Jace fell against the wall. His face was drawn together horribly wrong.
Alec started walking towards him, his face written with concern. "Guys, did you really mean-."
Jace glared up at him. "Get out." He told Alec. "All of you. Out."
Isabelle said no sharply. "What for? So you can continue to destroy your life? What was that about you two?" She asked them.
Jace glowered at her but said nothing. "She needed to go home." Eliza told Isabelle. "It was best for everyone."
"I think you guys did more than just make her go home." Isabelle muttered. "She looked completely shattered."
Jace said that it would be worth it in the end. Isabelle darkly said that she hoped he was right. "Please, Isabelle. Just go away. Leave me alone."
Isabelle and Alec looked at each other. Jace was hardly the one to ever say please. Alec leaned over and put a hand on Jace's shoulder. "She'll be fine." He assured Jace. "Right, Liz?" He looked up at Eliza. "She'll be okay?" Jace lifted his head, his face turned to Alec. He was staring right through him.
Surprising him, Eliza said no. Alec gave her a tired look. "She won't be okay. We said horrible things to her. I knew how much it would hurt her and so did Jace. But it doesn't matter because she had to go home. And that's where she's going."
Jace quietly agreed with her. "Alec, what did you want to tell us? You acted like it was really important."
Alec's face drew together. "I just didn't want to say anything in front of Clary…" Eliza raised her eyebrows. She asked what he meant by that. Had something happened to Simon? Eliza said Alec's name. "When I took Simon to the Gard yesterday, Malachi assured me that Magnus was going to be meeting Simon on the other side of the Portal. I sent a fire-message to Magnus last night to make sure. When he got back to me this morning, he told me Simon never came through. He said that there hasn't been any kind of Portal activity in New York since Clary came through to Alicante."
Eliza bit down on her bottom lip. "Malachi could have been mistaken." Isabelle told Alec. "Maybe he thought Magnus was meeting Simon, but someone else did."
Alec said that wasn't it. "When I went to the Gard with Mom this morning, I saw Malachi. I can't exactly explain what happened, but I ducked behind a corner. He didn't see me and I overheard him with some of the guards. He was ordering them to take food to the vampire upstairs before the Inquisitor arrived to question him again." Isabelle said it could have been another vampire. "No. It was Simon. They were laughing about how naïve he was to believe they would really send him back to New York without an interrogation. And then one of the guards said he really couldn't believe anyone had the nerve to bring Simon to the Glass City. That's when Malachi said…" Alec didn't finish his sentence. His eyes traveled between Jace and Eliza, a worried look on his face.
Eliza crossed her arms over her chest. "What did Malachi say, Alec?" She asked him.
He swallowed. "He said 'What else would you expect from Valentine's children?'" He told her quietly.
"Oh, God." Isabelle murmured.
Eliza glanced at Jace. He looked sick, the circles under his eyes were dark, making his eyes look sunken and hollow. He had clenched his hands into tight fists at his sides. "It would have been different, had anyone else brought him through the Portal." Jace muttered. "If it would have been anyone else, they would have sent him back home without a second thought."
"Well, we very well couldn't leave him behind." Eliza told him. "He would have died."
Alec agreed, reminding Jace that they saved Simon's life. "All so he could be tortured by the Clave." Jace said bitterly. "Clary's going to think we did it on purpose." He told them. Alec said he was probably wrong, Clary knew better than that. "Did you hear the things we said to her, Alec?"
Isabelle assured him that it wouldn't be that way. Jace stood up and walked over to the window. The sunlight hit his hair in a way that turned it a bright gold. Before anyone could say anything else, the window shattered. Eliza shielded her face as broken glass sprayed the room.
She looked at him. He was staring down at his left hand. It was colored with thin lines of blood. Droplets fell onto the floor. She let out a half-concerned sigh.
"We're going to have a time explaining this to the Penhallows for sure." Isabelle said softly.
"What's the matter with Jace?" Isabelle asked. She carefully shut the door to the bedroom. Aline was lying on her bed, flipping absentmindedly through a book.
"You know how he is." Eliza told her. "He goes through moods."
"He seemed fine earlier." Aline noted, shutting her book.
Of course he was fine earlier, the two of you had your tongues down one another's throats.
Isabelle frowned but didn't say anymore on the subject. "Did something happen with Clary?" Aline asked, observing the girl's absence.
"My sister decided to go back to New York. I convinced her that our mother needed her more than we do."
Aline nodded, seeming only half-interested in Clary's departure. "You and Jace didn't seem too glad to see her."
Isabelle snorted. She muttered that Aline didn't know the half of it. Eliza shot her a withering look. "It's complicated. Sibling stuff." Eliza told her.
"Complicated seems like the perfect word to describe your relationship with Jace." Aline replied casually. "The two of you seem close. Well, sometimes." Izzy said that complicated didn't begin to describe Eliza and Jace. Eliza asked what Aline meant by that. "Oh. Nothing offensive. I've just noticed that the two of you argue quite a lot, especially in the short time you've been here, but you also dote on each other a lot. I mean, Jace wasn't slow in mentioning how great of a Shadowhunter you are, and you aren't even legal yet."
