Okay... chapter 16 is up and I am working on chapter 17. I only just begun, but it shouldn't take me too long. That's only considering I don't get swamped with homework again. School is hell!... but I digress. The point is that I'm still trying very hard. I also plan on starting another fanfic on the Darkest Powers or perhaps a Teen Titan-Young Justice crossover. I'll see... Please enjoy and review!

Slowly, but surely, the pieces are falling together. Clary is beginning to unravel a secret that has been whispered throughout her entire life and behind her back. With the help of Jace and the rest of the gang, will they be able to learn the truth fast enough to save the people who are dearest to them? Who exactly is pulling the strings? And why is it happening now? Read on to find out...

Chapter 16

I wait until the sun goes down before taking off. Everyone else already left to do their own thing. I pull the hood up on my coat and head out of the institute once it's dark enough. I don't want to be caught doing illegal gun trade during the day. It's just not good.

As I walk down the street I keep my eyes open for any sign of demon activity or any threat. I know I have more of a reason to keep my guard up now more than ever.

When I get to the lower part of the city I notice how the danger level gets higher. I make my walk easy and relaxed. I'm known for being in no state of anxiety ever. I can take care of anything that comes my way. That's the attitude that I always have.

Then I get to the an old building that looks like it hasn't been used in ages. I walk through the front door only to be stopped by two, large, burly, men. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

I lift my head enough for them to see my eyes. I don't even have to say anything. They let me past them. I walk down to the basement. I move quickly and quietly. I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to. I already have enough crap to deal with other than being questioned about why I disappeared so suddenly.

At the basement I kick open the door and enter the room full of guns. There are other assorted weapons, but I just need stuff for my gun. I walk over to one of the men working on a rifle. He looks up and stops what he's doing. "Oh. It's you. It's been a while, Shamrock. What can I do for you?"

"Magazines," I pull out my gun and place it on the table.

The man nods and checks my gun. He goes through some of his stuff to grab a few magazines. He hands me a silencer as well. "For an extra hundred I'll throw in the silencer."

"Rip off," I grab the magazines and my gun.

The man grins then takes the silencer away. "I've heard you don't pay using money. You pay with information. You must know a lot of stuff to be able to do that. So, what do you have for me that's worth those bullets."

"Last I heard, someone has been looking to take over your business by sending assassins your way," I grab the magazines and put one in the gun.

The man's eyes widen slightly. "What? I heard rumors, but that was just it. I didn't think they were true. You must be joking, right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking," I sneer.

The man swallows hard. "No. Sorry."

With that I leave the building. Almost immediately I feel that I'm being followed. These people seriously haven't learned their lesson in all the time that I've been known. I stay steady and calm. I don't want to get into a fight right now, but I don't want them following me to the institute.

I enter down a dark alley that empties into another street. This one is a little bit brighter lit than the one before. It's still not enough to stop those people following me from following me. I'll just lose them in the city. That would be the easiest solution.

As I get to a more populated area I feel their urgency. I enter another alley where they surround me. I sigh. It looks like I'm going to have to get into a fight if I'm going to get away from them. This really sucks.

Just as I'm about to get ready for the fight I notice some shadows moving in on us. Crap. Shit. Damn it! This is the worst possible time to be under attack by demons.

I keep my eyes on the humans for now. The demons probably won't attack right now. I fight off the humans and knock them out one by one, but during that time the demons managed to get even closer. I think that was the point of them waiting. They wanted me to get distracted with the human enemy before coming after me.

My attention is on one human when I feel a dark presence hovering over me. I turn just in time to be thrown against the wall of the alley. The wind is knocked out of me. I reach into my boot for my seraph blade.

A demon grabs me and grabs me around my throat with it's tail and throws me against the opposite wall. I taste blood in my mouth. Two demons come up to me and grab both arms to pin my against the wall. One demon moves in front of me with sharp claws ready. I spit blood in its face. What happens next really surprises me.

When my blood touches the demon it burns the demon. The other two demons let go of me and I fall to the ground. I stare in shock as the demon shrieks in pain.

I snap myself out of my trance and grab my seraph blade. I whisper its name. "Raziel."

