Death is a part of life. It happens everywhere, all the time, and there isn't a think people can do about it. According to history books and things that her father forced her to read, it's the natural order of things. She hated that order of things. Life and death is what keeps the world going. Humans die. Then others are born. Animal die. Plants die. And Shadowhunters die, more than anyone actually. But someone always replaces them overtime.
Was it really that easy? When someone so strong, so powerful, so influential passes, was it really that easy to replace them? She always wondered how the world got on without Achilles, or how it would've changed if Raziel had been killed at some point. Would another angel just take his place, become what he was in the blink of an eye? It couldn't be that easy, but everyone else makes it out to be like that. If you're not there, apparently people forget, others step up in your place, and the world moves on. Like her dad always said: Out of sight, out of mind.
But was that true in all cases? She never thought that anyone could replace her father, herself included. No one could've done what he did. He was braver than anyone else on the planet. He loved harder, fought smarter, and moved faster than any Shadowhunter. To Emily, she even thought he was better than Jonathan, but looking up into those black eyes that hovered over her caused more fear in her than any creature ever had. They held power, strength, and the right abilities to rip her apart if he chose to.
And that was truly terrifying.
"You're just like your father," he growled. Emily closed her eyes, leaning her head back and waited. There wasn't a thing she could do. If Jonathan wanted her dead, she'd die. Her arms and torso were pinned under his weight, and no matter how flexible she was, her legs just didn't bend that way. Jonathan moved the dulled seraph blade, the pointed sliding down her cheek, down her jaw, and rested in between her collar bones painfully. "He always thought he had to be the hero."
"My dad is a hero," Emily said, opening her eyes to glare. "He killed you, and he'll do again."
"He'll never get the chance. Your father will be helpless, just like Clarissa, Isabelle, and the precious Daylighter my sister was so determined to protect. They'll all die. They'll all suffer. Just like you."
Emily felt the overwhelming need to punch his face in, but she couldn't. "You touch my family, and I promise you that I will destroy you."
He laughed, shaking his head. "Dearest, you're in no position to make threats. All I have to do is apply enough pressure, and…"
As if to make his point, the pressure of the blade tip started to dig into her chest, and Emily's breath caught at the pain. It broke the skin, and she felt a pool of blood starting to form.
"I could just force the mark on you," he inquired. "I could easily place it, make you submit whether you wanted to or not, but you'd fight the whole time."
"I'd rather die."
He smiled, like he knew that was how she would react. "That's what I figured you'd say."
That's when it started to get excruciating. Emily felt the blade puncture her skin completely, and she bit her lip to keep from screaming out. No way would she let Jonathan have that satisfaction. So she took it, just like Jace would have. Well, actually, Jace would've fought back. He would've done something, anything to live, but Emily never got the chance.
"Jonathan, Lilith wishes to see you in the dungeon, immediately and wants me to deal with the girl. The others are waking up, and unless you want Leviathan to have all the fun whenever he gets back, I'd go."
That voice. It cut through her worse than the blade did, and it went straight to her heart. Her eyes, although she tried everything to stop them, moved towards the doorway, which was no open. Chase stood there, weapons strapped to his back, and looking rather bored. He didn't even look at Emily. She felt her heart sank, remembering what Jonathan had said. Chase took Lilith's mark. He was gone. Chase Lewis was gone and replaced by this… robotic creature that she wasn't prepared to face.
"I'll handle her," Chase elaborated. "Lilith wants her alive now, even without the mark. She's changing her plans, so I'd just do what she says and meet her in the dungeon. An angry Lilith is something that none of us want to deal with."
Jonathan was obviously annoyed, but Chase had a point. Emily was finally able to breathe when the weight off her torso was lifted and the knife pulled out of her body. Her hand went right to her chest, feeling where the blood was coming through, pouring out onto her gear. The pain was still there, but it was lessening by the second. With her eyes closed, Emily reached behind her, grabbing the stele that Jonathan had dropped and carelessly left before heading out the door, slamming it behind him, and she started the iratze on her neck.
