Hi again! Thanks so much for the positive reviews: shoutout to IceFire15 and amazing pancakes! It definitely makes me want to write more for you ;) Sorry for the longer update gap again, but ya know, real life and that.. haha. So here's chapter 6! Enjoy, and again, please review!
(C) Clary gasped, jumping back a little. "Luke? What are you doing here?" He stepped forward. "Easy. Jace and I just wanted to see if you were okay." She bit her lip. Jace. "Well, I guess you know what Lillith wants Sebastian and I to do..." unsure of what to do, she gestured towards the glowing Portal. Raziel, she needed to figure out this dilemma. She couldn't be on both sides. Luke nodded. "Clary, you can't go through it. Please. No-one's ever been to Pandemonium and come back to tell the tale. We don't even know if Shadowhunters could survive there. Remember what Jace was like when you went to Alicante? This is a million times more dangerous. If he knew-"
"He can't know!" Clary yelped. Then the instinct calmed a little and she was able to speak more evenly. "Don't tell him, Luke, please, at least until I'm gone. He'll do something stupid. I don't want to get him hurt. And I have to go. What else am I going to do? Even if I could persuade Sebastian, it's not him, it's Lillith. She'd just kill me, probably." She couldn't help but let a small tear trickle down her cheek at the thought of how helpless she was. Either she sided with Sebastian and do whatever horrors Lillith dreamed up - it wouldn't be anything good - or she side with the others and face both Sebastian and Lillith's anger. Some stupid choice. Why did everything have to be so mucked up?
Luke sighed. "I know. It's your life, I guess, but please... be careful." The look in his eyes was earnest, and Clary couldn't rein herself in: she ran over and hugged him tight. However much she tried to convince herself that this was her only chance on life, the memories were still there. Luke's farm. Luke protecting her. Luke being nothing but good. And you? She thought. What are you, Clary? You can't be on both sides. But that seemed to be exactly what she had to be. She released him, and he smiled a little before they heard the resounding boom of the doors again. Sebastian.
"Go!" Clary hissed. "And-" she pressed her eyes shut for a second, taking a deep breath. "Tell Jace I love him." Luke looked at her for one last second, then ran back into the shadows.
(S) A millisecond after he disappeared, Sebastian walked into the training room. He wore that calm smirk again, hoisting a couple of swords on his back over fighting gear, carrying the strangely beautiful Infernal Cup. He saw Clary shudder slightly at the sight of the replica of the Mortal Cup, stained midnight black with Lillith's blood. He wasn't entirely sure if he could blame her. The demon mother was formidable. "Sister," he walked over to her, kissed her on the cheek, then looked at her closely. Has she with someone? Surely not. But.. He shook his head at the notion. Clary wouldn't be that stupid. She was on his side forever now, and she knew it.
(C) Did he see Luke? Clary frowned a little; Sebastian looked vaguely suspicious. But he smiled, and gestured to the Portal. She banished any other thought from her mind. Pandemonium. You will be fine. He has the Infernal Cup; the demons can't harm you. "Are we ready?" She asked, a bit nervous but not showing it.
"If you are, my sister." He slid his hand around her waist, drew her in for a short kiss, then turned to the Portal. "It should take us to Pandemonium. But think about Pandemonium, to direct it a little." He advised her.
They stepped into the swirling doorway.
Howling winds ripped Sebastian from her; swirling colours blinded her as they whipped past in streams of multicoloured ash. The abyss in front of Clary seemed to go on forever; stretching into nothing and everything at once, it terrified her in an almost comforting way. Please say I did it right, she thought. Pandemonium, go to Pandem-
Their surroundings seemed to suddenly shut off. Darkness swamped her eyes, pressed them back into their sockets, but then gradually subsided. And she saw Pandemonium.
(J) "She went through the Portal? She went to Pandemonium?!"
Jace couldn't keep in his anger. Why the hell had Clary gone?! It was so dangerous! Luke watched as he paced around the room, gesturing wildly, fuelled by the whirlwind of emotions. Why did he have to care about the stupid girl? She was clearly just playing games with him, making her and Sebastian laugh, like a reality TV show where he was just a pawn for others' entertainment. Curse that damn family. Curse them to Pandemonium and back. And back... God, as much as he might want to hate Clary, he couldn't. She'd better come back. What if she didn't? He didn't think he could handle it. God, please Clary, damn your life choices, but just live.
