The Price We Paid

by BellaAodh

The past has finally caught up with Kit when he runs into Ty at the Shadowhunter Academy. Meanwhile the Shadow World is changing, the Mortal Instruments are missing and a new foe is rising. Kit finds that he can't run away from his lineage just as he can't run away from that night three yeas ago. Soon they will both have to face the consequences as death comes looking for payment.

28. No Place of Solace

Kit was the only sane one left apparently, as he reluctantly followed Ty and the soon-to-be-a-handkerchief Ratatoskr. How was it he was the only one who could keep his priorities straight? And what kind of Shadowhunter drops everything to help out a squirrel? Sure, he heard of firefighters rescuing kittens from trees but this was just stupid. But then again this was Ty, and it had become blatantly obvious he couldn't expect him to act like he expected.

This was extraordinarily frustrating for someone like Kit who's entire existence counted on being able to read people and guess their motives.

Ty's tall frame ran in front of him, Kit could see his ripped clothes hanging off his arms and the outline of his shoulder blades as he ran. His eyes fixated on him trying to put all the pieces he discovered about him together. He had been telling himself that he didn't want to know who Ty was, and he definitely didn't care about understanding him. But that wasn't true, secretly in the back of his head he had been working on that mystery since he laid eyes on him in the Shattered Forest.

So, what motivated Tiberius Blackthorn?

Justice? Or what he thought was justice anyway. Kit had learned that Ty was honest to a fault to the point that he very much doubted his capabilities to lie even if he wanted to. But he was naive, and naivety could easily be manipulated especially by a cult-like the Nephilim that prided itself in its indoctrination.

He felt another wave of revulsion at himself, whatever he might think of Ty now he still refused to become what this Kit had been. And if that was where the line was at then what about the possibility of Ty becoming something else?
They dashed over hissing brooks and roots hidden under the canopy of the floor that tried to encircle around their heals as their feet lightly pressed against the earth as they moved. Dark clouds spiraled above them like a swirling eye watching them from above. As they came to a mass of torched land with dark ash that crunched under their steps. Kit nervously looked around for any sign of one of those mutated angel things Ty kept trying to tell him was a cupid. Eventually, it felt like they must have traversed all the way to the other side of the garden when something started to change.

It was darker here, something heavy pressed down on them that Kit could feel even with the effects of fruit of the garden still running through him. But this was different, this wasn't the same feeling like this crushing pressure that squeezed out all his worst thoughts and feelings, this was someone else's.

They slowed to a stop as Ratatoskr scampered up a set of stone steps. Kit and Ty both stopped as they took in the area around them. It was like the sun was banished from this place, a heavy blanket of mist falling over everything they could see. The garden parted from the first proof of something man-made, the steps reaching further into the mist. A sea of dark green and blue flowers hovered over the steps, and as they walked on they watched the colors darken until it was nothing but rot. It reminded Kit too much of home, just looking at the dying scenery made him remember the feelings of a small boy watching his world fall apart until it was an unrecognizable skeleton. The glamour of perfection peeled away to reveal something sinister and rotten wasn't the same thing as watching something truly beautiful die almost as soon as you discovered it.

Ty hesitated on the steps in front of him. Kit was reminded of his earlier thoughts when he watched his grey eyes try to pierce that heavy veil that looked very alike in color. Ty's eyes, maybe they too held hidden secrets and darker thoughts. In fact, he was convinced it did. From the way Ty talked of his sister it didn't take long for Kit to put the pieces together. Ty, a Shadowhunter, had attempted necromancy. He acted like the moral paragon for all of downworld to aspire to when in actuality Ty was willing to do whatever it took to get what he wanted, just like Kit. And just like Kit, he wasn't afraid to break the rules when he knew he could.

He caught up to him on the steps, peering into the mist to try and find a trace of where Ratatoskr had gone.

"I don't see him," he said stupidly.

Ty just ignored the obvious statement and kept looking around, making Kit feel extra dumb.

"Let's keep following the steps," Ty said, turning to take another step when they heard a sudden knock in the distance. They both froze, turning to look to their left where the sound came from. A few more sporadic knocks followed after.

"That could be them," Ty said. "Squirrels crack open the nuts they find before burying them to make sure they don't germinate."

Squirrel facts aside, Kit wasn't convinced. He knew the little beast mentioned more of his kind but the fact that the last they had seen him was on the steps right in front of them before he vanished left him suspicious.

"Or we could go with the first plan and follow the steps. You know what they say, never second guess yourself, your first instinct is always right and all that"

After a moment of thinking Ty finally replied. "You're right, stay here and I'll go look."

Kit snorted, "Yeah, 'cause blindly following strange noises always works out."

But Ty just pointed back up to the winding steps. "I don't like how different this place is from the rest of the garden, and the steps leading us further away makes me think we aren't supposed to be here. There could easily be an angel at the end or even an abandoned ritual."

Kit hesitated, it did sound likely now that he mentioned it, and with the mist obscuring their view they wouldn't even be able to prepare themselves before walking into a trap.

Ty must have assumed the silence was a consensus and started forward. Reluctantly, Kit followed after him.

Ty looked back at him over his shoulder. "I told you you could stay behind if you didn't want to risk getting hurt."

"You're not leaving me behind on the stairway to hell!" He hissed back, shoving his hands in his pockets.

It didn't take long for the knocking to get louder. As they came closer Kit could see the silhouette of a dozen little creatures but when they were close enough to really see them, they were definitely not squirrels. White little goblins with large ears perked up at the sound of their approach, their blind eyes finding them immediately as their ears twitched from picking up their sound. Each of them had a piece of some kind of mineral or rock they were bashing against the remains of a stone foundation.

Ty was caught up listening to the crack of every stone and didn't notice the thing rising from the earth, but Kit did.

At first, he thought it was digging itself out of the ground when he noticed it was dripping wet. It's long green head resembled that of a crocodile's, it's narrow snout dripped algae between its teeth. But it kept getting bigger, a large hump arose from the water carrying lily pads and grass from resting atop the water for too long with long green arms following afterwards.

The low groan it let out drowned out his yell for Ty.

Before Kit could register what to do, Ty had already jumped in front of him.

"Feeeeed mee!" It grumbled, it's dull yellow eyes watched them. "Feed me!"

Kit elbowed Ty as he moved out from behind him. "This is definitely not a squirrel, let's go." He should have grabbed Ty and pulled him back around with him. He should have known that Ty wasn't about to go along and do the sensible thing. No, he had to talk to it.

"We don't have anything to feed you with," Ty tried to reason with the creature from the black lagoon.

Kit halted in disbelief and turned around just in time to see the thing tilt its head uncomprehendingly.

"Feed me?" It questioned the goblin things before reaching out with its elongated fingers. "Feeed meee!"

That was the second opportunity to escape that was ruined by Ty diving after one of the goblins in the troll thing's path.

He had just enough time to throw his body over the creatures as it clung desperately to him when the troll's hand, claws extended, swooped over them.

Kit kicked off the ground in desperation, finding the knife in his pocket with more swiftness than he thought he possessed. A wave of irrational anger at the troll propelled him now.

"Out of the way!" He yelled, shoving Ty to the side just as the hand smacked down on him hard, sending him skittering across the ground until he plummeted into the hidden waters the troll occupied.

He hardly felt the splash as his body sunk into the water, his lungs crying out from the breath brutally stolen from him, the water that embraced him promised there would never be a need to breathe again. But in a second everything changed again as something gripped him hard, thrusting him out of the water as fast as he had fallen in.

He felt his head break the surface, automatically he gulped for air he couldn't breathe in. All at once he became aware of the scaly fingers gripping him tightly around his chest, and the mouth opening up to swallow him. Rows of broken ragged teeth caked with mud and blood, and the scent of decay assaulted him as he was brought closer.

"Feed me!"

And just as he struggled in its grasp he felt the knife somehow still in his grip.

"Kit!" He heard Ty yelling for him.

Not Christopher, Kit, he was yelling his name.

Something inside himself snapped apart. He let out a yell of defiance and with it he plunged his blade through the top of the troll's skull.

"Zadkiel!" He heard Ty say.

It wavered on its feet, tittering backwards towards the water, Kit still gripped tightly in its hand when suddenly he was cut free.

He saw the flash of something bright straight from an old memory as he fell.

