Children of the Angel

Clary watched Jonathan slice into the cut of meat before him, blood oozing out of the rare steak, and swallowed back her cries of pain. She strained against the bonds holding her to her chair, but they didn't budge; across from her, Jace looked just as frustrated and disgusted with Jonathan as she felt. Clary tried to reach out for Jace, seeking the comfort of his presence, and a small flame unfurled in her chest. Jace met her eyes, having felt the same spreading warmth, but Clary felt another spike of pain shoot up her arm and she moaned.

"Don't worry, I'll leave you some, Clary," Jonathan said, smiling cordially at her. "I am quite famished, though, after all the fun we had today."

Clary swallowed back any more sounds of pain. "Jonathan, untie Jace and I; we won't go anywhere, we'll stay here with you for dinner. Please, it's painful to sit like this." You know it's painful, that's why you did it, but please, stop it now.

"Well, I would, Clary-usually. However, there are some delicate matters we three need to discuss and I don't want you…jumping to conclusions." Jonathan laughed at his own joke. "Best you sit down when you hear it."

"This isn't funny, Jonathan," Jace growled, and Clary watched him tug uselessly on the ropes holding him. "Let us up."

Jonathan seemed to consider his words. "Well…no. No, it's best you sit tight. Here, have a sip of wine." Jonathan poured Jace a glass of dark, red wine and smiled invitingly. When Jace stared at the glass, clearly beyond his reach, Jonathan looked concerned. "You don't like merlot? It is an acquired taste and you are young. Perhaps, something sweeter, like a white? Or maybe some whiskey?"

"Jonathan!" Clary shrieked as her arm flared again. When she looked at it, she saw the veins around her wound were turning black with poisoning. "This isn't funny."

"I know," Jonathan agreed, looking put out. "I don't know what Jace wants to drink. Horribly rude of me, really."

It's just a game, a game the demon is playing, Clary thought miserably. It won't let us go till we're begging for it. "You said you had something important to tell us about Valentine before you tied us up. What is it?"

"Best spoken of after a full meal," Jonathan said sagely.

"Since we're not eating," Jace said testily.

"Best spoken of after a full meal for me, I should have said," Jonathan corrected. "I'm the one doing the telling, after all. You two are just sitting there." Again, Jonathan broke into laughter. "Just sit tight, I'll eat, and then we'll have nice little sit down, and mull a few things over."

"Shtick ruins my appetite," Jace sniffed.

"Really?" Jonathan turned serious. "Because disrespectful, worthless brats ruin mine. The only difference between you and me is that I bet you don't flay a poor comedian to within an inch of life, do you?"

"Eat quickly, then, Jonathan," said Clary before Jace opened his mouth again.

Jonathan's eyes never left Jace's, but he smiled again. "Of course, Clary."

Jonathan turned back to his food, cutting off a chunk of his meat and placing it in his mouth with relish. He sipped his wine, chomped his meat and wiped his mouth, red juices streaming down his chin. As he ate, he kept up a steady stream of conversation, mostly about the court life, the current state of Idris, and the people he ruled. He mentioned the Great Goddess every now and then, horrible hints, but that was all. Clary could feel her arm burning more and more, the pain shooting farther and farther up her arm into her chest. Jace, who was becoming more and more furious with Jonathan, kept straining back and forth against his bonds.

At one point, Jonathan glanced over Jace's way. "You really need to relax, Jace. It can't be good for you, all this struggling and stress."

Jace slumped in his seat, but his eyes were still on Jonathan. "If you'd loosen my bonds, it would be great."

Jonathan smirked but just stuffed another piece of meat into his mouth. "Jonathan, please," Clary said, glancing down at her arm. "It hurts."

"I'm aware of that," Jonathan said slowly, but he seemed to be getting bored of the meal. At least it was more interesting to torment them. "Aline!" The small girl came scurrying in, staring at the floor. "Get these plates out of the way."