So, everyone had a habit of noticing their affinity for each other it seemed. She wasn't sure how long she would be able to play the sibling card. "We're twins. We fight a lot, yes, but we also love each other." Maybe a little too much. "We're as close as two people can be without being parabatai. We argue, we make up, we repeat the cycle until we die. Sometimes I'd like to rip his head off, but I would give my life for his in a heartbeat. I would do anything to protect my brother."
Even if it means lying to him. Even if it means breaking his heart. Watching him flirt with and kiss other girls.
Even if it means breaking my own heart.
"You're a good sister. I wish I had someone watching out for me like that." Aline finally said. Isabelle told her that she had Sebastian. Sebastian was nice. And cute, Isabelle added with a light smile. "Right." Aline nodded unsurely.
Speaking of the devil in disguise, where the hell was he?
The knock on the door interrupted her thought. Isabelle opened the door. Jace was standing in the doorway, a bandage wrapped around his hand. He still didn't look well. If anything, he looked worse. He had the reckless look in his eyes. The I'm-about-to-do-something-stupid-and-dangerous-look.
"Jace." Aline seemed to perk up in his presence.
He mumbled a hello, but didn't take his eyes off Eliza. "Can we talk?" He asked in a low voice. She nodded. She left the room, closing the door softly behind herself. "Go to your room. Change clothes. We're leaving." He told her.
"Where?" She asked, her eyes trained on the end of the hallway.
He stopped in front of the door to the room she had been staying in. She was originally supposed to share the room with Clary, but that hadn't worked out, so she was alone in the small room. "We're going to break Simon out of the Gard." She told him that was crazy, they couldn't do it. "We're the reason he's in there. If you don't go, I'll just do it alone."
Damn it, she thought to herself, he'll get himself killed if he goes alone. He's guilting me. "Fine. Give me five minutes."
"This might be the dumbest idea you've ever had." She told him as they passed under another light.
The Gard wasn't that far anyway anymore. They'd stolen through the streets rather quickly. Stolen may not have been the best word. They weren't sneaking. They were walking, swiftly. If anyone asked, just a brother and sister on a walk.
"Maybe." He replied.
She finished adjusting the braces on her wrists. "We could get ourselves put in prison." She said.
He shrugged half-heartedly. "We didn't fare too bad last time."
She stared back at him, wide-eyed. "You must not remember the part where the Silent Brothers were slaughtered, Valentine stole the Angel's Sword and used a fear demon on us, and then you passed out."
"I remember." He told her. "But we didn't die." They walked right up to the Gard as if they belonged there. "I think the cells are around here."
The Gard was dark, no streetlights around to light the darkness of the night. Jace took out his witchlight stone and it lit up the small area around them.
They walked around the Gard until the found the sets of barred windows on the wall. Jace walked up to the wall and peered into several windows, quietly shouting Simon's name before stopping at one. He waved her over and pointed to the window.
Simon was in the cell, asleep.
"Simon. Get up. Simon." Jace whispered hurriedly, kneeling down on the grass.
Simon stirred, getting to his feet quickly. He looked around the cell. "Samuel? Is that you?" He called out.
Eliza frowned. Who in the Angel's name was Samuel? Did Simon have prison friends? She got on her knees next to Jace. "Simon." She sighed. "Come over to the window."
He walked over, a confused look on his face. "Did you have a nightmare?" Jace asked.
"I think I'm still in it." Simon replied in a hostile voice.
Jace canvassed the cell he was in. "I thought they didn't use these anymore. I think I gave your friend in the cell next to you a little surprise. He's not bad looking." Jace told him.
Simon's fangs had extended, just barely touching his lower lip. "You could pretend to be happy to see us." Eliza said with a smile.
His expression didn't change. "I can't help but feel like you knew this would happen." He told them. "I feel like you guys knew I wouldn't be sent back to New York. How can I tell anyone that you lied about Clary if I'm in prison?"
Her face fell. "We didn't know." She assured him.
"We thought you'd be sent back. I know you don't believe it." Jace added on.
"Then you've got to be stupid. Or lying. Maybe both." Simon insisted.
Eliza rolled her eyes. "We're both stupid, then." She said, surprising both of them. "What? Simon, you really think that if I'd been lying you would know it? I told you: I'm the best liar I know. I don't get caught in a lie unless I want to be."
Simon relented. "Fine."
"Thank the Angel." Jace sighed. "And can you quit with the fangs? You're freaking me out." He waved his hand. Simon said he smelled like blood. Jace lifted his hand, showing off his bandage wrapped hand.
"Don't you have ways to fix that?" Simon asked.
Jace said yes. "Alec is trying to teach me a lesson by letting me heal slowly. Like a mundane."
Eliza couldn't help the smile. Good for Alec.
"Small problem for you. I've got big ones." Simon told them. "The Inquisitor is trying to make me confess than I'm a spy for Valentine and that he's the reason I can walk in the sun." Jace and Eliza shared a look. "He said that's what the whole Clave thinks." He continued.
"That isn't good." Jace said.
