NOTE: ALMOST ALL OF THESE CHARACTERS BELONG TO CASSANDRA CLARE. THE SETTINGS (IDRIS, ALICANTE, ETC.) ALSO BELONG TO CASSANDRA CLARE. I AM JUST BORROWING THEM.

CHAPTER TEN

The lamp flickered dimly above Rosa Doveheart's head. She rubbed her eyes, leaning back in her chair, as if she could rub away the tiredness. She glanced at the clock beside her. 12:34, the sure and steady hands reported.

Rosa ran one hand through her already-smooth bun of blonde-grey hair and looked back down at the task at hand. A blank sheet of white paper sat expectantly in front of her, a quill laid across it. Rosa had always enjoyed using feather quills, even though they weren't really necessary anymore.

She picked up the quill. It felt as heavy as lead in her fingers. Carefully, she dipped it into the bottle of ink standing patiently beside the paper, and set the thin tip of the quill to the paper.

Something made her hesitate.

It wasn't that she didn't believe Clarissa Fray about the faeries slaughtering the Nephilim. It could be true, for all Rosa knew. But still, something deep down inside of her was reluctant to admit that it might've been the fey.

A word glowed in Rosa's head, filling her brain. Edward.

She swallowed, scrunching her eyes up tightly, trying to push the thought away, but it stayed stubbornly in place. Edward. With his dark hair and his sharply angled face and the luminous, pearly green-silver eyes that had made Rosa fall for him.

Hard.

I AM OVER THAT! Rosa screamed internally at herself. He died, and that's for the better. That way, I'm not so attached. The Council leader shouldn't be attached to such pathetic things, like love! It doesn't matter anymore!

Biting her lip, hard, until she could taste the metallic tang of blood, Rosa started to write a letter to the werewolf pack leader, the New York vampire clan leader, and Magnus Bane.

"This is all very... surprising," Isabelle mimicked Rosa Doveheart in a high-pitched, tinny, girly voice for the fiftieth time since they had left the Council Hall. Now, she kicked open the door to Amatis's house with frightening ferocity, her sharp boot heel nearly puncturing the weak wood- Bailey winced.

"Izzy," Simon said, voice strained. "Isabelle, calm down."

"Calm down?" Isabelle spun around- Bailey nearly slammed into her. Isabelle's eyes were wide and dark in pure fury. "Calm down? You want me to calm down, when the whole Nephilim future might be in stake and Rosa Doveheart doesn't want to do anything about it?"

Simon cringed. "I just mean-"

"Can everyone relax?" Alec glared at his sister.

"Let's get inside," Clary said hastily. Her face was pale, as if she could still feel the effects of the Mortal Sword. She brushed past Isabelle into the house.

"Finally. Thank God," Bailey heard Benjamin mutter behind her- she turned around to look at him as he shouldered his way inside.

"You okay?" she asked carefully, searching his face. Benjamin rolled his eyes and dug his fingers into his hair.

"The Clave is just so stupid," he said fiercely, but quietly- Nora joined them. She brushed her dark hair out of her eyes and looked anxiously at Benjamin. "We can work it out," she said tensely.

"No, we can't." The words spilled from Bailey's mouth before she could stop them- Nora's eyebrows furrowed together and she swallowed tightly, looking sideways at Benjamin.

"I know," she said, quietly. "It was just a hope."

Which made Bailey feel even worse. She crossed her arms over her chest and headed quickly upstairs- she needed to be alone for a while. She knelt by her suitcase, untucking all of the piles of neatly folded jeans and T-shirts to uncover her seraph blade, Michael. Carefully, she touched the gleaming armdas with one fingertip. She could almost feel the power of the blade rising through the metal to her skin.

Something caught the corner of Bailey's eye- she turned to see a leaf, rattling by the window, and frowned. Why is that there? Bailey stood, brushing off her jeans, and made her way over the dusty wooden floorboards, catching the leaf in between her index finger and her thumb and pulling it towards her.

She gasped aloud.

