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~ THEMESONGS ~

Kingdom Come ~ The Civil Wars

Guilty Filthy Soul ~ AWOLNATION

.M.I.W.

8. Open Up

A light summer breeze whispered past. Even though it was warm, it still sent shivers through me, making me reach for my swords' hilts which were currently hooked around my waist. Who knew what that breeze would lead to?

Well, granted, I hadn't even said the summoning… (spell, charm, incantation, whatever you want to call it) thing yet, but still. It made me nervous.

It was eleven o'clock at night, making everything seem more ominous. But, of course, let's (in the words of Emril Lagasse here, my people) kick it up a notch, and say that we're in a graveyard.

Yes. Graveyards at eleven o'clock at night in a graveyard. A graveyard in a demon-infested world. A demon-infested world where one pretty-high-on-the-food-chain-demon wants me dead.

You don't have to tell me. My intelligence goes beyond my seventeen years.

I took a deep breath, forcing my tensing muscles to relax. I rolled my shoulders back.

"Bellum ostendere mihi inducta, ut mihi verax et fidelis consilii, si dignum putet…"

Just like the last time I did the summoning, a much harsher breeze blew me off guard. I pushed my hair out of my face. I could already feel my heart beating faster in my chest. I reached down to pull out Sandalphon again –

"Do calm yourself, pet." A voice that was dark, smooth as velvet, rang out in the night. It made me freeze, made cold dread leak into my system. Gave me goose bumps in the dead of summer.

I looked up to see Belial – the demon who had given me the ability to go through portals – standing before me. Next to a headstone. Like a picture.

My grip on Sandalphon (by the way, Cassandra Clare, you totally copped my swag in City of Fallen Angels with him) tightened and I glared at him. I guess I was trying to get over the initial shock of it.

Belial stood before me in his usual 'like a sir' decadence. Tailored suit that fit his wiry frame, pale skin that had what seemed like a purplish tint, pale hair, scary as hell black eyes.

I apologize if describing him gets redundant, but I always feel a need to. He just never looks like he fits in anywhere.

His eyes flashed towards my sword, making me let go of it instantly. "You seem more anxious when you actually expect me." He admitted.

Because it means that I need you, which is scarier than you just popping up out of nowhere. I thought. I tried to play it cool, folding my arms across my chest.

"Well, you're kind of a scary looking guy. And that's just in the dark." I retorted. "What's going on with my little situation?"

Little Situation = Me Dying (just in case you were wondering)

"I have watched the demon intent on killing you from afar." He said seriously. "Her plans –"

"Afar?" I snapped. "As in, far afar? You said you were going to help me –"

"Not at the risk of my life, pet." Belial snapped. "Once again, you overestimate your worth. I have brought you help. Your little apprentice proved –"

White hot rage flew through me in that instant, making me surge forward. I had Sandalphon out and glowing (on his own accord too), Belial backed up against a large headstone, and pressing the blade against his neck only a millisecond later. His eyes glimmered in annoyance.

"You sent her?" I practically shrieked. "You? No! Send her back! I want you to send her back immediately. She can't stay here, Belial, I won't make her go through what I did. Please, she's not strong enough."

The look in his eyes stopped me from going on.

He knew.

He knew she wasn't strong enough. He said it in his silence. It felt almost savage at this point.

In a flurry of movement, Sandalphon was back in its scabbard on my hip, and I was roughly spun around. My back hit the headstone hard, and my eyes widened as Belial's met mine.

"Growing jealous, child? Granted your little counterpart's powers came from you, she is also mine. Even if she is weaker, maybe she would be more agreeable to me. Or, if anything, fodder for your enemy."

"I'm changing the deal." I snapped. His grip on me tightened. "I want whatever protection you have for me to go to Claire, got it? As in she doesn't get hurt in this world. Not a scratch. And, after this world, she's sealed from all others, so you can't use her after I die. Pick someone else."

"You make it sound like this gift can be given so freely." Belial hissed. "If you die, and I can't have your successor, I have nothing to profit from."

"Nothing?" My heart hammered in my chest, and I gritted my teeth together. "How much is a soul worth?"

His eyes widened then, a sick grin on his face. "Now you're playing a dangerous game, my child."

"I've got nothing to lose here."

He seemed to weigh his odds then. I gripped his wrists, digging my nails into his skin. "Your soul to spare one of another?" He asked, actually sounding serious.

"I'm dying anyway." I retorted.

He chuckled, a haunting sound. It rocked me to the pit of my stomach. "Madison Verdantia's soul – mine for eternity. It does have a lovely ring to it."

"So do we have a deal or not?" I demanded –

"Umm… I hope I'm not interrupting anything too important." Another completely different voice called.

Oh no. Oh God no.

