19
A gust of snow sheeted into Sera's face as her Portal opened just outside the cabin on Wrangel Island, slicing through the same patch of ice where she had come through last time. Rayce ducked through after her with Steven in his arms. Light was shining cheerfully through the tiny window in the darkness, and Sera prayed that everyone was inside instead of scattered across the island. She was going to need all of them if her suspicions were correct.
She knocked heavily on the door and it opened a few moments later. Hunter Lightwood's bewildered expression brightened immediately when he saw her, and he stepped aside to let her in, cozy slippers looking right at home alongside his pajamas. When he caught sight of Rayce, though, his mouth fell open. The half-Faerie's broad chest was still bare under the cloak, and his face was grim with worry for the Mundane in his arms.
"Sera!" Aspen called excitedly, throwing aside the book she had been reading on the loveseat. "And... oh, my Lord." Her eyes travelled up Rayce's body, taking in the scarred sword at his side and the double-bladed staff slung across his back, until she met his frightening split-coloured eyes, and then her mouth fell open, too. "Is that... Rayce?"
Sera grinned proudly. "Yep." She shot a glance at her prince. "Rayce, I'd like you to meet your cousin, Aspen Herondale."
A look of wonder crossed his face at her words. Clary, Seraphine, Helen, and Aline rose from the kitchen table guardedly, uncertain of how he might react to any sudden movements.
"Ah, crap," Aspen muttered. "Cousins."
Clary slowly covered her mouth with one hand when she saw him, and tears brimmed in her eyes to see a man who looked so much like her brother following a very different path.
"And this is your aunt, Clary Herondale," Sera continued softly, ignoring Aspen's teenage crush. She reached out to take Steven from Rayce, cradling her friend gently as his head lolled sideways. He had lost consciousness just after she had embraced him in the Consul's office, but part of her was glad that he wasn't in pain right now.
The side of Rayce's mouth started to curl upward as he failed to contain the rising warmth that was spreading through his chest. My Shadowhunter family.
Touching two fingers lightly to her lips, Helen bowed her head slightly to Rayce. "And your niece," she whispered. She glided forward until she could look up into his face, her blue-green eyes wide. Her hand drifted up to brush the slightly-pointed tips of his ears wistfully. "You remind me so much of Mark." His green and black eyes held no horror for her.
Rayce gathered up her hands with his own. "I owe Mark Blackthorn a debt," he told her earnestly. "I did not intend to draw him back into our world from his peaceful life, but he is a true warrior. He answered the horn's call and saved many lives with his courage, my own included." His thoughts drifted back to the worn witchlight in his cloak. "Your brother is a good man."
The door to the bedroom opened and Tessa came out in a heavy nightgown, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "What's going-" She blinked when she registered that there were a few more people in the living room than when she had gone to sleep. Jem appeared behind her and Sera felt her stomach flip-flop.
"Jem," she sighed with relief. "I need you to help him." She hefted Steven a bit in her arms and the former Silent Brother's face transformed.
"Bring him in here," he answered, beckoning for her to lay him on the bed. Grateful that Steven was going to get some form of medical attention, she squeezed past a confused Tessa and bent down to slip him into the still-warm bed, the chains on his wrists clanking faintly as she stepped away. Almost as an afterthought, she touched the manacles to apply an Opening rune, and they fell away, no longer necessary to help him hang on to her or Rayce.
While Rayce continued to speak quietly with Seraphine and his new-found family in the main room, presumably explaining how they had ended up here, Sera gave Jem a quick summary of Steven's condition. He nodded thoughtfully through it and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.
"Leave him with me for a bit, I'll see what I can learn."
She hugged him impulsively. There was just something about his quiet, steady calm that made her feel like everything was going to be okay. "Thank you," she whispered sincerely.
Carefully closing the door behind her so that Jem could examine Steven in privacy, she found eight pairs of eyes staring at her. Taken aback by the scrutiny, she raised her eyebrows. "What?"
