Chapter 14: ...and Final Battles

September, 2032
The Shadowhunters fanned out into the New York night, trying to find any trace of the two Herondale siblings. The two Lovelace children teamed up with Ros, and were a block away from the Institute when Cecily spotted something familiar. Will's phone was lying in the middle of the pavement, but there was no other sign of the two Herondales. By this point, both of the Lovelace siblings were nearly hysterical with worry for their parabatai.
"Where are they?!" Jordan asked as a yell, his worry obvious in the tone and volume of his voice.
"I have no idea!" Cecily yelled back. Ros stepped between the squabbling siblings.
"Now is not the time." Ros scolded the two Lovelaces My fiancé and future brother in law, who are also both of your parabatai, are both missing. We need to try and find them, and quickly."
Both Lovelaces nodded, putting aside their argument for now. Cecily called her mum, who was looking with Jace, whilst Jordan called his dad, who was looking with Clary. After they had relayed what they found, they were told to report back to the Institute. The teenagers and parents arrived at the Institute nearly simultaneously. They walked inside, and to the strategy room. The group of Shadowhunters pored over a map of New York. Cecily and Jordan had pointed out where they had found Will's phone, so the group were focusing on a 5-mile radius, given the speed of Downworlders. Using their parabatai bond, Simon and Clary attempted to track Will through his phone, but they couldn't see anything.
"We're going to need help with the tracking." Izzy stated, walking towards the Institute's landline.

About half an hour later, Magnus and Alec arrived at the Institute, ready to help. Izzy had briefed them over the phone, so they didn't need to be given any more details. Without a word to Jace or Clary, Magnus started casting tracking magic on Will's phone. His brow furrowed as he did, and a few moments later, the spell cut out.
"I can't see him either." Magnus remarked, sounding apologetic towards the two Herondale parents. However, this caused a possible theory to form in Clary's head.
"Mortmain wants the entire family to suffer, right?" Clary asked. The other Shadowhunters around the room nodded.
"So, if he's going to kill Will and Cecily, then he'll want it to have the maximum damage, he'll want Jace and me to see it happen. That means they're still alive. That also means they must be near water, then, if we can't track them." Clary deduced. "That's the only explanation for where they could be."
The others silently accepted this and looked over their search area. There was only a small area, about 8 square miles, that was sufficiently near a river. So, the parents had reduced the search area from around 80 square miles to 8. This made Clary and Jace a bit more hopeful.
"Well, then they can't be in this area, as that's heavily monitored by the Institute, and the werewolf pack." Jace commented, pointing at an area on the left of the smaller search area, which reduced the search area by a further 3 square miles. The area that was left was mostly docks, with a few warehouses.
"So, we have a smaller area to search. We need to move quickly." Jace ordered, making use of his Institute head role, though he was incredibly worried for the safety of his son and daughter. Everyone in the room nodded and headed out of the Institute towards the search area.