The sound of a gunshot heard years ago came back to him in his head. Again he saw that Shadowhunter fall to the floor, his shining sword sputtering out at Kit's feet. Adamas he remembered.

He hit the ground hard but ignored it, hastily trying to pull himself back up. Ty raced for him, his sword still shining when he fell to his knees next to him.

"Are you hurt?" He demanded, his eyes already searching his body for an answer.

"No," he got out, glad he could actually breathe again. He noticed none of the goblins that got them in this mess, to begin with, were around anymore, of course, and turned on Ty. "Is there something wrong with you? We could have left at any time, nothing was making us stay here until you decided to play hero and then I ended up paying for it!" He snapped.

Ty's eyes were wide dancing just below eye level as he asked, "Then why did you do it? Why did you save me then?"

Bringing it up made Kit feel betrayed by his own actions. He was involuntarily pushed into silence as he tried to come up for a reasonable excuse, and when he found that answer he didn't want to say it. He didn't even want to admit to himself. He was afraid, for a split second he was forced to realize that Ty could die, and then he would be alone. But why was that a problem? How did that become any concern of his? How could it possibly bother him that someone he wanted to kill might someday die.

Or just leave.

Violently he pushed it away. It wasn't him, it would never be him. "If you would rather be dead I'll gladly let the next troll eat you next time!"

He jumped in his skin when Ty laughed. Kit watched him with his mouth hanging open that Ty was actually laughing. It was the first time Kit noticed he had never seen him laugh or smile, and he was smiling at him now. Kit never wondered what he would look like smiling but now that he had seen it he could never forget it. That still intensity Ty always had was gone, suddenly his whole face transformed into a beauty so sharp it was painful to look at, and just as inviting. Kit couldn't look away, and for once he didn't care that he was staring.

A deep hunger answered back his ceaseless questions, so strong he felt it in everything he ever was. He had nothing, and he never had any hope and never even tried to find the answer to that ache that had been tearing at him all of his life. It had become so strong he felt nothing, just a numbness he learned to welcome, but here in front of him now the floodgates opened leaving him to feel like a child.

He ducked his head, burying his nails in the ground but that damn smile was burning its way through him leaving a wanting so much stronger than any basic need he couldn't satisfy in Thule.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Kit took a breath that splintered him in two and looked back up at him. The smile was gone, placed with more concern and it seared him in a completely new way.

"I'm fine," he answered, and if this Shadowhunter he hated so much could just keep smiling at him like that then maybe he would be.

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Livvy forced her back straight as she marched out of the weapons room, an eerie silence greeted her on the other side. In the few minutes it took for her to claim her saber the battle had left the Institute as far as she could tell. There was nothing left for her here but the chilly night breeze drifting in from the open doors, the blood smearing the blue paint on the walls, and the broken furniture. She refused to let her eyes drift towards the floor where the bodies laid. The only sound was the distant gunshots outside and the ticking of a grandfather clock that somehow remained unharmed.

But then something crashed behind her followed by an angry cry. She spun back around, ignoring the jabbing pain that ran up her body as she dashed back to where the training room was. Livvy rounded the corner as the conversation from the changing room reached her ears.

"Bastard, why are you even here?"

Someone laughed, their excitement made the sound harsh and shrill. "I have an experiment I must run, and you see this battlefield happened to be very convenient for me."

Livvy reached out and grabbed the door frame, slowly pulling herself inside.

Cameron tried to push himself up from under the dummies but only managed to get one knee up. "The people out there are dying for something, what happens out there matters, someone with no stake in this like you has no right to interfere!"

Livvy could see the anger behind those words and the hope that every Shadowhunter is taught to believe. A Shadowhunter's death is never in vain because they died for something. These words were the only thing to hold onto when you watched your family march into a battlefield. She knew Cameron needed that belief now to face whatever happened to his sister or cousin because at least they were all fighting for something.

Two faeries stood on the other side, one waiting with his arms crossed for the final blow as his other faerie companion pulled back the drawstring of his bow, aiming straight for Cameron's heart.

The one who spoke looked like an insect with a face withered as an old leaf. His eyes narrowed into the dark folds of his face as he answered.

"I disagree, I see my people on your battlefield. I do not need orders from heaven before I side with my kin." Slyly he added, "But it would appear that you do." The skin along the faerie's face cracked at the sudden maliciousness in the look he gave Cameron.

The other Faerie looked completely disengaged from the present. His boyish face looked no further than the tip of his arrow, even when the other faerie raised his hand to give the order to kill.

She wracked her brain for something that would make them stop, but the only thing that happened was her calling out, "HEY!" Her hands were steady as she held her saber, but her feet were another story. Her eyes slid over the distance between them, she didn't know if she could sprint the distance in time. "I think you both have some business with me first."

"Livvy!" Cameron gasped, his blue eyes looked brighter against the bruises coloring of his skin.

She tried to ignore him, but a part of her was calling back to him begging for the injuries to disappear. The unsettling part of it was that she could no longer tell if it was her own feelings or not anymore.

The faerie with the bow stilled but never lowered it as the other one took notice of her. His skin was the color of dry leaves, a pair of small insect wings protruded from his head, his back hosted colorful butterfly wings, around his neck he wore a shroud that looked like smoke itself. He looked so different from his companion who looked very human-like save for the strange graying of his skin and the ears that betrayed him as one of the fair folk.

The faerie laughed at her interruption. "Girl, you should be grateful for the opportunity to flee, I am Hafgan a conqueror of death. There is no hope for you here."

She raised her saber in a challenge. "Try and say that after you beat me."

He threw his head back and laughed again, the sound was strangely childish against his speaking voice. "You are a half-dead thing already, yet you still wish to fight me?"

Wrong again, Livvy thought. All the while the blonde boy never flinched from his position.

Cameron tried to pull himself up, calling out to her. "Don't do it! He's not lying-!"

The warning brought to her attention the series of puncture wounds that pierced Hafgan's armor and skin, but there was no blood spattered on his gear, not even a pulstering of red skin.

Hafgan flinched with impatience, cutting off Cameron's warning with a snap.

"Kill her, Pwyll."

Without a second's hesitation weighed down by conscious thought, the boy turned his arrow on her, releasing it quicker than she could comprehend that Pwyll was the name of the boy.

Livvy stumbled out of the way more than she actually dogged his attacks But by the time she was able to force herself to regain her posture Pwyll was bearing down on her with a sword.

His sword was different than her saber, while he slashed and hacked she thrusted and parried.

A moment of confusion flashed across Pwyll's usual impassive features. There was eerie emptiness in his brown eyes as he attacked like he was looking straight through her.

It was exhaustive to try to keep up with his pace while pushing through her injury.

Twice he almost disarmed her completely as they danced around the room. It was only her body's reflex from evasive training that saved her more than her skill with a saber.

Every blow left her gasping while the faerie barely looked like he needed to breathe at all. She was pushing and pushing but she couldn't get her body to respond, every second that passed her limbs moved slower and slower.

She really thought she could win if she just had her saber.

She was an idiot.

Livvy wasn't the hardened one with skills harnessed to perfection by a harsh reality. She was just fifteen, and all her experience and training stopped since she was fifteen.

Pwyll's sword swept over the top of her head as the strength in her legs finally left, crashing her to her knees.

All she had left was one last move.

Pwyll started for her, letting himself get too close. Right before he reached her, Livvy thrusted her saber into his abdomen. It went in deep but the knife in her chest allowed her to get out of the way before he retaliated.

Pwyll doubled over in pain, but what seeped between his fingers wasn't blood but a dark mist. It poured over his hands like blood before disappearing. Her eyes widened, she had seen something like this before, before she caught the spreading grin on Hafgan's face as Pwyll flinched in pain.

Again Pwyll straightened, no emotion or pain left on his face as he obediently raised his leg and kicked out at her chest. His boot pushed in the dagger in her chest even further as she was sent backwards.

She tried to grit her teeth as a cry tore itself from her mouth. All the feeling in her body in a second of white hot agony.

Her vision exploded into white light for just a moment before she could feel the training room floor underneath her. It was a hard impact, but the feeling of her back hitting the training room floor was so familiar her body responded on instinct. Without thinking, her arms raised, pushing herself off the floor without thought. Because when you learn how to fall you learn how to get back up.

