When I said Monday, clearly I meant Tuesday… :S Yes, I am an idiot who leaves editing to the last moment. To make up for that, I am going to try to have chapter 13 written by Friday.
This chapter came out a little differently than how I intended it to. There are little notes too. They could be from Clary as she reads Bystander's accounts, or from someone else entirely…
Chapter 12- Wintersoul's Salvation
With every step I walked away my heart imbued more pain upon me. I saw blue eyes filled with sincerity, not a lie in his soul. I saw a flash of gold, a brilliant smile and an equally brilliant mind. I saw the dark brown that at the very depths held love and loyalty beyond that of which I had ever seen.
I could not stand under this weight anymore; I collapsed to my knees. The fact remained that I could not make this choice and (This part of the page is so heavily scored that the writing beneath is mostly illegible. There is, however, the tail of a 'y' visible and perhaps the circle of an 'o'. You?) live with myself. Perhaps there are some things in life that just have to be done, consequences be damned.
Shaking, I rose again. It would be a lie to say I was not afraid. The demon was more powerful and more cunning that most I'd faced before, and Alec and Magnus did not have long left.
This time as I observed it, I tried to find its weak point once more. The mouth was obviously a red herring, a distraction. What I did have on my side was the surprise that Magnus didn't, and yet what use was it when I had no clear idea of what to attack, and how?
The demon seemed to gurgle as it crushed its victims and I scrutinised its form once more. Undoubtedly, its strongest feature was being able to change shape at will. It made it almost invulnerable to attack, certainly any bodily one. But what if it could no longer do that? What if it became rigid, trapped in one state of matter? I glanced down at my hands. I was not skilled at magic. I had always relied more on physical weapons, perhaps for the reason that Alec had said before; weapons such as guns and swords had always seemed more reliable. But they were useless now, against such a foe. All I had was my magic, unpractised or otherwise.
Carefully, I knelt down again. There was no point using magic to fight the demon if I didn't have any control over it. I brushed a finger against a blade of grass, softly speaking words in my native language. The little piece of grass grew beneath my ministrations. It shone a brighter green than any other.
I smiled grimly. I then began to walk towards the demon and continued beyond it to my planned destination: a large water feature. I didn't have time to feel disgust as I slipped into the ashy water. I spoke new words, stronger words, summoning words. I flinched as I felt the enormous drain on my strength, but ever so slightly the water rose. I repeated the words and the body of water was hovering at head height, trembling as I did.
The demon paused in its crushing. Reaching one black tendril out, it poked the water. It hissed in confusion. It kept trying to hold the murky water with dark finger-like appendages as it drifted towards the demon, hovering slightly above. I sighed heavily, and prepared to enjoy the momentary relief; the water fell from the sky, dousing the beast. It shivered in surprise. Neither man it held made any sound.
And now for the crucial part. I placed my hand upon the wet demon. It whipped round, teeth snapping at me. I avoided its gaping maw, this time round. Gritting my teeth, I began. The words did not come as easily as the others. My body was protesting at how much magic I was using. I would be lucky if this didn't render me unconscious for days. If I was unlucky, it would kill me.
The first sign that anything at all was happening was the shriek of pain from the demon. It swirled around, looking for the culprit once more. The second was far more obvious; my hands became colder and colder, and the water around them began freezing. The demon gave a wet, sulphurous gasp. The realisation seemed to have sank in. The monster began to panic, its victims now completely forgotten. It writhed, but there was no escape; the ice spread like fire over gasoline, trapping the demon's body.
The screams it started to make would have been perturbing if I hadn't seen it try to kill Magnus and Alec. Some part of me thought that it wouldn't have disturbed me anyway and had the Shadowhunter and warlock not been in mortal danger, I would have enjoyed it. It strained to get away from the encroaching, bitter cold. The effort made its skin stretch thin once more; it became an ugly, translucent fungal green. Its once terrifying maw now much reduced and was breathing frantic breaths.
I left the magic to take its toll, and began searching for the men the demon had held. Or their bodies, I thought grimly. It was likely that I'd been far, far too late. I cast around for any sign of either of the two, any sign of life at all, besides the demon.
