Fallen Angels Rise
A/N: I have no excuse this time. Just a lack of motivation and being busy during the holidays. I failed doubly on this chapter, because (1) I took forever getting it posted and (2) it's a Christmas chapter and it is now after Christmas. Oh well, Merry [Belated] Christmas to all who celebrate it!
Chapter 11: New Creations
Clary was very pleased with the work she had done in bringing her brother and her boyfriend together – albeit on entirely superficial terms. After dinner the next day, Clary, Jace, Alec, and Isabelle spent the rest of the evening discussing their theories concerning the attack on Clary. When they grew tired of discussing what was only ever going to be speculation, the conversation came to an end. The three boys, to Clary's surprise, went off together to the library in search of a book, the purpose of which Clary had already forgotten.
When it was just the two girls left alone, Clary gave Isabelle a curious look, an attempt to discern the dark-haired girl's mood. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Isabelle asked.
"What's going on between you and Simon?" Clary asked in reply.
"He called you, didn't he?" Isabelle accused her.
"Nope, I actually haven't heard from him in a few days. But I did notice that you didn't answer your phone when he called you last night at dinner," Clary stated, matter-of-factly.
"You wouldn't understand," was all Isabelle said.
"What wouldn't I understand? Simon is my best friend, maybe I can give you some insight into why he's being stupid," Clary joked, trying to lighten to mood.
"That's just the thing, he wasn't being stupid at all. HE said he loved me," Isabelle replied, looking up at her friend.
Clary looked back at her in surprise. She wasn't expecting Isabelle to just open up like that. After a moment of stunned silence, Clary exclaimed "Isabelle, that's great! Why are you acting like he called you every rotten name there is?" She couldn't help but to smile at the thought of her two friends finally moving forward with their relationship.
The reaction she got though was definitely not what she had been expecting. "See! I told you that you wouldn't understand," Isabelle yelled. "You and Jace gave your hearts away too quickly, and willingly at that. You didn't even stop and think about the consequences. Alec too. You all just throw your love around like it's not important!"
"I may have given my hear to Jace very quickly, but I would not say that it was willingly. Don't get me wrong, I would still do it again if given the choice, but my heart was torn out of me by my love, and it was because it knew before I did that no one else would ever be more right for me than Jace," Clary said, her voice very serious.
"You're not making it sound like a good thing," Isabelle replied.
"That's because love is an ugly thing. It's painful, but addictive. Love tears you apart into a million little pieces, but then it puts you back together using pieces from yourself and the one you love, making you feel more whole than you ever thought possible. Love soothes you to sleep, then wakes you up in the middle of the night. It forever changes who you are, because you are never just you ever again," Clary said. She'd been carefully crafting that speech for a long time, hoping to one day have it perfected, just incase she needed to say something lovely to Jace. Isabelle just stared at her in a blank silence. "But love is beautiful, it allows you to find out so much more about yourself. About what matters in this world. It makes days brighter and the sun warmer. It's everything and more."
"I'm scare of love," Isabelle finally muttered, her voice weak and barely audible, even in such a quiet room.
"There's nothing to be scared of," Clary replied.
"There are a million things to be scared of, you just couldn't see them after you closed your eyes and jumped right in. I can't do that Clary," Isabelle admitted fretfully.
"When happened after Simon said he loved you?" Clary asked.
"Well, I… I freaked out and ran away," Isabelle answered, blushing slightly.
"And when was this?" Clary questioned.
"Yesterday at lunch," Isabelle admitted, not even worrying about the fact that now Clary knew she had left the Institute.
"And I assume you haven't talked to him since, so he's probably still trying to figure out what he did wrong?"
"No need to make me be the bad guy in all of this!" Isabelle replied defensively, her temper beginning to rise.
"I'm not making you the bad guy. I just think that explaining to Simon why you left might make him feel better, you at least owe him an explanation," Clary said.
"And how do I go about doing that? 'Sorry I ran out on you, I can't handle your affection' sounds pretty lame to me," Isabelle sighed heavily. "I just don't get why he said it."
Clary gave her friend a look, her disbelief very clear in it. "Because he does love you. Do you love him back?"
"I'm not sure. Well, I mean, I think I do, but I don't know if I'm ready to take that risk," Isabelle replied.
"No one is ever ready, and no one is ever sure, and if you keep waiting to be ready, you'll lose him before that time comes," Clary said.
"How did you know you were ready to love Jace?" Isabelle asked.
"I didn't know, all I knew is that I did, and that was enough. Call Simon and telle him that you love him too," Clary commanded.
