Finally! Chapter 21! I know it's taken me forever to upload, but things have been so crazy with school. I've been trying to get my grades up so I don't fail and even now I have a lot of catching up to do. Still... I finally finished this chapter and I hope it will be enough to hold your interest until I can get the next chapter up. I don't know how long that's going to take, but I promise I'll try my best to update faster. Please enjoy and review!
The doors have finally been opened and the group is able to see the damage done by the great evil that has been terrorizing the shadows. Soon, though, Clary and Jace will have to face the greatest challenge that either, as a couple, has ever faced... separation. How will they make it through this new challenge? What will they do when they see the destruction their home has been put through? Read on to find out...
Chapter 21
"God, damn it! My eyes!"
Isabelle's voice breaks through our stunned silence. I blink a few times to adjust my vision before the light finally dies down. We're standing in the same corridor where we entered, but Arcadia is no longer there. The web is gone.
There are blood stains everywhere and decaying bodies of spider demons. I look around with narrowed eyes. I turn to see Isabelle rubbing her eyes. "Damn it. What the hell was with that light?"
I smirk. "It was kind of over done."
"Kind of!" Isabelle nearly yells. "It nearly blinded me. Who was the genius who did that."
"I'm pretty sure an angel had something to do with it," Jace walks forward.
Alec moves forward and examines the bodies of the spider demons. "It looks like they've been dead for a few days now. Maybe a week. It looks like their bodies were burnt in some way."
Jace crouches next to one and shoves it with his foot. "It was probably that demon that's been after us. Anyway, I think we should go upstairs to see the damage. I know Clary already saw what was going on outside, but I think it would be good to see it for ourselves."
We all agree and start moving. Then a buzzing hits me. I turn to see the door shining with light. The doors swing shut and the light concentrates into a small point. The doors disappear. Then the light shoots forward at me and straight at my chest.
The feeling of warmth shocks me. Then I look down to see a new necklace hanging around my neck. It has the doors on it. I look up to stare at the others. "What the hell?"
Jace leans in and lightly touches the necklace. "Well, will you look at that. It's fun size. Just like you, Clary."
I smack Jace's arm then turn to the others. "Let's get going before any more weird stuff starts to happen."
Jace slips his hand into mine and interlaces our fingers. "Let's move out!"
"Stop acting like a child," I give Jace a look.
Jace lets go of my hand and wraps his arm around my waist. "No need to get snippy with me. We're moving in uncharted territory. It's best if we're not on each other's bad sides. It would only complicate things even more and I don't think any of us want that. We need to stick together."
"You're sarcastic tone is getting on my nerves," I mumble.
"That goes for all of us," Simon adds.
Jace throws Simon a look. "No one is talking to you, rat-face. I'm trying to have a conversation with my lovely girlfriend over here."
The moment Jace finishes speaking an odd look passes over his eyes. His hand goes to his chest where the golden feather lays over his heart. My heart flutters at the gesture. I look up at Jace with a smile. I move to my toes and kiss Jace lightly before wrapping my arms around him. "Let's go."
Jace doesn't complain.
We all keep walking in silence as we leave the corridor and into another part of the institute. It looks like a war took place in here. There are all kinds of things thrown around. Furniture and clothes are everywhere. Walls have been smashed and floors have been crushed. What could have happened here?
"Someone really went to the trouble to destroy this place," Jace frowns.
I move into the living room to find it in ashes. "There was definitely a fire here."
"Looks like there was a flood as well," Alec calls from another room.
"This really is the apocalypse," Simon groans.
We meet up in the living room. We all have grim expressions on our faces. I sigh and rub my hands over my face. "Maybe we should go to our old rooms and try to salvage anything we can. Who knows. Something could have been saved."
Everyone splits up. I head straight up for my room. Well, temporary room. I look around. It's all destroyed. The bed has been torn apart, the ceiling collapsed, and the rest of the contents of the room have been shredded and thrown around. It doesn't look like anything here is worth saving. Just to be sure I'll look around. I can never be too sure.