The sound of cracking ice made me glance up again. The infernal being was now trying to rip away all the parts of in infected with ice and as a result was tearing itself to pieces. It was doing my job for me. I grinned wickedly. I was definitely enjoying this.
The keening of the demon grew louder and louder. It was going to start to draw attention, and I knew that much of the attention of this city's residents was undesired. I was going to have to risk exposing myself if I wanted to find them before that.
"Alec!" I called, keeping my voice low, for now. It would still be a bad idea to attract the demon's attention, especially in its now frenzied state. "Magnus!"
No response. I cursed and injected another dose of ice magic into the demon. Maybe I had unintentionally frozen them. Maybe the demon had already eaten them. Probably this was a fool's errand. Still, I hoped otherwise.
The faintest of calls made me spin as the demon sang its swan song. It had to be-
"Help," Alec cried. "Please, whoever you are, please help me."
"Alec," I breathed in relief, and followed his cries. He was on the other side of the demon, his body trapped beneath its mass. A mass that was rapidly turning to ice, and so was much, much heavier. He was slowly being crushed to death. A delirious laugh almost left my mouth as I imagined an ant being crushed by a giant's foot. It really was quite funny, now that I thought about it and-
He sobbed softly, his agony clear and his hope fading. God. Why had I been on the verge of laughter? Why would that even occur to me at a time like this- I swayed on my feet. Oh. That's right. It wasn't just Alec who was on Death's doorstep.
How the hell was I going to free him? You used all your energy, just to watch him die, the cruel voice murmured. You should put him out of his misery. It would be fairer, less painful for him.
"No," I snarled. I lurched forward towards Alec, reaching down to grab his hand. Tug-of-war. Who will win? Little human or gigantic demon? "Come on!" The boy looked up in surprise, his eyes widening when he saw no person before him. He whimpered. Obviously he thought he was having some sort of hallucination. "You've got to help me help you," I muttered, throwing my weight back. Alec made a pained noise and struggled. In the wrong direction. Away from me.
"Leave me alone!" He shouted, although his voice was weak. "I know you're just another demon. Just let me die in peace!"
I groaned. Stupid Nephilim child. There was only one way to convince him at this point; I dropped my disguise of invisibility, allowing him to see my true form.
"You're- you're a-"
"Yes, I'm exactly what you think I am," I said, cutting him off. "Now stop fighting me. You can still make it out of this alive; the ice hasn't reached you yet."
He did as I said, the shocked expression not wearing off. I had a feeling it wouldn't anytime soon. Sweat shone on his forehead as he twisted and turned. None of this did anything to free him. Stupid, stupid Nephilim.
"For fuck's sake," I growled. I drew my sword and began hacking randomly at the demon's side. In my state, it wasn't as if accuracy was an option. I just hoped I didn't accidentally decapitate Alec.
As I'd hope, it recoiled slightly. Alec's fingers dug into the grass as he pulled himself from under the demon. He panted as he slid away from under the demon, his face as red as I'd ever seen it. Instead of relief, he looked horrified. "Magnus," he whispered.
"He's most likely dead," I informed him. "Especially since you took your sweet time escaping."
The boy's mouth hardened into a thin line. "I'm going to find him. You can come if you want."
I shrugged, and the motion threw me off balance. "The world…" I began. "Is much spinnier than before..."
Alec shot a look back at me. "Are you drunk?"
"No," I slurred. "I saved you. Much magic is needed around stupid Nephilim. And you are a very stupid Nephilim."
He narrowed his eyes, but continued his searching. I let him go ahead. I would only slow him down. I was more concerned about another problem at the moment. Namely, Alec was only walking because he was running on adrenaline and his hope that Magnus lived, I was only walking by an enormous force of will and Magnus was unconscious or dead. And we were going to walk the streets of the most dangerous city on Earth. I laughed. The sound was hollow and desperate. I was never going to make it home, never going to kiss y- (There are large indents in the paper here, as if someone has stabbed it with a pen repeatedly…)
"Hey!" Alec waved his arms at me. "I found him. He's still breathing."
