Chapter 3

Daniel was lying flat on his back on his bed, his arms straight up above him. He had a book of Irish fairytales in his hands instead of his usual history book. These were the stories he had learned as a child. They had been the real magic; the fairytales that Shadowhunter children often missed, learning instead that all the stories were true. To be honest, he didn't know whether or not they were true, but his parents had never told him that they were.

He sat upright as the door clicked open. He tried to guess whether it would be Elijah or Lydia, but he couldn't decide. Maybe Lydia because Elijah had been the last one to come in around noon. Neither of them had even remembered to feed him dinner that evening. He'd had half a feeling that they were neglecting him on purpose, but then, why would they remember him now? It was past sunset.

"Hi, Daniel," Katya chirped.

He froze. "What are you doing here?"

She raised her stele and wiggled it with a grin. "I broke in."

"Elijah and Lydia will catch you." He tried and failed to sound disapproving.

Katya shrugged. "They aren't even here. They left this evening in a rush."

"Oh." Daniel watched Katya sit on the bed next to him. "That explains why I didn't get dinner this evening."

"You didn't? That's horrible. Let me get you something. What do you want?"

He thought about it for a brief moment.

"Anything. Do we have oranges?"

"Sure. Jonah!"

The little boy scampered in, jumped up on the bed, and threw his arms around Daniel. Daniel grinned and hugged him back, abandoning his book.

"I missed you. I wanted to come in and see you, but I couldn't undo the runes. Dad's being mean about you."

Katya rolled her eyes. "He knows. He's hungry. He wants you to go get him an orange."

"Okay!"

He ran out of the room at top speed.

Daniel laughed, and Katya said, "He's so ridiculous. He's probably going to trip going up the stairs."

"He'll be a great Shadowhunter."

Her eyes darkened. "Great Shadowhunters all die."

"Not Jace Herondale. Clarissa Morgenstern. They fought Sebastian Morgenstern, and they lived."

He had seen them once, in Idris three years ago. They were so recognizable, each of them by the color of their hair. Gold and red. They had been coming out from an alley. Jace had looked nonchalant and confident, but Clary kept glancing back at one of the walls, as if she were checking to see if it were on fire, or still there, or something like that. He had seen them while he was wandering around, hoping that his family had come and that he might see them. Neither of those wishes had come true.

"But so many of us died. Those two aren't the only great Shadowhunters that ever lived. They're just some of the only ones that are still living. Sure, we'll have new ones – I hear Emma Carstairs is some sort of prodigy – but how long will it be until they die too? I don't want my little brother to be one of them."

"The risk that you might die is never a reason not to live. Anyone can die. Mundanes die all the time, killing each other in wars with new and always more dangerous weapons, and they don't know the Shadow World. Most of them never will. We have to take chances. We have to be daring and brave, and that makes life worth living. Even if there are consequences."

"Like getting locked in your bedroom?" Katya asked.

They both laughed, dissipating the tension.

"Yes. That's exactly what I was referring to."

"Poor, poor Danny Boy. Hey, isn't that a song?"

He groaned. "Yes. It's Irish."

"Perfect!"

"Yeah, it's wonderful. I'm sure no one has ever made that joke about Irish Daniels before and this is an entirely new brand of wit."

"Oh, don't take it so seriously. What is that, by the way?" She pointed at the chain, which was showing again.

He made an effort not to cover it up. "It's just an old necklace. I brought it with me from home, but I thought I'd lost it. I just found it the other day."

"Where did you find it?"

He paused. "In the pocket of an old coat. It was in the back of my closet, and I'd thought I'd gotten rid of it years ago, too."

"Can I see it?"

He froze. "No."

"Why not?"

"It's just…you can't." All sorts of adjectives for flowers came to mind, but he couldn't think of a single reason for not showing the pendant to Katya.

"Oh, come on, Danny Boy. Is it pretty?"

Well, yes. "No," he said tersely.

"Is it going to mess up your whole dark and sullen look?"

"I do not have a 'dark and sullen look.'"

