For some reason, nobody got an update for the last chapter, which was really upsetting because it was the longest chapter I've ever written in my life! If you didn't read chapter 6, please go read it now. :) If you don't understand what's going on, you
probably didn't read Chp 6...
If there's a chance you don't see this, either… *cries* I'm honestly not gonna write til somebody reviews.
Hello! I'm trying to write longer chapters because I don't update as often, so I feel like I should write more when I can. :)
This chapter is dedicated to Horses8 for telling me about the issue with my last chapter and for reading. Go check out her fanfic, The Dark Mark Murder.
~Sara
Xav
Then the sirens started to ring through Alicante, louder than ever before.
"Get down!" Xav immediately recognized the voice as his father's. A hand was on his back, pushing him down to the floor with a thud. He heard a crashing noise behind him somewhere, accompanied by hissing and clawing sounds.
Demons. Xav raised his head soon once the noise seemed to settle down. He raised his head off of the floor, carefully searching for Magnus in new darkness of the room. A lightbulb was flickering on the roof.
"Dad, what's going on?" Seeing his dad get up soon after he did, he quickly asked Jace a question. Jace had drawn his seraph blade and was holding it tightly in his grip.
Finally catching sight of the cat-eyed warlock, he thanked the angel for Magnus, who'd created a force-field like thing surrounding them, thanks to his magic. His eyes were flickering, most likely from the effort of making such a big force field with his magic. The brief moment of fear he felt from thinking that Jace might have seen the black lines from the curse was gone, as he had suddenly remembered that Magnus had somehow removed them just before the sirens had started to ring. (We love run on sentences)
Jace and Xav locked eyes, and Xav watched Jace draw out another seraph blade from his gear and throw it at him, just like they always did in training. "Uriel!" Xav shouted, the seraph blade glowing as soon as he named it. He moved it around in his palm, shifting it from hand to hand; getting used to the new blade.
"Demon attack." Jace finally responded to his question, unfazed. Jace, still the best shadowhunters of his generation, jumped up towards the roof, cutting a tentacle off of a ravener demon that was trying to sneak in through a window. He was still sixteen at heart, although he was thirty-three.
Xav, like his father, was a natural fighter, one of the best. "How is that even possible?" As he said this, his eyes wandered around for Magnus, eyes sticking to the warlock as he too battled the demons that threatened to come inside the Herondale Mansion. The extra wards protecting their home wouldn't last much longer.
"I'm not sure. Maybe the wards protecting Idris broke?" Jace questioned. They both knew that this wasn't the case. Wards did not fail, especially ones set up by Clary, the best of the best. It was something else. Something far, far more frightening. Something nobody could've predicted.
"A little help here?" Magnus asked, his arm covered in demon ichor. Xav's mind flashed back to that night almost a year ago when Alec Lightwood had gotten himself covered in ichor, and the next day had broken out with the demon pox. He reassured himself quickly, as warlocks couldn't get demon pox. He double checked his gear, quickly making sure that the demon hadn't touched him anywhere. He drew a quick iratze on himself before losing it somewhere in the floor.
"Y-yeah. Of course." Xav said without thinking, just as the discomfort came. He'd forgotten the past couple of hours that they'd had together. The awkward moments… and the ones that were meant to be kept a secret.
"Xavier, you can't. We can't."
Magnus' voice echoed in his mind. Xav shook his head. Don't think about it. All that matters right now is that you help him. Xav put his seraph blade, Uriel, back in its place in the scabbard that was attached to his gear before reaching out to help him. He gripped Magnus' hand and helped him up from the ground, ignoring the fact that Magnus was clinging to him. If only things could stay this uncomplicated forever. At least, this was what was uncomplicated for Xav.
Unluckily for Xav, Magnus would be the least of his worries.
There was a crash outside the front door, and Jace hesitated once before opening the door.
"Dad, wait!" It wasn't over, and Xav knew it.
Ravener demons. Oni. Mantids. Several different types of demons practically threw themselves inside the Herondale Mansion as if there was a tornado sucking them in from the outside. All Xav saw after that was ichor, demons, and more demons. He blindly sliced the air with his seraph blade, unable to see his father or Magnus.
