Emily ducked, just dodging the wooden sword that Jace tried to hit her with and rolled, jumping back to her feet in a hurry. In the past few days, after training with Conan and Jace, things had gotten easier. She felt lighter lately, faster, more graceful. Maybe they were just getting slower, but she doubted that to happen to Jace. She had to just be getting better.

Jace tried his hardest to get a hit on her, just to knock her to the ground on principle, but she was too quick for him. She always felt like she was one step ahead of them, and it made her feel more invincible. According to Jace, the extra angel blood was just starting to kick in, which made perfect sense in a way. Besides, she wasn't complaining. Having special powers, like speed and agility, were always useful in pissing her father off in the training room. That's what she lived for more than anything.

Like now, when he was sending attack after attack and not landing a blow was always the highlight of Emily's day. Jace was faster than anyone else, which at least gave her a challenge, but even now he was getting to be a little… predictable.

"You're making this too easy dad," Emily smirked when Jace finally stopped attacking.

They stood a few feet apart, breathing hard. He had spent the whole morning on attack with two wooden blades in his hands while Emily was weaponless, training on how to disarm enemies. After an hour of work, she pretty much had it down pat. So Jace just started attacking, while Emily dived, ducked, dipped, and dodged to avoid every attack with ease.

"Let's take a break," Jace said as he tossed the wood to the floor. He looked exhausted. Sweat covered his bare torso and it matted his hair to his face when he rubbed a towel over it before shaking it out, making it even messier than before.

Emily followed him to the bench, grabbed her water bottle, and dumped it on her head. It was extremely hot, and the water made her cool instantly. It soaked her black shorts and sports bra, which she didn't really worry about anyway. Her ponytail stuck to the back of her neck, so she pulled it around, wringing it out as the water fell to the matted floor.

"Any word from Conan?" Jace asked.

Emily shook her head, sending water flying in the air. "Not yet. I'm guessing that he hasn't come back yet?"

"Nope," Jace answered popping the 'p'. Both of them looked up when they heard the Institute doorbell ring. "Who the hell could that be?"

Emily shrugged, taking a seat on the mats as she crossed her legs. "Could be Conan. Or maybe it's the pizza guy? It's almost lunch time."

Jace rolled his eyes but laughed regardless of the situation. Emily smiled as her father sat down beside her on the floor, water bottle in hand as they stared at the wall. Their breathing had gone back to normal, and no healing runes were needed for once, so they sat in the silence that Emily had missed lately. Jace's presence alone was reassuring enough to make her feel better about any situation.

"So, we need to talk."

Emily's heart sank like the Titanic. No one wants to hear those words, whether they came from a lover, a friend, and especially from a parent. Four words had the ability to turn a person from happy to a ball of nerves in the matter of seconds.

"Are you going to talk or do I need to lecture you instead?" Jace asked at Emily's silence.

She pulled her legs to her chest, shrugging her shoulders. "The lecture always seemed easier to deal with."

"Just be honest with me. No beating around the bush." Emily nodded in compliance. Looking extremely uncomfortable about the situation, he asked, "You're mother told me something last night that was quite... unnerving to say the least. What's going on with Conan and Chase?"

And there it was, the question that she wanted to avoid for the rest of her life. Talking with Karrie about it was easy because Karrie was young and understood. Clary was Emily's mother, and actually open to the idea of Emily dating. Jace was more like the nuke being dropped over Nagasaki when it came to Emily's love life. In other words: all hell breaks loose if she says one wrong word.

But she knew that honesty was the best road to take at this point. "Nothing that isn't making me more confused than normal. It's really nothing you need to worry about."

Jace's expression went from dark to pissed off faster than Emily could register it. "I'm going to kill them."

"No." Emily reached over, grabbed Jace's arm as he tried to get up. She pulled him back down. "You're not going to talk to either of them. You're going to focus on finding all of our missing friends and family."

He didn't even seem to register her reluctance. "Oh, you misunderstood. I wasn't planning on talking. I'm going to kill them."

