No, the last thing she cared about was whether people were staring at the boy and girl kissing by the river, as London, its cities and towers and churches and bridges and streets, circled all about them like the memory of a dream. And if the Thames that ran beside them, sure and silver in the afternoon light, recalled a night long ago when the moon shone as brightly as a shilling on this same boy and girl, or if the stones of Blackfriars knew the tread of their feet and thought to themselves: At last, the wheel comes full circle, they kept their silence… -Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Princess
Chapter 1: London Again
March, 2013
Early morning light filtered in from the high windows of No. 6 Cheyne Walk, illuminating two figures resting on a chaise lounge in the drawing room. James Carstairs ran his fingers through the brown curls of Tessa Carstairs's, nee Gray, hair. The jade pendant around her throat sparkled in the light and he smiled to himself.
"What are you smiling about?" Tessa inquired, looking up from her book to raise a brow at Jem.
"Just because I'm happy," Jem replied honestly, twirling a curl absently around his finger. Tessa's eyes widened, her mouth open to ask about what, when Jem asked her a question of his own. "What are we doing in London again?" the dark haired boy asked, his equally dark eyes shadowed from the light, a halo around his head.
Tessa grinned. "Just because I wish to be."
It had been five years since they had left London together to travel the world. Their first stop had been China, at Jem's insistence and Tessa's eagerness. Jem had wanted Tessa to see the place of his birth, and Tessa had secretly wanted to see it herself. They had spent two years there, been married there. Their next stop had been two years' worth of island hopping in Asia and the South Pacific, a type of 'honeymoon'. The past year had been visiting tourist spots. Rome, Athens, Madrid, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Johannesburg. Not technically in that order, but they had found themselves in London in February.
In all honesty, Tessa just wanted to relax in a place she knew and was familiar with. Unbeknownst to her and Jem, Magnus had held onto the place Woolsey Scott and he had shared for a little while, not for sentimental value, he had assured them, but rather for a steady income. He rented it to mundanes, Downworlders, and Shadowhunters alike. Its newest tenants were Jem and Teasa, but Magnus let them stay for free, 'out of the goodness of his heart', as he put it.
"Oh, come on," Jem said. "You've got to give me more than that!"
"Like you're one to talk," Tessa said, a giggle bubbling up in her throat. She sat up and kissed Jem softly, just a brush of lips, but it was enough. Jem dropped the topic like a grenade and pulled Tessa close, kissing her properly, his fingers tangling in her hair once again. Tessa let herself be pulled in by Jem completely, until…
A bright flash of fiery blue light enveloped the room. Tessa and Jem jumped apart like a shot, both on their feet in an instant.
Magnus stood at the door, dressed in a tight black t-shirt and blue jeans, multi-color sequined shoes on his feet. Altogether, it was quite a 'normal' outfit, for Magnus Bane, anyways. He looked at the both of them and then, without a word, turned on his heel, marching down the hall to the front door. Tessa and Jem, glancing at each other, hurried after him in silent agreement.
Something was very wrong.
Before they even reached the front door, Magnus reappeared after having checked all the rooms.
"Sorry to ruin your day," he said, "but I need to use this space."
"It is your house," Tessa found herself saying. "It's yours to use however you wish, whenever you wish."
Seemingly pleased at this response, Magnus nodded, heading back toward the drawing room. For the second time that day, light erupted from the drawing room. This time, Tessa noted, it was green. Immediately following the light was a loud thump, some scurrying, and a cry of "Magnus!"
Said warlock dashed back into the room and Tessa heard humid gasp, frozen in the doorway. Tessa, followed by Jem, crept up behind Magnus, peering over his shoulder. The scene that met her eyes was one that Tessa would have a hard time forgetting.
A girl with long black hair and black eyes stood in the middle of the drawing room, green light dancing around her fingers, staring at Magnus. She was heavily glamoured, but Tessa could see through the haze that covered every visible inch of her skin. Underneath the glamour, her skin was a light green, the color of the spearmint gum that Tessa was growing increasingly fond of.
"Magnus," the girl said in an exhale, her voice shaky but low. Though there was a difference, it was definitely the voice that had called out before. "Magnus, you have to help him! Please! He's not responding to any of my attempts to heal him and he simply…" She gestured pitifully to the lounge Jem and Tessa had evacuated not five minutes before.
On it laid a boy with blonde hair, streaked with natural highlights and red. Only later would Tessa realize that it was blood. Yet, there were two things Tessa was aware of at the moment. One was that the front of the boy's shirt was liberally soaked in blood. He was dying. The second thing was that he was a vampire. And, in the full light of day shining through the windows, he wasn't turning to ash.