Chapter 11 „The Demon In Him"
With every word that he mumbled, the Soul Sword seemed to light up even brighter, until it completely merged with the surrounding light. Jonathan hadn't been knocked over by the force wave. He was still standing behind the sword, his fingers closed around its handle.
Adam, who was laying some meters away from me, threw me a glance. He looked deeply concerned. He opened his mouth in an attempt to say something, but I couldn't hear him. I couldn't hear anything. Not even the usual static in my ears.
The seconds passed and we stared at one another, speechless. I slightly shook my head to signalize him that I hadn't understood him. At this instant, my hackles suddenly raised. The Soul Sword had stopped shining. Jonathan eyes were closed, he looked weirdly concentrated. The triumphant grin on his lips was gone. Then, he opened his eyes and our gazes met.
I was too distracted by him to hear the mob of demons draw closer. I noticed that the others quickly jumped on their feed behind me, but I remained on the floor unable to break free from his eyes. As if they were the only thing holding me here.
Only when the demon stood above me, my body woke up from its trance. I swayed to the side. My palms touched the cold floor and I lifted myself up. I raised my head and saw Isabelle next to Alec, who troubled to stand upright. Then, I registered how many demons there truly were. Not a dozen like I had assumed. It was a whole army, which seemed to occupy every inch of the huge hall with their dark and despicable bodies. And in the middle of it all were we. Adam, Isabelle, Alec, Jace and I.
I grabbed my seraph blades, called their names and struck the demon down which had been standing above me some seconds ago. It was a never-ending flow. As soon as I had killed one of them, three others took its place.
Out of the corners of my eyes, I saw Jace fighting side by side with Adam. They moved fast and determined, but not even they could deny that we were outnumbered by far and it was only a question of time, until they would have overwhelmed us. As everybody could see, Jonathan had indeed the ability to change the Sword's powers. He would be able to summon thousands of demons. The storm of demons would never stop. Only if Jonathan gave the signal.
An angry scream escaped my lips as I struck down the next demon. I didn't know how long or how many I had already killed. But my muscles burned, my breath went wild and my heart rushed out of effort.
I turned around and tried to reach the others. Isabelle made a lot of effort to protect her brother and herself. Alec was anything but keeping well, but he stood on his legs and fought. I couldn't even believe how he managed not to black out in his condition. There was a literal hole in his chest after all. His arrow was randomly shooting arrows through the hall, and still he somehow managed to hit them. But one could see that he was far from his top form. His chest was battered, some of his rips must have broken through the stroke by the Forsaken. He moved slower than usual and not quite as fluent as it was expected of a Shadowhunter.
A creature with huge wings had spotted me from the air and plunged itself at me. I could only duck and hope that the demon would stay at the ground and not lift off again. It was much more difficult to catch a flying demon. The demon seemed to know that because it flew up again and uttered a groaning hiss, which sounded amused in an odd and demonic way.
When the demon tried to catch me a second time, I knew how it would try to snatch at me as soon as it would be within range. I took a step aside, performed a volte-face and jumped. I firmly clutched my seraph blades. With a groan, I landed on the demon and clawed his back with my fingers. It squealed and outstretched its wings in order not to lose control because of my weight. For a moment, I feared that we would fly against the wall, but somehow the demon managed to achieve a balance and the ground zoomed out.
Quickly, I picked myself up and wielded one of my legs across his back to sit up straight. The demon twisted its head to locate my new position and snarled as it spotted me on its back. However, it was already too late. I reached back and the shining seraph blades bore into the creature's neck. Blood splashed in my direction and I pressed my lips together so none of it would enter my mouth.
There was a last loud moan, then the blades had cut through the demon's spine. Under me, his body vanished into thin air and then I was headlong falling towards the ground. To turn in the air was a waltz. But to land on my feet unscathed from such a height was pure luck. A risk that I didn't want to take.
To my advantage, I was able to cling to another flying demon before I rocked forward, and my feet touched the floor. A cry of pain left my lips, and my legs gave in under my weight. My hands were fast enough to break my fall before my head could hit the hard ground. A hot ache ran through my legs. From far away, I could hear someone scream. I raised my head and turned around to see who it was, but the world around me was spinning. The shape of my surroundings trembled and moved too quick for my eyes to follow. Then, a huge black body suddenly blocked my view. I couldn't see how it came closer, but my hands felt the floor shaking with every step. Where did this pain abruptly come from? My legs pounded although it hadn't been such a great height. I should be completely fine.
