Welcome to my very first Infernal Devices story. This story takes place between the first and second books and will continue on from there. I have added in my own character, but everyone else will stay the same for the most part. Enjoy 😊.

Will

The rain was cool against his face, and the wind whipped against his dark curls. His deep blue eyes stung with the cold and yet his horse rode on. For days he had been following his lead on Mortmain. It had taken him many miles from London and the Institute. None of the Council members had believed him when he had told them the tale he had overheard from a nixie in a Downworlder tavern. It had announced an opening in Mortmain's household at his temporary abode a few days ride out of London. Will, disguised with a few simple disillusionment runes, had taken the pamphlet and returned to the Institute.

When Charlotte read through the hand out Will had given her when he returned, it was obvious that she doubted Mortmain would openly advertise his location to the whole of the Downworld, especially because he knew that the Shadowhunters were on his tail. But Jem, who had been eyeing the paper from behind, spoke up.

"Turn it over." He said, and when all eyes turned to him in confusion he said again, "Turn the paper over, and read the conditions of employment."

Charlotte wearily turned it over, believing that nothing would change her mind. Her eyes widened as she skimmed the page. When she had finished she swallowed before reading aloud;

"No Shadowhunterps may be present unless they wish to suffer the most terrible of consequences. There are several tests one must pass if they wish to enter my services, and we will be able to whittle out your kind. To disguise yourself is pointless and for a Shadowhunter to come is suicide." She set down the paper, clearly debating their chances.

"I'm no asking anyone to risk their lives." said Will. He could tell that Charlotte was about to rejected his idea. "We need not show up to join his household, and he need not know we are even there. One of us can slip in under the cover of darkness and gather what information we can."

Seeing that he had convinced no one, Will tried again. "All I ask for is a chance, a chance to track him down." He met the eyes of everyone in the room pleading for their support: first Jem, his parabati, then Henry and Charlotte who had raised him since he had left his birth parents in order to distance himself from them, because of his curse.

"If I find him, I'll alert the Clave. I'll gather what information I can and return immediately." He said, looking around again, anxious for the opportunity. He had to do this, for Tessa. For Jem. And for their happiness, as well as his own.

Charlotte sighed and set the paper down. She stared at her hands as they rested on the table, and thought for a few moments. Finally she looked up at him, her mouth set into a firm line and her eyes looking sternly into his;

"Do what you have to do."

Will replayed the last moments before he left the institute over and over in his mind. He remembered vividly gathering things into a saddle bag and running to the stables in the dead of night. It had all seemed such a blur at the time but now he could recall it all in sharp detail. Lost in thought, he didn't notice the clouds parting and the rain slowing to a gentle drizzle. The evening was approaching but he was miles away from the nearest town and there was no where to stay between his current location and Mortmain's home.

Veering away from the path, Will led his horse into the nearby undergrowth, looking for a dry place to spend the night. The damp leaf litter underfoot meant they made almost no sound as they came to a clearing amongst the trees. Across the clearing, Will could see a well, about twenty metres or so from the trees behind it. Also behind the well, he could see a path leading further into the undergrowth, but what was on the other side, he did not know. What he did know, however, is that neither he nor his horse had drunk much throughout the day and now he had found a fresh water source close at hand.

Will slid silently from the horse, gripping the horse's reins firmly in his left hand, his right hovering by his belt where several seraph blades were hidden. Slowly and quietly, Will lead the horse around the edge of the clearing. The sun began to retreat as dusk set on the country side. By the time Will made it around the clearing, night had almost fallen. He set up a make-shift camp a few meters from the tree line, so he could see into the clearing but wouldn't be easily spotted.

He stopped and sat down, and as the adrenaline left his system a wave of tiredness crashed over him. Knowing it was unsafe to sleep in this strange environment, and that he may need to leave swiftly in case of danger, Will just applied some runes of sleeplessness and awareness. He would rest tomorrow.

The sky eventually grew dark and the animals stopped moving through the undergrowth. All was quiet. Will watched on from his safe place in the bushes. The runes were beginning to wear off and just as he was beginning to think about retiring to the camp to sleep, he heard voices coming from the path.

Instantly alert, he watched as a girls stepped from the path between the trees and into the clearing. She was alone, which Will thought was suspicious. She lowered a bucket into the well with her hands and pulled it up full of water. The well was obviously full from the rain that the afternoon had brought. He begun to think that there was nothing strange about the girl after all, until she started to sing. It began as a slow hum at first but then, as the words came they washed over him like fresh water from a mountain stream. He had only ever heard music this beautiful and cleansing when Jem played his violin. He longed to see her face, to see if it was as stunning as her voice, but it was to dark so he could only really make out her outline.

He moved to grab his stele from his jacket pocket, intending to apply a night vision rune to his collarbone, when another women appeared carrying a torch. The flames illuminated the other girl. She wasn't a tall girl, not like Tessa, but she couldn't be classified short either. She was thin and pale, and her hands were small and gentle looking. She had not one flaw on her skin, no freckles nor scars. Her lips were the deepest red, but naturally so, and her eyes were a luminous blue, lighter than his by far but just as striking. But it was none of these that surprised Will the most. What did surprise him was her hair. It was a bright blue, that stood out boldly against her pale complexion. It felt in waves that framed her face, and as she turned it gave the illusion of rippling water.

Will tore his eyes from the girl and tried to catch a few words of the conversation.

"Mr Mortmain wants you to meet him in his chambers miss." Said the older women.

"Do you know why, Miss Alyssa? " Asked the blue-haired girl.

"Couldn't say miss, but it sounded urgent."

"Very well, thank you Alyssa. Tell him I will be there shortly."

Alyssa, the older women, turned and retreated back down the path carrying the torch with her. The light dimmed as she grew further away and as the darkness returned Will watched the eyes of the girl by the well darken in dispair.

Stop it. He chided himself. Now is not the time to feel sorry for servants. Especially those familiar with Mortmain. Will smiled to himself and, leaving his horse behind, he crept through the bushes, following the girl with the blue hair to where he hoped he would find answers.

So, let me know what you think so far, I'm super excited for your feed back. I don't know when Chapter 2 will be out but it will definitely come eventually so stick with me! Check out my other stories based on the Mortal instruments while you wait! I'll see you all in the next chapter...