A/N Here's the latest chapter. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I have been binge watching the vampire diaries and the emotional stress was just… wow. I'm a little sad that I didn't get many reviews, but that's life. This chapter is where the story actually starts, so enjoy.
Chapter 4. Running
He couldn't be. We locked him up. He was locked away for at least another decade. How did he get out?
These questions were swarming Clary's head, suffocating her. She had tried to deny it, pretend that Alec was lying to just get a ruse out of her-he'd done it before. But the cold, lost look in his eyes told her everything that she needed to know. Mortmain was back. And if he was back, so was Valentine.
"Just get on with the competition Biscuit. Your mother may not know that you're following in her footsteps, but Luke is starting to catch on. Don't let these pitiful excuse of humans ruin this competition for you." Magnus had whispered this whole speech in her ear. He pulled back and stared meaningfully into her eyes. Behind him Alec nodded subtly.
Luke knows? Not yet, but soon.
Clary mentally slapped herself. She put on a grin and turned to face a very confused Jace. And a confused Jace was a cute Jace. For once, the grin on Clary's face was real as she patted the golden gods shoulder and walked over to the refreshments bar, ordering ten shots. If she was going to go through with tonight, she'd need some liquid courage.
"Clary, we love you, but if you want to be able to walk on the stage coherently, you don't need ten shots."
The redhead grinned at Magnus and handed the money to the server. Clary waved to the tray and to the two other people congregated in the small area.
" I bought two shots for everyone. I'm not an Alcoholic, too expensive." Alec looked at Clary with a dumbfounded expression looking around the small area, counting everyone present.
"Clary, there are only fou-"
"OH MY GOSH CLARY I HAVN'T SEEN YOU IN FOREVER HOW ARE YOU?!" Isabelle lightwood, in all her glory, barrelled into the room- almost knocking Jace flat on his behind. Clary smiled at Isabelle and walked over to a small table that Magnus was sitting at grinning at the interaction. Clary set the tray of shots on the table and waved Jace over.
" Come on Golden boy. Loosen up a bit. Have a shot with us." Clary handed him a shot, containing a flinch at the dark look that flashed in his tawny eyes. A look she wished she would never have to see again. Jace shrugged and knocked it back like- well, like a pro.
Clary Approves.
#LINEBREAK#
How did everyone in his family know this..angel, and he didn't? The burn in his throat from the two shots of Tequila he'd drank. He just stared sullenly at Hodge as he read the results of the competition so far.
" In the semi-final we have remaining: Aline Penhallow, Helen Blackthorn, Jonathan Herondale, Clarissa Fray…" Blah blah blah. Jace had no more patience to listen to the old man. So, he and Clary were in the semi-finals. Of course Jace knew she would get through as soon as he heard the first note sung from her mouth, but he was hoping that he wouldn't have to compete with her for the final. At least he would hear her beautiful voice again. Speaking of which…
" Up next, Clarissa Fray! ". The golden boy watched with his jaw hanging open slightly as she strutted up to the stage and bravely grasped the microphone staring straight ahead into the crowd.
Jace knew Clary had had a brief pep-talk with Isabelle, but she couldn't have been that motivating- could she? All of this was irrelevant as Clary opened her mouth and let the music flow.
(All rights belong to Demi Lavato)
Now this is a story that I've never told
I gotta get this off my chest to let it go
I need to take back the light inside you stole
You're a criminal
And you steal like you're a pro
All the pain and the truth
I wear like a battle wound
So ashamed, so confused
I was broken and bruised
Now I'm a warrior
Now I've got thicker skin
I'm a warrior
I'm stronger than I've ever been
And my armour, is made of steel, you can't get in
I'm a warrior
And you can never hurt me again
Out of the ashes, I'm burning like a fire
You can save your apologies, you're nothing but a liar
I've got shame, I've got scars
That I will never show
I'm a survivor
In more ways than you know
Cause all the pain and the truth
I wear like a battle wound
So ashamed, so confused
I'm not broken or bruised
Cause now I'm a warrior
Now I've got thicker skin
I'm a warrior
I'm stronger than I've ever been
And my armour, is made of steel, you can't get in
I'm a warrior
And you can never hurt me
There's a part of me I can't get back
A little girl grew up too fast
All it took was once, I'll never be the same
Now I'm taking back my life today
Nothing left that you can say
'Cause you are never gonna take the blame anyway
Now I'm a warrior
Now I've got thicker skin
I'm a warrior
I'm stronger than I've ever been
And my armour, is made of steel, you can't get in
I'm a warrior
And you can never hurt me again
No, oh yeah, yeah
You can never hurt me again.
