The next chapter! I'm sorry that I've been gone for so long, but I've been busy those past months. I also started a few new stories and continued old ones. I'm reading Chain of Gold at the moment and every time Cortana was mentioned, I had to think of Emma and Julian. So I finally decided to continue this story. I had to read it again and noticed a few mistakes in earlier chapters, but I'll correct them soon. And I've realised that I completely forgot Max in this until now, but since I've already changed the story of the Academy, I think I might leave him out for now too.
Please let me know what you think of this new chapter, that would be great.
I don't own the characters or places!
Emma
On their way back to the institute, they didn't talk much. They were all lost in their own thoughts.
Emma was thinking of the things they heard again. Two more rituals, then they would have reached their goal. Two more deaths, which would lead to even more... They really had to stop Ford and his followers. But how could they do that?
They wanted to get the Shadowhunters on the wrong track by giving them hints, they knew that now. Which meant that they could ignore them, or try to follow them back to their source? Probably, they would just land by Ford again.
So how could they find the targets for the next rituals and prevent them before they happened? Horatio and Varion. Varion chose the places and people, Horatio performed the rituals. If they could find those two, they could follow and stop them. They just had to figure out how to do that.
Suddenly, the car stopped and when Emma looked outside, she saw that they were already at the institute. She really had been lost in thoughts. They got out of the car slowly and Ben cleared his throat.
"I assume you will tell Diana what happened?" He asked slowly and Julian nodded.
"Of course, you can go home. Will we see you tomorrow?"
Ben nodded. "I'll come in the afternoon. First, I've got to inform the others about the meeting. Maybe they have ideas what we can do next."
"We have to figure out something quickly." Emma threw in. "It sounded as if they want to perform the next ritual soon."
"But first, they have to find a faerie. And that won't be easy with the Cold Peace." Julian muttered thoughtfully.
"Could give us a few days to make a plan." Emma agreed.
"And it seems like we need that…" Ben muttered before he said goodbye and went to his car.
Emma watched the car disappear in the distance. She felt Julian's hand on her arm. "Are you alright?" He asked carefully. "You were so quiet on our way back."
Emma smiled at him. "I'm fine. I've just been thinking of everything."
Julian chuckled. "Already trying to figure out a solution to our problem. I should have expected it." He smiled slightly. "And you're really okay? You looked troubled in there."
In Ford's house. Emma knew exactly what Julian meant. "You too." She touched his cheek. "You've been thinking of your siblings. Especially of Mark."
Julian sighed. "There's nothing I can hide from you. And you're right. Of course I'm worried."
"They won't touch him. He's with the Wild Hunt. And he's half faerie. I don't think that his blood will be of much use." She knew that it sounded terrible like this, but it was true. Mark Blackthorn was also a Shadowhunter. And the blood of the angel couldn't be of use in a ritual with dark magic.
Julian seemed to see her regret for the bad choice of words. He wrapped his arms around her waist. "It's alright, I know what you mean. And I hope you're right." He kissed her. "And you're worried for Magnus, right? You like him." When Emma nodded, Julian grinned. "I like him too." He admitted. "And you've heard Ford. They won't touch powerful warlocks. So he's safe."
"And Malcolm too." Emma added. "Maybe he knows a way to help us."
"Good idea. We should speak to him soon." Julian said thoughtfully.
They began to walk inside to see if the others were still awake. However, the institute was silent. A look at the clock told Emma that it was nearly three in the morning. It had been a long day and she was also getting tired. The dark rings under Julian's eyes told her that he also needed some sleep.
They found Diana in the library. She was sitting on a chair, a book in her lap. She was asleep and her position looked rather uncomfortable. Julian and Emma exchanged a look, before they tried to wake Diana.
Half an hour later, they had told her the whole story. The worried look on Diana's face didn't calm them down, but there was also a stern determination in her eyes. "We'll start making plans tomorrow." Diana decided immediately. "When Ben informs the other Shadowhunters, we should talk to Malcolm. Emma's right, maybe he can help us."
