Nobody stopped them on their way to Hotel Dumort.
Jonathan's Shadowhunters made sure their master's path was clear of any obstacles. Whenever they came across a single vampire or a group of them, a few Shadowhunters remained behind to fight them while the rest of the army continued to move towards their destinatin. When they finally reached the hotel, there were only Jonathan, Clary and Victoria left.
The hotel was dusty and dark, the air in it stifling. The only source of light was the witchlight in Jonathan's hand. But Victoria wasn't afraid of it. She wasn't worried about the possibility that a few vampires could still be in there, feeding or just guarding the lair. She knew that, if necessary, Jonathan would protect them. He would protect Clary, who was his primary concern, anyway. Victoria knew she herself wasn't important to Jonathan because he had no use of her, but didn't care much about it. She wasn't offended or scared. She was just there, following the Morgenstern siblings, like she was a ghost curious about what would happen. Though, it wasn't curiosity that kept her going, but the lack of idea about what she could really do with her life now.
As they were walking through the hotel, it became obvious that nobody was there. They searched every part of it and found nothing until they reached the final floor. Only one vampire was there, lying on the floor and not showing any sign of life. When they came closer, it was Clary who recognized her.
"Maureen!" She yelled, running towards the body.
Jonathan didn't even try to stop her. His eyes wandered around the room, looking for any sign of trap or danger.
"Looks like they're all having fun in the town." He concluded with malicious grin.
"She's alive!" Clary called out to them. "They've tortured her! She needs blood!"
"I'm sorry, dear sister, but I don't waste my blood on the likes of her." Jonathan pointed at Maureen's body with scorn in his features. "She can die right here; I won't shade a tear."
Victoria noticed Clary's eyes looking at her, begging her. They were asking her to give her blood to this vampire girl named Maureen. Victoria didn't know Maureen at all and even if she did, there was no reason for her to tire herself out with a loss of blood. She was maybe indifferent about everything, but she still had the basic instinct; to stay alive no matter the cost. Everything that lived wanted to stay that way and she wasn't any different.
"Please, Victoria." Clary whispered. "I know her. I have to help her. Please."
But I don't. Victoria wanted to say, but the words never left her mouth.
Sacrificing a small amount of her blood so somebody else could live was the right thing to do. She still knew that. Even though it was hard to fight the instinct, she forced her legs to approach Clary and the girl.
Clary's green eyes filled with relief.
"Thank you."
"She doesn't seem capable of drinking." She pointed at Maureen, paying no attention to Clary's gratefulness. It wouldn't do anything to save the girl's life.
Clary looked at the girl in her arms and then back at Victoria, panicked because she obviously didn't know the solution to this problem.
But the solution is so obvious. Victoria thought, though not annoyed. She just needs to remember what he has become.
"Bite me." She stretched her arm out towards Clary. "Your fangs will pierce my skin and we'll pour the blood into her mouth."
At first, Clary looked completely shocked. But, she realized soon it was the only thing they could do. She had the ability to execute it.
She took Victoria's left hand into her own, carefully moving her arm like it could fall off her shoulder. Victoria knelt next to her to make herself more comfortable. Clary glanced at the veins on Victoria's wrist, then looked her in the eyes. Victoria nodded her permission and Clary bit.
But the newly made vampire wasn't able to stop on piercing her skin. When her lips touched the blood, she was lost. The red-haired girl forgot who the blood was for or how much it could hurt Victoria. It was obvious that she remembered only the word 'blood', that it was her entire world.
Victoria felt weakness overwhelming her as she lost blood. Pain streamed through her arm and was reaching every part of her body. Feeling pain was completely different than feeling love or hatred. Pain refused to be ignored.
"Clary, stop it!" She commanded loudly, trying to set her arm free from Clary's fangs.
But Clary didn't let her go. Her lips were as if glued to Victoria's arm. No matter what she did or how much she tried, she just couldn't separate them.
Suddenly, there was another pair of hands. One grabbed Victoria's forearm, the other Clary's forehead. They separated the two of them as easy as they would tear up a piece of paper.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Jonathan's black eyes looked at her with an emotion she had trouble linking to him – surprise. "Not a move I'd expect from a person who relies on pure logic."