"Do too. You wear dark clothing and you have dark hair and dark eyes, and you always have this brooding look on your face. When you were little, it was adorable."

"What, not anymore?" he said sarcastically.

Her cheeks reddened slightly. It didn't seem like she was going to reply, so he added, "And…how long can it take for Jonah to get an orange? It's been ages."

"Good question," Katya said quickly. She seemed glad of the change in subject. "Jonah! Where are you?"

They paused for a few seconds, but there was no reply. Daniel called him again. When he didn't respond, the two exchanged worried looks. But just as Katya was about to shout for him a third time, he appeared at the door frame. He stood half-hidden by it, looking almost too shy to come in. Daniel and Katya exchanged another look.

Jonah said, "The basement is making noises."

"What were you doing in the basement? Oranges are on the third floor," Katya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I was going to go get one, but they're up too high for me to reach, and someone put the stepstool away. So I went down to the basement to go get it, but the basement was making funny noises, and I couldn't tell Aunt Lydia or Dad because they're not here. And I wanted to get Daniel's orange. But I was scared, so I came back up…"

"What kind of noises?" Daniel asked.

"Weird growling noises. And a lot of shuffling and knocking things around. It sounds like there could be demons or something." He bit his lower lip. "I don't know what to do."

"You're just hearing things, Jonah. Demons can't get inside the Institute," Katya said dismissively.

Daniel, on the other hand, said, "Do you want me to go check it?"

Jonah nodded vigorously. Daniel held out his hand for Katya's stele. She shook her head in mock disapproval and handed it to him. He tossed it in the air so that it flipped once, and then caught it again, looking back at her with a grin.

"Rebel," she admonished.

"Speak for yourself," he said, gesturing at the door. The Opening rune was very clearly etched near the knob. There was no doubt Elijah and Lydia would find out she had broken in when they came back.

She rolled her eyes and stretched out on his bed. He responded in kind and then walked away. Jonah caught his hand and scampered after him.

"You believe me, right?"

"Of course I believe you. That's why I'm checking…I don't know how anything could get down there, though."

That worried him. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he couldn't rule out the possibility of some sort of foul play. Or perhaps the older two Silverwells had found something. But why keep it locked in the basement? Something was definitely up. He stopped Jonah on the first floor.

"I want you to wait here."

"But, Daniel – "

"No. I don't know what could be down there, and you haven't even started training yet. Wait right here and don't move until I tell you to."

Or unless something tries to hurt you, he thought. But it would be better not to scare him. For all he knew, someone was just hiding a cat down there. Although that wasn't particularly likely.

He looked back to make sure Jonah wasn't following him. The little boy stood still as a statue right where he had left him. His eyes were wide and solemn. Daniel approached the door that led to the basement. He pressed his ear to it, but everything was silent. He listened for a few more seconds and thought he heard something scuffing the floor by the bottom of the staircase. He quickly scrawled a few Marks on his arms – agility, strength, balance – and then opened the door cautiously. Nothing jumped out at him, but everything was pitch black. He couldn't see to the bottom of the stairs.

One step down. Two, and then he jumped as something charged forward with a roar. It was too massive to avoid completely, and it knocked him head first against a wall. He blinked several times, trying to clear his head. What happened instead was that his eyes adjusted to the light, and he saw the Forsaken looming over him, ready to move in for the kill. There was at least one more on the staircase. He rolled out of the way, and then dove between the creature's legs to make it back up the stairs.

"Run, Jonah!" he shouted. "Run!"

He wasn't sure if the boy had obeyed him or not, but he didn't have time to check. He pulled out the knife he usually kept in his boot. It seemed a poor defense against the Forsaken. There was one on each side of him now, and he could tell there was another coming up the stairs.

One lunged at him, and he spun and slashed at its arm. He flipped backward to avoid the swing from its other arm. Then he spun onto his knees and sliced the back of the second Forsaken's knee. It gave a cry of pain as its leg gave out. He jumped out of its way, and then darted forward and cut its throat. Blood spattered across his chest and stomach, and he couldn't help but thank the Angel that it wasn't demon blood.