"You don't get to say 'what' like that," Seraphine scolded her even as she rushed forward to wrap her arms around the Shadowhunter's waist. "Rayce says you think you know how to free him from the Hunt, that's what."
Sera took a deep breath. "I think it's going to end up being a lot more than that," she confessed.
Without pausing to worry about how crazy she might sound, she recounted her journey down into the Unseelie Court and the cryptic final words of the King.
"You did what?" Seraphine choked when Sera got to the part about how she had compelled the King to tell her what she needed to know. "Is he dead?"
Sera nodded, squashing her guilt. The past couldn't be changed. But the future could. "Cassius struck the final blow and took the body somewhere where it will never be found – even I don't know where."
"He'd better be dead," Seraphine muttered. "The last thing you need is to have the King of the Unseelie Court coming after you for revenge."
"It's fine," Sera reassured her. "He's definitely dead."
She went on to relate the details of the dream she had had in her cell under the Gard, fitting all the pieces together until she had painted a very shaky picture of what she intended to do.
"It has to be here," she said confidently. "The circles of runes, seraphic and demonic, are the 'maw of Hell' and 'Heaven's gates' of which the King spoke. They represent points where Heaven and Hell are touching Earth."
Her golden eyes gleamed in the pale yellow light. "Once we take control of them, then it'll be time to 'gamble all', just like the next part of the King's rhyme said." She clenched her fist and slapped it into her open palm. "And believe me, Lady Luck is one hell of a gambler when she needs to be."
Seraphine's eyes were filled with pity when she looked at her friend. "Sera," she said hesitantly, trying to let her down gently. "We can't touch that demonic ellipse. It's locked up good and tight."
"Unless you have the mixed blood of Lilith and Sammael, right?"
The warlock nodded. "Exactly."
"Good thing we've got him, then," Sera said, jerking a thumb at Rayce. He looked back at her questioningly, but with trust in his eyes.
Hunter raised his hand. "Um, I'm lost."
"Rayce is the son of the Seelie Queen and Sebastian Morgenstern," Sera explained patiently.
"Yeah, I knew that-" Hunter cut in, only to be cut off in turn by Sera.
"But the Seelie Queen is a daughter of Sammael. Her true name was Sammaradriel, a tribute to the blending of her demonic and angelic heritage." Sera slipped her hand into Rayce's. "And Sebastian Morgenstern carried the blood of Lilith in his veins."
Five Shadowhunters and two warlocks all wore identical expressions of open-mouthed shock. Seraphine was the first to recover.
"What were the odds..." she started to ask, trailing off as the enormity of the opportunity caught up with her.
"Zeke told me once that he believed there was a reason I was supposed to find Rayce," Sera said, her voice wavering for a moment with emotion. "I think it might have all been leading up to this."
Seraphine shook her head in amazement, her mind already racing ahead. "It'll work," she agreed. "I can take control of the ellipse if Rayce opens it. From there, I'll need to start undoing the glyphs one by one until they're all erased."
"That's one of the things I was counting on," Sera said, closing her eyes as gratitude threatened to overwhelm her. She didn't know what she had done to deserve a friend like Seraphine, but she damn well knew what they were going to do next.
"So you open the ellipse," Clary said thoughtfully, tapping a finger on her chin while she tried to envision the scene. "That gets you your gateway to Hell. What about-" She gasped in understanding as the pieces clicked into place. "You're going to use your own blood on the ring of runes that represents Heaven?" Her green eyes widened. "You could bring down an angel doing that! And they get supremely pissed if you bug them. I've seen it."
Cassius' gleeful voice floated through Sera's memory again and she subconsciously squeezed Rayce's hand for courage. 'I think he called upon his father for help,' the Faerie had speculated.
Sera touched her chest just over her heart and thought about the blood that pumped through it. "I think there's one angel who might be happy to see me," she said softly.
Everyone fell silent, and they could hear the harsh wind outside whistling past the cabin. The fire cracked and popped in the wood stove and the air seemed to hum with quiet anticipation.