Her body struggled, her muscles stiffening under the strain even as Pwyll's sword speeded down to kill her. She almost closed her eyes before she heard the sound of rope being cut. Just as she realized what happened, a weighted bag came crashing down on Pwyll's head.

Cameron had dragged himself to one of the ropes that tied the weighted sandbags they used for targets. With one of his knives he was able to cut through just in time to save her life.

Livvy's eyes tore away from her opponent just long enough to look Cameron over. He was grasping his side and flinching at every breath. As far as she could tell his ribs must be broken by the way he tried to carry himself.

As Pwyll crumpled to the ground, Hafgan's childish laughter rang out.

Livvy gritted her teeth. It was too late to stop now. She would have to win this if she wanted to survive, if not for her sake then everyone else here that was still alive.

Cameron was still struggling to get up, the weapon in his hand trembled from the effort it took to grasp it.

No, she thought with certainty. She wouldn't let him die because of her. The sudden certainty sent a wave of determination that finally carried her back onto her feet.

Hafgan found his laugh cut off short when Livvy bounded for him with the last of her strength. but the amusement on his lips didn't leave until her sudden speed surprised him, landing a hit to his collar before he had readied his sword. Instead of struggling to pull it from his sheath he struck her instead with the back of his hand, almost sending her tumbling to the ground in front of him.

He casually walked over, one hand clenched in a fist and the other raising his sword in anticipation. Completely desperate, she left herself open for one last attempt at killing him. Her saber swung recklessly, catching the shroud along his shoulders instead of his neck. The saber ripped the fabric open as it fell from her hand, the severed halves of the shroud falling on either side of her sword.

Her heart stopped as she waited for Hafgan to mock her attempt at protecting her life, but he didn't. Instead, his face twisted into a grimace, his parchment like skin formed cracks in his anger. He heaved in rage as he grabbed a fist full of her gear and dragged her off her feet. His sword completely forgotten in his hand as he shook her.

" You think you're the only one who has the right to defy death? You, a mere human leech that crawled itself from Annwn to suck the life from the living? I know what you are, and you're more depraved than I, you parasite!"

Her fingers dug into his arms as she struggled, the other half hung uselessly at her side.

"But don't worry, I'll send your poor soul back where it belongs." He threw her aside before pulling out a pair of long throwing knives. "But unfortunately for you, I am quite petty and I will have my revenge before delivering you back to death."

She struggled to pull herself back up to her knees, the mat she landed on was imprinted red from her blood.

Hafgan raised his knives as he found his target struggling on one knee to get to Livvy.

The knife in her chest held her in place like a pin, all she could do was scream at her body in tandem to the rising swell of panic in her mind.

Hafgan flicked his wrist back but before he could release the knives someone dashed in front of him at inhuman speeds. Pwyll raised his blade and with one sudden move he sliced through Hafgan's forearm. He yelled in outrage as Pwyll flipped his blade around to shove the metal through his chest.

He fell without so much as a scream but the look that passed between him and Pwyll spoke volumes more of a deep hatred.

The boy stood there with his blade dripping in blood and picked up the dark shroud from the floor, leaving her saber untouched. His brown eyes stared at the torn fabric, his large round eyes narrowed into a look more resembling a man before moving his gaze to Livvy's. His eyes were alive now instead of the detached gaze he fought her with. Now he studied her on the ground, and his gaze was just as piercing as Hafgan's were that she was sure he knew what she was.

She held his stare but a knot in her throat prevented her from speaking, if he still chose to kill her there was nothing she could do to stop it now.

"Thank you, Shadowhunter, for freeing me."

The relief and surprise at his words left her feeling even more drained.

"He was controlling you?" She tried to say but where her voice faltered Cameron echoed the same question as he struggled to walk over.

Pwyll looked him over. "Rest easy, there is no reason to strain yourself. I will not allow any enemy of yours who enter this room to slay you," he vowed.

Being in debt to someone, even a human was something Faeries took seriously, still, there was just something so strange about this Faerie that she couldn't quite explain that made her feel uncomfortable.

Pwyll looked down at the torn material in his hands. "Hafgan and I have a...difficult history. He stole this shroud, a powerful artifact made in Annwn from me. With it he was able to control me and his mortality, for a time that is."

Annwn, the word stirred something deep inside her. Uncomfortably, it was as though her soul twitched at the mention, the word was unknown to her yet she knew without a doubt what it was, the otherworld, the otherside, afterlife, or death.

She licked her lips. "That sounds powerful."

"Most artifacts made in the realm of the dead have been known to have some power over life and death for itself," Pwyll answered simply.

Cameron relaxed as soon as he made his way beside Livvy, falling to the floor next to her. "I can't believe you fought them off like that, you really are amazing." Cameron smiled despite his disbelief before hastily adding, "but that wound is serious, Livvy, if you don't do something about it soon..." He trailed off but she interjected.

"Broken ribs don't look good either, what if they puncture your stomach or your heart? Or what if it breaks off into your body completely!" She joked but ended up grimacing from the effort it took to force herself to sound light hearted.

"Ha, ha, very funny." he rolled his eyes, but Livvy noticed the worried frown he gave his body and had to hide her laugh with a painful cough Cameron didn't buy.

She looked back up at Pwyll who looked gravely back at her. It completely changed his youthful face, making his round cheeks turn sharper, his wide eyes burned with wisdom and experience. Finally, he said what was on his mind. "But Hafgan was right about you, spirit, the longer you linger where you do not belong the more all will suffer for it."

"What are you talking about?" Cameron demanded, but Livvy felt the words sink deep into her bones, and shook with the force of it. She didn't belong here. How many times would she have to be reminded of that before it sunk in?

Pwyll ignored Cameron." When you find yourself at the gate of Annwn, call for Pwyll of Dyfed and I will guide you. I owe you that much young warrior," he advised.

It was as her eyes fell to the floor that she saw Hafgan raise himself off the ground, his severed arm dripped pools of blood, his other arm held the knives he failed to throw before, but the seething rage on his face told her that he would not be deterred any longer.

The only sound she could make in time was a loud gasp. Pwyll jumped out of the trajectory in time but Cameron couldn't possibly move quickly enough.

For the first time since this battle began, she felt another's strength reach out as she called for her help.

Cameron's face filled her vision, her own memories of him filled her head reminding her of a person that she almost knew. If she could take it all back, if she could just change one thing, she would have gotten to know Cameron Ashdown.

She threw herself in front of him, landing clumsily on top of him. Two blades as sharp as needles sent a spasm of pain through her back as they cut deep into her skin.

Behind her, she could hear the sound of a blade slicing through the air and the sound of a body hitting the ground.

"Livvy, no!" Cameron yelled in shock, his hands gripped her shoulders as he tried to pull her back to look at her.

The last of her energy was sapped out of her as she rested her head on his chest. He wanted to turn her around but she did her best to resist, it was comforting here somehow. She never knew how well they fit together, she never would have known.

"Livvy? Livvy, It's going to be okay, I'm going to get you to a healer. Just don't fall asleep, okay? Livvy?" Cameron panicked, trying to scoop her up without causing her more pain.

Her mind was growing dark, all of her problems and the boy holding her in his arms were getting further away. But in that growing abyss Ty still remained, standing there at the edge of consciousness he waited for her until it was time for him to follow her into the unknown. He was that constant she carried with her to death and back.

And when it was time she would do it again.

But if she died again could Ty finally believe he could live without her? She promised she would stay with him as long as he wanted, how could she break that promise to him?

"And if it were the other way around he would have remained with us." a voice said. " But what we want and what we need are not exclusive."

As her body fell away from her as she left her physical sensations behind she could feel the other soul drift away alongside her. Their essence spilled out into the emptiness around them, letting it grow in size now that they were finally free from that crowded vessel.

"I'm sorry," Livvy told her, letting her remorse about killing them both color her voice.

"It's okay," she answered back. Thank you for saving him for me."

But she wasn't the only one that wanted to save him.

"Livvy can you still hear me?" Cameron's voice echoed around them.

The ghost of a whisper answered him. "Promise...to live for me."

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Kit had been arguing with Ty on whether or not he needed a rune to dry himself off or not because Ty was starting to take issues with how Kit was running his life. The idea that Shadowhunters even had a drying rune was pretty ridiculous to Kit, but on the other hand, he couldn't exactly imagine them carrying around hair dryers either. He made it very clear it wasn't what he could do it was about what he wouldn't do and he wasn't getting anymore marks. And Ty made it clear that he thought Kit getting hypothermia was stupid and not a noble display of loyalty to his principals.