"But, what if –" Isabelle protested.
"Call him!" Clary exclaimed, smiling assuredly at her friend.
"Fine, but you need to leave. I don't need you listening in on such a personal conversation," Isabelle replied. Clary only smiled before getting out of her chair and walking away. Isabelle pulled out her battered pink phone, sighing inwardly about her need for a new one, and dialed Simon's number. The phone rang several times, and Isabelle was about to hang up when Simon finally answered the cal.
"Isabelle! He sounded both breathless and relieved. Isabelle could tell he'd run out to get his phone. Knowing the importance Simon placed on the call filled her with satisfaction, but she still said nothing, because she really didn't know what to say. "Are you there Izzy?"
"Yeah, I'm here," she said softly.
"Listen, about yesterday, I just wanted to –" Simon began.
"You don't need to apologize, Simon," Isabelle cut him off.
"I will never apologize for loving you," Simon replied, his voice very serious. He paused then, waiting for Isabelle to reply. When she didn't he continued. "I just wanted to say again, that I do love you, and I'm not going to take it back. I understand that you don't feel that way about me, but it's important for you to know how I feel."
"You're wrong, Simon," was all Isabelle said.
Simon waited for her to elaborate, but again, she remained silent. "Would you care to explain what you mean? Or should I assume you mean that you believe that it's not important for you to know how I feel?" His frustration began to rise as he continued to misinterpret her statement.
"No, you're wrong in saying that I don't feel that way about you," Isabelle hurriedly replied. She realized now that Simon thought she was angry with him. There was silence on the other end of the line.
"What?" Simon asked, not believing that he heard her correctly.
"I love you, Simon," Isabelle exclaimed.
"I don't understand then, why did you run out on me when I said that I loved you?" Simon questioned.
"Not really the response I thought I'd get when I finally told someone that I loved them, but I suppose it's a fair question," Isabelle replied, feeling a bit abashed. "I guess you just caught me by surprise. I wasn't ready to hear it yet, because I wasn't really ready to say it yet myself."
"So what made you ready now?" Simon inquired.
"I got a speech about love from Clary," Isabelle answer, her eye roll apparent in her tone.
"Hey, mock it all you want, but I can tell it had an affect on you!" Simon said.
"I guess so…" Isabelle trailed off. She still felt rebuked by Simon's lack of an appropriate reaction to her declaration.
"Isabelle?" He said.
"Yeah?" She replied.
"Thank you for finding the courage to tell me you loved me. And for calling me. I was beginning to seem overly clingy with the number of times I was calling," he joked.
Isabelle laughed into the receiver, "It feels good to say it." She waited for him to reply, but silence fell on the conversation again. "So, where do we go from here?"
"I was thinking Taki's? Say in an hour or so?" Simon replied.
"I meant with our relationship!" Isabelle chided him.
"I did too. This conversation doesn't count until I get to kiss you and make it official," Simon answered. Isabelle flushed, feeling slightly embarrassed about her sternness moments ago.
"Taki's in an hour sounds good to me. I'm not brining anyone else though," Isabelle replied.
"Good, I'll see you soon," Simon said.
"See you said," Isabelle said back, and was about to hang up the phoner.
"Iz?" Simon said, stopping her from ending the call.
"What?" She asked.
"I love you," Simon replied, then he hung up the phone before she could say anything else.
Isabelle closed her phone and smiled to herself. Telling Simon she loved him was easier than she had thought it would be. She stemmed off the fear of what this might eventually mean by mentally rifling through her wardrobe as she decided what to wear as she hurried off to her room.
While Isabelle had been on the phone, Clary had wandered down to the library to find a place to sit and hopefully run into Jace. She didn't find him, but she did find the book on plants that Jonathan had given her, so she picked it up and began to read it. It was incredibly dry reading though, so Clary was not surprised to find herself woken up by Jace a little while later.
"Interesting reading I see," Jace mocked, gesturing at the book laying open in Clary's lap.
"Tremendously," Clary replied sarcastically, closing the book and placing it on the table next to her. She put up her arms and Jace helped her to her feet. He pulled her up, drew her in, and gave her a quick kiss, making Clary smile.
"Would you like to retire to bed m'lady?" Jace asked, offering Clary his arm.
She took it, continuing the play, "That would be lovely my liege!" With that, the two of them proceeded towards Jace's room. One their way, Jace told her about the new idea that he, Alec, and Jonathan had been chasing. Clary tried to pay attention, but for some reason, she could not focus on what he was saying. She had this nagging feeling that she was forgetting something important, and the feeling continued to grow ever more insistent the harder she tried to ignore it. When she finally gave up and let her mind wander, she came to an abrupt halt. "Jace, I have to get to my room!" Spinning on her heel, Clary quickly took off in the other direction.
