"I was walking along looking for somebody, and then suddenly I wasn't anymore." – A.A. Milne
Chapter 18
"Ow! Simon!" Isabelle exclaimed as she collided with the brown haired, bespectacled mundane boy, as they both exited their rooms the next morning.
"Sorry," Simon said sheepishly, looking Isabelle over quickly. Simon knew she had probably only just awoken and dressed, without the comforts of her own room, bed and possessions, but she looked flawless. Her long, lithe figure was shown off nicely by her Gear, and her long, sleek black hair was pulled back ina ponytail. She looked beautiful and fierce. He knew he would look scruffy and unkempt by comparison. "Today is Sunday, right?"
"I think so," Isabelle agreed, mentally going over the days that had passed in her mind to confirm. "Yeah, today is Sunday. The day of rest, or at least according to the Christian Bible. Today is going to be anything but a day of rest."
"Well, that's okay for me, we celebrate the Sabbath on a Saturday. Crap, I missed Temple," Simon realised with a frown. "Oh well, seems a rather minor thing, all things considered."
"Did you have any plans other than running me down in the hall?" Isabelle asked. "I'm going downstairs to find some food before things become chaotic today. Aline, Clary and Maia are still asleep. I'm hoping I might even get a chance to shower. Twenty plus people and two bathrooms don't exactly provide great odds."
"I think I heard Jocelyn talking to your mom about using the facilities at the Academy or something?" Simon informed her, as they walked downstairs together.
"That makes sense," Isabelle said with relief. "Moms can be relied upon to take care of things like general cleanliness for the masses. The Academy is our school, so there are showers and stuff there if we need them after working out as part of our lessons."
"It's kind of funny to think that you go to school to learn to fight demons," Simon mused.
"What do you mean 'funny'?" Isabelle asked tautly. "Funny that I go? Or funny that we as a race have a school to learn how to fight demons? If the former I'd be more than happy to demonstrate my proficiency in what we learn."
"Oh, I didn't me funny 'ha ha', I meant funny peculiar. It's almost as good as finding out that there actually is a Jedi school," Simon stumbled to explain.
"What's a Jedi?" Isabelle asked.
Simon looked completely shocked. "Don't you guys watch movies?"
"Not really," Isabelle said. "Remember, we're kind of forced to be minimalists with the technology here."
"You are so missing out," Simon said fervently. "When you come to New York next I'll have to watch it with you. Hey, where is everyone?"
They were in the empty kitchen of the Penhallow house.
"No idea, I just woke up too, remember?" Isabelle replied. "Were my brothers and Jon still asleep?"
"All of them," Simon affirmed. "I wish I was, but my sleeping pattern is kind of screwed up at the moment. Come to think of it, why are you awake? It is pretty early."
"Couldn't sleep," Isabelle said dismissively. "And it's not that early, everyone is just still asleep because no one has had much sleep the past few days."
Simon stomach then growled and he gave an awkward chuckle. "I guess my stomach thinks its breakfast time."
"Don't look at me, I can't cook, even when I try. Jace and Alec will be only too happy to tell you," Isabelle said quickly.
Aline and Maia both then walked into the kitchen, both looking tired, but decidedly less so than the evening before.
"Did you two want to make any more noise in the hall?" Maia asked grumpily.
"I would be careful with who you get testy with, little wolf," Isabelle warned haughtily.
"Hey, she's basically a refugee in all this, like me," Simon interjected. "And she's here because she wanted to help."
"Please, no more," Aline pleaded. "People are starting to stir all over the house now. Soon we'll all have had some breakfast and you can all stop squabbling."
True enough the house was soon alive with adults, teenagers and children alike. Food began to appear in the Penhallow house from nobody knew where. Luke, the Penhallows and Lightwood adults had first priority on the food as they all needed to get started on what they needed to do during the day. Word had been received overnight from the Seelie Queen, agreeing with the terms proposed by the Nephilim. There were various Clave members to meet with and plan with, strategies to finalise and weapons preparation to oversee. Magnus also needed to be met with to discuss his role, and the other allies he had secured in some other warlocks and the vampires.
