PROLOGUE
"Kids! Let's go," I said as I smiled and started to walk away.
"Katie," my husband Ethan walks up kisses me lightly. "How's our little Ann?" He says placing his hand gently on my bulging stomach.
"Barf!" I turn and see my our seven-year-old daughter, Ema, sticking her tongue out.
"They make quite a couple don't they?" Isabelle says. I laugh along with Simon and Ethan. Ema and Simon and Izzy's son, Max, were holding tight to each other's hands. I smiled, happy that Ema finally found a friend the same age as her. "Are you guys ready for the portal?" the kids smile and nod their heads vigorously.
"Mommy!" I scream as I look around. I'm wet from the portal, Mom said this would happen. We're supposed to be in Idris, instead we're, well I'm, on a deserted street in an unknown town. Someone grabs my hand with theirs and pulls me into them. They wrap their arms around me, still holding my hand. I scream.
"Em!" I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. It was Max. He's the only one who calls me Em. I turn around and hug him back, burying my face in his neck. We both jerk out head up as someone yells our names.
"RUN!" They yell, it's my parents, "THE PORTAL! GO!"
"MOMMY!" I pull away from Max and try to run in the direction of my mom's yells. He grabs my waist and pulls me back towards the portal and his parents. I see my mom and dad running to us, followed by a bunch of... somethings. Demons. "Mommy!" I scream again.
"GO!" She and my dad flip around to fight the demons. I feel myself being pulled back from the waist by Max. The cold of the portal sucks me into another dimension, but not before I see my parents slaughtered by demons.
I wake up to the sound of Izzy yelling at someone.
"Magnus! You… you took us to the wrong place!" She was crying. I open my eyes and wait for them to adjust to the harsh afternoon light. I'm lying in the grass with my head resting on Max's lap. He's looking at me with worry and smiles as soon as our eyes meet.
"Where are we?" I ask, briefly remembering last night's events.
"Right outside of Alcanite. We're safe here Em." He strokes my hair lightly with his hand. Why was he being so gentle? I close my eyes.
"And my parents?" I open my eyes again, hoping it was a nightmare. Izzy answers my question through her tears.
"I'm so sorry honey. I'm so sorry.." She kneels down. I don't realize I'm crying until Izzy wipes my cheek. "I'm so sorry…" She whispers to my foggy, crying mind.
CHAPTER 1
Knock, knock, knock.I hear someone whisper my name through the closed wooden door. "Max?" they asked.
"Hmm?" I hum without looking up from examining my seraph blades.
"Can I come in?" it's Ema. I stand up and open the door, the cool air of the long hallway tickles the bare skin of my Marked chest. She blushes. "I didn't realize I was interrupting-" she stops mid-sentence and glances over my shoulder. "What are you doing?" Ema asks, a tinge of concern lacing her voice.
"Nothing," I move to block the view of my weapons and gear, which are spread out all over the floor.
"Yeah," Ema pushes past me, her perfect dark brown, wavy ponytail whipping my face as she turns around to face me.
"This is DEFINITELY nothing," she says sarcastically. "Where are you going? You heard what John -" I cut her off.
"John can say whatever he wants, that doesn't mean I have to listen," she puts her hands on her hips.
"Well you can't go alone!" Ema exclaims.
"Come with me then. Come with me to Idris. We'll take the portal," I walk slowly back over to my weapons, waiting for her to answer. She doesn't. I turn to look at her but all I see a flick of brown hair disappearing out the open doorway. I run to the door and see her leaning against the wall a little ways down to the left. She looks like she's crying. "Crap," I mutter under my breath.
"Ema?" I see a delicate figure bounce gingerly over to her. It was Annie, I noticed as soon as she stepped into the witchlight. Annie's my parabati's younger sister. They both, her and Tony, looked exactly like Jace, the same fair hair, but Annie has Clary's eyes. The green ones. Annie was quite a bit smaller than Tony though. She was only twelve and didn't have much training since both the trainers, Jace and Alec, are always gone. "Ema?" Annie asks again, looking concerned. She flips her head around as she hears my footsteps on the cold concrete.
"Em I.." I tried but she cut me off.
