And I Shall Burn

Chapter 5

A/N: Second update in two days? Yaay! Who's happy?

"He's a warlock and a vampire…" she shouted to the boys, which received a surprised glance from Lord Mikal.

"Either way he's going to die…" bit Will as his blade roared to life. Lord Mikal held up a finger and shook it in Will's direction.

"No no no…little shadowhunter…she needs me…." Lord Mikal purred.

"I do not!" Lacey snapped.

"Without me Lacey…You'll go mad with power and rage and kill….everyone…."

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Lacey froze; her eyes wide as she shook her head in disagreement. That wasn't how her nightmare had gone. Mikal had just been one of Lord Izrael's servants, who was sent to prepare her for him, but now he was spitting some lies to make her give herself up, "You're a liar…" she replied, shaking her head once more. "I do not need you…"

"Are you willing to take the chance? You do not even know me, why do you distrust me so quickly?" asked Lord Mikal with a grin. Lacey gritted her teeth and balled her hands into fists, anger fueling her. "Do not glare so mightily, my dear girl…I wish only to help…to bring you into the power that fills you up inside…"

"We know exactly what you want to help her with…and we aren't looking for it…" Charles said in response, stepping in front of the monster and initiating battle. Will was right there beside him and they flung out their weapons and the battle began. Lord Mikal was fast, easily able to dodge the blows meant to kill him, but he didn't seem interested in fighting at all. "Fight us!"

"If I do that…who will be here when Lacey needs help controlling her power?" Mikal laughed before he rushed back to his carriage at a speed faster than any shadow hunter had ever witnessed. Then he was off, rushing away from the Institute and Charles and Will were left gasping with anger and irritation.

"He wasn't that good in the nightmare…He was easy to defeat…Foolish…This is wrong…all wrong!" Lacey snapped, throwing up her hands. Jem placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her but she shrugged it away and stormed further into the Institute, moving through the halls swiftly until she made it to the training room. By the time she slammed the door and took a deep breath she was shaking with grief. "This isn't right at all…" she murmured, "Why isn't it the same?" Lacey began to pace, unaware of the other person in the room. She picked up and sword from the wall and started to slash at the air, pretending that Mikal was before her. This continued for a while until she was panting and could barely hold the sword up in her arm. She stumbled backwards, tripping over her dress and before she could hit the floor, strong arms caught her. She gasped and dropped the sword, turning her head to see who it was. She was assuming it was Charles, but she was wrong.

"George!" she said in surprise, "How long have you been in here?" she questioned. He smiled and pulled her up to stand on her own two feet.

"Long enough…" he replied casually. She frowned, "Don't worry…I will not judge your emotional outburst…"

"Sorry-."

"You know Lacey…" George began, slowly walking her backwards, instantly putting her on full alarm. "Ever since that first moment you saw me…" Lacey watched him with a wary gaze, her legs trembling as she continued to step backwards, "You've been unsure of me…Why is that?" he asked just as her back hit the wall. Lacey opened her mouth to speak but she wasn't sure what to say. She couldn't just tell him that he looked like the Goblin Lord, could she? "Lacey…it was upsetting when you started to scream…well mostly…" he mused, leaning down to put their faces closer together. "You do have a beautiful….scream…" he whispered as he leaned into her ear, his breath brushing the sensitive skin.

"George!" she exclaimed, pulling her arms up to push him away. He didn't move an inch, merely continued to press the topic of her fear. "I was just confused…nothing more…"

"Really?" he whispered, placing his hands on her waist and pressing her into the wall harder, "No resemblance to anything, or anyone…No inner fears that I ignited inside of you?" he questioned, fingers digging into her sides. Lacey groaned as she tried to wiggle out of his grip, "Tell me Lacey…Who do I remind you of that seems terrify you so much…" Lacey shook her head and felt fear stirring inside of her, building up in her throat as her hands shook, pushing against his chest still.

