The sun had finally started to set, casting a large shadow from the Institute in its wake until it finally disappeared past the horizon. The fall breeze tossed Emily's hair lightly as she looked out her open window where the lights of the Institute lit up the grass. Three stories beneath her were her family and friends, talking and getting ready for the departure ahead of them. Jace was in a black suit, talking to Alec who was dressed similarly, more according to Magnus's request than the fact he had to wear it. Clary, Simon, Isabelle were discussing something a few feet away. Her mother's dress was golden, like her father, and strapless, reaching the floor with a train behind her. Isabelle's was similar, reaching the floor as well but it was a blue that matched her eyes, and Emily could see the spaghetti straps from her window, hiding behind her hair as it flowed down her back. Magnus was with Kadan and Karrie, setting up the portal and more than likely making some stupid joke about it as well as Karrie laughed and Kadan shook his head.
Emily had never been to Idris and never wished to go either. Her parents never spoke very highly of it. Jace didn't have many good memories, and the only good thing there for Clary was Amatis. Not to mention the terrible ways they had to dress. Emily would rather face all the Princes of Hell alone with nothing but a stele than wear the dresses that were required when meeting with the Clave. That had to be the worst form of torture imaginable.
She watched as Jace and Alec broke up and her parents met in the middle, Jace kissing Clary in front of everyone. It was cute, even if most teenagers hated it when their parents kissed. As long as she didn't have to hear her father's extra comments, it wasn't that bad. It's when opened his mouth that things got bad, like earlier with the condom. She doesn't need to know what's going to happen.
Her stele twisted and turned in her hand, a nervous gesture, as she heard her brother approach through her open door. She didn't have to turn to know it was him. Michael was louder than most, more awkward when he walked and he was anything but graceful. Mundanes wouldn't have noticed, but Shadowhunters focused on the little things.
"Are you not going to say goodbye to them?" Michael asked as he came to stand next to her. Besides the two year difference, he was significantly taller than her.
She shrugged, gripping her stele tightly. "You know that Shadowhunters don't say goodbye. We always act as if they will always come home."
"We don't know that they will." Emily looked up at her brother, but he wasn't paying her any attention. His eyes were focused on what was happening below, the portal forming slowly. "Mom and Dad aren't going to always come home. One day, they'll leave and we'll never see them again."
"Why are you even saying that?" Emily asked with anger. "They're going to Idris. It isn't like they're facing Lilith on their own."
Michael sighed and wrapped his arms around his tank top covered torso. "Even Idris isn't safe now that Jonathon is back. Just because our parents have survived so much, doesn't mean that they're invincible. But they're leaving soon. I'm going down to talk to them. It's your choice if you want to or not."
With that, he left. Emily felt frozen in place. She never even thought about the prospect of her father leaving and never returning. Jace was the most steady, sturdy, immovable person in her life. He was the lion that always protected her. He held her hand the day she got her first rune. He taught her about the place on a man's back, that she can use to severe his spine and pierce his heart – the same technique he used to kill Jonathan the first time. He had always been there and always would be, right? She couldn't imagine a world without her dad's snarky comments, attitude, and sturdiness.
As if he knew that she was thinking about it, Jace looked up to her window as Clary left him to hug Michael, who had stepped into view. Their eyes met from the distance and she saw the sparkle in his eyes. He wanted her to come down, it was that obvious, but she didn't. Her feet wouldn't move, even if she wanted to. But her father wasn't having it, because after saying a word to the others, he jumped.
And landed right on her window sill. Any other person would've been shocked, even scared, but Emily just backed up so her father could enter her room like a teenager sneaking in through the window.
"Were you planning on staying up here all night?"
Emily shrugged, placing her stele on her desk as she turned away from her father. She felt the tears coming, but forced them back down. Thanks to Michael, she was thinking of the prospect of life without her dad. She couldn't even imagine not fighting with him every day, whether it is in the training room, against demons, or about boys.
"Emily, look at me."
She did, and her father immediately pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her as she buried her head in his shoulder. His hand went to her back, rubbing circles as he held her and he ran the other through her hair, like she had seen him do with her mother whenever she was upset. "Emily, you're tense. You need to relax."
"How am I supposed to relax?" she asked into the crook of his neck. As Jace got older, it only seemed like he got even more fit, harder, more muscular. "Dad, you don't see it from my view. I'm basically going to be stuck in New York, while Jonathan and Lilith are plotting to kill you and Mom. If I'm not with you, I can't protect you–"
"You're not meant to." Jace pulled away and ducked his head, looking into Emily's eyes. She felt like he was staring through her soul, the gold irises sparkling. "We need help, even if I don't want to admit it. I'm going to Idris to get help that help, to protect you."
