chapter fifteen

"𝔒𝔥 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔡𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢, 𝔪𝔶 𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔣𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔡, 𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔢,

𝔚𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔤𝔬𝔩𝔡𝔢𝔫 𝔥𝔞𝔦𝔯 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔣𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔫 𝔟𝔢𝔩𝔬𝔴 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔨𝔫𝔢𝔢,

𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔣𝔞𝔠𝔢 𝔞𝔰 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔱𝔢 𝔞𝔰 𝔰𝔫𝔬𝔴𝔡𝔯𝔬𝔭𝔰 𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔩𝔢𝔞,

𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔳𝔬𝔦𝔠𝔢 𝔞𝔰 𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴 𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴 𝔰𝔢𝔞?"

"𝔉𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡 ℑ 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔟𝔞𝔠𝔨 𝔱𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲:

𝔐𝔶 𝔩𝔬𝔠𝔨𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔲𝔫𝔠𝔲𝔯𝔩𝔢𝔡 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔡𝔯𝔦𝔭𝔭𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔡𝔢𝔴.

𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔨𝔫𝔬𝔴 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬���𝔡, 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔩𝔰𝔱 ℑ 𝔨𝔫𝔬𝔴 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔫𝔢𝔴:

𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔬-𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔯𝔬𝔴 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔨𝔫𝔬𝔴 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔬𝔬."

~ Christina Rossetti, "The Poor Ghost"

---

James told them to take Cordelia home, so they all somehow fit themselves into a carriage, with Estelle sat between Matthew and Cordelia, with Thomas and Christopher opposite her. Thomas had given his jacket to the soaked redheaded girl.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Thomas asked.

"I'm fine. Utterly fine." Cordelia said.

"It was amazing the way you charged at that demon, absolutely capital. I really thought you had him in your sights." Christopher praised.

Estelle smirked lightly, nudging Cordelia. "That is until you fell into the river."

"Yes." Cordelia said, nodding. Matthew was shaking with laughter. "I was under the same misapprehension myself."

"What happened, exactly?" Thomas asked. "How did Lucie get you out of the water?"

"I don't know." The younger girl furrowed her brow. "I don't understand it. I did hear Lucie calling – calling my name – and then I just woke up on the bank, coughing."

"The current could have just brought her ashore." Christopher mused. "Thames currents can be quite strong."

"When we were on the bridge, when James was fighting the Mandikhor, it looked as if the demon was speaking to him. Did you hear it?" Matthew asked, concerned for his parabatai. Cordelia didn't answer right away, she hesitated, and Estelle's carefully trained eye caught the small tensing in her arms.

"No." She said. "Just sort of a growling noise. Not any words."

The carriage stopped. They had arrived. Estelle made Thomas and Christopher wait in the cab while she and Matthew helped Cordelia to the front door.

"Will your mother be angry?" Estelle asked.

"Have you heard of the death of a thousand cuts?" Cordelia asked.

"I always preferred the death of a thousand cats, in which one is buried under kittens." Matthew chimed in, and the two girls laughed. Just then the door opened.

There was a woman stood there, and she turned and called for Cordelia's mother. She appeared moments later, wrapped in a silk robe and her eyes drifted from Estelle and Matthew to her daughter, dripping water and Estelle covered in ichor.

"Oh." Her eyes widened, voice carrying concern. "Oh, Layla. What happened?"

In an effort to maintain their secret cover, Matthew and Estelle quickly spun a dramatic, yet believable tale of bravery, intrigue and danger, explaining how they had gone out, feeling sad for Barbara's death and were found by a group of demons near the river. They all fought bravely, but Cordelia was tossed into the river.

Sona Carstairs forced scarfs onto the pair before they escaped. Estelle hugged Cordelia one last time, making sure to loudly thank her for helping them defend each other and that she hoped to see her soon.

Back in the carriage they went. Estelle, Christopher and Thomas went home together, leaving Matthew to head to his home or the Institute. Estelle made sure to hug him as well before she departed.

The next day, it was only late afternoon that they were all able to meet once more. Not all, simply their original group. Estelle and her boys. They were to meet at Matthew's house. Thomas, sadly, could not join them. He, being eighteen, was patrolling with Anna.

By the time James arrived, they were all seated around a high, marble-topped laboratory table. There were instruments all around them. This is where Matthew's father, Henry, and Christopher usually spent their time, working on various inventions.

Her brother wore brass goggles, currently pushed up into his hair, and his short and trousers were burned and stained. Estelle stood beside Matthew, making sure to stay away from Christopher when he was messing with equipment.

"What's going on, Kit?" James asked, stepping into the room. "Testing to see the temperature at which Shadowhunters melt?"

Matthew ran his hands through his sweaty hair. "My hair is certainly ruined. I believe Christopher is hard at work on the antidote. I am assisting by providing witty observations and trenchant commentary."

