No, you're not deluding yourself, this IS a chapter.
I'm so, so sorry for the enormous wait! It has been a ridiculous amount of time, and you have my sincerest apologies for that. It was nearly two months! Oops…
But anyway, here is the promised chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and see you at the bottom…
JACE POV – 7 HOURS EARLIER
It was cold. My lungs burned from the lack of oxygen. I wouldn't last much longer. The cold water surrounding my body seemed to seep through my pores and right into my bones, as light rapidly bled from the water around and above me, threatening to leave me blind in the total darkness. And for a moment, for just a moment, my mind flew to Clary; her beautiful fiery hair, glowing porcelain skin, emerald eyes. I needed her with me, right here, right now. I had never told her how much I cared about her. Never told her about the future we could have. I need- I need...
...A way...
...To say...
...Goodbye.
CLARY POV – PRESENT TIME
Dark water sloshed onto the shoreline, reflecting the pale moonlight in the wet sand. A cool ocean breeze blew in, the perfect cloudless sky shimmering with stars. Perfection was this, really; Mother Nature had done her job well. I suppose she didn't - and couldn't - care that I had just lost the boy I had come to care for deeply. The stars were ever so clear - Cassiopeia, cygnet, Sirius - their beauty not covered by the smog of the city. Yes. Mother Nature had done well. It was the first time I'd ever seen the sky clearly. In New York, a combination of pollution and the bright neon and fluorescent street lamps outshone the sky, and only the brightest stars showed, if any. I had never realised the intricacy of the night sky before now.
It was ironic, really. I lost one beauty - Jace - only to find another that had been there throughout. How could this possibly be fair? Flashes and glimpses of Jace in a thousand different lights, angles and perspectives flitted through my mind, reminding of what I had had and what I had lost. I regretted not telling Jace that I cared for him; deeply. Maybe not to the point of love, but close, I think. But …
…. Would I ever see him again?
Jace could be dead now, and I was doing nothing to help. Self-pity and pondering my life's dilemmas was not going to help with Jace's predicament. I didn't know where he was or how to look; or even where to start. The ocean was vast, and with a powerful and speedy boat or the frightening strength of a Calypsaï or Eulysae tail, his kidnappers could be halfway across the planet already. That opened hundreds of destination options, not including the whole East coast of America. Jace may have been drowned – but that reminded me. I had seen gills on Jace's throat.
That either meant that Jace was at least part Calypsaï, or that I had been in such a state of shock and so grief-stricken that my imagination had run wild or I had been hallucinating. The latter was probably more likely, given the mental state I was currently in.
The ghostly figure of the Eulysae that stole him ran through my mind, and the underlying message left me suspicious, but with a possible lead. Who would want to take Jace? Why? And what was that powerful whirlpool that struck at the point that Jace needed me the most?
I slumped onto the damp sand under the pressure of my overwhelming thoughts, the cool grains a natural exfoliant every time I moved, successfully distracting me from the train of thought that was sure to give me a nervous breakdown.
Looking out to the ocean, every riptide was suddenly startlingly obvious, a stark contrast to the gentle waves breaking on the shoreline and the lulling undulation of the the cobalt water further out into the ocean. The water's surface was completely unbroken, free of ripples. And suddenly, memories flooded my mind, an unstoppable force that I had no choice but to allow.
Delicate, silvery bubbles floated to the surface, unbroken waves rolling above that moved my fiery hair gently, the scarlet tendrils swaying from side to side. I had once asked Camille if my hair would ever be put out by the ocean, seeing as fire is, but she had only laughed in response and smiled endearingly.
The dim silhouette of Isabelle, Ella, Magnus, Raphael and Helen above me blocked the shafts of moonlight as they broke through the smooth surface of the water, a little diluted, but still enough to shine geometric patterns onto our skin and tails and light up the edges of the dark chasm far below us that we had just swum through to escape the Eulysae trackers from pursuing us.