Simon said no kidding. "No, Simon, it's really bad." Eliza told him. "Once the Clave unanimously agrees that you're a spy, the Accords will no longer apply to you. They'll kill you, more than likely."
Simon, if at all possible, seemed to blanch.
"All the more reason we've got to get you out of here." Jace stated.
"What next?" Simon asked them. "Where do you plan on hiding the most famous vampire in Alicante?"
She hadn't thought that one through. Had Jace? She looked at him. "There's a Portal in the Gard. We'll send you through it." He decided.
Simon shook his head. "You don't understand. I'm not the only part of the problem for the Clave. The Inquisitor said that they want to prove that the Lightwoods are still loyal to Valentine."
Jace's face darkened. "That's not true, though." Eliza stated. "Everyone knows that they fought against Valentine last week. Robert Lightwood almost lost his life on that ship."
Simon said that didn't matter, not to the Clave. "Aldertree told me that they're trying to play it off as some big illusion on the Lightwood's part. That they only pretended to fight and they sacrificed other Nephilim so it seemed like they were against Valentine." Jace said that was insane. There was no way anyone would believe that. "He just needs someone to blame everything on, Jace. The Clave lost the Mortal Sword and he wants to blame everyone on the Lightwoods so that the Clave doesn't look bad in the end." He explained.
Aldertree, she was realizing, was just as bad as Imogen Herondale. Maybe worse. Definitely worse.
Jace ran his fingers through his hair. "We can't just leave you here." He spoke. "If Clary finds out about this-."
"Of course." Simon cut him off. "That's all you're worried about. You don't even care about me. You're just worried about what Clary will think of her two perfect siblings." He took several unnecessary deep breaths. "It's simple. You just don't tell her. She's in New York, gladly." He fell silent for a short moment. "It's good she isn't here. You guys were right."
Eliza drew closer to the barred window. "Why do you say that?"
Simon looked up at her. "After talking to the Inquisitor, I realized you were right. The Clave would try to weaponize her because of what she can do."
Eliza sunk down into the grass. She let her legs fall down so that she was properly sitting on the ground.
"So, you're saying you want to stay in there?" Jace clarified. "For how long?"
Simon shrugged, saying until a better plan made an appearance. "Can I ask a favor, though?" He inquired.
"Sure." Eliza mused. "Whatever you want." It was the least they could do for getting him locked away.
"I'm starving. Aldertree is withholding blood, he thinks it'll make me talk. I don't want to give in, but I don't think I'll last much longer, if you know what I mean." Eliza said she couldn't give him blood, she didn't want to choke him again. "No. That's not what I meant. Animal blood would be perfect. I don't ever want to drink from anyone again."
Jace said they could get him blood. "Hey, did you happen to mention to the Inquisitor that we gave you blood? That I let you drink from me on the ship to save you?" Simon said no. "Well, why not?"
"I didn't want you to be in any more trouble than you already are." Simon admitted quietly.
"How sweet." Eliza muttered.
"Don't bother protecting me." Jace told Simon. "Protect the Lightwoods as much as you can, but don't bother about me." Simon asked why. "I don't deserve it." Jace responded.
Eliza got to her feet and brushed off the back of her pants. She pulled Jace to his feet. She looked at Simon through the window. "We've got to go. We'll be back with blood when we can." She promised.
She had made up her mind. Once she returned to New York, she was going to break up with Declan. It wasn't fair to him, for her to be constantly pining after Jace and only giving half of herself to Declan. Especially when he cared so deeply for her. And her friends.
It was only right.
Besides, she told herself, it isn't as if there's any future there anyway. He was a vampire and she was a Shadowhunter. She knew in her heart that she would never turn into a vampire. Not willingly.
"Where is Sebastian?" She asked Isabelle. She hadn't seen him in an uncomfortable amount of time.
The other girl was lounged lazily on Eliza's bed, painting away at her fingernails. "Don't know. Aline said he was going out today."
Out? What in the hell did he have to do?
Little dove.
The voice drew her from her thoughts, a splash of cold water in the face.
Magnus? Is everything all right? Alec filled us in. Simon's safe, for now.
Yes, well, the thing is. I'm in Idris. We need to talk. Preferably soon. Very soon.
Magnus was in Idris? Her head felt as if it were going to implode. Okay. I know just the place. I'll leave now.
She thought of the place in her mind, sharing the information with him. She glanced back at Isabelle, adding the finishing touches to her nails. "I've got to go out, Izzy. I'll be back later." The girl didn't look up from her nails, giving only a slight hum of a response. Eliza grabbed her cardigan from the bedpost and left the room.
Magnus was waiting for her under the willow tree. He had that look of particular annoyance written on his face, the one that meant he was cross with her for a reason she was not yet aware of.
"I'm surprised that you wanted to meet here." He told her, glancing at the cottage. "It doesn't seem like your favorite place."
She shrugged and pulled her cardigan closer over her chest as the breeze blew through. "Oddly enough, I feel free when I'm here. No one else knows where it is. I can be alone."
Magnus nodded thoughtfully, walking closer to her. She asked why he was in Idris. "I received a message from Ragnor Fell last night. Ring any bells?"