Woah. She was…good. Words seemed to have left Jace as he stared, opened mouthed at Clarissa. Snickering from behind him drew Jace out of his reverie.
"Oh man, you should see your face. You're so crushing on her!" Isabelle exclaimed excitedly. Isabelle was lacking in the girlfriend department, so when she heard Jace had a new obsession she was delighted. She found it difficult to make real friends with Jace's incessant flirting.
"Cornflake darling. You're positively adorable when you're pining over-"
"Fresh meat" Alec interrupted. Magnus turned to glare at the blue eyed idiot that he loved, only to witness him shrug and stick his tongue out at Jace's back.
" You seem to forget that if that fresh meat didn't exist, we would not be together in this wonderful situation at the moment, so Alexander Gideon Lightwood, I would try and act at least a smidge civil- out of respect."
"Ooh, defensive. Tell me Magnus, is she one of your long line of secret ex's? The ones you refuse to speak to me about?!"
" Alec! Now is not the time!"
Jace wasn't really listening to their lovers spat. His attention transfixed on the glorious woman walking toward him, grinning shyly. Something in that smile seemed off. Jace looked deep into her emerald orbs and almost gasped at the familiarity of the turmoil inside them.
#LINEBREAK#
Clary wasn't sure if she wanted to scream, cry or kill someone. She was leaning towards all of the above.
If her father saw her here, he would undoubtedly force her into the contract he had made her sign when she was seven- a contract she signed over ten years ago. Jocelyn tried to hide her past from her daughter, but what she didn't know was that she already knew. Everything.
Fourteen years ago, five years before Valentine was imprisoned, he took it upon himself to train his daughter. Knowing Jocelyn would never agree to it, he swore his only daughter into an oath of silence. To further enforce this, he tattooed them both with matching silence runes. If one person spilled the beans about the other, they were entitled to kill them. Clary knew that her father had no intentions of telling anyone, so the killing part of the contract was simply for his benefit if things didn't go according to plan.
Deep breaths. Jace is looking at you. He doesn't know who you are yet, don't give him any reason to question it.
She mentally berated herself as she ambled off the stage and towards Jace.
Of course Jace was also part of this secret organisation, but fortunately for him, their paths had never crossed. Valentine worked with a group of fourteen assassins who called themselves Nephilim. Her brother Sebastian was one of them, Jonathan wanted no part in his parents dark past. Unfortunately for Clary, she stumbled upon it one day and was forced from that moment in. November 19th 1999.
Magnus' indignant shouting pulled Clary out of her reverie.
" You okay there? You looked a little lost in your own head." Jace's chuckle was forced, Clarissa could tell. She hadn't been paying attention and now he knew something was wrong. She needed to get out of there. Quickly. Or someone would get hurt. Luckily, fate was on her side.
"A last performance of the night. Jonathan Herondale!"
Whew! Saved.
Clary waited impatiently as the music started, and almost fainted when she heard his voice.
(All rights go to The Fray)
I never knew
I never knew that everything was falling through
That everyone I knew was waiting on a cue
To turn and run when all I needed was the truth
But that's how its gotta be
Its coming down to nothing more than apathy
I'd rather run the other way than stay and see
The smoke and who's still standing when its clear
Everyone know I'm in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in the overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind
Lets rearrange
I wish you were a stranger I could disengage
Just say that we agree and then never change
Soften a bit until we all just get along
But that's disregard
Find another friend and you discard
As you lose the argument in a cable car
Hanging above as the canyon comes between
Everyone knows I'm in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind
Everyone knows im in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your …
And suddenly I become a part of your past
I'm becoming the part that don't last
I'm losing you and it's effortless
Without a sound we lose sight of the ground
In the throw around
Never thought that you wanted to bring it down
I won't let it go down till we torch it ourselves
Everyone know I'm in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in the overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind
Everyone know I'm in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in the overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your …
Everyone know I'm in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in the overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind
He was good. She gave him that.