There was writing on the leaf.

TO BAILEY RAVENMARK- Please come promptly to the faerie realm at 7:00 pm, your time. The Seelie Queen would like to speak to you.

There was no signature, but there didn't have to be. Bailey could recognize that fancy, delicate script, the message on a piece of nature, anywhere.

A faerie message.

Calling her.

Benjamin was angry.

And when he was angry, he wanted to punch something.

Such as a demon. A nice, clean kill would probably cheer him up right now.

However, there was no way that his parents- or anyone in this house, for that matter- would appreciate him summoning some demon just to expel his anger on it.

So, instead, Benjamin paced.

To be frank, Benjamin found himself an excellent pacer. He would clasp his hands behind his back, develop the perfect look of harried concentration- back hunched slightly, shoulders tightened, eyebrows darkly pulled down, hair flopping in every direction.

Plus, it looked pretty hot. (Benjamin had tested this theory- he had paced in Central Park once, and when he broke his look of perfect concentration to glance up briefly, he found all of the female eyes in the park locked onto him).

In fact, he was so into pacing that he didn't notice Bailey until she nearly slammed into him.

"God." Bailey stumbled backwards and pulled herself upright, scowling at him. Benjamin saw a flash of something reddish-orange, the color of autumn, in her hand before it disappeared behind her back. "God. What was that? Were you dry heaving or something?"

"What?" Surely, Benjamin had heard wrong. Had she just insulted his excellent pacing?

"You know." Bailey imitated him- eyebrows pulling together into a furry caterpillar across her forehead, waddling across the carpet.

Benjamin seriously hoped that that was not what his pacing looked like. He drew himself up, dignified.

"That was pacing," he announced.

Bailey rolled her eyes, her hand moving slightly- once again, Benjamin saw the flash of red-orange. He grabbed at her hand. "Wait a second. What is that?"

Bailey pulled her hand away. "None of your buisness." She started moving past him. Benjamin caught at her right wrist and she glared darkly at him. "Did you get the nosy genes from Jace or Clary?" she asked sourly, tugging at her wrist. "Let me go."

"Show me what you have." Benjamin grabbed at her hand again- Bailey twisted, and Benjamin's fingers circled her left wrist in a tight, interlocking chain. Bailey scowled deeply. "You are the most annoying person I have ever had the misfortune to meet," she informed him.

"Why, thank you." Benjamin grabbed at the poking red-orange in her hand- she brought her knee up, so fast that Benjamin barely had time to react- he spun backwards, breaking his hold on Bailey, but with a leaf in his hand.

A red-orange, autumn leaf. Benjamin raised his eyebrows. "You were being secretive about a leaf?"

"Give that back!" Bailey snatched at it, but Benjamin held her back, expertly flipping it over and reading it with the other hand.

TO BAILEY RAVENMARK- Please come promptly to the faerie realm at 7:00 pm, your time. The Seelie Queen would like to speak to you.

Benjamin's eyes were wide and he let his hand drop- the leaf fluttered to the ground and Bailey snatched it up.

"Happy?" she snapped.

"Why does the Seelie Queen want to see you?" That was all Benjamin could manage to say- there were too many thoughts in his brain.

"Why the heck should I know?"

"Is it because... you know..." Benjamin hesitated, but ploughed ahead. "Your faerie blood?" He knew that this was a touchy subject, and honestly, he didn't want to get another black eye and broken nose (five weeks ago. Training. Benjamin had made the mistake of bringing it up. Result- lots of ice packs and lots of blood on the floor). Benjamin braced himself for Bailey's wrath, but, surprisingly, it didn't come.

Bailey just glared even more deeply at him. "I said, why should I know?" She moved past him, to the stairs.

"Wait a second." Benjamin stopped her. "You're not actually thinking of going to... you know, see the Seelie Queen, right?"

For a second, so quick that maybe Benjamin had imagined it, Bailey hesitated. Then she rolled her eyes. "Don't be stupid. Of course not."