AN: Chapter 3 and 4 have been edited, but I may have still missed some things. It's been a rough week.
In any case, I hope you enjoy and please point out any errors you notice.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with the Mortal Instruments, I just love Cassie's characters too much to let go of them.
Chapter 3:
Luke lumbered up the walkway to the entry door of the apartment building and impatiently bounced on the balls of his feet waiting for Magnus to hurry up and open the damn door. He didn't like standing here exposed to the world, both worlds actually, the mundanes would call the police over the blood covering both Luke and Clary's clothes and the shadow world; well you never knew what that would throw at you. Knowing that his old parabatai was alive for sure had forcefully pushed him into full blown paranoia over Clary's safety. She barely survived the first attack from Valentine, and it had cost them both dearly. He knew Clary had already buzzed Magnus' apartment and was beginning to wonder if the warlock was going to refuse them any assistance.
Magnus finally appeared at the door with an exasperated face which quickly morphed into horror upon seeing the condition that Clary was in. He threw the door open wide and pulled Clary by the arm inside while look followed behind to the apartment on the top floor. As soon as they were safely inside the apartment Magnus rounded on Luke, "Lucian, what in the hell has happened tonight? I was supposed to stop by Jocelyn's place in a few minutes to treat Clary, and here the two of you turn up covered in blood; and is that ichor on Clary's arm?!"
Luke sighed before launching into the shortest version of the night's events. "Valentine is alive, and he sent demons to kill Jocelyn and by extension Clary, even though he didn't know she existed before tonight."
Magnus immediately interrupted, "Where is Jocelyn?"
Luke winced and directed a pointed look at Clary, Magnus followed his gazed and took in the detached look on Clary's face and the quiet shaking of her entire body and realized that was probably the worst question he could have asked. The horror of the realization showed on his face. "Oh God, why didn't you call me when it happened?!" He then threw a worried look in Clary's direction, "How much does she know now?"
Luke hesitated before filling Magnus in on the evenings developments. "Well I had to tell her about you, she's in shock right now and needs to be treated. The rest well, I am planning to start telling her everything tomorrow once we are somewhere safer for her."
Magnus nodded along as Luke caught him up on the conversation in the truck, and then filled him on what had gone on at the apartment, as much as he could without actually saying that Jocelyn had been killed. He didn't know what that what do to Clary, she seemed so fragile right now that he was worried the slightest thing might truly break the young girl. Every time he looked at her he could feel his heart breaking all over again. Not just because she was nearly an identical copy of Jocelyn, but because he could see the devastation written all over every part of the tiny girl whom he loved more than anything, and who he also failed miserably to protect.
Magnus could feel the guilt thick and heavy around both of his guests, and it was choking him. He felt suffocated by the sadness that was rolling off Clary in waves. Once he had gotten the basics from Luke he led Clary over to a sofa in the living room and gently pushed her to sit down. He looked into her eyes to be sure she would understand what he was about to say. "Biscuit, I'm going to help you get warm, then we're going to get you into a nice hot shower, and a bed right after that. Okay?"
Clary knew they were talking about her like she wasn't in the room, and then they were talking to her like she was a toddler again, it irritated her slightly but she couldn't seem to work up enough energy to yell at them like she normally would have. So when she realized Magnus had asked her something she just nodded her head slightly. Not the best response she knew, but it was all she could manage. Magnus seemed to know that so she allowed herself to sink back into the void of her despair and wallow there, mentally at least.
Magnus pulled Luke by the arm over to the dining area where he proceeded to whisper, "Where is Jocelyn's body Luke? We'll need to get her to the Silent Brothers, and clean up the apartment before some mundane stumbles into the middle of all of this."
Luke felt his breath freeze in his lungs when Magnus mentioned Jocelyn's body. He knew that no matter how much time passed he would never be able to think about what happened to her without feeling like someone was ripping his heart and soul from his body. Still he needed to push forward so he could protect the only thing left that mattered, his daughter.
With that thought bolstering his resolve he answered Magnus' questions so they could get rid of any evidence that might lead to the discovery of Clary. "Her body is in my truck, Clary wouldn't leave her and quite frankly I don't think I'd have been able to either. We are not handing her over to the Brothers, Clary would never understand that and I can't take anything else from her. At this point there isn't much left she has to give. As for the apartment, it's a mess. There are obvious signs that someone was killed there and that the place was invaded by someone or something. I came to you as soon as I could because we need to get rid of any evidence that anyone lived there and I needed to be certain Clary had a safe place to rest, at least for a night."
Magnus' worried gaze was drawn to Clary's face with that last statement. He knew he couldn't ask them to leave, not Clary. She was the only child he'd ever watched grow up, more than that she'd become like family to him over the years of visits. He could clearly remember the toddler that had leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek after he'd been forced to pick her up, if only to protect his very expense rugs. The shock he felt quickly melted to something soft and unfamiliar as the child proceeded to hug his neck. No, he couldn't send Clary away. "Okay Luke let's start with getting her settled in the guest room and then I guess we'll make up the rest as we go along." He shrugged with the latter part of the statement to convey just how haphazard the situation was, not that Luke didn't already know.
Together they rejoined Clary and Luke clasped her hand and put one of his arms around the girls narrow shoulders while Magnus took up a position in front of her sitting on the coffee table. "Biscuit, I'm going to use my magic to help you feel a little warmer, and give you just a bit of energy so you can shower, then we'll get you into bed. Okay?"
Clary wanted to answer, but it seemed like her lips were frozen into a flat straight line, her tongue felt dry and heavy in her mouth and the struggle to move either was too exhausting to contemplate, so she settled for making direct eye contact. After a moment of locking eyes with Magnus she lowered her eyes again to avoid all of the emotions she could clearly see floating through his eyes and across his face. She couldn't deal with any more emotions tonight, maybe never again.
Magnus could see the weight of everything that had happened this evening on the young girl, she was being crushed with it, and though it would be too easy to erase the memories of her mother's death that would only be a temporary fix. No, she would have to eventually find her own way out from under that weight. He just hoped she would allow them to help her shoulder until then. He gently took her hand from Luke and clasped both of her hands while he let the magic flow from him through her. He felt her shiver as the magic began to work on her warming her, and healing the bruises and cuts she sustained during the catastrophic demon attack. She sighed as the warmth returned and then felt guilty for the relief while her mother lay dead just a short distance from where she sat comfortable and safe.
When he was finished healing Clary's physical injuries Magnus tried to remind her that none of this was her fault. "Clary, you know that there was nothing you could have done to change things. You had no idea demons existed, so how could you have known how to help." While she did look up and into his eyes he could tell that the comforting remark had missed it's mark. She simply retracted her hands and seemed to try and curl into herself. With another sigh he decided it was the best they could hope for at the moment. So he directed her to the bathroom and told Luke that he would go take care of the apartment quietly.
He didn't know how, but Magnus knew that their world was about to change dramatically, and soon. There was simply no way that the attack and murder of Jocelyn would be Valentine's final act. All he could hope for was that they would be able meet the threat and survive, after all he'd seen so many centuries of shadowhunters come and go, but he'd never seen one as threatening as Valentine Morgenstern.