"Clary wanted to give my blood to this vampire girl." Victoria pointed at Maureen with her right hand, the one Jonathan wasn't holding. "She was obviously too attracted to it herself. She's a young vampire, she can't control her urges yet."
"I know that." Jonathan let both of them go. "That's why you should stay away from my sister."
When they looked at Clary, the red-haired girl was just becoming aware of what had happened. Her eyes widened and she turned her face away from Victoria and her wrist that still bled.
"I'm so sorry." Clary's sobbing filled the room. "Are you alright? I…I…"
"I'm fine." Victoria interrupted her, knowing that there was not much to say.
Despite the unexpected loss of blood, she still felt strong enough to give some of it to Maureen. She leaned her wrist against Maureen's lips and moved it slowly, trying to make the drops of blood fall into the girl's mouth.
Their plan worked. Maureen instinctively licked her lips and her eyes suddenly opened. But before she could be the next one who tried to suck all the blood from Victoria's veins, Jonathan's hands grabbed her head and held it on the floor.
"Not so fast, little vampire." He grinned down at the girl.
Maureen's fangs showed up immediately as she hissed at Jonathan like a beast.
"I'll drink all your blood." She threatened, but her hoarse voice kept it from sounding convincing. "When I'm done with you, you won't have a single drop left."
Jonathan's features relaxed in amusement.
"Even if your strength was on its top, you still couldn't beat me." He laughed. "So, give those empty threats up."
"Let me drink one of your friends' blood and we'll see who is stronger." Maureen growled, but when her eyes looked first at Clary and then at Victoria, probably to see which girl looked tastier, they widened in shock.
"It's impossible." She stared at Victoria. "You're dead. I killed you."
Three pairs of eyes now stared at her. Victoria remembered how Magnus and the vampire had called her. She looked exactly like the powerful vampire named Camille Belcourt, a former leader of New York's vampire clan.
She could use that fact, if not to her own, then to their advantage.
"As you can see, I'm not dead." She said, trying to remember what her old self would say or do in this situation. "And if you do as I say, I won't punish you for that poor attempt of murder."
"You have no right to punish me!" Maureen shrieked as loudly as she could. "I'm the leader of this clan now!"
"A leader who has been tortured by members of her own clan." Somehow, Victoria managed to produce a tone that sounded like sarcasm. "Much of a clan leader you are."
"Shut up!" If Jonathan didn't hold her, Maureen would probably start hitting the floor with her hands and feet like a spoiled child whose parents had refused to buy her a new toy.
"Listen to me." Victoria came closer and leaned over her, but not too close, so Maureen wouldn't notice that she had a pulse. "You'll go to the city and give my message to the vampires."
"Never!" Maureen spat, trying to set herself free, but not succeeding. "The vampires won't listen to me! They'll kill me!"
"I see you've finally come to your senses." Victoria said coldly. "But, you'll deliver the message if you don't want me to kill you right now. Your hopes of survival lie with the vampires in town, not here with us."
Maureen roused for a few more moments, but Jonathan's hands were too strong. She was helpless and bound to their desires.
"Alright, what's the bloody message?" She shot Victoria furious, but obedient gaze.
"Tell them to gather here." Victoria said – ordered. "Tell them I'm summoning them."
"And what if they don't want to come?" Maureen smirked maliciously.
"There's an offer they'll want to hear." She replied, not slightly irritated by the vampire girl's arrogant attitude. "An offer that includes enough of blood for everyone."
"He has to let me go first." Maureen glanced at Jonathan for a moment, but then her eyes returned to Victoria, to the person whom she thought to be Camille Belcourt.
Jonathan looked at Victoria and grinned, their position not allowing Maureen to see that grin. Victoria looked at him as she always did, coldly and indifferently.
"Let her go." She ordered, like their parts had changed somewhere in the meantime. "But if she tries anything I wouldn't like, kill her."
Clary inhaled suddenly, obviously shocked by Victoria's mercilessness, but Jonathan just smiled.
"As you wish, my lady." He moved away from Maureen, but in a way that allowed him to protect Victoria with his own body. He was a great actor, Victoria had to admit that, even when he played an obedient servant.
