Kandai didn't leave Ren'ai's side for the entire week. He had to hide himself a couple times when people wanted to come and see the angel, in disbelief that he's real, but Alec and Shu managed to ward them off.

With Charon's help, he looked into Ren's memories to see that he'd managed to escape his chains and the prison he was in, only to get attacked by a swarm of demons when he'd made it to the exit. He'd barely survived, before Namir stopped them all by destroying the Shax demons and saying that he wasn't to be harmed.

Then, she moved the large rock at the exit and let him leave. She didn't heal him, but she still let him go.

Whether she planned for him to be found and healed could be debated, but Kan knew that the Demon Queen would never be so careless.

But he was here. He was recovering. For the first time in centuries, his skin wasn't marred with a single cut or bruise, and he actually looked at peace in his slumber.

"Hey," Shu called as she came through a portal. "How's he doing?"

"Nothing's really changed from before. But I think his breathing is irregular. I can't find any injuries in his chest though, but he's in pain."

"It does seem to be a small bit less than before."

She walked over and put her hand onto the angel's forehead, her hand glowing lightly with angelic power before Ren's head fell to the side and his breaths became shallower and more even.

"I gave him a sedative," She explained. "It should numb the pain and possibly heal it if it exists somewhere. You're right, though. He seems to still be in pain, similar to a broken bone, but I can't find any no matter how hard I look. Charon's dug through his memories as best he can, but his power's limited when it comes to an angel. And Ren's a pretty powerful one too, so the only reason we've got as much information as we have is because Charon's a Greater Demon. All he can really make out, though, is a lot of pain, a little hope, and a lot of care for you."

Kan seemed to take a breath of relief, but his shoulders fell in defeat as well. "What if he doesn't get better?"

Shu put her hand atop his. "He will, Uncle."


I fell through the portal I was tossed through, feeling the wind swirl around. The air suddenly became heavy, weak, with less angelic energy, and I almost felt like throwing up on the spot.

I hit the ground hard, rolling onto my back upon impact and instantly regretting it as I felt my back cry out in more pain. I quickly rolled to my stomach and slowly gathered my bearings. Sheathing my wings and somewhat dulling the pain, and leaned against a tree and pulled myself to my feet.

The sky was so dark, the world so ugly. I had studied this world, sure, but coming here was a whole different experience.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to go home.

But I refused to let them beat me down further than they already had. So, I swallowed my sobs and blinked away my tears, walking forward.

I wondered if there was civilization anywhere nearby, and if I should search for it if there was. People of this world were supposedly cruel and rash should I stumble upon the wrong one. Yet I needed to find someone to teach me of this world, else I wouldn't last very long.

I held up my hand and felt that my powers were still working, but they were significantly weakened without the aura of Heaven constantly surrounding me and feeding me such strong energy. I would have to rely only on my own reserves and regular regeneration rate, which would all be significantly weaker than they could be since I've relied so heavily upon the power of my home up until now.

I made my way through the woods, which seemed to be relatively untouched by humans. I needed to find some kind of river with clean water, as well as find a source of food. Down in this world, my energy wouldn't be able to sustain me forever. It would be able to keep me satisfied for a couple weeks or even months, but it wasn't used to supporting me in such a way all on its own, so I would need at least a couple winters' worth of living this way for me to build up reserves and resistances.

When I pushed through a line of bushes, I came across a house. It was small, but I sensed a small bit of energy from it that definitely wasn't human.

It didn't seem to be harmful, so I walked up and knocked. The door, to my surprise, popped open upon the light push, and I slowly walked in.

"Hello?" I called, hoping not to scare anyone.

The door was unlocked, and it didn't even seem to have been properly closed. If they were so careless to allow in any passerby, along with wildlife, then perhaps it was best I not venture further, but when I saw what was inside, I reconsidered immediately.

The room the door lead into was my own, back from my own house. I never considered that I might never see my household again, but now it was right here. Someone had left it purposefully.

I closed the door behind me and locked the door, before walking further in past the living room and seeing that my workshop and lab were there as well, the inside of the house much larger than the outside had appeared. Every book was on the shelf, not a single thing disturbed since I had last been there.

I walked into the lab, checking all of the ingredients that I'd collected for potions and my research over the years was all still there. I took my work seriously, and so when I saw a small note was lying within my open journal that I had been working with, I instantly took notice.