Clary was sitting with a piece of toast in hand, a glass of juice to her right, her brother on one side and Jace on the other.
"Any idea what we're supposed to do today?" Jonathan asked. "No one has told me anything, and I don't want to sit around here as if I'm waiting for my own execution."
"Clary should practice her rune power," Isabelle suggested, overhearing. "If she's going to have a shot at making a difference today with it she'd better see what she's got in her arsenal."
"Not a bad point," Jace told his sister, looking thoughtful.
Isabelle grinned smugly at him and said to Clary, "So, do you know how you're going to go about it? Do you want me to be your guinea pig?"
Clary had a look of concentration on her face and then started and turned to Jonathan and said, "Jon, you brought my sketchpad from the manor, right? I told you to, but I forgot to check for it in my things."
"I got it, as if I'd leave it behind," Jon said quickly. "Why?"
"Sometimes when I was doodling in it I'd draw runes that I would see in my mind, ones that weren't from the Gray Book, but that I somehow knew what their purpose was," Clary explained. "I need to go through it to jog my memory."
Alec unexpectedly said, "So, it seems as though you can create new runes. Do you think you'd be able to do anything with existing ones? Like maybe make them really powerful?"
"I don't know," Clary mused. "I've never tried. Do you have any ideas, some way I can test that idea?"
"Well, what about a strength rune?" Alec suggested after a moment. "You could Mark Jon with the strength rune and Izzy could Mark me, and then we could see who was stronger out of Jon and me."
"I've been Marking myself and Jon for years and we've never experienced anything different than anyone around us," Clary pointed out.
"But maybe you need to concentrate on it, Clary," Aline added, she had been sitting close by and listening attentively. "Maybe if you put more energy or focus into the Mark it will have a more powerful result."
"And then what, they have an arm wrestle or something?" Simon asked curiously. "Or do they see who can lift the heaviest weight?"
"We'll see," Clary decided quickly. "I'll Mark Jon, Izzy can Mark Alec, there's no point in using Jace because he's already got an advantage over everyone else. Once they're Marked the rune will fade quickly, so we'll have to come up with something fast."
"Are we telling Mom?" Jonathan asked, as the all began to stand, breakfast apparently a thing of the past.
Clary glanced over to where she could see their mother in the kitchen, feeding Valentina, with Max sitting close by, chattering.
"No," Clary decided quickly. "She's busy. We can tell her how it goes once we know if there's anything to tell."
"Shouldn't you guys take this outside, in case your brother Hulks out and trashes the house?" Simon suggested.
"Hulks out?" Isabelle queried, her nose wrinkled delicately in confusion.
"You know, the Hulk, big green strong guy, typically gets rather angry and smashes a lot of stuff," Simon explained matter-of-factly. "Ring any bells?"
"Nope," Isabelle said, the others looking just as confused.
"Have you people seen not seen any iconic movies?" Simon asked incredulously.
"I have," Maia piped up.
"Sorry, you don't count here," Simon told her. "You live in the real world, of course you know who the Hulk is. But seriously, you should guys consider taking this outside in case there's any damage done to the house by accident."
"Fair point," Clary agreed. "We can continue this discussion of pop culture some other time."
Clary led the way outside, Jace by her side, the others in hot pursuit.
"Any ideas where we should do this?" Clary asked Aline.
"Just in the yard on this side of the house should be fine," Aline said after a moment. "If anyone's walking by they won't really look down there and there's nothing there either of the boys could potentially do harm to."
They quickly headed down the side, Jonathan and Alec both rolled up a sleeve of their Gear, Isabelle and Clary each had their stele at the ready.
"You should both start your Mark at the same time," Jace told them.
"Thanks for stating the obvious Jace," Isabelle told him with an eye roll. "How about you just stand by in case you need to use your superior powers to stop Jon from, what was it Simon said, 'Hulking out'?"
