Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instruments series. Everything recognisable belongs to Cassandra Clare.
Warning: Chapter contains a few violent parts, just so you're informed about that.
Thank you so much for a bunch of nice reviews, I am so grateful that so many of you take the time to write such wonderful things. Thank you!
Clary woke up drenched in sweat, her heart pounding hard inside her ribcage. To her own surprise she'd fallen asleep in the most uncomfortable position. There had been no one else inside the room after Maggie left, and Clary was sure the five hour deal had passed a long time ago. She felt like she was back in the Institute, back before they knew who she was; tied up, beaten and hardly even conscious.
Clary wished she could've at least wiped the sweat away from her wet forehead, keeping the droplets from attacking her eyes.
The icy air surrounding her helped her already weak body wrecking itself even more.
Was this her father's plan? Destroying her, or making so useless and defenceless so that in the end, she wouldn't be able to resist his requests?
If that were his plans, Clary hoped she was strong enough to at least watch his rage twist into wrath and horror. Because Clary, she'd decided to never help that bastard again, and it would take more than just starving her and keeping her a prisoner in her own home to break her own oath.
xxxx
"What did my daughter tell you? Is she starting to soften yet, or will we have to go to more extreme methods to bring my old Clarissa back?" Valentine's black eyes met Magdalena's with an anger almost crossing paths with the words Maggie had heard Clary speak with earlier.
"I am afraid she's just as reluctant as she was when she came here." Maggie explained sadly.
"I see." Valentine nodded calmly, his gaze wandering through the room.
Maggie feared the nonchalant tone in her leader's voice, he'd been furious earlier that night after bringing Clary down to the basement. After watching how two of his men had died at the hands of his own daughter. The closest family he had. The only family he had. Maggie knew Valentine trusted Clarissa with his life, or at least he had until a few hours ago.
"Maggie dear." Valentine was dragged out of his mind, "Bring me Pangborn and Crowstone, I have a little job for them." He snapped his finger in the direction of the large doors.
"Crowstone? Are- are you sure?" Maggie asked nervously.
"When have I not been completely confident in my decisions Magdalena?" Valentine smiled a twisted smile, sending shivers down the former Iron Sister's back.
"Of course Valentine." Maggie nodded, hurrying out of the room.
xxxx
It was late, almost midnight when the woman stormed through the doors of the Institute's library. Her face showed the displeased expression they'd all feared, especially Jace. Watching her study him with intense eyes, a burst of emotions ran through the boy.
"I'm sorry." He mumbled, noticing how her gaze turned from anger to a more saddened expression. "Why do you always go through extreme measures to make sure your plan is going to work?" she asked, her voice softer than they'd all expected.
"Sorry." Jace replied once again, meeting his grandmother's gaze.
Stephen moved forward, saving his son from another long minute of great displeasure.
"What are you going to do?" He asked, crossing his arms.
"What do you want me to do?" Imogen's voice returned to the same stern voice Jace was so familiar with.
"Give us two days." It was Jocelyn who spoke up, taking a step towards the Inquisitor.
"Two days? For what?" Imogen asked.
"We can get Clary back, I'm sure we can." The nervous mother of the lost girl answered.
"And why would I give you even a minute to find that girl? She's with Morgenstern, she's where she belongs." Imogen answered angry, casting Jace a quick glance, revealing her reasons for being so hostile.
"She's not." Isabelle replied from the chair she sat in. "Clary left her father, that's why you managed to capture her in the first place, if she'd been under Valentine's protection while you attacked, do you really think any of this would've happened, because I think not!" Isabelle muttered angry.
"Okay, so you all think she's not loyal anymore. What differences does that make? She has still killed Shadowhunters, she still threatened the whole race of the Nephilim, Clarissa Morgenstern is part demon for crying out loud!" Imogen protested. "What makes you think that if I gave you two days to find her, the rest of our people would not start a rebellion?" She looked at Jocelyn while speaking, making the woman's blood burn hot in her veins, but before she could answer, Jonathan jumped up.
"The Mortal Cup." He said loudly.
"What about it?" Imogen snapped angry.
"Clary, she's got the Cup." Jon answered, "You can give us time to retrieve the cup."
The Inquisitor exhaled loudly, "How in the name of Raziel could she have the Mortal Cup, it's been lost since long before that girl could even walk."
"It's my fault." Jocelyn replied. She noticed the fury swiping through the woman's eyes.
"I'll give you twenty-four hours. Nothing more. You will retrieve the Mortal Cup, I don't care how you do it, just get it back. And trust me, I cannot guarantee your daughter's safety if you get her back as well." The vexed voice announced.
"Thank you." Jocelyn replied, not completely contented with what they'd gotten out of the old lady, but as for now, it was the best they could managed without breaking the law.
