So, I've got a few exams next week and the studying might disrupt my writing schedule, but I hope to have the next chapter posted no more than a few days late. Also, I have been toying with the idea of a TMI and Harry Potter crossover, so that might be published after my spring break instead of the LOTR…but I haven't decided yet.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jace

They rode for hours in silence, following the wide, paved road that led from Alicante and weaved its way into the country. Jace had once dreamed of the slopping hills, the grass bending gently in the breeze, the trees, the first touch of the autumn on their green leaves; this had been the home of Jace's childhood. Now, as he saw astride a horse, bound so tightly he couldn't move and gagged to stop any sound from escaping him, he found himself plunged into a nightmare.

He's taken everything from you now: your friends, your childhood, even your family. Jace swallowed and had to keep his anger in check. You never even knew your family because of him, and even now, even when they are all long dead, he keeps them from you.

Jace aimed his furious gaze ahead at Jonathan who was sitting straight in the saddle, and who seemed so smug and satisfied with his own life. Just seeing him sent another surge of hatred through Jace because it was this man who had murdered his brother. This was the person who got to live while the ashes of little Max Lightwood were spread far and wide by the four winds. Jace felt such an uncontainable urge to attack Jonathan that he lurched in the saddle, knocking into Clary.

Contain yourself! Jace snarled at himself. Control your emotions! This isn't the time or the place to lose your head. Clary had twisted around to look at Jace and he gave her the smallest of reassuring smiles. You need to keep your head about yourself if you're going to protect Clary; she's going to need you.

As Clary relaxed against Jace, he felt himself gain a bit of control over the furious beast inside him, but still it lingered, and he knew without a doubt that Jonathan's dark nature was trying to reach out and claim him. He pushed back, trying to turn all his focus on Clary, and trying to push away the anger he felt.

Be careful, be so careful. If you get too angry the connection with Jonathan might consume you.

As the continued, Jace mulled over his strange, relationship with Jonathan, and began to worry that it might have been growing, becoming more parasitic. He knew that being tied to Alec had been like having a second part to his soul; he had felt warmth, affection, a sense of belonging that had tied him to the Lightwoods. With Jonathan, he felt only fury and loneliness, and a sense that no one in the world could understand him. It concerned him that he could be so easily turned to anger, but at the same time, he reveled in the excitement and the feeling of power that was thrumming through him.

And still they rode. They had long since passed through the vestiges of Alicante and were now surrounded by nothing but trees. Jace had never known the lay of the land well in Alicante since Valentine had never allowed him to travel within Idris, but he knew just by looking around that they were well into the country and were soon going to be far beyond hope of rescue. After more time had passed, after hours of uncomfortable riding, Jonathan called them to a halt and their horse pulled alongside his.

"There's a bend in the road ahead, and just around that, you'll see your new home." He smiled slyly at the two of them. "I think you'll find it most hospitable."

Clary made a face. "It'd be more hospitable if you weren't around."

Jonathan turned a look on Clary that was enough to silence her and enough to make Jace squirm. "Trust me, Clary, I have no desire to be in this place with you either. Were it my way, Father would have whipped both you and Jace within an inch of your life and let me have my say with you in Alicante. Unfortunately, I'm stuck here, in the middle of nowhere, with two brats."

Jonathan turned his horse and spurred it forward before Clary respond and Jace nuzzled his cheek against his hair. They trailed behind Jonathan as their horses rounded the bend in the road, and the trees gave way to the sight of their new home. It was a handsome home, not too large, but spacious enough to fit three people comfortably. There were two stories and what looked like an attic room, large lawns that spread out before it, and a sizable pond deep enough for a person to swim in was glimmering in the sun. It was surrounded on almost all sides by forest, and Jace couldn't see into the shadows.

This is certainly the place Valentine would lock Clary and I up: far away from searching eyes, a place no one will find unless they look.

"Home sweet home," said Jonathan with disdain, and then moved forward.

As they approached the house, Jace searched the nearest thicket, and knew that reaching it might provide them with cover, but they were too far from any help. Instead he allowed Jonathan to pull their horse to a halt and waited from the other boy dismounted and came to them. Clary struggled when Jonathan took both her wrists in one hand and cut her loose, but he twisted them painfully and she went slack.