But Chase's hand covered her own, stopping her. She opened her eyes, not sure what to expect. Her mother had described it as looking at someone who was in front of you, but not really there. When her father was possessed, it had been like he was fighting himself, trying to do what he knew he wanted while fighting with what Lilith wanted of him. Clary had described it as watching someone having an out of body experience.
That's not what Emily saw before her. Chase was just that. He was Chase. His hand that covered Emily's slightly burned into her skin, but it wasn't painful. She liked it. His green eyes were brighter than before, shining as he looked into hers, and when he smiled, she broke. His dimples showed, his smile reaching his eyes and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into her.
He collapsed, falling on top of her but she didn't mind. Hell, she didn't even register the pain as she squeezed him like a lifesaver in the ocean of confusion she was drowning in. He chuckled, making his body shake against hers and pulled the stele away, leaning back enough to look down at her.
"How?" she asked. It was barely audible, even to her. Somehow, she couldn't even find her voice, but she was able to keep talking at the same time. "Jonathan… He said that you – you accepted her mark. And the door was locked, so I don't–"
He nodded. "I did, but I found a way around it, around everything." He started tracing the tip of the stele to her neck where she had started the iratze. It burned, but Emily barely registered it. "Magnus is more powerful and even more clever than I ever gave him credit for."
"Magnus helped-" she winced slightly as Chase traced the stele of a sensitive part of her skin, before he finally pulled away and the family feeling of skin fixing itself took over her chest. She swallowed, trying to calm herself. "Magnus helped you?"
Chase got off of her completely, much to her disappointment. His hands grabbed hers, pulling her up and placed her on the bed. She let him do whatever, considering she was still trying to get her mind over the fact that he was Chase and was still slightly in pain.
He looked conflicted. The way he was standing – one hand in his hair, the other by his side, squatting in front of her with his hair looking like a mess of brown curls – made Emily wonder what was actually going on in his head. She wanted to grab him, to pull him into her and never let go ever again, but she didn't. One: he was too far away. And two: he looked like he seriously had something to say.
"Magnus did help me. He's helped me since the day I got here four years ago. A few days ago, just after my mother was killed, I went to Magnus that night while you were talking to Conan on the phone. I told him I've had dreams, dreams I never told you about and regretted. Images had showed up every night for the past couple of weeks. Some had you in them, chained to a wall or lying on the floor, trapped under someone's boot and suffocating. Or Jace would be there, and one time he was already dead by the time I walked through the door. Clary might be there, along with Isabelle and Simon, and even Conan, and after a while I couldn't handle it. I never really told anyone, or even acted like they affected me because I didn't want to be considered weak, especially in your household, so I went to Magnus. He could read me like a book. He always has. I figured he was the only one who could help anyway."
Although it hurt that Chase had hid something from her, Emily stayed quiet, letting him speak.
"And so he figured something out using the Book of the White. He started poking through my mind, doing his warlock thing, when he found it. Jace was given Lilith's mark in a dream and she was able to activate it at the same time, but she couldn't this time. She was weaker, and Magnus found out that she had given me the mark, but it was too weak to be activated. Gemma was the one in the dream, and if she touched me in reality, it'd be set off to the point I'd be Lilith's to control."
"So you didn't? Gemma didn't touch you or anything?"
His eyes saddened, and he shook his head. "She did, actually. But Magnus did something to protect me. It was a spell he placed on my mind, and it kept everyone out that I didn't willingly let in. Not only did it protect me, but it made me forget. I forgot everything, which was why I was so genuinely confused when I first saw Gemma. I didn't really get it until I woke up in the cafeteria of this damned hospital that it worked. Magnus had to wipe my memory of all that contained the mark in order for me to sell it. To make Lilith believe that she had me. But when I woke up, I was myself again, and I remembered it all. Everything."
This was messed up shit. That's all Emily could think of. She leaned back on her hands, looking past Chase to the blank wall. He was here, with her, like he should be but he shouldn't be at the same time. This was because of Magnus. Magnus helped him, knew what was going on, knew about the mark and probably more of Lilith's plans.
She made a mental note to hug him and beat the crap out of him after this was over.