Kit glared up at him, shivering as the mist clung to his damp skin and the clouded sky refused to warm him up. This was totally the best option.

Movement broke his glare as he watched something dart up one of the huge boulders. When Kit turned to see Rataskor looking down on him his glare returned in full force.

"Hmm! That's one thing taken care of," the rat hummed, pleased with itself as he regarded the dead troll.

"Yeah, and I bet you're real proud at tricking us into it aren't you?" Kit accused.

The squirrel just tilted it's head like he was tiring him. "Tsk, why complain about that now? You survived didn't you?"

Kit started to scramble to his feet to skin the little beast before Ty pulled him back by the collar of his shirt.

"I'm not going to help you either if you don't start being upfront with us," Ty said firmly.

Kit was a little relieved and surprised that Ty wasn't letting the little freak get away with it so easily.

Ratatoskr agitatedly ran his hands through his fur groaning, "Urghhh, fine," before perking back up instantly. "I need you to chase away the intruders invading my clan's home!"

They were both quiet for a moment but Ty broke first. Kit knew as soon as he glimpsed Ty's sympathetic face that any resistance he had just crumbled away.

"Your family's home?" Ty asked.

Kit pulled at his face and groaned.

Ratatoskr leaped at the chance to take advantage of Ty's broken resolve. "Yes! Yes! My family is about to get their homes taken from them!" he hopped up and down. "Quickly now!" He jumped from the boulder, leaving no room for further debate before they were forced to follow after him.

Kit sighed. "And after all that you're still going to insist we help aren't you?"

Ty looked over at him, his eyebrows raising slightly at the question. "And are you still going to insist that we shouldn't help?"

It took everything he had to swallow down his uncertainty to take a risk and just smile at him. "Why? Are you telling me you would actually change your mind if I did?"

Ty smiled back at him, "of course not."

Immediate gratification bubbled up inside him until he let himself laugh as they made their way back to the path together.

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Ratatoskr led them to the top of the stone steps. It led to what looked to at once be the beginnings of a large fortress that fell apart just as it began. Large piles of stone littered the bottom of the mountain from where they came, the blackened flowers took the place of the somber blue ones they saw at the foot of the mountain.

"This must be what was left of the place Adam and Eve were meant to begin their rule over humanity," Ty said.

A chill rustled through the forest around them at Ty's words. The dusting of ice in the wind prickled Kit with uncertainty of this place. It might not be a ritual or anything like Ty had thought, but Kit was sure this was still a place they were never meant to find.

Two trees on either side of the stone tower had sprouted through the cracks of the floor which Kit had to guess was the home Rataoskr was talking about. The trees were ladened with thick balls of branches and sticks woven to almost look like baskets and connecting bridges hanging from the trees.

"Those are some sophisticated nests," Kit muttered to Ty.

"They're called drey's," Ty informed him. "But these are much more advanced." He stared up at the trees in pure wonderment.

Kit was starting to realize that animals, apparently, were Ty's thing. Not that he agreed that the mutant jackalope hybrid should count.

"Tell me, are you just that much of a show off or do you actually just know everything?" Kit complained.

"I'm not a show off," Ty protested.

Kit shook his head, looking over at Ty with a smug smile. "You know that I know you're lying right? Or do you really think I believe you haven't tried to impress at least one person with everything you know?"

Ty's cheeks turned bright pink as he looked away. "I don't usually show off," he quietly amended.

Kit's smile broadened at the flustered look on his face. Meanwhile, Rataoskr's family skittered from the trees to see what was going on. It was like a little army of squirrels, each the size of a small dog with antlers pasted to their heads. Half of them stayed to the side of one tree while the rest clamored closer to where Kit and Ty were standing. Ratatoskr climbed up Ty until he was sitting on his shoulders again.

"What are these creatures you bring to us Ratatoskr!" One of the squirrels with white circles around his eyes cried.

"These are the ones we have heard of called humans, and I have brought them here to slay the invaders from our homes!"

Chaos erupted at those words. The Squirrels huddled together away from the others began to scream and run to their tree, some of them scattering into the bushes.

Rataoskr laughed maniacally, pointing his claw at them. "Kill them Shadowhunter! Slay the trespassers!"

Ty looked alarmed at the sudden command, "I'm not killing them Ratatoskr!" He turned to address the duressed squirrels. " I won't hurt you!"

Kit just stood back and watched, a huge grin on his face.

Rataoskr's fur bristled, the hair on his tail stood up like needles. His eyes clouded over in a strange darkness as he looked at Ty now. "You would break your promise to me?"

And for once Kit thought he sounded actually threatening.

Ty didn't seem to notice the change. "I promised to help you, not kill anything. Tell me what's going on or we're leaving."

Kit took a step forward, hoping he might finally get his chance to knock that little rat halfway across the garden, but after a moment Rataoskr pretended to calm down.

"One tree belongs to my Clan of Unnisean." He pointed towards the tree that shot straight from the ground with a thick canopy. "And the other belongs to the Darragh Clan." The other tree was a mass of thick trunks weaved together to create wild branches.

Both Kit and Ty stared at the trees wondering if they missed anything. After a long moment Kit finally asked, "and what's your point?"

"If you look closely you can see where one of the Darragh's branches has reached over to our tree and now their Clan is demanding that our tree belongs to the Darragh Clan now!"

Kit blinked before bursting out, "You dragged us all the way here for a land dispute? You've got to be kidding me! Seriously rat, get to the punchline before I give it to you first!" He tried to snatch the squirrel from Ty's shoulder but Rataoskr just jumped out of the way, landing atop of Ty's head.

"This sounds easily fixed," Ty went to his weapons belt, Rataoskr started to grab at his dark curls like reigns. But Kit, who was thinking along the same lines, stopped him.

Grabbing his wrist to hold him back, Kit pitched him his idea. "You said you wanted information on the angels right? I think that's not too much to ask for upfront before we solve this problem for them."

Rataoskr's hair bristled as he glared at Kit. "I do not like you, human."

Kit could hear that something dark laid behind those words.

"Only because I'm not as easily manipulated, is that right?" Kit didn't hide any of his contempt for the squirrel.

They silently threatened each other until Ty plucked the squirrel from his head in annoyance from the hair pulling and the insinuation he was easily manipulated.

Ty held him in his palm as he brought Ratatoskr down to eye level. "Kit's right, I think the least you can do is give us some information after you neglected to mention the troll you wanted us to kill."

There was a glint in Rataoskr's eyes that Kit didn't like when he looked back up at Ty. "Hmmm, if that is all you wanted then all you had to do was ask."

The other squirrels didn't seem convinced it was just a simple favor as they raced into their trees only to poke their heads out of their homes and through the safety of the leaves.

"Touchy subject I guess," Kit observed.

"Very much like the angels themselves," Rataoskr began to explain. "From what I have heard Old ones say is that the angels were left to guard this place when it was still this encapsulated garden instead of leaving along with the humans. But there were others here that were hidden in the garden, and once the humans had left they confronted the angels they themselves resembled. They were great snakes and shapeshifters, their powers greatly outmatched the guardians and so they were deceived and forced to bear the offspring of the darker ones. Eventually, the land would expand past this garden, even their children would migrate and leave this place behind but the guardians still remained."

"Sammael and Lilith," Ty muttered under his breath but something out there heard him as the wind turned into a whip of blistering ice.

"But why are they still guarding this place then? Because of the tree?" Kit asked.

Rataoskr stood on his legs and crossed his arms. "Hmmmm, I would not know what their purpose here is, but I suppose they have not fulfilled it. Many doubt they ever will now, I've heard the Old ones say they have changed from their memory. They turned haunted and unpredictable from their original nature. Now the ground once meant to give birth to paradise burns in the fires of the heavens instead of tilled with the labor of creation."

They fell silent as the wind howled against their faces, the forest twisted in agony as the stones grew colder under their feet.

Ty looked horrified, even Kit had to admit it was all pretty dark.

So that's how Faerie came to be, Kit thought to himself thinking of the double nature of the Fair Folk, their twisted sense of honor and even their glamorous obscuring danger with beauty...

