As we glamoured our way through security the four of us found that we still had about an hour until our flight began boarding. We picked a spot next to the gate and let our luggage rest there. I glanced at my Parabatai sitting a few seats away before reaching into my bag.
"Izzy?" I said as I walked up to her. I handed her my phone. It appeared that Robert and Maryse hadn't know Izzy had given me a cell phone. I saw her eyes light up and she smiled, a reaction that I hadn't elicited from her in weeks.
"Thank you, Clary." I smiled back at her as she went off to call Simon.
"That was a nice thing to do," Ashton said sitting in the row of seats opposite me. I walked over and sat down next to him.
"Yeah, hopefully that'll hold things over for eight hours." I glanced around realizing Alec wasn't here. I wasn't sure where he had gone off to.
"You two used to be closer than anything." He let out a laugh. "To be honest, I envied that type of relationship; always having someone you can depend on."
"Yeah, but I ruined it," I told him. He already knew what had happened between us, everyone did. I sighed. "She's never going to forgive me for putting her to sleep against her will."
"Just give it time," Ashton said. "I'm sure she will. I mean if you hadn't done that and she hadn't let you leave then you'd probably wouldn't have saved Alec or Sebastian."
"That's not the point," I said. "I broke her trust. Trust between Parabatai is everything. A broken bond isn't something easily mended. Believe me I think this would be easier if we weren't Parabatai. But because we have the longing to be near each other it's just pushing us further and further apart."
"You Fairchilds and having complicated Parabatai bonds," a familiar voice sighed.
"Magnus?" I whirled my head in his direction. Sure enough the warlock was standing before us with Alec. "What-"
"Ah yes, Matthew Fairchild and James Herondale. Not exactly two peas in a pod like you and Isabelle, more like polar opposites. I still don't know how that bond worked." Magnus shrugged. "No matter. I got us all bumped up to First Class, of course."
"Alec, what's going on here?" I asked."Magnus is accompanying us to Germany," Alec said as if that explained anything.
"Magnus you can't go to Idris," I pointed out. "And if the Clave finds out you're here-"
"Clary, it's a shame you doubt me," the warlock said. "Of course I know that. I'll be off the plane just before it lands. I happen to have some business to attend to in Germany."
I sighed, knowing this was a bad idea but also knowing that there was no way Magnus would listen to reason. The warlock and his shadowhunter boyfriend were soon off, discussing something about having lunch.
"I didn't realize they were so obvious," Ashton laughed. "Honestly how have the Lightwoods not found out about that yet?"
"I think they have noticed," I said. "But I also think they're so in denial about it so they're dismissing any suspicions they have."
"So, basically, that isn't going to go well?"
"Not at all," I replied. I glanced down in my lap as a piece of paper suddenly materialized in front of me. A fire message:
It's Sebastian. Call immediately.
"Watch our stuff!" I shouted at Ashton before I ran off in search of a pay phone. Luckily, I found one quickly and shoved change into the machine as I dialed the Institute's number. I tapped my foot impatiently as it rang one, two, three times before someone picked up. Maryse answered and explained the state of panic Sebastian had been in since I left. As soon as I had left the premises he started crying uncontrollably saying Jonathan had killed everyone. After Max's failed attempt to calm him down Maryse had put a 'sleep now' rune on him. But when he awoke he was in the same state and she was afraid using another rune would put him into a coma of sorts.
"Put him on the phone," I told her. I heard her moving into a different room and the next moment I heard Sebastian screaming: "They're all dead! All gone! Jonathan killed them all."
"Sebastian!" I shouted. A couple people in the airport glanced my way but I ignored them. "Sebastian, it's me, it's Clary."
"Lies!" He shouted. "I won't fall for anymore of Jonathan's tricks! I saw him kill Clary, cut her up with Phaesphoros."
"Sebastian, he didn't kill me. I'm fine. He tricked you."
"That's exactly what fake-Clary would say." I sighed. When I had been there, my presence alone was enough to snap Sebastian out of his outburst, but of course he wouldn't believe it if he couldn't see it himself before he had some type of concrete evidence. "Remember when we were kids? You were six and I was five. We were playing in the fields outside the manor. We had taken dad's favorite seraph blade or to play with. And when I lost it you took the blame for me. Sebastian, it's me, it's Clary, your sister."
"Clary?" His voice was softer now, nearly breaking. It was all I could do to stop myself from crying at his voice.
"It's me," I told him again. "It's okay. Max is going to take care of you, okay?"
"Max?" Sebastian questioned.
"Here," I heard Max's voice. "Do you want to help me with my rune drawing practice?"
The phone was taken off speaker and Maryse appeared on the other end. "Thank you, Clary."
"This is a bad idea," I told her. "I shouldn't go to Idris. I'm sure Izzy, Alec, and-"
"No, you're staying on the mission. Four shadowhunters leading back the Ascended is better than three."
"Then what are you going to do when I'm 20,000 feet in the air and can't call if he freaks out again?"
Maryse sighed. "There is another option." I bit my lip. I had known about it for months but it was always intended to be a last resort. "Both Brother Jeremiah and Zachariah said they might be able to help him in the City of Bones."
I sighed, thinking for a moment. They also said it could be dangerous; they could make things worse than they were before. But what other choice did we have? "Fine. Take him there."
As I hung up with Maryse I found her daughter standing next to me. I hadn't even noticed Izzy arrive.
"I..." She started but then stopped and handed me back my phone. I slipped it into my pocket and as we started walking back to our seats she spoke again. "Are you okay?"
"Sebastian's going to the City of Bones and they might mess him up even more than he already is, so, no I'm not okay." I knew my tone was uncalled for; she had been trying. But I was just so tired of dealing with everything that had happened in the last few months. I was so tired of it all and it didn't help that I hated myself for breaking the trust that Izzy and I used to have. Because I knew if I had her to confide in right now, while it wouldn't be a fix all, suddenly everything's okay, it would definitely be more manageable.
Izzy took the hint and didn't reply to me. I sighed. I didn't want to shut her out but I didn't know what else to do. Opening up my heart about my brother to her wasn't going to magically fix things between us.
"Is Sebastian okay?" Ashton asked as we returned to our previous seats.
"He's going to the City of Bones," I said to him. "The Lightwoods can't handle him when he freaks out and I can't be on the other end of the phone to calm him down when we're on the plane or once we reach Idris."
"But didn't they say-"
"That there's a chance they could make things worse and an even slimmer chance they'll make things better? Yes, but I don't know what else to do."
"You could let me place a block in his mind. I told you that might fix him with only minimal memory loss." Magnus and Alec had suddenly reappeared. I was off my game today in noticing people.
"No," I said immediately. I didn't want someone messing around in my brother's mind. Ironically, I had given the Silent Brothers permission to do just that but perhaps the difference was that they were Nephilim. As much as I trust Magnus he was still a warlock and a warlock had done enough damage to Sebastian already. I would never put him through that again.
Author's Note: Hello everyone! Thank you for checking out this sequel! I'm so glad you all still enjoy this AU story and hope you'll stick around for the long haul! Don't forget to review, thanks!