Jace quickly caught up to his girlfriend, and soon they were both passing through the doorway to Clary's room. She immediately began rifling around her nightstand. "What are you looking for?" Jace asked, hoping to aid in the search.
"My sketchbook!" Clary exclaimed, brandishing the item in question. She rummaged around her desk in search of a pencil and upon finding one, opened her sketchbook to the page containing the unfinished rune. Closing her eyes only briefly, Clary recalled the flash of an image that came to her in the hallway moments ago. She then quickly began to draw the final details on the rune she had started.
Looking down at the piece of paper, Clary examined the looping design she had just drawn. The symbol looking back at her was somewhat difficult to decipher. She eventually decided upon protection, but wasn't completely satisfied with that. It held some other subtext, but Clary's brain could not grasp at the concept right now.
"Clary, what is it?" Jace asked from the other side of the room.
Holding up the paper so Jace could see the design, Clary spoke. "I started drawing this the night I was attacked, but I couldn't finish it. It felt like something was missing. That something just came to me when we were out in the hallway. I can't quite tell what it means."
Jace took the paper from Clary's hands and stared at it. "It seems to represent passage. Like it would allow you to go somewhere," Jace said.
"Passage? No, it means protection!" Clary protested, sure that she was more correct than Jace was about her own rune.
"Well, now that you say that, I do see it, but 'protection' doesn't seem to justify this rune. That's too vague of a concept. Runes are very specific in their function and meaning," Jace replied.
"I agree, but protection is the best thing I could come up with," Clary replied. "Do you think we should show Maryse?"
"I'm not sure I she'll have any better guess than we do, but it's worth a shot," Jace answered.
"Okay, let's go then!" Clary declared, taking the paper back from Jace.
"Clary, it's almost midnight. This can wait until morning. Why don't you grab a change of clothes and we can go back to my room. Unless you want to sleep here tonight," Jace suggested.
"I'll get my stuff. There's no way I will be able to sleep in here for a long while," Clary commented before gathering some clothe to sleep in – despite Jace's protests – and a change of clothes for the next morning.
Because both Clary and Jace were so worn out from not getting much sleep two nights prior, they had an incredibly uneventful night. Both fell asleep almost immediately after they got under the covers. Clary was barely able to kiss Jace goodnight before he began to drift off. She smiled down at him, trying to blink away her sleep for a little while longer. While he was awake, Jace never looked this vulnerable and innocent. Moments like this were rare for Clary, and she wanted to soak it in as much as she could. The moment did not last long though, because her will to sleep quickly overcame her will to take in Jace's beauty.
The next morning came much too soon for Clary, the alarm going off earlier than normal, because Jace had insisted that they wake up early to talk to Maryse, rather than miss part of training again. Having missed almost all of it on Monday, Clary had no ground to argue in favor of missing training again. She went to hit snooze on the blaring alarm clock, but found that she was unable to do so. Jace's arms had shot out and drawn her in only moments before her hand hit the clock. "Jace, what are you doing?" Clary complained.
"We need to get up," Jace murmured into her hair sleepily. Clary only groaned.
"Just let me turn the alarm off," Clary said.
"No, then I will have no reason to move from this spot ever again," Jace replied. Clary only rolled her eyes. It wasn't fair that Jace chose such inappropriate times to be so damn adorable. They continued to lay there for a while though, the alarm continuing to beep at them.
"Okay, let's get up then. I can't take this stupid alarm anymore!" Clary exclaimed, her nerves already wearing thin. Jace grunted his refusal, holding Clary tighter. She twisted around in his arms so that she was facing him. Twining her arms behind his neck, Clary kissed him softly. "Why don't you go get in the shower," Clary suggested.
"Come with me," Jace demanded.
"That's probably not a good idea," Clary said with a giggle. "We do still have to talk to Maryse this morning. Unless…" Jace feigned a sigh, stopping Clary from suggesting that they skip training, then rolled out of bed. He pretended to pout the whole way to the shower.
When both had showered and gotten dressed for the day, Clary and Jace made their way to the kitchen, where they knew they would find Maryse. They saw her sitting at the counter spreading some jam on her toast. "You two are up early!" Maryse commented, looking up at Clary and Jace as they approached.
"We were hoping to talk to you before training this morning. Clary drew a new rune last night, and we're not quite sure what to make of it," Jace explained.
