Previously on Long Live the Hunt
"All the kids were supposed to be sleeping. When parents went to check up on them, their cots were empty and there was a message on the pillow.
"You can think of me what you will." the Seelie Queen continued, clearly struggling to keep her voice composed. "But I will slaughter every man, woman and child who tries to harm my child."
Nostrils flaring, the queen's hand caressed her stomach as her lips pulled back in a scowl. "On multiple accounts, the Nephilim have sought the destruction of my child. It seems only fair that I have the same pleasure of returning the favor. Child for child."
"Come." the queen breathed, her eyes wide with earnest. "Meet your nephew. Damon Jonathan Morgenstern."
"Do you want to know why I want to kill your son?" Amara said venomously, rising to her feet as she abandoned all attempts at pretenses. "To protect my son!"
"Your son is the product of two Nephilim who are both gifted with more angel blood. My son is a unique hybrid of his own. Part faerie and part Nephilim with the gift of demon blood. When Damon takes the throne, the only person who remotely stands a chance to defeat him is Christopher."
Alec sighed at her as he handed her two sets of axes. "Magnus had this theory that if Jace offered to speak to the queen and she granted him access to the court, a few of us could get in by blending in our Nephilim blood with his extra angel blood. And it worked. Now start climbing."
Two things were clear in her mind;
First, that this was the family reunion she'd been waiting for, and the one she would spend the rest of her life defending.
And second, the Seelie Queen must die.
This was the beginning of the end.
One look at Christopher's face was enough to form the immovable resolution in her mind. Victory wouldn't come find them; they would have to hunt for it themselves. The longer this miserable war dragged on, the more the queen would lust for her Christopher's death.
Clary could see it very clearly. Disturbingly and strangely clear. The ravaged and hungry look crossing the queen's face, the animalistic instinct overpowering her motherly nature as she prowled towards them…
"Clary!" Isabelle called uncertainly, waving her hand slowly in front of her face.
She jerked out of her slumped position and blinked to clear her vision as Isabelle's concerned and skeptical face swam into view.
"Sorry, it's been a long day." she murmured, forcing herself to stand up to evade the lure of sleep.
After reuniting in Bangkok, they'd switched between the Institutes they'd retaken and were now lodged in the city of Toronto. Magnus conveniently owned a very accommodating loft, in which they were all residing.
"You're the one who wanted to go over this remember?" Isabelle said cautiously, her eyes scrutinizing Clary's haggard form.
She could feel the questioning eyes of Alec, Simon and Magnus trail after her, making her even more ashamed of her seemingly uninterested attitude.
"I'm fine. Sorry. Keep going." she said apologetically, stopping behind the couch where Jace was slumped, his eyes drooping as he struggled to stay awake.
Magnus cocked his eyebrow at her in a way that made her feel like a child who was caught lying.
Isabelle seemed to sense the desperation for progress in Clary's rigid posture and continued.
"When Meliorn died to save me in Paris," she said quickly, evidently trying to rush the words before the impact of them could hit her. "I had to clean out the belongings that he had brought with him after he defected to us. And I found something he left me, well I don't know if it was meant for me to find but it's something we can use."
"Is it a sword?" Jace slurred, looking at her deliriously as he sagged against the arm of the couch.
"No it's not a sword." Isabelle replied scornfully. "On a single piece of paper, he wrote out the names of two dimensions that the Seelie Queen will use as an escape hatch if things don't go as planned."
"And you're only mentioning this now?" Alec said loudly with disbelief, shaking Jace out of his half coherent state.
His hair was mussed, dark circles underlining his eyes as he looked around the room with wild anticipation for attack. "SHH! Don't wake Christopher please I might have carpal tunnel from diaper changes - "
"I only found it now!" Isabelle hissed under Jace's pleading stare. "I haven't had time to examine every single piece of Meliorn's belongings - "
"Well that's what we need isn't?" Alec interrupted. "We corner her so she's forced to escape, then we have teams ready to ambush in both dimensions."