"Is this really happening?" Aline asked in a husky voice, breaking the quiet. "Are we really going to do this? Fix the wards for good?"
"We're damn well gonna try," Sera answered.
"If I'm going to reactivate that ellipse," Rayce added warily, "I think we might want to consider having some back-up available." He gave Sera a worried look. "If the demons catch wind of what we're doing..."
Sera nodded in agreement and then laughed out loud. "I know a guy who loves being back-up!"
A few minutes later, Aline had scribbled a quick note and then set the tip of her stele to the bottom corner with a satisfied smile. "That will get them back here in a hurry," she smirked.
"Even with Jace and the others to help us, it might be safer to wait until morning to try anything," Rayce pointed out. The clock on the stove showed that it was nearly midnight. "That will also give us more time to strategize any possible defenses."
Aspen stared at him with her mouth gaping open. "Dad is either going to love you or hate you if you keep talking like that." She hugged one of the loveseat pillows to her chest. "I'm just going to love you, okay?"
He smiled back helplessly, not knowing what to say, but that may have been the wrong thing to do. Aspen sighed happily and rolled sideways into her parabatai.
"Oh, my God, Aspen," Hunter said, rolling his eyes and yanking the pillow out of her grasp. "Cousin. Do you hear me? Cousin."
The bedroom door cracked open and Jem emerged with a warm smile. "I think your friend will make a full recovery," he announced happily.
Sera's heart leaped into her throat. "Is he awake? Can I talk to him?" She felt a load of guilt drop off her shoulders. It would have crushed her if he had been dragged into her world and not been able to escape unscathed.
"I was able to wake him to do a better examination, but I hypnotized him back into a deep sleep so that he can heal properly. I'm not what I once was," Jem added with a touch of regret in his voice, "but I can still do that much."
"What happened to him?" Sera asked.
Jem frowned before responding. "I suspect that he suffered some form of trauma that likely caused some mild mononeuropathy of his femoral nerve." He paused when he saw the blank look on her face, then hastily added, "Steven just needs a bit of time to get back on his feet."
Seraphine chewed on her lip. "If I was better with healing magic, I might have taken a stab at it."
"You'll need your strength for tomorrow," Sera assured her. "And I don't think it's a good thing for Steven to meet you until he's recovered. He had an anime addiction before his accident, and I think if he finds out that you have a cat tail and ears, he might just die."
The aforementioned cat ears twitched irritably. "One of those guys?"
"Mmhmm."
Blue light flashed outside in the darkness and Clary shot up from her seat at the kitchen table much faster than she had the first time. Jace!
A very battered stream of Shadowhunters poured through the door with Jace at the head, and he charged forward to sweep Clary into his arms, whispering in her ear too quietly for anyone else to hear over the din. Chaos reigned as Isabelle practically fell on her son and Aspen on the loveseat, clutching him to her chest alarmingly as Simon tried to find a way to wedge himself into the hug. Max shuffled in with Rafael supporting him, and they collapsed on the couch with happy sighs.
Diego led more than a dozen Centurions into the cabin. They crowded in and squeezed into a bit of free space in the back of the kitchen, near the pantry, while others squashed in around the wood stove. Carolina and Marcos Monteverde only had three of their Buenos Aires fighters left, but they gamely fit themselves in near the storage cupboard that Sera had previously raided for her Rayce-disguise. The cabin was uncomfortably over capacity with the new influx of guests.
Alec and Magnus brought up the rear of the party, and when Magnus saw the state of the tiny home, he threw up his hands. "This is ridiculous. Everyone stand up." A small flurry of shuffling ensued while the couches and kitchen chairs cleared, and then Magnus snapped his fingers. The furniture vanished and there was more room to breathe.
"Oy!" Aline protested.
"You'll get it back, pumpkin," Magnus promised. "It's just a bit of an inconvenience right now."
"I'll inconvenience you if it doesn't come back exactly the way it was," she growled.