A knife flew and embedded itself in the side of the first Forsaken's head, and Daniel turned to see Katya as she grabbed Jonah by the arm and led him to the door. He tried to follow them, but the third Forsaken lashed out and hit him squarely on the ribs. He flew back and hit the floor with a crash. He wouldn't doubt it if something had broken, but the adrenaline rush kept him from noticing much pain.

The Forsaken charged Jonah and Katya, so Daniel threw his knife too, hitting the Forsaken in the neck and giving the others enough time to flee out the door.

"By the Angel!" he cursed as a fourth creature blocked his path to the door. He still had his stele, but he was now weaponless.

So he ran. He sprinted up the stairs to the weapons room, listening to the Forsaken charging after him. He closed the door and slapped a Sealing rune on it. The door had been wide open, suggesting that Katya had probably been there. He could barely breathe and was starting to cough. He spat, and blood fell onto the floor. He cursed again, lifted his shirt, and shakily drew an iratze onto his already bruised chest. It stung for a moment, and then the pain began to disappear. He tucked the stele into his pocket. Something shook the door, and he heard a boy scream from outside.

He grabbed a seraph blade and named it, running to the window and throwing the curtains aside. About ten Raums and Raveners assaulted Katya and Jonah. Katya was doing her best to protect her brother, but with that many, it wouldn't be good enough. Daniel grabbed a lance and slammed it through the window, shattering the glass. Then he jumped through, not caring when he nicked himself on the broken edges. He landed neatly on an overhang about one story up, and then jumped down from there, landing next to the Silverwell children.

Katya slashed clean through one of the Raveners, but Jonah cried out as it splashed him with demon blood. Daniel whirled around drove his seraph blade into the back of another Ravener's neck. He jumped sideways as a Raum lunged at him and then slashed at a Ravener that was trying to sneak up on him. There was a gap in the circle of attackers.

"Katya," Daniel yelled. "Let's go!"

If Jonah hadn't been there, they might have tried to fight them all, but they couldn't let anything happen to him. So they both grabbed him at the same time, and took off running. Katya jerked him up into her arms. Daniel stayed a couple steps behind them, slashing and hacking at any demon that tried to approach. Something huge flew over all their heads and landed in front of them.

It was a Scorpios demon. He could tell because of the slimy, milky yellow eyes and the wicked stinger. The grotesque hands and face, too. He had only ever seen pictures of these, but he knew that it was a Scorpios that had killed the last Inquisitor. He leveled his seraph blade at him. It hissed, and then its hisses turned to words.

"Do not fight," it said, even as it prepared itself to attack. "I will kill…"

There was obvious pleasure in its voice as it threatened that. In that moment, Daniel knew that it had been sent. It must have had a task. Otherwise, it would not have spoken, and it would simply have attacked them. He lowered his blade but kept his guard up. Other demons were approaching from behind. Katya, however, did not have the same reaction.

She pushed Jonah back towards Daniel and jumped at the Scorpios. It moved out of the way incredibly quickly, and she rolled and came up on her feet. Daniel stepped in front of Jonah and raised his blade again.

Without looking back at the boy, he said, "When I tell you to, run, and don't look back."

Jonah didn't answer, but Daniel had to hope he had heard him. Daniel ran toward the demon, threw himself to his knees, and slashed upwards at the deadly tail. The Scorpios evaded both him and Katya easily, and nearly managed to stab Daniel in the neck in the meantime. Daniel grimaced. Neither he nor Katya was wearing gear, making them both extremely vulnerable targets.

The two wove in and out around the demon, flipping and darting in occasionally to swipe at the demon. They never came close to wounding it, and Daniel knew it was playing with them. It was like a horrible cat, playing games with its prey before the kill. And it seemed that there would be a kill. Neither of them even had all the Marks that they should have, and they were swiftly growing tired.

