Hello! I'm so, so, sorry I've been MIA for the last few months but I just haven't found the time to write anymore, I am expremely distressed with having left you hanging for so long. I hope you can all forgive me ! I will try to return to regular updates for as much as college work permits. There's only one chapter left, so bear with me guys! Then I will be continuing The Downworlder War. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do! I'm very fond of that story!
"Seriously? A warehouse? That is so cliché!" Simon whispered as he squinted his eyes at the seemingly-desolate concrete building in front of him, with large windows, most of which had been cracked completely. Jace strained to see any movements or hear anything. Using the night-vision rune he was able to catch a glimpse of Clary and Aline inside, yelling at each other.
"Ok, you guys stay here. I will go in alone." he told Simon and Isabelle who were trying to come up with a plan themselves. When they started to protest, he stopped them, lifting a finger. "We need the element of surprise. You need to be ready to intervene in case something happens. Though I think I am quite capable of handling a girl." he continued, assesing his gear and weapons, making sure he had everything he needed on him.
"Sebastian could be in there, too!" Isabelle added, wiping the dust off a window to see better inside."Though they seem to be in there alone." she spoke, contemplating the situation. "Listen up, Jace" she started, placing both her hands on his shoulders and gripping them tightly. "The only reason why I'm hesitating to go inside is because Aline has got some serious voo-doo shit going on and I fear for my baby's safety. But you better get my best friend and parabatai out of there alive, or I will personally neuter you. Got it?" she threatened him, and if looks could kill, Jace would have been lying in a pool of his own blood long ago. He nodded. "Don't worry, if I don't get her out of there alive, I will beg you to kill me." he replied, swallowing hard. Isabelle blinked at him a couple of times, taken aback by his response.
"Be careful in there, and don't worry, we've got your back." Simon encouraged him, giving him a pat on his back. Jace nodded again and pushed the balky door open, stepping inside. Simon and Isabelle ran and hid behind a near dumpster so they wouldn't be spotted. "Ugh, I hate this plan." Isabelle moaned, looking after Jace.
His presence was noticed the moment he entered. Aline, who was focused on torturing Clary, turned around and gave him a big creepy grin, as if he was her favorite person in the world. And maybe in her twisted diabolical mind, he was. Clary gasped when she saw him, wishing he hadn't come, because, in the mean time, Aline had taken the liberty of revealing her entire plan to her. Bottom line, none of them was getting out of there alive. And she had the means to do it, too.
"Jace, go! Leave, now!" she yelled at him, struggling with the ropes around her wrists and ankles. Jace started toward her but was stopped by the sudden appearance of three extremely lethal demons hissing and spitting ichor. "I wouldn't step any further if I were you." Aline warned, pointing a blade to Clary's throbbing neck artery. Clary craned her neck backwards , cringing from the cold metal on her boiling skin. Her eyes darted nervously towards Jace and mouthed an I'm sorry to him. Jace tried to come up with a plan to both kill the rotten-smelling demons and Aline before she could press that knife any further into Clary's neck.
"You might as well tell me what you want so I could rid myself of your annoying presence as soon as possible." Jace spit, his glare shifting from the unpredictable demons to the blade-wielding lunatic threatening his wife. "I'm guessing these puppies are under your command." he continued, throwing the grotesquely figures in front of him a disgusted look.
"My precious Jace, always so intuitive." Aline sang, stepping away from Clary and heading towards him. Clary's muscles relaxed slightly but panic shot through her again as she worried for Jace's safety, though part of her was aware that he could be just as lethal as those horrifying creatures in front of him. She prayed to the Angel that Jace would just go and leave her there so that he could be safe once again. Taking advantage of Aline's momentary distraction she struggled with the the ropes around her once more.
"And how exactly are you controlling them?" Jace inquired, tilting his head to the side in mock curiosity. Aline stopped a few steps in front of him, smiling mischievously. "With this." she chimed proudly, pointing at a shiny silver bracelet wrapped around her flimsy wrist. "A few very skilled warlock friends were kind enough to bind me to them through it." she explained, expecting Jace to be surprised, but the only expression on his face was sheer disgust.
"So, whoever wears that bracelet..." Jace began, pacing thoughtfully in front of Aline, rubbing his chin with his index finger and thumb. "Controls them." he spoke, clearly stalling until someone could come up with a plan to kill a demon-controlling lunatic. His eyes quickly darted towards the outside of the building, a gesture which did not remain unnoticed by Aline. "Wondering what your friends are doing?" Aline asked, as Jace's eyes widened slightly. "They're safe, for now." she added in an ominous tone, just as two more demons burst through the doors, dragging Simon and Isabelle behind them who were kicking and screaming, struggling with the tightly wrapped ropes around them. Clary and Jace stared at them in shock, their resolutions for any salvation quickly dissolving.
