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-The Art of Moar

2. A Bond stronger than Blood

Emma came out of the shower dressed in her training gear. She was towelling off the last of the water from her blonde hair and perched on the bed beside Jules. In his hands was a sketchpad she had bought for his birthday. He had cleaned himself up whist she had been in the shower; he was now dressed in a clean green button-down shirt and paint splatted jeans.

Jules watched her and then looked back down at his sketchpad and winced.

"Not upsetting you, am I?" Emma asked. Jules closed the sketchpad and slid it under his bed.

"No. I'm working on a sketch and I can't seem to get it right." Jules said. "Something's missing."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I'm the best person to discuss art with. My last attempt ended in disaster."

Jules laughed softly. "You didn't have to set fire to the canvas Em."

Emma playfully pushed him on the arm. "It was the only way to assert my dominance over that stickman." Emma said throwing the towel in the laundry bin. "Besides, my runes are pretty decent."

"Decent but not pretty." Jules replied sharply. Emma was about to retort when the door behind them knocked frantically. Emma stood up and pointed at Jules.

"I'll get you back for that." She smiled. Jules was the only one who ever insulted her like that. They always took shots at each other but they never meant any of it. If anyone dared speak to Jules like she did, she would have them in a headlock before they could say 'Shadowhunter'.

Emma opened the door to see Dru and Tavvy. Tavvy was squirming in her arms, his face an ice creamy mess. Dru smiled at her, she was dressed in pink shorts and a yellow top. Her sapphire eyes seemed to shine in the midday sun as if they had just come out of the ocean. Her brown hair was recently cut short into a choppy mess. It suited her, Emma thought.

"Emma!" Tavvy called. He reached out for her.

"Hey Em, is Jules in there?"

Jules appeared behind her. She could feel his hot breath on her neck; it made her shiver even though she wasn't cold.

"Why hello there." He smiled. His brown locks fell over his blue-green eyes. "It finally happened Emma, a girl called for me. I feel like the most popular boy at Prom."

Dru rolled her eyes. "Ty refuses to meet the new people and I'm pretty sure I heard an explosion come from his room." She said. Emma and Jules looked at each other and then back at Dru. Tavvy was playing with her hair and laughing.

"He better not be playing with bombs again. Oscar has never been the same since last time." Jules said. Emma remembered Oscar the cat coming out of Ty's room black from used gunpowder. Since then he and Ty have had a special hatred reserved for each other.

"Well Livvy's downstairs talking to the new people and Ty's not moving." Dru said. She glanced a pointed look to Ty's room.

Jules looked to Emma and smiled. She felt a lurch in her stomach and smiled back. "I'll get Livvy."

Dru watched Jules as he jogged down the hallway and to the stairs. She set Tavvy on the floor and took his small hand in hers.

"You okay Emma?" She said.

"Hmm." She replied. Dru smiled a little. Her face was starting to lose the last of its baby fat, pretty soon she'd share the Blackthorn look. Sharp face, blue-green eyes.

"Your eyes… They've gone all wide."

Emma touched the area around her eyes. She hadn't cried since she lost her parents five years ago. "I got shampoo in my eyes." She said quickly.

Dru nodded. "That's the worst."

"It is." She replied. Emma followed Drusilla and Tavvy down the hallway and then down the stairs. She always thought of the Los Angeles institute as her home, as long as she was here then everything was safe. It was comforting and the Blackthorns were like her family. Jules even more so.

Parabatai. A bond stronger than blood.

But what if you made a mistake in who you picked?

Emma shook her head. It was no good living in the past; Jules was her best friend and Parabatai, who could ask for more in a person?

Emma jumped the last steps to the ground floor. The foyer was a long rectangular room with a set of double doors leading to the outside and white marble pillars that spread along the outer wall.

Christina was hugging a tall Hispanic boy. He was older than her and very handsome. He shared the same dark hair as Christina and honey brown eyes. He was slender with broad shoulders and a smile full of affection. Livvy was talking to him and blushing. Jules looked between them and hid a laugh as a cough.

Beside them was a boy watching them awkwardly. What struck Emma about him was he had the potential to be handsome, if he were slightly different. He was small but muscled with dirty blonde hair and eyes a sickly shade of green and yellow. He was dressed in Shadowhunter gear like the Hispanic boy and had a duffle bag around his shoulders.

He nodded briefly at Emma and Dru before watching the hugging Christina again. Jules whispered something to Livvy and she kissed him on the cheek.

"Hey Em." She said as she strolled past them and up the wooden stairs.

