ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴʟʏ ꜰɪʀᴇ ~ ᴛᴍɪ

Chapter 10 - The Silent City

Inquisitor Herondale stopped short at the entrance of the library.

I'm screwed, Allison thought bitterly, as her grandmother's eyes fastened on Allison's bruised jaw. Fury glazed behind her steel eyes. And vanished just as quickly, replaced with dimmed anger. A common emotion of the Inquisitor.

Surprisingly, her grandmother continued into the library, casting a glance around in silent judgment. She sat in a crimson Bergere chair, looking regal like a proficient queen on her throne. She wore her usual long dark gray cloak, which spread out like storm clouds around her. Beneath it was her slate-colored suit with a mandarin collar. Her usual attire.

"Sit down." Imogen nodded towards the mahogany armchair beside her.

"It's okay, Inquisitor," Allison straightened, her legs placed apart, with her hands locked behind. It was a stance she easily fell into. 

"Explain why you look like you've been in a fight," Her gray eyes, sharp as a knife, studied her.   Allison could feel her gaze, slicing away her armor of confidence and amusement, stripping her walls down. Her grandmother could see right through any shields Allison scrambled to place. 

To Allison's silence, "Is it the Morgenstern boy?"

Somehow, her grandmother enclosed pure threat with that question. Not even a question, but a declaration.

Take a deep breath, she told herself. Be calm and collected.

She met her grandmother's eyes at last, "I found Jace Morgenstern in a werewolf bar. I brought him in a few hours ago and he's ready for your inquisition. As for this bruise," Allison forced a chuckle. "I tripped. After-effects of the sleeping draught,"

Imogen held her assessing stare for a long minute, which Allison gladly held. Sighing, "Precisely why I instructed you to rest for a while."

"I finished my mission to secure the Morgenstern. I don't see why I've failed,"

"You haven't," Imogen looked done, and inclined back. "Do you know why I'm eager to meet the boy?

Allison chose her words carefully, as she always did in front of Imogen. "To find out what Valentine is planning. If his son has some information, that is."

Imogen smiled, but no amusement there. "Using Jonathan Morgenstern to lure him out. Are you saying we should blackmail him?"

Allison was disappointed that it didn't strike her mind first she but improvised it. "Valentine brought him up. There must be some part of him that loves his son. In some nook of his rotten heart." She used words that would make Imogen consider. "Jace is under our hands. Let's use him."

A satisfied smile appeared on her thin lips. 

"That's a really good tactic," Imogen said. "What I expected from you."

Allison bit back a comment.

"Though there's a flaw."

"Flaw?" asked Allison in dismay.

"If the boy is anything like his father, it would be hard to make him comply with our demands," said Imogen. "He might even be an informant to his father. A spy."

"I doubt that," Allison tested out slowly, watching every single emotion on her grandmother's face. "From what I've noticed from Jace Morgenstern, he'd rather side with the Clave. The Lightwoods seem to have changed him."

Contemplative. That was what flashed through the Inquisitor's face as she considered Allison's words. Then, fear struck through it. It vanished quickly. None of the other snakes in the Council could've caught that. But Allison did. She knew everything that was relayed through her grandmother's mind.