As I push over the remains of the shredded mattress I see something that definitely surprises me. It's my duffle bag. It looks like it's totally in tack. I grab the strap and pull it out from under the rubble.
When I look inside I find everything I need. My weapons are inside and so are my clothes along with a few other things. It's a relief. I sling it across my chest then search around for anything else. I find nothing. That's fine. I have everything I need already. I head downstairs quickly.
No one has gotten back yet so I just walk around and see what I can find down here. It looks like the lower levels were attacked the most. I know my room was torn apart because it was my room. That demon was looking for me. I don't know the state the others had their room in.
The first person to come down is Jace. He has a pack over his shoulder. He grins when he sees me. "My room was completely untouched. It's a good thing. I had a bunch of weapons stashed in there so we're all good."
"Did you make sure to pack extra clothes?" I inquire.
Jace rolls his eyes. "Yes, mother."
"Shut the hell up!" I snap.
Jace bursts out laughing and doubles over from the effort. Isabelle walks in and stares at Jace. "What's up with him?"
"He's just being an ass," I scowl.
Isabelle shakes her head then turns to be with a bright expression. "Nothing in my room was touched. It's a good thing."
Simon comes down next with two packs. Looks like Isabelle is making him carry the bags. Seeing as Simon is a vampire it shouldn't bother him too much.
Magnus and Alec walk downstairs holding hands. Alec holds up a pack too tell us that nothing was destroyed in his room. I sigh and rub my temples. "The room I was staying in didn't fair too well. It looked like it was specifically targeted because it was mine."
Jace puts his arm around me and kisses my temple. "Don't worry about it too much. There's nothing we can do about it now. Let's get going before demons show up."
We all start walking toward the door. I go in front of everyone because they're all being hesitant. They don't know what's out there and it scares them not knowing. I honestly don't know either, but going out there is better than staying here and being sitting ducks.
I pull the door open and what I see shocks me. The city is completely dead. It looks exactly like my vision. My eyes are wide with shock. The feeling of terror fills my entire body. The urge to cry right now is really strong, but I refuse. Now's not the time.
Everything is grey. The ground and buildings are covered with what looks like snow, but I know it's ash. It makes the scene in front of me look that much more depressing. It's exactly like my dream. I know what's going to come. It's terrifying.
Jace moves forward and looks at me worriedly. "Clary? What's the matter, baby?"
"It's just like in my dreams," I whisper.
Jace looks out at the city and a frown slowly forms on his angelic face. "This isn't good then. We need to find a way out of this city. Who knows what might be out there."
We all agree and leave the sanctity of the institute. We walk down the street. Buildings have crumbled and the ground is destroyed. Jace whistles softly. "I didn't know it was going to be this bad. I don't know how anyone could have survived this."
I remember the little girl I saved from the demon and I can't help, but be sad. I sigh and look around. "If I'm right then we need to get out of here soon. In my dream there's this thing that happens. The sky turns red and everything gets really… disturbing."
"Disturbing, how?" Magnus inquires.
I shutter at the memory. "I don't know. Everything was just alive. In one room I was in the walls were bleeding. It was like it was alive, but it wasn't. I just don't know how to explain it without wanting to throw up."
"That's exactly how I feel about the bloodsucker," Jace mumbles.
I smack Jace's arm. "I'm being serious."
"So am I," Jace crosses his arms.
Isabelle glares at Jace. "We're trying to survive here, idiot. Try leaving the smack talk for another time."
Jace lifts his chin and puffs out his chest. "Never, woman."
I shake my head. I'm about to say something when I get a really bad feeling. I look around quickly trying to figure out what it is. It's too familiar, but I can't put my finger on it.
Then it hits me. I grab Jace's arm. "It's coming."
Jace is on alert immediately. "What's coming?"
The sky fades to red. My eyes widen in terror. I turn the others. "RUN!"
My feet start moving on their own accord. I can hear the others in pursuit. I keep running until I find a building that looks decent enough. Just before I go in I stop. Jace checks himself before running into me. "What's the matter? What is it?"
