*************** Chapter 30 *******************
It was dark when they got to Idris. They had walked out of the portal and right into the grand hall of the Clave. The place was packed with Shadowhunters each murmuring to each other. The confident persona that marked the children of Raziel was gone and in its place panic ensued. The hall seemed to silence when the people finally caught sight of Clarissa and Jace. Only gasps of surprise and snickering comments about "the children of Valentine" could be heard.
Clary kept her chin raised. A Morgenstern does not bow, lower their gaze or appear weak in front of others, their father use to tell them. Clary could fault many things her father did but teaching them to fight was not one of them. Perhaps training them to be strong and powerful was the only good thing he was able to give them.
"Attention!" Imogen called from the high platform. The audience quickly quieted.
"As you are aware Valentine has returned and with an army of demons no less. He means to take out Alicante in one swoop unless we meet his demands. Demands that contradicts our upbringing and all that Nephilim's stand for! We cannot allow this to pass. We must fight and-"
"No!" a voice shouted out interrupting her.
A husky older man stood in front of them. Malachi Dieudonne.
"Our kind is great but we are no match for an army of greater and lesser demons. Valentine is one of our own. We should not spill anymore of the angelic children's blood. Winning this fight is fruitless and we cannot survive losing anymore casualties." He shouted in anger.
"Fruitless!" Clary shouted stepping forward.
She was met with a chatter of whispers. "Valentine's daughter," they called her. "Trickster" whispered another.
"Yes, I am Valentine's daughter but I do not believe in my father's ideals. My brothers and I have fought our father for years while you pretended he was dead because it was easier for you. Well he is here at the gate now and he has an army of demons and forsaken behind him. There will be no forgiveness or mercy. My father would sooner kill all of you and start all over again using the Mortal cup than allow some of you to live. Come to grips with your reality. We must FIGHT because if we don't we will ALL parish." Clary commanded.
"Forgive me if I am not willing to put my trust in a little girl." Malachi snickered.
"Well it's about time you trusted someone. We are outnumbered yes, but we are Nephilim. We are warriors and children of the angel Raziel. It is our mandate by heaven that we destroy demons. Yet my father not only deals with demons but also summons them to our world. If you think he will settle for killing just Downworlders you are mistaken. My father believes that anyone to befriends a Downworlder or employees one is not worthy of the name Nephilim." Clary finished with a deep breath.
She looked at the disheveled faces of those before her. They were scared and cowardly. Valentine had attacked in the middle of the night laying waste to much of the city. He must have gotten his hands on some on Jonathan's blood. Clary took a quick look at Luke, her mother, Jace and her friends before turning her back onto the crowd.
"You think that we can win?" A strong voice called out.
The hall went silent as eyes fell back onto her.
"Yes I do. I know something that can stop Valentine and save us all. "Clary responded.
"And you think that you, a little girl are powerful enough to stop Valentine. What power do you have that is so great?" Malachi snickered.
Clary hesitated for a moment taking in a deep breath to reveal perhaps one of the most precisions secrets her father had told her. The secret of her blood. She met Malachi's eyes and opened her mouth to answer when another familiar voice chimed out.
"Because my sister can create new ruins." Jonathan shouted.
The crowd looked up and she saw her brother. She smiled meeting his gaze. He made it! He was safe. Beside him stood Vidia and the Queen of the Seelie herself.
"My brother speaks the truth. I can create new ruins and I have one that will change the outcome of this battle." Clary smiled.
****************Line Break**************
"Well that was interesting." Vidia replied as they left the hall.
"That is the Clave for you my dear. My father was wrong about many things but the corruption within the Clave was not one of them." Jonathan replied.
"I was hoping it wasn't true; that there were some good shadowhunters." Simon added as the group walked down the large stone stairs of the hall.
Clary had just finished explaining her plan to join Shadowhunters to Downworlders to the Clave. Everyone was so shocked they were not sure what to say. Imogen called order and for a vote in an hour. In the meantime the gang left. The only ones old enough to vote were Alec and Jonathan which the Clave wouldn't allow anyway given the fact their opinions were too biased. Although Clarissa and the gang knew that if anything Alec was almost always factual. They walked silently toward the giant statue of Raziel in the center of town. Jonathan rested his hand on his sister shoulder trying to steady the butterflies in her stomach.
It was pitch black outside and the only light was from enchanted witch light posts within the city. Clarrissa and her gang had all but given up.
"I think it is time to discuss what we should do if the Clave decides to surrender." Alec spoke.
Everyone looked at him pointedly. He shrugged in response.
"Hey, fortune favors the prepared."
"Then we fight." Simon said sternly.
Everyone looked at him as he met their gaze.
"Listen. I know I have not been a Shadowhunter for very long but trust me when I say that I do know the difference between what is right and what is wrong. I owe you all my lives and I will stand with you no matter what decision we make but fighting is the right thing. We have plotted, tricked and played our hand. It is time for Valentine to play his. We can't give up no matter what the Clave says. What is easy is not always right and what is right is not always easy." Simon added.
"Simon is right." Jace spoke nodding to Jonathan.
"Valentine does not forgive; even his children. He has no conscious and will not hesitate to kill whoever gets in his way. I say we fight. Who is with me?"
Vidia stepped forward.
"The fay will stand with you. I owe my life to you and Johnathan. My queen's forces are loyal to you; not the Clave." Vidia finished sending a sweet intimate smile to Jonathan.
The group grinned. Johnathan looked at the groups faces. Each nodding in agreement.
"We need a plan and there is much to consider. We are not even sure what the Clave decision will be. Till now let us break up and get some rest. We will need it regardless what they decide." Jace said.