"And how are we supposed to corner her?" Simon asked, glancing fearfully down the corridor where Christopher was still sleeping. Nobody wanted to disrupt the angel boy who's other personality was the sleeping monster.
At this question, the room went silent. As clever and logical as Alec's plan was, Clary couldn't even entertain the foolish idea that they would be able to approach, let alone corner, the Seelie Queen herself.
From the unwelcome quality time they'd spent together in the Seelie Court, Clary had uncovered elements to the queen's character she hadn't known before. Damon's sharp features and innocent demeanor flickered in her mind, the green eyes boring into her with fierce intensity. The answer was so obvious, Clary felt stupid for not piecing it together earlier.
"If we can appear like a plausible threat to Damon, we stand a chance of making the queen feel cornered." Clary said aloud. Sleep seemed far away, this new clarity was jarring.
A part of her felt guilty and cruel for suggesting a tactic that would be guaranteed effective against any mother. That's how she knew it would work. She knew the feeling all too well.
"Now we just need to figure out how - " Alec's sentence was cut short by a single rap on the door.
For a split second, nobody moved. Then, Isabelle and Simon had weapons out as they braced themselves at the door. Magnus was confusedly rechecking the wards as Alec had an arrow notched in the space between Isabelle and Simon's heads. Jace and Clary had retreated midway down the corridor leading to Christopher's room where he was blessed with the luxury and blissful sanctuary of sleep.
The door opened to reveal a haggard and wild looking man with dirt and blood streaked blond hair. His eyes were dark and hollow in the dim light, his gaunt face ashen and pulled back with resignation as he held a seraph blade out in front of him in a way that was neither aggressive nor defensive.
"Who are you?" Alec asked, his arrow trained on the spot between the man's brows.
Clary braced herself, moving her hand to brush against Jace's as they waited in the shadows. Visitors in the middle of the night were not only suspicious, but signatures for danger.
When the man spoke it was like hearing asphalt grind against asphalt. "Mark Blackthorn."
The name was enough to justify a stiff silence in the room but not enough for Alec to lower his carefully positioned arrow.
Surprisingly, the man gave a wry smile. "Not exactly a popular household name as I've been told."
"Drop the blade." Isabelle said in a steely voice.
Mark shrugged and the blade clattered to the floor noisily. "I only brought it as a sign of alliance. To show I am part Nephilim."
"Aren't you a subject of the Wild Hunt?" Isabelle asked slowly, equally as thrown off as Clary by his casual and unconcerned behavior.
A true smile spread across the man's features, sharply reminding Clary of Helen Blackthorn… the half blood Judas…
"I have overthrown the leaders of the Wild Hunt. I am the new leader and I would like to offer my allegiance in the defeat of the Seelie Queen."
As long as Clary had been a part of the Shadow world, the Wild Hunt had always seemed like a gothic myth meant to scare children. They were huntsmen who lived by no rules other than their own. Unwilling to be associated with the Seelie Courts and unwilling to limit themselves to the restraints and order of the Clave.
Riding the night in search of battles where they could snatch up dead or dying men for their service. It was hard to believe, this young and scrawny man had managed to usurp the leader.
Grudgingly, Clary knew that an allegiance with the Wild Hunt was the key to ending this war. They couldn't make it without seelie blood on their side. The pieces of the puzzle were sliding into place in her mind before she could even understand them herself. The only compromising factor would be another betrayal.
In tune with Clary's thoughts, Jace's voice cut across the room. "And how can we possibly trust in a deceivingly tempting proposition like that?"
Mark looked genuinely unsurprised and perhaps even slightly pleased as he stepped aside to reveal the trembling figures of Lilian and James Dunce.
The arrow joined the fallen seraph blade on the floor as Alec and Magnus pushed past Simon and Isabelle to reach their children. Clary began to move closer but Jace's arm shot out to block her. Clary peered up at him and his circled eyes were troubled as he watched his parabatai hoist the small girl up in his arms.
"You think it's a trick?" she whispered, narrowing her eyes at Mark who had moved aside to give Alec and Magnus space.