"You're just full of threats tonight, aren't you, Aline?" Jace jabbed at her around Clary's back. "Were we fast enough for you?"
"Cut it out back there," Alec called over the gathered Shadowhunters. "The message said this was the most important night in Shadowhunter history, and I'm anxious to hear what's going on." He spotted Sera and Rayce somewhere near the middle of the room and felt a flash of foreboding.
Blue light flickered through the window behind his head and he turned to look at his husband in confusion.
"It wasn't me," Magnus said, holding up his hands.
Alec craned his neck to try to see out the window, but the door flew open again, crashing into Magnus and sending him bowling forward into some of the Centurions. Alec was pretty sure that some people at the back had been squeezed into the washroom by now.
More Nephilim warriors in heavy gear and goggles tried to race inside to secure the area, but they didn't get more than four feet over the threshold before they ran out of room. The Shadowhunters in the rear of the attack team didn't even make it inside.
"What the..." The leader of the new group raised his goggles in confusion.
"Jon?" Alec said wonderingly.
"I didn't think I'd find you here, sir," the man responded, dumbfounded by the incredible number of Nephilim in the cabin. He was unconsciously counting as he noted faces, and he was particularly shocked to see Executor Rosales among those gathered.
"Is that Cartwright's voice I hear?" Jace called from the kitchen. "What the hell are you doing up here?"
Jon pushed his goggles off completely and scrubbed a hand back through his hair. "Honestly, I was supposed to, and I quote, 'Arrest the Blackthorn and Penhallow girls immediately, and anyone else they may be harbouring on that frozen rock'."
"Ha!" Simon yelled from the bathroom, his voice a bit muffled from possibly be squashed up against a wall with his wife, son, and nephews. "Looks like you're outnumbered, Cartwright!"
"Ooooooh!" One of the Clave Shadowhunters squealed in delight. "Simon, is that you?" Marisol tugged her goggles down to hang around her neck and clapped her hands together excitedly.
The bathroom stayed quiet for a moment, then a voice drifted out faintly, twinged with defeat. "Um... No?"
"It is you! I'm so excited, Simon! Everything's happening just like you said it would! I was so ready when Jon called! Like, everyone is so ready right now. Let's kick some demon butt!"
The chilly northern wind was still blowing in through the open door, which may have been fine for the new arrivals from the Clave who had been prepared for a trip to Wrangel Island, but Aspen's teeth were chattering together and Clary was puffing energetically on her hands as Jace rubbed her arms.
Magnus had recovered his dignity from falling face-first into a wall of Centurions, and he pushed up the sleeves of the deep-purple dress shirt he was wearing. "Alright. Enough is enough." His hands wove in a smooth, complicated gesture and he muttered quietly to himself as a golden light bloomed and then spread outward, passing through the open front door to encompass the area in front of the cabin that had been trampled flat over the last ten minutes. The remaining crates from the Adamant Citadel had been unceremoniously dumped in the snow just next to the clean lines that showed where three separate Portal had cut into the ice.
A brilliant sphere of shining light ballooned upward outside and the wind cut off abruptly. The temperature of the cabin readjusted from 'freezing' to 'mostly-okay' and Magnus pulled the door open more fully. "Anyone not related by blood or marriage, please wait outside while we get things sorted. We're thrilled that you're here, and we appreciate your commitment to the cause, but this is a bit much."
The Clave Shadowhunters who hadn't even made it inside started to back away into the bubble of warmth Magnus had conjured, and some resigned Centurions trooped out to join them with the Argentines trailing in their wake. Jon started to leave, but Magnus hooked one manicured finger into the back of his collar. "Not you. You stay. You've got some explaining to do."
Once there was more breathing room, Simon and Isabelle were able to squeeze out of the bathroom with Hunter, Rafe, and Max. Marisol's triumphant smile made Simon freeze and point a shaking finger in her direction.
"Wait! She's not supposed to stay." He looked at his brother-in-law pleadingly. "Please, Magnus?"