"A new rune?" Maryse questioned, her eyebrows raising slightly. "Well, let's see it then." Clary handed her the paper with the intricate design on it.
"I think it means –" Clary began to say, but Jace shushed her.
"Shhhh, you don't want to try to influence or impede on her interpretation," Jace reminded Clary. He know the impact of such an influence could have and did not want to see it.
Maryse ignored the whispered conversation going on behind her, focusing intently on the image before her. After what seemed like a long while, she finally spoke. "This rune seems to represent freedom. A cutting of chains, so to speak."
"That doesn't make any sense. When I see it, I see 'protection,'" Clary said, almost defensively. She looked up at Jace, but he was lost in thought. When she looked back at Maryse though, the older woman was staring intently at her son.
"What is it, Jace?" Maryse asked.
"Your interpretations may very well be two sides of the same coin. You just need the right circumstances and different vantage points," Jace began.
"I don't understand," Clary said bluntly.
"Both of you, how do you interpret the curse placed on Jonathan?" Jace asked.
Maryse had a look of astonishment mixed with realization plastered across her face as she answered. "It binds him to the interior of the Institute."
"It'll hurt him if he tries to leave," Clary answered, her confusion still apparent.
"Clary, you've created a rune that will allow Jonathan to leave the Institute," Jace replied.
"But that's not possible! There are no runes that can break curses," Maryse exclaimed.
"Correct, except there is one now," Jace said.
"I still don't get it. What does the rune mean? How can Maryse see freedom when I see protection?" Clary asked, her frustration clear.
"Both words represent your view of Jonathan's curse. If you placed this rune on him, you would see that action as one that would protect him from the pain he would suffer if he left these walls. Maryse would see the act as you breaking him from what binds him here – if only temporarily," Jace explained.
"If what you say is true, then this is a very powerful rune indeed. And one with very dangerous consequence," Maryse warned.
"Of course it has dangerous consequences, Clary is involved!" Jace muttered, half laughing, half begrudgingly.
"I don't want knowledge of this rune getting out just yet. It could mean a whole new era in terms of punishments passed down from the Clave. You must not let Luke know, as it could get him in trouble later if something goes wrong," Maryse stated.
"If something goes wrong? What do you mean?" Clary asked.
"I mean that, against my better judgment, I want you to test out the powers and limits of this new rune," Maryse said with a sigh. Clary looked elated. "That is! Only if Jonathan agrees to be your test subject."
Clary an Jace quickly agreed to her terms, making their own breakfast as they continued to discuss the matter further. Before Isabelle and Alec came down for breakfast, they agreed that, if Jonathan was interested, they could spend the time normally reserved for Clary's lesson for the day experimenting with the rune.
Training was all a blur for Clary. She could not focus on any of the moves Jace was trying to teach her, and as such, she repeatedly found her back being slammed against the floor. "Are you even paying attention today?" Jace asked, after flipping her for the umpteenth time.
Knowing better than to lie, Clary said, "I just keep thinking about our plans for the afternoon."
"Oh yes, I'm shaking with eagerness to spend two hours with your brother," Jace replied sarcastically.
"I thought you two were getting along," Clary said, trying to hide the hurt in her voice.
"I've been able to realize the potential assistance that he has to offer in figuring out who is after you and why, and I know being civil to him will make you happy, but neither of those two things require me to have warm feelings for him," Jace answered.
"So, you're just keeping up pretenses for me?" Clary asked, no longer hiding the hurt or hints of anger from her voice.
"Well, I suppose that's what I'm doing, but I would phrase it a little nicer," Jace said. Seeing Clary's face tighten, he held up a finger to keep her from talking so he could continue to explain. "Obviously this was not the right time for humor, I'll make a note of it, but listen Clary. I still remember everything that he has done, even before I was bound to him. He's caused a lot of pain and anguish to me and to people I love. I know you say that he's different now, and I'm beginning to see that. But he needs to prove it to me himself. So for right now, I still don't like him, and I definitely do not trust him, but I'm not closed off to allowing that to happen. It's just going to take some time."
"Okay," Clary replied with a nod of her head. She didn't really know what else to say, and she could not argue with Jace's reasoning.
"Good. Now can you please try to focus for the last half hour?" Jace begged.
"I'll try," Clary said with a small smile. Jace returned the smile and planted a small kiss on the top of her head before resuming his fighting stance.
Clary did manage to focus for the duration of her morning training. To Jace's surprise and pleasure, she even seemed to have mastered a new combination of moves that she would be able to use if someone ever grabber her from behind.