"I'm not having any more of this childish nonsense. Valentine might have been more accepting of it, just to appease Jocelyn, but I won't be. Now, be a good girl and behave yourself while I untie Jace." Jonathan swung Clary off the saddle and dropped her unceremoniously to the ground. She watched while Jonathan freed Jace, who managed to avoid Jonathan's grasp and jumped from the horse, landing lightly on the ground.

As he helped Clary to her feet Jonathan said, "Good. You two can unload the other horse while I send a message to Father." He eyed them unkindly. "Get on it!"

While he headed off for the house, Jace dusted Clary off and cupped his face in his hands. "You're alright then?"

"Jace, I'm fine," she said, but her wrists were stinging where Jonathan had twisted them.

"Stay here, I'll take care of the bags," Jace said, but as soon as he moved away, Clary reached out and snatched his arm.

"We need to get out of here, Jace," said Clary, looking speculatively at the horses. "We could ride out of here now, get my mom-"

"The horses are too tired," said Jace, patting the horse before him that flicked its ears. "Besides, Jonathan will get a message to Valentine before we can get to your mother."

Clary looked desperately between Jace and the house. "But we can't stay here."

"I don't think we have a choice at the moment," said Jace and he heaved a pack off the horse. "If we give it just a little bit of time, we should be able to formulate a new plan, maybe figure out a way to escape."

"We just have to wait?" Clary sounded outraged, and Jace hated when she was distressed. "Valentine could be doing anything to my mother and we're just going to sit here and wait?"

"We haven't got many options," said Jace, resigned. "Even if we could escape Jonathan's grasp, how would we fight off Valentine to free your mother? I'm sure he's used some runes to bind her to the house, and I'm sure she's been forced to give some oath. We'd have to kill him, and I don't think either you or I are in fit condition to fight him in."

Clary bit her lip. "Jace…I hate just waiting."

Jace flung the last of the packs to the ground and the horse whinnied in relief. He joined Clary and pulled her into a warm embrace, kissing her hair. "So do I, but we can do it. It can't be too long, can it? I'm sure the Lightwoods and Luke and Magnus and Simon are even now planning our escape."

The doors behind them opened and Jonathan came out, glowering at the sight of them looking so close. "By the Angel, I hope they hurry."

"Didn't I say to take those things inside?" Jonathan shot at Jace, coming down to them.

"No," said Jace insolently.

Jonathan's eyes flashed momentarily. "Get this place fit for living. Clary, you're coming with me."

Jace snatched Clary back against him almost as soon as she had shifted toward her brother. "I'm not leaving her alone with you."

"Yes, you are, because I'm taking her into the backyard to train her and you're going to get my room ready, start dinner, and get this place clean."

"Like hell I am," Jace snapped.

"I'll help Jace with the cleaning," offered Clary, loathe to be alone with an angry Jonathan.

"You're coming with me," said Jonathan evenly and he grabbed a hank of Clary's hair, tugging her from Jace. As he turned away, Jonathan tossed over his shoulder, "By the time we come back, there'd better be some food ready."

Jace watched them go and part of him wanted to race after them, but he knew chasing after them wouldn't help Clary. Instead, he thought that exploring the house might serve to help them, as well as to pick through Jonathan's belongings. Jace shouldered one back and then grabbed another and entered the Manor house.

It wasn't nearly as grand as the town house, but there was a certain elegance to it that reminded him of something Valentine might like. The floors were polished wood and the walls, dark paneled. Upon entering Jace was given a view into a wide hall with four branching rooms and, directly across from him, a stair and entrance to the basement. He chose the room on the left and peeked through the open doors. It was sitting room with an empty grate and a few couches under covers. The room after that was a study, smaller than Valentine's, but more cozy. A fire had been lit there, and Jace supposed Jonathan had used this to send a message. Backing out of this room, he crossed the hall to the room opposite and found a kitchen with a walk through to the dining room. He glanced around the shelves and noted that the cooking utensils seemed cleaned, so it seemed that Valentine had indeed taken this home from previous owner not long before. The dining room contained one table fit to seat four, five at most, and a closed cabinet held some nice glassware.