"I think I want to know how he managed to pull that off before I twine my family's lives with his." Jace said curtly, as Magnus and Alec stumbled back into the room, each cradling a child.
Isabelle and Simon beckoned for Mark to come in. He remained awkwardly by the door as Magnus and Alec disappeared down another corridor with their children.
"So how'd you do it?" Jace called nonchalantly across the room. "Breaking into the Seelie Court is quite an impressive and unheard of feat, unless you're in the good graces of her majesty."
Mark rubbed the back of his neck tiredly and Clary was able to see his face more clearly in the light. If Jace and Clary looked exhausted from the late nights with Christopher then Mark was verging on the line between man and zombie. Bloodshot eyes, worn clothing and an expression that resembled a man who's energy had been drained to an unhealthy point, Mark looked simply wretched.
"Seelie blood has always made me an outcast amongst the Nephilim. For the first time in my life, it's done some good by helping me rescue the kidnapped children."
"And you just wandered into the Seelie Court, undetected and unseen, then swooped back out with an army of little Shadowhunter children?" Jace asked dryly.
"Well it wasn't a picnic." Mark said indignantly. "We were meticulous and organized. That's the only way we succeeded. We'd all heard of everything going on in the Queen's War. After taking over, I knew I needed to do something to prove my trustworthiness to you all. The queen is accustomed to our infrequent passage through her courts, she didn't suspect a thing. The children were barely supervised by even the low ranking seelies, we don't think they'll connect our passage with their escape. Our seelie blood gave us access to the courts and the rest fell into place."
Jace's face was curious and dubious as he considered Mark's story.
"Do you know what your sister Helen has done?" Isabelle asked harshly, unable to filter the disgust out of her tone.
Mark visibly flinched and nodded. "I have heard the vague story. And I don't want to know anymore than that. While I'm touched by her loyalty to me, I can't ignore my loyalty to my other siblings. They're orphans in the London Institute and as long as this war goes on, they'll live in danger. I won't Helen do that to them. Even for me."
"Look," Mark said teresely, eyeing Jace's guarded stare. "If you've heard of my story, then you already know I never wanted to be part of the Wild Hunt. I was taken by them during one of Jonathan Morgenstern's institute invasions. After years of abiding by their morbid lifestyle and rules, I led a group of rebels to overthrow the leader. I was taken from my brothers and sisters, forced to live like a savage, with no means of returning home. Life with the hunt, is life. If I have to be in servitude to the hunt for eternity, then I'm going to use it to do something significant."
"Like taking down the Seelie Queen?" Clary finished.
While there was no way to confirm the story, there was something in his easily readable and honest face, along with his noble rescue of the kidnapped children that made Clary believe his story.
"Precisely." Mark answered, a grin breaking through the grime and blood on his face.
Jace appeared to have reluctantly reached the same conclusion, but before he could say anything further, Christopher began to cry again.
Mark's arrival and newly pledged loyalty was the missing piece to all their problems. The plan was almost too easy and perfect. Definitely not foolproof. Jace could think of a thousand ways everything could go wrong. But bringing an end to this lengthy war seemed more urgent than ever.
As much as he hated to admit it, Jace respected Mark for his resilience and strong moral compass despite the dire circumstances with the hunt. What came as an even greater surprise, was the mutual understanding and homologous thinking they shared.
Where his sister Helen was calculated, cautious and evidently selfish with her treachery, Mark was direct, ridiculously intelligent and honorable. It was humorously ironic that Helen's misguided quest for rescuing her brother was rendered even more pathetic by Mark's own skill and leadership in saving himself. While she had resorted to partnering with the enemy, Mark had been plotting to regain independence and restore peace.
Every part of Clary, Alec and Mark's plan was smart and unpredictable. The only part Jace had adamantly refused, was being separated from Clary.
"But Jace." Clary said reasonably, her eyes trying to hide her own frustration. "We're most qualified to lead separate teams, you have to think about what's best for everyone - "
"Do you like leaving me?" Jace demanded, handing Christopher the rattle he'd just hurled across the room. "Because you've made an awful habit of it."