"It's done," she said as she stood up straight. "I won't go! Not through the portal! I bet you don't remember why. What happened when we were seven? You don't do you. It was what, 11 years ago? I doubt you remember," she continued talking before I could answer. "Do you know why I stay here when everyone else goes? Do you even know why?" her eyes started to water. I turned to Annie for help; she was always the soft one, the COMPLETE opposite of Tony, sorry to admit; but she wasn't there. Crap, I say again in my head.
"Look, Em. I'm sorry but,"
"It's done Max. It's done," she started walking away.
"But," she flips around, I could tell she was trying not to cry.
"It's done!" she yelled. That set her off. A single tear dripped down to the floor. Another one ran down her perfect, rosy cheek and fell to the floor to join the other. She wiped it off and whispered "It's done." Ema turns and walks away. She was beautiful. Her hair, her skin, the shape of her lips, her eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes. I couldn't take it anymore. I ran to catch up, grabbed her arm and turned her around to face me. She didn't say a word.
"Ema, I've wanted to.. Well I.. Who cares about words anyway," I said as she takes a deep, shuddering breath. She threw her arms around my chest and leaned her head against me, right below my chin. I hugged her back as a steady line of tears dripped down to the floor. We stood there like we used to until I finally spoke up. "No," I said. She lifts her forehead from my chest and drops her arms. "No," I say it again. Looking slightly down at Ema I say, "You're so beautiful. You always have been. Ever since I first saw you,"
"Max? Whadda you-" and then I kissed her. Full on, mouth-to-mouth. Her lips were soft against mine and she tasted like salt. Ema, salt, and tears. My Ema. I pulled in her waist and took out her hair band. She tries to push away but I grab her arms and push her against the wall. I wish the walls would close in, shutting out the rest of the world. I wish they would hold us together, just me and her. This very moment. All I've ever wanted. This moment. I feel her relaxing. Was it relaxing? She drops to the floor. And someone screams. I fall to my knees beside her and lift her head onto my lap. I gently brush her hair with the fingers of one hand and with the other I pulled out the seraph blade from her back. This was mine. It was the one with the birds on the blade. It fit in my hand. Why? Why did I do this? I drop the blade and slowly rock back and forth. Tears. Not hers, mine. They hit her face and splash down to the floor. Nothing makes me cry. Nothing except her. Ema. Nothing but Ema. Her name rings in my mind and I keep whispering it to myself. "Ema. Ema. Ema... Ema.."
chapter 2
"DUDE! WAKE THE HECK UP!" I punch him. In the gut. Tony. No one else would wake me up like that. "Nice…shot..." He looks like he's about to puke. Tony recovered quickly, glaring at me. "You were sleep talking."
"Was I?"
"Yes."
"And what about exactly, may I ask?"
"Oh yes. You may ask."
"So…"
"Ema. Oh Ema, My DARLING." Tony was grinning. I got up and grabbed a post from the corner of my room.
"Onguard!" I smirked and he grabbed one too.
"Alle!" We hit each other with the sticks and ended up in the hall where we knock over a few pictures and a table.
"Ha! I win!" I had managed to get the pole at his throat and disarm him, all while Clary's yelling from the library down the hall.
"BOYS! BE MORE CAREFUL!"
"Are you talking to us?! We're always careful!" I grinned crookedly at Tony. A door opened and Annie came running down the hall, her green eyes blazing.
"There's... something... down... that way. It... scared me... really... bad… Whew! I'm out.. of breath," she screamed as Ema ran up. "GOD! YOU LITTLE…" Annie started hitting Ema with her book.
"Ow!" Ema grabbed her arm right above her elbow and pulled away. Tony had fallen over laughing and I was about to do the same. Ema started laughing and Annie looked from me to Tony to Ema and back. She looked so confused it was hard not to laugh.
"What?" Annie kept looking back, and, forth, and back, and forth. Soon, finally if I might add, she got too frustrated. "MOM!" Annie yelled as she walked away, glancing back with a face that looks like we each have a third ear. "THE BIG KIDS ARE SCARING ME….." Then we all started laughing even harder.
Clary walked up to us, her red hair a wild tangle as she looked sternly at everyone, "Max, Tony, Ema, come into the the library now."