The seraph blade bursts into life. I rush forward and cut the demon's head off in a single swipe. I turn to the other demons. They move back with uncertainty then rush me. There are way too many for me to handle on my own. I get ready for the impact.

Then a streak of gold drops down in front of me. Before I know it half of the demons are struck down. I wipe my mouth of my blood. I stand and stare as the golden warrior fights off the demons with so much grace and expertise.

When the demons are gone he turns to me with a cocky grin. "It looks like someone needed more help than she expected."

I roll my eyes then winch at the pain in my back. I sit and grab my shoulder. "Damn, that hurts. I didn't expect to be jumped by both human and demons."

Jace walks over while pulling out his stele. He takes my hand and draws a rune. I close my eyes and let it take effect. Jace brushes my cheek. "Are you okay?"

I open my eyes and nod. "Yeah. It's just that one thing bothers me."

"What is it?" Jace crouches in front of me.

I rub my chin. "When I was being pinned by the demons I spit on one of them. It had my blood. When it touched the demon it burned it."

Jace's eyebrows furrow. "That could easily be caused by the angel blood in you, but… that's never happened with me. All shadow hunters have a little bit of angel blood in them. My blood doesn't burn demons when it touches them."

"Maybe it's because I was directly injected by pure angel blood," I mutter.

Jace grabs my arms and pulls me to my feet. "That's possible. This is getting more complicated by the minute."

We clean ourselves up the best we can before walking out of that alley. I still don't understand how my blood could have done that. I know I was injected with angel blood. I'm half angel. That's something I know for sure. I just don't know how my blood could be that strong to effect a demon so much.

When we get back into a busy section of the city I pull down my hood. Jace puts his arm around my waist and pulls me aside to kiss me. Jace pulls back first with a smile. "I found a Greater Demon near central park not too long ago. I followed it to its lair. I could lead you there now if you want."

"Sure," I smile then kiss Jace again.

Jace leads me to the place he followed the Greater Demon too. I look up at the apartment building. It looks normal enough, but the stench of death and danger is everywhere. I cross my arms and frown at the building. I turn to Jace. "So, are we going up there alone?"

"Of course not," Jace jerks his direction that Alec and Magnus are coming from.

I let my arms fall to my side then turn to Jace. "Do you have any spare knives?"

"Why?" Jace asks while reaching for the knife at his waist.

I take the knife and put it next to my own. "It's just a precautionary measure."

As I stick the knife in my belt Alec walks up to us. "Hey, guys."

Magnus stares at his nails while he tries to look like he has no interest in what's going on what-so-ever. "So, are we going to just stand here or are we going to get some information from this Greater Demon."

Jace turns and walks into the building. I follow close behind him. A plan of action is already forming in my mind. I'm guessing that a Greater Demon is extremely powerful and hard to deal with. That's why I need to be careful when getting information from it.

When we move into the higher floors I feel a dark feeling surrounding me. Alec moves up to Jace. "Are you sure we should be doing this? We're putting ourselves into a lot of danger."

"This Greater Demon could have the information we've been looking for," Jace responds.

Magnus reaches up to tap my shoulder. "Sweetie, as much as I enjoy spending time with my Alec, I would rather not get involved in a fight so I'm going to wait outside."

Before any of us can say anything Magnus disappears with a flash of blue sparks. Alec sighs in exasperation. "That's just great."

We keep moving without the sparkly warlock. I feel the dark power. It feels so crushing. I take a deep breath to steady myself. I feel Jace's hand slip into mine in reassurance. I smile and I feel a lot better now. I just have to try not to freak out so much. I can handle this.

Finally, we get to the top level. It's considerably darker here. Not just because the lights are turned down low, but because the power that's being released into the air. I wonder why no one else is being effected as greatly to this as I am.

There's a tingling sensation spreading through my skin that feels like it wants to break free. I feel pressure building up inside my body. So many weird things have been going on with me lately that it's hard to keep track of it. I wonder if I should go ask the spider demon, Arcadia, about it. I don't even know if I can find the corridor I found her in again.

Alec sees me starting to slow down. "Hey, are you alright?"

Jace stops to look back at me. "Clary?"

I place my hand against my forehead. "Yeah. I don't know what's up with me. Let's just get this over with so I can go get some fresh air."

