The moonlight barely lit the paved streets of New York. Tessa didn't mind, having wandered these same streets for many nights. She had the appearance of an average 19 year old girl, and yet the inhabitants of the city, even the slimy perverts that haunted the alleys, never approached her. Even without a glamour, Tessa was rarely approached. Mundanes, she thought, sensed magic even when they do not realize. She felt oddly surprised at herself, as if thrown back to the time when she was truly 19, and still felt that strong connection to the humans she encountered. But her life had been long, and the world had changed her.
The shadows were full of whispers that night. Murdered... All of them? Valentine slaughtered them. They say that their mouths were torn open, screaming. The entire Silent City.
Tessa's pace slowed. Her errand forgotten as her mind processed the conversations surrounding her. Murdered? Oh dear God... The Silent Brothers. Jem.
He was never Brother Zachariah to her. In some way, he would always be her frail and beautiful boy, silver and full of light. Could Valentine have killed all of them? Maybe not. No, of course not! Tessa wasn't as naive as she once was, but somehow she knew that Jem couldn't be dead. A world without him wasn't possible.
She was back to her home without even knowing that she was headed that way. She had never done anything like this, at least not for Jem. But she had to know.
She clutched the jade pendent at her throat. She desperately dug for that tiny flicker of him, hoping that her own presence had not overwhelmed it. She pushed past the spark remaining of Jem's mother, and clung to an oddly familiar presence.
The change, which usually came over her easily, was a slight struggle. She had never transformed into a Brother before, and it was odd. Peaceful, lonely, and most of all overwhelmingly quiet. Tessa let go of the change with a sigh of relief.
Alive.