Clary gaped at him incredulously. "How can you even say that? You know why I had to stay behind in the tent, they would have gotten through the portal to Christopher, you know that!"
"Yeah sure I do." Jace said darkly, watching as Christopher dangerously waved around the rattle in his tiny fist. "Because leaving is always the solution."
"I'm not having this argument right now." Clary said furiously, shoving the clean bottles onto the drying rack.
"So you're just going to leave? Walk away into the other room - "
"You can resent me all you'd like, but I'd bet my life that if it were you in that position, you would have done the same. And I would not be giving you crap for it." Clary said heatedly, trying to keep her voice from rising.
"Fine. But we're not being separated in the final battle. End of discussion." Jace said firmly.
Mark had been wise enough to recognize that Jace would not be persuaded otherwise, but Alec had thrown a big fuss over Jace's condition. After days of unsuccessful conversations, Alec had given up too.
"Let's review everything one more time." Mark insisted, pulling out his diagrams of the court layout.
Shadowhunters and huntsmen alike were seated in the massive amphitheater of the Mumbai Institute as they fidgeted anxiously on the dawn of the battle.
"Isabelle will be leading one team to dimension A, Alec will be leading the other team to dimension B. Presumably, the Seelie Queen and her people will flee to either of these places in the event of near defeat. The teams will be waiting there to ambush them upon arrival. Isabelle and Alec will issue conditions of surrender and take prisoners or they will lead the attack."
"The third team will be the trigger that hopefully sends them running to these dimensions for ambush. Around dusk, I will be leading the third team to the Seelie Court. My team will be composed of a few Shadowhunters masquerading as members of the Wild Hunt, along with my huntsmen. We will offer our false allegiance to the queen. If she gives us residence, we will be granted permission to enter the court."
"We will wait until midnight where Magnus and Simon will stage an attack on the entrance of the Seelie Court. This will distract the majority of seelie soldiers while my team takes them out from the inside. Once the queen realizes she's losing, they'll escape to the other dimensions where the other two teams will be waiting."
"They'll be so disconcerted by the attacks coming at them from all sides, it'll work in our favor to make them lose their edge and feel cornered in their own courts." Mark finished.
"And don't forget." Alec added. "Whoever has the opportunity to kill the queen - take it."
Without further instruction, Isabelle and Alec's teams rose from their seats and filed out of the doors where portals were waiting to whisk them off to the escape dimensions.
Jace grasped Clary's elbow and guided her out the back. Christopher was dozing peacefully in her arms as they wound their way back to the residential wing of the Institute.
"How am I going to let him go again?" Clary murmured, tracing her thumb over his plump cheek.
Jace felt his insides vehemently scream in protest at the thought of parting with his son. All his instincts were urging him to stay with his son. Nobody could protect Christopher better than he could. Nobody could defend a child as fiercely and selflessly as a father. Jace would never have peace of mind leaving Christopher in someone else's hands. But he needed to protect his son in another way. The best way he could save his son was by eliminating the root of the danger; The Seelie Queen.
"Well you could stay back and protect him." Jace said mildly, already knowing how she would respond.
"What happened to the separation anxiety between you and me?" Clary clipped as they climbed a set of iron wrought stairs.
"I wouldn't object to being parted if you were staying with Christopher." Jace said truthfully, pulling them closer to his side.
"Well I would." Clary said heavily. "We're going to end this together."
Jace couldn't disagree with that sentiment as he knocked on the door. Clary seemed to be fighting off tears as she crushed Christopher closer. If he looked down at them, Jace would lose his resolve…
The door opened and Maryse smiled at them sadly. "I wasn't expecting you so soon."
"Mark wants to leave earlier than we planned. He thinks it's better to arrive with the expectation of unforeseen delays." Jace explained, his voice coming out oddly strained.
Maryse's eyes settled on the sleeping baby and her face fell. "Are you sure you don't want to leave him with the other children in the amphitheater? Lilian and James are there, they have soldiers stationed outside - "
"No." Clary choked out. "We need to know he's with someone we trust. You'll protect him?"
