Okay. So this chapter doesn't have Magnus OR Clary in it; of course Magnus is mentioned... but yeah. Again it's a short one so i am forcing you just to deal with it! I do love you all though :)

Oh and i have GREAT NEWS (completely unrelated to this fic, but still great news!) I got an A in my R.S G.S.C.E which i did earlier this year! AAAAHHH! I'm such a happy bunny... but i am still petrified about doing the rest of them at the end of this school year.

SO SCARY! SO MUCH STRESS AND I'M ONLY 15!

BUT I'M SO HAPPY!

Anyways read on my fellow people :D


Chapter 9

Little did Luke know that the day after the attack Maryse Lightwood had stood in front of the destroyed building, confusion in her eyes.

The people who lived in this neighbourhood had reported an attack to the police. Needless to say, when they mentioned seeing a shield of light around the scene of the accident, and watching a wolf scale the wall to enter the upstairs apartment after screams of agony and pleas for help had been heard, the scout the Clave had in the NYPD had called the Lightwoods and so now a group of Shadowhunters were standing outside the building which was cordoned off by bright yellow tape.

No one had actually stepped a foot into the crime scene yet.

"Okay." Maryse said loudly, "Let's go in."

The group of six or seven Shadowhunters followed the woman in, past the remains of the front door, up the perfectly intact stairs, which was littered by shards of wood from the, now absent, front door of the apartment the attack was said to have taken place in. When they were inside, they saw something unlike anything they had before.

All of the windows had been smashed outwards, not even the frames that had held the glass remained. The television was almost unrecognisable as it lay in pieces on the floor. The beams that held up the ceiling were scorched, but still just intact. As they moved further in, they saw more.

In the kitchen all of the glass-doored cabinets had suffered the same fate as any of the glass in the apartment. All of the porcelain mugs and plates had also shattered, and crunched under their feet as they walked through.

No sooner had the group spread out, when a cry of shock and urgency could be heard coming from what Maryse assumed was the bedroom. She rushed away from the bathroom, where every tile on the wall had fallen and were cracked on the floor along with the shards of glass that had fallen from the mirror which hung above the sink; the contents of the cabinet were spilt everywhere, glitter and make up were scattered everywhere.

As soon as she stepped into the bedroom there was the unmistakable stench of blood, and lying before her eyes, covered in blood-soaked sheets of paper was a hunched body. On closer inspection, Maryse saw that this was the woman the neighbours had described entering the apartment after the 'shiny blue thing literally shattered'; not only that, but she had been seen around the neighbourhood before, always watching the man who lived in the upstairs apartment of the building.

Maryse knelt down and after brushing a piece of hair from the woman's face, looked down and saw the bite marks on her throat and noted the abnormal angle her neck was twisted.

She pulled her hand back, rocking on her heels, looking around her and mentally pinpointing the signs of a scuffle. Claw marks on the windowsill where the wolf had entered—a dent in the wall, directly opposite said window—and finally, when Maryse noticed that there were no other signs of conflict, she concluded that it had been a short fight, ending with the crashing into the book case and a rather brutally snapped neck.

She could see the scene play before her eyes.

But how did the 'attacked' fit into the scene and where was he now?

No one in the neighbourhood knew each other's names so that was significantly unhelpful.

But what they did know was that the pleas for help and the screams of agony had been from a man; of that, they were absolutely certain. From the damage, and the type of books in the apartment, Maryse didn't have to be experienced to know that it belonged to a Warlock.

So…

Was this warlock after him because he was powerful?

Did he have something she wanted?

Was it just revenge?

It must have been planned out if she had been around for a few years, observing him.

All of a sudden, Maryse had a striking thought; a possibly powerful warlock who lived in the city and had glitter and make-up in his bathroom cabinet.

"Kadir?" She called the man who had been the first to find the evidence.

"Yes?" He stepped forwards instantly.

Maryse had a bad feeling about this, but as she had observed the area between the window and the point of collision in the wall, something had caught her eye.

"How did the neighbours describe the man who lived here?" She kept her eyes focused on the piece of evidence which had prompted the question.

"Umm—from what little they saw of him, they said he was very tall, usually abnormally dressed, lots of make-up and uh—was very fond of his glitter apparently." Kadir snorted humorously as he spoke the last part.

Maryse simply sighed, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose.

A warlock, who lived in Brooklyn, was very fond of his glitter and make-up, dressed abnormally and could have been a target for many reasons.

Not many warlocks lived in the city, but out of those Maryse knew did, only one fit matched that description.

"Magnus."

"Sorry?" Kadir asked hesitantly.

Maryse stood and pointed to the patch of carpet she had been inspecting.

Kadir moved forwards and knelt. For a moment he didn't see anything but then—yes. He saw it. If he angled his body a certain way, the light caught the carpet just right and he could see a long indentation in the carpet, about the length of a person; a very tall person indeed, but that hadn't been what drew Maryse's attention. In the part of the indentation which seemed to be where his head would have rested, there was some glitter stuck to the strands of fabric.

"Very fond of his glitter indeed." Kadir muttered, looking up at Maryse who suddenly was on all fours, crawling slowly over to the window.

"Maryse—" He began cautiously, having never seen her act this way, but Maryse cut across him urgently.

"Kadir, did any of the neighbours see anyone leave after the commotion?"

"Well, they did say that they think they saw a figure enter the building soon after."

"What?" Maryse snapped her head up, her eyes widened in shock.

"Well, they said they might have, they told me that it was difficult to tell as there was so much panic, and that it was a fleeting glance, but they may have seen someone go inside."

"May have." Maryse muttered, rubbing her eyes tiredly, every bone in her body ached and she'd been feeling like she was going to be sick all day. "Well, did they see anyone leave after going in?"

"Yes, they said they saw a few people leave, but they assumed they lived here and were fleeing from the scene. Some they recognised, some they didn't. Apparently no one in this building is particularly sociable and people in this area are quite dim-witted. Why do you ask?" Kadir asked exasperatedly.

"Did they describe any of them?" Maryse pushed, still not looking at who she was speaking.

"Umm, a few people were cloaked but one man they could see clearly was said to be not short, not tall; more like stocky and bulky—"

"Did he have brown hair?" Maryse looked up at him, questions burning in her eyes.

"Yes, yes I think they mentioned that." Kadir said confusedly, recalling his conversation with the neighbours earlier that day.

"Then, I think we may have what we need." Maryse said as she cautiously picked a brown piece of hair from the carpet. "How soon can we enlist the help of a warlock?"


RUH ROH! SO Maryse is looking for Magnus... hmmm well that should end well... or not... you'll have to wait and see.

I have to tell you though that i may not be able to write tomorrow as i am loading the car to travel to Marton, Yorkshire... yay.

I am not a happy bunny anymore. I am a sad bunny. :(

But reviews may cheer me up... :)

Love you all so much

From

Alicia

xxxx