Walking over, I picked it up and noticed familiar handwriting.

"Ren'ai. I apologize for the recent events surrounding your banishment. I know I cannot expect your forgiveness; however I hope that this is a proper way to show my intentions of sustaining our friendship."

I felt rage boiling within me at just the thought, crushing the small note. He had the gall to apologize to me after he was the one who got me banished in the first place. 'Sustaining our friendship?' As if he believes I'll ever want his 'friendship' ever again. Just because he gave me my home doesn't make up for what he's done.

I angrily took out a piece of paper, tearing it from my notebook, and scribbled my reply.

"You're right. I will never give forgiveness. There is no friendship between us. You forfeited your right to my comradery the moment you accused me of traitorous acts against the court of Heaven. My family shunned me, my friends looked down upon me, and not a single angel listened to my pleas. All because of you. Now, I am doomed to never see my home again. Your petty attempt at generosity sickens me. Never speak to me again. Never write to me again. I believe the words spat in my face at the ceremony were 'This is no longer your world.' You aren't a part of my world. I don't want you to be. Stay out of it."

I angrily used my energy to set the page ablaze, before I pounded the table, sobbing. I let out everything I'd been holding in since the moment the Angelic Guard had stormed into my house and put me under arrest, my best friend leading the charge.

I couldn't ever see my friends or family, I would never be able to walk with the angels, I would never have the life I loved again. I had pleaded that it wasn't my fault, I had begged them with all I had that I hadn't known. They looked into my memories, they saw that I meant no harm. But they still cast me out, sentenced me to a life in this place forever, never again to live as an angel.

They punished me with shame, a life of sorrow and hatred. They would've had more mercy if they had just killed me. But that's not how the angels worked. They would refrain from killing at all costs, and there were no records of executions to date.

Even the demon that had tricked me, he was being taken to the demons as a bargaining chip. The angels actually expected the demons to punish him? I'd bet my life that they were the ones who sent him to trick me in the first place. But even he got to go home.

And all I could do was sob. I could scream and shout, I could tear the pages of my work out - the very thing used against me that banished me in the first place - I could smash the jars holding all the work that I'd collected, hoping only to help, which had all gone to waste.

But none of it helped. I still felt as empty as ever.

The demon got to go to Hell, but in a way, so did I. Except this wasn't home to me. This was worse than any hell one could imagine. This was my hell.

This was my reality now.


Kan worriedly swiped a washcloth over Ren's forehead. He was having another nightmare. He'd always have them, back while they were living together before their capture.

Kan was still worried about the fact that Namir had let Ren go, and he had checked Ren a million times for some kind of brand or implant that kept him on some kind of leash or risked his life, but there was nothing.

Based on the memories that she didn't want him harmed, he assumed it was because he was still some kind of bargaining chip for Kan's compliance. Even though Ren was out of her harsh imprisonment, the demon had still made an oath that he would follow her orders or else Ren would suffer, and a demonic blood oath was not to be taken lightly.

Ren started shifting in his sleep, but then winced in pain, and Kan quickly held him still. "Shh, Ren. Calm down. It's okay. I'm here. You're safe. I've got you."

Ren sighed and leaned into his touch.

Just what was he dreaming about, anyway?


Jace Herondale has been through a lot within the recent months.

First, there was Clary Fairchild, the girl whose appearance changed everything for him, his family, and his perspectives on life for better or for worse. After her, everything seemed to be spiraling out of control.

He fell in love with her, only to find out that she was his sister, only then to find out that she wasn't his sister, just an accidental experiment of Valentine's that made them alike, so a little lying caused them to believe him.

He thought he had demon blood, and Valentine took him in and tried to make him loyal and turn against the Downworld by trapping him on his boat and barely making it out alive, only to be framed for fucking murder not two seconds later and having the entire Downworld against him while he was trying to save his parabatai from dying.

Aldertree was a bitch to him (also got Izzy addicted to Yin Fen, but let's stay on topic), but then it turns out he didn't have demon blood and didn't warrant all that shitty treatment and was actually a Herondale, basically Shadowhunter royalty and the opposite of a guy with demon blood.

He finds out he's got some weird power to allow him to activate runes without a stele (Clary being able to make her own runes, but once again, staying on Jace's issues here).