"With my life." Maryse promised, reaching her arms out to them.
Jace couldn't bear another minute of this torment as he and Clary each gave Christopher one more kiss before his son was handed to Maryse. The door closing seemed to open the hurricane of fear inside of him.
He braced himself against the wall of the corridor, his breaths coming in constricted puffs as his vision swam with tears. Grappling for oxygen, his lungs were squeezing painfully as he pressed his forehead against the wall, his hands clenched into fists at either side of his head.
Out of all the battles and foolhardy missions he'd been on, he had never been this afraid. Terrified, rather, of the outcome if their invasion failed. It was not an option. Failure held a different meaning under these circumstances. Failing to kill the queen, meant failing to save Christopher and he could not bring himself to accept that.
Clary's arms locked around his waist, her wet cheeks pressing into his back. It was all he could do, to match his breathing to hers.
The air was brisk and cool as they pulled their hoods over their heads. The black cloaks hung from their shoulders like a snake's skin, tensed to shed at any moment and expose their true identity.
Tonight, they were members of the Wild Hunt. Bloodred masks over their eyes and ebony cloaks that flanked their every movement. Tonight, they would wear the faces of criminals and crooks. They would be thick as thieves to infiltrate the impenetrable fortress of the Seelie Courts. To wander willingly into the enemy's territory. Tonight, they would end the queen's reign.
Surrounded by members of the Wild Hunt, Clary still didn't feel comforted by her camouflage. Indirect eye contact, normal and subtle behavior was the only way they'd make it out of the fortress alive. She didn't feel invisible in the crowd. Some illogical part of her felt as if there was a spotlight trained in her direction, calling her out as an impostor.
Shaking off the ridiculous notion, Clary focused on the back of the man's cloak in front of her. Jace was stationed a few paces behind her. While Mark had conceded to keeping them in the same group, he wouldn't allow them to march beside each other. Clary had had a private conversation with him that might have influenced this idea. Knowing Jace as well as she did, he would do something seemingly inconspicuous if he felt she were in danger that would end up forfeiting the game.
No mistakes tonight. There was too much on the line.
Like a well oiled machine, they stopped in perfect synchronization. The grass cushioning her feet felt like treading on a minefield with hidden explosives poised to detonate them.
Chancing a glance in between the heads in front of her, Clary saw the Seelie Queen. Her wardrobe had become considerably darker and less frilly. Her gown was deep red at the top, leaching color till it was the faintest shade of red at the bottom. Her hair was pulled back into a tight knot, her crown set neatly on top of her head.
There was no mistaking the coldness and guarded nature in her posture. This was not the same queen she'd first encountered years ago. The double layered sentences, mischievous and playful demeanor was long gone, replaced with a hard set, fierce and unforgiving woman. There would be no mercy as long as she reigned.
"I heard there was a new leader to the Wild Hunt." the queen said mildly, her hand stroking the rose thorned spear at her side.
It was the first time Clary had seen the queen armed with a weapon. Long and agile, the spear was tipped with a deadly edged rose thorn that sang with the promise of bloodshed.
"Some people are simply not suited to be followers." Mark said with a convincingly sincere tone, that had Clary momentarily suspicious of his intentions.
The queen raised her head to observe Mark clearly, and recognition flashed in her eyes. "Mark Blackthorn. Quite an impressive feat to dethrone the leader. What is your business with my courts?"
"The Wild Hunt would like to offer an allegiance with the courts. We would like to assist in the disassembly of the Clave." Mark replied smoothly. He looked rather immature and childish beside the queen.
The queen did not speak. Her eyebrow was arched in a manner that could have been curious or apprehensive. When she did speak, her voice dripped with disinterest.
"I thought the Wild Hunt did not live in servitude with others? During my entire reign, the hunt has made it clear that they wish to be independent and distinct from my courts."
The huntsmen around Clary were still as they bated their breath, waiting for Mark to carry them over this crucial hurdle.