I clench my fists. "What if I see the same thing as before? What if it's the exact same thing?"
Jace shakes his head and looks around. "I'm getting a bad feeling, Clary. We can't be outside. Whatever we might find inside can't be worse than what we might face if we stay out here."
"But-"
"I promise I'll be right there," Jace takes my hand and interlaces our fingers.
The contact sends electricity through my body. I smile at Jace then walk inside. My grin on Jace's hand tightens with what I see. The walls are spilling blood. My breathing speeds up. Jace moves closer to me.
Just as we're about to move in further I see something move in the corner. It takes me a second to realize that it's the shadow rippling. It peals itself away from the wall and moves away from the wall and forms into a man. He's pitch black and the only feature on it is the jagged mouth with razor sharp teeth.
I turn and run outside, pulling Jace with me. The others follow suit. When we're outside a dark shadow is looming overhead. I turn around when I feel something moving in the building. That shadow man is limping toward us with its teeth gnashing together.
We form a circle so we're back to back. I reach down for my seraph blade, but something digs into my back. I grunt and grind my teeth together. All of a sudden I'm being lifted from the ground. I look up at what's lifting me. It's a demon.
I grab my seraph blade and slash at it. I'm dropped back onto the ground. Jace kneels down next to me. "Clary? Are you okay?"
I grab my shoulder. "Yeah. It's nothing."
Jace pulls out his stele and pushes down my coat so my skin is showing. He draws a rune and the wounds heal. I stand and roll my shoulders. I turn to Jace and smile. Jace nods then lifts his face to the sky. "I don't understand what's going on, but I know for sure we can't stay here. Look at those things."
We look at the sky. There are weird bird demons circling over us. They look like pterodactyls, but really deformed. Their claws are sharper than they should me and their wings are shaped like bat wings. Their eyes are black, but have an eerie glow about them. I've never seen demons like those before.
Jace curses under his breath. "I've never seen demons like those before. They must be new."
"Of just ones that are special to this place we're in," I point out.
Alec moves to Jace's other side. "We can't stay here in the open. I'm getting a really bad feeling. If we don't move now, something is going to happen and we're not going to like it."
Isabelle places a hand on my shoulder. "You're the one who had the dreams about this place. Do you know what's supposed to happen?"
I swallow the panic ready to rise in my chest. "When I did my astral projection this happened too. I don't know how, but I managed to survive it even though that demon passed right over me. I know it would have come after me. I know it could have seen me. Or at least sensed me there."
"Why didn't it?" Alec asks.
Just as I'm about to shrug I remember what I was doing. "I remember I was with a little blind girl. She got separated from her mother. I did my best to protect her. All I could think about was not being seen. I just wanted to make sure the little girl didn't get hurt."
"This is news to us," Magnus places his hands on his hips.
I make a face. "Can nothing be personal?"
"Not during this point in time," Magnus looks at his nails.
Jace moves in front of me and places his hands on my shoulders. "Stay focused, Clary. What do we do? Where are we supposed to go? Those demons won't stay up there forever. They will attack."
I squeeze my eyes shut and try to think. I've had years of practice of thinking on the fly. Winging it is what I do best. My IQ is higher than most people my age. I can think of something. Then it finally clicks in my head. I open my eyes. "During my astral projection there was a light that surrounded my body. I think that's the key."
Jace's eyes narrow slightly. "When you fought the Greater Demon it was the same light. What do you think it's from?"
"Maybe the angel blood in you?" Simon puts in.
I nod slowly. "That may be true, but I don't really know how to tap into that power. Arcadia said it was something that I would need to learn to control. I don't know anything about it."
Before anyone can respond, a piercing shriek interrupts out quiet conversation. We look up to see the bird demons diving down at us. We duck out of the way. I reach down for my seraph blade. The others reach for their weapons as well.
I whisper the name. "Raziel."
The seraph blade lights up. A demon bird comes down to attack me. I take a deep breath before swing my arm up and plunge the seraph blade into the bird demon's chest. As it flies by I keep my arm firm and hold the seraph blade in place causing a long, angry, line to form from its chest to the abdomen.
