Golden Gifts
It's only been two damned days and I already miss them so much. I don't know what I'll do if I don't hear something soon. I've been having constant headaches and stomach pain straight through since Jon left. This is the furthest apart we've been since our Parabatai ceremony and my body isn't handling it so well. I wonder how he and Sera are faring right now. I am walking to the library where Father is waiting to speak with me. I think of all the things I could be doing with the two of them today if they were here right now. Making out with Sera, training with Jon. Oh well, maybe Father has something for me to take my mind off of it.
"Hello Jace, good of you to join me. I'll get right to the point. I trust that your schedule is clear for the next few days, other than your training sessions?" He asks me.
"Yes, Father. I take it you must have a mission for me then?" I ask, trying not to sound too excited, lest he retract the offer.
"Actually, I was hoping I could persuade you to join me on a mission of mine. I would like for you to accompany me to Idris when I take the pack leaders heads to Lucian Graymark. I need a reliable wingman on this job and since you're about as reliable as they come, I was hoping you'd have my back on this." Wow, that's high praise coming from Father! Plus I can't believe he is actually making it sound as though he needs my help. Father prides himself on never needing help from anyone. Maybe the fact that he's going to meet up with his former friend and current nemesis actually has him a bit concerned.
"When do we leave?" I ask. Father so rarely asks me to go out on real missions like this, so no way would I balk at the chance to do this one.
"This afternoon, if you can be ready? As I say, we may be gone a few days, so you'll need to pack a bag." He slightly smiles as if he is pleased I've agreed but trying not to show it.
"I'll go get ready." I say and nod to him before turning to leave.
Half an hour later, I am packed and ready and so is Father. We say our goodbyes to Mother who is not too keen on having her entire family away on missions but knows it's for the good of the cause.
"You two had better come home to me in one piece, I'm telling you!" She huffs. Jocelyn Morgenstern can be one scary lady when she wants to and I for one am frightened at the edgy tone in her voice. But if there's one domestic skill our Father has, it's in knowing how to pacify our mother.
"Jocelyn, this will be child's play. I am only bringing Jace because I need someone to watch my back around Lucian, you understand that. Graymark won't try anything when there are two of us and one of him. That's why we are delivering our message to his home in Alicante and not the pack's dwelling place in Brocelind Forest. I know from our sources in Idris that Graymark doesn't keep a guard at his home and that he lives by himself in the house kept for the werewolf representative. I've had one of our operatives plant a bug so that we will be able to gauge whether he is indeed alone and if for some reason he has anyone visiting him, we will simply bide our time. So you see, you have nothing to worry about." He smiles, taking her hands in his.
The only time we get to see Father's gentle side is when he's dealing with Mother. She only puts up with his aspirations because he has learned over the years how to put their romance first. Father would give up almost anything for the Circle's cause, anything except for our Mother. She truly means the world to him. She's sort of the one thing that keeps him grounded. He'd be an entirely different man if she hadn't stood by him all these years and I shudder to think what that would look like. They say their final goodbyes and then Father and I step through the Portal to Alicante.
The Portal drops us off right in the Inquisitor's house because that's where we will be staying while we're here. Robert and Max are the only Lightwood's who're in town right now because the rest of the family are doing reconnaissance for the imminent Vampire exterminations. Max, I know, will be happy to see me. This is an important time in his young life because he turned twelve recently and has been preparing for his Parabatai ceremony to Tiberius Blackthorn. Since this is something that I've been through myself before, that's another reason I was pleased to be coming to Idris with Father. I'm hoping that while I'm here, I can impart a bit of my own wisdom.
However, I don't think Max is at home right now, in fact I'm guessing he's probably spending the weekend with the Blackthorns because it looks as if Robert has the house to himself and it appears we've come at a bad time. The Inquisitor's Portal is located at the end of the upstairs hallway and so as we emerge from it the first door we walk past heading down the hall is an open bedroom. Within which, Robert Lightwood has Jia Penhallow bent over the bed and judging by their volume right now, they weren't expecting anyone to come barging in any time soon.
