"Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are." – Niccolò Machiavelli
Chapter 15
Clary did not know how long she had been asleep for when she felt a hand shaking her shoulder.
"Clary," Aline hissed quietly.
Clary became alert quickly, and realised that the hard surface her head was resting on was Jace's muscled chest. Clary's eyes quickly drifted to his face and saw that he was still asleep, and was surprised by how young and peaceful he looked.
Clary turned to Aline and whispered, "What is it?"
"Your mom said she was coming upstairs to wake you, and I thought I'd better warn you, just in case," Aline said quickly.
"Thank you," Clary said fervently. "That was really nice of you. Keep her busy for a minute? Or maybe just tell her you just saw me and I'll be down in a minute."
Aline nodded and slipped quickly from the room.
"Jace," Clary said quickly, removing herself from his arms and shaking him a little. "Wake up."
Jace's eyes sprang open, bright an alert. "What's going on? I was just dreaming Aline was here, or was she actually in here?"
"She was here, my mom was about to come and wake me, so Aline came instead, which was really nice of her," Clary said softly. "So, basically, we should get downstairs before we have to explain to my mom where we both slept and why."
They both moved lightly off the bed, each finding their shoes and weapons belts, and put them on.
Clary was about to open the door and leave when Jace caught her by the arm and pulled her close, giving her a quick kiss.
"I probably won't get to do that for a few hours," he said with a grin.
Clary smiled back at him and said, "Follow me down, say in two minutes, okay?"
"Okay," Jace agreed. "I should probably find Alec before I come down anyway."
Jace watched Clary walk down the stairs and then opened the door of the room he had found Alec, Jonathan, Sebastian and Simon in early that morning.
In there he found Alec, Jonathan and Isabelle.
"Where's the mundane, and that idiot Sebastian?" Jace asked as the three of them looked at him.
"Downstairs with your girlfriend's mother, I expect," Isabelle said airily.
"Just stop Isabelle, you're not going to get a reaction out of me," Jonathan said tiredly.
"I don't think she was trying to annoy you this time, Jon," Alec said dryly. "Right Izzy?"
"Right," Isabelle said with a grin. "You can't expect me to watch Jace actually fall for a girl and not give her a hard time."
"That would just be an assumption on your part at the moment, dear Isabelle," Jace told her with a bored look. "Now, does anyone have anything useful to say to me, that is not mere speculation, or should I find Jocelyn?"
"No real news," Alec said quickly. "We're all due over at the Accords Hall in twenty minutes, which is why I expect you were woken. It's early afternoon, so you've been asleep for a while."
"Where is Max?" Jace asked. "I'm surprised he's not up here with you two."
"He thinks Val is better than all his current books and toys, so he's been playing with her, under Mom's watchful eyes," Jonathan answered.
There was a silence, and Jonathan, Alec and Isabelle looked at Jace, all looking as if they were bursting to ask him several personal questions and barely containing themselves.
"So, who wants to lecture me first?" Jace asked eventually. "I'm guessing Alec, followed closely by Jon, with Isabelle admirably bringing up the rear."
"Jace, how could you go off like that, without at least telling me? What's the point of us being parabatai if you can't trust me," Alec said seriously.
"It wasn't about you, it was about making sure Clary didn't do anything stupid," Jace said impatiently.
"But she did do something stupid, and you went along with it," Jonathan interjected. "What the two of you did was unbelievably reckless!"
"Yeah, I've heard all this before, and quite frankly I don't want to hear it again," Jace said in irritation. "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings Alec, and Jonathan, I'm sorry that I did what you should have done by doing my best to look out for your sister, but I'm not sorry for doing what I thought I needed to do. I think you're both just annoyed that you weren't with us."
Alec glowered at Jace, annoyed by his penetratively accurate words, while Jonathan bore the sulky expression of the justly scolded.
"Jace, do you really have extra angel blood?" Isabelle asked softly, surprising Jace. He had thought she'd definitely want to lecture him, regardless of what he'd said to Jon and Alec.
"I don't know Isabelle, it would seem that way," Jace answered. "I like to think that my skill is all me, but I guess it would explain why I've always been a mile ahead of everyone else."
Isabelle just nodded, her dark eyes filled with an unreadable expression.
"Will there be anything else, or may I go in peace, knowing that I won't receive any more lectures, today at least?" Jace asked curtly. "Yes? Good."
With that Jace let himself out of the room, closing the door behind him and walking downstairs.
"How is it that he was the one being reckless and breaking the rules, but we're the ones who are sitting here, feeling small after he's scolded us?" Jonathan asked ruefully.
"Because he's Jace," Isabelle said with a sigh. "Even though he ran off, straight into danger with Clary, including using the Portal in the Gard without permission, he's going to get off scott free because he took a risk that paid off."
"When I take risks they barely ever pay off," Alec added glumly.
"Jace takes enough risks for the both of you," Isabelle said firmly. "Now, I suggest we get downstairs, or those two will ride off in a cloud of glory and we'll be left behind again. And I have no intention of being left out of this anymore."