"Look, I'm going to make this very simple for you. It's just a matter of choice. " Aline began, shifting her gaze between her four hostages. Clary was to scared for their lives she had ceased moving, having gotten absolutely nowhere with untying her ropes. "This could go two ways." she continued, pacing around the room, the sound of her footsteps echoing through the hollow area as the others listened to her intently. " One: I kill all of you, you know, for funsies" she grinned, twirling a seraph blade between her fingers, making the demons near her wince and hiss. "Oh, shut up, you're safe for now." she yelled at them in annoyance. "Where was I..oh, yes, the killing. Or, three of you make it out alive. And I would be so kind as to let Jace choose who dies." Jace opened his mouth to speak but Aline cut him off. "Not so fast. Since Isabelle over there is preggerz, Mazel Tov by the way, I'm going to leave her out of the matter, cause, I don't know, I kind of feel weird about killing a fetus. Funny, huh?" she gave a sadistic laugh as the others just stared at her waiting for her to finish. "Hilarious." Jace stated with a blank face.
"Your choice is simple, Jace. You have to choose between your wife and your parabatai. One of them has to go. Or you could just all die and I could get on with my day. I hear the weather is going to be splendid tomorrow." she ended.
"What?! No!" Clary screamed. "Jace, kill me! You have to kill me!" she continued, fidgeting in her seat, as tears threatened to escape her eyes. Isabelle was her parabatai and she was pregnant. She need her husband, and her child needed their father. In her eyes, the choice couldn't be simpler. She just hoped Jace would do it quickly. Isabelle and Simon just looked at each other seeking comfort in what could be the last moments of their lives.
"No." Jace answered calmly, not moving an inch, his right hand placed on his blade. "Fine, then. I will start with Clarissa over there, since, frankly I was hoping you would choose to kill her ." Aline tsked, making her way towards Clary's chair. "I thought you were smarted than this Jace. Think of the baby." she added shaking her head in feign sadness. She slowly pulled out her shining seraph blade and pointed its sharp end to Clary's neck. "Any last prayers and wishes, Clarissa?" she whispered in Clary's ear. " Go to hell, Aline." she barked. "Oh, honey, I most certainly am." she answered, releasing an insane laughter.
"You know, Jace, I really wanted to see you do it. It would have made me so ecstatic that I would have let the three of you go, but, oh well" she shrugged, pressing her blade into Clary's neck, drawing blood, as she hissed in pain.
"No, stop! NO!" Isabelle shrieked struggling to free herself. Jace's eyes widened at the sight of Clary's blood and he started towards them but the demons blocked his way. "Fine, I'll do it! I'll kill her." he shouted. Aline stopped her blade. "I knew you would come to your senses. Let him pass." she ordered the demons and stepped away from Clary. Jace came to a halt inches in front of Clary, his face petrified with pain as he pulled his blade out of its sheath. Clary looked into his eyes and gave him a slight nod, hoping her gaze could tell him how much she loved him and how she did not resent him for what he was about to do. He went around Clary's chair and stood behind her as he pressed his blade to her neck. Aline stood in front of them, relishing in the delicious scene. "Ah, just how I pictured it." she sighed, placing her hands together in front of her. Clary closed her eyes, gulped, and waited for the darkness to envelop her. She heard the sharp clang of metal and a swift whooshing sound. A gasp echoed through the room and she opened her eyes in time to see Aline collapse in front of her, a knife stuck right into her heart. Her eyes widened in shock. "How.. did.. how.." she started as Jace quickly ran to Aline's corpse to pry the bracelet off her wrist and place it on his. "Stop!" he ordered the demons just as they were about to attack them. He then came back to Clary to cut the ropes around her and wrap her tightly in his arms, burrying his face in the back of her neck, taking in her scent that always soothed him so much.
"How did you do it?" she asked, looking down at Aline's motionless body, with her eyes still gaped open in surprise, unable to believe the sight in front of her. "She was too busy watching my right hand holding the blade to your neck to notice I was pulling a knife with my other hand. Before she could react, I had already flung it in the air right into her heart." he explained smugly.
"My genius." she chimed, kissing him fiercely on the lips before they were interrupted by the clearing of throats. "A little help here?" Simon inquired, still tightly enveloped in ropes. "Oh sure, but first things first." Jace spoke. "Demons, roll over!" he commanded.