"And we have to inform Magnus." Emma added. "He wanted to look up something about those rituals and we should inform him about Ford."
Diana nodded. "And someone has to speak to Arthur." At those words, she looked at Julian.
He nodded. "I'll do that tomorrow morning."
"So it's settled. I'll inform Malcolm, Julian will talk to Arthur and you will call Magnus, Emma." Diana decided. "And then we'll see what the other Shadowhunters say." She was silent for a few moments. "I also thought about informing the Clave. This seems to be very dangerous."
At those words, Julian tensed. "Don't you think that we can deal with it alone?" Emma wondered why he reacted like this. She would have to ask him about it soon. Asking the Clave for help in a situation like this wasn't a bad idea, was it?
"This is huge and a threat not only to us, but to all Shadowhunters." Diana threw in thoughtfully, but also hesitantly. "You know that I like it as little as you do." Again, Emma would like to know why. First Julian, and now Diana. Why were they against the Clave? In Idris, Emma was taught that it was essential to inform the Clave when something serious happened. However, she decided to remain silent and trust Julian and Diana with this.
"I could ask Alec about this." She offered. When they looked at her questioningly, she shrugged. "His father's the Inquisitor." Then they wouldn't have to inform the Clave immediately if the others felt so uncomfortable with it. But they would talk about it to someone either way. And Alec was the head of the Downworlder-Shadowhunter-Alliance. Together with Magnus, he would be able to help them. Most probably, Magnus had already told Alec about the whole situation.
Julian frowned and ran a hand through his hair. Diana, on the other hand, nodded. "That would be great, Emma." She decided. "But maybe we should really try to deal with it on our own first." So she also didn't want her to talk to Alec.
"Why don't we just discuss this further tomorrow?" Julian muttered. "We could all use some sleep."
Diana nodded. "And I should really go home." She stood up and grimaced. "Or I'll just stay the night in one of the guest rooms." She didn't sound very happy about it. "And don't worry about the children, I'll prepare breakfast for them, Julian. You need some sleep." Her tone left no room to argue.
They said goodnight and began to walk towards their rooms. "I really need to take a shower." Emma muttered, more to herself. "I have to get this ink off of my skin." Alone the thought of having it in her bad made her feel uncomfortable. And she really wanted to see her own skin again.
"It's still strange to see you without runes." Julian agreed and to Emma's surprise, he kissed her in front of her room again. However, it wasn't sweet this time. It was passionate and full of longing. "But you look beautiful either way, with or without runes."
Emma chuckled. "If you say so." She muttered when his hands wandered down her back slowly. "Do you want to go to your room?"
The look Julian threw at her told her that the answer was no immediately.
When Emma woke up the next morning, the sun was blinding her through the window. They had forgotten to close the curtains last night. Behind her, she heard someone breathing peacefully. When she turned around carefully, she noticed that Julian was still asleep.
He was smiling and Emma wondered what he was dreaming. A short look at the clock told her that it was nearly ten in the morning. She hated staying in bed for so long, but they'd been late the previous night. She'd slept for about five and a half hours.
She wrapped her arms around Julian's shoulders, careful not to wake him. She thought of the previous evening again. It was really getting serious, they had to be careful now. Every step had to be planned. And mistakes could cause something horrible…
"Stop overthinking." Julian muttered and Emma looked at him in surprise. She didn't notice that he woke up.
His green eyes were shining in the sunlight and he was smiling. "Good morning."
Emma smiled back at him. "Did you sleep well?" She asked and kissed him on the cheek before he could react.
Julian nodded. "When you're around I can sleep peacefully." He said simply. Emma already wanted to reply something when Julian frowned. "We should get up, shouldn't we?" She could hear the regret in his voice.
"We've got lots of things to do." She agreed reluctantly.
"I hope Diana already dealt with the kids." Julian muttered when he sat up slowly. He ran a hand through his hair, which was already a mess. "And you'll call Magnus. And I'll talk to my uncle –"
"Whom I still didn't meet yet." Emma muttered, but Julian ignored her.