"This place is cursed then," Kit said.

"Hmmm, I can't imagine a place that is not touched by what has happened here. So much was born from the seeds of pain and hope that took root here. But then again I have never left this place of my birth."

No place to find solace, Kit thought bitterly, why did that sound so familiar? No one place in this entire dimension or outside of it wasn't tainted. And now he knew it was always like this from the very beginning. As he thought of Thule and how pointless it seemed in the grand scheme of things now and how desperately they all wanted to leave, he finally knew what this place felt like.

Tragedy. And tragedy breeds tragedy and it bleeds into everything until it's all stained red.

"Is your curiosity satisfied, hmmm?" Ratatoskr asked.

Ty looked up into the wind as it lifted his dark hair away from his face. "No," the way he said it made it sound like a defiance to the world.

He set Ratatoskr onto the ground and made his way over to the tree, a few of the squirrels scampered further up along the branches to get away from him as he drew closer.

Ty pulled out the handle of a blade, and with a whisper of the same name from earlier, it came to life. With one swift move, he cut the branch through entirely. He effortlessly untangled the branches and threw it to the ground at the root of the trees.

"T-this is not..!" Ratatoskr sputtered.

"What's the problem? The branch is gone now so there should be no more dispute." Ty gestured to the branch at his feet.

Kit's face broke into a wide grin. He had been right, Ty wasn't as different as he liked to believe he was, and of course he wasn't if he felt anything for that other version of him. But His smile faded when he remembered that now it was time for them to enact their plans to leave. And when that happened Ty would go back with the other Kit, hell, maybe the other Shadowhunters would even try to arrest him.

Kit couldn't let that happen now, not after everything he had been locking away finally spilled out. He couldn't look away from that truth now that it was staring back at him, it would never be locked away again. If he couldn't walk away from it then neither could Ty.

He came here in search of the life that he should have had. It was time for him to face it that he couldn't regain that future that was taken from him, but if he could just have one thing from this life it would be Ty.

If Ty could love the Kit here then he was sure Ty could love him too, but he was wasted all of his time trying to get him instead. A wild thought flew into his mind to simply just control him to stay. He could do it, after all, he learned how to make people listen with just his strange powers. He couldn't always count on it to work but it could.

Ty walked back over to him, his head down distracted by something in his mind. When they were right next to each other Ty glanced his way. "Let's go back and go over the plan." He made to take another step before hesitating. "Are sure you're alright? You look like you're upset."

There it was, that concern that could bore holes into his skin just hearing it. No, controlling him wasn't what he wanted, he needed Ty to see that he could want him too. That was when he realized he didn't need to convince him, he just needed more time.

He looked back over at the stone steps they had taken. If there was never any paradise to escape to, and they've all been doomed all along then what did matter when they returned back to the mundane world? In fact, he would probably be better off waiting it out until the whole thing with the Pandemonium club blew over. Kit had to admit that the fact that they could pass centuries here in a few days was pretty unnerving but it's not like he had anything to lose. Ty wasn't like other Shadowhunters, he didn't belong with the Clave, just like Kit. Even if Ty lost his family to time that would just mean he could finally see the Clave for what they were without his family pressuring him. Ty would want to adapt when he saw the Clave the way that Kit did, Ty would have to thank him for opening up his eyes and saving him.

Better yet that Kit would be out of the way for good and Ty would finally see what he was worth.

After that much time has passed Kit might even start leading a new life, one that didn't feel like he was forced into playing a game of Russian Roulette with everyone that comes into his life. Maybe he would still be making his living on the fringe of Downworld, dirty money passing through the handshakes of every person he would meet. He didn't know, but for the first time he could start to imagine something more than the life he had lived before.

Ty was frowning, still waiting on an answer from him.

Kit hid a small smile and answered, "I think I'm about to be doing a lot better."

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The grass was slick with more than just the rain as Kit and Isabelle's feet pounded the soft earth as they ran to the front lawn.

Sparks flew in the night sky, a sea of black armor clashed against each other broken up by faerie soldiers. Wave after wave of demons rolled in one after another to wear them thin.

The Shadowhunters were barely keeping their enemies at bay, and the ones they did were mostly thanks to the constant warding spells the Warlocks attempted to put up to slow down their progress. Witchlight stones dotted the field, winking in and out like stars as the Shadowhunters holding them fell. The fire and smoke behind them filled their noses, as they watched weapons clash against steel, tooth, and claw.

Kit remembered hearing about some strategy plan Jace had come up with. Looking around the battlefield he could see where iron was laid around the parameter to ward off Faeries. He also heard a special demon slaying team had been established to lure demons into the Institute if the wards broke. Large containers of holy water were to be rigged to dump on top of them at the same time they were assaulted by a barrage of adamas weapons.

He was also pretty sure he also heard it suggested that Clary should be moved to another Institute, but it didn't surprise anyone when she shot down that idea. Shadowhunters didn't hide from battle, Kit just wasn't sure if that was admirable or stupid yet.

But all of their coordination slipped away after the waves of enemies chipped away at them, throwing their teams into disorder. Everyone had scattered, dividing into close knit teams instead of where they were stationed as the pressure from the demon's onslaught forced them to break rank.

Now as Kit looked around wildly for any sign of his cousin, it was practically impossible to find and protect those that needed it most. That was until he finally found a head of golden curls poking out in a crowd of demons. Next to him he could see streaks of red as Clary dashed around Jace and her enemies. Simon was close by, discarding his bow to dive into the demons obstructing him from Clary. About half a mile away the Counsel fought alongside his husband and a group of archer's. Alec kept his aim in Clary's direction but he couldn't get closer to her or his parabatai before another member of the Cohort rose up to try and strike him down.

Magnus' face was strained as he watched Alec, his hands, and magic binded by the ward he was trying to keep up to prevent their enemies from surrounding them on all sides.

Isabelle's eyes lingered on Simon before tearing her eyes away. "Go to Jace," she ordered roughly. " I'll help Alec clear a way!" Without any more hesitation, she ran after her brother leaving the rest to Kit.

He wasted no time charging forward, but just like Alec it didn't take long before enemies swarmed him. Kit did his best to keep charging through, knocking aside several Faerie blades trying to engage him.

But it wasn't long before an enemy attacked that he couldn't just brush off. She was an undine, a water spirit, and just like the lakes she lived in she was a body of dark waters in the shape of a woman, fins grew on either side of her face, and gills decorated her ribs. Her armor was the hardest ice and when he did cut through it his blade only met water that easily parted out of the way. Kit swore, his attempts at disarming her weren't working and he didn't have time to figure out where she stored her heart.

Someone yelled out a charge from right behind him, and Kit knew by some strange instinct that their blade was aimed right at his back. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and without thinking his body reacted with the one thought shouting in his head.

MOVE!

And his body did as light erupted around him without warning, carrying him somewhere beside the undine as a Cohort's blade meant for him struck the faerie through the head. She exploded in a foam of white water as the sword accidentally found her heart.

The Shadowhunter stood in slack jawed, his sword slipping lower before he caught sight of Kit again.

But it was too late because now Kit remembered he didn't have to fight fair. The ichor and blood on his gear was proof enough that the time for worrying about the risks was over. In his head he made a quick apology to Tessa and Jem, then in another flash of light, he was gone again, appearing mid-air to thrust Caliburn through the head of a Raum demon. He took off in a run without even bothering to pull his sword out. He kicked his legs harder when he saw a Shadowhunter catch sight of him and stepped out in Kit's path with his gun trained right for him. In less than a second he disappeared from the man's vision altogether only to reappear right in front of him. Kit reached out calling Caliburn back to his hand. Before he even felt the sword return he was already in motion to deliver the blow. Less than a second he was all it took for him to charge an enemy, slice open the man's skin with his sword, and send the man's gun flying into the stampede of people around them.

His heart was flying in his chest, as his magic flowed excitedly through his blood like a drug. He had never dared to use his powers like this before, but to Kit the worst case scenario that could happen already did.

Deep within him he could feel the eerie sensation of something scratching the surface of something bigger than himself that he had hated. But instead of being afraid to let his magic pour through the cracks he just laughed. He was more in control then ever, if he wasn't so afraid to use this power then maybe things might have been different, for him, for Ty, for everyone. The feeling that he could do anything took the place of what he thought had been foreboding. There were no limits for him anymore, hadn't Kieran told him as much? Wasn't that why Sammel wanted this power so badly?