After seeing my eyes widen, Belial pulled back immediately. Without his support, I lurched forward, quickly regaining my balance. My head was spinning. I turned around to see the last person I wanted to at the time.

Claire picked her way past the headstones towards me.

Towards Belial.

More than anything I wanted to scream at her, tell her to run. This was definitely not the safest place to be in the world at the moment. Right above being stuck in a pit filled with every venomous creature in the universe.

"Claire –" I choked out, glancing at Belial.

His expression was serene, congenial. "Oh, so this is her? Forgive me, I haven't seen her until now."

Claire paused at that, looking at Belial warily. "I was just walking back to the Institute. I see you've made a new, creepy friend… Who is he?"

Get out. I thought to her. Get out, get out, get out!

"Her benefactor, as it were." Belial said smoothly. "As Madison is yours. I am the one who has given her – and subsequently your – abilities."

Her expression turned skeptical. "Benefactor? Yeah, he's creepy. And vaguely pedophilic."

"Claire." I finally found my voice. "Go to the Institute. As you can see, Brooklyn gets kind of dicey at night. I'll meet you there."

"I don't think so." She stated, and I glanced back to see Belial's eyes narrow. She noticed it too, and her courage seemed to falter. "What is this guy talking about?"

"I mean it, Claire." I growled. "Go back to the Institute. Now."

"Why?" She snapped. "Just so you can tell me absolutely nothing again? I think I'll stay and watch to get my answers, thanks."

"Isn't she the stubborn little thing?" Belial mused. "I suppose you've gotten what's due, my child. Having a subordinate that won't do anything you ask them to is maddening, isn't it?"

I turned on him then. "Shut the fuck up, Belial." I snarled.

"Subordinate?" Claire demanded. "I am not her subordinate! Madi and I are equals, thank you very much. Maybe I'm not as prone to killing things, but her equal. We're partners."

I curled my hands into fists. Though Claire's sarcasm was usually funny, now really (really) wasn't the time. Obviously seeing my annoyance, Belial chuckled. "I suppose I shall leave you, then. We've nothing more to discuss anyhow."

He disappeared right in front of our eyes. The world around me seemed a few degrees warmer, but it dropped again once I saw Claire's face.

"There's a lot of things you don't know." I said slowly.

"Obviously." She retorted.

I hooked my thumbs through the belt loops of my shorts and glared at the ground. "We're going back to the Institute."

.M.I.W.

"Stop ignoring me!" Claire yelled as the doors to the Institute swung open and we walked through.

I had been planning on telling on telling her as soon as we hit the Institute, but she'd been asking the same question for the billionth time now as soon as we stepped out of the graveyard. My annoyance was beginning to win out more than anything. And that made me less inclined to tell her.

She should've realized when I stopped talking to her altogether that maybe – just maybe – the streets weren't an exactly safe place to talk about demons. Especially when they walked around so freely. Was this what a parent felt like? Was this what Belial felt like?

Then again, she had a right to be mad. I'd been keeping her in the dark.

Just like Belial was doing to me.

Damn.

But I was still mad.

I jammed the button hard on the elevator.

"You should've come back here." I snapped at her as the gate opened. I walked in first. "Here's an important tip to remember. When I say you should go away, that means something isn't safe for you to be around. And when something isn't safe to be around – especially when I say it – that means it isn't fucking safe!"

"Well, excuse me for not being a good little subordinate!" Claire countered. She followed me inside, and the gate closed behind us. "Now tell me what's up!"

I raked a hand through my hair as we got to the second floor. I strutted off the elevator, Claire easily following suit. "Don't ignore me!"

I whipped on her then, folding my arms across my chest. She stopped in front of me. I glared at her for a few seconds before finally caving. "That dude you saw back there was Belial. He's a demon. I got my ability to travel through portals from him, and you got them from me."

Claire opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, then closed it. She looked away from me then, casting her eyes towards the ground. "A demon?" She finally asked, seeming to choose her words carefully. "Does that mean you and I are demonic? Does that mean we're the freaks that these Shadowhunters kill?"

"No!" I snapped. When she glared at me, I squeezed the bridge of my nose with my thumb and index finger. Calm down, calm down. "No. We're not demonic. We just have powers."

"Magnus has powers, he's demonic." Claire stated. When her foot started moving, I glanced down at it. She was tapping it methodically, quickly, seeming nervous. "We're like him."

"Have you ever seen yourself with cat eyes?" I demanded. Her eyes snapped up to mine in that instant, then glanced around. Probably looking for a mirror at this point. I frowned. "Damn, Claire, calm down. We're still the same as we were before. Listen, you don't even have to worry about Belial. He's not after you –"

"Do you work for him?" She interrupted. "Do you do his dirty work? Did you make a deal with him to get your powers?"

"No." I said with certainty. At least, not yet. "He gave them to me on accident, just like I somehow gave them to you."

