Chapter 7—Alicante

"It's impressive," I commented. We were standing next to a road, which led to Alicante. The two shining towers were where I had seen them. "What are those towers?" I asked her.

"They're the demon towers," she explained as we began walking towards the city. "They set up wards to protect the city from demons."

"Sweet," I replied. As we walked around I looked at my surroundings. After about fifteen minutes I noticed a ridge about a mile to my left. It looked over Alicante, and in my mind I could imagine a couple standing there with a baby. It would have the same view as from my memory/dream.

"What're you looking at?" Maryse asked me, following my gaze.

"That ridge, it's from one of my memories," I told her.

"We could check it out tomorrow if you want," she said.

"Seriously?" I asked her. "I thought we had to be back once we're done."

"They'll survive in New York," she said.

I was so happy that I could barely keep the pace, but we soon arrived at the western gate into Alicante.

"Sorry, but Downworlders may only enter through the northern gate," one of the guards said when he noticed my marks.

"He is a Shadowhunter, and we have a meeting with the Clave," Maryse told them. She had me show them the permanent marks she put on my arms that morning.

They raised their eyebrows but let us in. We walked through the gates and I never stopped staring at everything around me, from the buildings to the canals to the roads.

"We're here," she told me about twenty minutes later. We were standing in front of a very large building made from dark stone. "It's the Gard, meeting place of the Clave," she explained.

We walked in and a guard directed us to the Clave room, where the Clave was in session.

"Welcome," the person at the podium said when we walked in. We were directed to two empty seats in the front row. Maryse told me that it was the Consul, head of the Clave, Jia Penhallow.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Clave, allow me to introduce Jacob, a very unique Shadowhunter," Jia told the Clave. She motioned for me to walk up to the podium "Tell the Clave your story," she told me before turning to the crowd. "Stay silent until he finishes explaining his past. Then you may ask questions."

She nodded at me and stepped back.

"My name is Jacob, as the Consul has already told you," I began. "When I was only a baby, I was kidnapped and my parents killed. I was made into an experiment, injected with warlock's blood. Over time, I became a hybrid, part warlock and part Nephilim." I explained my entire story to them, and when I finished they broke out in questions.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" was the most prominent question among them.

"Use the Mortal Sword to see if he's telling the truth!" someone yelled.

"Would you mind if we used the Mortal Sword to find the truth?" the Consul asked me.

"Will it hurt?" I asked her.

"Only if you resist," she told me.

"Sure, then," I said. She said something and a figure in parchment colored robes walked in holding the Mortal Sword. When he got near us I almost screamed.

His mouth was sewn shut. Countless runes decorated his face.

Hold out your hands to receive the Sword, it said in my mind. I held out my hands and it placed the sword so that I only touched the flat of the blade.

"What is your name?" Jia asked me.

The Sword tried to drag the words "Jacob DiCarten" out of my mouth, but the warlock blood in me allowed me to only say "Jacob."

"What is your last name?" she asked me.

"I don't know," I told her.

"Is everything you told the Clave true?" she asked me.

"Yes," I told her.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes," I repeated.

She nodded and the thing removed the sword. I sighed in relief. I let the Sword answer for me the last few questions, but the effect was still exhausting.

"Now you all know," Jia told the Clave. "This boy tells the truth. He was born Nephilim, but taken as a child and changed into a hybrid. He did not choose this life, so he should not be punished for it. We must be aware of the army Marcus Kingsmill is making for the Director, however. We must start fighting against him before he does this to more children. All for this proposal say 'aye'. All opposed, say 'nay'."

There wasn't a single 'nay'.

"Good. We will start our operations as soon as possible. You are all dismissed," she told them all.

As everyone left Maryse walked over to us. "Thank you for not being too harsh on him, Consul," she told Jia.

"No problem. I was doing my job."

Hello, Jacob, the thing with the Sword said as it walked up to us. I am here to examine your memories and see if we may glean any information on your past or true identity.

"Jacob, this is Brother Enoch," Maryse told me. "He is a Silent Brother. They are masters of the mind."

I sighed and told him to go ahead. He told me not to struggle as I sensed him search through my mind, examining memories. He would select one, examine it for several minutes, and move on. He finally stopped at the memory of the couple looking over Idris.

Do you know where this is? He asked me.

"Yes, we plan to search the site tomorrow," I told him.

He nodded and removed his mind from mine.

"Come on," Maryse told me. "I'll give you a tour of Alicante."

"Sure," I replied. We walked out of the Gard and she showed me Angel Square, in the middle of which was a statue of the angel Raziel. At the northern end of the square was Accords Hall.

"That is where the Accords are signed every year," she explained. "The Accords is an agreement between Shadowhunters and Downworlders, signed every year."

"Cool," I said.

We walked through the city, getting food when we were hungry.

"This is where we'll be spending the night," Maryse told me when we got to a house near the edge of the city. We walked in and she showed me to the guest bedroom.

"Couldn't we just stay at your husband's house?" I asked her.

"Robert and I…aren't together anymore," she explained.

"Oh. Sorry," I replied.

"It's not your fault," she told me. She left me in the room to find her own.

I walked around the room and noticed a picture of Clary as a much younger child with Jocelyn and Luke.

"This must be Clary's room," I muttered. It was pretty late, so I changed into my pajamas and fell asleep on top of the bed, not even bothering to climb under the sheets.

"Jacob, you need to wake up," said Maryse the next morning as she knocked on the door.

"I'm up," I muttered as I climbed out of bed and got dressed. I walked out and down the stairs to the smell of breakfast cooking.

"Here," she said, handing me a plate of eggs and bacon.

"Thanks," I replied.

"I suggest you bring your bag with you when we go to the ridge today," she suggested. "I plan for us to leave right after we finish."

"Kay," I said. When we finished eating I went upstairs to grab my bag, sliding my seraph blades into my weapons belt and my witchlight in my pocket.

"Let's go," Maryse told me when we were ready to go.

We left the house and left the city through the same gate we entered through.

"Where's the ridge you were talking about?" she asked me when we left the city.

I pointed in the direction of the ride, which was just under a mile away if we went in a straight shot, but we couldn't.

She squinted in the direction, and when she saw it we took off, leaving the road after a mile for a less-worn path that went by the ridge.

"This is it," I said, walking up to the ridge. It had the same view as my memory. I turned on the spot and looked around for any houses. There weren't any, but the trail led into a group of trees.

"Come on," I said, suddenly breaking into a sprint. Maryse took off after me, calling for me to slow down as I ran along the path. After only fifteen seconds at a full sprint I stopped, gasping as I stood in front of a large mansion from my memories.

"This is it," I said when Maryse caught up with me.

"I know this place," she said. "Over ten years ago, the people living here were said to have been killed. Since then, the house has been cursed. The last person to enter it was in a coma for three years."

"Seriously?" I asked her.

She nodded. I sighed and continued to the house.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, getting in my way.

"I need to do this," I told her. "I can't leave here without knowing more about my past. I don't care if I go into a coma, as long as I discover who my parents were. You don't have to go in there, but I will."

I pushed past her and opened the door, walking in and closing it behind me.


A/N: Thanks everyone for the reviews! Don't forget to leave one below!