Jonah screamed, and Daniel whirled around to kill the Ravener that was about to attack. Too late – as he was already in the act of slashing through it – he realized his mistake. He spun away as quickly as he could, but something cold and sharp pierced his arm. He saw the tip of the stinger protrude through the other side, and his arm seized and dropped the blade. As he collapsed, he caught the blade in his other hand and swung it wildly towards the retreating stinger.

He felt the blade bite into something, and yelled, "Now, Jonah!"

The stinger fell to the ground and the Scorpios screamed in pain. It was more of a rattling noise, really, but the meaning was clear enough. Daniel curled in around his arm as demon blood rained down on him. He could barely breathe.

Katya threw her arms around his waist and tugged him to his feet. He gulped deep, frantic breaths to try to drown the pain. She was talking to him. Then she was drawing a Mark on his arm that did nothing to relieve the burning that kept spreading.

"We have to run, now," she told him, tugging him forward. His feet followed reluctantly. "We have to go. You'll be fine, but we have to go."

He did his best to gulp down the pain and follow her and Jonah, who was not too far ahead. He held his arm to his chest and felt the blood seeping through his shirt. It was not bleeding too badly, despite the severity of the wound, but it throbbed with every step, and his veins were black near the edges of the injury. Scorpios were definitely venomous.

A few minutes later, his adrenaline rush was dying down once more, and he began to stumble. Katya grabbed him again. She pulled him close so that he could lean on her. He noticed vaguely that he had grown taller than she was now.

"It's okay, Daniel," she said. "I've got you. We're safe now."

They were walking around the middle of Boston, at night, far from help. The mundanes who saw them simply passed by. Then again, it wasn't as if they could really have helped. And Daniel doubted that there was enough light on the street for them to tell he was injured, rather than stoned. In any case, they were anything but safe.

They walked up a hill and Katya guided him to the left. He was not sure where she was trying to take them. He was equally unsure that Katya herself knew. They passed yet another very tall, brick building. It was summer, so Daniel knew that it wasn't cold, but he was freezing. He looked down at his arm. The black had spread almost an inch both up and down his arm.

"Where are we going?" Jonah whispered finally.

Katya hesitated. "…To New York. That's where Dad and Lydia went. We'll go to the New York Institute."

"Katya, I – " Daniel started.

She cut him off. "No. You're going to make it that far. We just have to make it to the subway, and then you can rest. We're going to make it."

No, I'm not, he thought. There was a chance he could make it onto the subway, but then he would probably pass out and die on the train. Or waiting for it in the station.

"Can't we just…just…"

"Just what?" Katya said.

"Go to someone…in the Conclave."

"What if…one of them sent the demons?"

"…I…don't know."

The next moment, Katya stopped them and put on a glamour, so that they wouldn't have to pay to get onto the train. Two seconds later, when they should have been invisible, a man put out his hand and stopped them. A shiver ran down Daniel's spine. A shifter. It had to be a shape shifter. A demon, which was now resting his hand on Jonah's head. Jonah wriggled uncomfortably but didn't move away.

"How can I help you?" he said.

Definitely, definitely not human. Daniel's energy was building up again, sensing another fight. His pulse quickened and he felt some strength come back into his limbs.

"You can't," Katya said guardedly. Daniel knew she could tell. "We're on our way home, and we're already late."

Of course, the demon knew that was a lie. He reached out an arm to wrap around Jonah, but Katya got there first and tugged him to her.

"Home indeed," the demon said, looking straight at Daniel.

Daniel suppressed another shiver.

The demon's eyes flashed wickedly. "My friends and I would be happy to show you the way.

The shadows were moving, revealing more demons as he spoke. Katya let go of Daniel, and he managed to straighten up. Then, before anything else could happen, she drew a knife and thrust it into the demon's chest. They ran again.

Daniel sprinted without thinking, as fast as his poisoned body would let him. He turned a corner, saw a T station, and ran for it. He didn't notice until he reached the steps that Katya and Jonah were no longer with him. Still, he knew that if he turned back, he would never make it. So he kept running, vaulted one armed over the checkpoint and jumped just in time onto the train that would take him to Cambridge.