"When two parabatai become vulnerable to the curse, their runes become stronger."
Xav suddenly remembered the words of Brother Zachariah, and reached into the pocket of his gear.
Then he remembered that his stele was gone, thrown down somewhere on the floor. Spotting Magnus in the crowd of demons and flood of ichor, Xav called out, "Have you seen my stele?!"
Xav gasped out loudly after speaking, panting from the effort of killing more demons than he may have in the past year. But he had had no choice. Using his stele and powerful runes to kill the demons was the only option left.
Magnus looked down at the floor and picked up something that looked like his stele, although he looked unsure. But just as he was in the action of handing the stele to Xav, a demon sprung up from behind and lunged.
Reflexes suddenly improving, Xav stuck his seraph blade into the mantid's pelvis, letting ichor pour out of it as the demon crumbled to dust. Magnus mouthed a thanks, seeming to forget the past events of that day. Xav ignored the feeling of happiness and relief after Magnus thanked him.
Magnus handed the stele to Xav, closing Xav's palm and making sure that he was holding it tightly before letting go.
Xav trusted that the curse was still in effect. If it wasn't, then there was no hope to do what he was going to do. Were the runes going to work? You love Chris, he told himself. You love Chris.
There were still many questions left unanswered. Where was Chris? Where was Jace? Why were demons suddenly attacking? His questions couldn't be answered, not right then.
The demons should've been the only thing he had to worry about that night. He pressed his stele against his arm, drawing the Fortis rune, the rune of strength. (Thank god for the shadowhunter's codex, lmao)
The rune immediately bursted into an odd shade of yellow, blinding Xav for a couple of seconds. It worked. It actually worked.
When he could finally see, he felt immense power coursing through his veins, anticipating the attack that was coming.
Gripping his seraph blade tighter than before, he banged it against the floor, power surging through the floorboards, hitting almost every single demon, until Xav saw that the door was still open. That must've been why more and more demons kept coming inside. Xav ran to the door, jumped and kicked it shut as he was still in midair. (Because he's awesome)
But just as the door slammed shut, a hand put itself in the way. A thin, pale hand with black lines running across it.
It was Chris.
Chris
The black lines were still running across his body, spreading faster that before. At this rate, he was afraid that the curse would take its full effect sooner than he'd thought. The sirens were still ringing after what seemed like eternity, and Chris had to make a choice before it was too late.
"You must choose whether to notify your parabatai or perform whatever ceremony you've chosen. Take your time, but you must make a decision."
Sirens were ringing, and Chris could hear the growling and clawing sounds of the demons trying to come into the city of bones. Chris felt fear flood into his body. He wasn't like Xav. He wasn't the strongest shadowhunter of his generation. In fact, he was one of the weakest. Flashes of memory from the day his father got the demon pox ran through his head, causing him to hesitate longer than he should.
But.. If this was truly as bad of a demon attack as he thought, then this could be the last chance he could see Xav. He didn't know what sort of demons were out there, and he wouldn't take his chances, not when it involved the life of the person he loved. "I… want to become a silent brother, but… first I-I'm telling my parabatai." Chris said as fast as he could, trying to conceal the fact that he was practically hyperventilating.
Demon attacks had become a difficult thing for him after the death of his father eight months ago. He thought that he'd been prepared for this. He'd worked extra hard during his training to learn how to fight demons better than before, so he wouldn't lose any more people.
"Alright then." The silent brothers seemed to communicate silently among themselves, and then Brother Zachariah came right next to Chris and his mother. Chris drew his bow, hoping that he had enough arrows to last him all the way to the Herondale Mansion. If not… he'd have to use a seraph blade, which he was not well at using.
And if Xav ended up not being there… Chris had no clue what in the world he was going to do except become a silent brother.
Chris followed Brother Zachariah through the many twists and turns that had been crafted under the city of bones after the end mortal war when Sebastian had died when he was killed by Jace. These underground paths ran through the entirety of Idris, making it convenient transportation… but only if you were with a silent brother. If one were to go there without a silent brother, then they would be burnt by heavenly fire.
