“That worked well,” I said.
“Good. Let’s check out the tower.”
I nodded and followed him through the library, trying not to make contact. Near the door, a woman stepped into our path. She wore a pitch-black dress like mine, though far more severe and high-collared. Her eyes glinted with suspicion.
“I did not see you enter.” Her tone was cold and quiet.
Grey inclined his head politely. “You were turned away at the time.”
She frowned, inspecting us. My heart fluttered. Just because the library had the portal didn’t mean that all librarians approved of its use.
“If you will allow us to pass, we would be greatly indebted to you,” Grey said, his voice vibrating with his power.
The woman’s eyes unfocused, his magic forcing her will, and she nodded, stepping aside.
He strode past her, pulling me along. I hurried to keep up, and we stepped out onto the streets of Guild city in the middle of a dreary, cloudy day.
“Whoa.” The word slipped out on a breath. “This is different.”
The street was lit by magical lamps, the contents of the shop windows not terribly different than in the modern day. Supernaturals still roamed the streets, but their clothing was so stiff and staid compared to what I was used to. Horses filled the streets, pulling narrow carriages. According to Mac, they’d fallen out of favor when motorbikes had become popular, and probably because they smelled. In fact, the whole town bore a stench.
“It stinks here,” I whispered.
“Hardly.” A wry smile tugged at the corner of Grey’s mouth. “We used magic to manage the waste and odor. It was not quite as good as the plumbing that replaced it, but far better than what the humans dealt with.”
I nodded. “If you say so.”
“Come, we will check the Shadow Guild tower.”
I nodded and followed him down the street. It was the first part of our plan, because it was the best way to know where we were, temporally speaking. Had Rasla hidden the tower yet? Did people here know of the Shadow Guild, or had he already erased it from their memories?
We moved swiftly through the small crowd, darting into a back alley as soon as we reached one. I could still navigate easily enough, but the differences in the city made it a slightly odd experience.
Within minutes, we reached the part of town where the tower stood. I stepped out of the alley and into the empty square, staring at the flat section of wall.
“He’s already done it.” I shook my head. “The tower is gone.”
“It’s truly incredible how he managed it.” Disgust echoed in Grey’s voice.
I looked at the quiet square. There were no weeds yet, just carefully placed gravel made of pale brown stones. The statue of Rasla stood in the middle, unencumbered by weeds. All around, the shops stared silently out at the empty space. Only half of them were closed, unlike in the present day, when they were all abandoned. A small boy swept the street outside of one, and Grey strode to him.
He crouched down, and the boy stepped back warily. Grey reached into his pocket and withdrew a small coin, holding it out to show the boy. It was money from this period, obtained from Grey’s private collection.
“This is yours if you can tell me what you know about this place.” Grey gestured to the empty square and the section of empty wall.
The boy looked from the coin to the square, confusion in his eyes. “Tell you what about it?”
“Anything at all. Does it seem strange to you? Like it has recently changed?”
The boy shrugged. “It’s just an empty square. Bad luck there’s no guild tower here or business would be better, me mam says.”
“Bad luck?”
He nodded, but confusion flickered in his eyes. “Just never been a tower here. Strange, that. But it’s the way it’s always been.”
“What about that statue?” Grey pointed to the stone Rasla. “When did that appear?”
The boy’s eyes brightened. “Just the other day. Big ceremony, and we sold rivers of beer.”