The only thought that ran through his head as he sat on the train was that he needed to talk to the warlock. The warlock had known something about what was coming. The warlock would be able to help. Daniel was almost sure he lived at Raven, and maybe he would let him in. He would have to, right? Sure, and Katya would have to learn to tap dance while standing on her head, while he was at it. No one had to do anything.

The car of the train took a sudden swoop, and Daniel groaned. Aside from the fact that barely anyone was on the train, the glamour seemed to be working, and nobody noticed. Daniel looked down at his arm again. It wasn't really bleeding, but the blackness was still spreading up and down his veins, now past his elbow on one side and almost to his shoulder on the other. He tried to move his fingers and suppressed a scream. He lay down across several seats and tried to just breathe deeply without losing consciousness. It was harder than it sounded. The train jerked to a halt.

Daniel gasped, and everything started to go fuzzy. A dark name for a dark past…

No, Joshua, no. You can't ask that. You must promise me you will never ask that…I know it doesn't make sense…No, Joshua. I hope that it never will. Goodbye, sweetheart…We will not speak again. Be good. Be strong. Be brave. Goodbye.

He almost missed his stop, pulling himself back from the encroaching darkness and jumping off the train just before the doors closed. There were dark, greenish spots in his vision now, and he gripped the rail of the stairs with all his might to avoid collapsing on the spot. He was hot and cold at the same time, and the air was thick and confining.

Finally, he stumbled onto the sidewalk next to Harvard Yard. The air was cooler, and he gulped it down, telling himself that he was almost there, almost there. He crossed the street against the light and staggered down the island in the center of the street, past the newsstand and the spot where a man made and sold paintings all day. Then he was pushing himself onward, step by step down JFK Street until he reached Raven. He almost fell down the steps.

If he hadn't been so ill, almost unconscious, he would have been alarmed that the door was still open and the light was still on. As it was he thought it might be a good sign. He walked in. He gasped in shock.

An entire bookcase had been knocked down, and the walls were singed. The whole place stunk of magic, and the floor was littered with ruined books. He weakly took another step or two forward. He jerked back as his feet landed in something wet. He looked down. Blood. Daniel went weak at the knees – well, weaker than he already was – and had to catch himself on a bookcase. That was bloody, too. Daniel started to gasp for breath, in and out, in and out. The world was reeling around him again. Books and blood spun, but he was still.

The warlock – Erion Rune – was dead. He must have been. Maybe kidnapped, but if all that blood was his, then dead. Someone had known. Someone had to have known about his tenuous connection with Daniel, must have figured out that Daniel would come to him for help and for answers.

Someone behind Daniel cleared his throat. Daniel turned slowly, reluctantly, and carefully. There were dark spots all over his vision – so many that he could barely make out the figure, but enough for him to be taken aback by its appearance.

It was an Asian warlock with narrow cat eyes, a multicolored scarf, a gothic style leather jacket, and tight, studded grey skinny jeans – a description which did not really do justice to the look. Daniel thought that perhaps he might be hallucinating, but then wondered how his mind could even have come up with that. The warlock reached his hand out towards Daniel, but Daniel panicked and stepped back. His body failed to hold him up any longer, and he collapsed. The warlock continued towards him. But just as he was about to reach Daniel, Daniel's pendant pulsed, warm against his skin. He reached up and touched the jewel, and then everything was gone.

Hello! This may be the fastest I've ever gotten a chapter out. Hooray for the end of APs! As much as I love taking three-and-a-half hour tests that really take four hours, I'm not sad they're over and done with. I've actually had time to write since then, and it's so much easier to think when you don't have to worry about remembering the harmonics of a closed pipe, the area of a polar graph, or any variety of other things I had to learn. None of those things involved Shadowhunters or other fantasy characters, so that was disappointing. Anyway, I'm looking forward to writing more on the Seelie Court, and bringing in a few canon characters - I haven't decided how many yet. Comments, questions, concerns, cats? Let me know.