The Dark Artifices: Lady of Los Angeles

Chapter 18

“Come in”, Arthur said as they stood before him in the attic. He looked down on a paper he was writing on. Not looking at them once. After all, years of living together made you recognize the pace of the household.

     “We’re already here”, Cristina said confused.

     Emma gave her a look that told her to be quiet. Then she turned to Arthur. “A letter came for you.”

     “From whom, may I ask?” He looked up and met her stare. “And have you read it?”

     “It wasn’t a normal letter exactly. Not from one of your old friends, but from the fey.”

     Arthur’s expression barely changed, but that was another thing about living together, you recognized the changes in one another’s face. He was annoyed. Because they’d read it or because of who it was from, Emma did not know.

     He sighed and looked down on his paper again. “They want our help, don’t they?”

     “Yes, and with what exactly?” Emma asked.

     “My guess would be the dead bodies found in town.”

     “How many?”

     “Three shadowhunters, three humans and four fairies.”

     “And why do we not know this?” Emma walked over to his desk and leaned over it with her palms lying on the surface. “We are shadowhunters. We are meant to be fighting those who are doing this.”

     “Emma, we can’t.”

     “Why?” Cristina asked from behind Emma. “Why can’t we fight them? They killed shadowhunters.”

     “The Clave has forbidden me to look further in the matter. They’ll handle it themselves.”

     “But we’re like The Clave’s ambassadors”, Emma argued. “We haven’t even had a chance to do anything.”

     “Please, Emma and Cristina.” Arthur looked up at the two of them. “Believe me when I say I’ve done everything I can to give this mission to us.”

     “But clearly they haven’t done anything themselves since bodies are still lying around begging for somebody to avenge them”, Emma snarled.

     “Emma, don’t do anything. I don’t know what The Clave will do if you disobey their orders, but from my experience it’s nothing good. Now, you may leave.”

     “But we-“, Cristina started, but Emma stopped her.

     “Don’t.”

They walked in the direction of their rooms, but when they were to part Cristina grabbed her arm.

     “When you’ve changed your clothes, you’ll come straight to me, right?”

     “Why?”

     “We’re friends, can’t we hang out?” she said and left.

Emma took a shower and put on new clothes. Jeans and t-shirt, just as she liked it. Her hair hang down her back in a braid. Jules used to tug at it asking why she didn’t cut it since she always complained about it being impractical. But she couldn’t. Her mom used to do the braid when she was young.

     She remembered one day when they’d sat on the beach a whole day. Her mom made new braids over and over again. Different braid every time. Back then she hadn’t had that nervous feeling about the sea. But then, her parents hadn’t died in it back then.