After getting dressed, I headed to the training room because I wanted to sit with Jocelyn. I've missed that woman so much and I can't wait to wake her up. Everyone is also trying to set up for the wedding, but I'm not in the mood until we wake my mom up.
"She looks so peaceful now." I started.
"I just wish we knew how to reach her." Clary finished.
"She's gonna be fine. I'm sorry, Clary. We should have told you everything before this got…" Luke tried to explain.
"Luke, we can hash all that out when we wake mom up." Clary said.
"The important thing now is that we have her back." I added.
"I'm looking for Lydia. Have you seen her? I don't mean to interrupt…" Alec asked while entering the room.
"No, stay for a minute." Clary said.
"I gotta get back to the station. Call me if anything changes?" Luke asked.
"Yeah." I replied.
"So, how is she?" Alec asked with a sigh.
"The same, I guess." I replied.
Alec gave me a sad smile, which I returned.
"Alec, I know you and I don't always see eye to eye on things… (I gave her a funny look because they never agreed on anything) Actually, we never see eye on eye on anything, but I do want to thank you for everything you've done to get our mom back." Clary said after taking a deep breath.
"Actually I… I should thank you. I don't know what would have happened to Isabelle after the trial if you hadn't returned the Cup. You saved my sister, so thank you." Alec said.
"Yeah, my whole world turned upside down, but um, you and I thanking each other… that's… that's too much." Clary said while her and Alec laughed.
"Magnus needs to speak with me. He might have some information about how to wake your mother up or… stop Valentine. It's important." Alec said before leaving the room.
"Mmm. Yeah." I hummed.
I knew that Alec was trying to figure out his feelings for Magnus, but I also know that Magnus isn't going to give up. I hope that they end up together because they make a really cute couple.
With everything going on with Jace and Clary, Clary told me that she was going to ask Simon to be her date to Alec's wedding. I told her that was a good idea, and then I told her that I was going with Jace. I could tell that Clary wasn't too thrilled about that, but there was nothing she could do since she was going with Simon.
The next morning was interesting because Magnus got to see first hand on how weird everything was.
"Morning." Jace and Clary said as they joined Magnus and myself.
"You just come from training?" Jace asked Clary.
"Yeah. I'm, uh, working on my right hook." Clary replied.
"Good. That's a good punch." Jace said.
"Yeah. I'm, uh, working on it." Clary said.
"While this conversation is no doubt scintillating, remind me why we couldn't do this at my place? At least there we'd have cocktails." Magnus said.
"It's 9:00 in the morning." Clary said.
"Oh, it's happy hour somewhere, my dear." Magnus said.
"We invited you here, Magnus, because Hodge can't leave the Institute." I started.
"He's an important part of this mission." Jace finished.
"Well, then, where is our tardy little tutor? There are certain individuals that I'd like to avoid, so let's make this quick." Magnus said.
I knew right then that something happened when he talked to Alec.
"Pardon the delay, Magnus. I was following up on a lead. Now, we've narrowed down our list of warlocks to these three." Hodge said as he walked in and pulled up the three warlocks that we needed to try to find.
"Why is Ragnor Fell up there? He's not more powerful than I am." Magnus questioned.
"Well, some would disagree. He is older than you." Hodge replied.
"Certainly not wiser." Magnus said.
"Who is Ragnor Fell?" Clary asked.
I remember hearing about him, but most people stay to themselves and don't talk about warlocks unless they're being threatened.
"The former High Warlock of London." Jace replied.
"And one of my oldest friends. Very prickly, likes to keep to himself." Magnus added.
"Okay, look. We just need to figure out which one of these warlocks had enough access to Jocelyn that they could create the potion for her without anyone discovering what they've done." Hodge said.
"By the early '90s, Ragnor was a professor at the Shadowhunter Academy in Idris." Magnus said.
"Isn't that when my mother lived there?" Clary started.
"Could he have made the potion for her?" I finished.
"The little bugger! That's why he hasn't responded to my fire message. Ever since Valentine began hunting warlocks, Ragnor's been holed up in his secret country house just outside of London. For all I know, Ragnor suspected my fire message was a ploy by Valentine to lure him out of hiding. We'll have to confront him face-to-face." Magnus said.
"You're going on this mission?" Hodge asked.