When they finally reached the mansion, Chris noticed two things.
One, the front door was wide open, letting demons of all kind crawl, fly, and run into the mansion. Two… he saw no trace of people.
After several minutes of looking through the haze of demons, he saw Xav. There was a flash of light, and then Xav's body was literally glowing, a bright rune glowing on his shoulder. Fortis, the rune of power. After the light settled down, Chris noticed that Xav literally had no black lines running across his skin. But that was the least of his concerns.
Chris saw Xav start to run. Chris knew his parabatai, and what his parabatai was about to do. He was going to jump as high as he could, and then side-kick the door shut.
It's what he did to the life-size targets in training.
He cursed himself for thinking about the institute and the moments they'd spent there, and the fact that he'd destroyed it. He focused on the door. Without thinking, he ran towards the door, ignoring the cries from his mother. If the door closed, Xav wouldn't open it again. Xav would think that he was a mindless demon using his voice to make him open the door. Then there definitely would be no hope. He ran and jammed his hand in the door right as it started to shut.
"Chris!" Clary cried, running towards him, Brother Zachariah at her tail.
The door immediately opened, the hand opening it shaking, and Chris tumbled inside, the cloak covering the lines running over his body falling right off, revealing all the effects of the curse.
Xav stood in front of him, face white from shock. "Chris, what are you-" He turned around, his face paling even further than before. "Magnus! Magnus!" Without acknowledging the fact that Chris was even there, Xav ran in the opposite direction.
Chris then felt his face pale, too. Magnus had a gaping hole in his gut, blood seeping through it. There was a snapped demon claw in his palm. Magnus had a hand over the wound.
He possibly had only minutes left to live.
(Uh….. sorry? It was either Chris or Magnus.. MY POOR CHILD)
Xav
Chris was right there. Right in front of him. Xav felt the heat drain from his face. "Chris, what are you-" He reached out to pull Chris into his arms, but a cry of pain that came from behind him stopped him from doing so.
It was like the whole room suddenly went into slow motion, but he couldn't do anything to stop a future that he didn't want to happen. He saw a demon take hold of Magnus from behind and strike him in the gut, one of its claws staying stuck there. Magnus stood there, dumbfounded.
Xav turned away from Chris and watched his legs run towards Magnus with everything he had, the fear of losing another person he cared about taking control of him. (Fun fact: the fear of people not reading this chapter is taking over me right now.)
He shoved his way towards demons and didn't feel a thing when ichor sprayed all over his body. Plunging the tip of his seraph blade into the ravener demon that had attacked Magnus, he felt the satisfaction of a battle… almost. "Magnus! Magnus!" Then he started to take in what had just happened. Magnus stumbled and fell into Xav's arms, hands wrapped around the claw that was stuck in his gut. Before Xav could say anything to stop him, Magnus pulled it out, and then blood started flowing down Xav's gear as well.
"Xav, are you bleeding?" Jace asked.
Xav felt his head shake. He was numb. He couldn't feel anything; his thoughts only focused on the man in front of him. He felt the color drain from his face. He turned to his left and saw that Chris' face was also pale.
"Magnus, I'm sorry, it was all my fault… if I hadn't… I-"
"It's n-ot your fault, X-av." His voice faltered for a moment, his cat's eyes flickering. Xav couldn't let this be Magnus' final moments. He couldn't lose someone else he cared about.
He turned to Clary. "I never learned anything about healing a warlock in my studies! Does that sort of thing exist?" He could hear the tremble in his own voice. Clary seemed to be concentrated on something else, which frustrated Xav even worse than before.
Clary snapped out of it for a moment. "I don't know anything about healing a warlock. Why would I?" Chris, Clary and… Brother Zachariah were muttering things to each other, no longer paying attention to what was going on right in front of them.
Anger boiling like magma rising to the top of a volcano, Xav cleared his throat as loudly as he could. "Hello? Is anybody concerned about the man that's dying in front of us?! Are you people unconcerned about the fact that somebody's dying and you're doing nothing to help stop it from happening?!" Then the wave of anger erupted. "What the fuck are you people so concerned about?!"
