Chapter Text
Kit was sitting in the second floor hallway of the Los Angeles Institute with Ty and Livvy when he overheard the news.
"A mundane girl was found on the beach this morning, torn to shreds," he could hear Diana tell Julian from below.
"Demonic work?" Kit heard Julian ask.
"Kuri demons," Diana responded, "but no one knows where they came from."
Ty's eyes seemed to light up. A mystery!
"I'll need you and Emma to investigate," Diana continued.
Livvy sprang up and vaulted over the railing down to where Diana and Julian were.
"We can do it!" she said while Ty followed her. Kit just used the stairs. "Ty, Kit, and me. We can investigate!"
Diana looked from the three of them to Julian, then nodded.
"Alright," she said. "In that case, Julian, I would like you to accompany me to go speak with Arthur."
Julian stood straight and nodded.
"Thanks, Diana!" Livvy said, grinning at her tutor. Ty smiled too—not out of gratitude, but out of excitement—and Kit appreciated that they were actually twins, even if their hair and eyes were different. Kit found himself smiling, too.
The three of them exited the institute, Kit lagging a bit behind.
"Come, Watson," Ty said, looking over his shoulder at Kit.
"I told you not to call me Watson!" Kit protested, but he hurried up.
"If he's Watson," Livvy wondered, "who am I?"
Ty looked at her, slightly confused. "You're Livvy."
When they reached the beach where the girl had been killed, they were surrounded by the noise and lights of police sirens. Ty had put his headphones on, and he was holding onto Livvy's hand. Kit saw a few people surrounding an area closed off with police tape. As they moved closer, Kit could see that the body had been moved, but there was blood soaking the sand inside the taped area.
"The mundanes won't be able to figure out how she died," Livvy said. She sounded a little sad. "They'll blame other people."
Kit silently agreed with her. It was unlikely a mundane investigation team would realize the girl had been killed by demons.
"That's why we're here," Ty said.
Livvy nodded. She pulled out a seraph blade (they were Glamoured; no mundane would see them looking around, and no mundane would notice their weapons either).
"Ty, there's a Shadowhunter woman over there. You and Kit go talk to her and see if she knows anything, and I'll go look around to figure out where the demon came from."
Ty nodded and Livvy headed off.
Kit looked at the woman Livvy had motioned to. She was old, with white-grey hair and too-skinny ankles, but she most definitely had Marks on her. Kit could see a voyance rune on the back of her right hand.
Ty and kit approached her. As they got closer, Kit could hear the woman muttering something under her breath.
Ty took his headphones off and spoke. "My name is Tiberius Blackthorn," he said, "and this is Kit Herondale. We're investigating what's going on here. Do you know what happened?"
The woman looked at Ty. Kit saw that she had cold, grey eyes.
"Warlocks," she said angrily. "They summon demons without care for the damage they cause." The woman looked at Kit. "You're a Herondale?"
"Yeah," Kit answered. "I mean, I only just found out about it but—" He didn't know why he was explaining himself to her. He shut his mouth.
"The lost Herondale," the woman said. "I know about you. You of all people should know that Downworlders are nothing but scum and a danger to everyone."
Kit disagreed, but he felt that telling this woman would do absolutely nothing.
"I am Elanor Greybrook," the woman told them. "My family is very well-known in Idris."
Kit had no idea whether that was true or not, but Ty didn't seem bothered by what she had said.
"Do you live around here?" Kit asked.
Elanor shook her head. "I live in Alicante. I am visiting my sister. She runs an apothecary near here."
At that moment, Livvy reappeared.
"Kit! Ty! I need to show you something!"
The two boys left Elanor and headed to join Livvy.
"what is it?" Ty asked.
"Come on, I'll show you," Livvy replied. She started walking, Ty behind her, and Kit following behind him.
Kit could see prints in the sand. They didn't look human—or like any beach dwelling animal. The prints looked like pincer-pricks, but they were so far apart that Kit worried about the size of the creature that made them.
Livvy led them to a small cave hidden by the side of a hill.
"The tracks lead here," she said, pointing to the prints that Kit had noticed.
Ty crouched and looked into the cave.
"The opening's small," he observed, "but inside it's big enough to stand up in."
"Should we go in?" Kit asked. Livvy looked from him to Ty.
"How dark is it in there?" she asked.
"A little dim," Ty replied. "We can use witchlight."
Livvy nodded and pulled out a smooth stone that started to glow in her grip. Ty did he same.
"I'll just stick with you," Kit said. He didn't have a witchlight.
One by one, the three of them ducked into the cave.
Ty was right, Kit thought as he straightened up. There was enough room for an adult to stand in there.
Livvy and Ty held their witchlights up and looked around. There seemed to be a passage leading away from the mouth of the cave.
"I'm not sure about this," Livvy voiced. "The tracks led here, so there might still be demons."
Ty looked at her for a second. He seemed torn between wanting to investigate and wanting to do the best for Livvy.
"We could keep going," Kit suggested, "and keep our weapons drawn."
Livvy thought for a moment and then nodded. "I want to see what's down here, anyway."
Ty seemed pleased. "Let's keep going."