Unable to do something else, I began to crawl backwards. I knew that I was too slow, but the fire in my body forced me to continue crawling. The adrenaline tried to boost my brain to give me my clear sight back. The picture in front of my eyes got sharper but everything was still spinning.
I crawled faster, as quick as my arms were able to move. I wasn't ready to stand up. I knew that I would lose my balance and the I would be at the demon's mercy. Suddenly, the spinning stopped, and I turned my head and looked for help. My eyes met Jace's, who was standing around twenty meters away. He was involved in a fight with a demon. With a swift movement, he had struck it down. I opened my mouth to say something, maybe to ask him for help. I didn't know.
Something flashed in his eyes. His expression was hard, and he examined me across the battlefield for a moment. The world around us seemed to be at a standstill for a moment. He made no move to come to the aid. The look in his eyes said nothing else. Angry about myself, I averted my head. The demon was barely two meters away and bore down.
I felt Jace's gaze on me as I raised my hand that was holding the blade and kept it protectively in front of my chest. With my other hand, I rested on floor to enhance my position. My legs protested. Why was my body suddenly weakening so much? It couldn't be due to the exhaustion of the past morning, therefor my health condition had gotten worse too fast.
Then, the demon stood above me. He was as tall as a Forsaken just that there were four arms dragging in my direction. It bared its huge fangs in my direction and its dark body was all that I could see. With a jerk, I raised my head, and the dizziness came back immediately. Swaying, I kneeled on my foots' balls, one hand on the ground to stabilize myself. But it didn't help. I felt how my body tilted backwards, to slide against the wall, exhausted.
An iron pain shot through my shoulder, down my arm. I immediately let go of the sword, to make the pain go away. The demon's fangs bore into my upper arm. A gasp leaves my lips. I raised my left arm in a last move of defense, to protect my head. But my right arm was a useless part of my body and burned. Although I couldn't see anything, I was sure that it must be on fire. I waited for the next attack of the demon. It would kill me, I was certain. Jace wouldn't come to help me. He could, but he wouldn't.
The demon allowed itself plenty of time, enjoying its victory. I used the last second to think of Jonathan. I hadn't seen him since the summoning. When I closed my eyes, I could he his face in front of my inner eye. I would give everything to see him smile on last time.
The second was over. The demon's shadow bend over my body and I already heard the hiss as it let its arms down in my direction. I breathed in one last time and waited. But nothing happened. Puzzled, I opened my eyes.
The demon was soaked in bright light. It cried out and staggered backwards before it vanished in smoke. The startled gasp that came out of my throat made me look up at Jace. Why had he changed his mind? Why hadn't he thrown me to the wolves?
When my sight finally cleared, I saw the reason. My savior hadn't been Jace, but Adam. When he noticed that I was about to stand up, he kneeled down next to me and eyed me, unsure. "What's wrong?"
I opened my mouth to say something, but my voice was nothing more than a rough caw. I swallowed and tried it again. "Something's wrong with my legs", I said as loud as possible. "And my arm … I can't move my arm."
Adam examined my body from top to bottom. His eyes got caught on my right arm. He nodded, then grasped my left arm and heaved it over his shoulders. Slowly, he stood up and took me with him.
I glared at my legs. They hurt with ever weight load, but Adam silently took on to carry most of my weight. Just now, I realized why I had so suddenly collapsed earlier. A stinger was sticking in my left shank and had cut open most of my calf. Adam didn't seem to notice it because the dark demonic blood had a similar color as my gear's. We slowly moved through the room, towards the others. As Jace came into focus, I lowered my gaze to avoid his eyes.
But he had only eyes fort he a Ravener some meters away from him. Isabelle was standing next to Alec and took care of another demon. Alec was on his knees and gasped for air. My sight still wasn't completely clear.
"Clary!" The hall was full of noise, but I would always recognize her voice. I turned my head around so quickly that something in my neck snapped. Then I saw her. Jocelyn, Maryse and Hodge had reached the hall through another corridor. All of them were armed to the teeth. A sight escaped my throat. At least they were ready to fight.
My legs began to move, but Adam held me back. Taken aback, I surveyed his face and noted that he was staring past me. I followed his look and spotted Jonathan, who had appeared out of nowhere. He must have heard our mother's voice as well because his gaze was fixed at her. Valentine wasn't with her. I wasn't sure if this was a good or bad sign.
"Mom", I automatically responded and wanted to outstretch my hands, when an unbelievable pain shot through me. I panted.