Meanwhile, in Mortmain's warehouse hideout, the two Herondale children had been tied to chairs, and gagged. Mortmain paced in front of the two siblings, sharpening a sword unlike anything Will and Charlie had seen before. It was made of a dark metal, and seemed to absorb light from immediately around it. There were runes across the hilt of the sword. Cecily and Will recognised a few: there was a rune for agony, and various other torture runes that the Clave had outlawed, but still could be found in older copies of the Grey Book.
"You know, I thought that it would be a lot more difficult to take you, but I guess you're nothing without your mum and dad to help you." Mortmain sneered at the two siblings. "Or those irritating Lovelaws, or whatever they're called."
Both Will and Charlie stared at Mortmain with pure hate; nobody insulted their parabatai and wasn't punished.
"So, you probably want to ask how I got so many followers from the Downworld." Mortmain remarked, though this wasn't the case in truth. However, the idea had flittered through the minds of pretty much all the Institute's inhabitants at some point over the last few months. Mortmain looked at Will and Cecily as if they were going to respond even though the two Herondale siblings had their mouths gagged shut.
"Well, it's not exactly difficult to find Downworlders who feel wronged by the Clave in this day and age." Mortmain continued to his literally captive audience. "It's not just Downworlders either. Anyway, I was able to find a few who shared my disdain for the Clave's ways, and slowly the numbers of followers grew. I stoked their anger at the Clave, and pretty much all Shadowhunters until they were willing to do whatever it took to take down the Clave, and anyone who tried to defend it."
The most worrying part of that particular statement, for Charlie and Will, was when Mortmain said that it wasn't just Downworlders. Both Herondales had made similar deductions almost instantly. Their fears were confirmed when Mortmain was interrupted by a young woman walking over to the vampire. She was dressed in all black, with dark hair. A flash of skin showed familiar runes: the woman, who supported Mortmain over the Institute and the Clave, was a Shadowhunter. Mortmain sensed and turned to the new entrant.
"What is it?" Mortmain asked, sounding annoyed that he was interrupted.
"I'm sorry to interrupt sir, but the rest of the Shadowhunters have just reached the docks." The as yet unnamed Shadowhunter told Mortmain. Mortmain smirked.
"That's quicker than I expected. Assemble everyone. Tonight, we're going to remove the Clave's control over this city." Mortmain stated. The Shadowhunter nodded and left, without even looking at Will or Charlie.
"Now, I have an army to lead. However, you two will be right their beside me." Mortmain spoke directly to the two Herondales. He then gestured to a pair of Downworlders behind the two siblings, before turning and exiting the room. The two Downworlders approached and untied the two Herondales' binds to the chair, Their hands were still tied together. However, an idea flashed through both Shadowhunters' minds. In one swift move, the two Herondales spun, picked up the chairs they were tied to, and hit the Downworlders with them. Both Downworlders crumpled into a heap. The two Herondale siblings pulled their gags down.
"Are you alright, Charlie?" Will queried, worried for his younger sister.
"I will be when we get out of here. We have to warn the others!" Charlie remarked. The noise was enough to draw a guard, who was presumably standing at the room's door, into the room. Both ran at the Shadowhunters, who dodged. As the Downworlders passed, Charlie grabbed the knife from the guard's belt, whilst Will tripped the guard, and kicked them in the head and stomach for good measure. Charlie, fuelled by adrenaline and worry, quickly cut through her and Will's bindings and the two ran out of the room. They found themselves in a corridor and heard footsteps approaching from either direction. Now, it was Will's turn to save his sister, as he spotted an air duct, just low enough to climb into. The pair quickly pried open the vent and began to crawl through the ventilation shafts of the warehouse. It was dark and the two siblings stumbled round. Mortmain had relieved the pair of everything helpful: Phones, steles, witchlights. As they approached what they thought was the outside of the building, the vent suddenly became a ramp and both Cecily and Will slid down, hitting through the exit vent at the other end. They landed on a pile of rubbish, just outside the warehouse. from where they were lying, dazed from the fall, they could see docks and the river. However, worryingly, they also saw a steady stream of Downworlders, coming from the warehouse's usual exit, heading to some point in the distance. After the two had recovered from the unexpected drop, they both jumped and ran towards the entrance to the docks, where they hoped to find their parents and parabatai.