"An allegiance does not equate servitude. Under my predecessor's rule, we scavenged the world in search of dying men to join our ranks. I wish to rule differently. The downfall of the Clave will supply us with swelling numbers." Mark said offhandedly.
After a few minutes of unbearably tense silence, Mark seemed to have succeeded.
"An allegiance with the Wild Hunt will be sanctioned if the hunt agrees to provide soldiers to our armies." the queen finally said.
Mark smiled charmingly up at the queen who remained stony faced. "Then we are in agreement. If your majesty would be so courteous to provide us with residence for the night, we've been travelling and fighting for a while."
With a flick of her wrist, the wall of vines parted to reveal a long, winding corridor. "Rooms in this wing are for your men. You fight tomorrow."
Mark gave a half bow before leading them down the fairy lit corridor. Clary's breathing did not ease until the vined wall sealed shut behind them. Had they really blended well enough to fool the Seelie Queen? None of them were foolish enough to voice this concern aloud. Not in the queen's house.
There were two hours until midnight. Two hours until Magnus and Simon would make a noisy and noticeable attack at the entrance of the courts.
That would be their cue to begin hunting.
The plan was simple. Once Magnus and Simon started drawing attention to the entrance of the court, the team on the inside would begin silently arresting, incapacitating or if the seelies were uncooperative - killing - the members of the court. The highly trained seelies would be lured outside. Once the seelies truly began to realize what was happening, the majority of them would be captured or killed.
Taking down the queen's kingdom would require a special kind of stealth and covertness that Shadowhunters were highly skilled in. Merging with the shadows was second nature.
Jace's fingers were longing to reach for the weapons hidden under his massive cloak but the lookout hadn't given them the signal yet.
Members of the huntsmen and Shadowhunters alike were spread throughout the rooms in the corridor. Some were having quiet conversations amongst themselves while others were clocking in some sleep before the call to battle came.
He didn't need to have a conversation with Clary. They wouldn't say goodbye. Whatever happened next would happen to both of them. Any discussion beyond strategy or battle plans was teetering towards a form of farewell. He was not strong enough for that.
She was easily recognizable to him in the crowd. His muscles relaxed slightly when her small figure wove through the crowded room and perched calmly on the edge of the military style bed beside him.
She was silent and the only physical contact between them was the weight of their shoulders touching.
Jace almost scoffed out loud. A little over a year ago, they'd been separated by mundane barriers of sight and shadow. He had been a mere stranger to her. Watching from afar, too weak to approach her and face rejection, too broken to stay away. And a year later, they were husband and wife, mother and father. And about to end a war.
Filled with overwhelming emotion, Jace felt the sudden urge to spout off one last soleful speech. She was never keen on expressing her emotions in dramatic and profound ways like he did. But he'd regret it if he didn't tell her one last time -
"Let's move." Aline called out into their dormitory.
The Shadowhunters and huntsmen rose from their cots and strode towards the door. As quickly as it appeared, the opportunity was gone.
Mustering all his focus, Jace followed after Clary who was slick as she slunk down the east end of the corridor. They were following a lieutenant of the Wild Hunt who knew the layout of the courts. Their first stop would be the seelie training room.
The lieutenant was an older man with a dark haired beard speckled with gray, and a gnarly scar that extended from his temple to his chin. He led the way ahead of Clary, stopping beside a door and turned to nod at them.
It was a relief to unsheathe the weapons from inside his cloak as the lieutenant opened the vinyl door and they filed into the room.
As the door shut behind them, Jace saw Aline marking the door with a silencing rune. Her actions were shielded from sight by the other members of their group. The shadows were in their favor as the training room walls cast darkness over their entrance.
Jace did a quick scan of the training room. There were about 10 seelies training at this late hour. Most were older teenagers whose sparring masked the sound of the door closing.
It was a dome shaped room with high ceilings and rows upon rows of deadly weapons. There were patches of wilderness for seelies to groom their power over nature and a massive swimming pool. No one had seen them enter.
