Chapter 17

Clary was sitting in the garden, reading. The snow had finally gone and flowers were starting to bloom. There was still a slight chill in the air but it had warmed up considerably. Putting the book down beside her, Clary sighed and looked up at the birds flying above her. She still hadn't heard from Jace and it was been weeks. It was probably nothing more than him being too busy to write her, but it still set Clary on edge. What if he had already asked her father and he had told him no? Or what if Jace had changed his mind? Even worse yet, what if he didn't think he was going to survive the final battle and this was his way of distancing himself from her. Clary couldn't take it.

Too depressed to keep sitting in the garden she got up and made her way back to the house. Once inside she went to her room and sat out on her balcony, needing the warm, fresh air. The slight breeze blew Clary's hair back as she closed her eyes and soaked in the sun's rays. Even with her distressing over Jace she did find some ease in the fact that she hadn't received a letter from Sebastian for a while. Longer than any other break between his letters anyways. But even this disturbed Clary a little bit. Yes, she didn't have to force herself to read something from a man who repulsed her, but she was also a litter wary of it. She had been using his letters to help her father plan his attack on Sebastian and what if Sebastian suddenly changed his mind about something drastic. There was no way to warn anyone.

"Miss Clary!"

Clary started and turned around to see Marcus standing in her room with a look of urgency on his face.

"Marcus." Clary said puzzled.

"You must come with me, we just received word that no one on the battle front had seen Sebastian and your father is afraid he may be coming after you."

"But, they are miles away, Marcus. Sebastian isn't one who would ignore a fight, especially one he thinks he has already won." Clary replied.

"It doesn't matter; we have to get you somewhere safe. If Sebastian doesn't come for you, fine, but if he does I'd rather have you where he can't get to you. As your father ordered." Marcus persisted.

Clary was about to abject again when her eyes caught the sight of smoke far off in the distance. Her heart sunk a little at the sight knowing that somewhere there were Shadowhunters fighting and risking their lives. If Sebastian truly wasn't on the front lines then there wasn't a doubt in her mind that he would come straight for her. The thought made Clary's stomach tighten a little.

"Fine, Marcus, let's go." Clary turned back to face him.

"Follow me." Marcus said somewhat relieved.

Clary did as she was told and followed Marcus as he led her down the stairs and to her father's office. Frowning, Clary was about to ask what they were doing there as Marcus started to slightly pull out random books from the bookshelf. Before she could say anything the bookshelf shifted a little and created an opening just big enough for a person to get through. To say Clary was shocked was an understatement. She had been in her father's office numerous times, but she had never known of a secret doorway.

"Come along, miss." Marcus said as he motioned for Clary to follow him again. No longer had Clary stepped through the door way the bookshelf shifted close, causing Clary to pause and wonder how they were going to get out.

"Marcus," Clary said softly as she caught up to the redheaded man. "What of the books? If someone goes into Father's office won't they notice and be able to follow?"

"No, Miss." Marcus stated, not looking back. "The books will go back into place."

Clary let that sink in for a minute before asking another question. "Where are we going?"

"The last place Sebastian would probably think to ever look."

The answer was cryptic but Clary didn't care to push Marcus for more. So instead of asking more questions, Clary followed Marcus through the stone tunnels. It was cool and a little dank, but not terribly so. There were even sconces with witchlight emanating from them lined on the walls every few feet to guide their path. After several turns Marcus slowed down a little and then came to a stop as he ran his hand over the tone wall. To Clary it looked like a dead end, but obviously by Marcus's actions it was something more. A few seconds later Marcus grabbed Clary's hand and led her through a tiny crevice in the wall that Clary was certain hadn't been there a minute ago and into another hall way, this one slightly less dank and dreary looking, though there was ivory growing along the side of the walls, and started to lead her. Clary could tell that they were closer to the surface because sunlight was leaking in through cracks at the tops of the walls.

The father they walked the warmer it got as well. Suddenly, Marcus stopped and looked back at her and held his finger to his lips, telling her to be silent. Clary nodded and Marcus pushed open a door above them and climbed out and then reached down to help her out. Blinking from the sudden sunlight, Clary's eyes grew wide as she looked around the garden. She turned her gaze to Marcus, wondering what they were doing in one of the more secluded areas of the garden.

"Draw a rune to hide us and I will explain." Marcus whispered.

Closing her eyes Clary imagined the rune she wanted and started to draw it onto the closest pillar of the gazebo they had emerged onto. She let the rune flow through her and when she was done she opened her eyes. It was a newer rune, one that spoke of silence and safe haven. Clary had no doubt that that the entire gazebo would go unnoticed and that no one would be able to her what happened within.

