Love All, Trust Few
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“Do you know what I have missed the most after all this time?” Tobias loudly interrupts as his family lounges around the parlour quietly the following morning. “Queen cakes from Mrs Rundell’s Bakery. Oh, she makes the most delicate vanilla cakes in the whole of London.”
Josephine stops her sewing to peer up at her husband, whose eyes are closed as if he’s imagining himself eating one of the vanilla cakes right this very moment.
“Why not get one then, father?” Valarie chimes in. She sits on the light blue sofa, a book in her hand half torn and falling apart. It’s that well-loved.
“I think I shall!” Tobias announces.
He stands up abruptly, as if he’s going to leave immediately, but Josephine stops him. “Dear, are you leaving right this second?”
He looks at her like she is insane. “Of course. If I want cake, then I am having myself some cake.”
Josephine shakes her head and closes her eyes. She doesn't want to argue with him right now.
“Why are you so enthusiastic about a cake? It’s just cake. They have plenty at every event here.” Jordan questions his father. He’s been playing with an apple, tossing it between his hands for a while now, still contemplating if he wants to eat it or not .
“Because it’s from Mrs Rundell . She is one of the best bakers in London. Oxford cakes don’t even compare to the ones made fresh here each morning.” Tobias licks his mouth.
“Darling, that’s enough. We will go get one later this afternoon if you’re still in need of one.” Josephine says flatly.
Tobias sits back in his armchair, crossing his arms like a child being scorned at.
Jordan sometimes can’t believe how his mother loves Tobias so much. He’s always running off somewhere or becomes so easily distracted with random thoughts like cake ... She must love him a lot to put up with his sporadic, hyperactive personality.
The bell chimes from the entrance of the manor, and moments later Anthony, their footman, appears in the doorway of the sitting room with a message in his hand. “It’s for you, Mr Carter.” He says as he approaches Tobias.
“Thank you, Anthony,” and he opens the letter hastily. Reading through the quick message, he stands, reaching for his coat that’s hanging over the back of the armchair. “I need to leave. Robert has called me to Brixton. There seems to have been an Infernal attack.”
Jordan stands with him, suddenly more interested in the topic of conversation, as his apple thuds heavily against the floor, “An Infernal attack?” he repeats, hinting that his father should tell him more about it.
“Yes, that’s all the message says. I need to meet him in Brixton immediately.”
“Take the carriage, Tobi!” Josephine yells out to her husband, who is already hurrying towards the door, vanilla cakes no longer at the forefront of his mind.
The coach ride to Brixton isn’t very far, but the roads seem to be packed this morning. Carriage upon carriage line up on every street. People duck in and around them as they go on foot to their destination.
Tobias curses, wishing sometimes that London wasn’t such a populated city. At least the chill this morning is more pleasant than bitter, so he can actually enjoy the view outside the open window without shivering inside his coat.
When the coach finally reaches the address that’s written at the bottom of the message card, Tobias jumps down from the carriage step and asks Anthony to return to the manor for him. He fears he will end up being here for a while.
“As you wish, sir.” And Anthony heads back to the Carter estate.
Percy and Robert have already arrived, speaking with a younger man who looks exactly as his father, Stefan, did. Tall and strong, light brown hair blowing in the breeze outside of the residence. Even the green-brown eyes of Stefan Hamilton colour his features.
“Tobias, thank you for coming on such short notice.” Robert says as he approaches the three men. Tobias greets them before turning to the younger one. “Clarence Hamilton, one of our finest. He just completed his final year of training, and I thought he should start being more exposed to our investigations. Clarence, you may remember Tobias Carter.” Robert introduces the two of them.
Tobias grins and cups his hand gently. “Clarence. You look just as you did the last time I saw you, although you were a lot smaller then. I believe you were seven when I left London with my family. Angels, you look just like your father.”
A smile frames his younger face as Clarence shakes his hand firmly. “Yes, good to see you again. I’m glad you finally made it back into the city. It seems like everyone missed having you here.”
“So, you do remember me?” Tobias flashes him a teeth-baring grin. A single dimple appearing in his left cheek.
“Of course I do. You were my father’s best friend who insisted on learning archery and then proceeded to hit him at practice in the buttock.” Clarence says with a wide smile.
Tobias’ mouth shuts as both Percy and Robert snort with laughter. “Yes, that was him.” Percy pats Tobias on the shoulder. “I remember having to patch Stefan up afterwards. ”
“It was harder than it looked,” Tobias protests, “and it was Stefan’s idea to try it in the first place.”