Up the stairs that creaked, and Jace found himself in a narrow hall with four doors. The first door on the right was a bedroom with a sizable bed and cold hearth. A rug had been tossed on the floor between the bed and fire as if to make it more hospitable, and a desk was pushed against the wall beneath a large window that looked down on the front drive. Opposite the desk Jace saw a wardrobe into which he threw the bag containing his and Clary's things.

The next door over was a bathroom, its floor tiled and pained a pleasant blue. It, too, looked out on the front lawns. The final room on the right was another bedroom, much smaller than the first, with a single, twin bed and a wood stove instead of a fireplace. Jace wondered why there was no hearth, but it might have served originally as a small study or storage room, and so was in need of constant heat.

The other door, the only one on the left of the hall, opened to an expansive bedroom. A large, raised bed was pushed against the left wall, and an enormous hearth was waiting for a fire to be lit. It had its own attached bath, wardrobe, book cases, and large, sturdy desk. Carelessly, Jace threw Jonathan's things on the floor and relished the sound of something clanging loud in protest. He moved over to one of the two sets of windows and looked down on the back yard.

He saw first that the back yawn was enormous, and stretched far away until it met the thick forest. To the east of the house was the large pond where a few ducks were splashing about. There was a small stable to the west and a kennel for dogs. He was just wondering if there were any dogs left when he spotted the two moving figures that were a ways back, in a patch of flattened grass.

Clary was tiredly swinging a sword much too large for her and Jonathan was easily parrying the blows. When Clary overreached herself, Jonathan smashed the hilt of his blade down on her outstretched arm and she cried out in pain. Horrified, Jace watched while Clary fell to the ground, clutching her broken arm and Jonathan placed the tip of his sword under her delicate chin. He saw her spit something at him, probably blood, and then Jonathan's face darken before he brought his hand back and struck her across the face.

"Clary…" Jace muttered under his breath before fleeing the room and forgetting all the packs waiting to be sorted. He rushed down the stairs and out the front door, his feet carrying him swiftly to Clary and Jonathan.

Isabelle

"You alright?" Simon asked quietly while they waited for a taxi.

Isabelle stirred at the sound of Simon's voice and peeked at him from behind the curtain of her hair. "It's strange being back here…I didn't think the world could still be normal after everything."

"Life goes on," observed Simon, and then drew a bit closer to Isabelle. "Are you sure you're alright, you look like you're going to be sick."

Isabelle swiveled to look Simon head on. "You're one to talk. When was the last time you had any blood?"

"A day ago, I swear," said Simon, holding up his hands. "I just look bad because of all the time I spent without blood. I'll get better."

"Valentine was cruel to do that," Isabelle sniffed, studying Simon's face closely.

"He was cruel to do a lot of things," Simon intoned softly. "But it won't matter; we'll be able to fix everything soon."

"Where are we going?" Isabelle wondered while Luke and Magnus continued to try and hail a cab.

"Magnus's apartment," Simon replied.

"Why? I thought we weren't going back to our homes?"

Simon shrugged. "Magnus wants to grab a few things, and Luke thinks that if anyone goes looking for Magnus or him, they'll check there and pick up their trail. Besides, look at us." Simon looked down at his own tattered clothes and Isabelle's very out of place dress. "We need food and new clothes; Magnus says we can stay a few hours, just long enough to get us some of both. But Luke said when the sun goes down he wants us on the move again."

"Any idea where we're going yet?" Isabelle wondered.

"They're thinking of finding an apartment to let for a bit while we regroup." Simon looked skeptical of finding a lease in the middle of year. "Who knows, maybe Magnus can use his magic to get us one."

Isabelle raised one eyebrow. "You really have no idea how magic works, do you?"

Simon smiled sheepishly. "Not a clue."

"One day you'll have to figure it out," she laughed, and Alec looked back her way, surprised at hearing his sister laugh. She caught him looking at her and shrugged. "Any idea where we're going?"