"Of course! I'm the only one Ragnor trusts. Besides, I've played my last hand here. Even I know when to fold." Magnus replied as he got up.
What none of us knew was that Alec and Lydia were fixing to walk in.
"Magnus, I didn't know you were here." Lydia said.
"That was the point." Magnus mumbled.
"We're just on our way to greet a few representatives of the Clave who arrived early for tomorrow's wedding. How long are you staying?" Lydia said.
"What's going on here? Nobody told me about a meeting." Alec asked.
"Magnus figured out that Ragnor Fell is the warlock who can wake my mom." Clary replied.
"We're just bringing him to the Institute." I added.
"How can I help?" Alec asked.
"We're just recovering a warlock, Alec. We got this covered." Jace said.
"Besides, you have emissaries from the Clave to meet. You don't want to tarnish your family's perfectly-crafted image now, do you?" Magnus said.
"Again, lovely seeing you, Magnus." Lydia said before her and Alec left.
Magnus went in the opposite direction, and that told me that the conversation didn't go the way he hoped for.
"Get ready. We leave in an hour." Jace told me and Clary.
He's learning. He knows that I'm not letting Clary go anywhere without me, unless she ditches me. Jace walked off and Clary chased after him, so I naturally followed to see how both of them are actually handling all of this.
"Jace. Jace, slow down. We need to talk about this." Clary said.
"Talk about what? We're good, okay?" Jace replied.
Bullshit and both of them know that.
"No, we're not. At least… I'm not. We need to talk about what Valentine said about us." Clary said.
"Look, I don't want to talk about it. It happened. I feel weird right now." Jace said as he turned around to face us.
I can tell by his eyes that he's telling the truth. He has no idea how to navigate through this, but keeping to himself is only going to hurt him more in the end.
"I get it. I feel the same way, okay? But… Look, we didn't know, all right? It's not our fault." Clary said.
"I can't do this right now. I'm sorry." Jace sighed before going into his room.
I feel bad for both of them, but something doesn't feel right about this. Why would Valentine all of sudden tell Jace that he is his father too? My gut is telling me that this isn't right, but I'm not 100% convinced yet. I'll play it out and see what happens and maybe, just maybe, Valentine will let it slip and I'll have my answer.
I went to my room, after making sure Clary was okay, and got ready for the mission. I hope we find the answers we need because I really want Jocelyn to wake up so Clary and I can have our mother back.
*Serena's POV*
"Now that the Clave has control of the Mortal Cup, thanks to your lovely bride-to-be, mom and dad can come home now. They arrive tonight." Izzy said.
"I heard. Max is staying with his tutors in Idris. It's safer there." Alec said.
"Now with all the dignitaries arriving for the wedding, mom must be besides herself." I said.
"This wedding is becoming more of a headache than I had planned." Alec said.
"Alec, you don't have to go through with this if you don't want to." Izzy said.
"It's what I want." Alec said.
"Okay." Izzy and I said together.
"Okay? No big argument from either of you?" Alec questioned.
"I'm always going to stand by, Alec." I said.
"You stood by me through my trial, and now I'm standing by you, big brother. And… we're throwing you a bachelor party." Izzy said.
"A what?" Alec asked confused.
"A bachelor party." I replied.
"I don't need a bachelor party." Alec said.
"No one needs a bachelor party, but we're throwing you one anyways. Actually, Jace should be the one throwing it, but considering everything he must be going through with Clary… I don't wanna ask him to do anything. You know what I mean?" Izzy said.
"I do. Sisters can really drive you nuts sometimes." Alec replied before walking away from us.
I take offense to that, but I'm not going to say anything because I like this Alec. He seems somewhat relaxed, but there's something beneath the surface. I guess we'll find out what that is later on, but I think I already know.
*End of POV*
We got through the portal, and I'm ready to get this over with because I know that if we don't, there's going to be a bloodbath. And I'm not talking about demon blood, either.
"Ragnor's house is just across these fields." Magnus said.
"Let's make this quick." I said, but my intention was pure.
"We'll talk to Ragnor, then portal him back to the Institute before anyone knows we're gone." Jace said.
"So… brother and sister, huh?" Magnus asked.
Why? Why did he ask that question of all questions?
"I don't wanna talk about it." Jace replied.
"What, so we're gonna be work buddies now? All about the mission, and totally ignore the huge bomb that was just dropped on us." Clary said.
