The Infernal Devices Rewritten

Chapter 11 - Fearful of the Night

Chapter 11

Fearful of the Night

Tessa woke with a gasp, sitting up on the bench of the carriage as it rumbled along a worn path. At her feet, was Evan, slumped against the floor of the carriage and Tessa's knees, her head rolling from one shoulder to the other without much support. Tessa' hands fluttered to Evan's pulse. It was there, not as strong as Tessa had hoped - but strong enough. In Evan's lap was her shattered wrist - swollen, purple and oddly bent. It looked like the most painful thing Tessa's ever seen.

"Not going to be sick, are you?" A rusty voice came for the huddled dark mass in the corner across from the girls. "Chloroform does have that effect, sometimes."

"Where are you taking us?" Tessa demanded, sliding down next to Evan as if to shield her. There was a bump and Evan gasped horribly, but remained unconscious.

"To Mortmain." Mrs. Black said, her voice like whirling gears. "And that's all the information you'll get out of me, girl. I have been given strict instructions."

"What have you done to Evan?" Tessa asked, wrapping her arm around the younger girl's shoulders and pulling her to her chest.

"Same as we've done to you." Mrs. Black said. "You'd best hope she wakes up - we may have used too much chloroform on her. Mortmain said to bring her along - though it hardly matters if she lives or dies."

Tessa pulled Evan closer. "And her wrist?"

"Mundanes are such fragile creatures." Mrs. Black's dead-white lips curled into a snarl. "Pity should she not be able to write again."

Tessa worked her skirts, tearing them to make a cast and remembering what Sophie had taught her; wrap the ligament as tights as she could to hold it in place until they could get help. Evan moaned, her eyes darting under her lids, but she did not wake up as Tessa bound her wrist. It didn't look much better afterwards, but Tessa took Evan's moaning as a sign that she'd be alright.

Magnus and Henry had been working on a Portal for hours. It was a delicate task, combining magic with technology. The runes and the mathematics were precise - and all the while, Magnus let out an endless rant of how Henry's work should be held to the highest esteem. A very loud rant, Will, Cecily and Jem might add. Charlotte, Gabriel, Gideon, and Sophie had been writing to Shadowhunters across the world for aid in their attack on Mortmain - but to no avail. Thus far.

Cecily has been restless, wanting to pace alongside Jem but Will needed her calm - and Evan asked her specifically to keep Will calm should she be taken. Suddenly, Cecily was grateful that Evan had such an endless imagination and paranoia. So Cecily stayed. Not only did she have to deal with her anxious brother, she had to deal with her anxious brother's horribly distressed best friend. Easier said than done, Cecily found.

"Do you suppose," Jem said quietly as Magnus's voice shushed as it did when the two men went over equations, "That we would know if something were to happen to them?"

Will looked up at Jem, who was standing by the door again. "Of course we would." Cecily frowned, usually Will was better at convincing people of things.

"Nothing is going to happen to them." Cecily said stiffly, causing both boys to look at her.

"I understand why Mortmain had taken Tessa," Jem said, ignoring Cecily. "But do you suppose Mortmain knew of the books?"

"Mortmain may know a great many things," Cecily said. "But he does not know of those books."

"Cecy is right." Will said, more convincingly. "There is no way of Mortmain knowing."

"Than leverage?" Jem said, sounding as if he regretted it as soon as he said it.

WIll shook his head, "No, Evan does know much of history; Mortmain may be trying to change our future using Evan's knowledge."

"That is the most likely option," Charlotte said, briskly passing them before pausing at the top of the stairs. "Are they nearly done?"

Will shrugged, "We do not know. Any luck with reinforcements?"

Charlotte sighed and shook her head, disappearing down the stairs.