Jace cups my face between his hands. "If you're not up to this Alec and I can go on without you. You could wait outside with Magnus."

I shake my head and pull away from Jace's touch. "No. I'm fine. So we don't take any longer than we have to. I want to get this over with. This Greater Demon might have information we can really use."

Jace nods reluctantly then continues onward. I still feel the pressure building, but I need to ignore it for now to deal with the Great Demon. I don't want to drag anyone down. I need to just suck it up and keep my mind off it for now.

As we turn to one door that is especially bad I feel so light headed that it feels like body is about to explode. I move forward and reached down for the seraph blade in my boot just as Jace and Alec do the same.

I take a deep breath then nod at Jace to open the door. The moment it swings open I'm thrown back against the wall. Actually I stumble back against the wall gasping and grabbing my throat. It feels like someone just stuffed a sock down my throat. I choke trying to regain myself. The pressure on my body is unbearable at this point.

Jace drops down next to me as I try to breathe. Alec turns to look in the room then quickly shuts the door. I'm able to breath easier now. I gasp, trying to get oxygen into my lungs, but somehow that doesn't feel right.

"Clary…" Jace's voice sounds so worried and… scared?

I look up into Jace's eyes and reach up to touch his cheek. Jace closes his eyes at my touch. I smile at how sweet Jace can be. I close my eyes and try to take another deep breath. I'm getting the hang of breathing again when a loud crashing sound echoes through the quiet building.

Jace wraps his arms protectively around me while Alec gets into a defensive position. I get that choking feeling again. Jace gets a look on his face that tells me he's very uncomfortable. Not just the kind of discomfort that comes from facing demons, but something else. Alec doesn't seem to be as affected as we are.

All of a sudden a dark shadow passes over us. I look up and my eyes widen in shock. The darkness I see is like nothing I've ever experienced before. What gets me the most are those eyes. They're demonic yet so human looking. The pain and sadness are so overwhelming I feel it myself. Then I see the anger and malice. The feeling of pity turn to pure terror. A shudder goes through my body.

It's gone before anyone else sees it. Jace sees the look of total shock on my face. I'm still staring at the space where that dark figure was at. There is no way something so, so… evil could exist in the world. I start to shake as another shadow appears from nowhere.

Jace grabs my shoulders and makes me look at him. "Clary? Clary!"

I slowly turn to look into Jace's eyes. "I-it w-was-"

Jace holds me close and look up to see the shadow. His eyes widen. "Shit!"

Alec and Jace both jump into action. I sit there against the wall still completely stricken by what I saw. Those dark, human, demonic eyes… it's not possible. Something like that can't exist. I haven't been this freaked out since my mom died. Only, somehow, this is still worse.

Then I notice Alec being thrown onto the floor. Suddenly, I remember what we came here to do. I look up just in time to see Jace being thrown against the wall. My eyes widen. I stand and look at the Greater Demon. It has the body of a serpent, but the head of some other reptile I can't describe. It looks at me with dead, black eyes.

As it moves closer to me I can't help, but feel disdain toward the thing that hurt my Jace. I manage to push myself up using the wall and stand there glaring at the Greater Demon.

Considering how it's, let's call it aura, is effecting me I'm sure this thing is really strong. It has to be really strong to throw around a couple of shadow hunters as experienced as Alec and Jace. Especially Jace since I think he was injected with extra angel blood as well.

I start to move. I reach down for the seraph blade in my boot. I whisper its name. "Raziel."

The light that explodes from the seraph blade is blinding in the dark hallway. I struggle to take a breath. The heavy feeling is slowly starting to disappear, but it's still hard. I don't know why it feels like this. I wipe the sweat from my forehead then speed forward.

For a second everything blurs. I feel the world rushing by. The next thing I know the Greater Demon is impaled against the wall bleeding dark goo onto the floor. My eyes widen in shock at what I see. I back away until my back hits the wall opposite of the Greater Demon.

Now I'm really starting to shake. I see something move to my right. I lift my seraph blade in defense. I quickly stop moving when I see the golden hair and golden eyes flashing. I lower my arm and open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.

Jace moves forward slowly at first. Then he sees the desperation in my eyes and he throws his arms around me. "It's okay, baby. I'm here."