"Good?! Fucking brilliant! Clary, where's your taste in music?" Isabelle asked shocked. The redhead must have spoken out loud. Oops?
Clary muttered something along the lines of 'up your arse'.
" So, whose socks did I knock off this time?" Jace came up behind Clary grinning, obviously he had been eavesdropping. Asshole – a hot asshole, but an asshole all the same. Her hand twitched with the urge to slap him. It wasn't Jace's fault Clary wanted to batter his head against a wall. But he was there and being annoying, so it couldn't hurt.
" Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you for coming tonight. Before we announce the top 6 contestants, we have a short announcement from Ms Imogen Herondale."
Imogen? Clary recognised the name, but not the face of the hunched old lady that hobbled on the stage.
" Good evening. I have come tonight to share with you a prophecy that will be fulfilled soon, or all is lost. This prophecy was written over a thousand years ago, and now is the time that it be read."
Cookie old hoot. Imogen fixed Clary with a glare, then turned back towards the microphone.
What was that about? Suddenly the woman's crooked back shot straight, and her head snapped back. Her mouth moved a thousand miles a second with a silent torrent of words. Her eyes, once a clear crystal blue, were dark and cloudy, the blues now gray and murky, like the clouds before a great storm. When she spoke, her words was deafeningly silent, and her voice neither high or deep. Completely toneless. The words she spoke were of no language Clary had been taught, but the words found their translation on their own in her mind. The words were not spoken aloud, but inside her mind, the words clawing at the inside of her skull and crawling out her mouth.
Frost will cover the ground. The streets will run with blood, unless they can finish their task.
"Bydd rhew yn cynnwys y ddaear. Bydd y strydoedd yn rhedeg gyda gwaed, oni bai eu bod yn gallu gorffen eu tasg. Bydd angen cymorth y dyfeisiwr y rhyfelwr unigol, heb eu cydweithrediad, pob cael ei golli. Mae'n rhaid iddynt weithio gyda'i gilydd i trechu'r drwg a dinistrio gelyn perthynol. Bydd y tywyllwch yn dod. Bydd yna farwolaeth, bydd poen a cholled. Ond mae'n rhaid i'r dyfeisiwr aberthu ei hun i achub nhw i gyd, a bydd y rhyfelwr galaru ei marwolaeth, a bydd ef yn eu lladd i gyd. Bydd Warlock caniatáu iddo bywyd y dyfeisiwr, neu farwolaeth y byd. Rhaid iddo ddewis."
frost will cover the ground. The streets will run with blood, unless they can finish their task. The lone warrior will need the assistance of the inventor, without their cooperation, all is lost. They must work together to vanquish evil and destroy an allied enemy. The darkness will come. There will be death, there will be pain and loss. But the inventor must sacrifice herself to save them all, and the warrior will mourn her death, and he will kill them all. A warlock will grant him life of the inventor, or death of the world. He must choose.
Clary gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. She had heard this prophecy before, a warning to her father one day when she was hiding in his study. Imogen! That's where she recognised her from. Clary knew something important about the prophecy. Something she couldn't tell anyone.
Suddenly all the windows smashed open, and the doors flew wide, the chilly November air biting everyone's exposed fingers. Standing in the doorway were two men holding an incapacitated Imogen. Clary knew who they were. Valentine and Mortmaine.
They had come for her.
A/N. I know, shitty ending and all that malarkey . But I was really tired and I keep coming up with ideas for future chapters that are so kick-ass, so it was a little hard to stay on topic. Please forgive all spelling and grammar mistakes and please read and review!
Ship-It-Like-Fedex17
xxx
