Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel #1)(26)

Carrow



A couple hours later, after a catnap and a party makeover, Mac and I were dressed as fabulous postapocalyptic junkyard slum queens—colorful sequins and leather and platform boots. Eve’s employee had delivered the truth serum, and I wore the tiny vial on a chain around my neck.

“This isn’t my usual,” I said as we strode down the streets of Guild City, magic sparking all around us. “But I like it.”

“You look like a badass in your jeans and leather jacket,” Mac said. “But this is a fun change.”

“This whole thing is a fun change.” The night was alive around us, the old buildings gleaming with light and magic. The interiors of the shop windows seemed to come alive.

All of this was so much better than my lonely flat and the constant doubt of the only people I knew. I missed Cordelia a bit, but she’d never paid me any attention, anyway, so she certainly wasn’t missing me.

I turned my attention to the shops around me. This was what I was most interested in right now. My primary goal was to solve the murder, but I was going to have a small bit of fun while doing it. It was impossible not to stare at magic.

As we strode past a clothes shop, the outfits inside danced as if they were at a party we just had to join. Effective advertising, because it totally made me want a pair of really ugly jeans. They just looked like they were having such a good time.

The tea shop was giving the clothes shop a run for its money, though. The kettles in the window were shooting colorful steam into the air, and the teabags were leaping like trained mice. Next door, swords clanged in a mock battle, and daggers shot around the empty store.

“This is so much cooler than my regular life.” I could hear the wistfulness in my own voice.

“That bad, huh?”

I shrugged, dragging my eyes from a fishmonger’s shop that seemed to be filled entirely with water. An octopus swam in fancy patterns, drawing hearts with ink that it shot from its back end. “It’s fine. Just… normal.”

“And you’re not normal.”

“I guess not.”

Mac turned onto another street. Like all the rest, it was narrow and winding, with old buildings crowded together on either side. Most were in the Tudor style, made of white plaster and dark wood, with sharply slanted roofs and glittering mullioned windows. The shops here were quieter, but the stillness made it easier to hear the party in the distance.

“That’s the witches,” Mac said. “Their full moon masquerades are legendary.”

“It’s not the full moon, though.” I looked up at the huge, glowing orb. We were probably a couple days away from full.

“They get excited and host it early.” Mac shrugged. “Only about once a year do they manage the restraint to wait until the moon is full.”

I grinned, liking the witches already.

We turned at a bend in the street, and I could finally see all the way to the end. Colored lights exploded in the sky—like fireworks, just way too low to be safe. When we reached the end of the lane and I could get a better view across the square, I spotted a fantastic old tower that leaned slightly to the left.

Mac gestured to it. “Voila! The Witches’ Guild.”

“You’re telling me.” It was perfect.

I’d had no opinion about witches and their guilds before, but now that I saw this place…it looked just like it should. The tower itself was pale brown on a square base and teetered to the left like a drunk. Wooden staircases wrapped around the sides, leading up to a door. The windows were dark and empty, occasionally flashing with light.

And the roof…that was the best bit. Dark and pointed, like a witch’s hat. Pale blue smoke wafted from a chimney, replaced occasionally with sparks of light. Music blared from the place, and I could feel the energy of the party inside. Every now and again, lights exploded right above the lawn—the fireworks that I’d thought I’d seen.

“Each guild tower is built right into the city wall,” Mac said. “And each has a square in front of it.”

I eyed the open space, which was covered in patchy grass. The shops there were mostly derelict, run-down or closed.

“This part of town is shadier,” Mac said. “You can blame the witches. They’re so loud and destructive that shops don’t want to risk it. This lawn catches fire at least twice a year, and spells shoot out the chimney all the time. Frankly, it’s a hazard to be located close to them.”

“The Council of Guilds doesn’t control them?”

“They try. But it’s hard. The witches are part of the council, so they’ve got some say.”

“Sounds like they have a lot of clout.”

“Yeah, that’s what comes with powerful magic in Guild City, and the witches have some seriously powerful magic.”

The moon peeked out from behind a cloud, bright and white. A wolf howled in the distance, and another one streaked across the lawn.

I stepped closer to Mac. “Was that a real werewolf?”

“Yeah. Some of them go nuts near the full moon.”

“Will they…bite?”

“Nah. Not unless you want them to.” She winked at me.

“No, thanks.”

“Good choice.” She laughed. “Let’s go.”

She strode across the lawn, and I followed. The music grew louder as we neared, and the lights flashing in the windows occasionally revealed people dancing.