Suddenly, the demons froze. I turned around in astonishment and saw that Jonathan was walking through the hall. I pressed my lips together and straightened my back as far as I could. If it would come down to a fight, I would definitely be inferior to him. I was too weak.
But Jonathan didn't seem to be eager for a fight. At least not yet. He raised his hand, and the demons cleared the way for him. In the other hand, he was holding the Soul Sword. He must have commanded the demons to stop. Jocelyn took advantage of the moment and ran over to us. Maryse and Hodge followed her urgently.
Jace and Isabelle were standing next to the kneeling Alec, still in a defensive attitude. Adam and I were standing slightly away from them. I was still leaning against him.
Jocelyn carefully stroked my cheek when she reached us. I gave her a faltering smile to assure her that I was okay. Through the glance in her eyes I had to assume that I looked as bad as I felt. I observed myself and noticed that my upper arm had started to bleed in the place where the demon had bitten me. Damnit.
"How wonderful", said Jonathan as he paraded towards us, a casual grin on his lips. "The whole family is newly united. I'm sure that father will be pleased to see you again. He's somewhat more sentimental than me." His last sentence sounded almost apologizing.
He came to a halt some meters away from us and in an arrogant gesture, he stroked a strand of hair out of his face. His gaze fell on Maryse and Hodge. Then, his grin widened. "What do you say", he laughed sardonically and made a step in their direction. "Hodge Starkweather. I'm so happy to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you." A mischievous expression moved over his face.
Hodge stared at him with wide eyes, definitely started by Jonathan. Beads of sweat ran over his forehead. He had pressed his lips to a thin line and submissively lowered his glance. The otherwise so polite Hodge, who had even maintained authority and respect with me, looked like a caned dog. His appearance puzzled me.
But then, Jonathan already walked past him to Maryse. "There she is the Institute's guardian. Maryse Lightwood. Unfortunately, I had to ascertain that you didn't take enough care of my sister." The amusement in his voice was gone and replaced by rage. In a blazing fast movement, Jonathan's hand shot up and clutched her chin with his fingers. An upset tone escaped Isabelle, but she didn't dare to move a centimeter.
Maryse's face got pale. The second she needed to regain her self-confidence was enough to make Jonathan laugh. It wasn't a nice laugh, but rather a harrowing and dark one which raised my hackles. "You're not exactly talkative, are you?" He surveyed her out of his black eyes, then looked aside and his gaze got caught at Isabelle, Alec and Jace. "What's the matter with you, Maryse? I heard that you're more defiant, usually."
Maryse kept quiet and her glimpse turned hard. Jonathan squeezed his fingers together one more time and then released her chin. His face lit up when he came closer towards the three teenagers. The sparkle in his eyes didn't slip my attention. Wicked. Suddenly, I exactly knew what he would do. "So who've we got here?" His look remained on Alec, who was still kneeling on the ground.
Alec raised his head and uttered a strained breath. But he didn't weaken for a second. His eyes bore emotionlessly into Jonathan's. It was his first mistake. So quick only my brother could be, his hand shot forward and grabbed Alec's shoulder. He pulled Alec closer who faltered and barely managed to struggle to his feet. Isabelle made a step in their direction, but Jonathan hold her back by lifting the Soul Sword to her brother's throat. "I would stop right there", he ordered her.
Isabelle's eyes flashed in anger, but no sound came across her lips. She clenched her fists and then took hold of her seraph blade. Maryse had breathed noisily. Jonathan wandered through the room with Alec in tow. Alec said nothing, his eyes were widened, but he followed Jonathan compliantly.
"Stop it, Jonathan", Jocelyn sharply said and straightened herself. Her red hair glimmered in the witchlight and she was wearing the same black gear all of us were clothed in. Her fingers bore a sword. A long black scratch ran over her cheek.
Jonathan's eyes bore into her like a knife. "You can't tell me what to do", he spitted and his eyes darkened in anger. "I'm surprised that you dare to open your mouth at all. If I were in your shoes, I'd be silent. Shame on you, Jocelyn, for what you've done."
"We left because it wasn't safe for us anymore, Jonathan. Your father did something to you what any of us could undo", she answered softly and only the expression in her green eyes beamed in sadness.
"I don't need you anymore. I have a mother who really cares about me. She gifted me with enormous powers like you could've never done. Or allowed." The sight of my mother seemed to make him so angry that the Soul Sword began to tremble in his hands. He still held it to Alec's throat. Blood ran down his hales and Isabelle suppressed a scream.
