AN: As promised two chapters for an apology bonus. I am sorry that it took so long to post another chapter and that I failed to make sure I could access my document as needed. Now I have a copy of the document saved digitally, so hopefully there will be no further issues due to access.

I want to thank my ONLY reviewer to date for her review, aubreylovesthegames. I really appreciated your review, and frankly that review is one of the only reasons I am posting tonight.

There has been no response on this story, in reviews, and that is really disappointing. Writing takes a lot of effort, and while I do it because I enjoy it, posting the story here is meant to be an interactive experience. In order for it to be that type of experience, readers have to tell me what they think about the story, the writing, or my version of the characters. With that in mind, until I receive some sort of response/feedback I'll be waiting to post any future chapters.

I hate it when writers do that, and it's a bit like extortion, but I have been patiently waiting for someone to post anything so I know that posting hasn't been a wasted effort. It could simply be a smiley face, or even a frowning face and that would be enough, but I need to see something/anything.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with The Mortal Instruments, I simply can't let go of Cassie's wonderful characters. :)

Chapter 5:

The next morning Clary was almost surprised when the sunlight came flooding in through her window. It's not that she really expected the world to stop because she had lost her mom, more that she was surprised that she had somehow survived and that she had even slept for a while without nightmares. Then she remembered Magnus coming into her temporary room and giving her something to drink that tasted like tea with a sweet aftertaste. When she'd looked at him quizzically he lifted a shoulder in a shrug and said that it would 'help' her sleep. Now that she believed he was a warlock she felt certain it must have been a potion.

For a few precious seconds after she woke everything had felt normal, then the prior evening came crashing back through her memories and she wished there was a potion that could make her sleep until the agonizing ache in her heart healed. Although, truthfully, she didn't believe that would ever be possible. She knew that she had changed, and that nothing could change her back to the carefree, self absorbed, teenager whose only problem was missing an art class.

She felt so much older now; she honestly expected to see a middle aged woman in the mirror as she dragged herself through preparing for what was sure to be the longest day of her life. Surprisingly it was still the face of a fourteen year old staring back at her. She couldn't really stand to see her face anymore, it was too similar to her mothers, the mother she would never be able to touch, smell, hold, or hear again.

As she tried to force the lump in her throat and the painful tears back down she focused on breathing and counting those breaths slowly. She knew the only way she could help her mother now was to find whoever had done this to them, and make sure that they faced justice. She just didn't have the first clue how to start. Making a promise to herself that she would find a way to get her mother justice, and that she would never, ever again be that helpless little girl hiding behind someone else she straightened her spine and turned to leave the bedroom.

Having a plan, a purpose, gave her strength; it allowed her to march out to the kitchen grab a cup of coffee. She sat at the table to wait for what was supposed to be this 'Earth shattering' truth about what really happened last night, and where she came from. Luke was the first to stir, he had slept on the couch in the living room, although looking at him now she had the feeling he only slept at all because Magnus used magic on him. Luke looked disoriented and lost, like he couldn't figure out where he was or why he'd even be asleep. Clary decided to help him out, and directed him to the coffee.

Bleary eyed, he staggered into the kitchen and came back a few minutes later to slump in the chair across from her cradling a steaming cup. Magnus was the last to arrive; he took one look at their kitchen table conference, and knew it was indeed going to be a long time before he saw his bed again. It was almost enough to turn him around, but he knew that Clary had waited long enough for this information and he couldn't come up with a reason she should have to wait any longer. So with that thought in mind he waltzed through the living room and took a comfortable seat and magic'ed up some cappuccino and croissant. There was no way he could he could do this on an empty stomach.

Clary nudged Luke and then stood to join Magnus in the living room; Luke followed along and collapsed on the nearest seat still nursing his coffee. She promptly rejected the proffered croissant and cleared her throat. A far more subtle prompt than she felt like at the time to get the men talking, she'd waited long enough and paid dearly for this conversation.

Luke and Magnus locked eyes and silently debated who should begin, ultimately Luke shifted his gaze toward the impossibly small girl across from him and began with the hardest part of the conversation in his opinion, just to go ahead and get it out of the way. He cleared his throat, took a sip of his coffee and launched into the devastating tale.

"Clary, this is going to be difficult to believe; even with everything that you've seen and experienced in the last few days. I've wanted to tell you for a long time, but I couldn't go against your mother's wishes. Her instincts told her that shielding you from this was the only way to protect you, so you have to remember that, although you were lied to, it was done out of love for you and fear of anything ever happening to you."

Clary leaned slightly forward and began to rebut Luke's statement almost immediately, but Luke held up a hand with a far more serious face than she had ever seen on him before. So she bit her lip, and resigned herself to staying quiet, at least for now.

"You don't live in the world you think you do, there is so much more to it than you've realized. You and your mother are not entirely human." At this Clary let out a gasp and her mouth opened without her consent, the shock of the news was too much. As Luke waited for her to regain some composure, she shifted through every emotion in the spectrum, but the most prominent was easily readable on her face; betrayal, raw and potent.

"I know how angry you are right now, at least in some ways, and I know that I can't change that you are going to be angry for a long time about all of this. I just hope your remember that you weren't deceived to harm you, it wasn't a malicious choice and it was definitely not an easy choice. I don't agree with some of the things your mother did to keep you safe, but once you understand the whole picture you might change your mind about a lot of things. You may even agree with the choices she made, so please Clary, please hear me out before you decide anything about your mother's or our characters. Okay?"

Numbly, Clary surveyed the men and although she wanted to scream at them and hit something or someone desperately she gave a small nod to indicate they should continue. What else could she do? Luke was her dad in every way that mattered, and Magnus had become a brother to her; sharing secrets and inside jokes with one another. The sting of betrayal was still burning in her heart and burning her eyes, but she needed to hear everything either way.

Hesitantly, Luke began explaining the reason they would not be considered human, not by mundane standards. "Demons are real Clary, I know that your mom would never allow you to even speak about such things, and she said it was because they were a ridiculous advent just to scare children. The truth is, she just couldn't bear for you to talk about anything that was too close to the truth of who and what you are."

"Am I a demon Luke, is that what you are telling me?!" She shouted frightened beyond measure, and confused beyond belief. She didn't feel evil, but who knows anymore, she did stand there and do nothing while her mother was slaughtered right before her eyes.

"No, no Clary! How could you think such a thing?! You are one of the kindest souls to ever walk this earth! I'm sorry, I am screwing up this explanation so badly, I never thought I would be the one to explain everything to you. I had always hoped both of us would sit you down." He trailed off there, his remorse and grief getting the better of him for a moment.

Clearing his throat again, and willing his eyes to dry, he tried again to explain the truth of this new world to her. "Clary, there are demons; but no, you are not a demon. You are something else, something that is the polar opposite. Deep breath, and then on a rush of air he said it, "You're part Angel Clary."