Father tells me to go wait in the Library while he announces our presence. I'm grateful that the library is only two doors over because I'm curious about the conversation they will have. I smirk to myself and wait for the yelling I'm sure will come. The first thing I hear is Father clearing his throat. "I imagine you never received my message today then Robert, am I right?" He says and it actually sounds like he's stifling a laugh.
"Hello Valentine, can't say as I did, no. I apologize, had I realized you were coming I would have prepared a more befitting welcome. Make yourself at home of course, we'll be down shortly." Robert says.
"Excellent. I have Jace with me as well. I dare say he may have been a bit surprised at your indiscretions." This time Father does laugh, which I must admit I find slightly offensive. He manages to make me sound like a naïve child as he says this.
"Well, I suppose the children would have discovered the Inner Circle eventually. Which reminds me, did my wife have any message for me the last time you saw her?" What the…?
"Two actually, she says 'use a condom' and she wanted me to ask why you don't own a single pair of silk boxers." He replies.
"By the Angel, Valentine! Tell me you haven't gotten Maryse addicted to silk boxers? I hate the way silk feels!"
"Good grief Robert, how can anyone hate the way silk feels? At any rate, I suppose you could consider it payback. After all if I recall, you were responsible for Jocelyn's dreadful cock ring phase." Okay, all of this is far too much information and I seriously think my mind is blown!
"Well when you look at it that way, I suppose I did have it coming." Robert laughs. "Oh and when you get downstairs, would you please put on a pot of tea?"
And so, an hour later, I have finally managed to at least partially eradicate the image of our parents as swingers out of my poor brain. And Father is updating the Consul and Inquisitor (who are now both fully clothed, much to my relief) on the status of all The Circle's current projects.
"It must have been difficult sending them off to Bangladesh. Jace, how are you fairing?" Jia asks me.
"I'll be alright. They can Portal back for short periods when the distance gets to be too much for Jon and I and that will also give us a chance to put fresh runes on, so it's not too bad." I say, downplaying the agony I've actually been in.
"I'm just grateful my own Parabatai is right here in Idris. I don't know how I'd manage if we had to be separated by half the world. Which reminds me Valentine, I have a report here for you from Michael. He dropped it off the other day." Robert says, going to his desk and retrieving a few sheets of paper and giving them to Father, who laughs.
"Who are you kidding Robert, that's only because you couldn't go without the sex!" Father chuckles.
"Don't be ridiculous Valentine… That's only part of the reason!" Robert grins, waggling his eyebrows. Again people, with the too much information. Should I just burn my ears off now? If there's going to be much more of this I think I just might.
"Will you two knock it off already? You're traumatizing poor Jace! I'm sure he doesn't want to hear what a bunch of old people do between the sheets." Thank you Jia!
"Jia darling, we aren't old people." Father pouts.
"When you were nineteen, what did you think of people in their forties?" She asks.
"I suppose I thought they were ancient, point taken. I'm sorry Son and you're welcome to leave us old folks to ourselves for a while if you have some friends around here you would like to meet up with. There won't be anything for you to do today. I want to head to Graymark's early tomorrow since sources say he often goes out for the evening." Father smiles, he doesn't have to tell me twice, I do have several friends that I'm anxious to see.
I ring the doorbell at the Blackthorn Manor, expecting one of the adults to answer the door. Instead it's one of the little ones. It takes me a minute to register which one, since most of the younger ones look so much alike. It's Drusilla, I think. Tiberius is the only one with black hair in the family and Helen and Mark are both blondes but the rest of them are all the spitting image of their parents. There was a rumor going around a while back that Helen and Mark had faerie blood (because their ears are pointy) but The Circle tested them and there isn't a drop in either of them, thankfully or I wouldn't have the pleasure of knowing them. The Circle doesn't exactly allow Downworlders, even in part.