Maureen got up and looked at all three of them, licking her lips in the process. She was obviously hungry, but nobody could give her their blood. Jonathan refused to do it, Clary was a vampire and Victoria had to keep pretending she was one. But Maureen had obviously figured out Camille would never let her attack her servants, so she started walking towards the door.
Before the vampire could leave, another thing occurred to Victoria.
"Maureen." She called out and waited for the girl to turn around. "If you fail me, that'll be the last thing you'll ever do. Try not to escape before you complete the task I've given you. I expect my clan to be here in fifteen minutes at most."
There was a long silence after those words. Suddenly, there were only three of them in the room. Maureen's departure was completely soundless. The sound that interrupted the silence was Jonathan's laugh.
"Why have I ever bothered with you, Clary?" His eyes glanced at his sister, but then looked at Victoria. "I have everything I've ever needed in this girl here. I wouldn't have solved this as brilliantly as she has. She even looks like a dead vampire who was former leader of the New York's clan."
Victoria had to admit that for those few minutes while she had been talking to Maureen, she had felt almost not-indifferent. She had acted, she had pretended. It was the closest thing to feeling something since demon's blood had taken her feelings away. That was her situation now; pretending and feeling was almost the same thing now.
"Leave her alone." Clary growled at her brother. "She's suffered enough because of you. The last thing she needs is that you start feeling something for her."
Victoria looked at Jonathan. He didn't seem distracted by Clary's words, just amused.
"I've saved her from a vampire more than once. I've given her normal sight back. I've taken away feelings that she had loathed so much. How exactly has she suffered because of me?" His gaze captivated her own. He was talking to Clary, but his sister didn't exist for his eyes.
"She didn't loathe her feelings." Clary hissed. "Nobody except for you loathes one's own feelings."
"So, when you thought Jace was your brother and you loved him despite it, you didn't hate your feelings?" Jonathan laughed, but it didn't reach his cold eyes.
Clary didn't answer.
"As I understood from your conversation, she hated herself because she had kissed Jace." Jonathan continued the conversation, not giving Clary enough time to think of an answer. "She hated the feelings she had for him because he is your boyfriend. She thought it was wrong to feel them, but she couldn't get rid of them. So I did it for her. I've only done right by her, which isn't something a lot of people can say about me."
"And why is that?" Clary obviously wanted to make him feel uncomfortable, like he had made her, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Is it possible that she makes you feel something?"
Now it was Jonathan's turn to remain silent. His eyes were still on Victoria's face, like he was trying to find a trace of emotion, of an opinion about the possibility of him being in love with her. But Victoria didn't care if it was true or not. As far as she knew, Jonathan couldn't love, it was against his demonic nature. She couldn't feel anything, so it made no difference.
"I don't feel anything for her." Jonathan said finally. "It was a series of strange coincidences."
"Very strange coincidences indeed." Clary said. She was the only one amused now.
"Don't push it, little sister, or I'll show you how I'm perfectly prepared to kill my dearest Victoria." Jonathan's voice was mixture of fake sweetness, irony and threat.
"You won't kill me." Victoria decided to speak, maybe just to remind them that she was still there. "No matter how far Clary pushes it. You still need me as Camille now."
Each for their own reason, the Morgenstern siblings laughed.
"Even she knows you'll never execute your threat." Clary said sarcastically.
"Because she's way smarter than you, little sister." Jonathan grinned cunningly. "She knows to think of a good plan and how to use the events in her advantage. It's something we have in common. And it's something you and I will never have in common."
Clary stopped laughing immediately.
"There are lots of things you and I will never have in common." She hissed.
"That's true." Jonathan shrugged overdramatically. "I'll never be a Downworlder."
"You said you knew how to change me back." There was a mixture of hatred, panic and fear in Clary's voice.
"To be honest, I'm just guessing." Jonathan's eyes mocked her. "But my guesses are usually correct, so don't worry. Help me and I'll tell you how to change back."
"And why should I trust you?" Clary spat. "Every word you've ever said, not only to me, was a lie."
"Most of them were." Jonathan nodded. "But not all."
"An example, if you wouldn't mind?" It was strange how the fake sweetness looked exactly the same on Jonathan and Clary's face.
