Nothing But Shadows Read Online Free Page A

Alastair Carstairs said in chilly tones. “I read the mundane newspapers to find hints of demonic activity. I certainly don’t bother reading plays.”
    The two boys he was with nodded in good Shadowhunter solidarity.
    Matthew laughed in their faces. “Naturally. What use do sad, unimaginative little people have for plays?” he asked. “Or paintings, or dancing, or anything that makes life interesting. I am so glad to be at this dank little school where they will try to squeeze down my mind until it is almost as narrow as yours.”
    He patted Alastair Carstairs on the arm. James was amazed that he was not immediately struck in the face.
    Thomas was staring at Alastair with as much panic as James felt.
    â€œRun along now,” Matthew suggested. “Do. Jamie and I were talking.”
    Alastair laughed, his laugh sounding angrier than a sharp word would have. “I was only trying to give you young ones a little guidance about the way we do things in the Academy. If you’re too stupid to take heed, that is not my fault. At least you have a tongue in your head, unlike this one.”
    He turned and glared daggers at James. James was so surprised and dismayed at this turn of events—he hadn’t done anything !—that he simply stood and stared with his mouth open.
    â€œYes, you, the one with the peculiar eyes,” Alastair snapped. “What are you gawping at?”
    â€œI—” said James. “I—”
    He did have peculiar eyes, he knew. He did not truly need eyeglasses, except for reading, but he wore them all the time in order to conceal his eyes. He could feel himself blushing, and Alastair’s voice became as sharp as his laugh.
    â€œWhat’s your name?”
    â€œH-Herondale,” James stammered out.
    â€œBy the Angel, his eyes are awful,” said the boy to Alastair’s right.
    Alastair laughed again, this time with more satisfaction. “Yellow. Just like a goat’s.”
    â€œI don’t—”
    â€œDon’t strain yourself, Goatface Herondale,” Alastair said. “Don’t try to speak. You and your friends could perhaps cease obsessing about mundanes and try to think about little matters like saving lives and upholding the Law while you’re here, all right?”
    He strolled on, his friends laughing with him. James heard the word spreading through the tightly knit crowd with laughter following it, like the ripples from a stone thrown into a pond.
    Goatface. Goatface. Goatface.
    Matthew laughed. “Well. What an—”
    â€œThanks so much for dragging me into that,” James snapped. He turned on his heel and walked away from the two friends he had hoped for at the Academy, and heard his new name whispered as he went.
    *    *    *
    James did what he had promised himself he absolutely would not do. He dragged his heavy bag through the courtyard, through the hall, and up several sets of stairs until he found a staircase that seemed private. Then he sat down and opened a book. He told himself that he was only going to read a few pages before he went down again. The Count of Monte Cristo was just descending on his enemies in a balloon.
    James emerged hours later, to the sinking realization that the sky had gone dark gray and the sounds from the courtyard had faded away. His mother and Lucie were still in London, far away, and now he was sure his father was gone too.
    He was trapped in this Academy full of strangers. He did not even know where he was supposed to sleep tonight.
    He wandered around trying to find the bedrooms. He did not discover any, but he did find himself enjoying exploring such a big new place on his own. The Academy was a splendid building, the stone walls shining as if they had been polished. The chandeliers seemed made of jewels, and as James wandered in search of the dining hall, he found many beautiful tapestries depicting Shadowhunters through the