Aline came forward and began plucking up the plates and glasses. Clary tried to meet her eye, tried to reassure her, but the girl was in a state of terror. She ran off with the dishes clutched in her arm like a life vest, and Clary felt a small twinge of sympathy for the girl. Jonathan watched her go and then smiled kindly at Clary and Jace.

"So, you say you know what Valentine did to me?" Jonathan asked. "You know he dosed me with demon blood."

"Jonathan, you should know why-"

"I don't care why," Jonathan said sharply, speaking over his sister. "I only care that he did it, and how it has affected me. You see it, don't you? I am the best warrior you will ever meet, the strongest, the fastest, the best skilled." His eyes moved to Jace. "Nothing to say?"

Jace looked at Clary and then back to Jonathan. "I know the life you live, and I wouldn't have given up my soul for it."

This seemed to disappoint Jonathan, who frowned. "I have an affinity for demons as well. You must see how they have…taken to me. They trust me, they believe I will lead them to victory over this pathetic little spit of life. And I will."

Clary swallowed. "Jonathan, you need to know the truth. You need to know why Valentine poisoned you."

"I honestly don't care, Clary," Jonathan said, and his eyes sparkled. "I have Greater Demon blood."

"Whose blood?" Jace asked swiftly, and his eyes were glimmering. "Who was it?"

Jonathan laughed. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it, Jace; just know that it is the Greatest of all Greater Demons. The Great Mother."

The Great Mother, Jace thought. The Greatest of all Greater Demon. Who are you…?

"But do you think Valentine started with me?" Jonathan looked to Clary. "You can make runes, Clary, and you thought you were just born with that gift? You stupid, little girl…"

Clary felt her mouth drop. "I do not have Greater Demon blood!"

"No, you don't," agreed Jonathan. "But you're not wholly human either. After I'd killed Valentine, the first thing I did was examine his private study. I thought that if there were any secrets to the kingdom, they would be stored there. I found nothing, of course, concerning Idris or the shadowhunters. However, I did find an interesting book; any idea what it might have been?"

Clary and Jace exchanged a look. "No," Clary said after a beat. "Our father never expressed any interest in writing books."

"True enough, but still." Jonathan looked down at his hands, smiling a little to himself. "It was a journal, a journal of his experiments on us. Can you imagine what it said?"

"Us?" Jace said a little loudly. "Your father never had contact with my mother."

Jonathan sneered. "If h didn't have contact with your mother, how did he arrange the betrothal between you and my sister?" When Jace glowered, Jonathan merely laughed. "You were his first experiment, actually, Jace. Long before he poisoned me, it was your mother he was dosing with blood."

In the back of Clary's mind, a memory was fighting forward; something that seemed like years ago, something Hodge had said at Woodend. Celine and Jocelyn had both been suffering from severe morning illness, and he had mentioned an old family recipe, one from his mother. A powder to mix into your morning tea that might assuage the sickness. Clary felt her stomach flip and her eyes moved irrevocably to Jace, who looked at her, confused.

"Something to share with us, sister?" Jonathan asked with a smirk. "Keeping secrets?"

"It's something Hodge said…" she murmured, and Jace's eyebrows were raised.

"What did Hodge say?"

"He said my father gave your mother a remedy for morning sickness, a powder, and she would drink it in her morning tea." Clary turned to Jonathan. "What was it, the powder?"

"The most valuable substance a shadowhunter could have," Jonathan murmured softly. "Angel blood."

"Angel blood?" Jace and Clary gasped at the same time.

"Oh, yes," said Jonathan with a grin. "Dried angel blood. He wanted to see what it might do to a shadowhunter. He kept quite good records, too. In himself, it didn't work at all, so he sent some around to your mother, and would have Jocelyn ask her monthly how the pregnancy was. Congratulations, Jace, you are the Angel Boy."

There was something in Jonathan's voice that made Clary look closer at her brother. What must that be like? Clary wondered. Our own father poisoned you and gifted another? But that thought was driven quickly out by another, terrible idea. You are a demon boy and Jace the angel boy…you are natural enemies. "You said us," Clary said quickly. "You meant we were all changed; what else happened?"