She shoved him away, suddenly angry. Jace's eyes widened as he backed up, catching his balance. "Even if you could convince the Clave, which is highly unlikely, there's still something that you don't understand. I don't need protection, Dad. You don't see that!"
"Emily," Jace said, slowly losing his cool – a trait they both shared. "I found you unconscious on the floor of an abandoned warehouse with a werewolf who had an arrow in his back and a dying Shadowhunter due to a head injury. Have you forgotten that incident?"
"Jonathan caught me off guard. I'm not letting that happen again."
"You don't know that. He's dangerous, whether you want to admit it or not." Jace sighed then, backing up and sitting on the bed like he was suddenly tired. His eyes glanced towards the open window he came through, and Emily saw the worry and stress pulling at him.
"Dad, what's going on?"
He shrugged, not meeting her gaze. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."
"Something is bugging you, and it isn't about Jonathan or Lilith."
Jace sighed and dropped his head in his hands. "Emily, sit down," he ordered as he patted the seat next to him. She took the seat but frowned when he suddenly stood up. He walked towards her desk, and out of the top drawer, pulled out what looked like a book. Emily frowned, considering she never even used the drawers. How her father knew what was in there when she didn't was a mystery. Either way, she was silent as he carried the book back to the bed, sitting next to her and looked down at hit. It was small, his hands consuming it, with a burgundy cover.
The main thing that caught her eyes was written on the cover. One word, in big, curvy letters that danced across the page: LEVIATHAN.
Emily glanced from the book, up to Jace's face, and back to the book again. "You're giving me a book about Leviathan?"
"Your mother and I have been debating on whether we should tell you about this or not. You know who Leviathan is, correct?"
Emily nodded, but she couldn't recall much. She tried to refer back to her demonology lessons with her mother and brother, back in the library. She'd had so many lessons around those books though that everything seemed to jumble up, even if she tried to figure it out. If only she actually paid real attention! Not to mention, the subject of Greater Demons was around the time that she and Conan first started dating, so she didn't really focus on anything other than him. "Um, he's a Greater Demon known as the Prince of Envy?"
Jace, after looking up at her with one eyebrow raised, chuckled slightly, shaking the bed softly. "Typical. At least you got that right. But yes, Leviathan is the Prince of Envy, and he's powerful, quick as lightning. A few werewolves and vampires have spotted him at night, but other than that, we've yet to actually catch him. He's too quick. When he moves, its more of flashes."
"So, while chasing him, you've been reading up on him while keeping the book stored in the top drawer of my desk?"
"The book doesn't tell me anything that I don't already know," Jace explained. He twisted the book in his hand, examining it. "It's mainly for you." Emily took the book when he handed it to her, settling it in her lap. "I'll give your mom your love," he whispered as he bent down to kiss her hair. She watched as her father walked towards the window and hopped out, disappearing past the white of the sill. And she just hoped that it wasn't the last time she'd see him.
Conan watched from the shadows of the Institute, silent and practically invisible, as the Shadowhunters said their goodbyes and prepared to leave. A single crutch was under her right arm, keeping him steady as he leaned back against the building. He was healing quickly, but not fully healed yet. A good night sleep can work wonders though.
They were a quaint set of people – the Shadowhunters of the Institute and their friends. Even when his parents were here, they acted different than when they were home. Here, everything seemed more intimate, but at the same time everyone held their feelings inside. They didn't actually want to say goodbye, and yet that was why everyone was here, was it not? Even Simon seemed to want to say something to Isabelle, but he was holding it in, like it wasn't a custom to express how they felt.
"We don't show fear or worry in bad situations," Chase said as he walked around the Institute, taking the spot on the wall next to Conan. His eyes were forward, hard and serious.
"Fear can be a strong motivator. The fear of losing a loved one can make someone fight that much harder."
"I'm guessing that Jace and Clary are the definitions of that particular statement." Chase didn't sound too happy as he said it, although Conan couldn't figure out why. He never understood the hatred that Chase felt for the Herondale family. Sure, they were hard to get along with at time, but without them, the world would have gone to hell.
At that moment, Jace descended from the window on the third floor, landing gracefully and straightening his suit. He barely made a sound as he moved towards Clary, who frowned at him.
"How does he do that?" Chase asked. "I mean, just look at him. He's huge, but light and graceful. It's not normal."
Conan rolled his eyes, shifting on the crutch as his leg started getting heavy. "Of course it isn't. It's the extra angel blood. Surely, you at least know that story."