Chase's green eyes suddenly were in front of her, swallowing her whole as he hovered above her. Her cheeks flushed when his hands cupped them, smiling down at her. "Emily, I missed you so much," he whispered and then he finally kissed her.
He tasted the same, a taste that was unique to him and that Emily couldn't seem to get enough of. Her eyes closed involuntarily, and she momentarily forgot about everything around her. Chase somehow had the ability to take up her entire mind, making her brain turn to mush when he moved his lips against hers in a slow, yet loving way. There was nothing rushed about it, nothing eager. She sat there, kissing him back slowly but couldn't find it in her to move her hands. They dug into the sheets, trying to keep her from throwing him on the bed and taking him like she's wanted to for the past few days.
Her need for him was getting to be a bit ridiculous.
"Chase," she whispered against her lips. That's all she had to say. Just his name, and his reaction was just what she was looking for.
He pulled her up, making her stand without ever breaking their lips apart. Her hands, now free from sheets went straight to his hair, playing with the curls at the nape of his neck and pulling him closer if it was physically possible. They hadn't had time in the past few days for anything with just the two of them unless they were sleeping, and although now definitely wasn't the time to do it, Emily was taking it. This moment wasn't passing by.
Chase seemed just as eager. His right arm wrapped around her, his hand spreading out across her lower back and pulled her in. His other hand cupped the back of her neck, pretty much giving him full control over her. And she liked it. She liked the fact that he could be a guy, take control, handle it how he wanted to.
"Emily, we have to stop," he groaned against her lips, and much to her dissatisfaction, he pulled away. His hands stayed on her hips, keeping her distance when she tried to step closer. "You're parents are still at risk. We have to get them out of here."
She sighed, and leaned her head against his covered chest and took a deep whiff of his scent. Something she wanted to hold onto that was just him. "Rain check."
"Got it, and here." He pulled back, reaching behind him and pulled out a blade. His sword was strapped to his back, his bow and arrow on top of it, so he gently placed the seraph blade in her hands, closing her fingers around the hilt. "You'll need it for Leviathan."
"How is this supposed to work, exactly?" She asked. "Do we just run in there, flinging our weapons to kill people? Honestly, I don't get it."
Chase sighed, pulling at his hair. "Well, it's not exactly that simple. Your parents, Isabelle, and Jocelyn are locked in the dungeon. According to Gemma, Magnus was supposed to be with them but he wasn't. I don't know where he could be, and Agramon has yet to show back up. But Lilith is already there, Leviathan and now Jonathan on their way the dungeon after doing whatever. The best plan I have: kill them all."
Emily flipped the blade in her hands, trying to figure out the weight of the unfamiliar object. "Okay, that doesn't exactly sound like an air-tight plan. And what about the others? Like Simon, Luke? Where are they?"
"Gemma didn't tell me. And I wasn't supposed to be in the right mind to ask questions, so I kept my mouth shut."
"Okay, but what about her? Chase, unlike you, she's actually under Lilith's influence." Emily stepped forward, pulling Chase's arm to get his attention. "Are you going to be able to… hurt her if it comes to that? If Lilith tells her to kill you, are you going to be able to fight her off?"
Emily knew the answer. No. It was as simple as that. Chase might have tried to be a hard ass all these years, but she saw the look in his eyes when they landed on Gemma. He wouldn't be able to hurt her, even if it wasn't Gemma he was really referring to.
And she couldn't blame him. If it was reversed where Michael was in Gemma's place, Emily would be an emotional wreck. No way in hell would she be able to hurt her brother.
"I'll deal with her," Emily said. Chase shook his head, but she stopped him by catching his cheeks, forcing him to look at her. "Leviathan and Gemma are mine. You deal with Jonathan, focus on not getting yourself killed and getting my dad out of whatever confinement they've got him under. We need him to be able to fight if we're going to make it through this."
"Need some help with that?"
Emily shook her head at Chase, who walked beside her in the hallways of the broken, beaten up hospital. She was focusing on drawing the runes back on her: strength, sight, speed, and others. It was easy enough, and the only other person she let draw the runes on her was her mother.
She dropped her stele when she finally finished, following Chase through a set of double doors that led to another hallway. "Chase, do you know where you're going?"