"Whaaat," Tony rolled his eyes.
"I thought only girls did that," said Ema, smirking, as she slowly backed toward the library. "Are you a GIRL Tony?" she laughed and ran down the hall. Tony chased after her leaving me, laughing, and Clary, muttering something like, "kids," and, "idiots," to herself. When I got to the library with Annie, she had stayed behind while Clary left, Jace, Alec, Mom and Dad, and to my surprise, my grandma Maryse, were sitting at the long table. Clary sat down next to Jace.
"Something is bad is going on in Idris and the Consul needs the five of us there. Since Max is eighteen, we need him to be in charge while we're gone." Clary said.
"WHAT! HOW IS THAT FAIR! AT ALL! I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY MOTHER!" Tony yelled as he stood up and threw back his chair. Annie covers her laugh with her sweater sleeve.
"I am. Although the rest of you still need to behave, even if you don't like it." Clary smiled at her daughter. Ema pushes a book towards Clary. The Shadowhunter Codex.
"Look on page one. It states all the reasons to NOT put Maxwell Lightwood, in charge."
"Hey! That is so offensive!" I smile at her.
"I wasn't done." Clary sighed, "Ema, you're also in charge."
"Yes!" she pulls in her fist. She grins at me. That gorgeous smile of her's. I took a deep breath to steady myself.
"That's still not fair," Tony stated as he walked out the door.
"You're the youngest out of us three dude," I smirked at him,"Though that's not your fault."
"What do you mean by that?!" Tony glared at him. Ema rolled her eyes and stood up.
"So that settles it? We have to be there tonight so we'll have to leave before dinner," Clary says.
"Okay," Ema said as she picked up the Codex and put it back up on the shelf. She looked at me with her pretty blue eyes, "You coming?"
"Yeah," I got up and noticed Clary smirking at me with one eyebrow raised."What!" She sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Nothing," she shakes her head, "Why don't you tell her?" My eyes widen and I look at her with a face of: how did you know?!
"Is itthat obvious?" She shrugs. I stared at Clary,while trying not to scream. What would I do if Ema knows?
CHAPTER 3
"GUYS!" Tony comes running down the hall to Max and I, we're about to leave for Taki's to get dinner since no one here can cook. I turn around.
"Dude, if this is another reason why you should be in charge, just forget it." Max said as he turned around.
"Yeah, seriously Tony. We're-" Tony cut me off.
"It's not that! It's my sister!" he yelled.
"Annie?" I ask, "She's in her room, I just checked,"
"No! I mean yes, Annie's in her room, but my older sister! Savannah!" Max paled when Tony said Savannah.
"Hey, uh, who's Savannah?" I ask. Max turns to me, he was standing really close. My heart quickens and so does my breath as he leans closer. Max puts his lips to my ear. His perfect lips.
"Tony and Annie's older sister. She died protecting Tony and Annie from a demon, Savannah was only ten years old. Tony was eight and Annie was three. They were walking back from the park one night and their babysitter disappeared. Clary and Jace were in Idris, helping with Clave stuff, and Savannah had to fight the demon that tried to kill herself and her younger brother and sister. She died nine years ago, the morning after the fight from getting hit," he said.
"Yeah, she was dead, I thought, but I just got a letter saying she's in Alcanite, got taken by Damon, and needs help. We have to go!"
"Dude, think this through, if Savannah was captured by Damon," Max paused and told me Damon was like, as bad as you can get, "would she really be able to send us a letter?" Max turns back to face Tony, our shoulders brush and my breath quickens. He looks at me and mouths, You okay? I nod.
"Please," Tony runs his hands through his hair.
"I'll go," Max says. I suck in a deep breath.
"I will to," I hesitantly say as Annie walks up with her novel pressed tightly against her chest. She rolls her eyes as she comes to stand beside me.
"I don't really have a choice do I?" she says. "Whatever."
"I won't take the portal," I blurt out. Max's eyes widen. He turns and walks quickly down the hall toward his room.
