Fallen Angels Rise

Author's Note: Thank you to all who have been reading this, it's great to know that there actually is an audience and I'm not just writing to no one! To those of you who left reviews, they were greatly appreciated! I tried to get back to those who left any specific comments. These first three chapters were really setting up the story, now I'm going to begin getting things rolling with the plot. You've been patient and willing to continue to read, for which I am also grateful. Without further ado, I give you…

Chapter 4: Beginning Again

Jonathan woke up in a daze. Light was pouring around him. He was in a bed. Had he just dreamt everything? Was he still waiting to hear his sentencing? His stomach turned into one giant knot, he needed air. He flung the covers off and ran to the window. He opened it and was about to lean out when someone spoke. "I wouldn't do that." He froze. Jonathan did not realize there was someone else in this room with him. He took a step back from the window, not wanting to make any move that might be considered out of line when he still wasn't sure of his standing with the Conclave. "You can g to the window, I would just be careful when it comes to sticking any part of your body outside the walls of the Institute." Still hesitant, and now rather cold because of the blast of cold December air that came through the window, Jonathan closed the window and turned around to face Maryse.

"You probably have some questions for me, but let me explain a few things to you first. You have been permitted to live, but you are not free by any means. No one is really quite sure what happened that night, but every member of the council determined individually that taking a cautious approach would be the best idea. As a whole, we review everything you said, and for a second time it was decided that you have undergone something we do not fully understand," Maryse paused, trying to decide what to explain next.

"I would have said everything I did without the Mortal Sword in my hands," Jonathan said quietly. He was trying to remember everything that had moments before seemed like a dream to him. He winced though, realizing that his wording could be misconstrued and lead this woman to believe he was still some kind of psychopath who was not ashamed of his wrongdoings.

"That is all well and good, but you are still not to be trusted. We believe that something drastic changed when your sister," She paused momentarily to see his reaction to the use of the title for Clary, "when your sister stabbed you with the Angel's sword. It is because of our limited understanding of this divine process in combination with our reluctance to spill any more shadowhunter blood that helped lead us to your verdict. However, there are a number of safeguards in place in case we were wrong in our decision."

"So what does that mean for me?" Jonathan asked, completely unsure of what to expect.

"First and foremost, until you can prove and convince us of your trustworthiness, you are completely confined to the Institute. You may not leave these walls unless you wish to suffer great pain and soon after death." Maryse looked sideways at him, unsure of how he would react, but fearful that she would incite him.

"I understand. What else is there that I need to know?"
"You will also not be allowed in common areas for a while as we inform the permanent residents of your presence and your rights." Jonathan looked shocked. He could not believe Maryse had not yet told her children, the 'permanent residents' she spoke of, everything there was to know about him and his trial.

Humbled and trying to show it, Jonathan replied, "I appreciate you taking this so seriously and being so professional. I know it must be hard not telling your children, and even more so because of what I have done."

Instead of responding, Maryse continued with her explanation, but she had stiffened considerably at the referral to Jonathan's murder of Max. "All of your meals will be brought up here to you, and you may have any books brought to you from the library, with a few exceptions." By this, she meant any books dealing with summoning demons or other such dangerous topics. Jonathan nodded, demonstrating that he understood, but not wanting to speak because every time he did, his words came out wrong and just made him appear to not have changed at all.

"Lastly, if, and this is a BIG if, it is decided that the time is right, we will have you undergo a diagnostic test so we can evaluate your skills as a shadowhunter and determine what areas will need improvement. It is our hope that you will prove to be trustworthy and that you might eventually become a regular member of the shadowhunter world. But it is a long road to get to that point." Maryse finished.

Jonathan considered all that she had said before speaking. "I guess I still don't understand why all this is happening this way. I did such horrible, unspeakable things. I broke every law. I should not have been allowed to live. IT all seems too good to be true."

"In all honesty, none of us really understand what is going on. You are very fortunate to be facing the Conclave in the aftermath of the new Accords. These changes are the most dramatic we have seen in shadowhunter history, and we are not willing to undo them so quickly. You are also dealing wit ha governing body who recognizes heavenly intervention when they see it. Your body was absolutely ravaged by Heavenly Fire and yet you are still with us." At that, Maryse stood up to leave. "If you want any books, tell the guard stationed outside your door." With that, she turned and walked out the door.

