Hi guys! Here's my second Infernal Devices fanfiction. Hope you guys like it! One-shot! Plus I don't own the Infernal Devices characters. Cassandra Clare does.
Screams tore throughout the Institute. People were rushing back and forth, carrying weapons and screaming for Jem to get to safety. Jem walked about, unsure of what was going on. His mother rushed past with his father, their blades in hand. "James! Get to the weapons room and lock yourself there now!" she shouted just as he grabbed her arm. "Mother! What's happening?" he cried out just as a cry came from the doorway. Rogue werewolves spilled through the doorway, attacking the Shadowhunters. "Yanluo has returned," his mother said as she sank her blade into a werewolf, who yelped and slammed onto the floor, blood pooling all around it. "Go! Now!" she shouted as she joined the fray.
Jem ran, tearing up the stairs to wear the weapons room was. It was located next to the training room and he burst through the doors, panting. He quickly made his way to the weapons room and locked it, placing a wooden lock over it. He grabbed a seraph blade from its hook, he hadn't brought any weapons with him when he had gone down to investigate the commotion going on in the hallway. "Raphael," he said and it blazed to life, lighting the room. He scrawled runes of Agility and Strength onto himself and he bit his lip as the stele burned them onto his skin just as the doors started to shake.
He hid behind a stack of weapons as the doors burst open and two werewolves entered, sniffing the air. "There is one more Shadowhunter left. He has to be here somewhere," one of them said and Jem sucked in a breathe. Are my parents still alive? They have to be! One of the werewolf's ears pricked up and he sniffed the air. "Hey, I heard something from that corner," he said as he jerked his head at the spot where Jem hid. Jem shook, willing himself not to scream. He was a Shadowhunter and Shadowhunter do not scream or cry out.
Suddenly, one of them leaped and crashed into the stack of weapons. Sharp knives clattered all around Jem and he screamed, alerting them of his presence. "Get him! The master wants the boy alive!" the leader shouted as the other lunged at Jem. Jem slashed at it with his seraph blade and it tore through flesh. It howled and retreated backwards. "Come on. Its just a boy," the leader said as its comrade whimpered. "The boy is a Shadowhunter," Jem said and he flung a throwing knife at him.
He had always been good at throwing knives and today it served him well. It sank into the wolf's head and it dropped dead on the ground. Jem ran past the dead wolf and into the training room. He exited, heading downstairs. His heart was pounding, his ears ringing with blood and adrenaline. All around was the scene of battle. Most of the Shadowhunters of the Shanghai Institute had been killed and he tried not to throw up. He headed for his father's office where he knew a phone was located. He could call the Clave and ask for help.
As he neared the office, a large shape loomed ahead and he froze. He had heard tales of the creature his mother had encountered but he had never imagined him to be like that. Yanluo stood, blocking his path. "There you are, my little Shadowhunter," he growled and James leaped, soaring through the air and at the door. He lunged for the phone but the demon grabbed him around the waist. Jem screamed and kicked, trying to break free as he was dragged through the hall of the Institute he had grown up in. Everywhere was a disaster, people lying in pools of their own blood. He tried to bite back his tears as he was dragged into the hall where the Institute held their dances.
Tied up to chairs in the middle of the room were his parents. They screamed and call out his name, his mother crying tears of rage and cursing in Mandarin. Jem was hauled and dropped in front of his parents like a sack of potatoes. "My Jem. Thank the Angel you're alright," his mother cried just as Yanluo came up, grinning. "You killed my offspring. Now I shall do the same to yours," he said and Ke Wen Yu spat. "You will never harm my son!" she screamed as she tried to fight off her bonds.
Her husband was shouting, screaming his son's name. Jem lay there, afraid to move. "I have a better idea. I'm sure you're aware of the drug yin fen. I wonder what ill effect it has on a Shadowhunter child," he grinned and suddenly his stinger came down on Jem. Jem screamed as he was injected over and over, the drug getting pumped into his system. His parents howled and screamed his name, begging Yanluo to stop. Finally, Jem couldn't take it any longer and he passed out.
He passed in and out of consciousness, dreaming of horrible things. He dreamed that the Glass City was in flames, rivers of blood running through it. His body was wrecked in pain and when he finally recovered, he heard his mother weeping. "James," she said, her eyes swollen from crying and her throat hoarse from screaming. Beside her, his father lay face-down on the floor. Jem cried out as he saw his father dead in front of him. "Father!" he cried out and Yanluo just smiled. "That's how I felt when you did that to me. I will always remember that," he hissed and Jem's mother shouted. "Just leave my son alone! Do whatever you want to me. But let Jem go!" she screamed.