I hold on tightly to Derek as I stare at the Greater Demon. "I don't know what happened. I couldn't breathe then I saw it throwing you against the wall and I just… lost it?"

Jace pulls away enough to look into my eyes. "Clary, you're still trying to figure yourself out. It's okay. I don't blame you. You should have seen yourself though. It was the most amazing thing I even saw. I've never met someone who was able to take down a Greater Demon that quickly and efficiently. It's such a turn on."

My face heats up and I give Jace a look. "What the hell is the matter with you? Do you not see how serious this situation is?"

Jace smirks and pulls me in for a sensuous kiss. He pulls back, but only slightly. "Of course I do, but I wanted to see you blush."

I lean into Jace and lay my head on Jace's shoulder for comfort while also trying to hide my intensifying blush. I sigh then pull away completely. "Jace, take Alec and go outside. I'm going to do things right now that I really don't want you to see."

"Clary-"

"Please Jace," I beg.

Jace moves forward to kiss my cheek lightly. "I won't go down all the way. If you need me just call out for me."

I nod and turn toward the Greater Demon. I wait until Jace carries Alec down to the next floor down before I study the Greater Demon. I still don't know how I managed to get it impaled onto the wall. I seemed to have used the pipes that were already in the walls. The Greater Demon opens its eyes suddenly.

The sudden action should have made me jump if I were a normal person. I'm not a normal person though. I stare at it without blinking. "Do you know who I am?"

"Do I look like I would care if I did?" the Greater Demon spits.

My eyes close slightly, giving me a slightly hooded expression. "I will be your worst nightmare of you don't tell me what I want to know. I will ask you some questions. When I ask you will answer truthfully and completely. If I think you're holding out on me I will be forced to use my, let's just say special skills, on you. Is that understood?"

The Greater Demon hisses at me. "A mere human does not scare me. Run back to your mother, little girl. Before I kill her, that is."

I reach back into my belt for the knife. "Maybe I would if she wasn't already dead."

"There is no way you could possible get me to answer any of your questions," the Greater Demon growls.

My mood darkens. To be able to do what I'm about to do I need to make sure I don't have any hesitations. I hold up my knife and stick the seraph blade back in my boot. "I'm going to make this slow and painful."

"Without your angel blade it will be of little use," the Greater Demon sneers.

I hold up the blade and press it to my hand. "You see, over the last few days I've been learning many things about myself. One thing I recently learned is that I'm not your typical shadow hunter. I'm a little bit more… maybe a little bit more than that. My point is that you are in for a whole world of pain."

For a second there I could actually see fear in this demon's face. I tend to do that to others. Whether they be human or not. Maybe it's the look in my eyes. Or maybe it's the way I say it. Somehow I managed to make this powerful Greater Demon fear me. Good. It's already working.

As the Greater Demon watches I quickly cut my hand. I let the blood ooze out before letting it drip onto the blade. I hold it up and move toward the Greater Demon. It watches me carefully. I hold the bloody tip to its face. "I'm going to enjoy this."

The Greater Demon scowls. "You won't do anything. No human is so cruel as to be able to torture a demon properly."

"Wanna bet?" I sneer.

Slowly I press the tip of my blade to the demon's arm. I look into its eyes then press it in slowly. The Greater Demon's eyes pop open and it roars in pain. "WHAT IS THIS?"

I stop moving the blade, but keep it in. "Tell me what you know about the recent disappearances of shadow hunters and Downworlders?"

The Greater Demon manages to glare at me through its pain. "As if I would tell you anything!"

I twist the blade in its arm causing it to hiss in pain again. "What has happened to all those who have been disappearing?"

The Greater Demon looks into my eyes then a mischievous look passes over its face. "I never thought I would meet a human who was as dark and deranged as a demon. You told that little boyfriend of yours to leave because you didn't want him to see what you were really like. This is your true self. I can see it."

It's trying to get into my head. I've had too much happen to me to let it. "Perhaps your right. It just means that I could care less about how much of a monster I'm being."

At that I twist the knife again then pull it out slowly. The Greater Demon roars again in pain. I lift my still bleeding hand over the blade to add fresh blood. I then hold the point to the demon's throat. "Let me ask you again. Why are there so many disappearances?"