He dodged another gunshot by teleporting to the man's side. Kit raised his fist and punched him in the jaw, but before the man could retaliate Kit had disappeared until the man was knocked off his feet and lying flat on his back.

The power was building inside him and Kit wondered if he would ever reach the summit. The high in his blood was turning to a slow fire that burned his skin turning his magic into an itch so strong it burned.

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Isabelle's whip lashed out again pushing the Cohort trying to advance on him back. Every time one of them managed to deflect his sister's electrum wire Alec took care of them with a well placed arrow. He watched as men and women he had known since he was a child, some of them he had even mistakenly admired, now eagerly pushed themselves closer to be the one to spill his blood.

Alec knew this was personal, at least to them it was. It wasn't just that he was the official leader of the Clave that made them so eager to fight him, but it was everything that he stood for, the demolishing of their traditions and beliefs. He had never wanted to tear down the Clave, he just wanted it to be the Institution he had always believed it to be. Every child growing up learning how to fight for the sake of the Clave deserved to be fighting for a system that was truly just, not the lies he had been taught to swallow.

Turning back around he found Isabelle engaged in a battle against a woman in her mid-thirties. The woman's previously tied up hair was flying in her face as she sidestepped Izzy's whip, slowly getting closer to the inside of his sister's perimeter.

Izzy lashed out again but this time the woman caught her whip as it wrapped around her scimitar.

Alec released a slow breath as he let his arrow fly.

But if tearing it all down was what he had to do then he would do it.

The arrow whizzed past several heads before hitting his target in the back. Just as she was sent staggering, Izzy took the opportunity to pull tight on the whip around the woman's sword and sent her to the ground.

A loud howl joined by a symphony of other wolves calling out broke through the clamor of battle. Everything halted as they all turned to watch the pack of wolves, no it was more than just a pack, and there were others too running alongside them keeping pace with the wolves. A wolf took the lead of her pack and halted before the battle beside a woman with long black hair and a single streak of green.

"Lily!" Alec called out. Lily Chen, the leader of the New York vampire clan, and he had no doubt the werewolf standing beside her was Maia Roberts, leader of the New York pack.

Many of the Cohort turned around to brace a fight against the Downworlders, many of them hurling insults at Lily in particular, at least Alec assumed they were talking to Lily since he doubted they knew who the werewolf beside her was. Another even larger werewolf that Alec suspected was Luke Graymark stepped forward to support their leader and make sure no one dared to attack just yet. Several of the Cohort tried to start a fight already but were cowed back into standing with their Cohort at the threatening growls of the surrounding pack.

Lily just sneered, baring her teeth at them. "Did you really think the New York Institute was alone? Pick a fight with Alec Lightwood and you pick a fight with the Downworlders of New York," She announced to everyone that could hear her, and everyone was listening.

Alec couldn't help the lump forming in his throat. He knew they supported him, and Alec was glad to call them friends, but to stand here and fight this battle alongside him and the Clave was the proof that he really did it, he had changed.

He swallowed his embarrassment before yelling again, "Lily!"

She let out an aggravated sigh before finally addressing him. "What, Alec, can you not wait to ask me later?"

"Um, it's really great you're here and all but where are Max and Raph?"

Magnus let out a sigh, "You left them with Lily again? Do we really not know anyone else who can babysit?"

"What? Lily likes kids," Alec defended himself.

"I do not!" She protested.

"She's lying," Alec said quickly, even Maia was growling at her in aggravation. She was probably really annoyed she had to let Lily do all the talking while she was in wolf form.

"I said we don't have time to answer questions!" Then added hastily in a blur of words Alec was pretty sure she hoped he wouldn't decipher, "andtherewithElliot."

He exchanged a look with Magnus.

"Not that I'm trying to suggest we've been trying to drag this out before, but I would like to suggest we get this over with before we have to explain to our children what a GILF is," said Magnus.

Alec wasn't even sure what that meant himself but remembering all the times Elliot used to hit on his father without Robert realizing gave Alec a pretty good idea. And that was definitely not going to be a part of their language lessons this week.

A brief silence followed after, and everyone understood that the reprieve was over. As soon as Alec moved to knock another arrow the previous reprieve was thrown back into chaos. A few of the Cohort wasted no time trying to surround Lily and Maia before Alec's arrows took down several of them. He wasn't sure if he imagined hearing Maia's grunt in dissatisfaction as she jumped into the fray or seeing Lily rolling her eyes at him before taking down a woman that got too close, but either way, he couldn't keep protecting them.

Things were more evenly divided after that as some of the Cohort that had previously been out for his blood decided that the army of Downworlders was more of an insult than Alec was.

Quickly retrieving another arrow from his quiver, he aimed in the direction of where Jace and Clary were. He could hardly see them now as a swell of enemies hid them from view. According to Drusilla Blackthorn, Clary was the real objective for this battle and he couldn't even see her with how short she was comparably to everyone else. Alec wished he would be annoyed at her instead of the growing worry he felt the longer it took him to get there.

As he scanned the battle for a path he and Isabelle could take, a series of bright lights caught his attention.

At first, he thought it was the result of a Warlock's spell but this wasn't like any Warlock magic he had seen, and he had gotten pretty good at identifying it by now. He followed the trail of lights and noticed a black blade attached to it when the light faded he could see a familiar blonde head that could only belong to two people and it wasn't his parabatai.

His attacks were growing quicker in speed and the light was growing brighter instead of fading with each attack.

Alec sucked in a breath. He swiveled around to face Magnus, his eyes were also fixated on the moving light, fear and concern etched on his face.

"Magnus, take this!" He tossed him the ring Magnus had given him. It had enchantment after enchantment woven into it to keep Alec safe, but Alec also negotiated for it to contain some of his life force in case of an occasion like the one right now that would separate them. Magnus needed it more now than he did if he was going to keep up the ward and send for help.

Magnus' voice was strained as he spoke. The ring rested in the palm of his hand, his fingers refusing to close around it. "Alec you can't."

"I have to." He wouldn't change his mind, but he lingered wishing he had longer to memorize this memory of him and catalog it with all the others he kept in his heart. More than that he wished he could kiss him because he knew he wouldn't find the words he wanted to say. Magnus' eyes grew darker, his ageless face seemed much younger now, even younger than Alec as he finally accepted the ring in his hand.

The light behind them was gaining attention from other people who noticed the strange powers. There was no more time to waste, he told himself before turning back around to his sister.

"Isabelle! We have to go now!"

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Kit took down another demon in one swing. To the demons he was a specter of light they saw just before they died. Power seeped through his pores each time he surprised another enemy with his teleportation. It wasn't long before he reached Jace and Clary with his added advantage.

Clary was taking down any member of the Cohort with Heosphoros that tried to squeeze their way to her while Simon and Jace took care of the demons trying to claw their way to her from behind.

But as far as Kit could tell there was no sign of Janus yet, not here or on the battlefield. It should have bothered him more, but fire was building underneath his skin.

Just as Kit forced his way to them another strange thing happened. In the middle of a swing that should have blinded the demon Jace's seraph blade sputtered out.

"What the-?" Jace jumped away from the Dahak tentacle that shot after him.

"Jace!" Kit yelled, throwing him the dagger Jace had once given him. With only a second to react Jace caught it, flashing Kit a smile before using it to sever the tentacle in front of his face.

Several loud cries of confusion rang out at once, but from where they were standing none of them could see what happened.

Kit immediately sprang to Clary's flank to help her cut down a large bodybuilder sized man before another one could run up and overwhelm her. He had used his two swords to trap Heosphoros until Kit had thrusted Caliburn's hilt into the man's unsuspecting stomach, knocking the breath out of him. Heosphoros slid out from under the swords crashing into the man's nose.

"Kit!" She gasped, "Are you alright?"

"Thanks to you. If it wasn't for your fireproof rune I'd be a hundred degree explosion instead of a first degree burn."

"But, that's not-" They were cut off by a knife flying in between them. A Faerie leaped in hoping to land a solid blow while Kit was distracted.

He deflected the blow with his sword, throwing his weight underneath the faerie to flip him over Kit's shoulder.

"Cool sword by the way, but don't you think it's a bit too edgy?" Said the woman whose last name was once associated with Lucifer.

