New York: subway
"Ever since I was made leader I moved the pack to the subway; it's hidden well and has quick getaway options" Maia was saying. She had taken Will and Helen to the nearest subway which, as well as being the place where they would later meet the others, was the place where New York's largest werewolf pack was currently in hiding.
"How many of you are there?" Helen asked.
"This pack has about thirty to forty, but once we've got them on board they can branch out to neighbouring packs and recruit them too. There are at least fifty werewolf packs in New York alone".
"Are you sure they'll help?" Will sounded sceptical.
"I'm their leader" replied Maia, "if they don't help then they'll wake up in the real world after all this is over with my teeth marks in their throats". As they spoke a train rolled to a stop beside them; everything about the train and its passengers was normal apart from the two Shadowhunters fighting or vampire, or the Silent Brother, or the unconcious girl.
"That's my brother!" shouted Will
"That's my g- my … Aline!" screamed Helen
"That's bitchface Maureen" added Maia, "how is she still a vampire?"
Clary flipped over Maureen's head and tried to put her knife to her neck from behind, but Maureen had fast reflexes and was able to spin around before there was any chance of her being killed. Jace lunged at her with a sword but was thrown back with a kick to his stomach and then Clary was pushed to the ground as well; now both Shadowhunters were lying on the ground of the subway platform.
"Should we help them?" Helen asked.
Will sighed, "looks like they need it".
New York: Central Park
Jon, Tessa and the faerie Yvaine were making there way through Central Park, trying to find an entrance to the Seelie Court. Yvaine had told them that after the Queen's death, the faeries had mostly gone rogue and moved off to other parts of the country, but there were still many who chose to remain in the place they had always thought of as home.
"Is it much further?" Tessa asked.
"I don't think so; if I remember right there should be a tunnel just behind that copse of trees that leads into one of the Court's central passages" was the answer Yvaine gave. She was proven right when they emerged from the trees and were met by two armed Seelie knights waiting to escort them in.
"We were told you were coming" the tallest said.
"Lead on, then" Jon replied.
New York: Apartment
The memories came flooding back to Isabelle in a burst of consciousness that was too much for her. The only good thing to come from it, she knew, was that it meant Alec wasn't really dead as long as she could put things right; she even thought that her extreme reaction to his death might have caused her to be chosen as one of the eight. The one thing that worried her, though, was not knowing which of the eight had died in order for her to remember. Another anomaly was that, unlike the others, she had been given the truth along with her memories.
Which meant she knew as soon as she recovered who was behind all this.
I need to warn the others she thought.
New York: Hotel Dumort
"What did you do?! Simon asked Colin angrily, who like him was covered in Sebastian's blood.
"He told me to do this" Colin replied
"Why?"
Colin explained Sebastian's plan as best he could. As they had made their way over to the hotel so they could rally any vampires who hadn't yet been taken prisoner, Sebastian had whispered hurriedly to Colin to turn him into a vampire. He would then still be able to join in the fight, but it would give another their memories back (he hoped it would be Isabelle as her grief over her brother's death could trigger something) and Colin obeyed as soon as they reached the Dumort. "So now we must bury him" Colin finished.
"No" said Simon.
"No? Come on you know how this all works; you've been through it all yourself"
"We're not making him a vampire. It's complicated"
"Explain".
Simon took a deep breath before responding. "I never knew Sebastian Verlac in the real world, but from what I gathered he was a nice enough guy and honestly that description didn't do justice to the person I've met in this world. He's dead in the real world, Colin. Do you think we should bring him back just for him to find out that he won't make it in the end? He deserves this; to go out unawares before things get really bad".
"Okay; but we're not leaving him here. If what you say about him is true then he deserves to be left somewhere much nicer than a vampire hotel". The two boys started to pick up Sebastian's limp body when someone emerged from the around the corner of the building.
"Simon!" Isabelle shouted. She always knew his name in this world, but he could tell now that she was saying it with familiarity and something much, much more.
"Isabelle!" he shouted back with relief. He didn't care how cheesy it was; he ran down the street to her and threw his arms around her waist. He was partially shocked when her lips met his, but then it changed to contentment when he realised how happy her knowing touch made him. "You got your memories back" he said obviously when they finally spared a second to breathe.