The Greater Demon stares at the blade then back at me. Finally, it nods slowly. "Have you ever heard of the name Valentine?"

I look into the demon's eyes. "Yes. What about him?"

The Greater Demon's eyes shift around nervously as if he didn't want to be caught revealing some big secret. "Almost twenty years ago he started a group known as a Circle. Valentine was their leader. They were bent on making a better, stronger, breed of shadow hunters. They were caught and they were banished from Alicante. Valentine lead a revolt, but ended up getting injured severely and losing his memory."

I frown slightly. "What about someone named Sebastian?"

"That boy was more demon than myself," the Greater Demon snorts.

I lick my lips as another name pops into my mind. "What about the name Jonathan?"

For a second a look of shock and terror crossed over the Greater Demon's face. It's gone so quickly I don't know if it was really there. "How do you know that name?"

"Something I picked up during my search," is all I say.

The Greater Demon watches me carefully. "That is a very dangerous name. Something you shouldn't be throwing around so carelessly."

I press the blade lightly against the base of its throat. "Thanks for the warning, but I don't care. Now tell me what you know about him."

The Greater Demon shakes its head. "No one knows anything about him other than the fact that he's a human-demon hybrid. A powerful one at that. Someone like him shouldn't be dealt with by someone like you. There's too much going on that you don't know."

I frown slightly that he thinks I'm just a stupid child. "Believe it or not I know a lot more than you think. But if that's all you know about Jonathan then I guess I'll let it go. Now, tell me why there has been so little demonic activity lately."

When the Greater Demon doesn't speak I quickly flick some of my blood onto its chest. It screams in main. I press a bloody finger against its chest to make the pain constant and intense. The Greater Demon breathes deeply, trying to regain its sense. "The smart ones cleared out before they could get caught up in the chaos."

"Of the war?" my eyebrows furrow.

"I guess you do know more than I suspected," the Greater Demon sneers at me.

My finger presses harder against its chest. "Who started this war and why?"

This time, when the Greater Demon doesn't talk, it isn't out of defiance. It's out of terror. True and absolute terror. My mind flashes back to that dark figure that I saw before. With those haunting eyes seared into my brain. It's that thing I saw. That's the thing that started all this.

I take another deep breath. "Do you know the names Luke Grayson or Jocelyn Fairchild?"

The Greater Demon snarls. "Those two were traitors. They betrayed the Circle. They were spies for the Clave. If it were not for them abandoning the Circle we would have succeeded in taking over Alicante, and in turn, the rest of the world. We would not have lost out leader or our pride."

I narrow my eyes. "They were key to the victory?"

The Greater Demon's eyes narrow as well. "In a way. The woman was with child when they escaped. I never met the two, but she and that werewolf were deeply in love. Having a half shadow hunter and a half Downworlder for a child would have proved to be of great use. Still, Valentine wanted something more. He injected the child with angel blood and blood from the most powerful Greater Demon in the world."

Okay. I think I'm starting to see the bigger picture here. My parents were having a half-breed child, me, who was injected with some powerful blood. It that child, me again, had been kept with the Circle things would have turned out differently for me. There's still something else I don't understand. "There was another woman who was injected. Who is she?"

"Only one other woman was injected with the two bloods, but she died while giving birth to a son," the Greater Demon grumbles.

I make another face then cover the blade with my blood. The Greater Demon watches me carefully because it's eyes widen when I move toward it with the deadly weapon. I take a deep breath and quickly slice off the limb. The Greater Demon cries out in pain and shock. I move to the other arm and do the same.

The demon's tail comes around to whip me, but I duck down and swing quickly and watch as the tail falls to the floor with a thud. I rub the sweat off my forehead. Then I cut off it's legs. I'm starting to feel woozy from the blood loss. I need to keep going though.

When I take a step back I look at the demon. It looks totally out of it. An image flashes in my mind of a black design. I reach for my stele. I press the tip of it against the wall. Then I move my hand to copy the design in my mind. When I finish I just stare at it.

A moment later the wall begins to move and contort. I pull back quickly as the wall covers the body of the Greater Demon and swallows it whole. I blink a couple of times when turn to walk downstairs.