The Infernal Devices Reimagined

Disarray

To say Charlotte was furious when they arrived back to the Institute would be the greatest understatement of the age. She awaited their arrival the second they came through the gates, hands on her hips, bits of hair spilling out of her carefully calculated bun.

"Did you two have a nice stroll?" she said, her voice lathered in bitter sarcasm, "Don't let me ruin it for you, of course. All I did was go hysterical the whole morning, wondering who killed you two."

"We're sorry, Charlotte," Jem said, "we didn't mean to worry you so much." Will nodded in agreement.

Charlotte massaged her temples and gave a great sigh. "Go clean yourselves, you two. You're tracking filth on the floor and you smell ghastly."

Happy to get off without a grilling, Will raced to his room and had a bath run for him. By the time he got out of it, the water was blackened. He put on the first clean pair of clothes he could find and left his room with his hair still wet. Jem was waiting outside his room for him. For some reason, Jem always dressed quicker than him. He claimed it was because he worried less about vanity than Will. On their way to Charlotte's study, the parabatai ran into Sophia, who had a strange dreamy look on her face. She was moping up Jem and Will's filth but was somehow in such good humour all she did was glare at Will for it. Sophia did not have a glare for Jem, but that was expected. Will was convinced she had a personal vendetta against him.

Will was about to open the door to Charlotte's study when Jem swatted his hand aside, gave him a stern look, and knocked on the door. Charlotte's strained voice called for them to come in. The inside of the study seemed as if a storm had struck it; books were out of place (in Charlotte's study, this was a serious event), papers were strewn about, drawers were thrown open at random and left open presumably because something had caught her attention after opening the drawer that was so important the mere act of closing a drawer escaped her. As always, Charlotte fit perfectly into her study: something previously micro-managed that had fallen into anarchy. How was it possible that in the space of a day she had completely unravelled? Will felt even worse for their early morning excursion.

"At least tell me you've found something," Charlotte softly said.

"We did," Jem said, "A possible lead. What do you know of John and Anne Shade?"

"John and Anne Shade..." Charlotte muttered, pressing her fingers to the sides of her temples and squinting to try and recall, "Ah, yes. They were executed on the decree of Aloysius Starkweather for 'unnatural and illegal dealings with demons'. Apparently, they had a weapon that could destroy all Nephilim. None of it's proven since this was before the Accords and they were killed without trial."

"Aloysius Starkweather," Will said, "So this was in York?"

"Yes, but, I fail to see how they relate to Axel Mortmain..." Charlotte's eyes widened in realization, "Unless you mean..."

"The mermaid Arabella told us that she taught the two of them the recipe to a draught that allowed mortals to extend their lives," Will said, "And since Mortmain used the vampire trick, he must have found some way to extend his life."

"It's a possibility," Jem said, "None of it's for certain."

Charlotte nodded, understanding. She scribbled something on the document in front of her, "Alright. I shall go to Silent City and research the Shades at once."

"You need not go yourself, Charlotte," Jem said, "Will and I can go."

"I have something else for you two to do. Wait in the training room for further instructions."

Jem nodded and stepped out of the room. Will was about to follow him out, but then he paused and turned back to Charlotte and said, "Look at that, our early morning excursion helped with the investigation."