Simon snickered at this and Jace just glared at his sister.
"Just be quiet, please," Clary said sharply. "I'm starting now, and I need to try to figure out what I'm actually doing."
"So I should Mark Alec?" Isabelle asked in clarification.
"Yes," Clary said shortly.
She then visualised the rune for strength, her stele poised above Jonathan's forearm. She called on every thought she identified immense strength with, visualising acts of strength and power. As she began the Mark she concentrated solely on the application of the rune, focusing all of her energy on creating the most powerful Mark she could.
She finished and looked at the rune. There was that visually set it apart from any other strength rune, including the one Isabelle had just put on Alec.
"How do you feel?" Clary asked Jonathan.
"Like I could lift a house," Jonathan said, choking out a laugh. "I actually feel like I'm going to burst if I don't do something."
"Alec?" Jace questioned his parabatai.
"I feel like I normally do with a strength rune, filled with more power and strength than normal, but certainly not like I could lift a house," Alec supplied dryly.
"So, what are we going to make them do?" Isabelle asked urgently. "We need them to do it before the rune wears off."
"I don't know," Clary said, feeling rather drained from her efforts and the pressure of what she'd been trying to do.
"Oh, just arm wrestle," Aline said quickly. "There's that little outdoor setting over there."
Alec and Jonathan sat on either side of the table, Alec extended his right arm and Jon put his out to meet it. As their hands met there was a loud noise as Jonathan's arm connected with the table, the force of it cracking the table between them. Alec and Jonathan's hands had just connected as the table fell between them and Jonathan pulled back, startled. His hand was still connected with Alec's, so as he jerked backwards the force pulled Alec out of his seat and sent him flying through the air, landing a few yards away.
Alec stood and dusted himself off. "Well Clary, I'd say it's safe to say that was a successful experiment. Whatever you did to make your rune stronger worked."
"So that's not normal?" Simon asked Isabelle.
"No," Isabelle said quietly, looking a little amused, but also somewhat bewildered. "Not normal at all. He probably should have only been able to drag Alec across the table a little, seeing as Alec was also Marked with a strength rune."
Isabelle walked over to check on Alec, Aline moved to talk with Jon about the result of the Mark and Maia and Simon stood off to the side, merely observing. Clary hadn't moved from the spot in which she'd stood intending to watch the arm wrestle and she was looking rather white.
"Are you okay?" Jace asked in concern. "You look as white as paper."
Clary met his eyes and said as firmly as possible, "I'm okay, just kind of tired I think."
"Did you use too much energy or something on trying this?" Jace asked, thinking quickly.
"Maybe," Clary agreed quietly. "Could you Mark me with an energy rune? I think that should help."
Jace obliged and a few moments later the colour had started to come back into her face.
"Thanks," she said, her voice stronger. "I'd better check on Jon and see what kind of strength he has left."
Over the next fifteen minutes it became apparent than in addition to Jonathan's Mark being more powerful, the effects also lasted longer than Alec's.
"Next time, I want Clary to Mark me," Alec said with a wry grin. "I want a turn at casually throwing someone across a yard."
"Clary's ability isn't a party trick," Jace interjected. "It takes a lot out of her, so we need to be careful how she uses it. She looked like she was going to pass out before."
"Really?" Jonathan asked in sister in concern.
"Yeah, but I'm fine now, nothing a little energy rune couldn't fix," Clary said dismissively.
"Well, I don't think you should try test out making more powerful runes anymore today," Jonathan decided.
"Don't baby me, Jonathan," Clary told him hotly.
"Mom is about 100 yards away, I somehow think she'll back me up on this," Jonathan retorted. "It's enough that we're heading off this afternoon into God knows what without the possibility of you being exhausted."
"He's right Clary," Jace added. "How about testing some of those runes in your sketchpad? Those don't have to be extra powerful, you can just apply them as normal, the only difference being that they're new."
"Okay," Clary agreed gamely. "But I'd kind of prefer not to have an audience now, it's a bit much."