Twenty minutes later I heard Annie yell at me from down the hallway. I quickly shove my clothes, weapons, and two extra steles in my bag, making sure the seraph blade with the birds on it isn't part of the pile. "MAX! HURRY UP!" Annie yells again. "WE'RE GOING TO MISS THE BUS!" I grab my bag and walk out of my room to the front doors of the Institute. I have decided to ignore everyone until we get to Idris and I can talk to the Silent Brothers. The dream keeps repeating itself and I don't want to hurt anybody, especially not Ema. I glance down at my open duffel bag and see a glint of silver wink at me as I step outside into the crisp winter air.
CHAPTER 4
two weeks later
The Motel we're staying at is only a few blocks away from a Burger King, so after we finished our dinner we walked down the busy streets of Brooklyn to our rooms. I trudged my feet along the snowy sidewalk, behind everyone else and thought about why Max was ignoring me. Glancing up, I see everyone except him. His leather jacket disappeared down a long alley, next to our Motel. With a quick glance ahead I follow him. I don't see him but I go all the way down the alley and turn around. Max is standing somewhere around the middle of it. How did I miss him? "Max! Look at me! Do you ever think of anyone but yourself?! Do you know how much this has been hurting everyone? How much it's been hurting me?" He turns around and stalks up to me. I shrink back against the wall. He looks like he's about to hit me. My back slams into the cold brick. Horror fills my face as he steps in close. Then he takes my face in his hands and kisses me. The kisses are hungry and desperate and his lips are warm and he tasted like salt. I lean further into Max, relaxing and letting him take control. I felt him smile against my lips as he moves his hands down to the small of my back.
"Ema..." he whispered. "God, I love you. I always have." I move my hands from the wall to his chest.
"I didn't know I was God…" I smirk and run my hands up to his neck, lacing my fingers in his hair. His hands slide down to my hips, where he grips my sides and pulls me in. I tense and un-tense as his hands slide down my butt to my thighs and lift me up. I wrap my legs around his waist and break away from him as he looks at me.
"Are we moving too fast?" He whispers hoarsely. I reply by gripping his hair so hard it must have hurt. I slam my lips back into his and smile. As our kisses get deeper, I notice a brick stabbing me in the back but I don't care. His teeth graze my lower lip. I take a deep breath and giggle. His hands slide up under my shirt. My heart quickens as I pull away and and take off my cable-car knit sweater.
"Better?" I smirk at him.
"Better." Max pressed his lips back to mine and released a throaty groan. I shiver as the snow seeps through my skinny jeans. I was fine with a shirt on... "Cold?" He whispers between kisses. I nod. Max puts his jacket over me and I shove my arms through the sleeves. "Damn, Em. You're so beautiful, did you know that," I laugh and slam my mouth back down onto his. He frees himself from his restraints and wraps one arm around my waist, letting the other wander up to pull out my ponytail. I break free and rest my forehead against his. "I love you, Em."
"I know," I murmur as I kiss him teasingly on the lips.
"Where do you think they are?" Tony says as he rounds the corner.
"I dunno. I'll check outside. Go ask the doorman if you can check the storage room."
"Got it." Tony walks off to find his parabati. I open the service exit which leads to a back alley and see something I have never wanted to see.
"Uh, Tony!" I make a face I couldn't help making and snort as I turn my head around. "Found 'em!" I can't help it. I turn back and burst out laughing. "Ema?" I say between laughs. "Max?" I laugh again, almost falling over as he lets go of Ema and she drops to her feet, reaching to straighten out her shirt, only to remember that she's wearing a bra and Max's leather jacket.
"Annie?" She breathed as her eyes widen.
"Uh, yeah, who else?" I laughed again. "Whatever," I roll my eyes and wave the hand that isn't holding open the door. "Continue." I laugh again and close the door.
"Oh God," I said as Max stepped back in so he was close to me.
"Ema, don't worry, it's not that big of a deal," he said as he twisted a lock of my dark, wavy hair. "Now, where were we?" Max smiled as he twists his fingers into mine and presses my hands to the wall. He leans towards me and lightly brushes his lips against mine.
"Maax," I whine. I can't do anything, I'm pressed into the cold brick.
"Em.." Max whispers as he starts kissing down my neck.