Like a fan, their team crept down either side of the circular room. Jace streaked after Clary and they positioned themselves a foot behind a pair of seelies cleaning their spears.
"Do you think they'll let us fight tomorrow? We've been training for months, we deserve a shot at spilling some Nephilim blood, I'm tired of picking up the scraps." the bleach blond haired seelie complained to her companion.
Her companion responded with faraway longing. "I sure hope so. We could've easily taken down those Clave monkeys in Morgenstern's graveyard."
Jace and Clary were silent and clean in their attacks, as they slapped a hand around the seelies' mouths, dragged them into the shadows and struck them sharply on the head with the hilt of their blades.
The seelie fell limp in his arms and he neatly knotted her wrists and ankles before winding a gag around her mouth.
Across the room, Jace saw Aline timing her movements so that the hilt of her sword smashed into a tall, bulky seelie at the same time an oblivious seelie's spear struck its mark on the wall. The smack of the spear on the wall had hidden her assault from detection.
The lone seelie retrieved his spear from the wall and glanced around the room for the first time. He frowned in confusion at the disappearance of his companions, his grip on the spear tightening. The others had been taken out by the other members of their team.
Wordlessly, Jace hoisted Clary up by the hips and she soared across the room, landing on top of the lone seelie. The only sound was the thump of her sword hilt against his skull.
The lieutenant marked the door with a large X and their team hurried down the corridor.
Their next stop would be challenging and they had to work quickly if they wanted to take the soldiers out before the alarms sounded.
Other teams were working through the dormitories, kitchens, dining halls and infirmary. As many seelies as they could capture could mean one less dead soldier.
The court's ops center was bustling with seelies who were rotating on patrol, plotting strategy and revising battle plans. The lieutenant's hand came up with two fingers motioning them forwards as he disappeared down a side corridor with a few others.
Clary pressed herself against the wall beside the door as Jace did the same on the other side. It took only seconds before they could hear the lieutenant's voice from inside.
"Sorry to disturb you gents, but the leader of the Wild Hunt has ordered for the huntsmen to use the ops center for the next hour." the lieutenant said loudly.
"You think because her majesty has made an alliance with you, that you can infest our home and our work? Try again." a seelie said snidely.
"Well if you'd like me to wake the leader at this hour to bring in the queen and explain the situation to you then - "
"Fine you bloody horseman'." the seelie sneered.
Clary braced herself as the first seelie wandered out of the ops center. She yanked him into the shadows and rammed her elbow into the side of his head. He crumpled to the floor like a ragdoll but she was already onto the next one.
The woman's squeal was cut off as Clary drove the hilt of her blade into the back of her head. The third seelie was more alert than his fellow soldiers. When she gripped the back of his neck, he dug his elbow painfully into her side.
Breathlessly, Clary had no choice but to slit the man's throat. Noise meant attention. As he flopped onto the floor, Clary saw that Jace had fared much better than her. 6 unconscious seelies lay at his feet.
Jace wiped some blood off his face and ducked his head into the ops center.
"The head of the elite guard's office is down the hall!" the lieutenant barked, pulling his sword from a seelie's chest. "Take him out while we find the seelies on patrol."
Clary darted after Jace as they ran along the earthy floor. Being the taller of the two, Jace peered into the small window above the office door.
"There's 5 of them in there. I don't think we can take them out without causing a ruckus." he whispered, his golden hair gleaming against the ebony cloak in the dim lighting.
Clary frantically glanced at the office door, searching for an entry that would maintain their charade. Her eyes trailed up the door to the high walls and settled on the patchwork of vines.
"Do you think the ceilings are the same height in the office?" Clary asked quickly, feeling her insides squirm with discomfort. They'd been too lucky to remain undetected in the hall.
Jace's brows crinkled as he nodded, peeking back into the window to confirm.
Breathing in deeply, Clary pulled him back. "This is going to sound insane, but I think if I can scale up this wall and cut out a wedge of the vines, we can slip in."
"What happens when we slip in?" Jace said in hushed tones, his eyes flickering around them with a hard glint.