"Not for long," I mumbled, but stumbled towards them anyway. The warlock was pale and very still where he lay. I fell to my knees, and patted my hand against his neck. Feeling for a pulse. I thought I felt a faint fluttering against my fingers, but I was too inebriated to know for sure.
"I told you already. I can see him breathing," Alec said impatiently. "We have to get out of here. Before something else comes for us."
In a moment of sobriety, I met Alec's eyes. "Lightwood. Use your brain for once in your goddamned life. How the fuck do you think we're getting out of here? Have you got a magic fucking carpet? If so, this would be a really, really good time to bring it up."
His pale face turned stony. "Brocelind Forest isn't that far. We could go there."
"There are faeries in the Forest," I pointed out the obvious with much annoyance. "In case you've forgotten, they don't exactly like your kind. In fact, I seem to recall that they were the ones who started the war that would lead to this." I made a wide gesture.
"That was the Seelie faeries," Alec said. "Unseelie faeries live in the Forest."
I laughed softly. "Unseelie faeries. And by that you mean the faeries generally regarded as more evil? More malicious? More likely to attack for no reason than other than the pleasure they find in it?"
"It's either them or vampires, werewolves and demons," he pointed out.
"And you think we have the best chance with the faeries?"
Alec shrugged defensively. He then glanced back down at Magnus worriedly, and I knew an ultimatum was fast approaching. "I'm not going back into the city," he spoke resolutely. "You can do what you want, but I'm taking Magnus to Brocelind Forest. I think it is our only hope of surviving tonight."
I closed my eyes. I didn't know if he was right or not. It didn't matter, though. I had no disguise of invisibility to protect me, I was utterly drained physically and if I left alone I would almost certainly be killed. "You need to wake him," I ordered, my eyes still shut. "Neither of us would be able to carry him."
I heard Alec murmur, coaxing and comforting, as he knelt down next to Magnus. He had a caring instinct, after all the years he'd almost been a father figure to his own siblings. "Come on, Magnus. Wake up. We have to go now." His gentle pleas for wakefulness were growing increasingly desperate; despite his efforts, Magnus was not responding.
We didn't have time for this. I could hear faint wingbeats above, probably from more Harpi demons. They were distant enough yet, but it wouldn't take long before they spotted us and decided we were an easy meal. Sometimes it paid to be cruel. Or that's what I told myself when I stepped on Magnus' splayed fingers, letting my full weight rest there for a few seconds.
"Getoffyouidiot!" He groaned, and I acquiesced. His cat-eyes blinked up at me, flashing with recognition. He didn't call me out in front of Alec as I thought he might, but I could tell he had questions for me.
"Do you think you'll be able to walk?" Alec asked, distracting him for now.
Magnus grimaced at the very idea of it. He struggled to raise himself even into a crouching position; sweat coated his forehead and his lightly muscled armed strained. Alec reached out to help him, but I stopped before he could. "There's a better way," I told him, before he could become angry.
It was not often discussed, the fact that warlocks could take energy from other living creatures to replace their own lost reserves. Perhaps there was an inherent shame about it, as the energy did not necessarily have to be given willingly and of course many warlocks had taken advantage of this before. Or maybe they had been used to guarding this secret when the Nephilim had ruled over them. The Clave would have reacted as they always did: destruction then questions. It was likely a remnant from those times, and probably for protection if the Shadowhunters did rise again. Either way, it wasn't as if we had much other choice but to use it now.
I began to explain it quickly to Magnus, and he was already nodding. It looked like it wasn't his first time doing this. Alec had a determined look on his face. Although the thought of this magic probably scared him, he wouldn't let it show. It was in his personality, I guessed, that he was selfless before he was honest.
Their hands met with a subtle glow. Hurriedly, I removed my cloak and covered their joined hands. The Harpi demons were spiralling closer. The only thing stalling them was their uncertainty; the Greater Demon was frozen solid at this point, but even then I knew it wasn't dead. Demons disappeared back to their home dimension when they were killed.
Over the next few minutes Magnus strengthened while Alec weakened and the demons circled closer, becoming increasingly confident when the Greater Demon did not strike out at them.
