Will

I scowled, crossing my arms as everyone paced around the room, desperately searching for answers. I couldn't help but groan aloud, rolling my head and eyes as I do so, sending fire from my eyes toward them. They all glared back at me, annoyed that I could even possibly be asking this way.

Tessa's eyes caught mine, straight away, blinking rapidly. "Will you stop, Will?"

This time, I exploded into laughter before them. Everyone's eyes grew even narrower than before. Jem was the only one that had a sense of optimism in his. Even my little sister, Cecily, looked as if she was ready to tear off my head. I returned the expression to her, which led for her to turn away. "No, I believe I can't. Because none of you see it, do you? We are being set up, ready to fight the death with Mortmain."

Everyone gaped at me now, some mouths falling, some eyes bulging, and a couple of eyebrows raising. I sighed, throwing myself up out of my chair and walked toward the fireplace, resting my elbow on the mantle. Every pair of eyes were on me, waiting in utter silence. I liked that sound, but I forced myself to speak. "We all know that Mortmain wants Tessa, for some strange reason, and he wants to destroy all Shadowhunters. So, why wouldn't he start an uprising within the Downworld and ready us to die? The Clave cannot blame us for this odd revolution, which we didn't even know how we started it, so let's think about this clearly. There is a man out there that's wants something that we have, all the while trying to kill everybody. Now, Downworld wants all of us dead. Who would start something like that, if they didn't have to do the dirty work?"

Charlotte's eyes brightened as I spoke, finally taking in my words as a decent kind. She raised her small hand, keeping all of us quiet. "Of course you are right, Will! How could I not think of that?"

"Probably because you were so distressed about the total fault thrown upon you, Charlotte," Jem said to her in his most of gentle voice, giving her a light reassuring pat on the arm. Charlotte beamed at him, touched her pregnant belly, and glanced up to Henry. "You don't suppose we should try to contact the Clave? Before any of this gets out of hand?"

"Of course, my dear," Henry said, taking her small arm and keeping it close to him. Ever since Charlotte grew deeper into her pregnancy, Henry had been throwing his attention on her more often, even if it was against his character.

With Charlotte and Henry exiting the room, everyone's eyes fell onto Jessamine's. She was expertly tied to the chair, kept against her will, and her fearful eyes fell upon everyone, and lastly on Tessa. "Please let me out, Tessa."

Tessa's face grew weary, but she kept it as strong as she could. "It's my decision to do, Jessie. I'm dearly sorry."

Jessamine snorted, no longer having contact with anyone. She puffed out a single splotch of air before bearing her eyes into the floor. Gideon and Gabriel focused only on each other, speaking in whispers, and Jem lightly touched Tessa's cheek in an affectionate way. I couldn't look at the love they were expressing, so I decided to turn on my sister instead. She looked disgusted when I faced her, and I held in my smirk, returning the look once again. She huffed and stomped out of the room, not allowing anyone to stop her. I rolled my eyes, shuffling out of another door and roaming down the hall. I didn't want to face Tessa having eyes for someone else. I could handle it when I was somewhat distracted, but not when I had nothing to do or say. So, instead, I decided to go on a walk.

Wrapping the coat closer around my body, I titled my down so no one could see my face. I didn't bother using a glamour rune; it was the middle of the night, no one would take any interest in me. A few wanderers, like me, passed, but we made no contact, not even an exchange of looks. We only went by each other, almost like we didn't exist. Little did the mundanes know, I technically didn't. They knew nothing of what I was, so in my mind, I didn't exist to them. I was only completely invisible, until something marked their interest about me. On this night, though, I was entirely invisible to the mundane world, so I moved on, focusing on where I was heading.

I found the little place without any trouble, hidden around a corner and resembling an old run down apartment building that belonged to the very poor. The hinges were tearing off and the wooden pieces were falling off. With a quick push of my eyes closed, and then open again, I went past the glamour and saw what the place really was: The Eating Harpy. The place was bustling, lights and sounds coming from inside, this time looking much like an old saloon you found out in America. But, this place, it had a different feel to it. I knew most Shadowhunters didn't dare go in here, it was restricted for Downworlders, unless the Shadowhunter was affiliated with them in some way. I kept myself covered, using a little of the glamour rune, enough to cover my marks. I inhaled, deeply, and pushed open the front door.

