The Infernal Devices 01 - Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare Page A

is there not? Name it, and I shall attempt to free it from its prison for you.”
    “Do you think the library has
The Wide, Wide World
? Or
Little Women
?”
    “Never heard of either of them,” said Will. “We haven’t many novels.”
    “Well, I want novels,” said Tessa. “Or poetry. Books are for reading, not for turning oneself into livestock.”
    Will’s eyes glittered. “I think we may have a copy of
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
about somewhere.”
    Tessa wrinkled her nose. “Oh, that’s for little children, isn’t it?” she said. “I never liked it much—seemed like so much nonsense.”
    Will’s eyes were very blue. “There’s plenty of sense in nonsense sometimes, if you wish to look for it.”
    But Tessa had already spied a familiar volume on a shelf and went over to greet it like an old friend. “
Oliver Twist
!” she cried. “Have you any other of Mr. Dickens’s novels?” She clasped her hands together. “Oh! Do you have
A Tale of Two Cities
?”
    “That silly thing? Men going around getting their heads chopped off for love? Ridiculous.” Will unpeeled himself from the door and made his way toward Tessa where she stood by the bookshelves. He gestured expansively at the vast number of volumes all around him. “No, here you’ll find all sorts of advice about how to chop off someone’s
else’s
head if you need to; much more useful.”
    “I don’t!” Tessa protested. “Need to chop off anyone’s head, that is. And what’s the point of a lot of books no one actually wants to
read
? Haven’t you really any other novels?”
    “Not unless
Lady Audley’s Secret
is that she slays demons in her spare time.” Will bounded up onto one of the laddersand yanked a book off the shelf. “I’ll find you something else to read. Catch.” He let it fall without looking, and Tessa had to dart forward to seize it before it hit the floor.
    It was a large squarish volume bound in dark blue velvet. There was a pattern cut into the velvet, a swirling symbol reminiscent of the marks that decorated Will’s skin. The title was stamped on the front in silver:
The Shadowhunter’s Codex.
Tessa glanced up at Will. “What is this?”
    “I assumed you’d have questions about Shadowhunters, given that you’re currently inhabiting our sanctum sanctorum, so to speak. That book ought to tell you anything you want to know—about us, about our history, even about Downworlders like you.” Will’s face turned grave. “Be careful with it, though. It’s six hundred years old and the only copy of its kind. Losing or damaging it is punishable by death under the Law.”
    Tessa thrust the book away from her as if it were on fire. “You can’t be serious.”
    “You’re right. I’m not.” Will leaped down from the ladder and landed lightly in front of her. “You do believe everything I say, though, don’t you? Do I seem unusually trustworthy to you, or are you just a naïve sort?”
    Instead of replying, Tessa scowled at him and stalked across the room toward one of the stone benches inside a window alcove. Throwing herself down onto the seat, she opened the
Codex
and began to read, studiously ignoring Will even as he moved to sit beside her. She could feel the weight of his gaze on her as she read.
    The first page of the Nephilim book showed the same image she’d grown used to seeing on the tapestries in the corridors: the angel rising out of the lake, holding a sword in one handand a cup in the other. Underneath the illustration was a note:
The Angel Raziel and the Mortal Instruments.
    “That’s how it all began,” Will said cheerfully, as if oblivious to the fact that she was ignoring him. “A summoning spell here, a bit of angel blood there, and you’ve a recipe for indestructible human warriors. You’ll never understand us from reading a book, mind you, but it’s a start.”
    “Hardly human—more like avenging angels,” Tessa said softly, turning the pages. There were dozens of