Sinful
A/N
I take no credit in the creation of the Mortal Instruments and all its wonderful characters.
I hope you enjoy this story!
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Prologue
"We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing each other."
-Lucretius
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JACE
I stumbled through a crumbling alleyway, shadows flickering around me as I painfully limped my way through. Blood was seeping out of a wound in my upper arm, I had hastily tied a sash around it, but it was thoroughly soaked. I was panting from an extremely long chase from the police, limping from a twisted ankle. I was sent on a mission today, to steal several loaves of bread from the market and then sell it again in the underground black market, but the officials had raided the market of goods and taken it for their own benefit. Those policemen weren't even acting upon a code of honor; they were just a bunch of fools hired by our even more idiotic King.
Raids like this were common in the skid row city of Stygian that I call home. Ever since King Magnus Bane took the throne, all he did was only for himself. He never even blinked an eye when half of the city was on fire in the beginnings of the War, he didn't even try to repair the damages. The palace that he lives in is probably the only clean area of the entire damn city. It was always covered with a light layer of soot, but it seemed sparkling clean to the rest of us. There were guards posted at every possible place, he was taking no chances on his own security. Our security, however, was another matter.
It was a while back when the War first started. Our neighboring city, Elan, was in its peak time of prosperity due to the wise leadership of King Luke Garroway. Stygian, on the other hand, was at its worst time in history. The previous King was a desperate and foolish man and decided to attack and plunder Elan.
That did not go so well. Our troops were annihilated and our city was thrown into chaos. Eventually, a rebel got into the palace and stabbed the King, but that didn't stop the war. The War still continues today, although no one is still sure why. Our forces are almost completely obliterated, and the sad thing is, we knew this was going to happen, even from the beginning. It is due to our past leaders than we are in such a state now.
I leaned on the brick wall for support as my vision began to blur. I could smell the metallic scent of blood trickling from my arm as I sat down wearily, my stomach growling from yet another forgotten meal. My stele, an enchanted knife, clattered from my pocket and onto the cobblestone floor. I sighed and raked my hands through my dirty blond hair, making it spike up because of the sweat.
Forcing myself to stand up, I continued weaving my way through the alleys of Stygian when I finally reached my destination, delirious from sleep deprivation and hunger. A metal door stood in front of me with three letters crudely scratched onto it, L M S.
I knocked wearily and a voice emanated from inside.
"Password?"
"In heaven, an angel is no one in particular," I answered.
The door swung open.