"It's not just that" she replied, sounding frantic now, "I know who caused all of this and if I overheard your plans right before then some of our allies are in great danger". Within minutes Colin had hauled Sebastian over his shoulder and joined Simon and Isabelle, holding hands, as they all ran back down the street hoping that they weren't too late.
New York: Magnus' place
"There aren't many warlocks left anymore" Edric was telling Horace and Jocasta as they entered the apartment, "but if already summoned as many as I could to Magnus' apartment as a base of operations". They were introduced to the small group of male and female warlocks in the room, including Catarina Loss who Tessa had mentioned earlier, and then went off into an adjoining room while Edric updated them all.
"I think we should-" Jocasta began
"Shut up you annoying woman" Horace interrupted. Before Jocasta knew what he was doing he had crossed the room in two long strides and pulled her towards him in such an affectionate yet passionate hold that it sent her speechless. "Ever since I met you I've spent every day getting on your nerves so you wouldn't guess how much in love with you I was and laugh at me, but Raziel be damned if he thinks I'm dying in this fight without ever doing this once". He had never sounded so charming and chivalrous before, but before Jocasta could comment she found his lips pressed against her own lovingly and for a very long time. She pushed him away and hit him in the arm.
"Ow!"
You're the stupidest person I ever met, Horace Greenshade! Every time you put apple crumble in my weapons bag I thought you were going to ask me out, and as much as I wanted to it was always the apple crumble and that's why I retaliated!" now it was her turn to kiss him.
"We're ready for ... oh ... erm ... sorry" came Edric's voice from the doorway, but neither of the young Shadowhunters heard him. He quietly let himself out while Horace Greenshade and Jocasta Trueblood spent an awful long time doing things that they should've been doing years ago instead of tormenting each other.
But there was a first time for everything.
New York: Central Park
The three of them were just about to follow the two Seelie knights through the tunnel when urgent voices came rumbled through the trees behind them.
"Stop!" someone shouted. It was Simon and Isabelle who came through first, closely followed by a tired looking Colin the vampire carrying an unconscious Sebastian on his shoulder. As Simon and Isabelle caught their breaths he lowered the body to the soft grassy ground.
"What're you guys doing here?" Jon asked. Isabelle wouldn't make eye contact with him, and her now rigid posture suggested she was doing everything she could to restrain herself from lunging at him. What did I do now? Jon thought, but before he could voice it Simon answered.
"Isabelle knows the truth; she remembers"
"How much?" Tessa asked
"All of it" Isabelle answered
"Does she know whose responsible?" Yvaine asked
"Yes" Simon replied. Isabelle took a step back, and started to lift a finger when one of the Seelie knights grabbed Yvaine from behind and put his sword to her dainty throat. Jon and Tessa retreated to where the others were standing while the second Seelie knight moved towards Sebastian's body with his own sword drawn.
"Drop your weapons" he ordered. All of them had been carrying some sort of weapon, and so reluctantly they all withdrew various swords, knives and (in Isabelle's case) whips and threw them to the ground.
"Get down on the ground" the first Seelie knight, the one holding Yvaine hostage, ordered. "Now". After they acquiesced the second knight plunged his dagger into Sebastian's heart, killing him instantly.
"No!" Jon screamed.
"It's okay" said Simon, "he was already halfway through the process of becoming a vampire so he was practically dead anyway"
"That's still no reason to kill him!" Tessa protested. The knight ignored them, and instead turned back in the direction of his fellow knight and Yvaine. He asked, "did you say it was Simon Lewis and Tessa Gray that needed to be killed?", naming the two among them who were part of the original eight. They waited for the deep voice of the first seelie knight to reply, but to their confusion and then horror it was a familiarly light and yet malevolent voice that answered the question.
"They're the ones who need to die, but kill them all for all I care" said Yvaine, "or better yet, let's not kill anyone yet; if we take them prisoner they can be used to lure in the others".
"You're one of them!" Tessa yelled, outraged, "you've been working for the person behind all of this all this time?"
"Of course not" there was a long pause before she uttered the words that were now inevitable, "I am the person 'behind all of this'" she giggled in a sinister voice. Once the first knight had removed his sword from her throat, she ordered them both to restrain their new prisoners and summon 'the others' to help take them to the nearest dungeons.
"Who are you?" Jon asked hopelessly.
"I told you who I am; Yvaine. But if you're looking for a title, I'm more commonly known as Queen of the Unseelie Court".