Not knowing about the army that was approaching them, the other Shadowhunters from the Institute made their way into the docks. As they did, both Cecily and Jordan felt a pull, as if there was a part of them that was missing and trying to come back. Both realised that it was the parabatai bond drawing them towards the Herondale siblings.
"I can sense her!" Cecily declared about Charlie, at the same moment that Jordan made a similar remark about Will. The two children then ran off in the direction the pull they were feeling seemed to come from, with the adults and Ros trailing slightly behind. However, the two teenagers halted when they saw a sight that filled them with dread. Approaching was an army of various Downworlders, and they were approaching quickly. At the head of the army, that was closing in fast, was Mortmain. Both Jordan and Cecily cursed, loudly. Unfortunately, this was at the same moment that their parents, the other adults, and Ros caught up with them. Izzy went to scold her children, then saw what they were cursing at. All the Shadowhunters readied themselves as Mortmain's army spotted them.
"Charge!" Mortmain ordered his army. Their army surged forward towards the group of Shadowhunters.
"They outnumber us at least 10 to 1. I don't like our odds here." Simon stated as the army approached.
"We've dealt with worse." Jace responded calmly. Simon would have protested if it weren't for the fact that a few seconds later, Mortmain's army reached the Shadowhunters. The Shadowhunters defended themselves, and the others around them. However, the attack patterns of the army split up the group into smaller fragments. The army purposefully separated the teenagers from the parents. Two werewolves went to pounce on the three, ready to shred the three teenagers to bits. However, when they were mid pounce, there was a whistling and a flash of metal. The wolves jolted sideways and rolled into the army, knocking a few of the other Downworlders onto the ground. There was the sound of running and a familiar voice.
"By the Angel, it's good to see you guys." The person remarked. The three teenagers turned slightly to see Will and Charlie standing there. Both were scratched up, and had reddened wrists. The other three would have hugged the two Herondales if it weren't for the smell that seemed to be coming from them, and the Downworlders who still surrounded them. Both Cecily and Jordan had a spare seraph blade and tossed it to their respective parabatai, who caught it with ease. Now with five of them fighting, instead of just three of them, the Shadowhunters were able to start making progress towards the parents. However, suddenly, the teenagers were all pulled in different directions. Whilst the two Herondales, Ros, and Cecily struggled against the Downworlders holding them, Jordan was dragged through the Downworlder army to Mortmain. The Lovelace tried to struggle, but he was unable to escape from his captor's grasp.
"I said the sister!" Mortmain sneered at the Downworlder. "I guess this one will have to do. We'll get around to the others soon enough."
This rather threatening statement made Jordan struggle even more, trying to get free. Mortmain drew his sword and seemed to admire it.
"I'm sure you recognise at least a few of these runes." Mortmain remarked. "I had a lot of help from my Nephilim followers, as well as this warlock in Europe. You see, this warlock came up with an idea. This sword is obviously very deadly to the person who is stabbed, but there's a double purpose. Any person bound to the stabbed person who will all be Shadowhunters, say parabatai or partners, will suffer the same amount of pain as the one who is injured."
"You're sick!" Jordan yelled at Mortmain.
"People said that about Galileo, and Archimedes. All the forward thinkers were thought to be sick until people saw the benefits of their ideas." Mortmain remarked. He prepared to shove the sword forwards, and Jordan made a last ditch attempt to get free. He also heard his parents, Cecily, and Will all shouting to him. He looked back and forth, his fear becoming more obvious. He saw the people he loved most in the world trying to get through the Downworlder army towards him. However, their efforts were in vain as before they could, Mortmain thrust the sword forwards and stabbed Jordan directly through the chest. There was a yell of pain, but it took Jordan a moment to realise it wasn't him screaming. The sword, which was pulled out a few moments later, had stripped Jordan of his breath and voice. Instead, Will had collapsed and was holding his chest as if he'd been stabbed himself.

Will watched helplessly as Mortmain drove the sword into Jordan. As the sword stabbed his parabatai, Will felt a pain tear through him. It felt as if his own heart had been ripped in half and the Herondale couldn't help but yell. The pain caused Will's legs to give out from under him. However, Will was able to reduce the damage by putting his hands out in front of him. He looked up and saw Mortmain holding Jordan who was slowly dying. The murderous vampire was smirking