Jonathan looked uninterested. "Well, it was too late to give me the blood since it only seems to have an effect in the womb, so Valentine didn't have anyone to test it on. When Jocelyn told him she was pregnant again, he began dosing her with the blood, and so you were born. Did you never wonder where your gift with runes came from?" Clary swallowed. "It wasn't until the very end, before Jocelyn left him, that he procured the demon blood and poisoned me. But, if you think about it, I didn't serve many other purposes; it was too late to give me the angel blood, and he'd already gotten himself a boy and girl with it. I'm sure he approved of your betrothal just to see the child you two begot."

Betrayed by our father, Clary thought pitifully. I was the Angel girl and Jace the Angel boy, the future of our people. You had every right to be bitter. "Jonathan, what our father did was wrong-"

"Wrong?" Jonathan barked. "I didn't say it was wrong, Clary; oh, no, I didn't say that. If anything, I'm grateful Valentine gave me the demon blood, and why wouldn't I be? Look what I have become?" Jonathan stood suddenly, and Clary felt her stomach twist. "I am the greatest warrior to walk this mortal world! I am the most feared man who has ever lived. I have at my back an army of the damned, infinite in malice and power. No, Clary, I do not regret what he made me."

Jace was staring at Jonathan, his mind still trying to work through his own revelation. I have angel blood in me…more angle blood than any other shadowhunter alive. No wonder I could fight, no wonder I was the best. Still, it was hard to grasp, the concept of being more than a little inhuman. And, Clary, she had the angel blood too…the two of us have it, the two angel children.

"If we really are the descendents of angels," said Jace, "why have you spared us at all? Isn't it natural for you to hate us?"

Jonathan's gaze flickered. "It is in my nature to want you dead, true, but I am not a slave to my nature, Jace. Us three, we're Valentine Morgenstern's experiments, we are unique in this world of mortals; we are like gods."

"And what does that mean?" Clary ventured carefully.

"It means I will not kill you," Jonathan answered, stalking around the table like a prowling wolf. "I would have you two live with me, my friends if you consent, or my slaves if you refuse. We are bound together by our blood, bound by the strangeness in us, the power."

"No," said Jace firmly, and Jonathan glared at him. "We're not like you, Jonathan. Clary and I are the children of angels, not damned. You are alone."

It was the wrong thing to say. Jonathan grabbed a hunk of Jace's hair and jerked his head back so he had to look up at Jonathan. His eyes were aglow with a manic light, completely black, and his teeth were bared. Jace thought his face looked oddly animal-like. "If you will not join me willingly," he spat, "You will serve me. Do not fool yourself, Jace, I will destroy this world, and everything in it, and what will you do then? When all light has been extinguished and all life has been purged, where will you turn? You will have no one else to go to but me."

Clary and Jace shared a horrified look. "But, you can't!" Clary exclaimed, tugging on her ropes uselessly. "Jonathan, please, don't do this. You don't have to do these things, you can have friends without it."

Jonathan didn't release Jace but his gaze flicked over to Clary. "Excuse me?"

"You want companions?" Clary asked, her eyes meeting Jace's frantic gaze; he nodded his head ever so slightly. "Jace and I, we can be your friends, but not by force."

Jonathan's eyes narrowed at that. "You expect me to believe you, Clary? You think that if I let you go, you wouldn't run at first chance?"

Clary struggled again. "It's the truth, Jonathan. Jace and I, we'll stay here with you and be your courtiers; you won't have to make us."

Jonathan's hold on Jace diminished, but he was smiling that strange, bent smile that didn't seem to fit his face. "I could, but it's easier my way, Clary. When you have no one and nowhere to turn to, you will have to be my courtiers. Until then, you will keep on this way: as my servants. Just wait, you'll see how much you like it; by the time I've finished with the pathetic shadowhunters, you'll be happy to join me."