"Lemme go," I say as my hands escape his grasp and onto his chest as I try to push him away. He smiles and grabs my waist, trapping me between the wall and him as he presses his lips back into mine, hard. I pull away. "Max! Please? I-I can't. Not right now. I'm sorry," I change back into my sweater and hand him his jacket. As I walk away, he catches my arm and spins me around.
"Em?"
"Max just, please?"
"No! What happened?"
"Please," I turn back around.
"No, Ema! Don't shut me out again! Ever since that portal you've shut me out! Please, Em, please," he whispered the last sentence and dropped his head. I took the chance. I pulled my arm away and ran.
CHAPTER 5
I looked up when I realized my hand was empty. I see Ema and start running after her yelling, "Ema! Ema wait!" She glanced back then starts running even faster.
After running for another 10 minutes or so, I turn a corner and slam my back into the wall. Taking a breath and look around to try and find out where I managed to run to. I'm on a mostly deserted street, the occasional pedestrian will walk by with their dog, or a couple on bikes, there are a few cars parked on the edge of the street and all of the shops are closed. About four feet to my left there is a flickering yellow lamp-post casting mysterious shadows around the empty street. "Creepy," I mutter to myself as I turn to walk back towards the Motel. A violent shake rumbles the ground and I stop walking. My breath quickens as I turn around slowly. Laying in the middle of the street is the crumpled figure of a person. Behind the figure is the shimmering of a disappearing portal. I take a step forward and lean closer to the street. Making my way to the sidewalk I look for around for someone, anyone but the street is empty of people except me and the crumpled figure. I walk to it finding out that it's a her, probably around 20 years old, and she looks like she just blew up Hell or something. She's wearing a loose grey dress that is splotched in demon ichor and is ripped from the waist down on one side. Her arms are terribly bruised and her hands are scraped bloody. Dirt is stuck under her nails making it look like she dug her way out of wherever she was. She's barefoot and her feet look worse than her hands. The worst part is her face. It's scraped and bloody and there's dry blood matting her thick, strawberry-blonde hair to her forehead. Her lips are cracked and there is one long, thin cut running from the outside corner of her left eye down to her top lip. I take a step back just as her eyes fly open. They're blue just like… "Crap," I whisper.
"Who are y-" a violent coughing takes over her and blood drips down her chin. I squat down and gently put my hands on her shoulders.
"What's your name?" I ask carefully. She stops coughing and looks up, wiping her mouth with her dirty hand. It comes away smeared with blood and she answers me slowly.
"Savannah," she whispers, "Savannah Herondale."
I run until I'm out of breath but I still can't find Ema. "Max!" I turn around and see Annie running towards me. Tony is following her and staring at her like he's about to kill her."Max!" she yells again. I wave at them. Annie joggs up to me, Tony stalks up behind her.
"I hate this...this thing," He says to me as he points to Annie. She was smiling.
"That's nice," I say as I start walking again. Annie snorts and runs to catch up to me.
"Hey, I just got a text from Ema that reads," she pulled out her phone, "'HOLY CRAP! COME TO FRANKLIN STREET NOW! HOLY FUCKIN' CRAP!'" She quoted. "You think we should go?"
"No," Tony said and I punched him. "What! She asked, I answered." I shook my head and got out my phone, quickly searching Franklin Street.
"Found it," I said and walked toward SW Franklin Street. "You comin'?"
"Yup," Annie said and she skipped off ahead of me.
"Whatever," Tony mumbled as he jogged up to meet with my side.
"Here guys!" Annie yells from the end of the street a few minutes later. Tony growls and shakes his head.
"Know-it-all," he mutters.
"Hey! I heard that!" She turns her head back and smiles as we walk around the corner onto Franklin.
Finally!I think as I see Tony, Annie, and Max walk around the corner. "Ema?" Max says looking at me through the shadows. The flickering street lamps don't provide much light as he steps off the sidewalk onto the street towards me. I look past him Annie's terrified blue eyes. I stand up and move aside as Tony and Max walk up to get a better look at the scraggled body on the snow-damp road. Then a few different things happened all at once. Tony saw who it was and fell against the lamp post. The light flicked out completely, and Annie screamed.