The trackers had been following us for days. Raphael knew these chasms and labyrinths like the back of his hand, having grown up here and frolicked in the tangled kelp whenever he could as a child, but even he couldn't lose these trackers. We had traveled through a web of interlocking reefs and kelp forests, done loops through chasms and had hidden in the huge pore-like caverns of the underwater sandstone cliffs on either side of the chasms. But nothing had taken the Eulysae off of our tails, no pun intended.
After a few hours of traveling since leaving the Triton palace, Camille had paused and held very still. Her eyes had flashed open with a panic on her usually collected face, and she had sped off into the deep dragging Izzy, Ella and I with her. The lingering sense of being followed had continued throughout the trip, tell-tale wisps of smoke curling around rocks and sea plants behind us, alerting us to the Eulysae's presence. Camille had guessed that there were two or three, judging from the dark energy and sheer power radiating from behind us.
Magnus had been ordered to wait at this point in the Bermuda Triangle for a little while until a small sailboat passed overhead with the name The Brocelind painted below it. We had been here for a little while now, and both Camille and Helen were getting extremely twitchy.
The sound of a motorboat penetrated the cloak of tension surrounding us. Sound through water carries at approximately four times the speed as it does through air, meaning that the boat was around a kilometre away. That meant less than a minute before it reached us, judging purely by the slow crescendo of its engine and propeller.
But it may be too late.
Dark blobs of magic accumulate before us, conjugating into two large masses.
Eulysae.
The propeller of the boat gets ever louder, harmonising with the Eulysae's sinister laughter as they reach for our messenger and my nanny, Tessriel. Their clawed, black nails latch onto her pail skin as her real tail swishes desperately in an attempt to get away. But before any member of our party can even move in an effort to help her, the second Eulysae pushes his outstretched hand into her back.
And with a horrendous ripping sound and a bone-chilling scream from Tessriel, his black talons appear throughout her chest. Tessriel's blood pollutes the water and colours the night red, and the lustrous, white sailboat appears above us in the murk.
"Tessie! Tessa!" I screeched, clawing at Magnus' arm in a desperate attempt to free myself of his strong grip and to reach Tessriel. He murmurs in my ear, begging me to be quiet and to willingly board the vessel. I shake my head maniacally, shrieking for Tessa with thick, salty tears running down my face and swiftly dissolving into the cool ocean water. I finally stop squirming as a feeling of numbness overcomes me, my heart leaden and weighed down in my chest. I stare at Tessriel's glassy, unseeing eyes for a wistful moment before turning my attention to our method of our escape – the boat above us.
The Brocelind, it reads on the hull. Magnus grips Isabelle and I before launching us out of the water and onto the deck, sopping wet and dripping over the clean cedar. He swiftly joins us, followed by Camille, Raphael and Helen. The boat speeds away seemingly of its own accord, leaving behind a growing patch of scarlet staining the ocean and a group of bloodthirsty Eulysae and straying sharks as they tear apart whatever was left of Tessriel. I could only hope that she was already dead and was thus spared the pain of a gory death.
I told myself that I was not going to cry at the death of my favourite nanny. The lady who had chased me around the palace to try to get me still enough for her to braid my hair, and lightly scolded Ella and I for teasing the princes when we were two. The lady who had an easy smile for when I tugged at her skirt, wanting attention, and who let my bury my face in her shoulder when my brother disappeared.
But at that point, I didn't have much control over my body as my chest wracked with sobs and my face was as wet as it was in the ocean below me, the boat speeding away from my only home and into the land of the unknown.
My face was still wet as I withdrew from my memories at last. I had loved Tessriel dearly, and every time I remember the circumstances of her death I promise myself that I will avenge her someday. I swear on Calypso that I will. Ave atque vale, Tessriel. Ave atque vale.
ELLA POV
The drive back to New York was tense and quiet, grief and melancholy energy crackling and hanging over everyone's heads. The tension was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.