"Yeah, sounds like a plan." Jace said.
I knew that this wasn't going to be good, but they really needed to talk this out before it ate at them both.
"What do you want me to say, Clary? That I was attracted to my sister?" Jace asked.
"Point of fact, brothers and sisters are often attracted to each other. I once knew this couple in ancient Egypt…" Magnus started explaining.
"Magnus, that's not helping." I said.
"Maybe this will all make sense when we wake up Jocelyn. Since she is Jace's mother as well, perhaps…" Magnus started to say.
"Don't say that again. Maryse is my mother. At best, Jocelyn is the woman who abandoned me." Jace interrupted.
"Hey, that isn't true." I growled lowly.
"Our mother would never abandon her son. She thought you were dead." Clary added.
"Or maybe she just didn't want me." Jace said.
"You don't know her, Jace." Clary argued.
"That's right, Clary, I don't. Do you?" Jace argued back.
"I'm sorry I asked! I came with you to escape my relationship drama, not get a front row seat to yours." Magnus said.
I knew this was going to happen, but I didn't think that Jace would say the things he did about Jocelyn.
"What was that?" Jace asked.
"Nice try, Jace. You're not getting out of this conversation that easily." Clary replied.
"Look out!" Magnus and I yelled together.
Jace grabbed Clary and moved them out of the way as a wall of fire appeared.
"Ragnor put up wards to protect his lair." Magnus explained.
"Why is the fire green?" Clary asked.
I would like to know that as well.
"It's a wall of fire that only the pure of heart and intention can pass through. Are you ready?" Magnus replied.
We all looked at each other before walking through the fire. Clary and I appeared on the other side, but Magnus and Jace didn't.
"Jace." I called out.
"Magnus." Clary called out.
We looked at each other because we were completely confused.
"Where are you?" Clary and I asked together.
We looked around before seeing the roof of a house.
"Ragnor Fell." I said.
Clary nodded her head and we took off towards the house.
"Ragnor? Ragnor? Hello? Is anybody home? We need your help." Clary called out.
We slowly crept through the house, and I'm starting to think that we're being watched.
"Ragnor, we know you're here. We just need to find our friends." I called out.
Clary and I then heard a clink and that told me right there that we were being watched. We walked back over to this painting, and both Clary and I noticed that the painting had moved it's eyes.
"Nice try, Ragnor." Clary and I said before Clary pulled him out of the painting.
"Well done… Clary Fairchild and Scarlett Sageman. I've been expecting you. You have Jocelyn's talent, I see. Only a true artist would notice the subtle change in my eyes. Yes, I know. I need to work on not moving my eyes, you don't need to remind me." Ragnor said to us, but then turned his head to an empty chair.
"You knew my mother? So you made the potion that put her to sleep?" Clary asked.
I'm still on guard because something isn't right.
"At her request, yes. And I knew it was only a matter of time before you came to me looking for the antidote. Please, sit." Ragnor replied.
Clary took a seat, but I didn't because I'm not too sure about Ragnor at the moment.
"Our friends, Jace Wayland and Magnus Bane. They were with us, but we lost them in the fire." Clary said.
"Let me do this my way! Your friends? Are they true?" Ragnor asked.
"Magnus said he's known you for centuries. He sent you a fire message." Clary replied.
"This is not an act. It is not an act! It is essential." Ragnor argued with the air.
"Okay, what is your deal? Our friends are missing and if you can't help us, we'll find someone who can." I growled.
I'm tired of his games and it ends now.
"What is it worth to you?" Ragnor asked.
"You find our friends and wake my mother… I'll give you anything." Clary replied.
"That's what I wanted to hear." Ragnor said before snapping his fingers.
Jace and Magnus appeared and boy was I glad that they were unharmed.
"Honestly, Ragnor, was that nonsense necessary?" Magnus asked.
"Of course. She offered me anything. You were only up to a timeshare of your flat in Paris. Yawn." Ragnor replied.
"All right, enough with the warlock games. Can you really wake our mother?" I asked.
"Not without the Book of the White." Ragnor replied.
"What is the Book of the White?" Jace asked.
"It's an ancient book of warlock magic containing spells more powerful than… most warlocks could ever imagine." Magnus replied.
