Witch's Pyre (Worldwalker #3)(10)

“I’d like to see them,” Juliet said.

Lily looked around at her coven and saw that they were curious about the city. They should have been tired, but no one was. She gestured for Toshi to lead the way. He brought them down the grand staircase they had come up, but then took them in the opposite direction across the high-ceilinged entry room and out through a different door rather than going through the Hearing Hall. It let out onto a wide boulevard. Across the street was a well-manicured park, surrounded by stately villas.

“So is this the nice part of town, or the nicer part of town?” Una asked.

“Nice-er, I’m guessing,” Breakfast said. He waved the air toward his face and inhaled. “I smell money.”

“Right?” Toshi flashed his ready smile, his eyes crinkling around the sides. “This area is where most of the legislators have their homes because it’s close to the Forum,” Toshi told them. “But where I grew up, we called it Bullshit Row.”

He won a chuckle from Una and Breakfast.

“Where’d you grow up?” Lily asked, purposely interrupting the light moment. The sound of laughter grated on her.

“I’m bringing you near there, actually,” he said, his eyes drifting down. “We have to catch a trolley, though. It’s a long way away.”

At the end of the block they crossed a street busy with foot traffic and waited at the curb. Lily studied the tracks that ran parallel to the sidewalk, but couldn’t find a third rail. There were no wires overhead, either.

“What fuels the trains?” she asked.

“They’re electric,” Toshi answered. “Rechargeable power packs on the bottom allow for about twelve hours of use before they need to visit an energy depot.”

“And what powers the energy depots?” she asked.

“Electricity from crucibles and witches, just like in your city,” he answered with a shrug.

“And mechanics?”

“Since we can’t transmute, we aid them by monitoring their bodies while they work, but mostly mechanics focus on creating new materials, medicines, and other things the city needs. We may not be claimed, but we contribute.”

“Like the bath soap,” Lily said.

“Interesting stuff,” Tristan agreed, his eyes hooded in thought.

“That formula was created by a mechanic. Many years ago,” Toshi said. He watched the street as he spoke, his expression neutral—even disinterested.

Lily smiled at the trick. The quickest way to make something seem boring is to act bored by it.

“What else does it do?” she persisted. “Besides heal and energize?”

“Slows aging. Helps the body fight off sickness . . .” He trailed off. “It’s something all citizens have in our baths.”

A trolley swung into view and Toshi turned to it and pointed. “They only stop completely every fifteen blocks, but they slow enough for people to hop on and off if they see you waiting. Is everyone okay to jump on?”

They all nodded their assent. As the trolley neared, it slowed just enough for their party to step up into it. Lily felt Toshi take her elbow as she hopped aboard.

“Take the rail,” he said, guiding her hand to the brass rail that stood out at about head level.

“What about old people, or the handicapped?” Juliet asked. “How do they get off and on?”

“See the inside track?” Toshi pointed to a rail line that ran down the middle of the street. Awnings with benches under them were provided every few blocks and Lily saw a woman with a baby and an armload of packages waiting at one of them. “That one stops completely every five blocks. It goes much slower so it can be accessed by people who are less mobile. But we don’t really have that many people who need to use it because of an infirmity. Our medicine is quite advanced here.”

“You got that soap,” Una said.

“We got that soap,” he agreed, chuckling.

Lily’s eyes fell down to his dark garnet-colored stone and guessed that he must have been part of some of the medical advances here. There was so much potential in his stone she could see it glimmering inside the facets of his willstone, like whispers shushing down a dark hallway. The train slowed for more pedestrians to jump aboard, making them sway where they stood. The motion tipped her closer to Toshi, and jarred her out of staring at his stone. She looked up to meet his eyes and saw a slow smile spreading on his lips.

Caught, she looked away quickly and busied herself by searching the crowds for anyone that could be considered less mobile. She saw older people, but no one seemed infirm. Even the most silver-haired among the citizens had straight backs, robust complexions, and the vigorous strides of much younger people.

So this is what you can accomplish when several generations of mechanics are free to focus on healing rather than fighting, Lillian said. Rowan would love it here.

Lillian shared another memory of Rowan before Lily could block her out . . .

. . . I sneak up behind Rowan. The room is darkened. His shoulders are set with concentration, and the magelight coming from his willstone is a deep red. He’s casting a complicated spell that has all of him ensorcelled. I hate that something other than me has so much of his breathtaking focus. I admit it. I’m jealous of anything that takes his eyes off me, and I’m going to punish him for it.

I still the air around me. I place my feet delicately. I quiet my breathing, ready to pounce—