"Lilith is a demon, Jonathan. You have to realize that she'll never be your mother-"
"Be quiet!", he screamed with such energy that I startled. His eyes went black in fury and his shaking got worse. He wasn't able to control his emotions. He would kill us all. "You're a monster!" his arm collided with Alec's back who plunged on his knees with a gasp of pain.
"I should kill you all", he threateningly hissed and I could see how his grasp around the sword tensed. Not until then, his wild eyes fell on Alec, who was laying on his back now and unable to sit up. His throat was bleeding, and one could view that he suffered great pain.
Jonathan raised his arm. Without thinking twice, I heaved myself forward. Every inch of my body protested. With every step, a new pain ran through my legs and my arm still seemed to be on fire. Jonathan didn't see me coming, he was concentrating on Alec and had turned his back on me. The sword sped down at Alec's lifeless body way too fast. I had the feeling as if Jonathan's action came out of nowhere, but still, I had been able to foresee it. Before he could touch Alec with the sword, I managed to raise my right arm and position myself between my brother and the wounded boy at the ground. Agony shot through my veins. My whole body protested, when I drew my seraph blade.
The Soul Sword rushed down at my blade with full power and a painful panting escaped my lips. My lungs burned. A loud metallic crash broke the silence, when adamant dashed against adamant. The edges of my sight began to darken. If I blacked out now, Alec would be lost. He would kill him. And me probably afterwards.
It was almost a miracle that the sword's force hadn't brought me to my knees yet. When I was sure to have the pain under control, I straightened up and strengthened my position. My sword was hovering over Alec's head, without moving. Jonathan examined me for a moment with an expression I had never seen before.
"Get out of my way, Clarissa", he growled. His look felt like a thousand knives which bore into my chest, to destroy everything that got in their way. Blond sweaty hair clung to his forehead.
It felt like a wonder to me when I bore up against him and calmly responded: "Let him be, Jonathan. He has no part in this. If you want your revenge, do it with me but not with him."
Jonathan snorted and lowered the sword. Immediately, I stepped forward so he couldn't see Alec anymore. "I can't believe that you're really doing this right now, little sister. You're betraying your own brother."
I nodded to him in regret. "I'm sorry, but what you're doing is wrong and the old you would know it. My brother would know that this is wrong. But you … you're not my brother. Not anymore."
His jaw strained, and he clenched his fists. "You're a real shame, Clarissa. You're a shame for all of us!"
But I wasn't deterred by his words. "You're an unfamiliar creature in my brother's shape. Nothing more than that. And if you think, I wouldn't tell the difference you're wrong."
I knew the sword would come before I saw it. Blazing fast, I raised my wounded arm and almost stumbled backwards. The force with which Jonathan had clashed in sword at me was enormous. I had to clutch my blade with both of my hands not to drop it in weakness and pain.
A number of strokes followed which I tried to parry as good as possible. He was unbelievably fast, and the anger made him even faster. It cost all my powers to not give up directly and fall over unconsciously. The world around us started to turn. Jonathan was the only thing I saw. The rest of the room blacked out.
We danced through the room and for a moment, it felt like one of our usual training sessions. Like we had done it for all those years. I pinwheeled and made a step aside when he jumped towards me. His sword zipped in the air and just missed my left shoulder. I wanted to lunge out for a counterattack, but such a heavy pain ran through my arm, down my back, that I gave a loud groan, stumbled and fell on my knees.
From far away, I heard a distorted laugh. He had paused a meter away from me. "For such an injury, you did very well, Clarissa. But not good enough. Life doesn't give second chances." I raised my head to look at him. My heart raced in my chest. Jonathan stood above me. "Do me the favor and stand up", I heard him say. "No Morgenstern should die on her knees. Come, stand up and die in honor."
I knew that he wouldn't kill me. He wasn't allowed to. Valentine had forbidden it. He didn't want us dead, no, it would be a mild penalty. He wanted us alive so he could make us suffer hell on earth. Jonathan balanced the Soul Sword in his hand and grinned at me, definitely pleased. I didn't answer, I was too occupied with recovering my breath.
"Leave her alone, Jonathan. Look what you've done! She's your sister!" Jocelyn. She had stepped forward and fixed Jonathan with cold, emotionless eyes.
Abruptly, Jonathan turned to her, the wild expression in his eyes had returned. In a split second, he had totally forgotten about me. I could literally sense the anger he felt for our mother. I wondered where it came from. "Stay out of this! That's none of your business!"