They all pulled out a weapon and continued on.
As it turned out, the passage did not lead very far. It widened out into a circular, domed room with a large shape etched into the floor.
"A summoning circle," Ty breathed.
It was definitely a summoning circle, Kit saw as he approached it. "Do you think the Kuri-or-whatever demon was summoned here?"
"Almost definitely," Livvy replied, "but who would have summoned a demon here?"
"Elanor said something about warlocks doing it," Kit answered.
"Elanor?"
"The woman from the beach," Ty told her. "Elanor Greybrook."
"It could be a warlock," Livvy said. "We should ask around."
Livvy had only started to walk back towards the passage when something descended from the ceiling.
"Livvy!” Kit shouted. The girl spun on the spot and her witchlight illuminated the creature. It hissed and scuttled back against the wall, and Kit could see that it had eight legs, each ending in pincers, and fangs where its eyes should have been.
"Haniel," Ty said softly, and a seraph blade blazed to life in his hand. A light from Livvy's direction let Kit know she had done the same. Kit drew his iron sword.
The Kuri demon lunged toward Ty and he slashed at it, severing one of its legs. Ichor sprayed the ground at Kit's feet. The demon was backing away from the light from Ty's blade, and Livvy took the opportunity to leap behind it. She swung her seraph blade—and missed as the Kuri demon scuttled to the side to avoid the attack.
Kit took a swipe at the demon's legs, severing another. Ichor splattered his arm, burning his skin. Kit hissed in pain and was almost too distracted to duck when the demon lunged at him. The surprise knocked Kit off-balance and he fell flat on his back.
"Kit!" Ty said, and he swung his blade at the demon. The demon dodged, turned back toward Ty, and froze, Livvy's blade going right through its body. The demon made a shrieking sound, twitched, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kit got to his feet and brushed himself off.
"I'm going to hate spiders for weeks now," he said.
Ty smiled, then the expression was exchanged for one of confusion. "What's that?"
Kit could feel it too: the ground felt as if it was moving beneath him. Then several long, pincer-ended legs emerged from the sand at their feet.
"Run!" Livvy shouted. Kit didn't have to be told twice. He, Livvy, and Ty sprinted back into the passageway from which they had come. As they ran, Kit could hear the sounds of hundreds of spider-like legs from behind them.
Livvy got through the mouth of the cave first, Ty following right after her. The two grabbed onto Kit's arms and helped pull him out. He fell into the warm, sunlit sand. Ty moved back towards the cave. He peered inside. Kit got up to see what he was looking at.
Keeping away from the sunlight, Kit could see tens of tens of Kuri demons like a single, wriggling mass inside of the cave.
"Who could have known there would be so many!" Livvy exclaimed. They were sitting at a cafe to regain their breath. Ty had his headphones on and was twisting a napkin between his fingers.
"Whoever summoned them had some serious business going on," Kit stated. Livvy nodded.
"Nobody around here seems to know of any warlocks that would be interested in summoning Kuri," Livvy sighed. They had asked around the area about the demons and warlocks.
"What does it take to summon them, anyway?" Kit asked.
"I don't know," Livvy said. "That magic is forbidden. I know demon summoning typically requires herbs or candles and definitely a blood sacrifice."
"There were herbs," Ty said. Kit hadn't noticed that he had removed his headphones.
"Where?" Livvy asked.
"On the floor around the summoning circle," Ty answered her.
"Isn't there a warlock who runs a flower shop here?" Livvy said. Ty nodded. "Catherine Flux."
"Should we go ask her questions?" Kit wondered. Ty nodded again. That's when they heard a crash from the other side of the cafe.
"Your kind isn't needed here," an angry voice growled. Kit stood on his chair to see what was happening.
"That doesn't mean you're permitted to throw furniture at me, now does it?"
The person who had spoken was a man with slicked black hair. He had ash-colored feathers covering his arms and was looking at the person who had shouted at him.
"Scum," the latter hissed. "You think I don't know what happened to that mundane girl on the beach? I don't need any demon spawn in this cafe."
"'Demon spawn' seems a little uncalled for," the warlock man said, seemingly unfazed. "I would have imagined you'd realize not all warlocks are guilty, being a Downworlder yourself."
"Just 'cause I'm a werewolf doesn't mean I gotta sympathize with you. I'm not the one using magic to open the gates of Hell."
"Nor am I," the warlock began, but at a look at the werewolf's face, he added, "but I can see I'm not welcome here. I'll take my leave."
Kit motioned for Ty and Livvy to follow him. The three headed towards the warlock man. He looked at them.
"Hello, little Nephilim," he said. "I am afraid that if you would like to speak to me, it will have to be outside."
"And you're sure you don't know who's been summoning them?" Livvy asked. The warlock, whom they had learned was named William Mare, shook his head.
"I have the pleasure of being acquainted with most warlocks in the area. I can't think of one that would summon a hoard of Kuri. Nasty things!" Mare gave a small shiver—whether voluntary or not, Kit couldn't tell.
"Tensions are high at this moment," Mare continued. "I wish you luck in finding who is behind all this."
"Thank you," Livvy said, and turned to the other three as the warlock began to walk away.