No, I have no idea where they got there blonde hair from, although after hearing the conversations at the Inquisitor's house this afternoon, I suppose their father could be anyone in Valentine's Inner Circle really. Although, I can't think of any of them that have golden blonde… hair. Oh shit. Now I just have to know, I need to find out! But how? It isn't the type of thing you can just ask someone. 'Say, excuse me Mr. Blackthorn but did you happen to loan out your wife to a certain blonde Circle member to have unprotected sex with, say about nine months prior to the birth of your two eldest children, per chance?' No, that isn't the kind of thing you can just come right out and say!
I've got it! I can just get a strand of hair from both Mark and Helen and ask Seraphina to create some sort of DNA matching rune. Now the only tricky part will be getting the hair. And apparently while I have been thinking all of this, Dru has just been standing there staring at me. Meanwhile the other kids have all begun flocking to see who is at the door. I get a hug from both Helen and Mark (their usual MO) and a high five from Max and the rest of the smile, nod or wave.
"Drusilla, can you please put your tongue back in your mouth and let poor Jace inside? I know he's beautiful, but that's no excuse to be rude." Mark laughs. The poor little eleven year old girl turns beet red and Helen swats Mark for embarrassing their sister. However it worked, as I am now thankfully being ushered inside. I laugh to myself at the predictability of it because girls everywhere react the same way to my stunning looks and charismatic charm.
"Now, now, Mark. You better not let Alec Lightwood catch you calling me beautiful or he might have cause to divorce you." I laugh.
"He told you? I thought we were supposed to be a secret!" Mark exclaims indignantly.
"Relax! He didn't tell me. He told Isabelle, because he tells his sister everything. And of course Isabelle told Seraphina and Aline, because she tells her two best friends everything. And Seraphina told me, and probably Jon, because she tells her two boyfriends everything. So don't come down on Alec, he technically only told one person." I chuckle, enjoying how flushed this conversation is making poor Mark.
"If it makes you feel any better, I know the only person Aline told was me, and I already knew, because you told me yourself." Helen smiles at Mark. "So Alec didn't do anything you didn't do yourself, the only difference is that his sister has a bigger mouth!"
"Right, and I'm gonna take this opportunity to throw the spotlight off of myself and back onto Jace. What did you mean just now when you made reference to Seraphina's two boyfriends?" He asks, looking at me curiously. The three of us have moved out of ear shot of the little kids, as we usually do when we get together and are now sitting in Mark's room.
"Yeah, as of the last few days Sera's been seeing Jon as well as me." I sigh not out of jealousy, but because talking about them is reminding me of how much I miss them both right now.
"Oooh, that's gotta be crappy timing, they're off on the lupine hunt now, aren't they?" Helen asks.
"Yup, and I can't even tell you how hard it is to have them away right now. I am seriously hoping they check in soon, before I go stir crazy." I huff. Mark moves so that he's sitting behind me and starts rubbing my shoulders. He's surprisingly good at it and I can feel the tension and the stress melting away as he kneads the knots out. "Mmm, that feels nice." I breathe deeply, relaxing further.
"You should know he's only doing that to get you into bed, Jace." Helen smirks.
"Oh, is that true Mark?" I say, feeling disappointed.
"It wasn't the only reason!" He defends. I stifle a laugh as he gets all pouty.
"Look Mark, as nice as that felt, I'm afraid you're wasting your efforts on me. I'm with Seraphina and that's not about to change."
"Right, as if she isn't off fucking Jonathan as we speak." He reminds me.
"I know that, but I didn't tell her she could be with Jon in the interest of expanding my own horizons! I just wanted her to be happy and she happens to be in love with both of us. Besides you, my friend, are with Alec Lightwood, or do you need to be reminded? And Alec and I are friends." Not to mention the fact that you just might be my brother. Although I suppose that's never stopped Sera.
"Oh please! Alec and I aren't exclusive! In fact, I know for certain that he recently bumped uglies with a warlock." Mark insists.
"Oh no Blackthorn, you did not just say that about a Lightwood? The Lightwood family are devoted Circle members! Alec would not bang a dirty Downworlder, Mark. For Raziel's sake, have a little more faith in him than that!" I exclaim.
