"What is your problem?" Simon asked Jace once they'd left the sitting room. They were standing in the hallway with Jace pacing like a cat. "Is Magnus not sparkly enough for your liking?"
"I still don't know why you're still here," Jace muttered under his breath, clearly angry at Maryse for kicking him out.
Simon laughed. "You've been saying that for the past few months. Clary is my best friend and Isabelle… well, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."
Jace sighed and knew Simon was right. It was just, sometimes the daylighter made Jace feel jealous. He would never admit it to his face, but the way Clary looks at him and hugs him… Jace would give anything to make her look like that for him. But the heavenly fire trapped in his body restricted his contact with people. Sure he could kiss her and touch her, but he couldn't touch her. Being controlled by Sebastian was the worst time in his life. Not because he hurt the people he loved, which killed him inside, but because he genuinely enjoyed hurting people. The angel blade had been a blessing, but the aftermath made his skin crawl with anxiety. For the first few days, he couldn't control the fire. He burned himself and the sheets of his bed often. It was only thinking of Clary that kept him from losing his mind. He thought of the day he would finally get to hold her without fear of burning her, and that thought motivated him up to this point.
"Earth to Jace!" Simon shouted, waving his arms in front of Jace's face.
"What?" Jace asked, clearly annoyed as he slapped Simon's arms away.
"You didn't answer my question. What's bothering you?"
Jace contemplated whether or not he should tell Simon the truth, but Simon might be the one who would understand without asking whether he was okay. He took a deep breath. "In the market, the werewolf, Woosley Scott, said something about a Herondale boy."
Simon's expression softened. "Like, your ancestor Herondale boy, because that name could be common with people nowadays and…" he trailed off. "Wow, this just got interesting."
Jace chuckled. "Like it wasn't interesting before?"
"Well, before, Magnus was the only person we knew. But now an ancestor of yours is in London. What are you going to do?"
"I haven't really thought about it. I never knew anyone related to me, unless you count Amatis…" He paused, thinking of a filthy and bloody Amatis, kneeling down on the ground, the dark cup shoved against her face as she choked on the blood. Jace could still see the tears in her eyes before she went expressionless. He shoved the thought away from him and continued. "Maybe a good time to see if the rest of my family are assholes too."
"I'm sorry about him," the older woman said to Magnus as the daylighter (have to ask about that later) and Jace left. "He's usually more…"
Magnus sighed and sat down where the boy, Jace, was. His eyes flicked to the red head, who was looking at him with curiosity rather than fear. "I've dealt with shadowhunters who are much worse. Now, how far forward are you from?"
"We came from New York, 2007," the other girl said, finally speaking for the first time. Magnus looked at her and rather than react to the time difference, he gasped at the fact he saw Cecily Herondale in her. Her confident stance and long black hair had all the signs of a Herondale.
"You are a long way from home. Almost 130 years," Magnus said. New York, huh. Tessa was from New York, but Magnus guessed a lot had changed in 2007. "Just out of curiosity, why have you come to me for this matter? Why not go to the Clave?"
"Because it was you who sent us," the redhead said.
"Of course I did," Magnus muttered, not at all surprised they knew him. It was just like him to befriend shadowhunters. He didn't know what it was about them that made him want to help. Right now, he blamed Will Herondale. "Before I ask any other questions I'll probably regret, how about some introductions."
The redhead smiled. "Clarissa Fairchild, but you can call me Clary." Ah, he thought, she looks so much like Charlotte and Henry.
The older woman went next. "Maryse Lightwood."
The Cecily look alike said, "Isabelle Lightwood." Magnus looked from Maryse to Isabelle. Definitely mother and daughter. He eyed Isabelle and wondered if it was Gabriel or Gideon she was related to. He still thought the Herondale line came in at some point, though.
Finally, the boy who stood away from the others stepped forward. He had been avoiding Magnus's eyes the entire time and he wondered now if they'd had some falling out before coming here. When the boy raised his head, Magnus almost had a heart attack. He was looking at Will, or more specifically, Will's eyes. The bluest blue that sent shivers down his back. "Alec Lightwood," the boy mumbled.