Lunch became its own struggle though, with Clary wanting to just bring her lunch with her. This normally would not have been an issue, but Jace did not want Isabelle and Alec to have any idea that something was going on. What he and Clary were going to do went in complete defiance of the Clave, and he wanted to ensure that his siblings would be able to say that they had no idea of what was going on if forced to testify with the Mortal Sword.
Upon finishing her lunch, Clary practically ran to the library to meet up with her brother. Jace caught up with her a few moments later. The fact that he wasn't out of breath after moving so fast to catch up with her left Clary mildly annoyed. She brushed off her annoyance quickly though, refocusing on the task at hand.
"Clary, wait," Jace said, putting his hand on her shoulder before she could open the door. "You can't just go running in there. You'll probably just seem like a crazy person if you start ranting about a rune and freeing him."
"It'll be fine! Let's just go!" Clary demanded, pulling open the door. Jace groaned in frustration, but followed in after her.
Jonathan's surprise at seeing Jace was clear. "Is there something wrong?"
"No, everything is alright. Why would you think something was wrong?" Clary asked, her reaction a little more jumpy than she would have preferred.
"Well you normally don't come running in here with a body guard," Jonathan replied, sighing a little. He didn't like the prospects before him. Jace's presence during a lesson that was supposed to be just him and his sister could never mean good news.
"I'm not here as a body guard. Well, not officially at least, though that always ends up being the case…" Jace trailed off. Clary threw out her arm to try to hit Jace for his comment, but he easily caught her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing the top of it instead.
Jonathan blanched at the sappy scene before him. "Alright, so why are you here?"
"We came to you talk you. Last night I –" Clary started, but she was quickly interrupted by Jace.
"Why don't we sit down first?" He recommended. The other two nodded their agreement, so the three sat on couches around a small table. "Let's start from the beginning Clary, and maybe talk a little bit slower?"
Clary shot Jace a glare. Jonathan shared his sister's irritation. What gave Jace the right to not only interrupt her, but then talk to her that way too? "Okay, beginning it is." Clary said curtly, shooting Jace another look. "So, you know how I have more angel blood and it gives me the ability to create runes?"
"I don't think we needed to start that far back, but yes. You created that rune for the Clave, and the one that blew up the apartment," Jonathan replied.
"Well, last night I created a new one," Clary said.
"That's great! What does it do?" Jonathan asked with genuine excitement. He wasn't thrilled to see Jace coming in with Clary, but at least now he could relax, knowing the general direction this conversation was going to take. Though why he had to be there, Jonathan still had no idea.
"You see, it's kinda hard to explain," Clary began, pausing as she tried to choose her words carefully to explain the rune's power.
"Basically, we think the rune might let you leave the Institute," Jace chimed in.
"You think it will do tat?" Jonathan repeated, searching for clarification.
"Well, there's no real way to know exactly what it will do until we try it," Clary replied, blushing slightly and feeling somewhat abashed.
"But you think it will remove my curse?" Jonathan asked.
"Ummmm… no. Not really," Clary murmured, feeling completely deflated. She was quickly realizing that Jace may have been right about a need for a plan.
"It's a bit more complicated than that, but this rune could potentially mean a great deal more freedom for you," Jace explained, trying to rescue Clary from the hole she dug for herself. Now Jonathan realized why Jace was present for this conversation. Clary was not the most eloquent with words.
"Can I see the rune?" Jonathan requested. Clary pushed the piece of paper towards him across the small table. He stole a small glace at the design his sister had drawn. It was not immediately clear what this rune meant. "So what does it do exactly?"
"We believe that it would give you a temporary reprieve from the pain you would normally experience if you were to leave the Institute. I believe it will remove the effects of your curse, but there are several variables of which we are currently unaware," Jace explained.
Jonathan contemplated what the other boy had said, taking a long time to consider his words. He stared down at the rune, then off into space, then back at the rune. It bothered him that he couldn't truly understand the meaning of this rune. It was like searching for an elegant word and having to settle for a mundane synonym instead. Clary had already given up hope that Jonathan would agree to let them try her rune when he finally spoke. "Okay," was all he said.
A/N: So, I decided to cut this chapter in half, because it was turning into a massive piece and I wanted to get something uploaded. The good news: I'm already a few pages into writing the next chapter. The bad news: I started a second new job this week and I have no idea how much of my time that it going to take up. Thank you all for your patience, I know that I've been very delinquent in my writing. Too many Christmas presents to play with and too many family and friends to go see. I hope everyone's 2014 is off to a great start, and I will try my very best to focus on writing in the coming days (weeks…).