Jace was watching him in mute horror. Cursed to be a demon's companion for the rest our lives. "Our friends will come for us, you know."

"I have no doubt," Jonathan said indifferently. "But have no fear, my friends, I won't let them take you. I'll keep you safely tucked away."

Keep us safe? Jace frowned and looked to Clary who was split between staring at Jonathan and checking her arm. "You can't keep us forever, Jonathan," Jace warned. "No matter what, we'll go one day."

Jonathan eyes twinkled. "We'll see about that, won't we," Jonathan mused. "I have an unbelievable wealth of knowledge at my fingertips; all I must do is ask. Rest assured, I will find a way to have what I want. And I want you."

Clary looked up from her arm. How lonely are you? How horrible must it be if you're forcing your sister and the man you hate to be your friends? "I already told you, Jonathan, we'd stay with you-"

"For how long?" Jonathan rounded on her. "I know at first chance you two would run, but I'm not going to risk it. No…no you're best kept here with me." Jonathan had stopped circling them now and was watching them, contemplatively. "Until that time, I think I'll have to keep you two on a shorter leash. It's for your own good, really."

"What do you mean?" Jace asked sharply. "We're already in your castle. We're nowhere to go, and no way of running."

Jonathan chuckled. "After that little stunt you pulled in my court today? I think not; I think I've given you too much freedom. From now on I'll keep you in my eye."

"If your plan is to keep us alive, you're doing a poor job of it," said Jace swiftly. "Clary needs help."

Jonathan's eyes flickered. "After we're through here I'll fix her arm. Now, give me a moment, sit tight."

Jonathan left then, smiling to himself; Jace watched him go, eyes fixed on his vanishing form before turning to Clary. "Clary, how's your arm?" It was a formality because Jace could feel Clary's arm burning in his own.

Clary's head lolled back and she met Jace's eyes. "It's in my blood now, I can feel it." Clary swallowed. "Do you think it's true…what he said about us?"

Jace glanced out the window and saw the setting sun behind the grey clouds and angry sky. "About having angel blood? It seems insane, but…I've never met a person who could make new runes, and I've never met someone aside from Jonathan with as much skill as I have. It could be true."

Clary strained weakly against the bonds holding her again and then sagged uselessly. "Why hasn't Jonathan killed us then? He's got Greater demon blood in him; he should want us dead."

"You heard him," Jace said, jerking his head at the place where Jonathan had left. "He wants to keep us around him just because he wants to have friends. I just don't know how far he's going to take it."

"We have to stop him, Jace," Clary panted as her arm burned again. "He's going to destroy everything just because. We've got to make him understand it's not worth it."

"And how to you propose to do that?" Jace asked. "We're stuck here, Clary, and Jonathan doesn't want us leaving."

Clary shuddered. "He's just lonely is all, you heard him. If we give him what he wants, if we be his friends and do what he asks of us, he'll start to trust us."

"And what if he asks us to do something we don't want to do?" Jace demanded, looking at her meaningfully. "What if he asks us for something we're not willing to give?"

Clary worried her bottom lip. "We're have to deal with those hurtles when we come to them. Whatever demon is controlling him, it's going to try and feed off of his desire for companionship; we just have to be unwavering in it. No matter what he does, we can't pull away; if we do, he'll think we hate him and he'll just get more angry and suspicious."

Jace slumped. "It'll feed the demon, it's true, if we try to escape from him; he already thinks we hate him." Jace paused and considered what he had heard so far. "He keeps mentioning the demon, the Greater demon who gave him blood."

"The Great Mother, he called her," Clary hedged. "A woman demon with great power…Jace, we need to figure out who she is."

"Jonathan won't tell us," Jace said. "It's his secret, and I'm sure whoever she is, she won't let him tell. We need to speak to one of her followers."

Clary shook her head. "There are none. It's all demons in the castle and they won't be telling us secrets. We'd have to leave the palace and go out into the city, and Jonathan is never going to let us leave."

Jace looked thoughtful. "We'll just have to find someone in the castle who has converted the religion."