Charlie was by Cecily's side as the pair pushed towards Jordan and Mortmain, trying to save Cecily's little brother. They were so close when the sword plunged into Jordan and they heard a yell of pain from elsewhere in the battle. Through their parabatai bond, Charlie felt Cecily's grief, shock, and rage at what she had just observed. However, there was also more rage and grief, which Charlie felt came from somebody else. However, the shared feelings as well as her own awoke something deep in Charlie. It felt like fire began to run through her veins. Cecily turned and her eyes widened as she looked at Charlie. As the fire grew inside Charlie, Jace and Izzy reached their daughters. Clary and Simon were still fighting the Downworlders, trying to get to Will who had collapsed in pain.
"Cecily, you need to get back." Jace ordered the Lovelace, looking worriedly at his daughter. As both were looking at Charlie with worry, she wondered what was going on. It was then that she realised that, alongside the fire in her blood, she was beginning to glow. This frightened Charlie.
"Dad, what's happening?" She asked worriedly. The Downworlders around the two adult and two teenage Shadowhunters backed away at the sight of the glow, leaving an open path to Mortmain
"That's angelic fire." Izzy stated. "How is that possible?"
"It's probably a genetic thing." Jace joked, trying to reduce Charlie's, and his own worry. "Charlie, you can control this."
Charlie nodded. However, she suddenly felt like a passenger in her own body. Her arms raised and pointed straight at Mortmain. A burst of light emanated from her hands and rushed towards him, obliterating him from sight. It did more than that, as when the light faded, all that was left of Mortmain was a pile of ash. Seeing their leader obliterated caused Mortmain's army to retreat and disappear into the night. However, all the Institute's Shadowhunters, as well as Magnus, ran to Jordan. Will was the first to arrive, having pushed through the pain. The Herondale had snatched his mum's stele, and furiously drawing all the healing runes he could think of. However, nothing happened and Will broke into tears.
"Don't cry, Will." Jordan croaked, looking at his parabatai calmly. "This was fate. My dad said so."
It was at that moment that the parents realised that their children, or at least Jordan, had eavesdropped on the conversation about the faerie prophecy.
"It's my fault." Will remarked, still crying as he relentlessly tried to save his parabatai. "I should have had your back."
"Please, don't blame yourself for this." Jordan ordered Will. Jordan's voice was growing weaker by the second. Jordan turned to Cecily.
"Cecily, care for Will please;" Jordan instructed his sister. Cecily stepped forwards and kneeled by her brother's side. "Promise me you will care for him."
"I promise." Cecily assured Jordan, though she was also crying.
"You take care of her, as well." Jordan instructed Will. The Herondale nodded, as his pain and tears had seemed to have robbed him of his voice.
"Tell Amatis that I love her." Jordan remarked, tearing up. "And that I wish I could be there for her when it happens."
This confused the other Shadowhunters.
"What do you mean?" Cecily asked. "What do you mean 'when it happens'?"
"You'll find out soon enough." Jordan remarked. "It's her secret to tell."
Jordan's breath was getting short and the pauses between his words were getting longer. Knowing his time was short, Jordan began to say his goodbyes to the rest of the Shadowhunters. His parents were tearful, and still in shock at the scene. They couldn't believe that their youngest child was dying right in front of them. Jace and Clary tried to keep a brave face for their parabatai, and their children. However, all the adult Shadowhunters were wary that history had repeated itself, with the youngest family member dying despite the actions of all the others to save them. Jordan held the hands of his sister and parabatai, smiling as he breathed his final breath. When Jordan's grip on Cecily's and Will's hands loosened, both the Lovelace and the Herondale broke into tears again. However, as the adrenaline from the fight wore off, Will's pain returned and he collapsed, falling into the dark of unconsciousness.

A day later, Will woke up in the Institute's infirmary. Beside him, Cecily was sitting in a chair and had nodded off. When Will woke up, his chest felt sore. It was nothing compared to just after Jordan had been stabbed, but it still made the Herondale groan, making his girlfriend wake up. She wiped her eyes and looked at Will.
"Hi Will." Cecily greeted, looking drowsy. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel a bit sore." Will responded. "How are you holding up?"
"I've been better. I was worried about you, and of course, everyone's grieving." Cecily remarked. Will looked at Cecily comfortingly.
"I'm so sorry, Cecily." Will stated.
"It's not your fault." Cecily assured Will. Will was able to sit up and took Cecily's hands in his.
"I mean it. Jordan was my parabatai. I should have been there to keep him safe." Will explained.
"I mean what I said too." Cecily argued fervently. "We all screwed up that night. We got overrun by the army, and Jordan paid the price for our mistakes."
"Did you tell Amatis what happened?" Will queried. Amatis nodded. The two stayed in silence, thinking over what they had lost.

A/N: I hope that this chapter was substantial. I don't often kill off characters, but it was in the plan since I wrote Chapter 9… This will not be the end. I still have four more chapters planned then I want your opinions on whether this story should continue. I have an idea for a potential plot extension, but whether I go through with it is up to you. Anyway, please remember to review and I'll see you in the next chapter.

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