"I possessed the book when your mother came to me, and I used its contents to create the potion. Regrettably, I no longer have the book. I asked Jocelyn to hide it so that Valentine might never find it." Ragnor said.
"Ragnor, please, I have to get my mom back. Is there any way to get the Book of the White?" Clary pleaded.
"Possibly. I may have something that can help us. Won't be but a moment." Ragnor said before walking off.
"What do we do if he can't find the book?" Clary asked.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there." I replied.
"It's a bit drab, isn't it?" Magnus asked.
Ragnor then screamed before being knocked over the balcony by a Shax demon.
"Ragnor!" Clary yelled as we ran over to him.
"Shax demon." Jace said.
"Creature took me by surprise." Ragnor gasped.
"How could a Shax demon get past Ragnor's wards?" I questioned.
"It must have followed us. Jumped through when the firewall reset." Jace replied.
"Be still, my little dear cabbage. Your wounds are deep. Hold on, please." Magnus begged.
Ragnor then died and all of our hearts sank.
"No, no, no." Magnus said as Ragnor died in his arms.
"For centuries, this man knew me better than anyone." Magnus said.
"Magnus, I'm so sorry." Clary and I said together.
"We have to leave now." Jace said.
"We can't. Not until we find whatever it is Ragnor said could help us locate the Book of the White." Clary argued.
"It's too dangerous. If one Shax demon found us, you can bet there are more on the way." I argued back.
"We have to try!" Clary exclaimed.
"We don't have time to scour through mountains of Ragnor's stuff." Jace said.
"Get back to the Institute. I'll transport everything back to my place, and find what you need. Now, leave me to take care of my friend." Magnus told us after opening a portal.
"Magnus, I am…" Clary went to say.
"Go!" Magnus yelled.
We walked through the portal, and something is still not sitting right with me about what happened to Ragnor.
"Jace, you're coming to Alec's bachelor party, right?" Izzy asked as she walked up to us.
"No. He doesn't want me there, and I'm swamped." Jace replied.
"You two seriously haven't worked things out yet?" Serena asked.
"There's nothing to work out. If he wants to talk, we'll talk." Jace replied.
I knew there was more going on with Jace because he seems more distracted than earlier.
"He's your parabatai." Izzy said.
"We have more important things going on than a bachelor party. Come with me." Jace said while looking at Lydia before leading us into the training room.
"We have a mole in the Institute." Jace said.
"We were attacked by a Shax demon when we went to see Ragnor Fell." I added.
"The attack couldn't have been a coincidence. Valentine must have been tracking us." Jace finished.
"You don't think someone from the Institute told Valentine where you were going." Serena said.
"No one here would betray us like that. This is our family." Izzy said.
"Not everyone's family yet." Jace said as we all looked at Lydia.
"I swear, if Lydia is the leak, I'm gonna…" Jace said and moved back to where he started.
"Slow down. We don't know if she did anything yet." Clary said.
"And wrongfully accusing someone of a crime is dangerous. Trust me, I've been through it." Izzy said.
"Lydia was right there when we were talking about Ragnor Fell. If she's not gonna admit what she did, I'm gonna make her." Jace said before trying to walk off.
"Jace, stop. You are too worked up to talk to anyone right now." I said as I stood in his way.
"Especially not an important envoy from the Clave." Serena added.
"Let me and Scar talk to Lydia. If you accuse Alec's fiancé of treason, you will ruin whatever relationship you have left with him." Clary said.
"Clary's right, Jace. If Lydia did this, she might not be so defensive with Clary and Scar. She might let her guard down. Slip up." Izzy said.
"Fine. But I wanna know everything she says." Jace told us.
"Your dress is stunning." I told Lydia.
"Thank you. I feel more nervous wearing that dress than I ever have on the battlefield." Lydia said.
"I think that's pretty normal." I said.
I took a breath before starting the conversation. Clary was going to actually say what needed to be said, but I was going to get it started.
"Lydia, we need to talk to you about something." I said.
"What is it?" Lydia asked.
"Valentine sent a Shax demon to track us on our mission today. It killed Ragnor Fell." I replied.
"By the Angel…" Lydia sighed.
"Only a few people here at the Institute even knew we were going on the mission. You overheard us this morning. Then we were attacked." Clary said.
"If I was working for Valentine, don't you think I would have already given him the Mortal Cup?" Lydia asked.
