I DO NOT OWN THE MORTAL INSTRUMENT SERIES OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS, CASSANDRA CLARE DOES. I ONLY OWN THE CHARACTERS I CREATED AND THE PLOT I CAME UP WITH.
Here is the next chapter, we have some cute moments and some serious moments, to fill all your needs. We have a good Magnus Bane feature in this chapter, btw.
On with the story.
"Claaary. Where are you?" They heard James- Jace, as everyone recently started calling him- call in a sing-song voice outside the doors.
They were playing hide and seek, Clary and Izzy were hiding while Jace scoured the institute for them. While this went on, their parents stood in the library, which they had made off-limits to the playing three years old, speaking in low voices.
"Are you sure this is going to work? Because if this doesn't work, and my son dies, I will never forgive myself." Lucian said, speaking about his adopted child of over two years. "Or you, for the sake of honesty." He added as an afterthought.
"I swear on my life, I would never put your son in harm's way, Lucian, you can rely on that," Stephen said to his new brother-in-law.
"But can we rely on your information? Do you really think this will save him?" Jocelyn asked with hope colouring her voice.
"Magnus and Tessa did all of the research they could, I would be shocked if this didn't work out." Amatis chimed in.
They were discussing the use of Heavenly Fire. Recently, Magnus Bane and Theresa Grey had discovered that it could potentially save the soul of young Jonathan Fairchild.
Heavenly fire, when stabbed into a person, burns out all of the evil inside of them, restoring the good in their heart. They were worried that if they stabbed it into Jonathan that it would burn out everything inside him, killing him in the process. However, they just read that souls aren't fully formed until the child is 10 years of age. This would all be perfect if they hadn't also read other reports of a soul being formed at various ages, so nothing was certain. The original report seemed the most credible, and they had read others claiming the same information, but the other reports gave them pause. To sum it up, it was a risk.
But Tessa and Magnus seemed sure. The only left to do was obtain the Sword of Heavenly Fire. Which is where it gets even more complicated.
You have to summon an angel- they had found this out buy summoning Azazel, a greater demon, and sacrificed precious memories- and once the angel is summoned, it is known that they will kill the summoner if they do not have all of the mortal instruments with them. So that leaves them with a couple issues, to say the least.
One, they would have to convince the clave to let them use the Mortal Cup. The fact that they had just found it again after it had been stolen by a rebel faction of shadowhunters, makes the clave paranoid and very likely to say a hard no to letting them take it. Meaning they would have to steal it.
Two, they would need to acquire the Mortal Sword, which was kept with the Silent Brothers, but the Herondales had a connection so this wouldn't be too hard.
Three, finding someone willing to die for this, because having all three Mortal Instruments in impossible, given the fact that the Mortal Mirror has been missing for centuries. So whoever summons Raziel has to have some sort of death wish or else it won't work.
So it was hopeless until Clarissa came down and told them all about the dream she had about the Mark of Cain. This sent Hodge Starkweather tumbling for the library, his fellow shadowhunters in tow.
How Clary even knew about the mark, no one was sure, but they all knew it was a side effect from the higher quantity of angel blood running through her.
So here they are, trying to figure out the best person for the mark. It wouldn't have to be a Nephilim, so that was a plus, but it would have to be someone who is in on the plan, and willing to live forever. Which is non-existent in the group.
"But what if it doesn't work?" Jocelyn asked the group.
"Would that really be the worst thing? Robert Lightwood chimed in, "I don't mean to offend anyone, but we need to face facts. What threat are we facing in the future if he continues on as a demon-Nephilim hybrid? What he is underheard of, Jocelyn. I understand he is your son, and you love him. Hell, we all do, but can we really risk the future of mankind for his life alone? How would we live with ourselves?"
Robert joined them during battle. After his wife let them and explained everything in a note, he was furious. He didn't believe her, how could he, but then Valentine started to unravel under the loss of his family, and truths were revealed. He stayed until battle came, and during it, he killed as many circle members as he could find, and proceeded to team up with his estranged wife after a brief but warm reunion. He had missed her determination and passion, which surprised him, the distance really made him realize the love he had for her.
"I know it's a risk, Robert, but we can at least try. Raise him to be good, to fight the demonic side of him, use his abilities to save lives." Jocelyn said, almost begging.
"But what toll would that take on him?" He asked her.
She remained silent, realizing the pain that may cause her little boy.