Emma made her way over to the group. Christina detached herself from the boy and tuned to Emma and Jules. Dru was blushing. She could see why, from up close he was even more attractive with his rumpled black hair and white teeth.

"Emma, Jules. This is Jaime Rosales, my cousin."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Christina goes on and on about you in her letters. I look forward to being a ward here." He smiled. Emma couldn't help smiling back at his friendliness. Jaime waved at Dru who was blushing wildly.

"I'm going to take Tavvy to his room." She said. She almost ran from the foyer with Tavvy giggling behind her. Emma watched as they leapt up the stairs reminding her of a gazelle running from a lion.

Jaime pointed at them both. "Emma Carstairs and Julien Blackthorn, right?"

Emma nodded. Jules broke out into a grin.

"Yeah," He replied. "But I'm only Julien when I'm in trouble." He looked Jaime up and down. "Sorry, this might be a bit rude but why are you covered in water?"

Jaime put his hand at the back of his head and shared a look with the other boy. He was still watching them silently. Christina smiled at him and his eyes widened before looking away shyly.

"We were kind of thrown in a pond when we were portaled in. The warlock though it might be funny." Jaime said.

"At least the pond sprites were friendly." The other boy said. He stood straighter. He had purple bags under his eyes that popped out in contrast to his pale skin. He moved a little closer to the group but still retained a cautious distance.

"I'm Silas Ravenscar." He smiled a little. "I was sent from the academy to ward here."

"It's nice to meet you." Christina said brightly. Silas didn't meet her eyes.

Jaime smiled apologetically at them. He put a hand on Christina's shoulder and smiled down at her "Do you think we could go to our rooms? I'm kind of soggy."

"At least you were able to throw your bag before you landed in the pond." Silas shook his green duffle. Water dripped off it and onto the hardwood floor.

Jules laughed at him. "You have a balcony in your room dude. Just leave it out there to dry out for a while."

"That's enough of your incessant pushing." She heard Ty say behind her. She turned and saw Livvy pushing him to move down the stairs. His waistcoat was open and his green shirt was blackened.

Ty cast a level look over Jaime and Silas. His grey eyes looked like a storm on the verge of an eruption.

Livvy bumped his shoulder. "Introduce yourself." She said firmly. Ty withered under her gaze and walked towards Silas and Jaime and stuck his hand out for the boys to shake.

"Tiberius Blackthorn. It's a pleasure." He looked at Silas. "Why are your eyes a funny colour?"

"Ty!" Emma, Jules and Christina shouted in sync.

Silas rubbed his eyes self-consciously. "I-Ah…Genetics and stuff?" He replied weakly.

Jaime stepped forward before he could ask more questions. Sometimes Ty had a habit of not being the most aware of what can hurt a person's feelings.

"It's nice to meet you Tiberius, I'm Jaime Rosales."

Ty smiled at him. He looked at Livvy. "Excellent. May I leave now?"

Diana watched as the Silent Brothers dressed in their bone robes took the Fey's body away. She was beautiful in the way all Fair-folk are, Cold, mischievous but beautiful none the less.

Arthur stared into the distance at the sea. He had put glamour runes up the moment he had seen the body. The alleyway was large separating her, Arthur and the Silent brothers in different areas. Diana bent down and looked at the trail of blood from where she had been attacked.

Her death was different from the others. It was dirty; none of the hearts had been taken from the others. Whoever did this was interrupted or was told to deliver this brutality.

"We're going to have to go to Idris. To tell the council." Arthur said beside her. He was a small man with brown wispy hair and spectacles. He was charming in his own bumbling way. She had crafted his sword cane herself, her last commission as a weapons master.

"The children…" She started.

"They're strong. They can last a few days without us. Alea iacta est." Arthur said. He was using Latin phrases constantly that only Diana and Ty understood. She thanked her father that he had taught her Latin as a young girl. Ty had learnt on his own accord.

"The die has been cast." She translated. A silent brother glided silently over to them. He had a square jaw and bald head. His eyes and mouth were sewn shut. She wondered what colour eyes he had when he was mortal. Maybe he had brown eyes like her, or bright blue like Arthur.

"Brother John." Arthur said curtly. The Silent brother bowed.

We are told this is not the first body that has been left in a state similar to this. Have the Shadowhunters who have died in Los Angeles lost their hearts similar to the young fey girl?

Diana felt Brother John's voice fill her head like a dam of water just being released. She likened it to a storm disguised by mist. Diana shuddered against her will.