"No!" she snapped. The door suddenly opened, but Lacey couldn't see who it was past George's body.

"George? What the hell are you doing!?" demanded Will, his voice sounding dangerous. George rolled his eyes and pushed away from Lacey, making her gasp as her legs gave out and she fell to her knees on the training room floor. "Lacey?"

"Nothing…Will…nothing as always…" George said simply, moving past the other boy as he left. Will glared at him and then walked to Lacey's side, holding out a hand to help her up. He waited for her to steady herself before he released her and then looked at her for an explanation.

"He..He is simply crazy…A nut!" she said shakily, "I need some water…" she said with a shiver, "Oh goodness…" she murmured, wrapping her arms around herself as she walked out of the training room. Will watched her go, his eyes narrowed and his brain moving a million miles a second. The gears were turning and he was starting to get the idea that something strange was happening in the Institute.

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Lacey was halfway to the kitchen for some water when she ran into Charles, "Charles…" she whispered, her worries instantly eased as she felt their connection stir in the air between them. He opened his arms and she fell into them comfortably, snuggling her cheek against his chest. "I was just going to fetch some water…go with me?" she questioned. Charles nodded and took her hand, leading her the rest of the way to the kitchen. The halls were dim, a storm brewing outside, threatening to disrupt London with the rain and winds.

"You seem a bit…shaken up, Lacey…are you okay?" Charles asked as they pushed into the kitchen. Sophie saw them and smiled, so Lacey asked for a glass of water which was quickly brought to her hand. Lacey thanked her and then they moved into the dining hall. "Lacey…?"

"I'm…fine…Just a little flustered by everything is all…" she said simply. "Don't worry about it…" she assured him. Charles wrapped his arms around her after she set her glass of water down, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"I'm here to protect you, Lacey….from anything you need protection from…" he whispered, "Don't push me out of anything…"

The door to the dining hall opened and Will entered, surprised to see at least one of them, "Ah…perfect…Charles has she spoken to you of George?" Will questioned, walking towards the table and collapsing lazily into one of the chairs.

"George?" Charles questioned.

"Yes…the incident that just occurred in the training room…" Will seemed irritated, "You didn't tell him? Lacey you can't hide this…that was highly inappropriate and something doesn't seem right…"

"What happened Lacey?" questioned Charles, his fists clenching as he pulled back from her. Lacey seemed speechless and Will laughed.

"I'll tell him then- I walked in to get some training done and George had her pinned to the wall rather forcefully…and from what I could tell she was not happily partaking in his advances…" Will explained.

"Lacey?! Why didn't you tell me?" Charles questioned, sounding hurt by the sudden knowledge.

"It..it's more than that…." She whispered, "He…he's obsessed with the reason why I screamed when I first saw him…why it frightened me…he seemed excited by the prospect of scaring me…He…said I had a beautiful scream…" Lacey shivered. "I didn't want to get you worked up…I didn't want you to run after him…because I think he might be up to no good…"

"And that's a reason why we shouldn't go after him?!" questioned Charles.

"I just…I don't know for sure…but he looks…he looks similar to the Goblin Lord from my nightmare…not identical…but maybe related?" she said with a frown, "I don't want him to know I'm onto a connection…"

"Like a son or something?" asked Will, eyes wide. Lacey nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. "We have to tell Charlotte and Henry…it would be wrong to hold something like this back….it could be dangerous if it turns out to be true, Lacey…" he reasoned.

"But…you can't…"

"Lacey we aren't keeping this a secret.." Charles snapped, backing up and then storming out of the dining room, heading out to find Charlotte. Lacey held up a hand to stop him, but it was too late.

"Damn you, Will!" Lacey cursed, glaring at the boy sitting across the table.

"Lacey…" Will said with a frown.

"No!" she wasn't going to hear anything, she just turned and left as well, leaving Will alone in the dining hall, but he assumed lunch would be served soon so he remained seated and decided to doze off for a small nap.