EDITED 5/30/2020
Hey Shadowfam! Here's Chapter Twenty One. I've decided that I'm going to try out posting on Sundays. Enjoy!
The lights were dim and it was quiet. The only sounds were the gentle sound of running water and the scrubbing and clinking of washing dishes. Clary was reclined back, casually to the untrained eye. Her legs were stretched out, one completely straight and the other bent slightly at the knee. Her head was turned to the left, towards the window that she was staring out.
Wesley was seated across from her chair pulled close to the table, slouched forward, hands clasped on the table, eyes trained on Clary's face.
He wasn't able to read her. Her features were schooled and every move she made appeared to have been carefully calculated and thought through.
Wesley watched as Clary reached up and brushed a stray hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. It didn't take long for Clary to feel his eyes on her and she looked up at him, her hazel eyes meeting his blue ones.
She simply stared at him, one eyebrow arched in a silent question.
"It's been two weeks." Wesley sighed. "You still haven't talked about it."
"I don't want to talk about it." Clary murmured, turning back to look out the window.
"Clary." Wesley wrung his hands before placing them flat on the table, palms down. "Look, you know that my little sister was murdered. I've been where you are now. My sister was murdered by someone I trusted, just like Max was murdered by someone you trusted. I've been where you are now. I know what you're going through. I can help you, that's why I came here. Let me in. Please."
"That can't honestly be why you came here." Clary scoffed.
"What?" Wesley asked, sitting back in his chair and looking at her in confusion.
"You were where? Before Magnus called you?" Clary demanded, looking back at the man in front of her. "England?"
"Tokyo." Wesley corrected.
"You left Tokyo and came to New York because you truly wanted to help a complete stranger?"
Wesley reached up and ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "After what happened with Shaylee and my family, after Magnus found me that night, I spent a year living with him. He helped me to kind of, how do you say? Reinvent myself. I wanted to be a better person. When I was with Shaylee, I was different. I wasn't who I wanted to be. Looking back, I'm not proud of who I allowed myself to become while I was with her. But the kindness that Magnus showed me, it reminded me so much of Charlotte, my sister. I decided that if I ever came across anyone in need of help, I would do for them what Magnus did for me. To honor him and to honor Charlotte. So yes, I did come here for you. A complete stranger."
Clary averted her eyes and stared down at the cooling cup of coffee that sat on the table in front of her. She hadn't touched it since the waiter brought it over for her. "I believe that, I do believe that you wanted to become a better person and help people. I just have a hard time believing that that's all. Why have you helped us so much? You've put your life on the line to help, you've gone on missions with us. You've done things that weren't necessary. No one would've thought twice about you not joining, yet you still came."
Wesley pressed his lips together in a firm line. He nodded slightly and let out a long breath. "I can understand why you are so confused." He said thickly, his British accent more pronounced than ever. "I would've helped you, either way. I want you to know that. I never once considered not helping you. The fact that you were dear to Magnus, that was just an added bonus. No matter who you were, I would've done the same. But then he told me that you're a Lightwood. I knew that name, how could I not? Alexander Lightwood. The Downworlder Lover. The Downworlder Cabinet. I'd been meaning to ask Magnus to introduce me. He's the last person I can think of to ask for help."
"Help?" Clary inquired.
"Shaylee was never punished for killing my sister and her family." Wesley revealed. "The Clave, they tended to ignore such things back then. Too much trouble for a lowly Warlock. Your brother, your family, though. You lot are different. And Alec is in a position to be of help to me. I just can't find a good time to ask for it."
"You should do it. He'd help you. I know it."
Wesley nodded. "I know he would. It's just that I'd like to be sensitive about the timing. You've just lost Max. I can't spring this on him, not now."
Clary nodded. "Eventually." She decided. "Eventually, he'll help you."
—
Later that same morning, Isabelle, Alec, Jace and Clary were stalking down a busy street in New York.
"Clary, don't." Isabelle sighed.
"No, I knew there was something off about Sebastian, or Jonathan." Clary protested. "I should've never second guessed myself."
"He would've found his way into our lives, one way or another." Jace told her, sounding almost bored as if they'd had this conversation hundreds of times before.
"The only thing that matters now is taking Jonathan and Valentine out." Alec added. "They'll pay for what they did to Max."
They made it to the apartment complex that they'd discovered Jonathan had been operating out of and quickly darted inside one after the other. Izzy led the way up the stairs and onto the third floor. They silently crept down the hallway, hands on their weapons, ready to attack.
Izzy paused outside one of the doors, glancing back at her siblings, feeling a slight pang that Max should've been there as well, before busting the door down with her staff.
The four of them charged inside, looking around, weapons at the ready.
"Jonathan!" Izzy shouted, spotting him sitting, slumped over at the desk directly across the room from the door.
Clary, Jace and Alec approached her, staring the man down.
"Turn around and face us!" Jace demanded, holding his Seraph blade up in an offensive move.
"Where is Valentine?" Alec asked, venomously."
Clary watched with bated breath as the man did nothing but sit, slumped over. Finally she had enough and she lowered her blade and stalked up to him.