Sebastian and Jonathan were nowhere to be found. I was worried about Sebastian, but at the moment I was focusing on keeping Clary sane. Isabelle was driving along the near empty highways leading to New York at 6:00am while Maia and Jordan were quietly snuggling and comforting each other in the back of the car. I sidled a little closer to Clary in my seat, looking at her briefly before flicking my eyes forwards once again.
"Clary..." I began. She sniffled, rubbing at her still-red eyes. I sighed, closing my eyes for a second. When Clary had returned to our little villa, she had been covered in sand from head to toe, her dress completely soaked and hanging limp from her shoulders. I remembered being frustrated at her and about to snap about how she was dripping water all over the kitchen floors, when I saw her puffy red eyes and grimace on her face, her body trembling with grief and the cold, and practically shoved her in the shower.
That was four hours ago. She had been snuffling to herself the whole drive, and I suspect that she blamed herself for Jace's disappearance. She must think that since she was the closest to Jace at the time of strike, she was personally responsible for his disappearance and that she should have done more to assist him.
I personally blamed myself. If I'd only warned them earlier, if I had Changed immediately rather than worrying about alerting Jace of our true nature, then maybe he would still be with us. But I had to stay strong for Clary at least, even though I certainly wasn't feeling particularly strong at the moment. I just hoped that by now, for Jace it wasn't too late.
ISABELLE POV
It's school again today. Ella and I had spent the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday scouring the Internet and Calypsaï frequently visited places looking for leads on the whereabouts of Jace. We didn't dare try a Eulysae hideouts for fear of recognition, as Cecily seemed to be influential in the hierarchy of the Eulysae. Clary spent the majority of the weekend holed up in her room, completely distraught. But at last, Monday was finally here.
We walked into school in our usual clothing, trying to behave normally. Students noticed Jace, Sebastian and Jonathan's absences immediately, and despite the odd biting remark from Aline and the rest of her awful clique, everything was unusually quiet.
Kaelie was also absent.
Crazy rumours flew around school about how Jace and Kaelie had secretly run away together, undoubtedly begun by the likes of Aline Penhallow. As if. But it was very suspicious; Kaelie is missing at the same time as the others? What were the chances?
School passed quickly and pretty much uneventfully, and it was Tuesday. Another boring day full of classes and homework and greasy cafeteria food and chipped wallpaper that suddenly seemed ever so fascinating.
And then Wednesday.
The principal was getting worried about the absences of four students at the same time. Raphael ended up organising a meeting between him, Cam, Magz, Hels and Mr Aldertree to clear up the mess. The game plan was to convince the teachers that they were just sick and there was a coincidence linking their absences and nothing more. That was his job - make sure that the secret magical beings of this realm stay exactly that - secret.
Mythology was not an uncommon excuse for circumstances such as these. Accidents and paranoia also 'explained' disappearances and such. Frequently Camille would use a recent terrorist attack or threat to pass off any suspicion as an overworking mind. The end result was always the same - the Calypsaï and Eulysae worlds were never discovered by mundanes.
I only hope that it isn't too late, and that if the police aren't already involved then they never will be.
CAMILLE POV
"Magnus!"
Magnus' spiky hair miraculously stayed completely still and his head whipped around towards the sound of my voice. I ran towards him as fast as I could in the most formal red high heels that I could find. A black knee-length pencil skirt and a crisp white blouse tucked into that accompanied by a ruby necklace hanging around my throat was what I deemed presentable for meeting the Principal of Clary, Isabelle and Ella's school along with the Verlac, Graymark and Morgenstern families.
Magnus linked his arm through mine without words and without hesitation as we walked into the office, Helen and Raphael just behind us. Seated behind the bulky rosewood desk was a bulky man with large, thick glasses, a suit that looked very uncomfortable and balding grey hair.