"Maybe we can get down to the kitchen," said Clary, dropping her voice. "Maybe we can speak to one of the slaves who still live-"

"What are you two whispering about now?" Jonathan had returned, and at his heels was the vicious three headed demon dog; is snarled, sensing its master's disapproval. "It's not polite to keep secrets, especially from a friend."

"Clary needs help, Jonathan," said Jace after a beat.

"Indeed," he answered and came to join them. "Now, I'm going to let you both go, but you're to stay in this room. If you try to run, I'm sure my trusted companion can keep you in check." The demon dog growled for extra measure. "Clary, I'll let you up first."

Clary watched Jonathan slice through the ropes binding her to the chair, but she didn't have the strength to move again. While Clary sat limply in her seat, Jonathan unbound Jace. "Can we go back to the room?" Jace asked cautiously.

"No," said Jonathan, and he moved back to Clary, lifting her up from beneath her arms. "No, you'll be staying in here from now on." Jonathan dragged Clary like a rag doll across the room to the fire mantle and dropped her there. She rolled over just in time to see him produce a length of find, sturdy, chain. He looped a section of it around her ankle and tightened it until it cut into her foot before taking the other end and fastening it to the mantle. There seemed to be a lot of slack, enough for Clary to move around, but she tugged it uselessly and knew it wouldn't break. "Jace, would you care to join me?"

"No," said Jace stoutly, but the demon dog snarled and snapped its jaws, lunging at Jace. "But, since it seems I have no options…" Jace crossed the room and stood before Jonathan stubbornly. "What are you doing with us, Jonathan?"

Jonathan twirled the end of a chain around, smiling openly at Jace. "I'm keeping you two safe, Jace. You should be grateful really. Now, come here and sit by your wife." Jonathan directed Jace to a spot on the floor by Clary, who was now withering in pain.

Jace sank down and drew Clary to his side, rubbing her cheeks. "Clary, look at me."

Jonathan looped a length of chain around Jace's ankle and tightened it painfully. "Don't worry, Jace, I'll set sweet, little Clary to rights."

Jace glowered at the smirking boy and before he could tell him off, Jonathan had knelt down before Clary and yanked her from Jace's grasp. Clary started to struggle when she saw Jonathan leering down on her. "Jonathan…please, my arm."

"I know," he said in a strangely gentle voice. His fingers probed the arm, looking at the black veins. He hummed sympathetically when Clary groaned. "I know, I know it hurts, but it'll all be over soon."

"You hate me enough to let me suffer, but love me enough to not let me die…?" Clary croaked, watching Jonathan feel the bite mark. He only smiled at her words but continued to explore her arm, after a moment, he looked up and gave her a wink.

"Don't worry, it'll be a quick fix, I just need a little donation from your lover." Jonathan's hand shot out and took Jace's arm. "You don't mind terribly, do you, Jace?" Jace didn't even bother answering, he just held out his arm. When Jonathan sliced it open, he watched as his blood dribbled out into a small bowl Jonathan brought. He added a number of herbs and water to it that fumed and frothed. Before their eyes, the liquid simmered down and turn faint golden. Jonathan smiled bitterly at the liquid. "As I said, angel blood."

Through the haze of pain, Clary watched Jonathan dip a cloth into the bowl and then carefully clean the cut on her arm. She gasped, more in shock than anything else, as she felt a pleasant burning, like the kiss of an ember of a fire; it raced up her arm, burning clarity into her mind. She leaned back, sighed in pleasure, but it was few minutes before she realized what it was Jonathan had actually had done.

He used Jace's blood to heal the demon poisoning, she thought wonderingly, and her eyes moved to his. Jace was looking just as shocked as she was feeling. It's not possible, Jonathan was lying…

"Look at you, Clary," Jonathan snorted. "You're looking better already. Jace, come here, look after her while I'm with the court."