"It's definitely my business when you want to harm my daughter", she now hissed an answer and made another step in our direction, a dagger flashed in her hand. Suddenly, cold shivers ran up and down my spine.
"Your daughter", he spit and directed the sword towards her. "And what have I been all those years? The second-class son?" His voice had turned into a threatening growl and he lowered his eyes. "But don't worry, I have a mother now. A mother who really cares about me. And look at me now. I'm more powerful than anyone in this room!"
If his words had hurt Jocelyn, she hid it good. She kept a straight face. "I'm your mother, Jonathan. Your father sold you to her. You're nothing but her slave. She uses you for her own purposes."
"I'm not her slave." His hands trembled and he showed his teeth, when she came another step closer.
"Yes, you are. You carry her blood in you, you can't be anything but her slave." I didn't understand how my mother was able to keep up her façade. I didn't understand how she brought herself to say those things, without bursting into tears, because all her words were the truth.
Jonathan had gone silent. He hadn't had himself under control. I wondered if he would ever have the control. He was just standing there, only one meter away from me, and stared at our mother. His furious expression had disappeared, only a feral spark was left.
In the next moment, two things happened. Too fast that I could have prevented them. Steps echoed through the corridor on our right and suddenly, Valentine was standing in the frame of the door. In all the glory of his burnished fighting-gear. His face expression was free of emotions, but when he spotted us, a bewildering relief mirrored in his eyes.
Jace and Isabelle turned to him. They didn't know him, had probably never seen him in person. But they immediately knew who he was. Jace took a noisy breath. How long had he been waiting for this moment to happen? How often had he dreamed of this man? But my father, who was responsible for his parents' death, took no account of him. His whole attention was for us. He had only eyes for us. Eyes for Jonathan, who lost his train of thoughts when he saw our father.
Then, he woke up from his stiffness. The savage expression was replaced by a serious and calculating one. As if he knew exactly what he would do. I didn't know. I didn't expect it and would have never considered it.
When the sword bore through her abdomen, I stared at the scene in front of my eyes, stunned and not really sure if I was dreaming or actually awake. It seemed so absurd that he would kill her, she was his mother after all. And even if he claimed otherwise, deep down he knew the truth, didn't he? He wouldn't do this. Never.
Only her gasp and her torn opened eyes brought me back to reality. I felt as if someone tugged at my skin. As if someone tried to separate my soul from my body. From afar, I heard someone scream. I lost the ground under my feet and my face collided with the ground, but it was nothing more than a numb feeling. I didn't care for the pain. The only thing I wanted to do was to pull myself up and race to her side, but my muscles were stone-still.
I saw Valentine ran towards us. He whipped Jonathan away from Jocelyn, who immediately collapsed on the floor. I couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't move. My body was like a lead weight. My breath caught in my throat. The person was still screaming. Like in a trance, I turned around and looked for the person. She had to be here somewhere. But there was nobody. Only Maryse and Hodge, who were standing at least twenty meters away from us and watched the scenery with shattered faces. And then there were Jace, Adam, Isabelle and Alec. Alec had closed his eyes and his head lay in Isabelle's lap, but the rest of them stared at us. None of them seemed to scream.
Instinctively, my look caught Jace's. I couldn't help it, since his face seemed to come apart in emotions. His eyes stared at me with an expression of horror and for a moment I had the feeling that my emotions mirrored in his eyes. His mouth stood open and his face was so agonizingly distorted that I feared he would break to pieces.
Someone touched my shoulder, and I averted my gaze from Jace. Only when my father's voice reached my ears, I realized who was screaming. "Clarissa. Calm down. Clary …"
I had screamed. I was still screaming blue murder. The sound, that came out of my throat, were beyond nature. Not from this world. Never in my entire life, had I heard myself scream like this. When he bended over and wanted to stroke my cheek with his shaking fingers, I flinched. In a matter of seconds, I drew back several steps. "Don't touch me!"
Jonathan was motionlessly standing next to Jocelyn's body and stared down at her. Then, he turned around and our eyes met. His lips formed into a triumphant smile. "Now the world is finally in balance again."
I didn't know how. My mind took action before my body could react. My pain was forgotten. A second later, I made a spring at him with a fierce shout.
Hi and welcome back everyone. I'm sorry for not updating in so long, but I was occupied with university and there was barely any free time to write or post. From now on, I hope to update more frequently. Please share your thoughts about the new chapter!