"No, Clary! Don't." Alec called in vain as his sister spun the chair around.
When he was facing the four Shadowhunters, they could see that he was very clearly dead. Dried blood decorated his face and his skin was yellowing. His lips were blue and eyes lacking life.
Clary did not move from her spot directly next to the body, but she did turn to address her brother. "What, did Valentine kill him?" She asked in disbelief.
Alec lowered his bow and shook his head, lips pressed together as he looked at the body with a calculating look in his eyes.
Izzy sighed and answered her sister. "No, he's been dead for days."
"Tortured first." Jace added.
"This was the real Sebastian Verlac." Alec told Clary.
Jace stepped up to the body and closed the man's eyes before stepping away again. "Ave atque vale." He murmured.
"Hail and Farewell." The four said together.
Clary was the first to notice when the body started to shake. "Alec!" She said, her tone urgent.
Sebastian's eyes snapped open and his head turned towards Clary. The mouth snapped open and he growled.
"Clary!" Jace shouted.
"Get away from him!" Alec called. "Clary! Go!"
Jace and Alec charged the body but it jumped up and clung to the ceiling, knocking Clary off her feet in the process. Izzy rushed to her sister's side.
"It's a possessing demon." Jace said, eyes glued to the demon, seraph blade still raised and ready.
"The same kind that killed my mom." Clary growled, allowing her sister to pull her to her feet.
"Then we know how to kill it." Izzy replied in the same tone as her sister.
She flicked her whip, letting it wrap around the demon's neck. She pulled it off of the ceiling and on to the ground where Jace stabbed it with his blade. Clary stood slightly behind Alec and watched just over his shoulder as the demon fled Sebastian's body through his mouth and burst into flames. As the demon left the body, Sebastian's face was streaked black. Clary couldn't help but think he looked worse than death.
"We're going to make them pay for what they did to you." Izzy promised the corpse.
"We're going to make them pay for everything." Clary corrected.
—
"I feel like I'm losing him, Isabelle." Magnus said quietly as he sat across from his boyfriend's sister in the small coffee shop.
It was a hole in the wall, Magnus had to admit, but it was run by a lovely fey woman and it had a very warm and welcoming atmosphere.
Isabelle's face fell as she looked at the man in front of her. Her eyes softened and the corners of her mouth turned down.
"No, Magnus." She said sadly. "No. Alec, he practically raised Max. You'll just have to give him time. He'll open up soon."
"How are you so sure?" Magnus set his paper coffee cup down and sat up straight. "Because, me? I'm not. I'm not sure. I feel like he's slipping through my fingers and I'm helpless to do anything but watch. The night that Max died, he got wasted and he told Simon and I that he was going to propose to me. He has no memory of it, but I remember every painful second. Alexander was going to propose to me, but now he feels guilty. He was ring shopping and Max was being attacked."
"That's just it. This doesn't have anything to do with you. He isn't mad at you. He's disappointed in himself. He went out and did something for himself instead of staying at the Institute and in his mind, because of that, he wasn't there to protect Max. Alec has always believed that he is responsible for everything. That he had to be perfect. Just give him time. He'll come around."
Magnus day back in his seat and ran a hand over his face. "I just want him to trust me. To trust me to be there for him. For better or for worse, that's what he wanted, right?"
"It'll happen." Izzy reassured him.
"I hope so." Magnus whispered, picking his cup back up and taking a large gulp from it.
—-
"Come on!" Alec huffed, annoyed as he stalked down the hallway and Clary half-jogged to keep up with his longer strides. They finally made it to the training room and Alec stalked right over to the weapons display, Clary about a half a pace behind him.
She watched as he picked up a large case and sat down next to the stand that his bow and quiver were displayed on.
He indicated for his sister to take a seat next to him, so she did, looking curiously at the case that he had set on his lap.
Alec flipped open the latches on the case and opened it, reaching for what was inside almost immediately. He pulled out a black bow and a quiver of purple-feathered arrows as opposed to his red ones.
He handed the weapons to Clary and then stood up, setting the case to the side. Alec grabbed his bow and quiver, slinging the quiver onto his back and started walking over to the targets that were set up on the other side of the room.
"Umm.." Clary said as she hurriedly stood up and jogged after her brother. "What's happening?"
"I'm teaching you how to shoot." Alec told her, placing his hands on her shoulders and positioning her correctly in front of the target.
"Why?" Clary asked him as he placed her hands on the bow correctly and showed her how to notch the arrow. "I thought we were still working on hand-to-hand?"
Alec sighed as he circled her, looking for any glaring imperfections in her stance. "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that you are able to protect yourself. I'm not going to lose anyone else because they can't protect themselves."
Clary sighed. "Alec -"
"Alexander." A voice called from across the room.
Clary and Alec spun around and looked to see Magnus in the doorway, Isabelle just a step behind him.
"Magnus?" Alec said quietly.
"We need to talk." Magnus said
Short Chapter, couple of new scenes and changes. Will update again by Sunday, hopefully. Love you all ❤️