"Black gear, tattoos, ninja skills and catch phrases like 'we are dust and shadows' makes us all edgy." he retorted before someone slammed into his side. It was a boy a few years younger then he was with a knife concealed in his hands. By luck Kit caught it before it punctured his side, shredding the hand that gripped the blade.

The sudden impact of the extra weight sent them both falling to the ground, clambering, and wrestling with each other as they fell. The boy was still pressing down on him, putting all his weight into the dagger Kit was still holding at bay.

His face was contorted with excursion to push the knife in, his sandy hair was grey from soot.

"Kit!" He heard Clary yell just before she let out a yelp of pain.

The blade was pushing underneath the skin of his hands, making the blade slippery with blood as he struggled against it. He kicked his leg out, hooking it around the boy's leg and flipped them both over, dustings of ash rolled off Kit's back as he positioned himself on top. It coated the ground around them like snow, smearing on their gear as they rolled on the ground. He stared down at the knife they were fighting over as a power rune inscribed on the weapon burned bright red before disappearing. Kit used his weight to keep the Shadowhunter pinned. Freeing one of his hands he punched his nose, wrenching the knife away from him at the same time.

"Has anyone else noticed the floor has turned to Ash!" He heard Simon try to get the attention of his friends.

The sandy hair Cohort guy let out a cry as Kit's fist impacted his face, leaving a sickening crunch as the blood gushed from his nose, but that only seemed to motivate him as he let out an angry growl and threw his hands around Kit's neck.

Everyone was seemingly too distracted to notice the struggle at their feet as Jace angrily yelled back at Simon. "Now isn't the time to play the Floor is Lava or one of your other mundane games, and I don't care how exciting you and Izzy's private games of Simon Says are. I'm not playing that one with you either!"

"No you idiot the ground is covered in ash! Or do we need to play I Spy until you notice runes aren't working either!"

Kit was losing oxygen, the boy had a longer reach than he did and quickly knocked him on his back again. He struggled to see anything as the blood from the boy's nose fell into Kit's eyes as he leaned over him. Kit tried to kick out but the Shadowhunter was sitting on his chest using the pressure from his knees to push out the air from his lungs.

Anger boiled inside him at the same time his power started building up like a pressure of its own.

This time he didn't so much as gather his power around him but let it explode.

Everything was erased as a bright light shot out like a brick wall thrown from his body and expanded all around him until the world was white nothingness. His eyes flew open as the oxygen returned to his lungs, but something else was in the air now too. A poison that choked him at the same time he involuntarily gulped the air in.

When the white void finally fell back away the reality that was left was different then it was before. When he looked around everyone was gone, thrown into the ash like dominoes at least thirty feet away from him. He heard several other people coughing as they choked in the air, several bright lights of admas blinked out leaving the night much darker than it was before.

It all happened in less than a minute and it was enough to reduce his entire existence into agony.

His skin was burning, every touch of grass or grain of ash was searing him. It was everywhere, almost unbearable as it sizzled underneath his skin, his stomach started to boil until his organs felt like they were melting. The pain forced his mind blank as he writhed on the ground. He didn't know where he was or even his own name when every feeling or sensation was torture. He couldn't tell if he was screaming, he knew his mouth was open but all he could hear was white noise and the screaming in his head begging for this to stop. From somewhere he heard Jace call out to him, slamming another layer of awareness back into his body.

He was Kit Herondale and he was dying.

Panic forced him back on his feet, blind fear dragged his feet through the ashes in hopes that if he just made it Jace he could do something, someone could do something to make this stop. He had felt this sensation only once before, when he first used his powers against the Riders of Manann, but even that felt microscopic to the pain killing him now. His body struggled to stay together as he tried to get back to where Jace and the others were but he was finally at the end of what he could take. His stomach lurched sharply like a cleaver trying to tear him open. Poison forced his breathing shallow, the air brushing his skin felt like acid eating away at him.

What was happening to him?

A violent twist to his gut made him double over, gasping for breath and holding his stomach he looked down at the runes vanishing from his skin.

W-was this me? His mind struggled to understand while his body burned out. The answer was obvious, but it was hard to accept that he had known all along deep down what would happen if he pushed his powers. But he ignored every voice and instinct in his head.

He used too much and now something he was always afraid of was breaking inside of him.

Jace, Clary, and Simon rushed towards him from the confused masses around them, using the gear of their sleeves to block out the poison, but the next lurch in his stomach tore out a scream from his mouth.

"Get back!" He tried to yell at them. "Don't get any closer!"

A pain so visceral it felt like claws had just ripped open his stomach blinded him and when he looked back down at himself he thought he would pass out.

There were claws and a whole green scaly arm larger than his entire body was pushing its way from his stomach. Strength completely left him.

He fell to his knees, the breath in his lungs was barely coming and his vision wavered unfocused as he looked down at the demonic arm trying to pull itself from his body. There was no blood or ichor anywhere, there was no demon behind him, it was coming from inside him.

From the void.

Every sound was muffled except his erratic heartbeat stuttering and restarting. But a few threats to his life as people called out for his death somehow filtered through his head. The dull sound of battle resumed as weapons met the voices in opposition, but Kit could only feel the pain and horror of his body tearing apart. Every new horrible sensation was fighting to devour him. Kit could feel the intent of the magic and knew he was already dead, but why couldn't come faster?

"Die freak!" A Shadowhunter with cloth wrapped around his face in a makeshift mask bore down on him with his sword raised executioner style. Kit could barely see him through his blurred vision, fighting never even crossed his mind.

Fervently in his head he just begged for him to kill him quickly to put a stop to this agony. He thought he would start begging, the feeling of every atom in his body cracking apart was hell. Death couldn't be worse than this, nothing was worse than this.

But someone, no not someone. Alec Lightwood flung themself at the Shadowhunter, throwing them to the ground with his shortsword. A flash of dismay dimmed the pain for a brief moment as the realization he had been saved.

Kit dug his hands into the dirt underneath the ash, hot tears streamed down his face like fire as he realized this wasn't just the end of him, it was the end of everything.

"Hold on Kit! Tessa is on the way! Can you speak?"

Kit lifted his head, "Kill me Alec! You have to kill me now if you don't everyone will die."

Alec turned the same color as the ash. "Tessa is on the way, she and Magnus can-"

"No!" He begged, "you have to do it now, I'm dying anyway!"

Alec's face was grim but set. "I can't, I made a promise and as Counsel I have to keep my promises."

Another scream was choked off as he thought of the one person that must have made him promise.

Ty, who would find him if Kit was dead? The tears on his face dried, there was one reason he couldn't die.

He looked back up at Alec who was staring at him so intensely he never noticed the large stinger like that of a scorpion's hovering over him.

"Alec-!"

His warning was too late as the thing jabbed its stinger in the back of Alec's neck. His blue eyes went blank, a small sound escaped his lips before crumpling to the ground. Several Ravener demons were lined up behind him, and standing right in the middle of them was Manuel Villalobos holding the Mortal Cup.

"And after in an entire civil war it turns out it was really that easy to kill Alec Lightwood after all," Kit could hear the smile that was covered under the mask. Manuel threw an order at his demons, "Make sure no one tries to stop us leaving." Stupidly, the Raveners just continued to stand where they were.

"ALEC!" Jace's voice carried over the battlefield, a surge of blue lightning strikes hitting the ground joined in with the scream. It wouldn't be long until Jace, Magnus, and the rest fought their way over here. Kit tried not to look at the body of the fallen Counsel and see his eyes open and seeing nothing. He couldn't think about how it was his fault. So instead Kit refused to look away from Manuel. A desire stronger than pain to make him pay for this twisted his agony into a new shape of pure hatred.

"I'm really impressed, you actually look angry right now," Manuel said through his grated mask. "and here I thought you were in too much pain to do anything but beg for death."

Before Kit could say anything the sudden thrust of the demon pulling its body further out of him sent him reeling gasping for breath. More poison gagged him as he tried to breathe causing him to almost collapse on top of the grasping arm.

Familiar shouts grabbed his attention, followed by several loud screams. Kit struggled to lift his head back to see what was happening. Manuel, seeing what he was doing stepped in to assist him.