I feel blood fall onto my face. I use my hand to wipe it away. When I turn back to the others they're still fighting. Jace being the exception. For some reason it looks like he's moving five times faster than the rest of them. It looks like they're having a really hard time getting through the thick skin the demons seem to have.
Well, that's weird. I had absolutely no trouble with the demon I took down. Jace sees me then glances over at the dead demon at my feet. He runs over. "How the hell did you get through that skin? It's tough as hell."
I shrug. "I don't know. I just did. How are you moving like that?"
"Like what?" Jace tilts his head.
"You're moving fast as hell and you really don't notice it?" I cross my arms.
"No," Jace frowns slightly.
Before I can say anything else I hear Isabelle cry out in pain. I look to see a bird demon digging it's claws into her shoulder. Jace runs over faster than anyone I've ever seen before. He tries to cut the leg holding Isabelle, but it's too tough.
I finally get there and swing at the leg. My blade slices right through. The bird demon screeches in pain and flies up into the sky. Isabelle drops to her knees while holding her shoulder. Jace pulls out his steel and draws a rune on Isabelle's shoulder.
The rune works its magic and the wound begins to heal. Jace looks back at me. "Okay, now that I think about it. I am faster than most. What's the big deal? You're stronger, apparently."
"This is getting frustratingly weird," I mutter.
Jace shuffles his feet then looks up at the sky. He squints his eyes. "They're going away. It won't be long before more of them come back. Let's get moving and find some shelter. Bloodsucker, be useful and help Izzy walk."
Simon wraps his arm around Isabelle and helps her to her feet. Alec has a gash on his arm and some scratches at other places. Magnus looks unruffled. I guess that's a perk of magic. Magically cleaning yourself and healing yourself. And no hand to hand combat. Sucks for him.
We agree with Alec and start moving. I make sure to keep my eyes open for anything. I can see things moving in buildings. The walls look really distorted and disturbing.
Jace grabs my hand. "Don't pay attention to it. It will only make it worse."
By the look of it Jace is having a hard time not looking too. He has his jaw set and his eyes are locked ahead of him. I interlace our fingers and hold on tight. I don't think I've ever felt like this before. Maybe it's because this time we're in a situation where I could most definitely die. I know what to expect. Sort of.
As we're moving down a vaguely familiar street the sky fades from red and returns to a dull grey color. Everyone lets out a relieved sigh. I turn to the others. "It's over and we made it through…this time."
"How many times is this going to happen?" Jace asks.
I shake my head. "I don't know. It's already happened before and I'm pretty sure it's going to happen again. It's only a matter of time. We need to find good shelter before then or things are going to get really difficult. How are you holding up, Izzy?"
Isabelle grunts. "Fine."
I give Isabelle a look. "That isn't good enough, Izzy. If you're really not feeling up to walking you need to say something. You're no use to us if you can't even manage to walk."
Isabelle throws me a look. "Thanks for the compassion, Clary. I'm fine. I mean it. Let's just fine some cover."
Knowing Isabelle, she's not going to give it a break until we find a proper place to rest. I look around carefully. It looks like New York, but not quite the same. I lick my lips. "I think the best place to go is underground. Maybe the subway. We don't get attacked from above and we're able to control our surroundings if we do get attacked again."
They nod in agreement. Jace leads the way to the nearest subway. I'm too focused on other things. I'm trying to figure this place out. The last time I experienced this place I didn't make it through the Red Zone. This is a whole other feeling.
When we finally get to a subway station we go in immediately. It's a lot darker and eerie looking than what I remember. I lead everyone to a place where we can hide in the shadows a little better.
Once we all get settled in I sit by Jace and lean against his shoulder. "How are we going to get out of this place?"
Jace shakes his head and puts his arm around my shoulders. "I don't know, but we need to. We need to get out of this city and get to Alicante if we want any real answers on why everyone is disappearing. All of this is too much to be a coincidence."
"There's no such thing," I murmur.