She said yes. "That woman, Madeleine, she told Clary that Ragnor Fell could help our mother. That was why Clary wanted to come here."
"Bingo." He pointed his finger at her. "Speaking of your spitfire little sister, I just left her."
Her eyes widened. "What?"
His cat eyes gleamed. "Clary was at Fell's house earlier today. You can imagine how shocked she was when I greeted her instead of Ragnor. Since, you know, he's dead. Your father sent some of his people after him. I don't suppose he got the information he wanted."
She crossed her arms over her chest. She lifted her head, looking at the clear blue of the sky. "Magnus, the point?" She sighed.
"Ragnor left me a message before he died. Valentine was searching for the Book of the White. It has the antidote to the potion that your mother took." She asked if they found it. Or had Ragnor been able to keep it hidden? She desperately hoped it was the latter. "The book was in your mother's possession, little dove. And I know where she hid it."
Her head snapped back down fiercely. "Where?"
"Wayland Manor. In the library. It's concealed in a recipe book. I've told Clarissa. But…" She raised an eyebrow. There was always a condition with him. "The manor is heavily warded. I believe that the only way in would be with Jace's assistance."
Of course.
She leaned against the tree. She'd really screwed up. Magnus asked what was wrong. "Jace and I…we said horrible things to Clary when she showed up alone yesterday. We were awful, Magnus. If she forgives us, I'll be surprised. But it isn't safe for her here and I wish she would realize that."
He gave her a sympathetic look. He reached and put a firm hand on her shoulder. "Little dove, the safest place for Clarissa is with the two people who care most about her. Those people just so happen to be you and Jace." He wasn't wrong. But they couldn't protect Clary from the Clave. They weren't fully sanctioned Shadowhunters yet. If the Clave wanted to use Clary, they didn't really have a way to stop them. "Besides, Clary wasn't alone when she came to Ragnor's."
"What do you mean? Was Luke with her?"
He shook his head. "Quite the opposite, actually. Some handsome devil named Sebastian Verlac. Do you know him?"
She was going to kill him. If he laid one finger on Clary, if he so much as plucked a hair from her head, she was going to make him think that Valentine was a fairy princess.
He returned just after twilight. He wore an unusual expression on his face. As soon as he walked through the door, she was on him. Her hand was tightly wrapped around his bicep and she dragged him right back out the door. She didn't say a word as she hauled him behind the house to the canal.
"I know where you were today." She hissed.
Amusement. That was the expression he wore. His dark eyes twinkled and there was a ghost of a smile on his face. "And how would that be?"
She resisted the urge to punch him. He wouldn't talk if she resorted to violence so quickly. "I have my ways. It doesn't matter." She said. "You were with Clary."
The smile wormed its way back onto his face. She hated his smile. He tried hard to make it seem kind in front of others, but it was malicious. "Are you jealous that I'm spending time with our little sister instead of you? And here I thought you didn't much care for me." He chuckled. "She's a special girl, our sister. Naïve and trusting, but I can tell that she shares our blood. I hope to get to know her better."
Her eyes changed. The green dissolving to a void black, the same color as her twin's.
She couldn't help herself. Her hand jutted out, her fist slamming into his left cheekbone. She stared back at him as he held his cheek. "Stay the hell away from her or so help me God, I'll kill you."
His hand dropped. She expected him to lash out. To yell, to hit her back. Push her in the canal. But, he didn't. He stood there. And he laughed. "Oh, sister. Your threats don't pack any meaning. You and I both know that you don't have what it takes to kill someone. Sure, you can kill demons all day if you want, but you don't have it in you to take the life of a real person."
She stepped closer to him. "Good thing I don't think of you as a person, Jonathan." She whispered. She drew back, her mouth set firmly. "Like I said, stay away from Clarissa."
When she went back into the house, she made a beeline to the room Alec and Jace were sharing. Thankfully, it was just Jace. She wasn't in the mood to deal with Alec.
"I've been thinking." She told him, shutting the door quietly.
He looked up from inspecting his injured knuckles. "A dangerous thing." He bemused. With a disconcerted look from her, he recanted. "What's on your mind?"
"Clary." The two of them had laid it on thick with her. Eliza was sure that she had probably cried once out of the Penhallow house. Jace asked what she meant. "We were horrible to her. She's already here and I really believe that the safest place for her would be with us. I think we should find her and make amends." Especially if her monstrous brother was going to be running after Clary.
He sat up straight up straight. "If you think we should, then we should." He finally said. Well, she hadn't expected him to agree so quickly. "Right now?" The quicker the better, she told him. He got up from the bed and pulled his boots on. "Liz."
She took out her stele, twirling it between her fingers, over her knuckles. She raised her head just a little, indicating that she was listening.
"About what you saw…With Aline. I-."
She stared back at him, her green eyes cut narrowly. "You don't need to explain yourself, Jace." He had an indignant look on his face. There were words he wanted to say. "I promise." She smiled half-heartedly.
Amatis Herondale's house wasn't very far from the Penhallow's. A short walk, maybe twenty minutes.