Marisol threw up her hands. "We're all Shadowhunters! We're all connected by Raziel's blood! I'm allowed to- Hey, hey!" She was pushed out through the front door as if by an invisible hand, and her cries of protest were cut short once she was over the threshold.
Magnus shook his head. "I don't know what you did to make her obsess over you like this, Simon, but I hope Raziel takes pity on your soul."
Simon clapped a grateful hand over Magnus' shoulder. "It's honestly good enough that you took pity on me. It's for the greater good."
"Speaking of the greater good," Alec cut in, "what's going on?"
Sera felt butterflies in her stomach, but squashed them as she explained her plan to the true Consul while the other newcomers listened in rapt silence. Even Jace was left speechless when she came to the part where they may have a chance to finally undo the damage to the world's wards caused by Lilith and Sammael a thousand years ago.
Alec's deep blue eyes watched her carefully as she spoke, weighing every word, and when she was finished, he felt overwhelmed by the enormity of what she was proposing. In his capacity as Consul, whether he still held the position or not in truth, he felt duty-bound to properly evaluate the risks of what they could be doing.
"Goddamn," Jon Cartwright whispered quietly, breaking the silence. "I knew I made the right choice."
"I'm sorry, what choice was that?" Jace said scathingly from where the kitchen table should have been. "To somehow manage to arrest more than thirty of the best Shadowhunters the Clave has ever seen?"
Jon held up his hands. "No, to come and see for myself what the hell was going on." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, eliciting an angry noise of protest from Aline before he managed to slide out a wad of folded paper scraps hidden inside. He handed them to Alec, and the Consul flicked through them quickly, immediately recognizing every message.
Alec's eyebrows shot up. "How did you get these?" The were identical to the missives he had been receiving from Helen and Aline about the breaches.
"Cinder went dumpster-diving for me after a bit of convincing. She stayed on to continue as private security for the new Consul, so she knew that messages were pouring in from somewhere and Everett was ignoring them. When she told me, I knew something was up."
Jace closed his eyes. "Rosales said the override instructions he got from Alicante had Cinder's validation code." He rubbed his eyes tiredly for a moment before looking back at Cartwright. "You guys were in on it together?"
Jon nodded. "We saw the messages about Cairo and Buenos Aires, and then they got hit so hard… with no warning. After that, there were dozens and dozens of messages from Centurions saying they had been dispatched on wild goose chases, and none of them were answered." He scratched at the stubble on his neck. "Hell, some of them are probably still standing in the middle of nowhere waiting for orders that aren't coming."
"And so tonight…?" Alec prompted him.
"Everett's been up to something for the last few days," Jon answered quickly. "Vanished to Vegas, then slipped away to the Silent City without telling anyone. He's had those weirdo warlock brothers working on something secret under the Gard." He threw a nervous glance at Magnus and then one to Seraphine. "No offense."
Magnus waved him off. "Kai and Kaden are weirdos. Continue."
"I know what they were working on," Sera muttered under her breath, too low for anyone but Rayce to hear.
"So tonight he gets angry, really angry, about something, and sends me off with orders to get up here and drag them," he pointed to Helen and Aline, "back to Alicante for questioning." He exhaled slowly. "There aren't many of us left in Alicante, sir, so I had to make a few calls to find some people who were at least willing to listen."
"But Jon," Simon agonized. "Marisol? How could you?"
"Say what you want, Si." Jon shook his head in amazement. "You'll want her in a fight. If anything shows up to interrupt this crazy plan tomorrow, she'll tear it up six ways from Sunday. And it's not exactly like I expected you to be here."
"Speaking of the crazy plan," Jace interjected, "which I happen to support, by the way - Alec, I can see you thinking so hard over there that your brain is going to melt or something."
"I am thinking, Jace," Alec responded distractedly. "Try it some time."
Jace clapped his hand over his heart dramatically. "Et tu, Brute? What's there to think about? Alec, permanently fix the wards." He shook his hands for emphasis. "We're talking about early retirement here. Freedom forty-three!" His golden eyes were shining with excitement. "We're literally going to save the world this time. For real."
