"Now we go back to the Institute," said Clary, "and decide what our next step is. Who wants to carry the tentacle?"
There were no volunteers.
* * *
"You've got to be kidding," Kit said. "There's no way I'm jumping off that."
"Just consider it." Jace leaned down from a rafter. "It's surprisingly easy."
"Give it a try," Emma called. She had come to the training room when they'd gotten back from Malcolm's, curious to see how it was going. She had found Ty and Livvy sitting on the floor, watching as Jace tried to convince Kit to throw a few knives (which he was willing to do) and then to learn jumping and falling (which he wasn't).
"My father warned me you people would try to kill me," Kit said.
Jace sighed. He was in training gear, balanced on one of the intricate network of rafters that intersected the interior of the training room's pitched roof. They ranged from thirty to twenty feet above the floor. Emma had taught herself to fall from those exact rafters over the years, sometimes breaking bones.
A Shadowhunter had to know how to climb-demons were fast and often multi-legged, scurrying up the sides of buildings like spiders. But learning how to fall was just as important.
"You can do it," Emma called now.
"Yeah? And what happens if I splatter myself all over the floor?" asked Kit.
"You get a big state funeral," Emma said. "We put your body in a boat and shove you over a waterfall like a Viking."
Kit glared at her. "That's from a movie."
She shrugged. "Maybe."
Jace, losing patience, launched himself from the highest rafter. He somersaulted gracefully in the air before landing in a soundless crouch. He straightened up and winked at Kit.
Emma hid a smile. She'd had a horrendous crush on Jace when she was twelve. Later that had turned into wanting to be Jace-the best there was: the best fighter, the best survivor, the best Shadowhunter.
She wasn't there yet, but she wasn't done trying, either.
Kit looked impressed despite himself, then scowled again. He looked very slight next to Jace. He was close to the same height as Ty, though less fit. The potential Shadowhunter strength was there, though, in the shape of his arms and shoulders. Emma had seen him fight, when in danger. She knew what he could do.
"You'll be able to do that," Jace said, pointing up at the rafter, and then at Kit. "As soon as you want to."
Emma could recognize the look in Kit's eye. I might never want to. "What's the Nephilim motto again?"
" 'We are dust and shadows,' " said Ty, not looking up from his book.
"Some of us are very handsome dust," Jace added, as the door flew open and Clary stuck her head in.
"Come to the library," she announced. "The tentacle is starting to dissolve."
"You drive me wild with your sexy talk," said Jace, pulling on his gear jacket.
"Adults," said Kit, with some disgust, and stalked out of the room. To Emma's amusement, Ty and Livvy were instantly on their feet, following him. She wondered what exactly had sparked their interest in Kit-was it just that he was their age? Jace, she imagined, would have put it down to the famous Herondale charisma, though from what she knew, the Herondales who had immediately predated him had been pretty low on the stuff.
The library was in a certain amount of chaos. The tentacle was starting to dissolve, into a sticky puddle of green-pink goo that reminded Emma horribly of melted jelly beans. As Diana pointed out, this meant that the time left to identify the demon was shortening quickly. Since Magnus wasn't picking up his phone and no one wanted to involve the Clave, this left good old-fashioned book research. Everyone was handed a pile of fat tomes on sea creatures, and they dispersed to various parts of the library to examine paintings, sketches, drawings, and the occasional clipped-in photo.
At some point during the passing hours, Jace decided that they required Chinese food. Apparently kung pao chicken and noodles in black bean sauce were a requirement every time the New York Institute team had to engage in research. He hauled Clary off to an empty office to conjure up a Portal-something no other Shadowhunter besides Clary could do-promising them all the best Chinese food Manhattan had to deliver.
"Got it!" Cristina announced, about twenty minutes after the door had closed behind Jace and Clary. She held up a massive copy of the Carta Marina.
The rest of them crowded around the main table as Diana confirmed that the tentacle belonged to the sea demon species Makara, which-according to the sketches between the maps in the Carta Marina-looked like a part-octopus, part-slug thing with an enormous bee head.