In front of him sat a severe-looking lady with steely hair, and steely gaze and icy eyes. She wore a slate grey power suit and sat with perfect posture, her back rod-straight. Next to her was a young woman who looked to be in her twenties with midnight, inky hair and startling blue eyes. She wore a black sleeveless dress that came to a little above her knees.
Four chairs to their right were vacant, and we sat immediately.
"Thank you for attending." The principal began. I leant back in my chair, expecting a lengthy lecture and/or debate about the absent teenagers.
"I have called you here on the matter of your childr- relatives." He hastily corrected at the young woman's menacing stare. "Ms. Verlac, Mrs. Graymark, Ms. Belcourt - why have your... Relatives... Been absent from school for the past three days?"
The young woman with black hair spoke up. "Sebastian is none of my concern. He is legally an adult and lives independently of me-"
"Please excuse me, Ms. Verlac. But St. Xavier's understood that Sebastian was under your care. Therefore you must care for him." The Principal interrupted.
"Sebastian has been ill recently. He is taking a little recuperation time in preparation for the upcoming exams." Ms. Verlac finally allowed. She didn't look happy about it, nor did she look truthful about it. She flicked her ebony hair over shoulder and folded her arms over her chest.
"I understand, however he will require a doctor's note in the future. And you, Ms. Graymark?" The principal turned his gaze towards the elder lady next to Ms. Verlac.
"Thank you, sir. Jace-" Magnus gripped my hand infinitesimally tighter, "-has been suffering from Glandular Fever recently. Surely you can understand how common this disease can be through teenagers and has also been dubbed 'the kissing disease'." Ms. Graymark threw a pointed glare in my direction at the mention of 'the kissing disease'. I, however, was partly shocked, partly relieved - Jace had been captured! Did Ms. Graymark know more than she let on or did she want the matter of her missing foster son out in the open?
"Thank you Amatis. And you, Ms. Belcourt, Ms. Blackthorn, Mr. Bane and Mr. Santiago - I called you here because your adopted children were the last seen with these boys. I see now that an explanation is unnecessary, but thank you for attending this meeting regardless. Now, I have some emails to send - you are welcome to leave." And with that, the principal turned to his computer and ignored the parents - and relatives - that he had previously seeked an audience with.
=T&A=
I didn't trust Cecily Verlac.
I had listened when the girls had told me about her race. But I hadn't really believed it or taken it for what it was - they were teenage girls, and their powers weren't fully developed yet. It was practically expected for them to incorrectly read another species.
I hadn't expected them to be right.
But when I had shaken Cecily Verlac's hand, I knew that everything that Isabelle had said was true. A dark spark leapt through my nerves, and judging by Cecily's flinch, she had gotten a little whiplash from me. I wasn't sure about Amatis but I would wager a guess that the two of them are working together.
I tried to shake of the undeniable sense of foreboding as I walked across the nearly empty parking lot and climbed into my car, but didn't succeed. What if Cecily and Amatis are responsible for Jace's disappearance? That would explain why Amatis automatically deflected any and all questions about the whereabouts of her foster son whenever asked about it. I had no clue where Sebastian was, but I had a feeling that he was inexplicably involved in this mess, deliberately or not. And I had a terrible feeling that not everyone was going to come out of this affair alive.
I watched as Cecily practically strutted across the lot, perusing her handbag for something while she walked in her impossibly high death traps. She found what she had been looking for - a cell phone - and quickly dialled a number before quickly speaking into it. I'm lucky I learnt to lip read, and scrutinised Cecily under the presence of checking my reflection in the car mirror.
Is he dead yet? ...no, no, I don't care... Why not? The tide pool must be full by now ... He would be useful bait, I do agree... Meet me back at-what? When?!... Sebastian hasn't done anything like that…
I lost track of the conversation as Cecily climbed into her car with tinted windows and closed the sleek door behind her gently, but I had heard enough of the conversation to make assumptions. Was 'he' Jace? It seemed more than likely, and from what I could garner from the one-sided conversation, he was still alive, whoever it was. However, Cecily seemed to plan to use him as bait. I am only disappointed that I didn't hear where they would meet. That could have proved as extremely valuable information, but I suppose we would survive without it.