"The vine on the wall and ceiling look as sturdy as the vines that have overtaken New York. I think it'll support our weight if we use it to climb across the room - "
"Like monkey bars?" Jace gaped, turning to gauge the height of the wall. He glanced back at her with a mixture of admiration and daring. "Sounds brilliant."
Clary shook her head at him before grabbing a handful of the vinyl wall and began climbing up. There was a faint murmur audible from inside the office. If anyone looked up at the window above the door, they'd see a dark cloaked figure, sneaking up the wall.
When she nearly reached the top, she used her dagger to slice away at the wall.
The vines gave way under her blade and within minutes of crooked cutting, a decent sized hole was at the top of the wall. Her left arm was burning from supporting her weight as she dropped the vine remnants onto the ground below.
Grinning down at Jace, she slid into the hole. It was frightening to look down. The 5 soldiers in the elite guard were arguing, their weapons propped against chairs as they huddled around a large map.
She imagined this was how tightrope walkers felt when there was a tank of sharks beneath them. Gritting her teeth, Clary fastened her hold on the vines above head and propelled herself off the hole in the wall.
If she fell, she would meet a fate worse than a tank of sharks.
Without checking if Jace was following, she continued gripping the vines in front of her as she slowly inched across the room. Like the idiot she was, she glanced down at the seelies below her and her sweaty hold on the vines nearly slipped.
Cussing internally, she stopped in the middle of the room directly above the seelies and swung her right arm to the other side to switch direction so that she was facing Jace.
His face was flushed as he closed the distance between them. They were chest to chest, breathing heavily as his eyes burned into hers. He craned his neck towards her so that his lips caressed her ear when he spoke.
"How many seelies can you take out with a dagger from here?" he breathed.
His close proximity was not helping with her sweat slick palms or uneven heart beat.
"Probably only one. And then they'd look up and catch us." she replied, so softly, she didn't think he would hear.
He nodded at her, as if he expected this answer. Jace looked down quickly before meeting her gaze again. "Do you trust me?"
"Always." she gasped, readjusting her slippery hold on the vines. Please don't fall.
A reckless smile flitted across his features. His lips were warm against her ear. Was he trying to make her fall?
"Wrap your legs around my torso and inch down so that you have better range of motion. Take out at least 2 seelies, then we'll drop down onto the other two and take the third out." he instructed.
She leaned back to stare at him incredulously. "You can't support both of us - "
"I'm insulted." he murmured. "Come on, it's the most efficient way. Trust me."
Against her better judgement, she secured her legs around his waist. Her heart was racing, as her shoulders cried from the strain of climbing. She ducked her lips beside his ear.
"If you fall, I'll never forgive you." she warned.
Ignoring her better judgement for the second time in mere seconds, she crushed her lips against his quickly before releasing her hold of the vines and sliding down his hard body.
As she passed over his chest, Clary could hear the hammering of Jace's heart through the thick material of the cloak. That sound must go on.
When her legs were hugging his hips, she used her right arm to withdraw a dagger. Hanging from the ceiling, with nothing but Jace's arms to keep her steady, Clary felt a strange wave of calm.
Pulling her arm back, Clary threw the dagger down. Before it hit its mark squarely in the chest, she let another dagger fly, it whistled through the air before striking a second seelie in the back of the head.
Shouts of surprise came from below as she made a snap decision to let a final dagger cut across the room. It pierced into the throat of the head of the elite guard.
Like a projectile, she dropped down from Jace and landed on top of the fourth seelie. Her knife had slit the man's throat before he could reach for his spear. Landing beside her as silently as a cat, Jace plunged his blade into the fifth seelie.
Suddenly, a hand seized the back of her hood and pulled it down. Her red hair cascaded down onto her shoulders as she spun around.
Helen's fathomless eyes were staring back at her as the alarm bells sounded.
Author's Note
Thank you for tuning in, I hope everyone is staying safe :)
Check back next week for the final chapter…
Oh I love cliffhangers … Let me know your thoughts!