Jace arches an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? You're not only a shadow hunter, but your part werewolf and half angel. On top of that you're an ex-assassin. You've seen more crap than any of us here. Well maybe Magnus is an exception of course. Other than that, is it really that hard to believe in coincidences?"
"Do you believe in coincidences?" I give Jace a look.
Jace looks forward. "Nope."
"Then who the hell are you to lecture me on believing in it or not," I give Jace a look.
"It's fun seeing you confused and annoyed," Jace wraps both of his arms around me. "It's like watching an angry kitten."
I pout. "That's not funny."
Jace leans down and kisses my cheek. "All I'm saying is that you can be as adorable as a kitten. Like you can be a sexy vixen at other times."
My face turns red and I punch Jace on the arm. He laughs and rubs his arm where I hit him. I lean against the wall and pull my legs up to my chest. I sigh and try to figure out what we're going to do now. We obviously can't stay here forever.
Before I start thinking about all the horrible things that could go wrong I stand and head back to the entrance of the subway. Jace calls out to me. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to check things out before I go insane from sitting around so much," I climb up the steps.
"Be careful!" Jace calls back.
I make sure my seraph blade is in my hand as I come up into the open. I take in a deep breath. It smells like death. This isn't the first time I've smelt it. This brings back depressing memories from the time I was self-destructing after losing my mom. It's not a good feeling.
Staying just at the entrance of the subway isn't going to get me anywhere. So I step away and walk down the street at a steady pace. As I get further down the street I hear something. I stop in my tracks to listen closely.
It comes again. It sounds like something hitting metal. I press my back against a wall and look around the corner. I narrow my eyes at what I see. It's a person. Most likely female. It looks like she's trying to get into a store using a crowbar, but failing miserably.
For a second I consider helping her out, but then I feel the ground start moving under my feet. I look up and see the sky fading to red. My eyes widen. I turn to see the girl running in the opposite direction. I don't have time to consider where she might be going. I turn and sprint back to the subway the others are at.
As I approach it I notice those bird demons coming out of nowhere again. The buildings start to get an eerie feeling to them. Some even start to ooze blood out the windows. I ignore it and keep on running. There's no time to be distracted.
When I finally see the subway I see Jace standing at the entrance. He sees me and moves toward me. Then the bird demons screech and make a dive at me.
I duck and roll out of the way. The bird demons go after Jace. I grab my seraph blade and run toward Jace. Just as I'm about to say the seraph blade's name I feel a sharp pain in my shoulder. I look up and my eyes widen. What I see shocks me to say the least.
This isn't a normal demon. There's an aura about it that I can't seem to pin to anything, but pure evil. My mouth opens in shock then the pressure and pain in my shoulder increases.
The demon overhead looks like nothing I've ever seen. It has large wings, that look bat-like, and large tentacle looking things that sway back and forth. There's really no face, but I can see it's two eyes.
What's grabbing my shoulder is a claw that seems to have come out of a mouth at it's base. It's digging into my shoulder completely. I lift the seraph blade and whisper its name. "Raziel!"
The seraph blade glows with its pure power. I swing upwards at the claw, but it only gets buried in it. The demon cries out in pain and squeezes even more. I gasp at the pain.
When I look down I see Jace staring in horror. I reach out with my only good hand. Then the demon lifts me up into the air. My shoulder hurts even more with the weight of my body added onto it. I clench my teeth at the pain.
I'm lifted even further into the air. I use the seraph blade to try and cut the claw off me, but it's too strong. I look down at Jace. He's trying to break away from Simon and Alec who are trying to hold him back. I feel a burning feeling in my chest when I see the look in Jace's eyes.
The feather I gave Jace is glowing brightly with golden light. I feel a tear run down my face. I reach out even though I know I can't touch him. I see Jace fall to his knees as tears track down his face.
I feel my heart tearing in half as I'm torn away from the person I love. I gasp at the hollow feeling I have in my chest. Never in my life have I ever felt this kind of pain before. A pain I can't help, but let out like I've never done before.
"JACE!"