The sparkly form of Magnus approached the car, followed by Raphael and Helen. I followed Magnus' gaze towards Cecily's car, where the steely Amatis Graymark was striding towards without hesitation. A smoked-glass door swung open with an unseen force, and Mrs Graymark climbed into the car. Five seconds later, the car was speeding off into the distance with the cacophony of screeching tyres and a powerful engine. And for now, hopefully we had seen the last of Cecily Verlac and Amatis Graymark. Hopefully.
Magnus froze for a minute, his gaze caught by something else. He flushed slightly, and turned back to the car, but I had already seen who he'd been looking at; a boy with inky black hair and ocean blue eyes. I sighed and let my head thump back against the headrest of the shotgun seat.
What are you getting yourself into, Magnus?
ALEC POV
What was Mr. Bane doing? We had a terrible substitute for drama today who decided that I enjoyed Aline's company and stuck me in a pair with her, and then told me I had beautiful brown eyes.
Brown?
I knew that if Jace were here, he would have been snickering and then would have muttered a derogatory or sarcastic comment and/or an immature joke, subsequently landing us both in the Principal's office for after school detention. Loads of fun. That's sarcasm, there.
But God, I missed him.
What would Magnus say? Would he ask after Jace? Try to help look? Not that that would do an awful lot of good, unless he had some mythical powers that he had forgotten to mention previously. Ha. Although Magnus had some clear powers over glitter and fashion, neither would help unless he managed to follow a magical path of glitter to Jace.
Okay, so maybe not. But when I'm stressed my mind concocts... Strange things.
I continued to look out of the frosty window, bored out of my mind. I entertained myself by looking at the cars parked in the lot. A few drew my gaze especially; a flashy Lamborghini that I believed belonged to Isabelle, a rusty olive green '89 Mustang, a black and red shiny Harley Davidson, a beat-up red Chevy, an onyx black Porsche with sleek, tinted windows, and a white powerful-looking Ferrari. The number plate of the Ferrari was covered by spider web lines of crystalline frost fanning out along the window, obscuring my view.
As I watched, the door to reception opened and a slender, pale woman with cold, cobalt eyes and a shock of inky black hair, much like Isabelle's, swept over her shoulder in a neat business hair-do. The lady held open the door for a slim, pale, curvy blonde woman with startling, almost unnaturally green eyes stark against her pale hair and skin. They spoke briefly, but the hostility between them was evident almost immediately. They headed to separate cars, and the black-haired woman strode towards the onyx Porsche that I had noticed before, clutching a cell phone in her right hand and pressing it to her ear. I quickly lost interest.
After a brief interval, the door swung open once again, revealing four more adults in formal business wear; a middle-aged woman with steely hair and steelier hair - Amatis! But what on earth was she doing here? - followed by a couple, the male with curly brown hair and Hispanic-looking features and the female with light blonde hair and bright blue eyes.
But it was the fourth person who really caught my attention - Magnus. He wore a black suit and for once, his hair was completely absent of glitter and framed his face in sleek waves. His cheeks were flushed from the cold, and mine were too at the realisation of just how tight his pants were. Magnus continued gliding towards the first blonde woman, but paused briefly, and slowly turned in my direction as if he had felt my eyes on him. He looked straight at me for the smallest of moments, and I swore that I blushed even harder. Magnus smirked at me and gave a small, exaggerated salute vaguely in my direction before turning and waving to me from behind his back, then disappearing into the car next to him and out of my sight. I glanced down at the table, before peeking up and looking around the classroom to see if anyone had noticed, before seeing a pair of almond shaped eyes flicker away from my and fixate on the teacher at the front of the room. That was when I realised that I was going to have to be careful around Magnus – because someone was already on my trail.
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