"And the kids will look at that demon language again. Ty won't rest until he found the solution to that…" Julian stood up and looked around. He sighed when he noticed that his suit was a mess on the floor. He walked to Emma's wardrobe and took out a shirt and jeans he'd put there a few days ago.
Emma began to get dressed as well. "Before you run off to talk to your uncle, we should also have breakfast." She suggested.
Julian looked at her silently for a few moments before he nodded. "But first, I need to go to my room and get ready." He said finally.
Emma nodded. "I'll see you there."
Twenty minutes later, Emma and Julian were sitting in the kitchen. Diana was there as well, but the kids were already in the library. Diana had already told them a few things about the previous evening. After that, they'd left to continue looking through those books.
"Yes, Malcolm. I'll be there in an hour. And no, I'm sure it won't take long." Diana said and put down her phone. She sighed and Emma looked at her questioningly.
"What was it this time?" She asked simply, knowing that Diana had just interrupted some of Malcolm's plans.
"He's meeting a designer at midday." Diana muttered. "Don't ask why." She said when she noticed the curious look on Julian's face.
"But he'll listen to our story." Emma noted.
"Yes, and he already said that it sounds bad." Diana sighed again. "Didn't stop him from meeting that man later. As if our problems wouldn't concern him."
"You know that he doesn't mean it like that." Julian threw in. "I'm sure he'll help us." To Emma, he didn't sound too convinced, but Diana didn't seem to notice it. She stood up from her chair.
"I shouldn't be gone for too long." She explained. "I'll return once I talked to Malcolm. And then we'll see what the other Shadowhunters have to say." She said goodbye and left.
Emma and Julian ate in silence for some time, until Emma couldn't stand it anymore. "Do you think your uncle will help us?" She asked, already knowing the answer. Arthur Blackthorn wouldn't come down to deal with their problems. He was living in his own world.
"Well, he will listen to what I have to say." Julian began slowly and looked at Emma attentively. Then he ran a hand through his hair. "Why do you look at me like this?"
Emma raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"Like you already expect me to lie to you." Julian didn't sound hurt; his voice was completely calm. And curious.
"Don't you think it's strange that I'm here for some time now and your uncle never came to talk to me?" Emma asked. "Normally, the head of an institute greets new Shadowhunters, especially when they're going to live there. And the one time I met him, he was acting strange and didn't even seem to notice me." She sighed. "I have a feeling that something's wrong here, I just don't know what it is."
Suddenly, Julian looked tensed. Emma could see it in his shoulders and the calm look on his face wasn't there anymore. "You know that you can talk to me." Emma reached for Julian's hand on the table and took it. Slowly, he relaxed again.
Julian sighed. "You're too attentive." He muttered and closed his eyes.
"Julian…" Emma began hesitantly, but he held up his free hand.
"You have to promise me one thing." He said. "Don't tell anyone else."
Emma nodded seriously. "I promised." She said, not sure what she should expect now.
And then Julian told her about his uncle and who was really directing the Los Angeles Institute.
"That sounds bad. Even worse than what you told me yesterday." Alec muttered and looked at Magnus seriously.
Magnus nodded. "We have to act quickly now." He said and turned to Emma again.
To her surprise, Magnus had taken her to New York to talk. Apparently, it was easier here where his books were around. Alec wanted to hear the conversation as well and he couldn't leave right now. He was waiting for Lily, the head of the New York vampire clan. When Emma asked why, he just said that they needed to discuss something concerning broken windows and werewolves. Emma didn't ask any further.
To be honest, she was still shaken by her conversation with Julian. Arthur Blackthorn was officially head of the institute, but he'd never done anything in this position. All the papers were written by Julian and he was coordinating everything. It had taken some time for Emma to completely understand this. Of course she'd seen that something was wrong with Arthur and that Julian seemed far too tired and serious for someone in his age, but she'd never expected this. After he'd told her everything, she'd just hugged him tightly and they'd stayed like this for some time. She'd promised him to help him with this from now on.