He pointed with his short sword of where the commotion was coming from. Jace's head whipped back around at the sound of the screams before he sprinted back into the crowd. Just barely could Kit make out a figure that looked identical to Jace holding onto a woman completely bound by ivy and leaves.

It was Clary, and Janus held her as he extended an arm for a demon circling the skies to swoop in and steal them away.

They were all too far away, they couldn't get to her in time. They had all come running after Kit; they never saw what was happening behind them. Jace and Simon tried to cut their way through the demon that closed in to block their path. But they were already high in the sky slowly becoming a small dot on the horizon only leaving the sound of Clary's screams behind.

"You made for a good distraction, Herondale seeing as how you are a literal ticking time bomb." Manuel continued his self satisfied rant, meanwhile Kit seethed as he watched Clary disappear. The feeling in his hands and legs returned as he focused everything that was left of him on his hate.

They failed because of him, because they had all cared enough to try to protect him.

Jace, Clary, Isabelle, Alec, Magnus, and even Simon had welcomed him, they tried to make him feel like he could belong if he had wanted to, and this is what they had gotten for it. For a moment isolation shadowed his hate because he knew no one could ever look at him the same again after this. But then he remembered there was no after this anymore.

"Try not to crack it open yet," Manuel started, completely oblivious to the danger he was in. "Apparently Sammael still needs you."

"Yeah, and I'm sure a Greater demon can find a lot of uses for Shadowhunter once he gets what he wants," Kit uttered through gritted teeth.

He turned his focus and all his anger with every last bit of control of his power on the demon crawling out of him. He let out a roar of pain as he tried to expel it completely from his body.

With a sudden thrust it bursted free, and for one long moment Kit couldn't feel his body at all as he collapsed to the ground.

The demon was gigantic, it was like nothing he had ever seen. It was at least sixteen feet tall, a muscular green body with horns and bulging white eyes.

Kit's vision was unfocused as he struggled to breathe, his skin was plastered in a cold sweat. His heart was beating wildly, his anger was pounding in his ears, his breathing was shallow, but worst of all was the gaping black vortex in the center of his abdomen. He grasped wildly at the hole trying to cover it, but touching it was like touching the cold emptiness of death itself. Forcibly closed his eyes, willing himself to steady his breathing.

He could hear the demon yell and take a swing at Manuel. He barely got out of the way but his gear was torn on one side where one of the claws had caught.

There were more screams as more people took note of the giant demon.

"Kill it! Kill it!" Manuel started screaming at the Raveners who had been keeping people at bay instead of defending their masters. At the command they turned and leaped onto the demon, stinging and gnawing on it.

Turning his head he could see Alec's still body lying next to him. His dark hair was fanned over his face and turned away from Kit, his blue eyes were still open and empty. Kit had never really thought of how young the Counsel was until now. Too young to lead an entire race of people, but he had and Kit had seen the Shadowhunter's and ideologies he used to hate change. But now as they laid side by side one another it was all over. Jace had been right, death wouldn't wait for them to grow up.

But he wouldn't lie here and wait to die either.

A twitch ran through his hands and felt his sword return, pressed into his palm.

Manuel held the Cup like a defensive weapon as he tried to stumble his way back into the crowd to disappear away from the demon. What he had forgotten though was Kit.

Kit rose to his feet, by his anger, defying the pain that screamed back at him as he stepped in front of Manuel.

Manuel's eyes darted down to the gaping hole that was still widening, finally understand the danger of what was happening, and what exactly Kit was. Kit watched him sweat, his lip quivered as he realized his mistake. He took satisfaction in the terror in his eyes as he stared at Kit like he was the hulking demon laying his Raveners to waste.

Kit decided that if they were all going to die he would make sure Manuel died first.

"Where are you going Villalobos? I thought you had to bring me back to your new friends?" Every inch the vortex spread was like another crack throughout his whole nervous system, but he didn't care, he wouldn't flinch now even if it killed him faster. Manuel began to open his mouth and Kit had to fight the sudden urge to slit his throat before he could speak another word.

"Let's be reasonable, remember what I told you before? I'm willing to work with your Clave, I'll even give you the Mortal Cup!" He backpedaled.

Kit advanced, raising his sword higher. "You think anyone is going to broker a deal with you when you killed the Counsel?!" He snapped. The pain radiated to his head until he could feel the jarring sparks of electricity numb him.

Manuel paused with his hands in the air to surrender before abandoning that tactic completely to pull out his sword. Kit reacted immediately and sprang forward with surprising speed, slicing the side of his face open.

Manuel reeled back with an angry shriek. Kit didn't just cut him, he took a sizable chunk off his face, leaving his cheek a mess of blood and muscle.

"L-look at yourself! Shouldn't you be more worried that you're going to die right now?"

Kit stared him down, shifting his posture again. "It's too late to complain about the end of the world. At least if I die you die with me."

"Don't be ridiculous, I didn't know about that! The Cohort was being used, I'm innocent!" He babbled angrily. "Surely, you of all people can understand-"

"One question then," Kit cut him off. "Were you the one who decided to bury the mundanes in Angel Square?"

What was left of Manuel's color was gone as he realized what Kit had seen. "It's not like I was the only one-"

That was all he needed to hear. Swiftly he knocked Manuel's sword to the side as he plunged Caliburn deep into his sternum. Manuel's body would rot here in his own mass grave, at least Kit could keep that one promise before destroying the world.

Manuel's eyes were unfathomable as he looked at the sword in his chest. His shaking hands touched the blood on the blade. His voice came out as soft as a whisper.

"Y-you killed me?"

All the sudden his anger, his grief, and the pain he fought all fell away, and for a moment he could see with absolute clarity as a man looked at him confused that his life had suddenly been stolen away. Until now Kit had tried to only put everyone out of commission not outright kill them. It might not have worked, hell he was probably deluding himself that he hadn't killed anyone, that was the point of being long gone before you could face what you had done. But Manuel deserved it, and everyone else who would kill them because of their prejudice also deserved it.

But Manuel wasn't fighting him, he was trying to run and Kit had just cut him down because he hated him. Like the Cohort hated them.

He yanked Caliburn free, as this cold realization left him shaking. Mechanically he caught Manuel as he fell. Holding on to his shoulders Kit tried to find something to say, but what could he say to a man he hated so much he murdered him when he couldn't find the right words to say to himself. The blood running down Manuel's front and onto Kit's would be there forever.

As his shock left him the pain he ignored came back like a battering ram bringing him to his knees. He carried Manuel down with him, still clutching his arms as the pain arched his back turning his head up towards the night sky. His throat was a bloody mess as another scream broke free. His vision left leaving him in the dark, the only sense he had left was his own screaming. Bit by bit he could feel his body being devoured by his power. It would finally crumble, and bodies will drop until this place was nothing but a pile of corpses. Kit could almost see it like a premonition

"Kit!" Tessa called for him, and all at once his soul returned to this dying form only to see a circle of Silent Brothers appear around him, Jem standing in the center.

Tessa had wrapped her arms around him as she weaved a spell through his body. His head thought it would split in two from what sounded like a hundred voices chanting in his head. The gravity and weight of the words pressed intrusively into his skull until his consciousness was reeling, lost in his own mind. The voices surrounded him promising him there was no escape from them or from himself even in his head. They probed into his self consciousness, inserting themselves in the deep recess of his being until he forgot who he was.

His mind hinged on two words, refusing to let the two lifelines go. "Tessa, Jem, please! Don't let them do this to me!" Something inside him begged for mercy.

Kit screamed, his voice becoming ineligible for them to leave to stay away, the feeling of the invasion in every part of himself he hid away was more terrifying than the end of the world somehow. He could feel his soul falling apart as they tore at it relentlessly, if they didn't stop soon it wouldn't just be his body that died.

"This is the child Brother Zacharia sought?"

"Indeed, he did well to hide him from our sight."

"He must have known this boy had the potential to put our world to an end."

" We have never shared our Brother's sympathy or obsession with this Herondale line. We will not let his poor judgment prevent us from what we must do to the child when now that he is found."

"Regrettably, his existence is intolerable."

The voices fell silent as they regarded the mysteries that lied within him, then all at once they addressed him.

"Christopher Herondale, your sacrifice will be honored forever in the Silent City."

Sorry this took so long! I don't know why but I ended up hyper focusing on the editing this chapter and ended up rewriting the whole thing sentence by sentence.