Clary and I just looked at her, but I never suspected Lydia to be working for Valentine.
"I don't believe this. Fellow Shadowhunters accusing me of high treason." Lydia said.
"Lydia, I'm not accusing you of anything." Clary said.
"I sure as hell ain't accusing you of anything, but there is a mole somewhere in this Institute." I added.
"Of course you are. (I knew she was talking to Clary because she gave me a knowing look that said she believed me) Unless you have hard evidence to back your claims, I believe this conversation is over." Lydia said.
"Fine, but know this. These people have become like family to me… and I protect my family." Clary said.
"I care about them too. Why else would I be marrying Alec?" Lydia said.
"How well do you really know him?" Clary asked.
"You're talking about Alec's feelings for Magnus? I'm not blind." Lydia replied.
"If… if you're not in love with Alec, then why are you going through with this marriage?" I asked.
"Alec's love for his family and his desire to restore the Lightwood name has touched me in ways that I haven't felt in a very long time. Alec is a man of honor… and I truly care about him." Lydia replied.
"But what about Alec's happiness?" Clary asked.
"Shadowhunters know that our duty to our family supersedes our personal desires. Look, I know you're still new to this world and our traditions may seem foreign to you, but I…" Lydia said.
"Yeah, more like ice cold. Alec should not have to give up who he is, or at least the chance to figure it out, just to please his family." Clary said.
"But Alec proposed to me. This is what he wants." Lydia said.
"How do I trust you?" Clary asked.
"You're Valentine's daughter… and I learned to trust you." Lydia replied.
Clary left the room, but I decided to hang back.
"I know you were only here for Clary." Lydia said.
"She is my sister after all, but I meant what I said. I'm not accusing you at all and I never thought you were the mole. I do believe though that there is a mole in the Institute." I said.
"Do you have any idea on who it could be?" Lydia asked.
"Not yet, but keep your eyes and ears open because I think that they'll slip up soon." I replied.
Lydia nodded her head and I left the room. I got ready for the wedding and hope that everything goes smoothly.
Clary and I took our seats, but I went to talk to Alec. He was happy that I was standing by him and I told him that I'll always stand by him. Serena then joined us, and I noticed that Simon had joined Clary. Serena and I then took our seats and the ceremony started soon after.
The ceremony was going well until Magnus showed up.
"This just got good." Serena whispered to me.
"Yep because now he can't hide his real feelings." I whispered back.
Alec and Lydia then had a quick conversation before Alec walked to Magnus and kissed him. I was super happy to see that because I think they belong together, and no one should keep them away from each other.
Maryse and Robert walked off, but I knew that Alec would get it later, but I would stand with him no matter what. I gave Lydia a hug when she walked by me. I let Jace and Clary talk before Magnus gathered us all together.
"I pulled every item of magical importance from Ragnor's belongings. But I can't determine which will lead to the Book of the White." Magnus said.
We all looked through the items, but something caught Clary's attention.
"Wait, this bookmark. I've seen it before. In the alternate dimension you showed me a book of spells, and this was in it. It must have been the Book of the White." Clary said as she picked up a bookmark.
"If that's the case, we can use the bookmark to track the owner." Alec said.
"Okay." Jace said.
Jace went to grab the bookmark, but Magnus stole it from him.
"Warlock tracking is stronger." Magnus said.
Magnus then held the bookmark, and when he popped his eyes open, I knew we probably weren't going to like what he was about to say.
"Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is I know the owner. The bad? It's Camille." Magnus said.
"Camille?" Clary and I asked.
"Looks like Raphael has her locked up in the basement of the Hotel DuMort." Magnus replied.
"Well, after I punched her, there's no way she'll help me." Clary said.
"She won't have a choice. Trust me." Jace said before leaving the room.
We all headed our separate ways, but Clary and Jace ended up talking, and I'm happy about that because I hate all the tension that surrounds them. I got situated for the moment, and then I called Taylor and talked to her. I even talked to Raphael and I was happy that he was being semi-nice to Simon. I thanked him and Taylor kept telling me that she thinks that Raphael might actually like me. I told her she was crazy and both of us laughed before continuing our conversation.
Scarlett's outfit: pin/553731716695162707/
Scarlett's out on the mission: pin/553731716695163271/
Scarlett's outfit to the wedding: pin/553731716695163627/