Jace knocked sharply on the door using his uninjured hand. After a few tense moments, the door swung open. The woman before them brought a tinge of familiarity to Eliza's brain. Her greying brown hair was pulled back in a severe ponytail, her blue eyes keenly bright.
"I would know that hair anywhere." The woman said, her eyes trained on Eliza. "You must Eliza."
She nodded. "And my brother, Jace. We're here to see Clary."
Amatis stepped aside, letting them in. She led them to the kitchen and they sat at the small table. Amatis put several plates of food on the table. A bowl of fresh fruit, a plate that had warmed bread and butter on it, and a plate of sweet-smelling cookies. "Make yourselves comfortable. I'll send Clary down. She just got in."
Amatis disappeared from the kitchen. Jace happily took a cookie, turning it over in his bandaged hand.
"I didn't expect to see, or hear, from you guys again." Clary's voice alerted them to her presence.
Eliza perked up, joyed to see that Clary didn't look at all hurt. Just tired. Except for her eyes, those were the dark green of anger. Rightfully so.
Jace shrugged, biting into the cookie. "Amatis mentioned you were out. Where'd you go?"
"I was with Sebastian."
Eliza's hands curled into fists that she hid under the table. "How did that happen?" She asked.
"He offered to walk me home last night, after-." She made the correct choice in abruptly ending the sentence. It would only start a fight. One Eliza knew they didn't have the time for. "He's been the only nice person since I got here."
Nice. Definitely not a word on the list she would have used to describe him. Then again, she knew him better than anyone else did. They had shared a womb together. A small room in a small cottage.
"No matter." Eliza told her. "We came to apologize." She spared Jace a glance. He was finishing off his cookie. "Didn't we?"
He said yes, mouthful of cookie. A crumb fell from his mouth. "We realized that we shouldn't have acted the way we did last night."
Clary's mouth twitched. "I couldn't agree more."
"We also came to see if you would go back to New York." Jace said.
Eliza whipped her head over, staring at him in disbelief. She was going to wring his neck. "No, Jace. That isn't what we-."
"C'mon, Liz. You and I both know that even though we can protect her from a lot, we can't protect her from the Clave."
Eliza's eyes slid over to Clary. He wasn't wrong. "Oh, you mean that you won't be able to keep them from throwing me in jail like they did to Simon?" Clary asked them icily.
Damn it, Eliza thought. She knew exactly who had spilled the beans. He had probably been elated to tell her.
Jace leaned back in the chair, face void of anything too telling. Eliza rested her forearms on the table. "How did you find out?" She asked quietly.
"Sebastian." Clary said haughtily. Just as she had thought. "He told me exactly what happened. That the two of you dragged him here and then you let him get thrown in prison. If you're trying to get me to hate you, it's working."
Eliza heaved out a sigh. "You trust Sebastian more than you trust us?"
"You barely know him." Jace added.
She may have barely known him, but Sebastian was more Clary's brother than Jace would ever be. "What, it isn't true?" Clary snapped. "Are you saying he lied?"
Eliza grimaced. "Not exactly." She said softly. "We had to bring Simon. It was that or let him get killed by Forsaken. And then we were told that the Clave was sending him home. Obviously, we found out that we were lied to. But Jace and I have checked on him. We're getting him blood."
Next thing she knew, Clary had picked up a plate and thrown it. It hit the wall above the sink and broke into pieces. "Oh, you checked on him? Then everything must be fine. It isn't like my best friend is in prison! Simon trusted the two of you!"
Jace got to his feet, looking at her as if she were a madwoman. Clary was a little more stubborn than she had thought. "I think you're overreacting just a little, Clarissa. I told you that Simon is fine. We checked on him." Eliza insisted.
Clary's eyes were a dark green, molten anger. "Right. And this was before or after I came to the Penhallows?"
Jace let out a choked laugh. He was clearly amused by something she didn't understand. Maybe she didn't want to. His laugh was enough to send Clary over the edge. She lunged towards him and sent both of them back towards the counter. Clary fell forward against him and raised her hand to hit him. Jace's hand curled around her fist and he forced her arm down.
"If I let you go, you can't hit me." Jace warned her.
Clary huffed. "You deserve it."
Eliza moved quickly across the room. She gently put her hands on Clary's shoulders and pulled her back from Jace. "If you're going to punch him, you might as well punch me too. We brought Simon here together." She reminded her.
"You really think we'd go through the trouble of planning for Simon to get locked up?" Jace asked.
Clary frowned, looking between the two of them. "Well, neither of you have really ever liked Simon that much. Have you?" She accused.
Oh, she was being unbelievable.
Jace stared back at her. He held up his right wrist, showing Clary a jagged scar just under his palm. "That's where I cut myself on the ship. To let Simon drink my blood so he wouldn't die." He looked past her to Eliza. "And let's not forget that Liz quite literally almost gave her neck to save Simon's life. And she let him drink from her after we got here."
She glanced between Jace and Eliza, obviously troubled. Eliza's face softened. "Clary, Simon isn't just your friend anymore. He's ours too. We care about him. We wouldn't just abandon him."