His head spinning from trying to reconcile all of the new information, Jonathan sat on his bed in a daze for a long time. His room darkened as the winter sun began to set. His stupor was only broken by the arrival of his dinner. As he ate, he continued to contemplate his new life.

"So, did you like my dress?" Clary asked, snuggling into the crook of Jace's arm to protect herself from the chilling evening winds.

"Yeah! It's gonna look great on my floor!" He exclaimed, pulling her in closer as they walked, managed to protect her from the winds more while also pinning her arms so she couldn't smack him.

Clary gave her boyfriend a look. "I mean it! I'm going to feel so awkward up there being the only one next to my mom!" Jace stopped walking with such suddenness that Clary had continued forward without noticing right away, only to have Jace pull her back in by her wrist. He leaned down to kiss her, softly at first but he got ahead of himself and deepened the kiss. When he finally broke the kiss though, he held Clary out so he could see her better.

Tiny snowflakes were falling softly into her hair, the first snow of the season he though. "I loved the dress, you look amazing in it." He kissed the top of her head and then looped her arm around his and they continued walking. Clary could only smile, this fitting was much better than the one she'd had only a few weeks ago. Though the dinner afterwards was a bit tense. Jocelyn still id not particularly care for Jace, especially while she still blamed him for Clary hatching her plan to infiltrate 'Team Bad.' "Is there anything I can do to get your mother to like me? If only just a little bit?"

Clary thought for a second before responding. "Well, why don't you just try sitting down and having a conversation with her? But if you don't think you can remain calm, I actually wouldn't suggest that right away."

Jace contemplated the idea and realized that Clary was probably right. But how could something so simple feel so daunting? Preferring to just spend the short amount of time he had left with Clary for the evening enjoying her company, he shoved the thought to the back of his mind. He knew finding a middle ground with Jocelyn would be key to getting more time with his girlfriend.

"So, you have 45 minutes until I have to give you up again for the night. What would you like to do?" Jace asked as he held the door open for Clary to walk into the Institute.

"Oh, I can think of a few things," She replied, turning to look over her should and wink at him. She played with her hair and walked towards the elevator, trying her hardest to seem seductive as she walked. They climbed into the elevator, Jace hurriedly shutting the gate before pulling Clary in close to him. Not wanting to lose a single second, Clary stood on her toes as Jace bent down to kiss her. He quickly had her pushed up against the wall, cradling her face in his hands. Clary was about to respond in kind when the elevator came to a stop and Jace quickly pulled away, winking at her.

Normally Clary would have made some kind of comment to Jace about always worrying about nothing, but at the same moment, Maryse was visible through the golden grate. "Oh good, you're here. I wasn't thinking I would catch you until morning. We need to talk." The older woman said. Clary groaned internally.

"Can this wait until morning? I don't have very long before I have to get back home," Clary asked.

"The sooner we talk the better. Besides, I'm sure Jace would prefer that you not take any time out of your training just to talk to me. And don't worry about your mother, she and I have already talked. So if you will, come with me please." Clary had no other choice, Maryse meant business. Clary could not imagine what could be so serious and important that Maryse Lightwood would need to talk to her, of all people, so urgently. Whatever it was, it could not be good. She followed Maryse to the library, which she had been using as an office now that nobody else wanted it.

"Am I in trouble for something?" Clary asked, taking a seat as Maryse did the same.

Maryse smiled back warmly, "No no no! Of course you're not in trouble! Is that what you thought this was about? No, you are doing just fine!" Her tone was just too forced for Clary to not become uncomfortable.

"Then what is this about?" The smile gone from Maryse's face now, she looked hard at the young girl sitting across from her. She knew what she needed to say, but now, in the moment when she was about to say it, she couldn't. Not want to stall any longer, she opted to be professional, leaving all personal connections and emotions out of the conversation.

"The Conclave has decided to permit your brother to live." Clary looked as if she had been slapped. A stunned silence permeated the room, but Maryse wanted to determine Clary's true reaction before pressing forward.

"I don't have a brother," Clary responded darkly. She got up to leave, too angry to continue talking.

"Sit. Down! We are not done," Maryse snapped, her temper rising as quickly as Clary's. "You have a brother, and he is upstairs, whether you like it or not!"