The look on Chris' face was one of shock, and so was Clary's. Xav couldn't tell what Brother Zachariah was thinking… or maybe they couldn't think. Did the silent brothers have feelings?
Xav caught a glimpse of Chris' arms, and the color that was left in his face vanished. (He basically looks like albino, gay Jace with white hair.) Black, spider-web like lines were slowly spreading across his body, creeping up his neck. How was it that although their curse had started the same, the effects were now different? While the lines on his skin had been disappearing, twice as many had been creeping across Chris' skin. Xav had expected for their skin to mirror each other, because that was how the curse was supposed to work. That was how things were supposed to happen.
Magnus? He thought, but then shifted his thoughts away from that. He couldn't let his feeling and emotions cloud his judgement. Emotions cloud judgement. Feelings cloud judgement. "Get your mind off of whatever you came here for for just a second and help him, please!" His tone was pleading; begging for somebody to help. Jace was still fighting the demons that were remaining in the mansion. In Xav's eyes, Jace was the only one actually contributing at that moment.
Clary looked back at Chris for a moment, but then put her full attention on Xav… finally. "Maybe I can… make a rune that will save him?" Clary said. Xav knew from the look she gave him that her thoughts were elsewhere, and she thought that there was no hope left for Magnus. A couple weeks ago, Xav would've left him to die. He might've comforted him, but he wouldn't go to the extent that he would now. Now, he couldn't bear the thought of letting him die. He wouldn't let him die. If he died, Xav would do nothing but blame himself. He didn't understand why his emotions were jumbling all together and causing this.. confusion. All he knew was that he didn't want to lose Magnus. Not now, not ever.
"You know what? Fuck it. Fuck you. Fuck everyone." Xav said, blinking back tears. You can't cry. Not now. "Fuck everything!"
"Xav, Wait-" Chris started after Xav.
"Forget it, Chris. You've done nothing." Then a feeling unknown to anything he'd ever felt for Chris flooded into his clouded emotions. Anger. "You can fuck off too." Immediately regretting his words, he covered his mouth. "Chris, I didn't mean-
"We can help Magnus, Xav." Chris took his hand and examined it for a minute, and Xav thought that he could see tears. Chris cloaked his emotions well.
Who even knew what he was thinking under that forced blank face?
Chris (this is short)
"Forget it Chris, you've done nothing." Xav's words struck him hard in a place that hurt. His words were like steel. "You can fuck off too." There was something different about Xav's voice. It was angry.
Xav never got angry with Chris. Xav's face flushed. "Chris, I didn't mean-
"We can help Magnus, Xav." Chris attempted to make his voice kind, and took Xav's hand. But that was not meant to be a kind gesture. He double checked his facial expression in the ichor on the floor. It was like a mirror. His face was blank. Sure enough, Xav's hand was smooth, unmarked by the curse. Who knew how that was possible? After glancing at his mother, he knew that she'd seen Xav's smooth skin.
"Well, what do we do?" Xav asked, voice still angry.
"I don't know, we'll figure it out."
"We can't figure it out. He's gonna die!" Xav said, his hands trembling. This couldn't be happening.
"Xav, please just listen to me-
"No."
"Xav, please-
"No."
"Xav, I-
"Chris! I don't need your help! Please, just stop!" Xav cried out, pushing Chris back. (I think that Xav is honestly pissed off with me. I mean, as created Chris.) Chris closed his eyes, waiting for the impact of the fall to the floor.
"Chris! I don't need your help! Please, just stop!" He saw his mom look away, not wanting to see him get hurt. Instead of a thudding noise, the sound of the roof ripping apart came. He opened his eyes.
Huge people. Giants. Titans.
True Nephilim.
Cliffhanger! I think you guys can tell this one is coming to an end. I love this fanfic more than any of my others. I think it's well written. Anyway, if you read this, review so that I know you can see it. Look out for the next chp! it might be the last...
~Sara