"Sebastian said-." Clary started.
Eliza made an indignant noise in her throat. "Frankly, Clary, I don't care what that cretin said to you. He was lying." Jace seemed surprised. He had clearly thought, like everyone else, that she had a soft spot for the boy. How wrong they were.
"But…But you actually believed them when they said that they would send him back?"
Eliza groaned. "Clary, the only Portal in Idris is inside the Gard. Of course, we believed them." Jace told her. Clary asked why they believed the Clave, especially after how crazy Inquisitor Herondale had been. "Because it's the Clave, Clary. The Inquisitor was the exception, not the rule. All Nephilim are meant to abide by the Law, and most do so happily." He sighed, leaning back on the counter. "Valentine told me how corrupt the Clave was. At first, I didn't believe him. But now I do."
Now that was crazy talk.
"Things need fixed." Clary said softly. "Just not by his ways."
Eliza nodded slowly in agreement. "Jace, I hate to say it, but maybe your old method of not trusting anyone should be put back to use." She mused.
He arched an eyebrow. "Maybe so." He said thickly.
"Can you take me to see him? Simon, I mean." Clary asked them.
"Absolutely not." They both said.
She asked why not. "Clary, you aren't even supposed to be in Idris. That means you definitely can't go walking into the Gard asking to see a prisoner no one is supposed to know about." Jace reminded her hotly.
Clary began to object, but Eliza cut in. "He's fine as can be, Clary. I promise. We saw him. We even offered to bust him out but he said no." Clary made a noise of surprise.
"What does that mean? Why would he do that?"
Eliza put her hands on the table, leaning back carefully. "Inquisitor Aldertree is asking him a lot of questions. He plans on blaming this entire mess with Valentine on the Lightwoods and he needs Simon's help to do it." Clary asked how Simon could do that. "He wants Simon to spin some wicked story that the Lightwoods are still allied with Valentine. Simon wanted to stay inside the Gard because he knew that Aldertree would know who got him out. And that wouldn't be good for the Lightwoods." She explained.
"We can't leave him in there forever." Clary stated, rather obviously. Eliza said that they didn't plan to. They just needed time to think of a good plan. "What if I already have one?" Clary asked quietly. Eliza raised her eyebrows, telling her to share. "The two of you, and the Lightwoods, need to be seen. You need an alibi. Then, we can get Magnus to bust Simon out and take him back to New York."
Jace had confusion written all over his handsome face. "Look, Clary, it's a good idea, but Magnus won't go for it. He's got it bad for Alec, but not that bad, I don't think."
Clary's eyes shone. "He'd do it. Not for Alec, but probably for the Book of the White."
Eliza pushed off the table. Jace asked what she was talking about. Clary explained to them about how she and Sebastian had gone to Ragnor Fell's and Magnus had been there instead, because Ragnor was dead. She told them everything Magnus had told her about the Book of the White and where to find it.
Jace's gaze moved to Eliza. "Did you know he was here? Magnus."
Her face had guilt written all over it. Jace's eyes narrowed. "I found out before we came here. Before Sebastian came back to the house. Magnus asked me to meet him and he told me everything. That's why I suggested we come here. We need the Book of the White to wake our mother up."
"Could Valentine want it for that same reason?" Clary asked her. Both of them said they didn't know. It was possible, but it was also possible that he wanted the book because it was another powerful relic. "Is there any chance at all that the book is in Wayland Manor?" Clary inquired hopefully.
Jace smiled tightly. "For sure. I've seen the cookbook before, the one Magnus is talking about. It's one of the few in the house."
Hope was not a familiar feeling to her. It didn't come easily and it didn't stay long. But there it was, nestled comfily in her heart. No doubt soon to be ripped out.
"Great. Then, let's go." Eliza told them. "We need to get our hands on that book before Valentine does."
Clary agreed wholeheartedly. "I promise that once we get the book, I'll go back. I'll take Simon and go back to New York." She informed them.
Jace and Eliza shared a wary look. "It won't be a short trip to the manor." Jace finally said. "Probably about five hours walking distance."
She wondered if there was any chance they could eat first. Clary took Jace's stele, holding it firmly in her hands. "What if we don't have to walk?" She asked mysteriously.
It felt like being sucked into a tornado.
From the moment Clary had put Jace's stele in her hand, Eliza should have known to expect something out of the ordinary. And that was saying a lot, because nothing about her life was ordinary anymore.
Her face smacked against the cold flooring. There'd easily be a bruise tomorrow. A groan escaped her as she pushed herself off the floor and into a kneeling position.
The room they were in felt like something out of an old horror movie. Every piece of furniture in the room was covered by thin white sheets. A ratty old Persian rug was thrown over the floor. The velvety curtains that covered the windows had turned grey with dust.
Clary was on her back in the middle of the rug, Jace nowhere in sight. "If either of you says that was fun, I'm kicking both your asses." Eliza said thickly. She stood up and gently rubbed the place on her cheek where she had hit the floor.
Jace stood up from where he had landed behind a large piece of furniture. "You guys all right?" He asked, pushing his hair from his face.