"I'm more concerned about what happens if things go wrong, or if Sera's predictions aren't correct." He shot an apologetic look at the young Shadowhunter still holding Rayce's hand. "I'm sorry, Sera. I trust you, but we need to make sure that we've thought this through before we try anything."
"I understand," she answered in a voice that shook slightly, feeling a bit of her hope crumple up inside.
"No, Alec," Jace said firmly. "This is right. Can't you feel it?"
"Yes, I can," Alec snapped back. "And of course I want her to be right. But, as Rayce wisely pointed out, if any demons realize what we're trying to do, what then?"
"Then we'll kill them!"
"We aren't indestructible, Jace!" Alec was practically shouting now, and the other Nephilim gathered shifted uncomfortably at what was rapidly beginning to feel like an intimate exchange. "Sera's talking about opening paths between Heaven and Hell, and we're all that's going to be standing there to guard it! If we die, and those circles are open, what then? What if demons manage to cause even more damage than there already was?"
"Shadowhunters die all the time, Alec! You know it, I know it, and everyone in this room knows it." He moved forward until they were face to face and then poked his finger at Alec's chest. "And you also know damn well that everyone in this room would lay down their lives for a chance to fix this."
Alec reached up and closed his hands around his parabatai's accusatory finger and bowed his head under the weight of the decision he needed to make. "We aren't just gambling with our own lives any more, Jace. We're risking everyone's. You've said it yourself – you think there's some enemy commander behind all these attacks, that there's some hidden meaning behind them." He took a deep breath, and begged his best friend to understand. "What happens if we do this and that's when he strikes? Every time we've thought that we were a step ahead, we've realized that we were two steps behind."
Jace's shoulders relaxed and he took his hand back slowly, feeling guilty about being an idiot. This is why I need you, Alec, he thought gratefully. You've always thought that you got the better end of this bond, but I know that it's always been the other way around.
"Then we'll just have to be ready for him." Jace lifted his eyebrow at Alec significantly, sharing a thought that only the two of them could understand, and Alec nodded in agreement.
"We need to start figuring this out."
Clary's sketches of the ritual site were pulled out and laid in the centre of the floor so that the Nephilim could get an idea of what to expect. As many as could fit had gathered around to listen as Helen and Aline gave details about the topography of the island in that area when a gentle rumbling set the wall sconces vibrating in their settings.
Every Shadowhunter's head snapped up in response to the disturbance.
"Is that normal?" Simon asked nervously.
"No," Aline answered. "No, it certainly is not."
Without further warning, the entire island began to heave violently, sending Nephilim staggering into each other. Mismatched mugs and glasses chattered forward out of their open-face cupboards and smashed on the wood floor. The lone bookcase that had survived Magnus' furniture purge tipped forward and would have fallen on Helen if Rayce hadn't shifted just in time to catch it. The books cascaded down into a heap that spilled across Clary's drawings.
It only lasted a few moments, but every Nephilim was on their feet and standing in ready stances as they waited in silence for any aftershocks.
"The wards," Helen whispered in horror. She flew to the door, snatching her coat off its hook and just barely managing to jump into her thick boots before dashing outside with a heavy-duty flashlight in her hand.
"The wards?" Simon yelled after her. "That was the wards?"
Aline was a dark flash as she followed her wife out into the night without a second thought, shrugging into her jacket smoothly as she clomped out the door.
Worried Shadowhunters murmured quietly in small groups as they waited for the couple to return. Tessa knelt down in her nightgown to tenderly gather up the fallen books and replace them on the shelf while they waited.
Sera turned her golden eyes up to find Rayce's. "We might have to do this sooner than we thought. Are you sure you're ready?"
He lifted the hand that still held hers and turned it over to press a soft kiss to the backs of her fingers even as he held back half a grin. He just couldn't help himself around her. "I trust you, Sera."