Claire nodded. The move seemed to be more to reassure herself, so I let her have it. Hell, if someone sprung this on me all at once, I'd be freaking out myself, then running out to go kill Belial.

I took a small step towards her, trying to be comforting. "He can't come after you."

Because I made sure he wouldn't.

It felt like the deal I made with Belial only an hour or so before was only being realized then. I slowly reached into my back pocket to pull out a cigarette. There was no way I could keep the both of us calm without some sort of sedative.

"He's one scary motherfucker, though, right?" I asked jokingly, fumbling to put a cigarette in my mouth. I stuffed the pack back into my pocket, then reached for my lighter.

"Meow." A deep call made both of us look down the hallway. A familiar puff of dark gray fur strutted down the hallway, making me smile.

"Ah, Church." I greeted him before turning back to my task. My hands were shaking as I pulled out the bright orange Bic lighter (stolen from a convenience store, mind you), and I bit a little harder on the cigarette than necessary when I tried to steady myself.

"What are you doing?" Claire suddenly demanded. She reached forward and swiped the lighter out of my hands. I started, my eyes widening when I met hers. Annoyance was the first emotion that hit.

At this point, Church had sat down between us, looking up expectantly.

I pulled the cigarette out of my mouth. "Smoking. As in to inhale and exhale the smoke of tobacco. Or, well at this point, trying to. What are you doing?"

"Trying to breathe." She replied. "You know that those things are cancer in a stick, right?"

Church's head had been moving back and forth at this point, as if he was watching a tennis match.

"Um, yeah." I said, my gaze intent on the orange lighter. Claire noticed the direction of my look, and held it tighter in her hands. "Good to know. Can I have my lighter, please?"

"You don't care that these things are going to kill you?"

No, a demon is already taking care of that.

I glared at her. Her gaze simply hardened.

I groaned at her persistence, and chucked my now broken cigarette into the garbage can near the elevator. "Fine. Happy now?"

"Ecstatic." Claire replied sarcastically.

"Meow."

"Shut up, Church." I snapped, glaring down at the smug looking cat. "Why don't you actually do something useful and take us to the weapons room?"

.M.I.W.

Church stopped in front of a closed door, leaving me to push it open. "Okay," I told Claire, "before you freak out and think this is stealing, it's not. I've raided Shadowhunter gear for a while now, and it's no big deal. They get more every week."

"I wasn't going to freak out." Claire said warily, stepping past me to go into the room.

I shrugged, Church and I following her inside. I walked past her and waved at the myriad of weapons on the walls and shelves, gear placed on lower shelves. "Choose your weapon and your gear. Keep your weapon on you, but leave the gear in your room. Izzy got you a room, didn't she?"

"Yeah, it's next to yours." Claire answered absently, walking through the shelves.

I let her look, leaning against the wall closest to the door. Church sat next to me, almost touching my leg. He folded his tail neatly over his paws and looked up at me with his large, yellow eyes. Expecting something.

I smirked, and sunk down to sitting on the floor beside him, my swords dropping to the floor at my sides. Church didn't seem phased in the least, and leaned forward so I could stroke his silky pelt.

A few minutes passed like that, Church just watching me as I pet him, a few rustling noises in the background. It was actually kind of peaceful.

But, of course, it had to end. And it did with Claire walking towards us, holding something up that glinted silver in the light.

"Do you think they'll let me have this?" She asked. I turned to see her hold up a long, thin, silver whip in one hand. In her other, some black fabric folded over her arm.

I arched an eyebrow at the whip. "And you say I'm Hollywood?" I returned, smirking. "That whip says anything but casual."

"I could wear it around my wrist like Isabelle, as a bracelet." She offered. "Bracelets are casual. And pretty."

Swords are pretty. I thought, absently reaching with my other hand to touch Sandalphon's hilt. And sexy.

I didn't feel like arguing though, so I shook my head and laughed a little. "Fine. Fine. You're right. Keep it with you at all times, though."

She smiled and nodded.

.M.I.W.

Did anyone else notice that Cassandra Clare used Sandalphon's name as one of Alec's blades in the fourth book? I did. It kind of made me suspicious too.

'Kay, so this chapter was equally angst-a-licious. Madi is acting strangely mysterious, don't you think?

ShoutOuts ~

Nyx's Pinky Girl: So, so true. I just had to deal with some issues about that the other day, so I know exactly where you're coming from. But I feel like (also like you said) it's needed for the plot.

BookNinja15: Agreed! Madi needs to give Jace a stern dealing-with. Unfortunately, she is in the midst of some of her own problems to be able to deal with him as much as she would like.

KayleighxSmiles: Wow, thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed the stories! The rest of the plot is going to be filled to the brim with surprises, and that's unfortunately all I can say!