Chapter 7
Simon's foot was tapping out a fast rhythm in the bustling little restaurant. Izzy was a half an hour late. She could just be fashionably late. He thought to himself. She always liked to make an entrance.
Boy did she make an entrance, with a stumbling man draped around her. All the Downworlders turned to see with the commotion was about. With a closer look he could tell he had been crying. What the hell? Simon made his was over to the door to help them to a table. Isabelle answered Simon's quizzical look by whipping out her phone and dialing Jace.
Before Jace could even give a greeting, Isabelle jumped on him.
"You damn Herondales and your awfully impeccable timing and my soft heartedness, damn it all to hell."
"Whoa Iz. Calm down. What's going on?" Jace had a certain tone of amusement mixed with a sleepy and irritated undercurrent.
"Just come to Taki's and pick up your ancestor. I'll explain when you get here." And with that she hung up.
By this point the three were all sitting in a booth in the far corner of the establishment.
"His name is James Herondale. I found him in an alleyway a few blocks from here. I'm pretty sure he came from like a century ago. He has been mumbling of his wife and kids. I'm assuming he's trying to get a grip on the fact they're dead and he has no idea what happened to them, much less the world in the past hundred years." Izzy mentioned hurriedly to Simon.
Interrupting their little debriefing, Clary and Jace popped into the diner. With that James looked up, wildly confused, but he seemed to think better of asking a question. A sense of recognition seemed to dawn on James' face.
"He looks like my son. Like my grandfather." He breathed.
Clary made the connection of the two Herondale's eyes instantly. Isabelle gave Jace and Clary the same information she had given Simon.
Clary's face was sympathetic as she approached the gentlemanly dressed man.
"Is there anything we can do? Anyone we can call?"
"Who? Everyone I know is dead by now right?" A surge of realization came over him.
"My mother. Tessa. Tessa Herondale. Or she will probably go by Tessa Gray now considering how long my father's been dead."
"Why would your mother still be alive?" Jace inquired.
"She's a warlock. I can explain later. Do you all know of her? Or know anyone who does?
"Sounds familiar. We can ask Magnus." Isabelle answered.
At the same time James asked "Magnus Bane?" and Jace remarked, "She runs the warlock orphanage in Montreal."
James' eyes lit up.
"Well I guess I know what's happening next." Jace said spinning on his heel towards the door while Clary helped the still visibly weak man to his feet. When Izzy made a motion to follow Clary turned and with shocking fierceness told Isabelle to stay with Simon, how it was about damn time they sorted things out.
Isabelle agreed and went to sit with Simon.