"A feast, a feast, a feast," the nearest said, just within earshot now. It was large and ungainly looking in flight, with its huge tail dangling below. These were not young Harpi. Fortunately for us none of them had seen us yet, but it was only a matter of time. And I very much doubted that the three of us at full strength could hold of a flock of Harpi, never mind in our much weakened ones.
"That's enough," Magnus murmured, his voice clearer now. He untangled his hand from Alec's underneath the cloak and was able to stand without help. "Thank you," he said to Alec, and his voice was full of unusual sincerity.
We couldn't run. That would instantly make us a target. We couldn't hide. One of the flying demons would find us at some point. Escape seemed impossible-
"I'll melt it again, then we run," Magnus said, sensing the direction of my thoughts. Blue sparks leapt from his hand (although I noticed he was being more conservative with his magic than he had before, either because he was still low in energy or he'd learned from his earlier mistake). I watched the skies as the demon began to thaw again, undoing my work. They hadn't noticed the change Magnus was working; a black coil snatched one of them from the air, and the war began. The Greater Demon was dive-bombed from all angles, but its greater strength was obvious from the way it dispatched of the Harpi as if it were swatting flies.
Satisfied both parties were distracted for now, we moved as one away from the scene. We began slowly, but then sprinted as soon as we had the cover of the small trees of Solaris Point. We scrambled through the underbrush and vaulted over fallen logs, our only desire being to get away from that godforsaken place. Small imp-like creatures scattered as we tore through the miniature forest and soon we were out in the open again, facing the dark and ominous Brocelind Forest.
It looked so close, and yet miles of grassland separated us and the Forest. Surreptitiously, I regarded my companions; Alec was fine, but Magnus was more than a little out of breath. "We can't stop until we're in Brocelind," I warned.
"I know," Magnus replied, looking miserable. "We should have…" he took a deep breath," gone the other way, you know. Back to my sector."
"We wouldn't have made it. The Harpi were coming from that direction."
"We'll get eaten…. alive," Magnus muttered. "Literally. I know all about the kelpies and the bogies and ghasts and ghouls. And that's not to mention the Tailor and Red Cap, who knowing our luck will be stationed in Brocelind tonight." He directed these statements accusatorily towards me.
I didn't answer that. I couldn't guarantee their safety. The Unseelie were unpredictable by nature and likelier to bite you than help you. They weren't evil exactly- well, not all of them were evil-, more capricious. Instead I said, "We can take it slower from now. There's nowhere to run to when we're so exposed anyway."
Several hours later and I ripped ivy from the first trunk. I placed my palm against the bark of the tree and allowed the silent calm of the trees to surround me. It was both instinct and ritual, but more importantly I felt at ease once again. A few words in my language and I could feel a physical change. It was akin to what Magnus had done with Alec, except this energy was borrowed; I would have to return the energy I'd taken to the Forest when I was leaving again. "Well met, ancient one." I turned back to Magnus and Alec again. "We best not go too deep into the Forest. As you said, danger waits within its depths."
We stopped beside the first stream we came across, not daring to go any further. At least we would have water to drink, if we survived the night.
"Shouldn't we climb one of the trees and rest there?" Alec asked.
"No," I said sharply. "Trust me on this, it is far safer here at ground level." Alec looked dubiously at me. "I'll keep watch while you sleep. The good thing about many of the horrors that live here is that they tend to also be dramatic; they enjoy making the sounds that will make you afraid."
He shivered slightly, but sat at the base of one of the trees anyway. Magnus sat at his side. They talked in hushed voices for a while. Inevitably though, their exhaustion got the better of them; Alec's head rested against Magnus' shoulder and his breathing gradually evened into that of sleep.
I envied them their peaceful slumber, for tonight was going to be long. Already I was unsure if I was imagining the smooth snicks as a pair of scissors opened and closer over and over and over…
The Tailor is not an original character, neither is Red Cap. The Tailor (who makes clothes out of human skin) is fact from Cornelia Funke's 'Reckless' (A dark fairy tale kind of book, definitely recommend) and Red Cap (dwarf/goblin that kills travellers and whose cap is stained with their blood) is found in Border Folklore, according to wiki.