They finished their conversation with Imogen Herondale after almost twenty minutes. Jocelyn explaining how she'd accomplished keeping one of the Mortal Instruments hidden from everyone for so long. She also explained why they were so sure Clary was no longer with her father, telling her about how Valentine had manipulated, and tricked Clary into believing Jocelyn had been the one to abuse her as a child.
Jace shared a short gaze with the brother of the girl. Jon looked miserable listening to what his mother and Jace's mother explained. It was enough hearing it once, none of them really wanted to hear about it again.
After the Inquisitor left, they went right into planning the rescue mission. The first thing they needed to know was where between heaven and hell Clary was. And to find that out, they would have to find Morgenstern Manor.
"No, a tracking rune would be absolutely hopeless." Maryse explained as they sat around the table discussing. "First of all, I am pretty sure Clary did not leave anything she considered close to her in our possession, second we all know the manor is too well hidden. A simple tracking rune would not be of any use." The Lightwood mother sighed as the rest of the Nephilim in the room kept silent.
"How about magic? Maybe we could get a Warlock to help us?" It was Luke who asked in an assured voice.
"I don't think we'll get anyone willing to help us within twenty-four hours. And if we did, the time would be up before we could begin the spell." Stephen argued.
"Oh to hell with the time limit. I am not letting a resentful old lady decide whether or not my daughter lives!" Jocelyn replied harshly. "I'll get her back, there is no question to that!"
"Magic.." Jon mumbled. "We can use magic!"
Not speaking loud enough, only Alec and Jace, who sat closes to him was able to detect his words.
"How?" Alec asked interested.
"Remember how we found her last time? I am willing to bet that was some seriously advanced magic, don't you think some seriously advanced magic will be able to break through those protection runes? Because I think it's worth a shot." Jon grinned.
"We don't have the compass anymore Jon." Jace muttered, sending the boy an irritated glance.
"No, but we do know who has it." Jon raised his eyebrows in the direction of the dark-haired Shadowhunter next to him, "What do you say? Ready to put some charm on?" Jon smirked, seeing the glare Alec sent him.
"Okay." Alec answered, looking around the room, glad no one else had heard them talking.
"I can come with you." Jace told his parabatai, starting to get up.
"No. You should stay here." Alec answered, sending him a lopsided smile as he noticed the hurt expression on his best friend's face.
"Oh.. Okay." Jace smiled, but everyone in the room could see that it was not a very authentic smile. "Alec, we're good right?" Jace asked suddenly before the blue eyed boy could leave.
"Yeah." Alec sent him a confused smile, "People fight all the time Jace, it's not like I'm going to stop being your parabatai just because we disagreed on one stupid thing."
"Technically you can't just stop being my parabatai anyway.." Jace smirked, "Now, go be charming, go save the world!" Jace saw a grin crack on Alec's face.
"Shut up.." he stood up shaking his head, "And just for the record, I'm charming all the time." Alec smirked back, before he left the table.
"What was that about?" Izzy asked curiously.
"Alec is going to get the compass back from Magnus." Jon replied, "We think it'll tell us where Clary is, even if she's at the manor. It'll also tell us if she's not, which would be really good to know."
"That's pretty goddamn brilliant." Isabelle smiled.
xxxx
Clary felt a headache creeping up on her. Slow and steady thumping in the back of her head. She was on the verge of passing out when the doors burst open for the first time since Maggie had tried to speak with her.
"Still conscious." It was more of a statement than someone initiating a conversation, so Clary stayed quiet.
Two of her father's men stopped before her, eyeing her with hungry eyes. "Your time is up sweetheart." Pangborn told her as he lifted her head, forcing her to look at him.
"Are you ready to give Valentine what he desires?" he continued.
Clary snorted, "Go to hell."
"What are you going to do if I don't help you? You can't really kill me either, can you? You still need me." Clary smirked, though her exhaustion threatened to overpower her any second.
"Don't worry about that just yet." The man took out a knife, holding it up before Clary. She closed her eyes, preparing herself for the pain that would follow, but to her own surprise the only thing that came, was the sound of ropes being cut. In the same second as they'd freed her, she felt a pair of strong, angry hands close around her shoulders. Clary could've probably put up a fight right there, it was the perfect moment. Catching them off guard. But she didn't. Clary couldn't even breath steadily, how could she think she would be able to fight off two of her father's inner circle members. Even she was not that good.
The men followed Clary out of the room. A warm breeze caught Clary's cheeks and she sighed calmly as the warmth from the wind brushed hot air against her cold skin. She had not realised while still tied up exactly how cold she'd gotten down there, but now that she was back inside normal temperature, it stood out clearer.