The three of them quickly moved downstairs to where the rest of the occupants were found in the large living room.
Clary was sitting on a couch with Simon, playing with Valentina, Max sitting closely by, listening to whatever they were saying.
Upon catching sight of Jace, Max had sprung up and raced across to see him.
"Jace, you're back! They wouldn't let me see you when I woke up because you were sleeping," Max said with a pout. "Why did you run away yesterday? Everyone was so mad with you!"
Jace grinned at Max and said, "Were they? Why don't you tell me what happened?"
"Well, I don't know how long it was, but they were all sitting around talking importantly, and not letting me join in," Max shared importantly. "And then Izzy suddenly realised that Clary had been upstairs putting Val to bed for a while, and Alec quickly realised you were gone too. Sebastian said you were probably making out somewhere, but nobody else thought so, including me."
"Well, you were right," Jace told Max, ruffling his hair. "How long did they spend trying to decide where we'd gone?"
"Izzy figured it out pretty quickly, and Alec and Jonathan knew she was right," Max said with a grin. "They all ran out of here all of a sudden, without saying anything, to find Mum and Dad. It was pretty funny, or it would have been, if everyone hadn't been so mad and freaked out."
"Ah, my unflappable siblings," Jace said sarcastically to Isabelle and Alec who had been standing by listening, since they had followed Jace downstairs. "I bet you would have known what to do if they'd let you, Max."
Max opened his mouth to answer when Jocelyn said, "Alright, everyone who is required at the Accords Hall should leave now, or you will be late. Simon, a word before I leave."
"Why does she want to speak to the mundane?" Jace asked.
"Simon," Isabelle and Max corrected together.
"He can't come, and Jocelyn needs to go, so he's going to stay here with Max and little Val," Isabelle answered. "All able bodied Shadowhunters in Alicante, even underage ones, are required in the Accords Hall to hear what Dad and the Consul have decided to do."
As they left the house in a rather large group, Jace left his siblings to join Clary, who was with Jonathan and Jocelyn.
"What are you going to do if you have to prove your rune making ability in front of everyone now?" Jace asked Clary quietly.
Clary looked at him in surprise, not realising he had come to walk next to her.
"Don't worry, I won't use you as the guinea pig next time," Clary told him with a smile.
"Why not? You did before, and he was fine, there mightn't be anyone else who wants to be used as a lab rat," Jonathan pointed out.
"I'm just not using him again," Clary said firmly.
"What did he do?" Jonathan asked curiously, Jocelyn listening closely.
Clary flushed and said, "I'm not going to talk about it, and I'm not using that rune on him again. I will Mark myself if necessary."
"What did you do?" Jonathan repeated, directed at Jace this time.
"She won't tell me," Jace admitted reluctantly. "I'm beginning to worry that I proposed marriage to the Seelie Queen or something."
"No, you were actually rude to her," Clary said with a grin. "Which was nice, it was so annoying listening to you try and suck up to her with your charm."
"I'm naturally charming," Jace protested.
"I suggest you keep your natural charm to yourself," Jocelyn told Jace. "At least during this meeting."
When they reached the Accords Hall it was already filled with most of the Shadowhunters in Idris, and more than a dozen that Clary didn't recognise who must have come from locations across the globe. Clary spotted Luke near the front, standing with Robert, Jia, Maryse and Patrick.
"I'm going to speak with Luke," Jocelyn told Clary. "I suggest you and your friends sit quietly at the back and don't draw attention to yourself. You'll probably attract enough attention as it is."
"Sure Mom," Clary agreed quickly, following Jonathan into a row at the back of the hall. Jace walked in behind her, followed by Alec, Isabelle, Aline and finally Sebastian.
A few moments later Clary and Jace noticed Sebastian leave their row and walk towards the front.
"What's he up to?" Jace asked disdainfully.
"He just noticed his aunt, I think. She must have only just got to Idris and come straight here," Alec guessed.
"Good riddance, hopefully he'll stay out of our hair now," Jace said.
"Jace, we were the ones who invaded his cousin's house," Clary pointed out.
"Right, why don't any of us have a house in town?" Jace asked thoughtfully. "Manors in the countryside are all well and good, but not terribly practical in times like these."
"Thankfully there aren't too many times like these," Clary retorted.
"Quiet, I think they're about to start," Jonathan said suddenly.
Sure enough Jia began to speak, "Everyone, please be silent now as we have a lot to cover in a short time. Robert and I will explain all that we know thus far, and what our intentions are, and we request that you keep quiet until we've finished. We will open up the floor at the end for questions and input. Thank you."
"For those who have only arrived today, in response to the emergency messages sent you, thank you for your prompt action, and we will briefly outline the threat that has brought us together," Robert said, addressing the room. He then proceeded to read the Seelie Queen's declaration of war, and then he and Jia together recounted Clary and Jace's trip to New York and the Seelie Court, and what they had learnt there.