"Oh for crying out loud, I didn't say he made love to him and sent him roses, Jace! In fact I doubt the 'dirty Downworlder' in question had much of a say in the matter if you catch my drift. Alec can be a little rough even with me and I'm someone he loves. But all of this is entirely beside the point because what I was saying is that I am a free agent, not a kept man. I can be with whoever I want. And so can you." Mark says.
"Maybe we should make a brochure for The Circle that says something to that effect. 'Come hob nob with the cream of the Shadowhunter crop; Join The Circle of Raziel where you're free to fuck around!" I yell, a little too loudly.
"Jace, what's gotten into you?" Helen asks gently, afraid of setting me off again.
"Oh nothing much, I just found out this afternoon that all of our families have been wife swapping for who the fuck knows how long. Apparently that's one of the 'secret traditions' of the Inner Circle." I grimace.
"Oh, that explains a lot actually." She says, mulling it over.
"Yeah?" I ask.
"Well yeah, I mean, have you ever noticed how all of the Inner Circle are so very formal 90% of the time, yet so very informal when they're talking to each other?" Hmm. When I actually think about it, I guess she's right. I look over at Mark and I can see his wheels might be turning in the same direction mine did.
"How long have they been that way, Jace?" He asks, speaking slowly as if puzzling it out.
"That, my friend, is a very good question, isn't it?" I say, the corners of my mouth turning slightly up.
"What are you two on about?" Helen asks.
"Our hair, Helen, haven't you ever wondered?" Mark asks her. "Neither of our parents are blondes." He says softly.
"But neither are any of the other Inner… by the Angel! Jace?" She asks looking at me wide eyed as she's finally figured it out. "Could we… I mean, is it possible?"
"I don't know, but I promise you both I'm going to find out." I say, happy to have this off my chest.
"Okay, but, can I retract my offer to sleep with you until we get to the bottom of this?" Mark pleads.
"Aww, what's the matter Marky? Afraid of a little incest?" I bat my eyelashes coyly and make exaggerated kissy faces. To which he whips a pillow at my head and changes the subject. It's fun to be me.
The mission the next day is looking like it'll be quick and easy. Father has been listening in on the bug at Lucian's since dawn. There hasn't been a single noise, other than when the clumsy dog dropped a dish and then proceeded to swear about it, so things are looking good. Father had Seraphina give him what she calls one of her Airalyze runes, before they left. It basically stops you in the middle of what you're doing and paralyzes you for a few minutes, which means that as long as we can get face to face with him, Father can stop Lucian in midair if he decides to charge us and he will have no choice but to listen to what his former Parabatai has to say.
So we take the Portal from the Inquisitor's house to just outside the werewolf's house and run a perimeter check before entering through the back door which, our source has assured us will be unlocked. As we enter, we hear singing coming from an upstairs room. Father nods that it's Lucian singing and we head up the stairs stealthily and silently thanks to our assortment of runes. We take our positions on other side of the doorway where the singing is drifting from.
Father signals me to enter the room on three and then he steps inside unnoticed. "Hello old friend." Father smiles and Lucian jumps up from the bed where he was reading a book, immediately taking a defensive stance.
"Valentine." He growls.
"In the flesh. Did you miss me?" Father smirks.
"Not particularly, have you come here to kill me?" Lucian asks.
"No, not just yet. I actually have a couple of gifts for you, would you like to come and take a look?"
"What could you possibly have for me?" Lucian hesitantly steps forward, still on the defensive.
"These." Father says, pulling out the first head. "This one is your old friend Praetor Scott. The New York Praetor House and all of its occupants, I am proud to say have finally been eliminated." And with that little piece of news, Lucian starts to change. Before he can go all wolf-man on us, Father uses Sera's rune and immobilizes him mid shift. He can still hear us and move his eyes, but that's it. "Now, as I was saying, they're all dead. And this… is your other present." He says, pulling out Maia's head. "The New York wolf pack went down a little too easily if you ask me. I'm told my team barely even broke a sweat killing them. And somewhere in the world right now, another nasty little pack of rabid mutts are meeting the same fate as we speak. So you see, I'm not here to kill you, Lucian. I'm here to gloat." Father smiles and then turns to me.