"Plus, the less people who actually know what you can do the better," Alec added seriously. "If we don't know, there's no chance of the information leaking out to anyone who might not be on our side."
"Good point," Jace agreed. "Jonathan and I will stay with Clary, since we'll be with her tonight. I'm sure the rest of you can find useful things to do. We'll see you later."
"Aline, do you mind if we use your room?" Clary asked.
"Sure," Aline agreed readily. "Maybe one day my room will be a historical location. 'Here Clarissa Morgenstern created the mind reading rune'."
There was a collective laugh and the group dispersed into several smaller groups, with Clary, Jonathan and Jace heading up to Aline's room, as planned. Simon and Maia also relocated to the Penhallow house to assist Jocelyn with whatever they could, seeing as they were essentially not able to go anywhere else, and they were there at the mercy and hospitality of the Shadowhunters. Isabelle and Alec headed out to the Gard where key Clave and Council members were based for the day, preparing for battle.
Up in Aline's room Clary was flipping through her sketchpad while Jonathan and Jace talked quietly.
"We've got to leave for Brocelind Plain mid afternoon at the latest, if we're to be near Brocelind Forrest by sundown," Jace said. "Which explains why Robert wants us over at the Gard for a final meeting just after one today."
"Which is only a couple of hours away now," Jonathan murmured. "There's just not enough time, Clary needs more time than that, and she's looking kind of tired too. Why isn't Magnus Bane making a Portal to take us to the meeting place?"
"You need to pay more attention," Jace said in quiet frustration. "There are a whole number of reasons, which were discussed at length last night."
"Well gee, I'm sorry if I didn't quite absorb them all, I guess I've been kind of overwhelmed, though I can't imagine why," Jonathan retorted sarcastically, his green eyes narrowed a little in annoyance.
"If you two start fighting I will personally kick your asses, put sleeping runes on you, bind and gag you until we have to leave this afternoon," Clary said tersely.
"She means that, doesn't she?" Jace asked Jonathan in impressed amusement.
"She does," Jonathan agreed with a small smile. "Never underestimate her because of her size. I learnt that early on in our childhood. Now, will you explain to me why we're not going by Portal?"
"They decided that it would be better if we rode for a number of reasons," Jace began. "It will only take a couple of hours, and that way we will also have our horses in case we need to make a quick get away. Plus, they'd rather conceal the extent of the help we're receiving, so if there's a Portal that we come through, and the faeries see, they'll know we have a warlock on the inside. Plus, it will use some of Magnus's energy, and they want to preserve that."
"What if we need to abandon our horses?" Jonathan queried. "I know Aura and Poseidon aren't war horses, and they're not trained for us to engage in battle on top of them really. They're as much pets as they are transport. I wouldn't want Poseidon to get hurt, or have to leave him behind."
Jace swallowed a retort about Jonathan being a big baby and summoned some sensitivity and said, "I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to Rocky either, but at the end of the day, it's more important that we survive, and that we do what has to be done to protect the city, and everyone in it. But you have a good point about them not being trained for combat. Maybe there are some horses in the stables that might be better suited to our purposes. We should find out."
Jonathan nodded, and began to take action immediately. "Clary, Jace and I think we should investigate the option of riding other, more suitable, horses today. If you're okay here we're going to head to the stables now and find out."
"But we can stay, or one of us can, if you need us," Jace offered quickly.
"It's fine," Clary said. "I heard most of what you two were talking about, you should go look into it. I'll be fine by myself, I'll probably concentrate better. I'll let you know how I went when you get back."
So Jonathan and Jace departed, leaving Clary to discover exactly what she was capable of creating on her own. It was no small task.
AN: Thanks for reading :) I really enjoyed getting into Clary's rune ability in this chapter! Hope you enjoyed 'the gang' all together for a bit too! Plus, who enjoyed the Sizzy bonding?
As always, thanks to those who've reviewed, followed and favourited.
Please review :) 500 word preview of the next chapter by PM for anyone who reviews!