It was rather crowded on the inside, only a few eyes heading in my direction, before turning back to whatever they were doing. I was thankful that I wasn't the cause for attention, especially since some Downworlders could sense a Nephilim coming from miles away. Luckily, those ones weren't in here.

I made my way to the bar, a few fairies and vampires laughing amongst each other. One of the pretty fairies, full human-sized, eyed me with her pretty orange pair, and spoke to me, her voice a little too high for her shape. "What's your name, pretty boy? I've never seen you before."

"I'm new," I said, quietly, hoping that she would become bored and turn away. I had detected correctly. She shrugged and went back to what she was talking about. I exhaled some air in relief, happy that I didn't have to deal with these people. I was only here to listen.

The bartender took my order, giving me a pint of ale, and to my surprise, it was sparked with some fairy herbs. I could feel my mind spinning already, trying to find distinct things here. Some fairy herbs were famous for making you hallucinate, and forget many things, which I have been taught to do, so I knew how much I could take. I made myself stir it and pretend like I was drinking sips as I went. The best way to act new was exactly that; act new, and no one would bother you, all because they would believe that you haven't done this before and taking it slow.

I took a peek to the side of the bar to my left and found a few men at a gambling table, roaring at each other and some being a tad bit violent. My eyes almost bulged when I saw that some were demons themselves; two with electric green eyes and the other with literal smoke appearing from his black pair. I winced at the thought of them attacking when I was mainly unarmed. There was a single man, around my age, that was playing with them and immediately, I knew he was out of place. Wearing a long green shirt, unbuttoned at the top, and black trousers, his red orange hair stood out from them all, and I found myself meeting with his emerald green eyes. Deep down in the crypt of his soul, I knew he wasn't any of us. He wasn't a Downworlder, Demon, or Shadowhunter. He was mundane. He flicked his eyes away from me, picking himself back up in the game.

"He goes by the name of Peter," the bartender said in front of me, startling me so that I nearly fell out of my seat. He didn't seem bothered by it at all, still eyeing the strange mundane he said was called Peter. "He has been showing up for the last couple of nights. Strange kid, he doesn't smell at all like any of us." The bartender's gleaming red eyes fell on me next. "Actually, neither do you."

I slowly crept out of my seat, pulling myself into a distant corner. I should have known that the bartender was a demon from the beginning, but he seemed normal at first. The sense of smell must have kicked in his demon attributes. Some of those damn demons could turn themselves into humans, or taking over a human's body. He had to be one of the two in this case.

"I have no idea what I'm going to do," I heard a vampire hiss at a few fairies and demons. His eyes roamed around the room, exaggerating his speech. "The Magister told me that I should bring my clan together, but I don't have the thoughts that this uprising will work."

My ears and mind perked up, leaning against a door, casually, as I pretended to sip more of my drink. I didn't directly look at the group, but I kept my ears tuned in. Better not get caught watching as they speak.

One of the fairies, a peculiar boy that had webbing on his hands and feet, and was most green. Maybe he was related to harpies. "The Queen wants us to do what the Magister says. It may be best for all of us if we got Shadowhunters out of our lives. We would live free and however we liked!"

My blood spiked a few pumps more, sending my cheeks to burn in fury. But, pushing my conscious back, I held myself still. If I at all spoke, they would know what I really was. I would be dead. And I would come back empty-handed. How do I always end up convincing myself to get into stuff like this?

One the demons, resembling the likes of an ancient dinosaur on the down-size, had his own voice to speak this time. "I think we should attack now. It's the middle of the night, they would never suspect a thing. We could crash through the gates and tear the place down, tearing them limb from limb. I have always to do so on a Nephilim, especially that sickly looking one."

That was it. They were now talking about killing Jem, my parabatai, so of course my cry was an excellent outburst, but I should have contained myself. Unfortunately, I didn't. "He is twice the man you'll ever be, demon." I spat, throwing in a Welsh insult to swarm to him.

The demon slowly stood up, pushing him back away from the table before he did so, and some of the others followed him after. "What did you say?" When I stayed silent, he asked another. "Who are you?"