She shoved him gently and laughed under her breath. "That's such a Faerie answer."
Rayce drew her into his arms so that she was resting against his chest and he closed his eyes happily. Even if it doesn't work, this is how I want to be remembered. I want to die as a Shadowhunter. He breathed in the scent of her hair and sighed, tightening his hold. But I have so much more to live for now if we can do this.
He opened his eyes to look over Sera's head at the Nephilim gathered here at the edge of the world on a hope and a prayer. Some of them are only just beginning to live this life, he thought as his gaze rested on Aspen and Hunter for a moment. And some have lived it for decades, even centuries. Jem was conversing in a low voice with Magnus and Seraphine by the wood stove, all three of them born in another time. Their paths have been so long, all to end up here. Tonight.
Jace and Alec had taken Tessa aside, and the three of them had their heads together in the back corner of the kitchen. Jace's expression was serious as he spoke too quietly for Rayce to overhear, and his parabatai looked conflicted about whatever was being discussed. The half-warlock listened attentively, and then threw a quick glance back over her shoulder at Jem when Jace paused for a response. A pained look crossed her face for just a moment before she turned back to the pair and nodded confidently.
Rayce let his eyes play over the others in the room once more as he held Sera closer. They had all been through so much, and still there was more to ask of them.
The front door banged open again, letting in more of the golden glow that lit the darkness outside. It spilled across the entryway and shone on the concerned faces of the Shadowhunters waiting outside for a verdict.
Helen's features were ashen and her blue-green eyes almost seemed glazed over in shock. Aline swept in behind her, the fire that burned inside her temporarily dampened by whatever they had found.
"The wards?" Alec prompted gently, afraid to hear the answer.
"Breaches," Helen breathed, looking lost. "Too many to count. They're everywhere."
Stunned silence followed the pronouncement until Simon couldn't stand it any longer. In a very quiet voice, he asked, "What does that mean for us?"
"That this could be the beginning of the end," Aline answered hoarsely.
"Not while we can help it," Alec cut in firmly. "We're out of time to talk. Raziel preserve and protect us, but we're going to have to do this now. If the wards can be healed, any demons trapped on this side will be cut off from their power in the Void. It's our best chance."
He turned to find Sera and Rayce still standing together in the centre of the room. "I want you two and Seraphine to do whatever it is that you need to do at the ritual site as soon as we get there – once everyone is in position, get that ellipse open and we'll find out what happens.
"Diego, I want you to take command of our fighters. Coordinate your Centurions with the Clave Shadowhunters. Izzy, Simon, Rafe, Clary, Jace, and myself will defend under your orders."
Jace opened his mouth and lifted an indignant finger. "You are not putting him in charge of-"
But Alec cut him off with a significant look. "You might be a little too busy to lead if your hunch is right, remember?" He watched with a tiny smidge of satisfaction as his parabatai lowered his hand reluctantly and offered no further protest.
"Max will cover the main group as much as possible." Alec looked at his son proudly and the boy's navy-hued face lit up with a smile at being given so much responsibility. "Magnus, I want you focused on protecting the circles once they're open – support Max where you can, but you need to keep them clear."
Magnus saluted his husband with a straight face. "Yes, sir!"
Alec's mind was spinning in a dizzying circle as he tried to keep track of everything that needed to be done. They could only do so much up here; the rest of the world still had to face whatever had shredded the delicate wards.
"Helen, Aline, I know it's asking a lot, but can you get the word out to anyone and everyone who will listen to what is happening?" He pulled the Lightwood family ring from the fourth finger of his right hand and gave it to Helen. "Mark the messages as coming from me. I can't wait for Everett to engage this time."
Even as Helen nodded, Sera cleared her throat. "Um, about that... Everett will kind of be sitting this one out." She felt herself wilt a little under the Consul's questioning look. "In the prison cells under the Gard," she clarified with a sinking feeling. "Where we left him."
Alec's mouth sagged open in disbelief as he stared at her and Rayce. "You... imprisoned... a sitting Consul?"