"Yes, two Shadowhunters in Los Angeles have been killed along with five of the Fair-folk." Arthur said. He kept his voice level. "We plan on leaving for Idris tonight to tell inquisitor Lightwood of the deaths."

That is most wise. I will stay in Los Angeles with two of my Brothers to watch over the young Blackthorns and the Carstairs girl.

"Why?" Arthur asked.

A favour to an old brother of mine. He was a remarkable brother and an even more remarkable man

"Who was she?" Diana blurted out without thinking. She remembered her lifeless eyes, bright green without irises.

Her name was Kaylie Whitewillow. A fey under the New York Seelie court.

Brother John's voice in her head felt like an unwelcome visitor. She had never liked talking to the silent brothers. It had always felt like an intrusion on her deepest thoughts.

"What was a Fey from New York doing in Los Angeles?" Arthur asked. He looked at Diana who shook her head.

"Only she knows that now." She replied simply.

Arthur and Diana had come home at seven with take out. It was Julien's favourite, Pizza. They sat in a circle in the living room. They had opened the glass door's letting the sea air in. The room was large and connected to the kitchen. From the windows they could see the setting sun over the beach. Beach goers were starting to pack up their umbrellas and towels. Some of them reminded Julien of Lobsters, red skinned and grumpy.

He, Livvy and Uncle Arthur had painted the room light blue when they were younger but had ended up getting more paint on each other than the actual room. The walls still had shades of yellow that they had missed but Jules loved it anyway. It was the imperfections that made it beautiful.

Dru, Livvy and Christina were talking to Jaime as he ate his pizza. Diana and Arthur sat on chairs with Tavvy beside them eating from the box. Silas and Ty sat next to each other not talking. Jules had Emma by his side.

"How can you eat an entire pizza?" She asked. "I can barely handle four slices."

"How can you not?" He replied smiling at her. She looked away from him; she was doing that a lot now. He wondered if he had said something to upset her. Emma was his Parabatai, he would do anything to make her happy.

He turned to Emma. "Em, is there something wrong? Recently you've been acting strange; you know you can tell me anything." Jules whispered.

Emma smiled sadly at him. "Everything's great Jules." She replied. The way she smiled gave Jules an uneasy feeling in his stomach. And then something else. Something new and strange.

Ty was looking at an axe that Silas had given him to hold. It was a big woodcutters axe and looked huge compared to Ty's skinny frame. He felt Emma tense up next to him.

"corvos flere." He said. "Ravens weep. It's carved onto the blade."

"That's a family weapon, is it not? Where's the other half?" Diana asked. Silas looked uncomfortable at the sudden amount of attention placed on him. He took a deep breath and looked up a Diana.

"My mother gave me the family axe; my sister got the other half." He said.

"Other half?" Christina asked. Silas smiled uneasily.

"Well, it's a woodcutter's axe on its own but when you connect it, it becomes a battle axe. Twice the power. I don't know what happened to the other half; my sister had it when she was taken by the endarkened. I never saw her or the axe ever again."

"That's sad." Dru said. "We lost our Dad in the Dark War."

Julien felt himself seize up. He remembered killing his own father. He had to do it he reminded himself, he had to. As if knowing what he was thinking Emma took his arm and stroked it gently in circles. Silas took the axe back from Ty and placed it behind him.

Arthur and Diana stood up. "Children, there's something we need to tell you."

"You're finally getting married!" Julien called jokingly. "Guy's I'm so happy for you two. You've been dancing around each other for years."

Arthur went bright red and Diana smirked at his dumbfounded look.

"We're leaving for Idris tonight for a clave meeting." Diana took over when Arthur had unsuccessfully tried to speak. Julien looked over at everyone. They all shared the same shocked expression. Emma released her hand from his arm leaving him with the feeling of a bandage being ripped off.

"Can you do that?" Ty demanded.

Arthur had regained his composure and was leaning on his cane. "We'll be leaving you with Jaime. He's now twenty-one. It's what he's here for."

"To take over the institute?" Livvy cast a look of annoyance at the wide-eyed Jaime. He put his hands up in surrender. "I'm liking you a lot less now."

"I-What? No." He spluttered.

"He's not taking over the institute." Diana protested. "He's training to run an institute of his own one day. This will be good practice for him."

Arthur knelt down to the floor to be level with Julien and the others. "We'll be back in three days children. All I ask is you try not to get into any trouble whilst we're gone."

Julien looked at his brothers and sisters. They all looked heartbroken. Uncle Arthur had never left them since their father had died.

"We promise Uncle Arthur." Julien finally said.

Uncle Arthur smiled kindly at him. "Thank you."

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