Emily sighed and tried her best to keep her voice calm. "Dad, just let me figure this out, okay? I'm not going to let either of them hurt me and–"

"JACE!" Clary burst in the training room, looking disheveled and scarred. Her hair was up in a bun, eyes wide, skin pale, and clothes wrinkled. Her eyes met the two of them, but focused on Emily. She looked like she had seen a ghost. "Emily, go get Chase and bring him to the infirmary."

Emily stood quickly. "What's going on?"

"Just do it," Jace answered as he jogged towards Clary, taking her hand, and pulled her through the door, leaving Emily alone as she grabbed her tank top and slipped it over her head.

Her mother's face was burned into the back of her head as she ran through the Institute to Chase's room. She past one frantic Michael that didn't even bother a glance towards her as he sprinted towards the infirmary. It was always helpful having him around in times like this. Emily didn't even know what was wrong, but if it was medical and could be fixed, Michael would get it done.

Chase's door was cracked when Emily arrived, and when she poked her head in silently, she saw him lying on the bed. Naturally, his shirt was off since he didn't have a modest bone in his body, and a book was in his hands. His head hovered over it as he lied on his stomach, reading the pages quietly and quickly.

"Chase?"

His head lifted but he didn't smile when he saw her. It was obvious that he still wasn't too happy about keeping what happened the night before a secret. Emily didn't really blame him, but she had told her mother who now told her father about her confusing feelings for Chase so she didn't really see a good reason to keeping it on the DL anymore. Not to mention the fact that Magnus, Karrie, Kadan and Michael knew as well. Isabelle was the only one being kept in the dark, and that probably wouldn't last long either.

"What do you want?" Chase asked as he pushed the book he was reading behind him when he sat up. Emily, like always, stared at his chest involuntarily. Angel, he really was beautiful.

She shook her head, keeping her thoughts straight. "I'm not in the mood for the attitude. My mom just told me to bring you to the infirmary."

Bewilderment crossed his face as he finally stood up in his black trousers. "Why?"

Emily's eyes darted around to anything other than him and she shrugged. "Just following orders."

"Whatever," he mumbled as he grabbed a white V-neck and slipped it over his curls. He shook his head, running his hands through the perfect locks that Emily yearned to touch, to feel under her fingertips. But she restrained herself and together, the two of them walked to the infirmary in silence.

Everyone was standing outside the doors as the pair approached. Magnus, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, and the twins were all leaning against the wall, talking amongst them quietly. All were dressed and ready for the day, whatever the day might actually bring. But their faces were enough for Emily to tell that something wasn't right. Karrie was hugging her middle as Kadan comforted her, patting her back and whispering something in her ear. Clary was clinging to Jace, still looking as worried as before. Magnus and Isabelle were silent against the wall, looking down to the floor.

"What is this about?" Chase demanded to know. His attitude was a little unnecessary, but no one seemed to really care at this point.

Clary just pointed to the door without a word and buried her head in Jace's chest again. Chase, to Emily's surprise, grabbed her hand and pulled her through the doors, only to be stopped short as it banged shut behind them.

Michael was the only living person in the room. His back was to the pair as he hovered over one of the tables. HIs head was down, the short, blond hair messy and Emily thought she saw a bit of blood on his cheek. When he heard the door shut, he lifted his head and his eyes widened when it registered who they were. He didn't look too happy that they were there, and Emily figured out why quickly.

Because in front of him, on the table, was a body. It was a woman of about forty. Her skin was pale and there were multiple scars on her face along with bruises and burns. Her hair had been completely ripped out, leaving her bald. The only skin that was visible was from her shoulders up, where Michael kept the rest of her covered. Even her shoulders were messed up with bruises and wounds. Emily could see a few healed wounds that looked like a knife went through her skin, along with a few bullet holes. Whatever happened to this woman was worse than Emily had ever seen to a body.

