magic

“Joan.” Gunn shifts on my bed, bringing me back to the here and now. “I’m not in the habit of asking twice.” He stares at me with those cold, hard, almost taunting eyes. “In fact, I’m not in the habit of asking at all.”
― Lee Kelly, A Criminal Magic

“I’ve gotten into tons of fights before, but nothing like this. I’m trying to push a gangster past the brink. A gangster from a gang that kept my father drenched in sweat and nightmares. A gangster almost double my size. Howie better be watching.”
― Lee Kelly, A Criminal Magic