Clarence chuckles lowly. “Please don’t tell me that a bow is your weapon of choice now.”
Tobias laughs while shaking his head, amused. “You’ll be glad to know I never picked one up again after that. I think I scared myself too much.”
“We are all glad for that, Tobias.” Robert adds while chuckling lowly. “We should go in and have a look now. See what it is we are dealing with. Will should be coming as well, but it looks as though he might be late.”
Both Tobias and Clarence groan at the sound of Will’s name.
Percy and Robert lead the way, discussing something amongst themselves when Tobias touches Clarence tenderly on the shoulder. “I am sorry about your parents, Clarence. And I apologise for Josephine and I not being around afterwards.” The hilarity leaving his voice and sympathy washing over his expression.
Clarence’s smile drops as he nods. “I understand. It’s hard being somewhere with memories attached, knowing you won’t ever make any again. I feel that way whenever I walk into their quarters at home.”
His words pang Tobias’ heart. “You haven’t locked their room and left it alone?”
Clarence shakes his head regretfully, “I can’t bring myself to. I think if I do that, then I’ll lose the last part of my parents that remains.” He lets out a low exhale. “My mother’s perfume still sits beside her bed. I’ve never told Kora this, but I go in there sometimes just to smell it.”
Tobias looks at Clarence with pain in his gaze. Sorrow making the back of his throat burn and his mouth dry. He drops his voice to murmur to Clarence, “We miss them all the time as well.” Reassuring him.
“Thank you, Mr Carter. ”
“Please, call me Tobias.” He pats his shoulder once more before guiding Clarence into the townhouse to where Robert and Percy stand in the entrance. “So, what do we know about the attack?”
“The Night Guard suspects that an Infernal attacked a Spellcaster last night.” Robert relays the message to the group of men. “All right, let’s get this out of the way.”
The four of them make their way into the sitting room where light coloured blood has dried into the multicoloured rug covering the timber flooring. The deceased body of the man is still lying on the floor in a pool of drying pink liquid. Spellcaster blood is a mix of Mortal red blood and demonic clear blood, making it a strange light pink shade.
Percy crouches in front of the Spellcaster, looking into the eyes of the man. Brown, lifeless, and left wide open. A deep gash is visible through his chest, with pink blood staining his skin.
"It doesn't appear that a demonic weapon caused it, otherwise it would have also eaten away his flesh," Percy says as he continues to assess the wound.
Tobias trains his eyes on the clock ticking on the mantel, not wanting to look at the deceased body.
“An Infernal used a Mortal blade?” Clarence says questioningly.
Percy shrugs, “They don’t always have access to one. Maybe it didn’t expect the man to betray him.” Suggesting to the group.
Clarence scratches his head as Will paces into the room, “Sorry I am late.”
His rushing has caused his brown hair to become undone, and his cheeks to flush.
“It’s fine, Will. We only just arrived ourselves. Something attacked the Spellcaster last night. We presume it was an Infernal.”
Clarence watches Will closely, studying his expression intently. His uncle blows out a breath, not really looking as shocked as the rest of them. His trust in Will is dwindling the more he sees him .
“Certainly. Infernals are ruthless and heartless, so I probably was a demonic creature.”
“But an Infernal should have used a demonic blade or summoned its dark forces to strangle him. Why would it use a simple Mortal blade?” Clarence questions his uncle.
Will shrugs at him, “Maybe it’s all it could find.” He pauses to look down at the deceased body. “It seems to have worked as well.”
Clarence’s jaw clenches. “I’ll go look around to see if any weapons looked misplaced.”
He leaves the sitting room and Will trails after him into the hallway. “Clarence, why are you being so insistent? It was only a Spellcaster.”
Clarence blinks at him slowly. “That doesn’t matter. It’s our job to look after all Mortal and Marked kinds, not just our own. I just want to know why it chose something Mortal instead of a stronger weapon. The Spellcaster surely has more around here that we can assess.”
Will shakes his head at him, “He’s gone, Clarence. I don’t think it’s necessary to walk around and see what killed him.”
Swallowing, Clarence stares at his uncle questioningly. Why is he being so adamant about Clarence dropping this? He lets out a breath, nodding slowly. “All right. I suppose you have more experience than I do. Let’s go back and help with the body.”