"It won't be that long at Magnus's," he said just as a cab pulled up. "Come on."

They piled into the cab and pressed against each other, and Magnus gave the driver instructions to his apartment. As they passed through the city, Isabelle was again taken by how normal everything seemed. She watched people walking down the street, laughing and taking, and saw happy faces, and watched children running after their parents.

How can the world be so normal when everything is so wrong? she wondered, a pang of guilt rushing through her. This can't be right.

A few minutes later they came to stop outside Magnus's house and they slipped out into the early evening. Magnus paid the driver and waited until no one was watching before he tapped casually on the door. He seemed to be waiting for some sign, and after a minute, he nodded and unlocked the door.

"I'm going to go ahead of all of you, and if I tell you to turn back, do it," said Magnus over his shoulder, and then took the stairs up.

Isabelle wondered what they might find in his apartment, and worried that his home would have remained untouched, as if nothing had ever happened, and how awful she would feel if his life had been unchanged. She reached out and took Simon's hand, and after a moment, Simon squeezed back and pulled her closer to him. Ahead of them, Magnus had come to the entrance to the apartment proper, and was toying with something on the door, presumably the lock, and then something clicked and the door swung too.

"Is it safe?" Isabelle heard Alec ask softly.

Magnus turned to answer, but at that moment, a loud snarl broke the silence and Magnus whipped around. Simon grabbed Isabelle and physically placed her behind him just as Luke rushed forward, waving his arms. Alec ran after Magnus, who had entered the apartment, and Isabelle pressed Simon onward.

Valentine's sent a demon, he knew we'd come! thought Isabelle, wishing she had a knife on her. He'll be waiting for us. He'll take Alec and I and kill the others!

"Alec, no!" she cried, and rushed after her brother.

Isabelle caught a glimpse of Magnus's apartment, and it was still in proper order, before Simon had caught her again. But this time, neither of them moved. Assembled before them, covering all the furniture and much of the floor space, were werewolves. Isabelle looked and saw that Luke was talking rapidly to a woman with her back turned, but Isabelle knew that wild hair anywhere.

"Maia?" Isabelle asked, disbelieving.

She turned slowly on the spot and smirked at Isabelle's rough appearance. "It's about time you got here, girl."

Clary

"If you think I'm going to cry," Clary began, clutching her face where Jonathan had hit her, "you've got another thing coming."

"I didn't really expect you to cry, no. You've never had much sense as far as your own well-being was concerned. I am expecting your lover to show up though. In fact, I'm counting on it…it'll make things so much more interesting."

"Leave Jace out of this," Clary hissed, and pulled herself up onto her knees.

"Leave him out of it?" Jonathan looked scandalized. "Jace is my brother, my parabatai, my brother-in-arms, how could I leave him out of anything?"

"You're sick, you know that?" Clary returned, feeling for her sword. "Do you know how much you hurt Jace? You're supposed to help him, but you're like poison."

"I think Father already discussed this with you, and it's you, Clarissa, who is the poison." Jonathan looked down on Clary pitilessly, and she knew he was thinking of something else horrible he could do. "By the Angel, the sooner Father gets here and lets me leave, the better. I can't imagine what it's like to be stuck with you two all day and night."

"Why don't you just go now, then? Leave Jace and I alone?" Clary's fingers closed on the hilt of the sword. "I'm sure Valentine would understand when he arrived."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Clary smiled widely at that and Jonathan glowered. "First, do you think I don't see you reaching for that sword?" Jonathan foot snapped out and connected with her hand, causing her to bother gasp in pain and her hand snapped back, and drop the sword. "Second, Father likes me, and I have no intention of losing his favor. I spent enough of my life trapped in a miserable little hovel like this growing up, and I'm in interested in doing it again."

Clary, clutching her hand, wondered if Jonathan really was bitter about his upbringing, and if he really was so against living in the country. "Sounds like a phobia."

Jonathan smirked. "Sounds like lover boy is coming."

Clary paused in her rapid thinking and listened, and, sure enough, could head Jace's easy loping. "Leave him alone," she said one last time, but Jonathan just smiled.