They led her through the corridors. Every time they came to a door, Clary had to force her feet to step over the door still. After what felt like half an hour of walking, they stopped. Clary looked up, meeting the black eyes of her father. He seemed surprised when he studied Clary, like he'd not expected her to look as bad as she did.
Clary was thrown roughly to the floor. Her hands did not manage to hold her body up on her knees as she fell, and a small pained gasp escaped her lips. Clary noticed in the corner of her eyes that Valentine pushed himself away from the chair; his shoes clicking hard against the floor as he walked across the room.
"You're not going to changed you mind, are you Clary?" he spoke with such a familiarity in his voice, Clary wanted to give in right there and then. She wanted to forget everything that had happened, erase her own mind. She regretted ever letting the Moloch take one of her memories in exchange for the truth.
Clary looked back up at Valentine. "No." She muttered, "I'm not."
"Very well then." Valentine exclaimed loudly. "You are not giving me much of a choice her Clarissa. You know what our standard procedures are when it comes to traitors. Because right now that is exactly what you are. A traitor, before anything else."
Clary bit her lip, keeping herself silent. She knew very well what standard procedures for traitors were. She'd been there watching, she'd heard them scream themselves to death. She'd seen how every last drop of their sanity had poured out of them. From the instant a knife, a whip or any other torture device her father's men used, touched their skin. They were ticking time bombs.
Clary's green eyes met her father's black orbs. "You do what you have to father." Clary spat the words towards him.
Another raging smile crossed his lips. "Take her away." He ignored her, speaking only to the two men.
xxxx
Magnus looked at Alec with raised eyebrows. "Let me see. You want the compass. Again."
"I know, it's a lot to ask for, I'm sorry." Alec replied with a sigh.
"Yeah, it is." Magnus muttered, "What do you need it for?" he asked as Alec leaned against the wall.
"Ehhm." Alec met the Warlock's cat-like eyes, "I- I am really not supposed to tell you, or anyone else for that matter."
"I think we're past that Alexander. Don't you?" Magnus replied annoyed.
Alec smiled, rolling his eyes, "Fine, we're trying to find the Mortal Cup, or really we're trying to find Clary, but that's like a secret."
"Maybe, if that girl wants so desperately to get away from you, don't you think you should let her?" Magnus asked.
"No, it's not like that this time. She did something stupid, and we're trying to fix it. But to do so, we need your help." Alec explained.
"Okay, what's the plan?" Magnus' words left his lips as he formed a small smile and Alec exhaled before he went into explaining the basic steps of their plan.
"No." Magnus shook his head after hearing what they had come up with so far. "Not at all."
"What are you talking about?" Alec asked bemused.
"You are basically planning a suicide mission, you get that?" Magnus answered.
"What? No." Alec protested, "We're not alone this time, it'll be okay." Alec laughed nervously. "Please." He bit his lip frustrated. "You're really our only hope Magnus, and I'm sorry if it's too much to be asking of you, but we need to do this." Alec finished, brushing a hand through his messy black hair.
"If you promise me you will walk out of that manor with all limbs still attached to your body, you can get the compass." Magnus' eyes glanced over Alec.
"I promise." Alec laughed carefully, "Thank you." Alec followed Magnus through the room as the warlock found the familiar golden compass.
He handed it to Alec with tense eyes watching him. "Thank you." Alec repeated as he held the instrument in his hands.
"And they said I wasn't charming." Alec muttered under his breath.
"What?" Magnus asked confused.
"Nothing." Alec leaned towards the tall warlock, pressing his lips against Magnus' carefully. "And don't worry, we'll be fine!" Alec sent him a brilliant smile before leaving the warlock's apartment.
xxxx
Clary wanted to laugh at the irony of how she was going down. Strapped to the same metal links as people she'd once hunted and brought back to the manor to receive the same punishment as Clary was sentenced with.
"We're going to have so much fun aren't we little Morgenstern?" it was Pangborn who jeered at her.
There were more people in the room now, all silent, waiting for someone to make a move.
"I think we're ready to say goodbye to our precious little princess here, aren't we?" Someone exclaimed loudly, a hint of mocking laugher escaping his words.
Clary could hear the voices the people who'd once been on her side agreeing to what the voice asked them. Clary clenched her jaw, anger rushing through her as she heard someone pick up whatever weapon they'd laid out before her.
Clary did not show any emotions as the Shadowhunters around her yelled at one another, arguing about who would get the honour of breaking her. But even though she was calm no the outside, her insides were twisted with fear.
Suddenly everyone went silent again as one man stepped forward. Crowstone. Clary had avoided looking at the people around her, but now, she met the man's brown eyes. Clary saw the angry look on his face, a sick smirk covering his face. As the man broke Clary's stare, she saw the younger version of the man behind her eyelids. Blood streaming from the wound in his neck. Clary cursed loudly as she remembered who this man was. He'd been the father of Brian Crowstone. No wonder the man looked crazy. She would've been too, if she had stood before her child's killer.