Clary got to her feet. "I think that if Eliza doesn't kill me, Amatis probably will." Clary grasped at her elbow, working her fingers over it.
"For throwing her plates?" Eliza quipped sarcastically.
Clary smiled. "That. And the whole opening a Portal in the middle of her kitchen thing."
For just a few seconds, the only sound was the three of them laughing. The harmonious sound died off slowly until silence enveloped the room. "Liz, you gotta admit, it was impressive." Jace told her.
He was right. What Clary had done, opening a Portal in Amatis' kitchen, it was unimaginable. Something that shouldn't have been possible. But she had done it.
"Impressive. Not fun." Eliza admitted.
Clary's eyes traveled around the room, a strange look in her eyes. "You grew up here?" She asked Jace. "It feels like a fairy tale story house."
Jace snorted. "Horror story, actually." Jace corrected. He looked far away, remembering times that had come and gone. Times he had probably once thought of fondly, but now remembered with an abhorrent dissatisfaction. "It didn't feel this empty when I was younger."
"How about cold?" Clary said as a shiver ran through her body. She pulled the coat closer to her. Jace said no, it had always been cold there.
He took out his witchlight stone and it brought a cool light to the room. "We're in the study." He told them. "The book is in the library."
Eliza took out her witchlight stone and it came to light in her hand. Rays of white light fell over her face. Once they left the room, they entered a long hallway. Each side of the hall was plastered with mirrors that showed their own reflections. She caught both Jace and Clary checking themselves out. Clary looked displeased at her appearance, while Jace, naturally, seemed perfectly happy.
"Guys. Time-sensitive mission. Which doesn't include time for the two of you to admiring yourselves." Eliza snapped at them. "Jace, the library." She waved her head forward for him.
He rolled his eyes, walking in front of them. Eliza grabbed Clary by the arm, pulling her close to her. They walked by several rooms, some were closed off, some open for public viewing. Clearly, no one had been in the house since Jace had been shipped off to live with the Lightwoods seven years ago.
"I need you to do me a favor." Eliza whispered to Clary. She looked up to make sure Jace wasn't paying them any mind.
"What's up?" Clary asked just as quietly.
Eliza's tongue wiped over her lips as she thought over the words in her head. "Stay away from Sebastian. You have to promise me."
Clary tried to stop walking, but Eliza continued to pull her further down the hall. "What? Why? He's nice."
Eliza exhaled softly. It wasn't like she could tell her who he really was. As much as Clary, and everyone else, deserved to know who Sebastian really was. But telling the truth, as always, proved to be more dangerous.
"I know. I know he seems nice and charming. But he isn't. You have to promise me that you'll stay away from Sebastian."
Clary frowned at her and managed to stop walking. "Eliza, I don't understand." She said. "Sebastian loves you. He's always said really nice stuff about you to me. Tell me what happened."
Her eyes looked furtively over at Jace. He was still walking, a little slowly. Taking everything in. Eliza pocketed her witchlight and put her hands on Clary's shoulders. "He is a snake in the tall grass, Clarissa." She hissed. "You can't trust him. Promise me that you'll stay away from him."
Clary bit down on her lip. "Okay. I won't talk to him anymore."
Eliza made a noise in her throat. "You have to promise."
Green eyes on green eyes. The same green. The same color of the forest after it rained.
"Fine. I promise." Clary mumbled.
Eliza smiled freshly and let her hands fall. She murmured a thank you and turned to keep walking behind Jace.
"So, uh, I'm guessing Valentine didn't stay here after you left?" Clary asked Jace.
He hesitated his movements, but continued on. "Doesn't seem like it."
"After he faked his death, he came back to the cottage. Full time." Eliza told them. Jace looked back at her, the witchlight causing his eyes to shine. His mouth was turned down ever so slightly. "I used to love whenever he would go off to be with you." She told him. "He'd be gone for weeks at a time. I'd be…alone." She sighed. It wasn't alone, not really. Jonathan had always been there, as well as Marisol. But Marisol was useless without Valentine. She did nothing unless she was told to. A robot, in essence. Jonathan had tended to leave her alone in the absence of their father.
She felt guilty thinking the words, let alone saying them aloud. Jace had spent years mourning the man he believed to be his father. She didn't want him to feel worse because she got the raw end of the deal.
Jace didn't say anything, thank the Angel. He just turned back around and kept walking. Her hand reached out and ran over one of the crystal doorknobs of a closed door. Her hand kept going, her fingers dusting over the edge of a gold mirror frame.
Valentine, all those weeks ago, had promised to take them both home. One small step through the mirror would take them home.
Except, she didn't actually know where home was for Valentine. He clearly didn't consider home to be Wayland Manor. He had abandoned it after faking his death. She didn't believe he thought of Marisol's small cottage as home either. She hadn't been inside since returning to Alicante, but the cottage looked untouched. Fairchild Manor was out since he had turned it to ash and dust so long ago.
Jace drew to a stop in front of a door that closed off the hallway to another part of the house. Jace rammed his shoulder into the door and it busted it in.