"And here's little brother now, gosh, I've been looking forward to this." Clary opened her mouth to warn Jace, but Jonathan snatched her up and clamped a hand over her mouth. "And just in time, too, things were going sour with me and Clary."

"Let her go," said Jace, and Clary noticed how terse he sounded. His eyes were locked on her, and though there was no weapon in his hands, his fists were clamps tight like he was holding a dagger.

"Valentine was very clear and what Clarissa was to learn and how she was to be punished if she failed," said Jonathan with a sad smile. "I take no pleasure in this, I assure you."

"I said, let her go," Jace repeated, and Clary saw his weight shift slowly, readying to spring forward.

Clary tried to break Jonathan's grip but he clung tighter; desperate, she bit his hand. Jonathan snarled, releasing her and stared at his hand which was glowing angry red. "You bit-"

"Jace, don't! He's trying to trap you," cried Clary, and she tugged uselessly on her wrist, still tightly held in Jonathan's grasp. "Just go!"

Jace's eyes flashed to Jonathan who was opening and closing his bit hand and then he lunged forward, striking his hand on Clary. Jonathan snarled and Jace grabbed Clary by the arm and pulled her away. "Jace, no! He's just looking for an excuse to hurt you. Let me go, I can deal with him."

"I'm not leaving you with Jonathan, Clary," said Jace with a dark look. "Whatever he might have told you, I'm not in danger from him. He can't kill me-"

"He can't kill me either," said Clary, still trying to free herself from Jace. They had almost reached the front door. "Jace. Jace, listen to me!" She dug her heels into the dirt of the front drive and he turned to look at her like she was crazy. "You can't keep rushing out to save me every time I'm in danger."

"Then what do you want me to do?" Jace demanded. "Just stand to the side and let Jonathan or Valentine hurt you?"

"Well, what about me?" Clary said fiercely. "You think I like watching you suffer because of me? Valentine is trying to punish me, and he's already taken my mom away; he's targeting all the people I care about."

"He's doing the same to me-"

"Not everything is about you, Jace," Clary said sharply. "Please, listen to me for once: you need to let me handle this."

Jace looked like he was in pain, and Clary knew she was trying his trying all his patients just asking him this. "Clary…I promised your mother I'd protect you."

"Well, I promised myself I'd protect you," she said evenly. Jace's eyes darted from her face to see Jonathan coming their way, his face dark. She grabbed his chin and forced him to look back into her eyes. "Please, don't do this."

Jace couldn't hold her gaze, but slowly, regretfully, he nodded.


It didn't turn out to be nearly as bad as Clary had thought it could be. Maybe it was because Clary had forced herself to look on dispassionately while he threatened Jace, and hit him upside the head for not getting the house ready, but when Jonathan turned to her, he only took her hand and cut it with a hunting knife. She gasped as her blood flowed over her palm and dribbled onto her shirt, but didn't yell back at him. He had sneered that it was what she deserved for acting like an animal, but when she glared back, keeping her mouth shut, he pocketed the knife. Afterward, he sent both Jace and Clary to set the house to rights while he retired to the study, and they found their way to the room they would be sharing.

"Give me your hand," said Jace the moment the door was closed and he took it before she could protest. His eyes flicked over it, assessing the damage, and after a moment, curled her fingers around her palm and pressed it gently into his own. "It isn't too deep, but we'll need to bandage it."

"It was fine," said Clary defensively, and she glanced around the room. It was smaller than their last, and a bit barer of comforts. "So, what do you think of our new accommodations? I suppose you've already done some crazy reconnaissance mission?"

Jace smiled at her as he dug around one of their bags and removed a roll of gauze. He waved her over and took her hand in his. "Well, after careful consideration from the view I got from the bedroom window, I can safely say we are right about in the middle of nowhere."

"But that's the best part of nowhere, right?" Clary asked, and her lips quirked up as Jace watched her.

"Ideal if you don't want to be found," he said, and though he was still smiling, there was a look of worry in his eyes as he watched Clary's blood seep through the bandages around her hand.