The Mysterious Carstairs Boy

Chapter Four: The Mystery Begins

 Tessa Gray was as lovely as everyone had told him she would be. Her smile lit up the room, her bright grey eyes welcoming, asking you to trust her. When you paired that with the wondrous look Will got in his eyes whenever she spoke, the couple painted an almost perfect picture. The awful feeling in his gut only worsened but he answered all of their questions, and conversation was easy with Will there to spur them on and go off on all sorts of tangents without needing to be prompted.

They had just moved on to Will giving a thrilling discourse on the importance of hating – and staying away from – ducks, when the bell of the Institute began to ring. From the confused looks on everyone's faces, they hadn't been expecting any visitors that day. Oliver also knew enough to remember that Shadowhunters didn't need to ring any bells to get inside, they had access to all of the Institutes. Maybe it was simply good manners to ring before intruding into someone's residence. 'I'll get it,' Charlotte stood from where she'd been kneeling and strode out of the room, her fast footsteps echoing down the corridor.

'Let's go see who it is,' Will ran a hand through his dark hair and helped Tessa to her feet, kissing the back of her hand and winking as he did so. The two seemed most in love.

Unsure whether it would be appropriate to follow, and not being invited to do so by anyone, Oliver remained in the library. Thankfully, it took very little time for Will to come bursting back through the door, having sprinted back to the library, 'Oliver, you need to come, now.' Without stopping to catch his breath, Will turned and sprinted back out the room. This time Oliver followed; if it required this level of energy something pressing had to be happening.

Down in the hallway, Charlotte and Tessa wore shocked looks on their faces as they spoke to a tall, rotund man with a very clear receding hairline. As soon as Oliver and Will entered the room all eyes turned to them, and the middle-aged man spoke without hesitation, 'so this is the Carstairs boy you mentioned? You're right he's almost the spitting image of Brother Zachariah.' Jem's new name. Oliver had to keep reminding himself of that.

'Yes, it's only fair he hears this, he's a Shadowhunter just like us,' Charlotte said.

'Yet, a Shadowhunter raised by the Fae. I'm not sure we should trust him all that easily,' the man squinted to get a better look at him. Oliver felt his palms growing warm, his heart starting to beat faster. Could the stranger be suspecting him already? He would have less attachments and loyalties to Jem and wouldn't be as trusting as the others.

'A brother of Jem's is a brother of mine,' Will threw his shoulders back and stood himself taller, giving Oliver a reassuring grin.

'Brother Zachariah,' the stranger corrected.

'To you maybe,' Will retaliated, though he flinched slightly at the reminder.

'Please, Inquisitor Whitelaw, the news?' Charlotte clasped her hands together in front of her. Since she'd been appointed Consul after the automatons had killed Consul Wayland, her confidence had grown. It helped that she now had the power to actually have her voice heard, the rest of the Clave no longer being able to dismiss her as 'just some woman' quite as quickly as they could've before. She still fought a hard battle to make her voice as equally heard as the men's voices, but it had improved nonetheless.

'We didn't want to mention this before and cause unnecessary panic until we were certain, but it seems we cannot hide it any longer,' Inquisitor Whitelaw – as Oliver now knew he was called – said then paused, looking at Will more than at Charlotte despite the fact that she was the authority.

'Go on,' Charlotte said.

'A string of murders has been going on within Idris. Now they seem to be expanding, there were strikes near the Madrid and the Paris Institutes. All against Shadowhunters.' A bead of sweat appeared on Inquisitor Whitelaw's forehead and he pulled at the white collar of his shirt.

Charlotte's eyes widened and Tessa next to her visibly paled, Will on the other hand looked fascinated. 'You didn't think to mention this until now? I'm the Consul!' Charlotte's voice raised a tone but she somehow managed to keep herself form shouting.

'We didn't want to worry you.'

'I'm the Consul! These matters must be discussed with me,' her cheeks flushed and Tessa placed a hand on her arm, holding her softly.

'Well, yes. You're right. Anyway, the murders are getting out of control and we can't find any leads. From the looks of things London could be targeted next. Might we go and sit somewhere more comfortable to discuss this?' Inquisitor Whitelaw didn't look the slightest bit bothered by Charlotte's outburst. They led him through to the library, realising that standing in the hallway really wouldn't do for a meeting like this. After some argument from Will, and confirmation that Oliver was over eighteen years old, the Inquisitor resigned himself to letting Oliver sit in on the discussion.

'Could it be demons?' Will said, much more serious than he had seemed earlier.

'It seems unlikely. These attacks are coordinated, and there's been no trace of demonic presence found near the bodies.'

'Another raving mad mundane like Mortmain?' Tessa suggested, leaning forwards and resting her elbows on the table in front of her.

'Also seems unlikely. Actually, all leads point to it being a Shadowhunter.' The Inquisitor continued to give an explanation of their findings so far, the group immediately trying to come up with a contingency and investigation plan. Oliver though had stopped listening when the Inquisitor had said the leads pointed to a Shadowhunter, his heart beating faster still in his chest: it was much, much worse than a demon.