It wasn't until Michael stepped up to them that she realized Chase was frozen beside her. His hand felt dead and cold in her hand suddenly. Shock, terror, rage, and pain flashed across his face as he stared past Michael to the woman on the table.

"I'll leave you three alone," Michael said in a soft voice. He touched Chase's shoulder, a kind gesture, before heading out the door and shutting it behind him.

Chase didn't move, didn't blink, and didn't breathe. His eyes were glued on the woman on the table and Emily watched as a tear fell down his cheek, falling to the floor.

Then, without a word, he pulled Emily forward slowly. Emily still didn't know what was going on, even if the rest of the house did. All she knew was that Chase refused to let go of her hand as he led her to the dead body on the table in the middle of the infirmary. He stopped just in front of the table, and Emily had to stop herself from vomiting.

The body was even worse up close. The woman's wounds were badly healed, and she smelled of smoke like the burns were recent. There were actually a few strands of hair that covered her face. Her eyes were open, and that's when Emily realized who the woman was. The green irises matched Chase's perfectly, even if the life had been taken out of them.

This was Chase's mother.

Chase reached forward with his free hand, closing her eyes. "Ave Atque Vale Grace Highsmith."

Emily had never felt so out of place. Comforting him on the roof was one thing, but comforting someone after the loss of their mother was a task that Raziel himself hated to deal with. She didn't know what to do, where to look, how to act, and when Chase released her hand, it left her even more uncomfortable.

He leaned against the table, eyes closed as he hovered over his mother as his hand brushed her broken face. She watched helplessly as one tear fell after another, landing on the sheets that covered his mother and soaked through them, just over where her heart was. Emily suddenly wished that her mother could create a rune that took pain away. It would be the creation of the century: Painless. It'd probably be used more than the iratze, especially in this particular Institute lately.

"They promised that they'd keep her alive," Chase said. His voice didn't crack, or even sound broken. It was even and flat, lifeless. "I always knew that they would torture her to get to me. i had even seen it. But Leviathan said that he wouldn't kill my mother or sister if I did as they asked."

Emily reached forward hesitantly, touching his shoulder but he flinched away from her touch. "Chase–"

"This is my fault, you know. It's all my fault."

"That's not true," Emily said with conviction as she grabbed his arms. His muscles were tense and hard under her touch. "None of this is your fault."

"I guess it's for the best, you know?" Emily looked up, confused. Chase's jaw was set and she could see that he was barely keeping it together. "She's gone, dead. She no longer has to deal with the pain that Leviathan put her through. Now that I think about it, I would've been a better son if I just killed her myself on the bridge. I would've saved her all that suffering, all the pain that she went through for four years. Maybe then she wouldn't have felt the need to forget her own son."

"What are you–"

"If we're lucky, maybe they're all dead," he blurted out. "Simon, Alec, your grandparents. Maybe Leviathan has actually killed all of them and put them out of their misery."

His words shocked her as they sunk in. Her grip on his arm tightened as she realized what was happening. Chase was fading, disappearing even though he was right in front of her. Through the past few days, she had at least gotten to accept the fact that he had plenty of different sides to him, but this? This was worse than anything he'd ever done. It was worse than when she had the epiphany on the roof about him working against her family. She realized that she was losing him, mentally, as he stared down at his lifeless mother.

"Maybe my sister is dead too," he added. "I'd feel better knowing that they're both gone and off to better places. I could stop making deals with the devil that only caused more pain to everyone else."

"Okay, you need to stop," she demanded. Emily gripped his face tightly and forced him to look at her. "Chase, you're talking crazy."

"Am I? Would you rather know that your grandparents are done with the misery or would you rather find out that they've been whipped, stabbed, and burned so many times that they forget who your name, forget that your their family? My mother went mad, Emily! And I never got a chance to fix it, I – I never got a chance to say goodbye. She's just… gone."

At that moment, everything about Chase broke. His strength, his snarky attitude, his jokes, his playful eyes all dissipated, and he broke like they Berlin Wall. He crushed himself to Emily, burying his face in her neck as he did the last thing that she ever expected him to do.

