Chapter 23

Alec and Jace fought side by side, seraph blades blazing, their small group of allies already heavily outnumbered had been further depleted by injury and death. Magnus and Aidan were doing everything in their power to draw Balial's hellfire away from the others and send the demon back to Edom where he belonged. Out of the corner of his eye, Alec saw Aidan's friend Hamish overwhelmed by four fully transformed werewolves. Dropping his seraph blade, he grabbed his bow and loosed two arrows in quick succession felling two of the attacking werewolves. It was all Alec could do for Hamish and he prayed it was enough. Suddenly, a cry of rage tore from the shadowhunter's throat as he saw Gerard McKenzie join the battle. This was the man responsible for kidnapping his son and placing his entire family at risk. Jace found himself in the unusual position of having to watch Alec's back as his parabatai threw himself headlong at McKenzie. It was a brutal battle between two skilled warriors, neither one willing to give an inch.

Madeline Pyre recovered from her earlier run in with Aidan Briosag, had only one second to revise her estimate of Daniel LaCroix before he ended her long, undead existence. There was little time to savour the victory, however, as more club members joined the battle, pushing the small group of allies to their limits.

Suddenly a terrible roar rent the air, followed by billowing black smoke that seemed to blind the combatants as it stole the breath from their bodies, and the sense from their minds. As the smoke cleared, Alec could see the terrible scorch marks left by Balial as he was finally sent back to his hellish home. Desperately Alec scanned the area for Magnus, not even daring to breathe until his eyes found the warlock's form slumped and vulnerable near the ruined pentagram.

"Go!" Jace yelled as he stepped into Alec's fight with McKenzie.

Alec did not need to be told twice, as he slashed and fought his way toward Magnus' exposed position. Just as he reached the warlock, a number of heavily armed shadowhunters arrived, joining the battle against the Hellfire Club. The tide had turned, and gradually the fighting ceased as more and more club members dropped their weapons, trying to escape the castle rather than be captured by the Clave. Alec noticed none of it, his attention focused completely on Magnus who he held protectively in his arms.

More and more shadowhunters entered the room and secured the remaining Hellfire Club members. At last, once some semblance of order was re-established Jia Penhallow arrived, followed by a grim looking Maryse Lightwood. Alec, who had remained by Magnus side, rose to greet her.

"Consul Penhallow..."

"Alexander Lightwood, I am suspending you from your duties as Head of the new York Institute. You are to be taken to Idris for trial. Sed lex dura lex;"

At her words, two burly shadowhunters stepped forward to secure Alec. His seraph blade and stele were removed. Not a word passed Alec's lips, he knew the secret of his child's birth was now known, and he knew the law would deal harshly with him and Magnus. At the thought of his husband, Alec turned sharply, almost breaking away from his captors as he watched the warlock struggle to stand.

"Magnus Bane, in accordance with the law, you too are to be taken to Idris for trial. The Warlock Representative on the Counsel has been apprised of this;" Jia's voice rang out again and two more shadowhunter stepped up to escort the exhausted warlock out of the castle.

Aidan Briosag, with Jace Herondale hot on his heels approach Jia Penhallow. "What nonsense is this? He demanded a scowl darkening his handsome face. "I have no issue with you arresting members of the Hellfire Club, God knows they've earned it. But this! Aidan looked as if he was ready to do battle again, this time for Alec and Magnus' freedom and Jace was going to be right at his side.

"High Warlock;" Jia Penhallow said with a quiet authority, refusing to be intimidated by the angry man. "As you are no doubt aware this has to do with the theft and use of illicit magic. I did not create the law, but I am honour bound to enforce it. Magnus Bane will be tried in the Court of Assize and if found guilty, punished accordingly. If you know anything about the child, Aiden Lightwood-Bane, especially his whereabouts I suggest you tell me."

Aidan Briosag knew a little about the Court of Assize, which had been established after the Accords to provide a platform where serious legal matters that crossed shadow world boundaries could be settled. He had been present at the first trial which had taken place in New Orleans with Magnus as the defendant, ironically enough. It hadn't been called the Court of Assize at that time, and Aidan was sure the whole process was much better defined now, but he would still not want to trust his freedom or his life to it. There was cold steel in Aidan's gray-green eyes as he replied to Jia Penhallow; "I swear I will do everything in my power to ensure that child remains hidden, until his fathers are free to raise him again. You have my word on it!"

"You could be doing serious damage to the Accords with that attitude, High Warlock;" Jia said coldly.

"The only thing that will seriously hurt the Accords Consul;" Aidan responded; "Is if you allow this to become a witch trial."

Before the argument could devolve further one of the Edinburgh downworlders interrupted Aidan to let him know that his long time friend Hamish had succumbed to injuries received during the battle. The High Warlock of Edinburgh let out an anguished cry at the news. With great effort he gathered himself before turning once again to Jia Penhallow. "You have one chance to get this right Consul, we will be watching;" And with that he stalked away.

Jace who had been silent throughout this exchange, turned on Maryse who stood beside Jia and hissed angrily; " Are you going to just stand there and let them do this? We are talking about your son and grandson! Have you nothing to say!?"

Maryse looked stricken as she reached out a hand, but dropped it again when Jace whirled on his heal and stepped into line as Magnus and Alec were escorted from the room. What was she going to do? How could she fix this? At the Institute with Isabelle, saving Alec and Aiden's lives were all that had mattered. She knew, of course, that the discovery of her grandson's true origins would be problematic. The old laws, created when downworlders were considered little better than demons, were still on the books, but surely they wouldn't be invoked. The Accords were in place, things were different now, but were they really? Jia had insisted she couldn't circumvent the law, even if it was unjust. The challenge had to come from the Courts.

Maryse found herself struggling for the self-control that had always come easily to her when she was younger, when things had seemed so much more clear cut. A small part of her still longed for the days when she had been so sure, but the truth was, that very need had made her an easy target for Valentine's Circle. My God, what a fool she'd had been, what fools they'd all been, seeing what was easy, not what was real. Maryse couldn't change the past, though she'd long since learned to be ashamed of her part in it, but she'd be damned if she saw the past repeated because no one stood up for what was right. This was her family, in all its wonderful diversity she was fighting for.

The last of the Hellfire Club members were now being escorted from the room and Maryse, overwhelmed by feelings of helplessness and frustration stopped the shadowhunters who flanked Gerard McKenzie. She glared at the former Head of the Edinburgh Institute. Before anyone could react she stepped forward and gave McKenzie a vicious slap across the face that had his head snapping back with the force of it.

Shocked by what had just occurred Jia Penhallow abruptly pulled her friend away and remonstrating; "This isn't helping anything, Maryse;"

"Maybe not, but I feel better;" Maryse said grimly.

The two women watched as the guards removed McKenzie from the room. He would have his day in court, and Maryse hoped the full weight of the law would be brought to bear against him. It wouldn't be enough, not nearly enough for what he had done to her family, but it would be a start.