He moved to stand behind Clary, lifting her shirt to cut the back of the fabric open with a sharp dagger. Clary flinched as the blade cut across her skin, but other than that, Clary stayed quiet. She did not plan on giving the Circle members more pleasure out of torturing her than they would already get from hearing her flesh tear under the whip she'd seen in Crowstone's hand.
The whip slashed against Clary's back as she clenched her hands tightly around the metal chain to keep from losing her balance. The pain from her already broken wrist thumbed violently through her, but she did not let go. She made a horribly twisted grimace as the pain erupted in her body, but she kept her unspoken promise to not make a sound. Crowstone smacked the whip hard down on her back once again, and everyone in the room could hear the whip ripping into the girl's skin. Clary tried to cancel out the pain by focusing on holding herself up. She really didn't want to lose her grip around them links, if she did, she would look even more miserable than she already was, and that was not an option.
After three more strikes, Clary could feel her hands shake violently, threatening to give up. She could hear the Circle members laugh at her poor attempt to hold herself up, telling her to let go. Clary fastened her grip again, her muscles sore, feeling like they were about to rip away from her body. The next time the whip hit her torn body, Clary cried out. Her breathing was forced and heavy as she tried to gather herself. She felt the thick liquid run down her back. One more. Two more. At the third strike she lost her grip, hanging helplessly from her wrist a few centimetres above the ground the chains cutting into her already sore wrists.
The Shadowhunters didn't seem pleased with their result yet, another flesh-tearing blow clawed at Clary's skin. She felt her eyes water as the force of the whip tore into her skin harder every time it touched her body. Fury burned inside her as the people around her laughed at her pain. She swallowed hard, bracing herself for the next strike.
Clary's back was slashed open with deep, bloody cuts. She'd broken out into a cold sweat, the salt burning in her wounds like someone pressing sharp knives down her already torn back. She fought to keep her eyes open as her own body tried to release Clary from the agony she was put under.
There was a long pause, Clary could see blood drop to the floor. She felt someone pull at her writs, and after a few seconds she saw the floor came crashing towards her. Her head felt like it split in two as she landed on the hard stone floor. Her whole body shook, and she didn't know how long she lay there trembling from the pain running through her body.
She heard the door click shut, but it took her a while to realise she was alone. A sob escaped her lips, she didn't get up, she just laid on her stomach, trying to keep the unbearable pain under control.
xxxx
Maggie stood outside the door, hearing Clary's yelps through the thick door. She closed her eyes, the tears pressing hard behind her orange eyes. "Please, just fall unconscious." She whispered out into thin air. If the young girl could just pass out, she would at least not feel the horrible pain they caused her.
Maggie felt her own anger erupt inside her as she heard how Valentine had ordered his men to torture his own daughter. He'd not even flinched as he'd spoken.
Another loud cry escaped Clary after the whip tore into her back. Maggie could hear the flesh on the girl's back rip apart, and she covered her ears. She wanted to storm inside the chamber and order them to stop, but that was not her call to make.
The door opened as a dozen Circle members from both the inner circle and the outer parts of Valentine's circle stepped out. They didn't notice her as she pressed her body against the cold walls of the corridor. Maggie caught a glimpse of a fallen form on the floor, but before she could do anything, the door slammed shut.
xxxx
"Come on!" Jace yelled at the compass with a furious voice.
"Why is it not working!" he looked over at Alec with confused eyes, but Alec, who was just as disappointed as Jace, only shook his head. "I don't know."
Jocelyn looked at the golden compass in Jace's hands. "How is it supposed to work?" the older Shadowhunter asked. They'd been informed about the teens idea a few hours ago, but so far, it didn't seem to work very well.
"The little hand right there," Jace pointed at the still arrow, "It should've started spinning the same moment we added the blood."
"So maybe it doesn't work on the protection runes as we originally thought." Jon answered with a sad tone to his voice.
"No, it has to work." Jace mumbled, "Maybe we're too far away?" he suggested.
"I don't think that should have any effect on it." Alec shrugged.
"Maybe not usually, but if Clary is not in this county, how do we know the compass can point us in the right direction. It's a pretty big world we're living in.." Isabelle told the people around the table.
"So maybe," It was Celine who answered, looking at her parabatai, "if Clary is in, let's say Alicante, we should be able to find her there, if we too were there?"
"Maybe." Jon nodded, "It's absolutely worth a try." Jon moved over to look at his mother, her expression changing from distressed to confident in a matter of seconds. Yes. It was absolutely worth a try.
I did warn you, last chapter was the calm before the storm. And this storm isn't about to end quite yet.
I would really love to hear your thought about this little chapter, so feel free to leave a review :)