At first, Magnus was confused. Surely this boy had to be related to Cecily, or even Will. He looked too much alike with Will to be anything other than a Herondale. That blue in his eyes was the exact shade as William's. He longed to look into them longer, but the boy dropped his gaze and stepped back.
A little disappointed, Magnus turned back to Maryse. "And the other's in the hall?"
"My best friend Simon," Clary said. "and my boyfriend, Jace-"
"Don't tell me," Magnus interrupted. "He's the Herondale." Clary looked a little confused, but nodded. Magnus rubbed his temples, extremely exhausted suddenly. "Figures that's Will's descendant. They could be the same person if he wasn't so… blonde." Magnus said the last word like a curse.
The cute boy, Alec, started forward as if spooked by something in the corner. "Will, as in Will Herondale?"
Magnus was taken by surprise as well and said, "Is he famous where you come from?"
Alec paused, then said, "It's nothing," very quietly, then retreated back into his corner.
Magnus thought about pestering Alec for more information, but he felt there were more important questions he should be asking. "Well, if I'm to help you, I need to know everything."
They all looked to Maryse to begin, so she said, "My children and their friends and I were portaling to Alicante to join an emergency council meeting. I run the New York Institute, so I was asked to come. Where we come from, we are in dark times. Our race is being threatened by a dark shadowhunter who intends on wiping us all out. The meeting was about the best way to deal with him since he can't be tracked and has an army of demonic shadowhunters. I thought it best to bring my family along for safety measures. We called upon you to make a portal to Alicante. I left you to watch over the Institute, and then we departed. We wound up outside the London Institute, in your time."
To Magnus, it seemed the shadowhunters never got a break. At the moment, the threat is Mortmain, a deranged human with a need for revenge. But to have a shadowhunter turn against their kind, it is the worst possible thing. Shadowhunters considered themselves a family. A dysfunctional one at that, but still close. They burned their bodies to help strengthen the Silent City. They form parabati and die each day their brother is gone. They love so much and give even more. It's amazing, Magnus thought, that they don't just burn themselves out.
"So this portal that I made sent you back in time?" Magnus confirmed.
"Yes," Maryse said.
"I'm sorry, I can't help you."
That got Maryse's attention. "What do you mean? It was you who-"
"A future me, I might add, who has had 130 years to learn better and stronger magic. I'm afraid without knowing about this 'portal' I can't help."
Clary spoke up then, her strong voice disproportionate to her small figure. "I can create one for you, if that will help," she offered.
"Just watching you create one won't do anything to better my knowledge. I need to know how they form and how you can control them. Do you know when it gets invented or by whom?"
"That name," Isabelle said. "Hodge was in charge of our lessons. He said a man named Henry Branwell created the portal in London of 1878. What year is it?"
Magnus smiled. "Maybe for once the odds are in your favor. I'll take you to him."
They all started rising from their spots when the vampire, Simon, came in with Jace on his heels. Now looking at the boy, Magnus couldn't see how this golden boy was related to Will. The only thing "Will" about him was the way he held himself, all confident and superior, and his sarcastic remarks. The daylighter held an envelope with the Enclave stamp covering it.
"This just arrived for you," Simon said, holding it out to Magnus.
"Thank you Simon," Magnus said, snatching it from Simon, who started laughing. Magnus looked concerned. "What is it?"
"That might've been the first time you said my name right."
Magnus didn't understand the vampire's words, so instead he tore open the envelope. The paper inside matched the elegant writing of Charlotte Branwell, head of the Institute. He read over the contents, then smiled. "It seems we don't have long to wait. I'm being summoned to the Institute. Now please, follow close and don't get lost." He then strode from the room, not even looking over his shoulder to see if the rest were following him.
A/N: I won't usually write notes after chapters, but I would like to point out this takes place after City of Lost Souls and during Clockwork Princess. For those who've read City of Heavenly Fire, I started this before it came out, so the details don't match. Please don't expect me to follow with the plot of CP2 because one, it's my story, and two, I lent my copy to a friend, so I won't be able to read it. Thanks and don't forget to review!
