A/N: This story has been in the works for a while; I've never been really sure how to write it right. I am absolutely in love with this series. It is incredible and I've gotten about three or four of my friends hooked on it too. I cannot wait to read the new book, and yet I dread it. The fact that it's the last one is kinda depressing. Even though she's writing a new series, the characters will be different, and I like these ones... Ignore my ramblings. I tend to go off on them. I do hope this story will continue going the way I want it too. Anyway… Enjoy, and please review.
Prologue: Good Times Gone
"He can't go with you, you know."
The moment Clary heard Magnus' voice come from behind her she jumped in the air.
She had been flipping through the ancient book that contained the even older runes that would send her back to where she needed to go. Magnus had approached as stealthily as a cat, much like the thing he looked like.
"He can't," the warlock repeated.
Clary looked at him, her heart falling. "Why?" she whispered brokenly. Why did she have to lose Simon? He was her last link to her life. Her last hope. He had been her best friend even before all the terror and craziness that had interrupted their lives, and now he was the only one she had left after the war and the fighting had ripped everyone, new friends and family from her life.
"He is a vampire," Magnus said. "Runes only work on Shadowhunters, you know that. Not to mention that, while great and powerful, my magic is not so all-encompassing that I can send people into the past without the aid of a lot of runes."
She allowed the book to shut, her hands shaking. "Then maybe we'd best just get this over," she whispered. "I can't stay here any longer."
"Is our company that deplorable that you can't stand being in our presence anymore?" a dry voice commented from the doorway.
Clary turned, teary-eyed, to look at her best friend. "You can't come with me," she told him softly.
He waved his hand at her. "I know," he said. "I've kind of resigned myself to that fact already. A vampire isn't as easy to send back in time as a Shadowhunter is."
"Neither are a particular walk in the park," Magnus told them both. "Now, if you're sure you're ready, then open that book up again, and find the damn runes."
Clary opened the book and flipped through it. It hadn't been opened in centuries until they had found it three weeks ago. It had the runes that, along with Magnus' magic, would send her back to the time that would allow her to fix everything. The war, the fighting, the loss, the destruction.
She had taken the liberty of counting the days it took for her life to go from, lacking and yet perfect, to a living hell.
Three years. It had taken three years for everything to tumble down around her. Every freaking hour had brought more pain. From that night in Pandemonium to this very day. Three freaking years.
She, Simon, and Magnus and were the only ones left. A Vampire, a Warlock and a Shadowhunter. They were the only ones left. The only light forces left to fight the darkness that was being led by her father.
Her father the asshole.
She shook her head. This was her chance to save everyone. Jace, Izzy, Alec, Mayrse, Robert, Max, Luke, Maia, her mom, the entire Shadowhunter race, Luke's Pack, Raphael's coven, ninety-five percent of the Downworlder race. She could get them all back.
And she would.
"Here it is," Clary told Magnus. She pointed the runes out to him. There were no words, only runes, and an image of where to place them. That was why Simon and Magnus didn't know what they meant.
"All right," he replied. "You two say your goodbyes while I go grab my notes." He waved his hand at Simon and left the room.
Simon walked over to her and with no qualms wrapped his strong arms around her. "I'm gonna miss you," he told her softly.
Clary began to cry softly. "You too."
Simon chuckled. He hadn't aged in over three years, but he seemed so much older than her right then. "You're going to go back and see me. The human me," he reminded her.
"I know," she cried softly. "But it won't be you."
"Yes it will," he tightened his arms. "I haven't changed that much."
"Yes you have," Clary contradicted. "We both have. We aren't innocent anymore."
Simon looked down at her. "We really never were." He pulled away from the hug.
"Yes we were. At least," She pulled him back, "more so than we are now."
He shook his head, and this time cradled hers in his hands. "Look who you're leaving me with. Magnus the wacko," he laughed.
"I'm sorry." Tears were coming thick and fast now. She couldn't contain them anymore. "I don't mean to make things difficult for you."
Simon pressed his lips to her forehead. "Don't worry about it," he told her, kissing her forehead again. "Keep yourself safe, all right.
Clary nodded, burying her face into his shoulder. "I don't want to do this alone, Simon. I need you."
He chuckled softly, his breath hot in her hair. "I know and I need you too but we're gonna have to do these things alone. Our destinations takes us on two separate paths now." He kissed the top of her head again, but left his face buried in her hair.
Clary sniffled sadly as she kept her head on his shoulder. "Simon… I- I can't do this." Where were all these doubts coming from? "I don't think I'm gonna be able to do this."
"You're Clary Fray," Simon laughed, his face still buried in her hair, "of course you'll be able to do it."
Suddenly a none-too-subtle coughing came from the doorway and Clary and Simon jumped apart as thought it had sent a shock through them both. "So sorry to interrupt this moment of sentimentality," Magnus drawled, "but I've just retrieved my notes and I believe we'd best get this show on the road."
"Is there something wrong?" Clary asked, frowning at the warlock.
"Unfortunately," Magnus replied. "I've been informed that your dear father may be planning something here."
Simon froze. "We'd best hurry then," he suggested. "This has to succeed. We have no other chance," he glanced at Clay and forced a grin, but it looked painful. "Help us Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're our only hope."
Clary was so anxious to get going, that she barely managed to grin in return. "Nice, Simon." She turned to Magnus. "How do we start?" she asked.
"The runes," the warlock replied after moment. "The runes come first."
"Okay." Clary reached up and her hand closed over the zipper, pulling it down and then letting the red sweatshirt fall from her shoulders, showing to both the men in the room that she was just wearing a black bra. Trying to ignore the stares she knew Simon was giving her, she gripped her stele, pulling it out of her pocket and closed her eyes. Remembering the images in the book, she began at the palm of her left hand, tracing the lines that formed black Marks onto her skin, up her arm, across her shoulder. She changed hands halfway across her collarbone, and began descending down her right arm and to her palm. Must be ambidextrous, she thought distantly. Besides that errant thought, her mind had remained only on the runes she was drawing and what she hoped to accomplish.
Magnus began chanting the moment she stopped. His words were unintelligible, but Clary let them wash over her, knowing only to what aims they were being said for. She caught Simon's eyes and her best friend, the vampire, smiled at her. 'It'll be okay,' he mouthed, careful not to interrupt Magnus. 'This will all work out.'
Clary recognized the words Magnus had recited, and knowing it was the nearing the end, took a deep breath of anticipation. Her breath left her almost immediately in a gasp of horror as the wall behind Simon exploded, accentuating the end of Magnus' chants. All she was Valentine's face before her world exploded into bright lights. Painful lights. A tunnel of them. Every moment, every second accented with harsh pain. Desperately she thought, What had gone wrong? And then she surrendered to the pain.
End of Prologue: Good Times Gone
A/N: Man, I hate first chapters/prologues. They're so painful to write. I do hope someone likes this. I will continue to write either way. Please Review! I do so love feedback.
~Ambiguous Rose