"I see that he somehow still alive. Maybe a little more might finish him off," Yanluo said and the sting of the stinger biting into his back came again. Jem screamed and trashed, crying as his mother watched in horror. His mother could only scream as her son was tortured over and over, sliding in and out of consciousness every few hours. Pain and turmoil washed over Jem like a tsunami and he wondered when he would just die and be with his father. He prayed that it would all be over soon so he wouldn't have to suffer the pain.
Jem woke up to the sound of voices around him. He was on his back, his body still weak and dying from the drug. All around him were Shadowhunters of the Clave, trying to find survivors. He slowly turned his head to see his mother limp in her chair. He screamed and cried not only from the pain his body was causing him but also he had lost his parents. As he screamed, his body felt like it was tearing itself apart. "Hurry. Call the Silent Brothers! The boy needs medical attention!" a man shouted and Jem felt a pair of strong arms lifting him up and out.
"Don't worry, James. You're going to be alright," the man said as he carried Jem out. "Please. Let me die. I can't take it any longer," Jem whispered as he felt himself being lowered into a carriage. There was the sound of doors closing and the carriage rattled off. Jem felt like his body was on fire, but all he could think of now was his parents. They were gone now. He was an orphan. Might as well join them, he thought to himself just as he felt a pair of cold arms carrying him. He looked up and saw the face of a Silent Brother. Jem screamed in terror and pain at the sight of him.
"The boy has been injected with some kind of demon drug. The iratzes won't cure him," the man who had carried him earlier said. We will do whatever we can, Elias Carstairs, the Silent Brother spoke and Jem's ears pricked up to the sound of the name. "Uncle Elias?" he whispered and the man held his hand. "Don't worry. You're going to be alright," he said as Jem was brought down into the Silent City.
For hours Jem endured, remedy after remedy tested on him. Runes were put onto him but none worked. He screamed and trashed and the Silent Brothers feared for the worse. Finally, they used the same drug that had been used to poison him and he finally managed to stabilized. When Jem had finally opened his eyes properly for the first time in a week, he felt like he had aged a century. The Silent Brothers told him that even though he had survived, he had to take the drug for the rest of his life. He was given only about two years to live. Jem's heart sank as he took in the news. He had been made an orphan within days and now he himself was slowly dying of the drug.
Nearly the whole Conclave of the Shanghai Institute had been wiped out in the attack but some survived since they had been away at that time. Jem's uncle slowly nursed him back to health but Jem was never the same again. He was no longer the happy and springy boy he once was. He now had to rely on his father's sword-cane to even move about. The Clave had informed him that he was to be relocated to London as soon as possible in fears that he would be attacked by Yanluo again. He stepped down slowly from the carriage, his uncle helping him down.
All around him, people were milling about, bringing in goods and people boarding ships to head for the West. "You ready?" Elias asked as he helped Jem hold his suitcase. Jem nodded and slowly walked up the ramp, his uncle helping him go. The journey gave him a lot of time to think about what had transpired. He would wake up at night, shouting for his parents only to realize they were now dead. Elias would sit by him, reading to him to help him sleep. He would stand at the railing, watching the birds fly in the sky.
When they finally made it to London, the first thing that struck Jem was the weather. It was cold and wet and he tried not to slip as he walked down the ramp. He and Elias boarded the London Institute carriage that had been sent to pick them up and the rattled off down the street. Jem watched as they passed through the city. People were walking down the street, ladies in the latest fashion and men smoking on pipes. But as he entered the city, Jem stared at the old buildings rising around him. "London is a beautiful city. Almost like Shanghai actually. You can rest over here until you decide what to do next," Elias said.
They eventually reached the London Institute, a beautiful old church rising behind the other buildings. As they rattled into the courtyard, Jem couldn't help notice the Latin phrase engrave on the iron gate. "We are but dust and shadows," he muttered just as the carriage came to a halt. They got down and Jem took in the London air. The driver helped them with their baggage and as they entered they were greeted by the Head of the Institute. "Charlotte Branwell, a pleasure to meet you," Elias smiled, kissing her hand. "Thank you for coming. I trust your journey was pleasant," Charlotte said and she beamed at Jem. She was a small woman but she had a commanding air around her.
"You must be James Carstairs. I'm Charlotte, Head of the London Institute," she said and he smiled. "Please. Call me Jem," he said and a slight figure hiding up on the stairs caught his eye. "Who's that?" Jem asked just as it darted upwards. He caught sight of unruly black hair and blue eyes running upstairs. "Oh, that's Will. He's around your age," Charlotte said, letting out a sigh as if Will was giving her a hard time. "I would very much like to meet him," Jem said and Charlotte nodded. "Very well. Right this way," she said as she showed Jem the way upstairs to the place he would call home for the next five years.
Thanks for reading it and please review!