New World

4 | Tracking

"Not bad," Lila said. The knife in Kit's hand was only an inch away from her chest, but she didn't seem bothered. "You have good reflexes."

Lila had shaken Kit from what appeared to be a nightmare. He held a knife in his hand, and Lila guessed  he'd unconsciously grabbed it at some point. So when she shook him awake, his first instinct had been to punch out.

Lila wore a grey hoodie and leggings, half-concealed against the darkness of the room. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, no traces of makeup on her face.

Kit let the dagger clatter back onto the bedside table. She hoped it wasn't one she'd been missing, the one with her name on the hilt. "You have got to be kidding me," he said tiredly, blinking at her.

"Come on," She said. "Get up. Ty just saw Zara Dearborn sneak out the front door. We're gonna Track her."

"You're what?" Said Kit, pushing back the bed covers and climbing out of bed. Lila raised her eyebrows at the sight of him in his boxers, but made no comment. She dropped black uniform into his arms.

"Put your gear on, we'll explain on the way."

She left Kit to change into gear. He'd always wondered what the gear felt like, whether it was heavy or light or harsh or soft. And when he put it on, he found that it was just perfect. The boots, pants, shirt and jacket all fit perfectly, and the weapons belt fit snugly on his hips.

He left his room and was met by Livvy quickly braiding Lila's hair into two braids, and Ty was sitting on the ground looking at the rune on the back of his hand.

"Do I look alright?" Kit asked, closing the door behind him.

Lila gave Kit a thumbs-up. She said, "You definitely could have been rejected from the yearly Hot Shadowhunters Calendar."

"Rejected?" Kit demanded as Livvy tied Lila's braid and they headed downstairs.

"For being too young, of course," Livvy said with a smile.

"There is no Hot Shadowhunters Calendar," Said Ty. "Both of you be quiet; we need to get out of the house without being spotted."

"But there could be," muttered Lila. Livvy snickered and elbowed her gently.

They left through the back door and sped past the night watch, Livvy and Lila giggling as quietly as they could when Lila made a quiet comment to her sister. Ty had sent them a look which clearly said shut up , but they didn't.

They'd made their way across sand dunes and rocks and boulders. Ty scaled a very tall wall and dropped down on the other side of it. Lila went after him, then Livvy and Kit, Kit almost tripping over when he landed. Lila watched as he regained his footing; he looked as though he was cringing inside. She skipped ahead to trek alongside Ty, and Livvy slowed to walk with Kit.

"There," Ty said in a whisper to Lila, and she looked up to him and then across to where he was looking at. The caves. He pointed it out to Livvy and Kit, and they headed toward it, with Lila concentrating on the task at hand, rather than the fact that she'd have to face her major fear of small spaces.

Large rocks stuck out and had fallen partially into the ocean. The sea rose and sprayed water over the small group, and Lila smiled; Being near water made her calm.

The sand had given way to a rocky reef, and they tracked their way across it. Ty bent down and grabbed something gently from the water, straightening and holding his hand flat out, a smile on his face.

"Hey," Said Lila, smiling lightly, "Ty found a starfish."

"Ty, put it back, unless we're going to throw it at Zara," Said Livvy.

"Waste of a perfectly good starfish," muttered Kit, and Ty laughed.

Ty gently placed the starfish back in its pool, and then they kept walking to the cave, with Livvy entering first, then Ty and Kit, and Lila behind, just in case some demon decided to pop up behind them.

Lila bumped into Kit's back as she looked around for anything suspicious, considering Zara had been there. She'd headbutted Kit's back, but he didn't move.

"I can't see," he said.

Just as Lila went to grab her witchlight, having forgotten Kit didn't have a Night Vision rune, Ty beat her to it and his let light out into the cave.

"Do you want a Night Vision rune?" Asked Livvy, pausing her footsteps and turning around to look at the other three.

"No," Kit said. He shook his head. "No runes."

They advanced further into the tunnels, Lila stepping beside Kit to keep up with the others, not wanting to be left behind.

"Do you think this is part of the convergence?" They heard Livvy whisper to Ty, who shook his head.

"No. The edges of the cliffs are riddled with caves. I mean, anything could have been down here: nests of demons, vampires—but I don't think this has anything to do with Malcolm. And the ley lines are nowhere near here," Ty replied.

"I really wish you didn't say 'nests of demons'," Said Kit, "it makes them sound like spiders."

"Some demons are spiders," Said Ty, "the biggest one ever recorded was twenty feet long with yard-long mandibles."

"Shh," Said Livvy, holding a hand up. "I can hear voices."