"So," Kit said, "we still don't know who it was."
"No," Livvy sighed. "I suppose we don't need to go visit Catherine Flux, then."
"I think we should," Ty replied. "We can ask if anyone bought suspicious herbs."
"It's worth a shot," Kit agreed. He had never had to deal with this before. At the Shadow Market, everyone had secrets, and unless you were buying or selling information, you didn't stick your nose where it didn't belong. Kit was surprised to find that he really enjoyed investigating with the Blackthorn twins.
Catherine Flux was a sweetheart. Those were Livvy's words, not Kit's, but he didn't disagree with them. Kit had met his fair share of rude and awful warlocks, and Catherine was not one of them. She had pleasantly told them that, although she knew which herbs and plants were needed to summon Kuri demons, she had not seen anyone buy them. She had told them what those herbs and plants were, though.
"Hawthorn, echinacea, basil, and nightshade," Livvy repeated. She, Ty, and Kit were sitting on a bench at a park. Ty was watching some geese flap around in a pond.
"No one can think of a single warlock that would have summoned those demons," Kit groaned.
"What if," Ty said, still watching the geese, "the person who summoned them wasn't a warlock."
"What do you mean?" Livvy asked.
Ty fiddled with the drawstrings of his hoodie. "What if they were a Shadowhunter?"
Livvy stared. "But that would be treason. They would be stripped of their marks!"
Kit thought about this.
"What if the person didn't think they'd be caught?" He asked. "What if they thought they were above suspicion?"
Ty looked at kit, his eyes glittering. "Exactly."
Livvy looked between them, confused. "What's going on?"
"We need to visit an apothecary," Ty said.
The apothecary in question was located on a lighted street corner. When the three kids entered, a woman with grey hair moved to the counter.
"Hello," she said. "How may I help you?"
"My name's Livvy Blackthorn," Livvy said. "This is my brother Ty, and this is Kit Herondale. We've been investigating what happened on the beach this morning. We were hoping you could answer some questions?" She phrased it like that itself was a question.
The woman seemed to pale, but it may have just been the lighting. "My name is Elaine Greybrook. I'll help you however I can. That poor girl..."
"Can I look around your store?" Kit asked.
"Of course, dearie. That's what it's here for."
Kit moved towards a wall covered in bunches of herbs. He could still hear what the others were saying.
"Are you Elanor Greybrook's sister?" Ty asked.
"Yes, I am," Elaine responded. "What does that have to do with this?"
"Oh, we just met her today," Livvy said. "The name sounded familiar."
Kit scanned the shelves. Hawthorn. Echinacea. Basil. Those three were present, but he couldn't find anything labeled nightshade. He went back over to tell Ty, who nodded and pointed at a potted plant on the counter. Elaine noticed the motion.
"Ah, I see you've found my belladonna," she said. "Aren't they flowers just lovely? I gave some to my sister, but I did warn her not to eat any." She laughed good-naturedly.
"Belladonna is also called deadly nightshade," Ty stated.
Livvy's and Kit's eyes widened.
"Miss Greybrook," Livvy said, "do you know if anyone has bought hawthorn, echinacea, and basil recently?"
"Oh! Elanor picked some of those out to take with her," Elaine said.
"Do you know where she might—" Kit's words were cut off by the ringing of the bell as the door opened. It was Elanor.
"The cut on my hand is healing up very nicely, Elaine. Thanks for your help."
She stopped dead when she saw Kit and Ty.
"Oh, Elly, these children were just looking for you!" Elaine said cheerily. She paused. "Elly, what's wrong?"
"How did you cut your hand, Miss Greybrook?" Livvy asked. Elanor made a move to hide her hand, but it was no use.
"You don't know anything," she hissed.
"I know a lot of things," Ty replied.
"We know you had the herbs to summon Kuri demons," Kit said.
"Me?" Elanor said. "Outrageous! I don't care what you found in that cave! You should be worried about catching the warlock who killed that girl!"
"I don't think we mentioned a cave," Livvy said. Elanor went white, as did Elaine.
"Elly," she said, "what did you do?"
Ty was tapping away at his phone's keypad.
"Do you hate warlocks that much?" Kit asked.
"Downworlders are dirt," Elanor spat. "Warlocks are no different from demons. I was doing the world a favor by making them seem guilty!"
A Portal opened up in the shop and several important-looking people stepped out.
"Elanor Greybrook," one of them said, "you have been summoned to Idris. Come with us."
"I still feel bad for Elaine," Livvy said She, Kit, and Ty were sitting on the stairs of the Institute.
"What'll happen to her?" Kit asked.
"Her Marks will be removed," Livvy explained. "She'll have to live as a mundane just because her sister broke the Law."
"Sed lex, dura lex," Ty sighed. The Law is hard, but it is the Law.
"Lex malla, lex nulla," Julian said as he stepped through the Institute doors. He looked tired. "A bad law is no law. They've finished cleaning out that cave you found. Those demons shouldn't be a problem any more." He looked to Ty. "You guys did a great job."
Ty grinned, his eyes shining, and Kit, as always, was struck by how beautiful he was.