"What is this place?" Clary asked. She couldn't understand why her father would go through the trouble of having a secret tunnel run all the way to a gazebo in the garden.

"This is hallowed ground. No demon or vampire can come within; it also has weapons hidden strategically within the columns and beneath the tile of the floor. There are other things about this place that I don't know of and that only your father knows, but I know he was very strategic with the entire tunnel system that runs beneath the grounds."

"There's an entire tunnel system?" Clary was shocked.

"Yes."

"Why did we come here then? Surely there are better places to hide from Sebastian."

"It was your father's orders if Sebastian should try and infiltrate the property to retrieve you," Marcus explained. Clary knew that those were closer to her father's words than Marcus's but she didn't argue with him.

"Now what?"

"Now we wait." Marcus stated as he pulled a blade from his back.

…..

…

…..

It had to have been no more than thirty minutes later that Clary could hear the sound of horse's hooves and shouts. Clary quickly stood up from where she was sitting on one of the stone benches and looked in the direction of the commotion. The sound of footsteps both faded and grew louder. A few minutes later Clary could hear the sound of horse hooves getting closer and Clary spun around to see that a rider had entered the small clearing in this section of the garden. Clary's breath stilled and her eyes grew wide as he heart beat started to increase.

Sebastian looked just as beautiful as always sitting upon the black horse in his Shadowhunter gear. His darks eyes searched the garden and Clary wanted to gasp when she saw his gaze focus on the gazebo. The warm of a hand touched her shoulder and Clary looked up at Marcus to see that he had a finger over his lips, motioning her to be quiet. Clary nodded and stood still, watching Sebastian. A moment later there was a call from somewhere and Sebastian turned his horse around a left. It was several minutes before Clary's breathing and heart rate returned to normal.

"It worked." Clary exclaimed softly as she smiled up at Marcus.

Marcus nodded and started to say something, but his attention was suddenly caught by the sound of the trap door. Clary's heart skipped and she rushed over to the door and drew a lock rune, preventing the door from opening. She looked up at Marcus startled. Not saying a word, Marcus grabbed her hand and led her away from the gazebo and into the garden.

Sebastian's men had all congregated near the house and Marcus made sure to skirt the outside of the property in the shadows of the trees as they made their way to the stables. The sound of a trig from behind them caused them to still and Marcus pulled Clary down with him as he crouched beneath the dense foliage. There was shouting near the house and then the sound of a nearby horse galloping its way towards away from where Clary and Marcus were hiding. Clary glanced at Marcus and noted that he had an intense expression and his eyes were a little hard. Staying in a crouch, the two finished their way to the stables and went in the back door. Taking long strides, Marcus dragged Clary behind him as he went to the end of the stables to the very last stall where her favorite horse was kept. Looking in, Clary saw that Artemis was already saddled, along with a bay stallion named Apollo.

Marcus helped Clary up onto Artemis before mounting Apollo himself. He motioned with his head to follow and Clary nodded as he led urged his horse into a walk. It only took them a matter of seconds before they were out of the stables and back in the safe cover of the woods, but it seems like hours for Clary. Once out of view, the two rode hard in the direction of the battle. Clary didn't know why they were riding towards the chaos, but she didn't ask.

The thought of seeing Jace again came to her and she brightened a little. Clary couldn't wait to be wrapped in his arms and to find out rather or not her father had given him permission to marry her. She hoped so because she didn't want to go behind her father's back, but if she had to then she would. Nothing was going to separate her from Jace ever again.

Except death.

The thought came unwillingly and cause Clary's to go cold. Her heart clenched at the idea and she forced it to the back of her mind.

NO.

She wasn't going to dwell on something that might be, something that probably wouldn't happen anyways. Jace was a good fighter, one of the best, there wasn't a chance of him not winning and coming out of this war alive. Clary wouldn't allow it, not after breaking the spell that tied her to Sebastian, not when she had risked nearly everything to be with Jace and make it up to him. They were meant to be together. Clary wouldn't have it any other way.

So instead of thinking of the many "what ifs" Clary thought only of all the things she missed about Jace and what their future would be like together. Because Clary knew, deep down, that fate wouldn't be so cruel to rip Jace away from her when she was so close to being able to be with him forever.

Well, finally, I am done with this chapter. It took me a lot longer than I thought it would and I am very sorry for that. I'm pretty sure I only have a couple more chapters after this before the epilogue. Hope you enjoyed it and please leave a comment!
P.S. I am sorry if I missed some errors while editing this, I didn't pay as close attention as I have been trying to because I just couldn't wait to post it for you guys. I am also sorry it's really really short. I will try to make the next chapter longer to make up for it.