Wary, Danny walked down the narrow street. The smallness of the place unnerved him. He was so used to the sprawling metropolis of London that these tiny towns felt too close for comfort.
Danny passed an alcove carved into the side of a stone building. Inside stood an old shrine much like the one he’d seen in Shere. This one had been partially destroyed, but whether by the elements or by man or both, it was hard to say. The base of the statue was still visible, as was the scalloped pattern of what looked to be a wing. Caelum, then. The Gaian god of the sky.
Danny reached the square and looked up at the tower. It stood about the same height as Colton’s, but had four faces instead of one. The western face had been blown out by the bomb, leaving behind jagged bits of glass like yellow fangs in a gaping mouth.
According to the report, mechanics had stabilized time using the power of the other three clock faces. If this had happened to Colton’s tower, with its sole face, the town wouldn’t be so lucky.
Police surrounded the tower. Citizens stood a short distance away, muttering among themselves. Danny watched them for signs of protest, but his eyes kept returning to the empty, faceless circle.
“What are you doing here?”
Danny jumped. A familiar mechanic stood across the street, glaring in his direction.
“Lucas,” Danny said stiffly.
Now the other auto made sense.
“I asked what you’re doing here,” Lucas demanded, eyes narrowing slightly. Danny had always thought his eyelashes were absurdly long for a bloke.
“I …” Danny couldn’t say he was on assignment, not with Lucas here already. “I have a friend here. I was checking up on him.”
Lucas smiled. It was the type of smile that didn’t mean nice things.
“You have a friend?”
“Har, you’re so clever. I also wanted to get a look at the tower.”
The smile shifted into a frown. “There’s no need. I’ve already had a look, and so have two others.” Lucas’s gaze dropped down to Danny’s chin. “Unless you think you’re the expert.”
Danny’s neck grew hot. “I’m curious,” he said, heading for the tower. Lucas blocked his path.
“It’s closed off. No one’s allowed inside.”
“Except for mechanics, right?”
Lucas grabbed his arm when Danny made to step around him. “You’re not a mechanic. You’re an apprentice disguised as a mechanic.”
Danny yanked his arm away. “Shove off.”
“What’s going on here?” A constable had come to see what the commotion was about. Lucas put on an innocent show.
“No trouble at all, Constable,” he said, flashing his teeth in a grin. Unlike Danny, Lucas kept his brown hair neatly trimmed, just bordering on austere. Lucas’s clothes were fresh and new, all crisp lines and gleaming buttons. Danny resisted the urge to run his fingers over the threadbare collar of his own shirt.
The officer grunted and moved away, already bored. If Danny had attempted that, he would’ve been hauled off.
There was something to say for looking like you had money.
“You’re not going to figure out anything we don’t already know,” Lucas muttered. “You think you can take some notes, report back to the Lead, and be showered with praise as usual? It’s not that simple. Why are you toadying up to him, anyway? You miss your dear old dad so much you need a replacement?”
Danny’s hands curled into fists, but he couldn’t do anything in full view of the constables. Instead, he imagined someone pummeling Lucas’s face until his teeth looked like the shards of glass above.
He was right, though. There was nothing to be done here that the others weren’t already doing.
Fuming, Danny turned to where his auto was parked. Lucas laughed at his back.
He bumped into someone on the street and mumbled an apology. Danny hesitated, then decided he might as well make one last effort. “Do you know anything about the tower?” The man shook his head. “You didn’t see anything unusual before it happened, or after?”
The man pushed his glasses up his nose. “Not that I recall.”
Danny made to turn away, but the man cleared his throat. “Wait, there was one thing. The night before, I was walking through the square on my way home. When I passed the tower, I thought I heard …”
“What?” Danny pressed.
“Well, it sounds silly, but I thought I heard someone crying.”
Danny’s head was spinning with too many thoughts, and suddenly the house around him felt too small. Grabbing his coat, he decided what he needed was a walk to stretch his legs and some conversation to stretch his mind.