She knew instantly that they were in the library. Walls covered in shelves of books with old and worn binding. Wooden ladders that cased the ends of the shelves. The velvet green curtains were coated in a thick layer of white dust. One of the windows had a cushioned seat attached to it, making for a small reading nook.
Outside of the colored glass windows, the world was dark.
"Cozy." Eliza hummed.
Jace made an agreeing sound. "He used to assign me readings each day. I'd come in here and sit in the window to do them. Each day had a different language. Saturdays were French and Sundays were English." There was just a hint of wistfulness in his voice, heavily masked by bitterness. "Latin was on Tuesdays, I think. Maybe Mondays…?"
Jace had a reading schedule? She fought back a cold laugh. Wayland Manor had been, as Clary said, a fairy tale. Full of spaghetti baths and window readings. She was sure that Jace had run down the halls of the house, laughing.
His was a house of dreams. Hers was a house of horrors.
Jace moved across the room, making a beeline for the furthest wall. He bent down, inspecting the rows of books. When he stood up, he had one in his hand. "Found it." He walked back over to them, showing it off.
Simple Recipes for Housewives. The perfect cover. Valentine never would have looked. Clary snatched the book from his hands. Clary's hands shook as she opened the book carefully. Dust billowed up in the air. Eliza coughed, waving her hands around to get rid of the dust.
There was a square hole cut out of the middle of the book. Inside of it fit another, smaller book, bound in white leather. Ancient wording was scrawled on the front of the book.
"What does it say?" Clary asked them quietly. "What language even is that?"
Eliza took the books from her. She squinted down, trying to unscramble the words in her mind. "It's Greek." She hadn't actually tried to read anything so ancient in a few years. "All I can make out is Book of the White. The rest is…I can't figure it out." She closed the larger recipe book and handed it back to Clary. The younger girl put it in the pocket of her coat. "Magnus can figure it out, more than likely."
Jace had already taken his mind off the book they had come for. He had instead turned his attention to the multitude of books on the various shelves. "Why don't you take some of them with you?" Clary suggested.
His hand fell from one of the lower shelves. "I haven't read a lot of these books." He told them. "I could only read the books he assigned me." He lifted his head up and pointed to the dark leather-bound books on the upper shelves. When his gaze fell back down, it was trained on Eliza. "I snuck in here once to read one of them. It wasn't actually a book. It was a journal. He kept them and he wrote things about me. "My son, Jonathan Christopher…That was the day I found out I had a middle name."
Journals. He had kept journals about Jace. Which meant there was no way there weren't journals about her and the real Jonathan. There was the off-and very real- chance that Jace had read something about the real Jonathan and not himself.
"Naturally, I got caught. I was only six, I wasn't very stealthy back then. He lashed me with a belt five times when he found out." He laughed dryly.
"You can't get caught now." Clary reminded him. Before either of them could stop her, she was struggling to reach up to the top shelf of books and knocking down one of the journals. It fell to the ground in front of their feet.
Jace objected but Clary continued to knock down the journals from the shelves. Airy clouds of dust began to fill the space. Eliza bent down and plucked up one of the journals. She flipped it open a few pages.
Eliza has done it again.
Her legs felt weak. She got down and sat on the floor, crossing her legs. Her fingers skimmed over the page, her bottom lip worrying between her teeth.
My daughter is unnaturally insolent. She is nothing at all like Jonathan. For her to have come into the world with Jonathan and share his DNA is a concept I would not have believed had I not watched their birth myself.
She does not listen, she questions everything. I wonder where I went wrong with her. She is nothing like Jonathan. The only hope I have for her is that punishment will dissolve her disobedient nature and create the child I wish to have. She is strong-willed. I see the tears when I must punish her, and yet she never lets them fall. I hope that with more time and punishment, she will become what I need her to be. Pliant and malleable, forever obedient to my every demand, undyingly loyal.
Yet, she is mine. However contemptuous she grows, I will never forget that she is my blood. Of me came her. I made her, I created her. The blood of me and the blood of others flows in her. It is not as obvious as with Jonathan, but still I see it. She has her particularly nasty moments, and that is when I see my hard work shine through her. A temper like her brother and my own charm.
A beautiful monster I have set for her to be. A face that will launch a thousand ships. A monster to help win my war. My soldier, my daughter.
She wanted to vomit. Her stomach churned and she slammed the book shut. Both Jace and Clary looked at her. She stood up, clutching the book tightly to her chest.
"What is it?" Jace asked her. She shook her head, saying it was nothing. They had practically wiped out the whole top shelf of books. Several of Valentine's journals were strewn on the floor. "Wait. Do you guys hear that?" He whispered.
She cocked her head, straining her ears. She could barely hear it. A high-pitched whirring sound. Like pieces of machinery grinding together. It was close by. She stepped closer to the wall, the sound growing louder.
She got a little closer to inspect it. The stones made a sort of creaking screaming noise and began to slide back from each other. "What the hell?" She murmured. The stones had created a door-like hole in the wall. She could make out a descending stairway in the darkness.
How like her father to have a secret staircase hidden in the bookcase.
She looked back at Jace and Clary, her eyebrows slanted in a precarious fashion. A little too risky.