"So we go through with this then, either way, the result will protect the world from something dangerous," Stephen said quietly.
"But who is gonna go through with it?" Lucian added.
"I will." A voice said from the library door.
"Found you!" Jace yelled at the redhead happily.
"Yay!" She cheered.
"Why are you happy about it, you lost?" He said in confusion.
"Now I can go and colour!" She said positively, shining brightly at her friend.
"Can I come?" He said excitedly.
"You have to find Izzy, silly." She reminded him.
"I found her a long time ago. She's napping now, I think." He said to her, "Please let me colour with you." He begged her.
"Okay!" She shouted happily, always wanting to spend time with her friend.
"Yay!" He jumped up and down with excitement before they both headed towards the playroom where the colouring books were kept.
10 minutes later, the colouring was in full swing. They decided to share a page so they could be right next to each other as they like to be.
That's when Jocelyn and Lucian walked in, "There you guys are, did you get bored of hiding and seek?" Jocelyn said to the kids.
They both nodded looking up the couple.
"Alrighty, well dinner won't be ready for a while, do you want me to come to get you when it's done?" She asked them.
Again, they nodded.
"Okay, oh babe, could you grab the lego bin? I told Johnny and Alec that could something in the library as long as they clean up their mess." Jocelyn asked her husband.
"Sure, then I gotta head out to the clubhouse, let the pack know whats going on." He said to her.
"Okay, just be back in time for dinner." She said and pecked him on the lips before she turned back to the toddlers. "You guys be good okay?"
"Okay mommy, we will," Clary said confidently before her mom turned and left.
Luke walked over and grabbed the lego bin from the corner, kissing his adopted daughter's forehead on the way.
"Draw me something pretty, okay baby girl?" He held the bin in both arms.
"Okay, daddy!" She said excitedly.
Luke smiled at the two before closing the door behind him.
"Clary?" Jace said after his uncle had left.
She hummed in response, focusing on the colouring book.
"Why do adults kiss each other's mouths?" He said confused.
"I think because they love each other. But only married couples can do it." SHe said to her friend.
"Well, I love you." He told her.
"I love you too Jace!" She laughed at him.
"Then why can't we kiss each other?" He asked.
She sighed at the question. "Because, Jace, we aren't married."
"Maybe not right now, but one day we will be." He said like it was obvious.
"We will?" It was her turn to be confused.
"Well yeah, you are the only girl who doesn't gross me out, besides Izzy. But I would never marry Izzy."
"What about Aline?" Clary asked.
He scrunched his nose in response.
"Okay so we will get married one day, but we aren't married right now." She said to him.
"But if we know we will one day, what does it matter?" He said back.
She thought for a moment, hesitantly.
"Well, I guess you have a point." She said finally.
"Yay! Then can I kiss you on the mouth?" He asked hurriedly.
"Yes, you can." She said confidently, nodding her head.
He grabbed her face in his hands and gave her a big kiss on the lips.
It was short, but she loved every second of it. When he pulled away they smiled at each other toothily and then proceeded to colour once more.
"Are you sure about this?" Magnus asked his best friend.
"I am." She said calmly.
"Caterina. Think about what you are doing. Living a couple hundred years is painful enough, but forever? Why are you doing this?" He asked incredulously.
"Because, I know what it is like to lose a child, Magnus. It is the most painful feeling a mother can go through. When my boy died, I didn't know what to do with myself. I gave up having any meaning in my life for over 50 years. Or don't you remember?" She turned to him.
"Of course, but this boys life won't affect you in any way. Whether he lives or he dies what do you get out of it?" He was confused, why was she doing this?
"Are you really so gone that you can't see it?" She whispered in sadness, "Oh Magnus."
"What? See what?"
"Just because it has nothing to do with me, I should just let this innocent child die? I should let another mother lose her son because I can't be bothered? Magnus, has lived for this long really iced out your heart to the point where you only do things for personal gain? Besides, I may live forever anyway, so why not just solidify it?" She chuckled, humourlessly. "It's been a while since I have done something out of the goodness of my heart, I think I'm long overdue for a selfless act, aren't you?" She asked rhetorically before getting up and leaving the cafe they were meeting in.
He sat there, in a daze. Thinking about his friend's words in shock. Wondering how long it had been since he had helped someone, just to help someone. He couldn't remember. He didn't know how long it had been since he even wanted to.
When did he shut off his heart?
What do you think?
Really, I want you to tell what you think so far.
Anyways, later.