"And Estelle?" James asked the girl.

She smiled. "I'm here because my presence makes everything better."

The boys shook their heads. "I'd rather you hand me that beaker." Christopher pointed and James grabbed it and passed it onto the boy, who added some drops of its contents to a liquid simmering by his elbow. He frowned. "It's not going well, I'm afraid. Without this one ingredient, it doesn't seem likely to work."

"What ingredient?" James asked.

"Malos root, a rare plant. Shadowhunters aren't supposed to cultivate it because doing so violates the Accords. I have been searching, and I asked Anna to try and get me some in Downworld, but we've had no luck."

"Why would anyone be forbidden from growing some silly plant?" Matthew asked.

"It only grows in soil soaked by the blood of murdered mundanes." Estelle said casually, stroking Oscar's head as he ambled towards her, tongue lolling out of his mouth.

"I stand corrected. Ugh." Matthew shuddered, and Estelle giggled, patting his shoulder.

"Dark magic plants, is it? Christopher – can you draw me a sketch of the root?" James asked.

"Certainly." Christopher took a notebook out from an inside pocket of his jacket and began scribbling.

"There were some forbidden plants growing in Tatiana's greenhouse. I told Charles about it at the time, and he didn't seem to feel they were of great concern, but – " He was cut off by Christopher lifting his sketch up. It was a plant that looked like a tulip, with sharp edged white leaves and a black root. "Yes! I remember those – they were in the greenhouse at Chiswick. They struck me because those leaves looked like knives. We could go there now – is there a carriage free?"

"Yes." Matthew looked more excited now. "Charles has some sort of meeting, but he left the second carriage in the mews."

"Put your goggles down, little brother. Time for some fieldwork." Estelle cupped her brothers cheek.

"Alright. But I have to go change. I'm not allowed out in these clothes."

"Just switch off anything that might burn down the house first." Matthew grabbed hold of James' arm. "We'll meet you both in the front garden." And then the pair left and Estelle ushered her brother to go change while she walked around the laboratory and made sure everything was off.

By the time she finished, Christopher had finished and was dressed in clean clothes, the hat on his head tilted and a green scarf that didn't match the rest of his outfit. He held his gloves in his hand. "Put them on while you walk. Come on."

They walked outside, Christopher pulling his gloves on as he did so. "Where's the carriage?" Estelle asked the two boys as she descended the steps.

"We were waiting for you, not fetching you a carriage." James retorted as they crossed the front garden to where a large carriage was. "Besides, I'm fairly sure Darwin said something about it being healthful for scientists to walk – "

"He certainly didn't – " Christopher began indignantly. Then, the front gate rattled.

"Khora demons." James whispered. Estelle quickly pulled her Scimitar out and watched as Matthew took his shortsword out and Christopher named a crackling seraph blade. The demons didn't head to the house, they instead circled the group of four.

"I don't like this. At all." Matthew commented.

"James? What next?" Christopher asked, sticking by his sisters side. She stepped in front of him slightly. He may be her parabatai, but she was still his older sister. Estelle took a trio of thin throwing knives from her holster and held them in her free hand.

"We cut through the circle of demons there – " he pointed as he talked " – and duck into the carriage house. Lock the doors behind us with a rune."

"Brings a new meaning to the saying 'don't frighten the horses'" Matthew nodded.

"Good. Let's go, then." Estelle smiled grimly. They turned to the area James had pointed at and both James and Estelle let their throwing knives go towards the demons. James' aim was slightly better, but they both managed to hit enough demons that they opened a space for the group to run through.

The sky crackled with thunder as they raced through white wisps of fog. James was the first one to reach the gate and he kicked it open. Estelle was the last one in the group and she was battling a Khora. As she whirled and slashed, she saw her brother fighting his own battle and Matthew in grave danger.

But before she could move to help him, a golden flash appeared. Oscar. Just as the demon began advancing on them again, she saw James throw some knives and breathed a sigh of relief. She turned her attention back to her own battle and focused on attacking and killing as many Khora demons as she could.

She killed the one she was fighting and turned to see if anyone needed her help. It was just her luck that it was Christopher, the one furthest from her, that was about to be killed by the biggest Khora demon she had ever seen.

"Christopher!" She cried out in anguish, running as fast as she could in his direction. The younger boy's blade went flying as the demon smacked it away. She didn't stop running, not even when she saw the demons claws rake across his chest and a white-hot pain erupt in her own chest, she didn't stop.

She screamed in pain but nothing could stop her from running to Christopher. He crumpled to the ground as the demon shoved him away. Estelle collapsed to her knees metres away, in agonizing pain herself.

"No!" She heard James yell, followed by a shout from Matthew, but nothing fazed her. She had never felt a pain like this, but she knew what it meant. Her brother was about to die. He would die just like Barbara. Her parabatai was dying.