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Also by Cassandra Clare

Lady_Midnight_-Cassandra_Clare

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“I only found out about it the night before last,” Emma said, and explained quickly what had<br />

happened at the Sepulchre. “The body was covered in runes,” she finished. “The same kind of<br />

markings that were on my parents’ bodies when they were found.”<br />

“No one’s ever been able to translate those, right?” Livvy said.<br />

“No one.” Emma shook her head. “Everyone’s tried to decode them. Malcolm, Diana, even the<br />

Spiral La<strong>by</strong>rinth,” she added, naming the underground headquarters of the world’s warlocks, where a<br />

great deal of arcane knowledge was hidden.<br />

“Before, they were unique as far as we knew,” Ty said. His eyes were really a very startling gray,<br />

like the back of a silver spoon. A pair of headphones hung around his neck, the cord snaking down<br />

into his shirt. “Now there’s another example. If we compare them, we might learn something.”<br />

“I made a list of everything I know about the body,” Emma said, producing a piece of paper and<br />

setting it on the table. Ty picked it up immediately. “Some is what I saw, some I heard from Johnny<br />

Rook and Diana. The fingertips were sanded down, teeth broken, wallet missing.”<br />

“Someone trying to hide the identity of the victim,” said Ty.<br />

“And probably not that uncommon,” said Emma. “But there was also the fact that the body was<br />

soaked in seawater and showed signs of burning, and was lying in a chalked ring of symbols. And<br />

was covered in writing. That seems unusual.”<br />

“Like the sort of thing you could search for in back archives of mundane newspaper articles,” said<br />

Ty. His gray eyes glowed with excitement. “I’ll do it.”<br />

“Thank you,” Emma said. “But—” She glanced toward Julian, and then around at the others, her<br />

brown eyes grave. “Diana can’t know, okay?”<br />

“Why not?” asked Dru, frowning. Tavvy was paying no attention at all; he’d gotten down on the<br />

floor and was playing under the table with a set of toy trucks.<br />

Emma sighed. “Several of the dead bodies were fey. And that puts this squarely out of any territory<br />

we should be messing with.” She glanced over at Cristina. “If you don’t want to do any of this, that’s<br />

fine. Faerie business is tricky and Diana doesn’t want us involved.”<br />

“You know how I feel about the Cold Peace,” said Cristina. “Absolutely I will help.” There was a<br />

murmer of agreement.<br />

“Told you not to worry,” Julian said, touching Emma’s shoulder lightly before standing up to start<br />

clearing the breakfast dishes. There was something about that touch—light and casual as it was, it<br />

sent a jolt through Cristina. “You’ve got today off from classes, Diana’s gone up to Ojai, so now’s a<br />

good time for us to do this. Especially since we’ve got Clave testing this weekend.”<br />

There was a collective groan. Clave testing was a twice-yearly chore in which students were<br />

evaluated to see if their skills were up to par or if they needed to be sent to the Academy in Idris.<br />

But Ty ignored Julian’s announcement. He was looking at Emma’s paper. “How many have died,<br />

exactly? People and faeries?”<br />

“Twelve,” said Emma. “Twelve dead bodies.”<br />

Tavvy emerged from under the table. “Were they all running with lollipops?”<br />

Ty looked baffled, Emma guilty, Tavvy slightly lip-wobbly. “Maybe that’s enough for now,” Julian<br />

said, scooping up his smallest brother. “Let’s see what you find out, Tiberius, Livia?”<br />

Ty murmured assent, rising to his feet. Emma said, “Cristina and I were going to practice, but we<br />

can—”<br />

“No! Don’t cancel it!” Livvy bounced upright. “I need to practice! With another girl. Who isn’t<br />

reading,” she said, shooting a glare at Dru. “Or watching a horror movie.” She glanced over at her<br />

twin. “I’ll help Ty for half an hour,” she said. “Then I’ll come to train.”

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