She shrugged uncomfortably. "Well, he was more of a slumped-over, passed-out Consul at the time, but I don't think he'll be getting into any more trouble for a while."
Alec closed his eyes and rubbed his temples for a moment before giving her a very stern look. "We'll discuss this later." Sera felt a flash of guilt boil through her stomach. Are we actually going to get in trouble for that?
Aspen saved her from further examination by tugging on her uncle's arm. "What about me and Hunter? We want to fight!"
"Yeah!" Hunter agreed enthusiastically. "Seraphine helped me finish the prototype for my super suit." He frowned for a second. "Well, more like super jacket, but it's still awesome!" Hunter bounced through the bedroom door, presumably to retrieve said jacket.
"Super... what?" Alec sighed and plucked Aspen's fingers off his sleeve. "Never mind. Don't answer that." He looked into her eager eyes seriously. "I don't want either of you out there tonight."
He caught sight of his sister gratefully mouthing, 'Thank you', from across the room, but both teenagers immediately started protesting.
"That's not fair!" Aspen huffed. "We're the same age you guys were during the Dark War!"
"I said I didn't want you out there," Alec answered sharply. "So you can either agree to protect and help Helen and Aline here at the cabin, or if you won't follow orders, I can have Magnus send you to Catarina's until this is over."
Hunter crossed his arms over his chest petulantly. "You're putting us on Mundane babysitting duty?"
"Mundane... what Mundane?" Alec blinked in confusion.
Hunter jerked his thumb back through the bedroom door at Steven's sleeping form. "That one."
Alec covered his face with his hands.
"Long story," Sera said hurriedly.
"But I'm looking after him," Jem chimed in. "Tessa and I can remain here to watch over him and help Aline and Helen." He flicked a quick glance at Hunter and Aspen, an unspoken promise in his eyes to protect the kids.
A series of long screeches shrilled outside on the wind and there were shouts from the Shadowhunters inside Magnus' protective bubble.
"They're here," Aline hissed, peering out through the tiny window. "You have to go now!"
There was a flurry of activity as Nephilim poured outside into the area warmed by Magnus' magic, and then the man himself began busily summoning heavy coats, gloves, and hats to protect them against the cold.
"Macy's is absolutely going to cancel my account if they find out I'm borrowing all of this from the new winter line," Magnus muttered to himself as the Shadowhunters helped themselves. The crates from the Adamant Citadel were ransacked for everything that was left, and the Clave Shadowhunters shared out what they could from their own weapons.
Last-minute hugs were exchanged hurriedly, but there were no goodbyes. After embracing his mother, Hunter pulled on a curious jacket made out of the tough material used to craft Shadowhunter gear, but an entire panel down the centre of his back had been replaced with some sort of flexible, shining metal that moved sinuously with him. Izzy lifted an eyebrow at it approvingly and tapped the metal with her fingernail.
"Fashion and demon hunting."
"A super suit," Simon added jokingly. His wife flashed him a dazzling smile.
"Definitely our kid."
Tessa flew to the bedroom to change out of her nightgown while the cabin began emptying out, and when she emerged, she found Jem leaning over the kitchen counter where Helen was scrawling messages in her elegant script as Aline dashed off messy notes. He was patiently melting red wax to press the Lightwood family ring's face into before sending them off.
"Jem, I can't stay," Tessa said breathlessly. Alec and Jace had already vanished out into the night with the others.
"What do you mean?" Wax dripped onto the counter, forgotten.
"I have to be there for them. I can't explain, but it's something I have to do. They need me."
"Tess..." Jem dropped the candle in the sink so that he could cup her face in his slim hands. The gear she was wearing was far too big for her. "You're not a fighter. Don't go."
She pressed her cheek into his palm and lifted her right hand to cover his left. "Tonight I am. It's in my blood, too. Stay here and take care of the kids. We'll be together again soon." She leaned forward to kiss him swiftly, and then she was gone.