After that, Julian had left, and Emma had called Magnus.
"We need to find the warlock, Horatio." Emma nodded and Magnus frowned.
"I've never heard of someone with that name. And your description also doesn't help me." He muttered thoughtfully.
"What about the Faerie?" Alec asked. "Finding him would also help you. After all, he decides where the rituals take place."
"Honestly, we have no idea how to find him." Emma explained. "Maybe some of our contacts can help us, but we doubt that they'll tell us anything. Ford's feared in LA."
"Justifiably." Magus threw in. "What they're doing there is dangerous."
Emma nodded darkly, remembering the conversation they heard the previous night. "They need a Faerie and a Warlock." She said slowly and just like the first time she mentioned this, Alec tensed and wrapped an arm around Magnus' waist protectively.
Magnus chuckled at this and kissed Alec quickly. "You know they won't touch me." He whispered, before he turned to Emma again. "I've looked up that ritual in my books." He pointed at the book on the table. "There's a way to stop everything once the ritual is completed, but it won't be easy. And I fear there'll be many victims then."
Emma sighed. "I already thought you'd say something like that."
Magnus smiled at her sadly. "I really wish I could help you right now." He muttered and looked at the book again. "Maybe I can make a few calls, see if someone knows something. There's always someone who knows something in the shadow world."
"And I can ask a few people about this too." Alec offered immediately. The idea that Magnus might be in danger made him nervous. Emma understood why and her thoughts wandered to Julian again.
"That would be great." Emma smiled at them and hoped that it wouldn't look as nervous as she felt. "We'll try to find out more as well. Maybe we'll have a look at their former meeting place again, see if we can find a hint there. But we already took most things that were there, so there won't be much to see anymore. There must be a way to find them." It had been Julian's idea and they'd agreed to do it if they didn't find any other traces today.
"There's always a way." Alec muttered. When Emma raised her eyebrows at him, he shrugged. "Jace keeps saying that." He explained and Emma could imagine Alec's Parabatai say those words. She hadn't seen Clary and Jace for some time now. She wished that she could visit them, now that she was in New York. But they had bigger problems and they needed to deal with them quickly.
"Sounds like him." Emma agreed.
"The meeting place." Magnus said suddenly. "The table. Papers on the walls. Notes with handwriting. You've got all that?"
Emma nodded. "The silent brothers have looked at it closely, before they delivered it to the institute." Diana wanted to look at those things again when she returned from her meeting with Malcolm. They didn't want the children to see those things.
"And in the hall's nothing left?"
Emma shook her head. "Just the table and much dirt."
Magnus looked at her thoughtfully, his cat-like eyes narrowed. "Look at the walls again, and everything else. In daylight. Maybe you'll find more."
"I could go there with Julian once I get back to LA." Emma offered. "But why do you think that there could be more?"
To her surprise, Magnus just shrugged. "Call it instinct, sweetheart." He smiled slightly, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Alright, we'll have a look at it again. I trust you with this. And now we've got somewhere to start." Emma said simply. Just in that moment, the doorbell rang.
Alec stood up and looked at Emma apologetically. "That must be Lily. I'll call you when I can find out more, Emma."
Emma nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Alec."
"I'll take you back to LA." Magnus stood up as well.
Just before Emma could walk through the portal Magnus created in the guest room, he looked at Emma again seriously. "You have to be careful, Emma. You're playing with fire, especially when the Fair Folk is involved in times like this."
Emma hugged him. "You know that I'm always careful."
"Do you know that Jace calls you a killer machine on two legs? Which suggests that you don't look after yourself very much." Magnus smiled at her. "I'll call you soon. And tell me when you find out more." He hesitated for a few seconds. "The Shadowhunters from LA are not alone in this."
"I promise. And thank you." With those words, Emma stepped through the portal back to LA.