"Currently Magnus Bane is contacting a vampire source to determine who the Children of the Night will fight with," Jia shared. "Magnus will hopefully return early tonight, and possibly bring more warlocks with him to help us. According with what Maia Roberts has been able to tell us it seems as though the Fair Folk have blackmailed most of the Children of the Moon into fighting with her. We believe it will take too long and be too complicated to try and persuade the werewolves to switch sides at this point. We fear it would also tip of the Seelie Queen were we to try to steal her allies and make more trouble than it would be worth."
"We are hoping that Magnus will bring good news from the vampires and that we will be able to convince them to fight with us, the only drawback being that they will be of no help in battle fought by daylight," Robert continued. "We of course have no intention of bowing to the demands of the Seelie Queen, especially relating to Clarissa and Jonathan Morgenstern, and now Jace Herondale as well. Our current intention is to use Alicante as a stronghold, after all, the demon towers make the city virtually impenetrable."
"That's what they thought about Troy," Jace said under his breath to Clary. "The faeries know the strength of our towers, and know we will probably use them to our advantage. If they attack us here you can almost guarantee that they have a plan to bring the walls down, or get through them."
"Does anyone have anything they wish to raise?" Jia asked. "We need to keep this as ordered as possible, so please stand if you wish to speak. It will be first in best dressed."
The first to stand was an olive skinned man, with brown hair.
"Consul, how can you be sure that Clarissa Morgenstern and Jace Herondale have the gifts the Seelie Queen thinks they have if you have not seen either use them?" Tomas Rosales, the head of the Mexico Institute asked.
"Tomas, the Seelie Queen cannot lie, you know this," Jia answered.
"But these children can. Can you be sure their words are true? Why hasn't the Mortal Sword been used to question them?" Tomas pressed.
"We have chosen to take them at their word, as we trust them both, implicitly. We don't have time to waste over trial by the Mortal Sword. We need to be planning for battle," Robert said in his firm, booming voice.
"There is no reason why Clarissa cannot repeat her drawing of this new 'Fearless' rune, is there not?" Tomas asked. "I can only speak for myself, but I think that would go a long way in proving their story, and their abilities."
"Will you also require some demonstration of strength, speed and fighting from Jace?" Jia asked archly. "Or will you take that at our word?"
"Jace Herondale's superiority as a Shadowhunter has been known for many years, it is not hard to believe that his giftedness has an explanation," Tomas replied. "The creation of runes is another matter."
"It's fine," Clary said, standing. "I'll will demonstrate Fearless for you all. I understand you need proof."
Clary weaved her way lightly out of the row she was seated it, ignoring faint protests from Jace and Isabelle, and walked straight to the front of the hall.
"I can Mark myself, or I can Mark a volunteer," Clary announced. "It is your choice. The rune is called Fearless and it seems to be a short lived rune, but it will make whoever is Marked with it afraid of nothing."
"Why can't it be used on Jace again?" Jia asked Clary quietly.
"It just shouldn't be, he's too fearless as it is," Clary replied softly. "Once the rune has been successfully demonstrated the wearer should probably be temporarily escorted outside until it wears off, to avoid them doing anything disruptive."
"Very well," Jia agreed.
"I will be Marked with Clary's rune," Luke said, standing, giving his daughter a reassuring smile.
Luke walked to the front of the room and joined Clary who met his eyes briefly before taking her stele and drawing Fearless onto his forearm.
A few moments after Clary finished the rune and had stepped back from Luke he suddenly started to move quickly towards the exit of the hall.
"Stop him!" Jia exclaimed.
Quick as a flash Jace was out of his seat and headed as fast as possible for Luke, launching himself at him and tackling him to the ground before he reached the doors.
Half the hall had stood up to watch, amazed by the sight before them.
Luke and Jace both stood up, Jace keeping his arms behind his back to temporarily secure him.
"Let go of me," Luke growled.
"What are you trying to do, Luke?" Jocelyn asked, running up to her husband.
"I'm going to find the Seelie Queen and kill her and end all of this. She is not taking our children from us," Luke snarled.
The entire hall looked rather stunned.
"How long before it wears off?" Jia asked Clary quietly.
"Probably five minutes," Clary guessed. "A shock of some sort might snap him out of it."
"We'd better just lock him in my office for the time being," Jia decided. "Jace, please escort Lucian to my office, Malachi, Patrick, please accompany them. Return with Lucian as soon as he is himself."
Once the Accords Hall had quietened, and everyone had retaken their seats, including Jocelyn and Clary, Jia addressed them once more.
"Is that proof enough?" she asked commandingly. "With no fear all Lucian wanted to do was protect his children. Is that demonstration enough?"
A collective affirmative murmur rippled through the room.
"Good," Robert said firmly. "Now, we expect the faeries to attack in just under twenty four hours. We are still expecting at least seventy or so warriors to arrive before them. They will be bringing weapons, and we shall also be arming ourselves from the Armory. Those of you who need to return to residences outside of Alicante in Idris should do so now and return by nightfall, bringing anything you may need. From tomorrow morning we will be preparing to enact our strategies and will need everyone inside the protection of the city."
AN: Thanks for reading!
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