Ties between the Downworld and the Shadowhunters became shaky with Valentine's meddling (which was always fun to deal with), the Seelie Queen manages to convince Magnus to turn the entire Downworld against the Shadowhunters (or at least not help them) only to turn around and make a deal with Valentine instead, the very guy that they all rallied behind her for shelter from in the first place, and suddenly it becomes a race to stop the guy at Lake Lyn.

Sebastian/Jonathan happened (way too much trouble that guy made), one of the freaking Clave members was a follower of Valentine and nearly executed him and Clary, Jace actually did get killed by Valentine but was brought back to life by an angel yet suffered from occasional waves of pain.

Oh, but that's not it, friends!

Now, he'd been sent with a scout team of Shadowhunters to search the area where the angel had been found - yeah, another freaking angel (so much for being extremely rare) - and it began to rain! Downpour was a better word for it, since an entire ocean was basically coming down on them, the sea was trying as hard as it could to swallow up the beach and destroy the cliffside, and the winds were worthy of a level 5 hurricane.

Jace didn't watch mundane news, but if what the people on the television in the bar they were taking shelter in were right, this storm came out of absolutely nowhere. Just yesterday the skies had been completely clear and sunny, but this morning, the clouds rolled in and by noon the entire city was being drenched and struck with heavy gales.

"We're stuck here unless you portal us out, but there are tons of mundanes taking shelter here and nowhere secure to do it in privacy."

"The entire city is suffering right now," Alec reported. "Magnus and Shu have rallied the Warlocks and are portaling people to safety, Downworlders and Mundanes alike, with Charon erasing the mundanes' memories and replacing them with transport vehicles rescuing them. They're all working around the clock, but it's still gonna take some time. You weren't the only team of Shadowhunters who were out on missions, so I can't exactly take favorites and ask for all Shadowhunters to be brought in first, since we can't really do much about the weather."

"That's my concern, Alec. What if this isn't just the weather? All of those demons from Edom going missing, just like that? An angel appearing out of nowhere, wounded and barely alive, just before this storm hits? Someone's doing this on purpose, making this storm and probably hiding all of those demons."

"I know, I came to the same conclusion. But whatever they're doing, it's working in forcing us to stay away. New York can't take much more of this storm, we're all stuck taking shelter and moving our efforts into helping people, and if this happens every time we go after them, then we aren't left with a lot of options."

Jace was about to ask if Alec had some kind of plan, but then he saw one of the Edomei dragons fly by outside, barely affected by the storm, landing at the entrance to an alley across the street from the bar and bowing his head to a woman who petted it affectionately. Even through the storm and the small view he got through the boarded up window, he saw her eyes flick over in his direction, staring straight into his own with glowing cat eyes, similar to Magnus's Warlock mark.

"I think I found her," He announced.

"What? Jace, found who-?"

But he hung up his phone and went to the door, pulling it open (unconsciously activating some of his runes) and running out into the storm. His team of Shadowhunters shouted for him, but the storm forced them to shut the door and quickly nail it back into place. Jace was on his own.

He didn't even realize it, but the storm seemed to be having no effect on his whatsoever. The winds were barely a breeze to him, the rain didn't even seem to be touching him, and the thunder clapping around him sounded muffled, like it was a lot farther away than the storm actually was.

He sprinted across the street to where the woman and her dragon had retreated further into the alley, drawing his weapon and running in after her. When he reached the end of the alley, he found her leaning against her dragon casually, listening to its growls as though they were having a conversation.

She looked over to the Shadowhunter casually, as though they were meeting for coffee, and it was then that Jace suddenly realized that he'd just run straight after a woman who might be responsible for creating the storm over New York and making the portal to Edom to summon all of those demons without any backup and right into the alley where she wanted him.

"Hello, Jace. I see you're doing well."

She swept her hair to the side and let her cat eyes fade to pure black pupils. From a distance, one could almost imagine they were a dark brown. But as she took a few steps closer, he saw that they were much creepier. And he also saw that her face was very familiar.

"Shu?"