"Jace, how many minutes until this handy little rune wears off?" He asks me.
"Most likely around ten, but it could be as few as six." I say.
"Well then, we'd better be on our way shortly. I will just say that I don't plan to stop until every single werewolf on the planet is dead and I am saving the best for last, Lucian. So I won't be back to kill you, until you are the last living member of your despicable species. And then, all of humanity will be safe from your kind and their filthy curse. Just think Lucian. If someone had thought to exterminate these terrible beasts decades ago, then you'd still be a Shadowhunter and you and I would still be friends. I'm doing you a favour, Lucian. This miserable existence of yours, why it's hardly any way to live. You ought to thank me when I finally plunge my silver blade into your chest after all is said and done, old friend." And with that, he motioned to me to get our Portal ready.
Seraphina gave us a portable Portal. It's a long skipping rope with half of the Portal rune drawn on each handle, so that when you put the two handles together, the circle of rope becomes a Portal. Which Father does now and motions me to step through it. After I do, he follows suit, pulling the rope through after us.
We land in the Inquisitor's house and Father speaks to me while putting the rope away. "You may have some downtime here this afternoon. I have an appointment at the Consul's house I need to get to. Max should be arriving home this afternoon from the Blackthorns so you'll have company. Robert is out on business."
I laugh. "By appointment, I'm assuming you mean you're going over there to have sex with Jia Penhallow?"
"Clever boy, nothing gets by you Jace. Yes, that is exactly what I'm doing. But worry not, your Mother knows. And is probably doing something similar herself back home, what with having the entire house to herself and all." He laughs.
"Father, were the Inner Circle always this way?" I ask, not able to keep my curiosity at bay. He picks up on my reasoning right away.
"You mean, were we all monogamous or not back when our children were born? No, we were not, though it was mostly always safe sex. At any rate, you needn't worry about it. You are the spitting image of Stephen Herondale, just as Jonathan is the spitting image of me. Seraphina, of course is a wild card, since she looks so much like her mother, but it doesn't really matter. She'll always be my daughter regardless of whether it's by blood or not." He smiles.
"And what about the Blackthorn children? They don't all look like Andrew, that's for sure." I ask, not sure what answer I'm hoping for.
"Oh is that what this is about? Come now my Son, aren't the Morgensterns family enough for you after all these years?" Well he's guessed it, but that's not even remotely why I want to know.
"It isn't that Father. You know as well as I do that you and Mother and Jon and Sera will always be my family. It's just that I've always felt a sort of kinship to Helen and Mark and I'm wondering if that could be the reason." I ask.
"It very well could be. And if you follow further down that little rabbit trail, Tiberius is the spitting image of Robert, which could explain his closeness with Max. So I suppose it's possible that a certain Blackthorn matriarch, God rest her beautiful soul, may have had an aversion to birth-control. But when you get right down to it, does it really matter? The Blackthorns aren't only a family because of who their parents are, they are a family because they choose to love and care for one another. Just as you are our son despite the fact that Stephen and Céline gave birth to you. Understand?"
I smile. "You're right, of course. I am still curious though and I probably always will be but it's just my curious nature Father, not out of any desire for things to be different." I assure him.
"I know that. And if it's something you really feel you need closure on, have Seraphina create a rune to find out. I'm sure she'd be happy to learn a new ability. Although I suppose it might lead her to question her own parentage, and I'd hate it if I ever lost her." He sighs.
"Oh come Father, Seraphina is a much of a Morgenstern as it gets. She would never forsake you. You know that." I smile.
"I know, it's just a little nerve wracking to think about, that's all." He shakes his head as if to shake the thoughts away. "Now you'll have to excuse me. There is a beautiful lady expecting me just down the lane and I'd be remiss to keep her waiting." And just like that, Father was back to his normal self, all wistfulness and insecurities already long forgotten.