Clary wheeled around, "He's HERE?! You kept that, that demon HERE? How could yu keep him at the Institute? How is he not locked up for everything that he's done? How is he still alive?" She screamed, her throat starting to hurt from the effort and the tears she was holding back.

"He was subjected to questioning with the Mortal Sword. When the council reviewed the entire case, we came to the conclusion that Jonathan should live," Maryse replied calmly, which only served to anger Clary more.

"Don't be so familiar. How could you – How dare you treat him this way after you kicked Jace out after you only thought he was Valentine's son?" Clary demanded accusingly.

"I made Jace leave to try to protect him from the Inquisitor. I was afraid of what we would find out, and I still regret what I did. You know that perfectly well, so don't go throwing that in my face!" Maryse replied severely, a cold fury edging her voice. Clary did not reply, she only looked at Maryse with contempt. The older woman took a deep breathe to calm herself once more before talking again. "As for how we could come to this decision, it's complicated to explain. We heard all he had to say about everything he'd gone through in his life. We discovered the kind of childhood he had, we found out what Valentine had done to him while he was still in your mother's womb."

"You're letting him off the hook because he had a bad childhood?! Serial killers had bad childhoods, but they still go to jail! They don't get to run free…" Clary started in on another rant, but Maryse cut her off.

"He has not been 'let off the hook,' and if you would let me finish you would know this," Maryse interrupted loudly. Clary stopped talking, despite her anger, Maryse still deserved respect. "Good. As I was saying, we learned of his demon blood, and it changed everything. When we heard that, we were calling for his immediate death. That is, until the faerie's representative reminded us of what he was stabbed with, and the effects we witnessed. There is little information on the effects of Heavenly Fire, and next to nothing on surviving it. It is because of this that we were motivated to keep your brother alive. But as I said, he is not free."

"So he's an experiment? You're using his life for research?" Clary asked, most of her anger suppressed in an attempt to have a civilized conversation. She had finally realized that the calmer she was, the more information she could get.

"No, he is not an experiment. He happens to be fortunate enough to be the first major case to come before us since the new Accords. We are trying to learn from our old mistakes. Trying not to be so quick to extinguish life. We don't know what the encounter with the Angel's sword will mean for him or who he is or will be. But again, he is not free. He is as free as Hodge was. There is a curse upon him that may never be lifted. He will live out his life here, unable to leave ever again, potentially," Maryse explained.

"But why does he have to be here?" Clary asked, tears streaking down her face, unable to hold them back any longer. "How can you let him live here, walking around our home so freely after what he did to me? After what he did to Jace. After what he did to Max!" Her tears came down harder now, silencing her as the sobs wracked her body.

Maryse looked close to tear now too, "There are a lot of awful things in his past, many I would give my life for to see retribution. But those are my feelings as a mother. The official decision required the utmost level of professionalism from me. He is here though because of what he did to Max. The Clave thought Robert and I would be the most untrusting of Jonathan, the most careful in deciding what privileges to grant him. That the future of all shadowhunters would be safest from Jonathan Morgenstern if his life was monitored and controlled by us. It is part of his punishment, having to live with the family of one of his victims."

Clary could only nod through her tears. She didn't agree with the decision and didn't want Jonathan to be anywhere near her, but she understood. There was a long silence as Clary continued to cry, Maryse just letting her get it all out. As the tears stopped, leaving Clary sniffing, Maryse spoke again, "Do you have any other questions for me?"

"Why are you telling me all of this? Does anyone else know already?" Clary asked quietly.

"We have plans to tell my children and your parents, but you are the first person to be told in a non-official report. As for why we are telling you first, well we were hoping you would be available to help prevent Jace from becoming destructive after he is informed. I say we, but I really mean I. Jace is my son as much as Alec is, and so I know how much this information will hurt him. I also know that he will be angry with me," Maryse admitted.

"He won't be angry with you, he'll just be angry in general," Clary said , hoping her meager addition might comfort Maryse.

"I'd prefer him to be angry with me. Then he might talk to me, even in anger. But you're right, it will be a general kind of anger. You will be the only one he will want to talk to while he works through all of this," Maryse was not lying, and Clary knew it as well.

"I'm not going to tell him what to think. He won't listen to me anyways if I try to do that," Clary pointed out.

