The Lost Book of the White (The Eldest Curses #2) - Cassandra Clare Page 0,19
than tense ever since. Many Shadowhunters—and especially the Shadowhunters of the New York Institute—hated the Cold Peace and would have happily seen the restoration of normal relations. But it was the job of the Institute to uphold the Law, which was hard, but it was the Law, and so on.
“He hasn’t said a word to me,” said Magnus. “It’s just a guess.”
Maryse shrugged. “I’ve been juggling the Clave’s expectations about the Cold Peace and the realities of New York’s Downworld for three years. It can be done. Jace can be good at politics if he decides to be. And I won’t be dead. I’ll still be living here and have plenty of advice on the subject of the Cold Peace.” She sighed. “I admit I’d hoped that you would have some insight into Jace’s thinking.”
“I don’t, yet,” said Alec, though he wasn’t sure when in their big group outing he would be able to get a few minutes with Jace to ask him in private.
“Much of my advice,” put in Kadir, “about working around the Cold Peace would involve going through you and your Alliance.”
“Uh, speaking of which, should you tell them you’re going to China today?” said Magnus.
Alec hadn’t thought of that. “I really should,” he said. He dug out his phone, and one text later, he got a quick response from Maia: I’M IN THE SANCTUARY.
Alec got up. “Maia says she’s… in the Sanctuary? Did any of you know she was here? Or even that she was coming?” He exchanged a glance with Magnus that he’d developed over the past months: the wordless question, Is it okay to leave Max with you while I do a thing? And the wordless nod back. It was strange to have created a new language between himself and Magnus, one that was just for their family.
“Maybe she’s here to tell you she can see the future,” said Magnus. “Ask her how Shanghai’s going to go.”
Alec excused himself and headed out into the hall, then down the stairs to the Sanctuary. There he found Maia waiting, looking very proud of herself.
“Alec!” she said. “Good to see you.” She stuck out her hand for him to shake. Alec took her hand in some confusion; they were not big hand-shakers, the two of them.
He realized what was going on as his hand passed through Maia’s and she yelled a delighted “Ha!”
Alec recovered his balance and gave her a disapproving look. “You’re a Projection.”
“I’m a Projection!” said Maia, throwing her hands over her head. “So exciting.”
“So that means—”
“We finally have Projections working in the Den.”
“The ‘Den’?” said Alec, raising an eyebrow.
“New name for headquarters,” said Maia. The werewolves of Manhattan were based in an abandoned police station in Chinatown. “I’m trying it out.”
Alec nodded thoughtfully. “I’m cautiously in favor of it.”
“Good to know. So, apparently, there’s a faerie ring directly under the station, and that’s why things weren’t working. I guess it’s been there since, like, the founding of New York.”
“A faerie ring? Uh—” Alec wasn’t sure how to ask the next question, which was: How do we deal with that problem, given that the Alliance isn’t technically supposed to be in communication with faeries?
“Look, I never talked to a faerie about the situation,” Maia said. “I talked to a warlock, she talked to someone at the Shadow Market, then one day Projections work and someone leaves a wicker basket of acorns on the front stoop.”
“That’s very autumnal,” said Alec.
“One thing about faeries, they are committed to the aesthetic,” Maia agreed. “Anyway. What’s this about Shanghai?”
“Missing magic book, Magnus feels responsible, we’ve both got to go. It shouldn’t be more than a few days. And it might be a dead end and we’ll be back in an hour,” Alec added, although he didn’t think that was likely.
“So is there Alliance stuff you need to tell me?”
“God no,” said Alec. “You and Lily can certainly handle Alliance business for a few days. I might miss game night, though.”
Maia sighed. “Without you there, Lily’s going to make us play charades. Or whist or something. She’s such an old lady sometimes. A drunk old lady.”
“Maia,” Alec said disapprovingly.
“Oh, you know I love her,” Maia said. “Did you consider bringing her along? She speaks Mandarin, for one thing.”
“Just last week I heard Lily say, in my presence, the full sentence, ‘I want to never again in my life set foot within the borders of China,’ so, you know.… Magnus also speaks Mandarin.”