Jace came closer, watching Jonathan cautiously, as if expecting the other boy to lunge at him for no reason. However, Jonathan just laughed again and then dropped Clary; she slapped back on the floor and groaned, rolling over. He stood up and looked down on his two prisoners with a bit of a smirk and then brushed off his pants.

"You're leaving us here?" Jace asked, joining Clary and letting her rest her head on his lap. "After all that, after everything you just said, you're going to leave us here?"

Jonathan smiled. "You should take this time to recover yourself; we have plans in a few days and you'll want to be on your feet by then."

"Plans?" Jace pressed.

"Yes," Jonathan answered with his usual grin. "Yes, quite entertaining too." Then he turned and left, leaving a very worried Jace in his wake.

"Well, you heard him, Clary," Jace said, supporting her head. "Apparently, we have plans."

Clary coughed and rolled over so her head was nestled between Jace's knees. "We've a few days yet…enough time for us to try and find someone who knows about this Great Goddess."

Jace relaxed back against the mantle and considered their options. "Well, we did have a chance, but I don't think Jonathan is going to let us leave unless we're with him. Unless someone comes to us, I think we're quite abandoned."

"He can't leave us alone," Clary murmured, but a small leaf of fear unfurled in her chest. "He'll send us someone…"

"You really think so?"

Clary met Jace's eyes and was about to speak when a sound, like a squeak of a small animal, drew her attention. Aline was peeking beyond the door, staring around the room with a look of mute terror; when her eyes found Jace and Clary, she blinked and bit her lip. In her hands, Clary spotted a small plate with bread and cheese, and a jug of what must have been water.

"Aline?" Clary asked, and the girl jumped. "Aline, it's okay, come here. Jonathan is gone now."

Jace glanced toward Clary, wondering what she was thinking. Aline came in on her toes, peering around her like she expected some horrible creature to pounce from the shadows and attack her. She rushed forward, skidding to a halt before Jace and Clary. "I-I brought you food."

"Thank you," Jace said, and gestured to a patch of floor beside him. "Sit, if you like. Clary and I can't go anywhere."

Aline eyed the floor and then sank down cautiously. "Are you two going to live here now?"

"Probably," said Jace. "Jonathan wants to keep a closer eye on us, but you can still come visit."

"We'd love for you to come visit," said Clary quickly, struggling to sit up. "Aline, you're the only friend we have here, you know. It would be such a loss to us if we never got to see you again."

Aline pushed the food forward. "I'm still going to serve you," she mumbled.

"That's good," said Clary, picking up a small piece of bread. "You've always been so helpful to me, even before, when my father was still alive."

"I want to help you, mistress," Aline intoned.

"Do you?" said Clary, meeting Aline's eyes. "Because there is something…something I need from someone I can trust, but now, there are so few people who I believe really are loyal to me."

"What do you need, mistress?" asked Aline, moving just a little closer.

Clary looked down. It was a cruel thing to do, but when faced with the destruction of the world… "Jonathan is being controlled by a demon, by…the Great Goddess." As she expected, Aline jumped and glanced around nervously, her hands twitching. "Aline, Aline, it's alright, no one is going to hurt you."

"Clary," Jace warned, having seen Aline in a panic.

"I trust her, Jace," Clary said meaningfully. "She's the only one in this whole castle who can help us anymore."

"She thinks she's in danger," Jace hissed.

"She's not in danger," said Clary loudly, "not so long as you and I are with her. You heard Jonathan, we've got the blood of the Angel. We're the children of the Angel, we can protect her."

Jace looked uncertain, but he knew as well as Clary that there was little hope of stopping Jonathan if they didn't even know which demon it was that was controlling him. "You're right, I suppose, but it'll be dangerous."

"There are some things more important than danger," Clary said in a hard voice. She turned back to Aline and took her trembling hands "Aline, I know you're scared, and I know you think you can't, but we need your help. Without you, Aline, Jace and I, and all our friends and family, will die."

Aline blinked slowly, staring at Clary's fingers entwined in hers. "Wh-what do you want me to do?"

"We need to know who she is, Aline, we need to know who the Great Goddess is."