Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2)(110)

"What about the Clave?" said Ty. "Have you talked to the Clave?"

"Are they ever useful?" Kit muttered under his breath. He didn't think anyone had heard him, but someone must have, because Evelyn burst out laughing. "Oh, Jessamine," she said to no one. "Come now, that isn't in good taste at all."

The Blackthorns all raised their eyebrows at each other. No one commented, though, because Bridget had appeared from the kitchen, carrying steaming plates of meat and vegetables, both of which had been boiled to the point of tastelessness.

"I just don't see why we can't go home," Dru said glumly. "If the Centurions defeated all the sea demons, like they said . . ."

"It doesn't meant Malcolm won't come back," said Diana. "And it's Blackthorn blood he wants. You're staying within these walls, and that's final."

Kit had passed out during the horrible thing they called a Portal journey-the terrible whirl through absolutely icy nothingness-so he'd missed the scene that must have occurred when they'd appeared in the London Institute-minus Arthur-and Diana had explained they were there to stay.



       
         
       
        

Diana had contacted the Clave to tell them about Malcolm's threats-but Zara had been there first. Apparently she'd assured the Council that the Centurions had it all under control, that they were more than a match for Malcolm and his army, and the Clave had been only too happy to take her word for it.

And as if Zara's assurance had in fact effected a miracle, Malcolm didn't turn up again, and no demons visited the Western Seaboard. Two days had passed, and there had been no news of disaster.

"I hate Zara and Manuel being in the Institute without us there to watch them," said Livvy, throwing her fork down. "The longer they're there, the better claim they have for the Cohort taking it over."

"Ridiculous," said Evelyn. "Arthur runs the Institute. Don't be paranoid, girl." She pronounced it gel.

Livvy flinched. Though everyone, even Dru and Tavvy, had finally been brought up to speed on the situation-including Arthur's illness and the facts about where Julian and the others really were-it had been decided it was better for Evelyn not to know. She wasn't an ally; there was no reason she'd side with them, though she seemed patently uninterested in Council politics. In fact, most of the time she didn't seem to be listening to them at all.

"According to Zara, Arthur's been locked in his office with the door shut since we left," said Diana.

"I would be too, if I had to put up with Zara," said Dru.

"I still don't see why Arthur didn't come with you," sniffed Evelyn. "He used to live in this Institute. You'd think he wouldn't mind paying a visit."

"Look on the bright side, Livvy," Diana said. "When Julian and the others return from-from where they are-they're most likely to go straight to Los Angeles. Would you want them to find an empty Institute?"

Livvy poked at her food and said nothing. She looked pale and drawn, purple shadows under her eyes. Kit had gone down the corridor the night after they'd arrived in London, wondering if she wanted to see him, but he'd heard her crying through her door when he put his hand on the knob. He'd turned around and left, a strange, pinching feeling in his chest. No one crying like that wanted anyone to come near them, especially not someone like him.

He got the same pinching feeling when he looked across the table at Ty and remembered how the other boy had healed his hand. How cool Ty's skin had been against his. Ty was tense in his own way-the move to the London Institute had constituted a major disruption in his daily routine and it was clearly bothering him. He spent a lot of time in the training room, which was almost identical in layout to its Los Angeles counterpart. Sometimes when he was especially stressed, Livvy would take his hands in hers and rub them matter-of-factly. The pressure seemed to ground him. Still, at the moment Ty was tense and distracted, as if he'd folded in on himself somehow. 

"We could go to Baker Street," Kit said, without even knowing he was going to say it. "We are in London."

Ty looked up at that, his gray eyes aglow. He had shoved his food away: Livvy had told Kit that Ty took a long time to warm up to new foods and new flavors. For the moment, he was almost solely eating potatoes. "To 221B Baker Street?"

"When everything with Malcolm is cleared up," Diana interrupted. "No Blackthorns out of the Institute until then, and no Herondales, either. I didn't like the way Malcolm glared at you, Kit." She stood up. "I'll be in the parlor. I need to send a fire-message."