"I do mind." He shook his head. "And you'll trust me because you have no other choice. If you want to see your precious boyfriend again, you'll shut up and do as I say."
After a few moments of silence, Clary smirked ironically.
"You don't talk to Victoria like that." She continued to push the subject.
"Because she doesn't talk as much as you do." Jonathan replied coldly. "And I'm getting tired of you, little sister. I'll remind you that I don't need you for my plan anymore. You're still alive only because I allow it. But if you continue to annoy me, it'll be the last thing you'll ever do."
"You even talk like her." Clary's tone was casual, but her grin was not.
Jonathan's body tensed up from head to toe.
"Shut up, Clary." He growled and it was obvious that he barely restrained himself from lashing out. Clary's next words, if poorly chosen, might be her last ones.
You shouldn't show her that her words have angered you. Victoria thought, looking at Jonathan. She'll just mock you more. It's the only way for her to have revenge on you for what you've done to her. We all know it isn't actually true, so there's no point in being furious about it.
But at that moment the difference between her and Jonathan was clear. She had lost every emotion and was led only by reason. He still had some of his emotions, the ones that suited his demonic nature, and he was still led by them. He could still feel hatred, greed, jealousy, anger.
The silence that had emerged among them was soon interrupted.
Men and women approached, their skins as white as Jonathan's hair, with hearts that didn't beat in their chests. They didn't even try to come closer in silence, relying on the fact the intruders in their lair were outnumbered. Blood of mundanes whom they had bitten created lines on their pale faces, but they didn't even try to wipe it away. Their eyes, brilliant like mirrors as they reflected the witchlight, stared mostly at Victoria, assuming she was one of them, the one they had used to obey.
She wasn't afraid of looking directly back at them. She looked at each vampire until he or she lowered her gaze in a gesture of respect or fear. It was strange that they didn't smell her human blood or hear her heart beating, but she guessed that Jonathan and Clary's presence deceived them. They expected to hear only two hearts beating and two pulses there were; they expected to smell two bloods that differed from theirs and both angels' and demons' blood there were.
Suddenly, one of the vampires came closer to her, kneeling in front of her. She hadn't expected it, but she kept her mask in place when the vampire spoke.
"Lady Camille." He said with his head bowed low. "You've come back to lead us. To lead us into victory against Shadowhunters."
Even those few vampires who had been talking among themselves fell silent.
Victoria knew her next words were decisive. If the vampires saw through the deception, they would kill them. Jonathan had ordered his Shadowhunters to remain outside the hotel while he talked to the vampires, but she guessed he hadn't expected to see the Night Children in such a great number. Not even he could beat them all and his Shadowhunters couldn't arrive on time.
This is your gamble, Jonathan. She glanced at him for a moment. He seemed calm, but his eyes were narrowed, like he was trying to find an escape route in case of trouble. Let's see if you're lucky.
"I haven't come to lead you." She said loudly for the whole room to hear her.
Vampires seemed surprised by her words. They started mumbling amongst themselves again. Victoria knew she had to draw their attention back to herself before they decided that she – or Camille – had betrayed them.
"I've come to witness the beginning of an alliance between the Night Children and Shadowhunters."
Suddenly, a deafening noise spread through the room. They called her 'traitor', demanded her imminent death. But Camille had obviously been very powerful when she had been among them because nobody dared execute any of the threats.
That gave her opportunity to continue.
"Maybe I haven't made myself clear enough." She said loudly, but still didn't shout. "It will be an alliance between vampires and Shadowhunters against Shadowhunters."
There was silence again. Then the vampire who was still kneeling in front of her spoke.
"Explain it to us, Lady Camille."
Victoria pointed at Jonathan, but her gaze remained focused on the gathered vampires.
"This is Jonathan Morgenstern." She said. "He and the Shadowhunters loyal to him will rise against the Clave."
"What does that have to do with us?" A vampire girl asked, but her voice shivered.
Victoria looked her directly in the eyes. The girl couldn't hold her gaze for more than a second.
"I'll let him tell you himself." She moved a step back, but the vampires were still looking at her, like fascinated. "This is a one-time offer. Listen carefully."