"I go by Namir, darling. The good thing about having a name so long is that we can split it into different parts. But I have to admit, the Lightwood boy is much cuter. No wonder little old Maggie fell for him instead, and you got stuck with the whiny Fairchild girl. 'I wanna find my mother, I don't care about the rest of you and your rules, so I might as well exploit your kindness by having you go rogue and getting you in trouble!' 'You stole my memories, you lied to me, you tried to hurt my friends, and since I'm obviously the most important person on the planet, you are evil!' 'I'm the key to activating the Soul Sword, oh but I'm just gonna go over to where it's located to save my friend, promise I won't touch it even though I could very easily be forced to!' 'OMG I can draw new runes, I'm so special now!' 'I am always right, bitches, so when I decide to break out dangerous criminals even if it means hurting my own friends who are actually in the right about things, you should be behind me.' 'WHAT? That person betrayed us? No way! I am totally the victim here. Pity me!' 'Walking head first into an obvious trap with no backup even though people tell you not to, is such a great idea, right?' Oh, and I think she's rubbing off on you. The list just keeps going on and on. Really, I'd kill that girl twenty times over if it weren't for her being the protagonist of this story."

"Are you done yet?"

"Oh, no, darling, I'm barely getting started. I haven't had a lot of people to talk to in recent years. It gets dreadfully boring in Edom, and little Shu's head is so…angelic. But here I am, back in the world of mundanes. Ah, the air is so crisp and clean."

"Well, you're going right back to where you belong."

She laughed, and even Jace had to admit that his threat seemed pretty empty while he was facing off one-on-one against a woman that was currently tearing New York apart with a storm and had lured him into what was most likely the middle of a trap.

"You're cute, darling, but not that cute. At least Alexander looks on the dark side of a situation, something I can appreciate. Maybe that's why he balances you out as your parabatai. You people are so blinded by the light you can't even fathom the darkness sometimes. It's honestly annoying, and the Fairchild girl has it the worst. Hopefully she'll learn a sense of humility one of these days."

"Clary is smart and powerful, and she's had it harder than you'll ever know, so don't start going around saying that she's too optimistic. She's stopped believing in herself before, so she's had to keep herself strong if she wanted to move forward."

"Trust me, honey, she's overdramatic about a lot of her misery. There are things in this world that make her problems seem like a soap opera written by person who was high and drunk all at the same time."

"She lost her mother, her father and her brother are psychopaths, her friends are constantly getting hurt and she takes the blame for it-"

"Unnecessarily, I might add. You people blame yourselves for mistakes, and while that's touching and honorable, you people act like you're the victims and are practically begging for people to pity you because you're making yourself feel sad. It's okay to be sad about something, even I can admit that, but don't start letting it affect every little thing about your life. The only reason it's haunting you is because you're letting it haunt you, perhaps even making it haunt you so that you feel better about yourself. Trust me, it's psychological for everyone, mundanes, Nephilim, Downworlders, even some demons and angels. But enough with the chit-chat. I love to crush your hopes and dreams by making all of your hope seem meaningless, but I'm kinda on a dead line, and honestly, you're annoying me to no end. Just looking at your stupid little face is giving me a migraine."

"What do you want? Are you creating this storm?"

"Yes, and honestly, it's really a waste. I mean look at all these nice buildings. I personally think fires are the best way to take down a city, because it makes a beautiful scene, but I didn't want to do permanent damage to anything."

"How generous of you."

"Oh, don't worry, I've still got some fun plans in the future. A good deal of which are resting upon you. Now, don't start thinking I have great needs for you or anything, but Lily has plans for you, and personally, I think using you would be a good way to shake things up with Alexander, and in turn Magnus, and in turn little Shu. Even after that, it might affect Uncle Kan and his boyfriend too! Not to mention it'll make Miss Fairchild real depressed! Really, it's a win-win-win-win-win-win-win situation. Oh, I'm rambling again, aren't I? I tend to do that. Sorry. I'll cut to the chase."

She surged forward faster than the eye could see and whacked him hard on the neck as hard as she could, causing him to crumble to the ground, his sword clattering to the pavement.

Hefting him over her shoulder, she took the sword and examined it. Hm, might come in handy.

"Let's go, Susan!" She called.

The dragon demon walked over to her and she jumped aboard with ease, even hefting another man along with her. The dragon took off, taking them through the storm with ease, cloaking them to mundane and Shadowhunter eyes.

She hummed to herself happily over the sound of the storm. Now the real party was about to begin.