Alec's eyes snapped open and he jolted upright, his head pounding. He winced, fighting the urge to collapse back onto the bloody pillows, and glanced around the room. Yes… he'd come to Magnus for help… after fighting with… Maureen.
He looked down at his hands, examining the shredded skin and broken nails. He raised his hand and touched the back of his head, feeling a huge patch of dried and crusted blood, but no injury. He breathed a faint sigh of relief, then screamed out as agony gripped him. Magnus woke with a start and grabbed Alec before he rolled off the bed, pulling him towards his body and wrapping his arms tightly around his shoulder. "Shh, come on. Tell me." Alec gritted his teeth and brought his knees up to his chest, breathing heavily into Magnus' neck.
"Camille…" He gasped, his stomach reeling. "Maureen killed her- I went to find her to tell her the deal was off… to… to leave me alone and never come near me again. Maureen was there instead… she's mad… crazy. She attacked me… was going to kill me with her bare hands and… damn near succeeded. I…" His eyes opened wide, the pain momentarily pushed aside as dread took over. "She was choking me- and the only way to get her off was to… bite her…" He pushed his hair back, closing his eyes as Magnus looked him up and down. Alec swung his legs off the bed and got to his feet, his head still pounding slightly as he took a few steps towards the en-suite.
Magnus put his head in his hands and rubbed his temples, willing the knowledge to come back to him. So many years earlier- Will Herondale had done the same thing. That boy was terrible for trouble and now Alec was following in his footsteps- but what was the cure…? He got to his feet and padded across the carpet, following Alec to the bathroom where he was stood in the shower, letting a trickle of hot water cascade over his bare skin. Suddenly it clicked- the answer. He turned on his heel and strode from the bathroom, but not before calling over his shoulder at the boy whose life he was desperate to protect. "Stay in this apartment. Do not, under any circumstances, leave. I'll be right back."
He grabbed a coat and scarf from the hallway, took the stairs two at a time and emerged on the busy streets of New York. Rain plummeted from the sky and splashed around his feet, icy water flooding his boots. The answer had been there all along- the only problem now was where to find it. As he strode with aimless purpose down the busy street, he collided with Raphael- the head of the Vampire clan. "Raphael! Listen- I don't have enough time to explain, but it's important. Where in heaven's name would the High Warlock of Brooklyn get his hands on some Holy Water?"
With Jace dealt with, Lilith moved off down the corridor and into a room whose door remained cracked open. This one she could tell belonged to Alec Lightwood, but something in her mind told her that he was… ah, occupied elsewhere. Swiftly she moved onto another room, which had a line of light leaking from under the door. She pushed the wood open a crack, sliding her head into the room and glancing around. It was more grand than those of the children, though a similar size. It held a king sized oak bed made up with white sheets, littered with colourful cushions and fluffy pillows. Sat in the middle of the bed was Maryse Lightwood, her straight black hair spread over her thin shoulders as she cradled a photograph in her hands. She looked up as Lilith entered the room, and smiled weakly from behind her veil of hair. "Clary. What brings you here at such a late hour?"
"Oh… I couldn't sleep. Jace still isn't quite right… It's like I've lost him." Maryse tapped the bed next to her and Lilith sat down, watching Maryse as she stroked the photograph she held in her shaking hands.
"I know how you feel. I've lost two of my boys in just a few months- first Max, and that was the last straw for Robert. He's staying in Idris, you know. We're getting a divorce. He doesn't want to hurt me or the kids… it's just easier this way. We've been drifting apart for years, really. I thought Max would sort everything out- and for a while he was. He was the glue that held us all together… and now he's gone… we're falling apart." Lilith softened her face and reached out her hand, taking hold of Maryse's fingers between hers.
Her eyes flashed black once more, and Maryse crumpled backwards against the pillows. The crumpled photograph of Max and Robert cuddling each other fell to the floor of the bedroom, and fluttered under the bed. Lilith stood, striding from the room and continuing down the corridor. The next door she encountered belonged to Isabelle- who was sleeping restlessly under her rumpled silk sheets.
Lilith reached out, resting her hand over Isabelle's forehead. The girl's eyes snapped open at her touch and fear spiked through her. "Clary? What are you…" Was all that managed to escape her lips before Lilith's eyes flashed black and she crumpled back against the mattress. Lilith brushed her hands off on her jeans and strode from the room, using Clary's mental map of the institute to find her way to the ballroom. In here, she began to draw runes on the polished wooden floor. They burned black, and she stood back to admire her work as the spell began to take place. Demons- weak ones but enough to defend the institute and take down any of the Nephilim should they wake- rose from the blackness of the runes and swarmed around her.
The door to the ballroom slammed open, and in the doorway stood a single silent brother. His hood was thrown back, and a long wooden staff was clutched in his hands. His black hair whipped around his face, cut and marked with the runes of the brotherhood. His eyes gleamed as he raised the staff, and the doors slammed shut behind him. "Good evening, Lilith. Come to play?"
Simon ran flat out, jumping over bin-bags and the piles of rubbish that littered the alleyway. He didn't know where Clary was but hoped she was following, hoped they could find each other again. The sword clacked against his shoulder blades with every movement, a constant reminder of the mission he was running away from. He was scared; there was no doubt about that. If he had been mortal, if his heart still beat inside his chest then it would have been pounding against his ribs like there was no tomorrow. Indeed, as he skirted the corner of a building and clambered up a metal fire escape, he wondered if he'd ever see the light again.
He emerged, panting, atop a high, square building. From where he stood he noticed that a dockyard lay on the other side of the buildings, with tens of boats tethered to wooden docks. From this viewpoint he could look down into the alleyway he had just escaped, where the men he assumed were Sebastian's lackeys were prowling the ground, searching for him.
Simon.
Clary? Thank god. What do we do?
I don't know. Sebastian's not going to move onto his next location until you've been dealt with- or he's at least sure that you're not going to follow him. I drew a portal on a window in Magnus' apartment to get here in the first place. We just need something- some glass like a window or a mirror- and I can portal us to wherever he is. Lilith's in my body- she has access to my mortal thoughts and can send stuff to my mind, but she can't read what I'm thinking. The connection isn't the same both ways though- I can't read her thoughts, exactly, but both Jace and Sebastian are linked to her and I can see where they are. I can find him. We have to let him go.
But he's not going to move until they stop hunting me… and they know that killing me is not going to be an easy job. They're gonna finish me off, Clary.
We just have to keep going. Cause a distraction… just keep running. All we have to do is lose them- they'll report back that you're nowhere to be seen and he'll vanish. I won't let them get you.
She let go of his hand and faded back into the night. The men in the alleyway below moved on and started onto the main street, and Simon let out an automatic sigh of relief. Clary closed her eyes and sunk into Lilith's thoughts. They were grey with mystery, confusing with unintelligible plans and plots that Clary couldn't quite make out. Something was wrong- she could sense it. Lilith felt happy, like she'd achieved something- and anything that made Lilith happy could only be bad news. A warmth slipped into her chest, and all of a sudden the whereabouts of both Jace and Sebastian sprung to mind- Jace was in his room at the institute- sleeping or knocked out she couldn't tell- and Sebastian… was in New York.