Chapter 3
The next morning, there were two thrones in the Seelie Court throne room. They were both mirrors of each other, one black with bright red flowers climbing up the back and arms, and one white with blue flowers as vivid as the day sky.
Midnight knelt to the ground, letting the little vines wrap around her bare toes, the leaves ticking the bottoms of her feet. The royals of the Courts would not be at all happy if they arrived and found her not kneeling. Last time she did that, they decided that she would be whipped and let some of the Unseelie faeries feed on her blood.
Luckily, the disgusting creatures died once her blood got into their system, convulsing until their own green blood flooded from their orifices. She had been so riddled with pain that she had started to laugh as they choked and gurgled to their deaths.
There were a lot of deaths that she regretted. But those Unseelie faeries, she didn't.
The shush of cloaks brushing against leaves alerted her to the King and Queen's presence. They mounted the dais and seated themselves in their thrones, the King in the black and the Queen in the white.
"Rise, Lady Midnight," the King intoned. His voice was deep and rumbling, sending chills racing along her skin.
She did as he bid, lifting her chin. The King leaned his chin on an open palm, his all black eyes studying her. His white hair fell in a straight river, with little braids with black beads framing his long, angular face.
"We need you to retrieve something," the Queen said, tossing her scarlet hair over a shoulder. She leaned forward, a dark smile pulling at her lips.
"We believe it to be one of the Shadowhunter Institutes. It's a jewel necklace, a pair of them with a crown as well. They used to belong to the Fair Folk," the King continued, inspecting his razor sharp nails.
"And what do this jewelry do?"
"Oh, it enhances the power of the wearer, of course. They're for you."
Midnight frowned a little. "How will I know what Institute is hiding these things?"
"You will have to look through the New York Institute. They will have the information. Here is a picture."
The King held out a slip of paper. Making sure not to make direct eye contact, Lady Midnight ascended the dais, taking the offered paper. His hand wrapped around her wrist. He tugged her even closer, so she knelt at his legs, his knees pressing into her chest. "It is most important that you retrieve this, my dear Lady Midnight," the King whispered. He cupped her cheek and kissed Midnight on the lips, claiming her lips for his own.
The Queen chuckled as Midnight froze. She couldn't refuse him, he was the King, but she really wanted to push away from him, to cut him with her dagger until he bled out into the vining plants in the ground. The King slipped his tongue between her lips, making her shudder in disgust. It was so perverse. She couldn't understand how lovers kissed like this. It was so disgusting. How could it feel pleasurable?
The King pulled away, smiling secretively. "Go now, Lady Midnight. Return soon."
The words sounded like a promise. Gritting her teeth, she left the throne room, leaving Faerie and let the mortal world engulf her with its constant sounds. She wiped her mouth against her hand, trying to rid the sickly sweet taste of the King from her tongue.
Spitting on the ground, she Changed, into an ordinary man, one that would blend in into the crowd easily. Her baggy clothes filled and tightened as her shoulders broadened, her legs grew longer, her arms thicker. Since she shape-changed so often, Midnight took to wearing really baggy clothes, so that it could fit any person relatively well, male or female.
Wearing a man's shape was very different. It was strange feeling the swing of shoulders instead of the swing of hips. But Midnight had spent enough time in a man's shape to truly act like one and appear as one, as long as she could touch their personalities. This face however, was just one of her fabricated faces. She had the werewolf girl, a dark haired vampire boy, two human faces male and female, a faerie, even a warlock with black bat wings. Shadowhunters she could not fabricate however. The detailing of the Marks always betrayed her. But if she had a picture of an already existing Nephilim, only then could she produce an exact copy.
She merged in with the flow of people. She wandered the city a bit, taking casual glances at everything. New York was like an art deco painting, all black, gray and white, with straight symmetric lines. But Midnight didn't particularly love New York. There was too much smog, too many people, too many cars, too much of everything. Were all cities like this? She wondered to herself.
Midnight stopped at a café, picking up a bagel and tea. She sunk her teeth into the bread, tearing it and chewing slowly. Mortal food was so much better than faerie food. It was so much more substantial, actually filling your stomach instead of leaving that feeling of emptiness but no hunger.