The bartender, watching us from afar, sniffed the air and froze in fright. Then, soon after he dissolved his fear, decided to scream out: "SHADOWHUNTER!", pointing directly at me.

Every snarl, growl, and hiss came after me, all the while creatures were roaring toward me. I noted that there weren't many werewolves, since those were our closest allies, but the wanderers of the groups were indeed here. I didn't feel so small as I felt my marks return. I pulled out the only seraph blade I hid in my jacket, whispered the ancient name, and it burst into flames in front of me. I smiled, one so evil that I caught sight of some of the creatures cringing. "You will die, little Shadowhunter," the demon that I yelled at said to me as he stumbled closer.

My demeaning glare fought to seize him, so when it didn't, I used my words. Everyone has told me that my words can be my best weapon. "Not before I slash you into different dimensions, bloody damn demon."

The thing shrieked, sending him to have horns and spikes explode out of his clothes and practically came all over his body. I gulped, but I didn't let anyone see, or hear me, do so. I kept my piercing glare on them all, snarling in return.

Some green flashed before me, encircling the demon, and I saw the demon crash to the floor, black ichor seeping from his body. I watched the boy named Peter land on his feet, swiftly, using a napkin to wipe the ichor off his single unsheathed knife. My eyes grew wide when the demon disappeared in thin air, leaving some black ash behind. Even the creatures gazed at him, dumbfounded, which I took the opportunity to slash another demon near me. He screamed in peril, and that's when the others finally reacted. Many creatures dove after me, possibly Peter too, but I fought my way off, at least well enough that I could slip out of the door. I saw Peter racing down the street, and when I called after him, he only looked at me before disappearing into an alley. From inside the bar, I heard a yell rise within. "Bring your armies! Let's kill them for once and for all!"

I pushed myself so hard when I raced back to the Institute, not caring if they were irritable with their sleep. I barged into everyone's rooms, telling them to meet in the library, immediately, because I had very important news. I explained everything to them, and with expected yells from Charlotte, everyone, including Cecy and Tess and Jessamine, dressed for battle.

We all moved down the front steps in unison, finding that London was as quiet as we had always feared. Charlotte glanced at me, scornfully, and I only glanced away. I know what I had witnessed. They were coming.

Just as before everyone decided nothing was going to happen, the air picked up, becoming windy and slightly cold. It was the oddest thing for us to see, even for London, and suddenly, Tessa screamed. When we turned around, we found a giant dark cloud with purple sparks seizing toward us. We had no time to do anything about it, except allow ourselves to be swallowed into it. With no preparation, I was spinning in the air, hearing Tessa scream beside me and Jem grasping my hand. I did the same for Tessa, looking into her eyes one last time before darkness fell upon all of us.

My eyes opened to find trees in my vision. Puzzled, I sat up, feeling my body ache. In surprise, we were indeed in the middle of heavy forest, one that had very few sounds. I had never seen a wild forest like this since I was in Wales, so I knew that we were no longer in London. Were we even in England?

Everyone did wake up soon after myself, and I was happy when I saw that each person was here; Tessa, Jem, Cecily, Charlotte, Henry, Gideon, Gabriel, and Jessamine. We didn't lose anybody, which was good.

"Where are we?" Tessa asked, and I suppressed a grin, to myself. Tessa and her always asking questions. Typical.

Charlotte was the first to raise to her feet, which we all followed. Her eyes traced all over the trees, earth, and sky. Even the confusion on her face was readable. She faced the others, her expression filled with dread. "I have no idea."

Prince James, the son of King George, watched the group of strange intruders walking through the open part of the forest, speaking amongst each other. He had an arrow strung, pulled back, and aimed toward the one with sapphire blue eyes. Prince James had no idea who these people were, and what they were doing in his kingdom, but when he saw some of them pull out swords that blazed with fire, he put his weapon. Clearly, these people were not from around here. Just as Prince James was becoming concerned, a voice appeared from behind him.

"Newcomers. Shall you tell your father, James?"

James turned around to find the man who always found frightening, even when he was a child, not matter how much his father put his faith in him. Rumplestiltskin stood before him, nearly cackling with desire. James thought for a moment, gazing back at the strange people before saying, "Yes, I think that's what it comes down to."