"I am not asking you to convince him of anything. I just want your help in marking sure he doesn't do anything to get himself hurt or in a stupid mess. I don't need him picking fights with whole packs of werewolves again." The desperation in the older woman's voice was apparent.

"That is the first thing we've seen eye to eye on all night. I will do whatever I can to keep him safe, but you have to make him the next person you tell about all of this," Clary requested. "He won't be so willing to listen to me if he thinks I kept this from him for any amount of time."

"I planned to tell him right after you and I had talked. My hope was that you could stay and talk to him after he and I were done speaking," Maryse explained.

"I'm not sure if I can, even if I leave right now, I will be getting home passed my curfew," Clary began.

"I have already talked with your mother and told her that you will be staying here tonight. She agreed, but she and Luke will also be here. They have your things for you." In the short time that Maryse had spoken, Clary's hopes soared and then crashed into a pile of burning rubble. "There's no need to look so disappointed. I wouldn't have let you spend the night in Jace's room either. My children may make their own sleeping arrangements, but I know it is against your mother's wishes for you to do so."

Looking defeated and having nothing else to say, Clary excused herself from the library and from Maryse's gaze as a look of concern began to glaze over her eyes. Opening the door, Clary was looking down at the ground in hopes of finding Church and having him lead her to wherever Luke and her mother were staying. Instead, she was almost knocked back into the library. She would have fallen down if it weren't for the pair of arms that wrapped around her. She tensed up, thinking for a second that she ahd run into Jonathan, but then the all too familiar smell of Jace flooded her nostrils and she melted into the embrace. Trying to hold back her tears and failing somewhat, she whispered quietly, "Your turn."

He held her for a little bit longer, stinging tears staining his shirt. He comforted Clary until her breathing returned to normal. "I won't be long, and then we can talk about whatever this is," Jace promised. Clary nodded her head and was about to speak when Jace kissed her ever so gently. He pulled away and smiled at her. She was still feeling miserable and drained from all of the emotions that she experienced during her conversation with Maryse, but the hint of a small smile crept up in the corners of her mouth as he walked into the library.

Standing alone in the hallway, Clary took her best guess at where her mother might be. She walked in the opposite direction of Jace's room, quickly discovering that her hunch had been right. As she approached the open door, she steeled herself. Her mother did not yet know about Jonathan, and Clary wasn't going to be the one to explain it to her. She hoped her eyes weren't too puffy and red from her crying, because she didn't want to worry her mother all night either. She took one last deep breath and knocked on the doorframe.

Luke looked up and smiled when he saw her. "There she is! I was wondering when we would see you!"

"Same time you do almost every night, it's only just now getting to be near my curfew," Clary joked, making her best efforts to seem in a good mood.

At the sound of Clary's voice, Jocelyn came out of the bathroom, "Clary, what are we doing here? Why did Maryse want you to stay?" Jocelyn asked, her voice full of exasperation.

"Well, I'm here because Maryse needed to talk to me, you're here because you don't trust me to control my hormones through the night," Clary retorted, sticking to her joking tone, but also deciding that not being just a little bit scathing would be suspicious.

Her mother only rolled her eyes and kissed Clary on the cheek. "Your things are in a bag over there," she said, pointing to the corner, "and your room is the next one over. I do trust you a little bit!"

"No, you just don't want me sharing a room with you and Luke!" Clary stuck out her tongue. The childish act seemed to be working well, she would have to keep this in mind.

"Leave your mother alone now, she's already gotten herself worked up over this twice tonight," Luke chided lovingly. "Why don't you go get ready for bed, it's probably going to be a long day tomorrow." Clary nodded in agreement and turned to leave when it hit her. How could Luke not know what the outcome of the trial was? Had he abstained from participating and sent someone else in his stead? Clary was about to ask, but couldn't phrase her question without giving everything away.

She walked into her room next door and it looked exactly the same as the one she had just left. She changed into her pajamas and did everything to get ready for bed, but she did not plan on going to sleep just yet. She climbed under the covers and pulled out her sketchbook. She was trying to draw Jace again when she fell asleep. The next thing she knew, the lights had been turned off and someone was climbing into bed with her. A warm pair of strong arms drew her in close, her body melting into the embrace as she fit into place perfectly. She quickly fell back asleep, a real smile on her face as Jace buried his into her hair.

A/N: See, I said we were starting to get places. Let me know what you thought!