The moment she woke up she knew she had slept too long. Looking out the window, Tessa knew it was afternoon. Slowly she rose to her feed, wondering why nobody had woken her. She knew they needed her help in finding Mortmain and that Charlotte searched day and night in newspapers and in the archives of the Silent Brothers to find a hint where he could be. Since weeks Charlotte had dark rings under her eyes, no one slept well these days. It was a miracle she had slept so long today. Tessa dressed herself, made her hair and then, finished doing so, stepped out in the hallway.
It was silent, she knocked at Jem's door and as no reply came, just stepped in. He wasn't here. Maybe in the drawing room, she thought. As she saw that there wasn't anybody either, Tessa got concerned. At least Charlotte should have been here. She opened a window, maybe the fresh air would help her think clear. For a short moment she thought she'd seen a glimpse of metal in the yard. But it was gone as fast as it came, maybe she had just imagined it. She closed the window and made her way to the kitchen. Perhaps Sophie or Bridget could tell her where the others were. No one there. Slowly she really got scared. They could have an emergency, some demons in London, that sort of things, Tessa told herself.
The Institutes summoning bell rang. Tessa's first thought was that Charlotte, Henry, Jem and Will were back. But why would they rang the bell? They could just go in. Someone who wants to speak to the Nephilim? She wasn't a shadowhunter, so why should she open the door?
At the end her curiosity won. Walking down the stairs to the doors, she wondered, again, who it could be. She opened the door. She could see how an automaton was going through the gates and then vanished in the heart of London. Tessa was scared and shocked. Her mind was whirling. What does that mean? Why did the automaton rang and then just went away?Tessa stood there a long time. She had halfway closed the doors, as she saw a piece of paper, laying on the Institutes steps. A letter. It was addressed to the „Dearest Ms. Gray". She froze, it could only be Mortmain. Who else? She opened the letter and read:
„Miss Gray,
If you want to save your little shadowhunter friends, you better come to the old warehouse in Mincing Lane. You should know where that is, your brother died there. And wasn't that because of you?
You have an hour after reading this letter.
A.M."
Without thinking she had put on her gear she weared when she trained with Gideon and Sophie, had grabbed some weapons, mostly daggers and throwing knives, from the weapons room and had started walking.
Now she was in front of the old warehouse and memories of the last time here rose in her mind.
Nate dyingin her arms,
Jem falling off the automaton's back,
Will's back full of metal shreds.
She shook her head to clear her mind and made fists to stop her hands from shaking.
Perhaps she should have called the Clave, but she wasn't a shadowhunter. Would they have helped her, if she had asked? There was no going back now, the hour was nearly over.
Slowly she opened the door, a dagger in her hand, and stepped in.