"Nope."
Well, at least he was honest.
She rolled her eyes, pulling her blade out at the ready.
He had his bow out, arrow placed at the ready and walked swiftly through the hallways. "I mean, if they're in what Gemma called a dungeon, it would probably be on the bottom floor. I'm just looking for stairs at this point in my life."
They walked for about five minutes, taking turns and different hallways but not getting anywhere with it. Emily was getting annoyed. Not with Chase, but with the situation. She had to find her parents. Angel knows what was happening to them while they were just walking about, confused and looking like children lost in Wal-Mart.
Chase kicked open another set of double doors, and it only led to another hallway. He cursed, dropping his head back and taking a deep breath. "Any ideas? This obviously isn't working."
Emily looked out a doorway to her left, seeing that it was probably a three story drop to the ground level. "I mean, we could jump but you might hurt yourself in the process."
"You're not helping."
"Neither are your navigational skills."
The bickering wasn't exactly helping either, but Emily couldn't help it. Both of them argued in times of frustration, which is something that's happened since they met. Some things never change.
He did a three-sixty turn. "This is like a maze. And it doesn't help this place gives me the creeps," he mumbled when his eyes landed on a set of bloody handprints on the wall. "Seriously? Who did they keep here? Rabid wolverines and the Hulk?"
"It would explain why the place went out of business," she answered.
"I wouldn't exactly call this a business. This is more of a torture chamber."
The noise a door being busted down caught the pair's attention. Emily didn't even think or hesitate before sprinting down the hall towards the sound that erupted. Chase was right on her heels, and slammed into her when she suddenly stopped at the scene in front of her.
Magnus. It was Magnus, and Leviathan. She should've helped. She should've done her Shadowhunter duty and ran into the fight of limbs and blue magic, but she couldn't. The shock of seeing Magnus like this had her frozen.
He was angry. Whatever happened had the warlock so pissed off that he looked like a dark angel. His hair was messy, sticking to his forehead as sweat dripped down. His hands were glowing and sparks flew out, slamming into Leviathan and holding him against the wall. The demon struggled, his hands dripping at nothing as he hovered above the ground, completely helpless.
"Michael!" Magnus yelled. "Now!"
Emily watched in horror as her brother burst through a doorway behind Magnus. She hadn't even realized that the loud noise from before was the sound of a busted door that had landed ten yards down the hall. Her voice left her as she watched her little brother, in all his goldenness and obvious fear, jump forwards with a bloody sword in his hands.
Michael actually looked like a trained Shadowhunter when he moved. It was probably more genetics than anything, but he was graceful as he ducked from Leviathan's grasp and shoved the sword into the demon's chest.
A scream that tore through Emily erupted from Leviathan's throat, and Emily covered her ears from the noise. It was awful, worse than a squeal from a spoiled baby girl. But just as quickly as it erupted, it died off until Leviathan disappeared, slowly back to his own dimension.
And then Magnus collapsed. The lights in his hands died out, and the warlock fell to the floor, back first, landing hard and completely unconscious. She only imagined the work that it would've been for him to hold Leviathan like that, to keep him completely immobile. But Magnus was a marvelous creature, a hero now, along with Michael.
"Magnus!" Michael screamed, running towards the warlock's side. That was when something broke in Emily. Why was Michael even here? Who else was here that she didn't know about? There was no time for asking questions, and she sprinted forward, once again followed by Chase, and slid to a stop next to Michael. His eyes widened up at her from his position over Magnus. "Emily, what–"
"Don't ask," she answered. "Michael, what's going on? How did Leviathan… what is happening?"
Michael didn't answer, and she witnessed a tear roll down his cheek. He looked away, his hands tightening in Magnus's clothes.
But Chase spoke instead. "The others." Emily looked behind her. He was looking into the room that no longer held a door, and looked like his heart broke. "That's where Leviathan was sent. Lilith sent him to deal with the others."
Looking in that room was the last thing she wanted. Chase's face said it all, along with Magnus's anger to whatever happened and Michael's tears. But she had to look, if not for her, for everyone else's sake.