"I just don't think it's fair."
Conan nodded and glanced up, looking at Jace, Clary, and Michael as they talked. Clary was so much smaller than her husband and son, but it was the perfect picture as Jace held her hand. Conan couldn't help but glance upwards, towards Emily's window. Where was she?
Chase had other things on his mind though, continuing what thought process was stuck in his head. "Valentine turned them into experiments, but that doesn't explain everything. If it's all in the blood, then Michael wouldn't be the ungraceful, wimpy kid that he is. Wouldn't he be more like his parents? They're warriors, and Michael pees his pants if he sees anything close to even a single Moloch demon."
Conan felt a flash of anger go through him, but tried his best to keep it under control. "Do you not know that Michael is training to be a Silent Brother?"
"Yes. I just don't see the point in it." Chase looked down, examining his fingernails like he didn't have a care in the world. "The Silent Brother's jobs are tedious, lonely, and just sad. Unless it's a last resort, I would never choose their life. My father sacrificed himself so I could fight, not become an archivist."
"Clary and Jace aren't like your parents," Conan stated. "And my parents would never force me to do something. If your mother and father only accepted you for doing what they wanted, I feel sorry for you."
"How are you doing with that?"
Conan gave him a sideways glance. "Doing with what?"
"The fact your parents are missing."
It's the fact that he was even remotely curious as to how Conan was feeling that shocked him. Magnus and Alec had asked about his parents, but he expected that from them, especially Alec. He was always the most caring of the Lightwoods, beating out the others by a mile. There was Isabelle, who he at least got along with, but Emily's father was a different story. Maybe it's because he dated the man's daughter, but Conan never really put much thought into it. He eventually came to the conclusion that Jace just didn't care for anyone other than his family.
But out of everyone, Chase was the last person he would've figured to ask about his feelings. Emily hadn't even confronted him about it. She was still up in her room, not even saying goodbye to her parents. But Chase looked like he was really curious, like he wasn't just asking because it was the social protocol. "It's difficult," Conan hesitantly answered.
"Everything's difficult nowadays," Chase answered as he completely slumped against the wall. His hands fell to his sides as he stared ahead of him towards the portal. Magnus had got it up and running, and the Shadowhunters were saying their last "farewells". "The worst part is the uncertainty. The not knowing who is going to return or what's going to happen."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, look at them," Chase answered as he pointed towards the group. "Michael doesn't know if his parents are coming back. Simon isn't sure about Isabelle, and what will happen to her, and the same goes for her. It's not like he's protected by the Institute, and I'm sure Lilith can think of something to disregard the fact that he has the Mark of Cain protecting him. Jace and Clary have no idea what could happen while they're gone. Emily doesn't even know what she does half the time, and if she did all of our lives would be easier. And for you, you don't know if your parents are even still alive."
"I know they are," Conan stated with conviction, surprising himself slightly as well.
Chase snorted. "What makes you so sure?"
"Hey, you two." Both boys looked up to see Jace walking towards them. He had his hands in his pockets, eying them like bugs under a microscope. "I want to talk to the both of you."
Conan just nodded and Chase kept quiet. Conan hadn't had much experience talking to Jace, but he knew that interrupting him, or even speaking when he didn't want you to, wasn't good for your health.
Jace wasn't smiling as he neared them, but eying them like pieces of meat ready for a slaughter. "You know, Emily is up in her room, looking down on all of us." He glanced up, the moonlight shining in his eyes. Conan's gaze followed and sure enough, he finally saw the flash of her strawberry blonde hair flowing in the wind as she leaned out the window suddenly. Her chin was in her hand, watching like a guardian from above. All he wanted her to do was come down, but she looked like a statue, too high out of reach and untouchable. She seemed like that most of the time anyway. "Touch her," Jace said with a stern voice, "And you answer to me. Break her heart, and you answer to her. I think the two of you can guess which one is worse, right?"
Conan felt like the last part was directed at him, but he just nodded and looked to the floor.
"Jace, honey, it's time to go." Jace nodded and turned without another word, meeting Clary half way as he looped her arm through his, walking her through the glowing portal.
Chase shivered suddenly, wrapping his arms around himself and mumbling, "He scares the hell out of me." Conan just nodded as the portal closed behind the Shadowhunters, and they were on their own.
Tell me what you guys think so far! Things are getting more complicated, so its taking longer for me to write some chapters, but stay with me! I'm writing and thinking of ideas as fast I can but I can only do so much before a headache takes over.. Sadly, I can't just write all day, everyday. If only I could...