After putting it off as long as possible, she found the Institute, her eyes seeing right through the glamour. She had to admit that it was beautiful, in an old Gothic novel way. She knew it was empty at the moment, all of the New York Shadowhunters out investigating the Maia Roberts incident. If she had been thorough in her planning, there would be no way for Maia to wriggle out of this. She had no alibi, no one could support her innocence. She would be killed by the Shadowhunters. And in revenge, the wolves would attack the Shadowhunters. How wonderful, she thought sarcastically.
She changed back into herself, or the face that suited Lady Midnight, and touched the Institute door. It opened under her touch. Her steps echoed as she slowly walked into the middle of the foyer. The first thing she did was look in the display cases. There was no necklace or crown that looked like the one in the picture.
Cursing the King and Queen for not giving her enough information she found her way to the library. Lady Midnight tried not to marvel at the sight of so many books, just waiting to be opened. Everything in her wanted to sit down at one of the tables, grab a book and hole up for a while.
Sighing to herself, she wandered the library. She passed by the Gray Book and stopped. Maybe the log of magical items was near it. Her eyes roamed the titles, decoding the looping script of foreign titles, her fingers grazing the bindings. Then she found it.
It was titled The Extensive Encyclopedia of Magical Items. She pulled it from its place and placed it on a nearby table, sitting down and opening it. A plume of dust rose from the yellowed pages, making her cough. Midnight found a section called Downworld Magical Items. She found the crown and necklaces, on a page titled "The Dark Artifices".
The crown and necklaces had belonged to Mab, a Faerie Queen. Next to the finely sketched versions of them, it said: these pieces of jewelery enhance the magical power of the wearer and can make one invulnerable.
But that didn't explain why there were two necklaces. Maybe the power came from the second wearer, they becoming a siphon of power for the other. That would be considered dark. But artifice… What did that mean?
A door slammed. Midnight jerked from her reverie. What was she going to do? What was going to leave the least tracks?
Fishing out her phone, she took quick pictures of the page. That would have to do. She looked at them. She would be able to zoom in, if she downloaded them onto a computer and took a better look.
Footsteps approached, just outside of the library door. Oh crap, she thought. They're here. Why did I take so long? Why did I have to procrastinate coming here?
The Lightwoods entered the room, Alec telling some joke to his sister, when they saw their mother sitting at the table, reading a book.
"Mom? Wha- What are you doing here?" Alec asked.
Lady Midnight, as Maryse Lightwood, tilted her head. "What do you mean, what am I doing here, Alexander?"
"You were away on Clave business, I thought it was an extended trip in Idris," Isabelle said.
"Well, I had some time to spare, so I Portalled here to see my children. Can't I do that?"
Maryse stood, shaking wayward black hairs from her face. Isabelle frowned slightly at her clothing. Her mother usually never dressed so, well, sloppish. She didn't think that her mother owned a pair of sweatpants. Well, people changed. Especially Maryse after her divorce, even though it had been mutual.
Alec smiled crookedly and went to hug his mother. He didn't notice how she slightly hesitated to hug him, awkwardly patting his back. Isabelle ruefully let a smile form and hugged her as well. She pressed her face into her mother's neck, drawing comfort from her smell; clean laundry, sweat and the slight floral smell of her perfume. She felt like she needed it, with the whole Maia situation. Their end of their investigation went cold at the Praetor Lupus. Alec left again, to find his parabatai at the pack bookstore.
Clary and Simon were going to Maia's apartment. Even though she had long gotten over her main jealousies with Clary, Isabelle was a bit envious of the two of them. They were closer than ever since they decided to become parabatai.
Mayrse's hand went to her pocket. She sighed. "Sorry Isabelle, it seems that my time is up. I have to go back to Idris."
Isabelle muttered an "its okay" and left for her room. The fake Maryse sighed. Lady Midnight left the library quickly and exited the Institute. As she merged again with the crowd of continuous pedestrians, she released the Change, her skin melting back into her chosen skin. Finding an internet café, she logged on as a guest, and plugged in her phone. Her images popped up, and she zoomed in on the page. Underneath the description, there was a history.
First resided in the New York Institute.
Last sighting: Los Angeles Institute.
Looked like she was going to the City of Angels.
