The Infernal Devices Reimagined

Liar

"Right this way!" Will called with a grand gesture toward Henry's crypts. Gabriel rolled his eyes at him while Gideon was more willing to humour him. He held the door open for the three of them to enter and fixed his gaze on the ceiling when Greta passed.

Inside, Henry was hard at work tinkering with a mechanism Will would never be able to name. He tapped him on the shoulder, and Henry just then realized that there were people in there with him.

"The briefing," Will reminded him.

"Oh yes!" Henry said, getting up. Behind Will, Gabriel sniggered. It took all the strength within Will's bones not to turn around and smack that git.

Henry retrieved the technical drawings for automatons that Will and Miss Gray had extracted from de Quincey's estate and spread them on the table for all to see. Will touched a finger to the corner of the drawings and smiled, recalling how he had teased Miss Gray after he discovered them. He was a bit surprised that the paper wasn't yellowing by now. It seemed a lifetime ago that Miss Gray had been at the Institute. There was a hollow ache in his chest that he quickly pushed down. Not now. Not while Greta stood so close to him.

"I made replicas of the automatons based on these drawings a few days ago, if you'll all recall," Henry tapped on the back of the automaton in the drawing, the critical weak point he had instructed them to aim for, "By the reports, this automaton seems to be different. On a hunch, I checked, and one of the Institute's Pyxis seems to be missing. It would appear that on the same night that Mortmain abducted Jessamine and Miss Gray, he also stole the Pyxis-"

"Also stole the Pyxis!" Gabriel cried, "Why, this is the height of incompet-"

"So, how do you suggest we defeat it?" Gideon said.

"How you would any other great demonic foe, of course," said Henry, "I would suggest weakening it enough to trap it within a circle of salt and then resealing the demon inside the Pyxis. After that, it's simply a matter of defeating the automaton, which you four have ample practice in doing."

"You make it sound so simple," Will muttered.

"A sound plan. Thank you, Mr Branwell," Gideon reached out a hand to shake his. Henry, unaccustomed to being addressed with such gratitude, was a bit bewildered but accepted the hand and thanks nonetheless.

The four changed into heavy gear and armed themselves to the teeth. Thomas brought out the carriage but took his time putting the horses into their harnesses. His hands were clumsy and jittery, he seemed to be distracted. He did manage it, in the end, and all the while Gabriel was muttering about the 'utter incompetence' of everyone in the Institute. Will instructed him to drive them to the last place the Demonic Automaton had been spotted, a gin palace in the East End, and so began the longest journey of his life.

He was on decent terms with the elder Lightwood, but not good enough friends with him to strike up a conversation. As for the other two, he would die if he spoke to Greta, and rather die than speak to Gabriel. And so, he had to keep his eyes facing out of the carriage window at all, lest he make eye contact with the wrong person and create a horrible awkwardness. The other two must have surely noticed the lack of dialogue between him and Greta. They had been friends before - not nearly as good of friends as he and Jem, of course - but good enough friends that he could call her 'Greta' without feeling much shame.

If things had gone the way they were meant to, perhaps he could have fallen for her instead. He could almost imagine it: being her good friend until come the day he realized she was a woman, too, and slowly falling in love with her. The London Enclave would be aghast. Their two most troublesome Shadowhunters, together. What terrors the Fae-Nephilim children they had would be!