The Lost Book of the White (The Eldest Curses #2) - Cassandra Clare Page 0,36

fine and pleasant space, well-shaded and equipped with small wooden tables and stools placed here and there for sitting. Tian led them to one, and Simon and Clary sat down, while the rest of them remained standing. “So are you here about the Portals?”

“Sort of,” said Alec. “What’s going on with the Portals, exactly?”

Tian looked surprised. “Portals are misbehaving all over the world. It only started a few days ago, but it’s quickly become a real mess. I assumed you’d know—didn’t you travel to Shanghai by Portal?”

“Yes,” said Clary, “and they were definitely… misbehaving. We assumed it was just us.”

“Everyone thought it was just them,” said Tian. “But it’s everyone. Portals go to the wrong place, or don’t open at all, or they’re full of demons. Everyone is out looking into it.”

“We think our mission might be indirectly related to the Portals somehow,” Alec said carefully, “but actually we’re in Shanghai to look for a couple of warlocks, one man and one woman. They stole a powerful spell book from New York recently, and we think they’re too dangerous to be allowed to keep it.”

Tian tugged idly at a branch, his dark hair falling into his eyes. “Well, the good news—and the bad news—is that almost all the Downworlders in Shanghai live in the same neighborhood.”

“The Downworlder Concession,” Alec said.

“Exactly. But there are a lot of Downworlders in the city. A lot. I should know—that’s my patrol area.”

“They let you patrol there?” said Isabelle.

Tian nodded and said, with some pride, “Relations between Shadowhunters and Downworlders have always been very good in Shanghai.”

“Even now?” said Alec.

Tian grimaced. “We do our best. It’s about knowing the people, building relationships with them, trusting them, so when it matters, they’ll trust you.”

Alec found he liked this guy. “Do you have any suggestions?”

Tian nodded. “If you can wait, you should go to the Shadow Market tomorrow. There are a few people you could talk to… but really the best place to start would be with Peng Fang. He’s a vampire blood merchant—”

“We’ve met,” Alec said glumly. Isabelle and Simon exchanged puzzled looks.

“And there are others.” Tian hesitated. “Would you be offended if I escorted you? Things are better in Shanghai than elsewhere, but many Downworlders would still be wary of Nephilim strangers. Especially obviously foreign Nephilim strangers.”

“Hey,” said Simon defensively, “Alec here is the founder of the Downworlder-Shadowhunter Alliance. He’s got a Downworlder pass.”

“I don’t,” said Alec, “have a ‘Downworlder pass.’ ”

“If any Shadowhunter does, you do,” Simon insisted.

“I’ll take you and make introductions,” Tian said. “They know me. And you’ll want to split up when you walk around. Six Shadowhunters together in a Shadow Market looks like something’s about to go down.” He smiled at them. “Come to my family home tomorrow. We can have breakfast and then go to the Market.”

“But the Market is at night,” said Simon.

Tian smiled more broadly. “Welcome to Shanghai, home of the one and only Sunlit Market.”

“What do—” began Simon.

“Vampires have a blacked-out section of the Market that’s been enclosed for their use,” said Tian.

Simon nodded, satisfied.

“I heard something about a bookstore,” Alec said. “The Celestial Palace.”

Tian’s eyebrows went up. “It’s nearby. We can stop there as well. It is…” He hesitated. “It is faerie-owned and staffed. You’ll attract attention. The whole concession will know in minutes that a gang of foreign Shadowhunters has come to the Palace.”

“Will it cause trouble?” Jace asked.

Tian shrugged. “Probably not. Just gossip. If you don’t want faerie monarchs or vampire clans or the Spiral Labyrinth to know you’re in Shanghai, that’ll be blown the moment you walk in.”

“Why wouldn’t we want them to know we’re in Shanghai?” said Alec.

Tian hesitated. “May I speak frankly?” he said. When they nodded, he went on. “One of the ways things stay friendly between all of us here in Shanghai is that we Shadowhunters try to take situations as they come, and find solutions where we can.”

“I’m not sure what you’re getting at,” said Clary.

Tian cleared his throat. “Our goal is the overall stability of the Shadow side of the city. That means sometimes allowing some Downworlder activity that might not normally be considered acceptable. Always because of important extenuating circumstances, you understand.”

“Oh, I get it,” said Jace. “You’re saying, if we go to the concession together, we might see some illegal stuff, and you want to know if we can let it slide.”

“Is that what you’re saying?” Alec said.

“I wouldn’t put it in quite those terms, but—yes,” said Tian.

They exchanged looks. Carefully, Jace said, “While all