That's the moment that she really witnessed Chase Highsmith Lewis break down in tears.

"I thought his parents died years ago," Jace inquired. "That woman looked like she died yesterday."

The four of them still leaned against the wall as Emily and Chase chatted in the infirmary. It was killing him, knowing that his eldest daughter was in that room with an emotionally unstable eighteen year old boy. But Clary had made it very clear that no one was allowed in until either Emily or Chase made their way out. And the last thing anyone needed was an angry Clary running around.

Magnus responded first. "He probably lied. Although I can't fathom why any Shadowhunter would lie about the death of his parents."

"He was fourteen," Clary said as the voice of reason. Jace rolled his eyes. He'd gone through worse at fourteen and that didn't give Chase any room to be more disturbed than he was. "He was probably just scared."

Isabelle shook her head. "Being scared doesn't give you a good enough reason to lie to the Clave. Chase should've known better. I love him to death, but he's keeping something from us."

Clary's fingers slipped into Jace's suddenly. She squeezed and leaned her head against his shoulder. It made him feel better, lighter, having him on his arm like this. "I think it's obvious that something bigger is going on here that Emily and Chase aren't telling us. It's not like bodies get dumped on the front porch of the Institute for no reason."

Jace registered Magnus's look too quickly for the warlock to hide it. It was a flash of anger mixed with something else, something Jace couldn't register.

He didn't spend too much time trying to figure it out either. The events of this morning replayed in his mind again. Clary had pulled Jace out and rushed him to the elevator, where Isabelle and Michael came up with the body. The first thought that went through his head was Jocelyn or Luke, but after looking at the face, he knew that it wasn't his family.

It was obvious she was Chase's mother. She had the same eyes, nose, and lips as her hormonal son. Many of his features resembled her, and as Michael carried her to the infirmary room, he had a vague flashback to the moment that he saw Maryse die. He had to watch the closest thing he had to a mother die at the hands of a demon, along with her husband. It was one of the worst days of his life, and although he hated Chase, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid.

"Did you find out if the tracking spell could work with that picture?" Jace asked Magnus.

"Michael is working on ways to boost my abilities but it isn't working out too well. The picture isn't much to go on and as of right now, I'm not strong enough to make any sense of it."

"Are there any potions that can help?" Clary asked. "Anything that could boost your strength?"

Magnus shrugged and leaned his head back against the wall. His hair fell into his eyes, shielding the cat like features. "Michael is working on that at the moment. Those kids are gifted when it comes to finding information, so maybe they'll be able to get something useful."

Clary sighed. "Meanwhile, we can't just sit here and wait for Emily and Chase to come out. They could be in there for hours."

"What do you suggest we do?" Isabelle inquired with a little more attitude than Jace liked. They might have been parabatia, and Jace knew that Izzy loved Clary as much as he did, but her attitude towards Clary specifically made his blood boil sometimes. "There's not much that can be done when we don't know where our family is, Lilith and Leviathan are nowhere to be found, and Magnus's tracking skills aren't doing much good."

The doorbell rang again, causing the four of them to jump. Nobody wanted to go see who, or what, it could actually be, but Clary seemed to at least have a mindset. She frowned and grabbed Jace's hand, dragging him down the hall. "Well, food is always important. We might as well keep some out, considering today isn't looking any brighter in the least."

"As long as Isabelle isn't cooking," Jace added and got the glare of the century as he looked back at her. Some things never change.

Hey guys! It's kind of short, I know, but I'm trying my best to get these uploaded and some chapters will just have more information than others. Thank you for all the constant reviews that a few of you keep doing. I really appreciate it and take every word into account.

A lot of questions are being raised about certain characters relations, but naturally, I don't want to give anything away. You all will find out in time, so stick with me! REVIEW! FAVORITE! FOLLOW! TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND THANKS AGAIN!

Once again, all rights go to Cassandra Clare for writing the best book series on the planet!