"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others when they go."-Oscar Wilde
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The carriage ride back to the Institute was tense with worry. Lucie fiddled with her fingers as they jolted through the night. She scooted closer to Cordelia and laid her head on her shoulder, the stress of the night finally fading away and replacing itself with exhaustion. She gently tapped her foot against Matthew's, who was sitting across from them, and smiled at him. He gave her a short nod before turning back toward the window, he still seemed pretty sour about James racing back to the Institute without him.
"I still don't see how it's possible," Lucie said to no one in particular. "Demons don't come out during the day. They simply don't."
"I've heard of them appearing under thick cloud cover before," said Cordelia. "If no sunlight could get through--"
Matthew gave a hoarse laugh. "That was no natural storm. Yet I have never heard of demons who could control the weather, either." He drew a silver flask from his waistcoat pocket. Lucie shot him a sharp look before glancing away.
She hated it when Matthew drank ever since he started doing it religiously two years prior. He was never himself. The gentle, teasing Matthew became reckless and uncaring, all sharp edges and cruel remarks. She had tried to ask him about it, but he would always shut her down and walk away. One time when she became extra persistent on the subject, he had yelled at her, telling her to mind her own business, saying he didn't care that much about her so why was she caring so much about him? He had apologized profusely the next morning when he was sober, but she just shook her head and never approached the subject again.
"Did you see the wounds?" she asked. "I have never seen anything like it. Barbara's skin was turning black at the edges where she was bitten--"
"You have never seen anything like it because there never has been anything like this," said Matthew. "Demons who bring their own night with them? Who attack us when we are vulnerable because we believe we cannot be assailed?"
"Matthew," said Cordelia sharply. "Stop frightening Lucie when we do not even know what we are dealing with yet."
He took a swig from the flask as the carriage rattled through Ludgate Circus and onto Fleet Street. "Lucie doesn't get frightened, do you, Luce?"
Lucie crossed her arms over her chest. She would usually love to say that she wasn't scared of anything, but tonight was different. "I am frightened for Barbara and Ariadne, and for Piers," she said. "Are you not concerned? Barbara is our family, and Ariadne one of the kindest people I know."
"There is no special protection in this world for kind people," Matthew began, and broke off as Cordelia glared at him. He took another swig from his flask and bared his teeth. "Yes, I'm being a beast. I know that perfectly well."
"Then stop doing it," said Cordelia. "My father always said that to panic before you have all the facts was to fight the enemy's battle for him."
"But who is the enemy?" said Lucie. "Demons, I suppose, but demons usually attack without strategy or method. These demons avoided every mundane in the park and went straight for us."
"Demons aren't always random in their action," Cordelia said. "Perhaps a warlock who has summoned a pack of demons is responsible, or even a Greater Demon amusing themselves. Ordinary demons are like animals, but if I understand it rightly, Greater Demons can be quite like people."
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«CYNIC»
Fanfiction"What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." -Oscar Wilde Lucie Herondale wrote stories. It was her dream, to become an esteemed author one day. But she was also a shadowhunter. She still had much to learn, an...