So she stepped inside, and her heart shattered to a thousand pieces. Everyone was here. Everyone! Simon was on the floor by the wall, looking sickly ill for a vampire. Blood covered his chest as he lie on his back, but his eyes were closed like he was sleeping. To her right was a set of beds. And everyone was there. Luke, Jordan, Maia, and Alec looked almost peaceful in their sleep. Emily's attention barely stayed on that though.
It wasn't Bat's still form on the floor that held her attention. It wasn't Karrie's unconscious form, and it wasn't body next to her. Although it was Kadan. He was there, blood pooling from his chest at an alarming rate between Alec and Jordan's beds. While Karrie looked like she was just injured, her arm bent at a bad angle and her skin a bit pale, Kadan looked just dead. Dead as a doorknob.
But Emily wanted to sink to the floor and die when she looked at Conan. He was face up on the floor, between Simon and the beds on the other side, looking as gone from the world as Kadan or Simon. If she would've just glanced at him, she would've thought he was just sleeping. But the cut at his throat, the blood seeping out of his side, and a cut on his forehead that soaked into his hair made the blood in Emily's body boil to the point of eruption.
She felt fingers squeeze between hers, and she tightened her grip on Chase's hand for support. This changed everything.
Lilith just took this way to damn far. No one could replace the people in that room. Lilith was making a huge mistake that Emily was going to make her pay for.
"Emily, we have to go," Chase encouraged, pulling her out the door. "We have to find your parents, NOW."
"I'm going to kill her," she growled. She turned, facing away from the room and towards her brother in the hallway. "Michael, get Magnus inside there and keep him safe. We'll be back for you later."
He didn't have time to answer as Emily sprinted down the hallway. "Michael!" she yelled and the seraph blade in her hand came to life, glowing like she's never seen it glow before. Maybe it was the anger. Maybe it was the feeling of the loss she just witnessed. Maybe it was the pain. Either way, the blade looked more deadly than it ever had before.
"Emily! Slow down!" Chase called but she didn't.
Her body moved on its own accord. Her heart ached. Her head was spinning. Her hands wanted nothing more than to send the blade in them through Lilith's heart. Her feet wanted to get it over with, moving faster than ever before. She didn't know where she was going, but she was going there fast regardless.
"Stop it!" Chase yelled as he finally caught up to her, yanking her arm back. Emily tried to jerk herself out of his grip, mainly because she felt like she was going to kill anything that came close to her, but he wasn't having it. His grip was hard and tight on her wrist, holding her still. "Emily, you can't run in there like a vengeful moron. Jonathan would kill you in a heartbeat." Emily stopped fighting knowing Chase was right. She wanted nothing more than to do just that. To run in there and kill them all. "Look, we know that Simon will be fine. The second Mark of Cain Clary put on him a few years ago will keep him safe from death, although the self-harm is something I can't explain. But you have to forget about the others. You have to focus. You have to put your priorities in order if you're going to do this and not get yourself killed, got it?"
"You don't get it, do you?" she screamed at him. "Did you not see that?"
"Of course I did! I saw everything you did, but you need to calm down before you get yourself killed. You promised me that you wouldn't die. And dammit, you're going to keep that promise even if everyone else has to die in the process. Understand?"
She couldn't fight him. He was right, like always, and Emily knew that. The tension faded as Chase loosened his grip on her wrist and moved it to her hand, squeezing.
"We have to find them," she whispered, the pain of the unknown getting worse and worse by the second. She looked over her shoulder in the direction she was running before. "And we have to hurry."
Chase nodded, and the two of them started jogging down the hallway. They eventually found the stairs, kicked open the doors, and descended down to the place that the others were. This was it.
Emily was going to kill Lilith if it was the last thing she'd ever do.
Sorry for the typos by the way. And for those of you that forgot, like I did, Simon got the Mark of Cain removed by Raziel in the City of Lost Souls, and I only realized it recently. So I made up the fact that Clary would've given Simon a second mark, for reasons I can't really come up with yet and might not ever come up with, but I just wanted to make that point clear.
Anyway! REVIEW! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING! Stay tuned :)