✓ | Hushed Whispers ⋆ Will Herondale [2]

CHAPTER FIVE: HONEST

◤Maybe I should have thought before kissing you. When you said that I'd be agreeing to starting a war, I didn't have this pictured in mind.◢

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CHAPTER FIVE: HONEST

EDMUND Ingelow, with his messy blond locks dancing to the waves of cold breeze, guided two young Shadowhunters through the beautiful maze made of high trees and green bushes. His piercing blue eyes were fixed right before his strong and proud body, never once bothering to check on Marie and Gabriel. It appeared as if the man didn't care about them in the slightest, had no worry that they may somehow make a move on him and end his life earlier than needed. No, the man just kept on taking step after step, confidently making his way to the final destination.

"I know that you'll hate me for asking this," Gabriel passed Marie a look as they continued following Edmund in sync. "But, does it not bother you in the slightest that this lunatic might be taking us to our graves?"

Marie rolled her eyes. "Lunatic? Seriously?"

"Oh, come on," the boy responded. "I am almost sure that all of those 'guards' escaped an institution. If you know what I mean."

"Gabriel-"

"Fine," Gabriel shrugged his shoulder, the sound of hurt almost dominant in his voice. "Don't believe me. But boy, am I going to enjoy the moment I tell you a good old 'I told you so'."

"Just because they don't speak much, doesn't mean they are lunatics."

"Right, cause staring into a non-existent dot in the middle of air and not acknowledging your surroundings isn't considered weird," Gabriel argued. "How about Miss Aldridge? Who the hell is that?"

Marie remembered Edmund mentioning the woman's name, but it just didn't resonate through her brain. It didn't appear familiar. "I know as much as you do."

"Enter, soldiers. Before you stands the manor of Miss Aldridge and Mr. De Quincey," Edmund came to a halt, his voice cold and almost mechanic.

But before either of the Shadowhunters could thank the man for taking them to the manor, they felt their breaths hitch in their throats. Their eyes and brains simply couldn't proceed what they were witnessing.

A manor built of coral-colored bricks sprang from the earth, determined to get away from the very dirt that gave it support, almost as if such a grandiose building was too pretty, too proud to touch the earth. It was slightly elevated from the ground, needing a set of stairs made of cement and most unique pieces of stones to take one to its entrance. It was indeed built by a person with a royal taste, someone who had an eye for beautiful things and remarkable details. The windows were oversized, resembling those of a cathedral.

It was a marvelous sight for tired eyes; the way nature with all its trees and bushes, grass and vines seemed to add to the manor's beauty. It seemed almost as if man and mother nature had finally decided to join forces and create a piece of magic. It was a true little snippet of what Heaven might look like.

"Mr. Ingelow," Marie finally found strength to tear her eyes away from the piece of art, but much to her disappointment, where once stood Edmund Ingelow, now was thin air. "I swear he was there a second ago."