"Get some rest. Jace and I will have a plan when we meet in the morning. We'll meet at the Penhollow's house for breakfast tomorrow." Jonathan announced.
"No." Alec answered sternly.
The group's eyes fell on him.
"What do you mean Alec?" Jonathan asked taking a tentative step forward.
"I mean that I want to be in on creating the plan. I am just as smart as either of you and-"
"That's fine." Clary said cutting him off. "More minds the better. Each of you come up with a tentative plan to share tomorrow. We will finalize a game strategy together."
Alec nodded and turned to leave with Isabelle, Aline, and Helen in toe. Clary turned to face Jonathan. Her brother wrapped his arms around her warmly.
"Get some sleep sis. You will need it for tomorrow." He whispered.
With that she nodded and turned to Jace. Jace gave Johnathan a nod and they left towards the Herondale house.
"Well I guess that leaves you and me handsome." Vidia smiled beside him.
Jonathan didn't return the smile. After a moment Vidia took a step forward and placed her hands softly cupping his face.
"Don't despair Johnathan. Even if things go bad I can promise that you and your family will always have a safe haven in the faerie court. We will hide you if something goes wrong." She whispered.
Jonathan sighed as a small smile formed on his lips.
"My beautiful creature. If we do not fight there will be no Downworlders fay or other left in this world. My father will kill us all." He whispered.
****************Line Break**************
"Well that was some speech you gave the Clave Clary." Jace said falling onto the soft plush bed.
"Yeah well it would have gone better if the Clave would have agreed to just let me mark them." Clary huffed.
Jace looked up at her and smiled; patting the bed beside him gesturing for her to sit down.
She sighed as she began to walk to the bed when a sudden knock on the door caught their attention. Clary went to open the door and was met by Imogen. The old women smiled at her warmly. Clary had thought that Imogen would try to take Jace away once she learned the truth but she couldn't have been more wrong. Anyone who loved her grandson the way she saw Clarissa love him was someone who Imogen loved too. The mean bitter women that they had met that dark night in the New York institute was no more.
"You did it my brilliant girl! They have accepted and are willing to bare the marks!" the women smiled.
Jace's face lit up as did Clary's.
"That's wonderful. Even Malachi?" she asked.
Imogen grinned bigger at that.
"Oh no but that was to be expected. He actually left the hall immediately after the decision huffing and puffing. It was nice to see him not get his way for once." She laughed.
"I came to give you the good news first. It is early and the sun will be up in an hour. Get some sleep you two. You must be rested for battle and you my dear for your ruin making. I know it is a lot of pressure but we are counting on you. I've persuaded Maryse and your mother to allow Jace to stay with you. Some extra protection is needed to ensure your father doesn't try to hurt you now that you have revealed what you can do."
Clary smiled. Having a bodyguard would be a good idea and she didn't doubt that Imogen also placed some at the entrance of the house as well. She was happy however that Jace would be allowed to stay with her. This very well could be their last night together. With that thought Clary's smile fell as the momentum of the situation dawned on her. Imogen and Jace seemed to sense this.
"Come on love. My grandmother is correct. You do need to get some sleep." Jace said pulling her arm to him gently.
Imogen smiled lovingly at her grandson.
"I'll see you both tomorrow at the accords hall at noon." She said kissing each of their faces before leaving.
Jace softly shut the door and wrapped his beautiful red head in his arms.
"Jace…" she whispered.
He sensed the distress in her voice and gripped her tightly to his chest. Clary curled into his chest; nuzzling her face into his shoulder. After everything they had gone through she couldn't imagine being with anyone else. If things went wrong and she lost him; she couldn't bring herself to think about it. Jace seemed to sense what she was thinking about and kissed her softly on the top of her head.
"Tomorrow or today rather is going to be a big day." He whispered.
"A very big day. I mean even saying that just feels like an understatement." She sighed.
Clary tilted her head up to meet his gaze. Golden eyes bore into her green as she sensed the war and confusion going on within him.
"We could die Jace." She whispered.
"I would never let that happen Clary. Jonathan and I would both die before we let anything happen to you." He stated simply pulling her chin back up.
"I don't want you or Jonathan to protect me Jace. I can handle myself and besides we have to take down Valentine. You both can't waste time worrying about me. There are other lives to think about." She replied stubbornly.
Jace chuckled but there was still a look of seriousness in his eyes.
"You know that the only life that matters to me is yours. I would rather die than see you hurt."
"You know me well enough to know that I will be fighting. One way or another." She insisted.
"Always strong willed and feisty till the end but yes. I am well aware that no matter what, you will manage to jump in head first or on a horse into the situation. Whichever one is more dangerous it seems." He said remembering her riding up on a horse after their father refused to teach her how to ride a horse with them. He smiled at the memory before leaning down and claiming her lips.
Clary stopped struggling and allowed his warm kiss to embrace her. The kiss seemed to deepen as Jace long muscular arms melted down her body and grasped her hips. Her breath caught as she felt the end of her shirt being raised.
"We should get to sleep; it's late." She said breathlessly.
Jace chuckled and continued to move his hands up under her shirt. Clary gasped as his hands found her tender breasts. He clearly had other plans for them that obviously didn't involve sleeping.
"Jace." She sighed in pleasure.
His calloused hands began to fondle her nipples. He seemed to play her body like he so skillfully played the piano. She let out another moan as his lips kneaded her bare flesh.
"I will never get tired of the noises you make." He groaned.
Her body pressed against his in response; pressing up against his firm manhood. He let out a soft moan as she pulled his face down her hers.
"And I yours." She replied before kissing him once more.
*****A/N*****
Really not a single review. Where is the love guys?