Thanks for all the reviews you guys. I really do feel sucky about not updating-but at the risk of sounding cliche or using a frequent excuse, I really do have a lot of stuff going on. But as soon as I find the time to finish a chapter, I put it up, so know that I'm doing the best I can. Hopefully, I can finish this soon, since it would be kind of lame to continue this after the actual book comes out. Thank you, and continue to read and review! :-)
Chapter 18
Clary tried to ignore the incredible unease that she'd been feeling all night. She'd tried to convince herself to have fun; Tessa would take care of everything. She glanced at the clock: it was nine-thirty. The longer Jace remained unresponsive, the deeper she worried.
"What's the matter, Biscuit?" Magnus asked her, putting a warm arm around her. "We're about to play truth or dare."
"How can you think about truth or dare when Jace is still in there?" Clary asked, fighting back tears. "And how do you know that Brother—that Jem will help us?"
They all lounged in Isabelle's room, and Clary sat separate from the crowd as her friends prepared to play a game.
Her head was still reeling from when Jem—formerly Brother Zachariah—had offered to help them. She'd always pictured Silent Brothers as old, bald, eye-less men. But when this handsome, black haired boy had shown up instead, Isabelle had said, "Okaaaay. When did Brother Zachariah get hot?"
"He's our best shot." Magnus said now. "He's the only one Sebastian doesn't recognize."
Clary once again tried to tap into Jace's head. His thoughts were muddled and incomprehensible, she noticed while sifting through them. He was conscious, but barely so, stumbling after Jem.
Suddenly, one thought shot through her head, loud, as if Jace was yelling at her. Help! Abbadon…. Before…10:00…Now.. his thoughts once again lost focus.
"Listen up!" Clary shouted, startling everyone.
Once she had everyone's attention, she stood up. "We need to go in there. He needs us; he told me himself."
Clary repeated Jace's message.
Maia's brow furrowed in confusion. "That doesn't make sense. Help Abbadon? Isn't that a demon, or something?"
"That's probably not what he meant." Clary explained. "There's something wrong with him. I think he might have a concussion."
"Jace? Get a concussion?" Jordan asked. "How? The guy's practically a god."
"I'm sure he'd be happy to hear that." Magnus said, chuckling.
Clary delved into his thoughts even more. After about a minute of digging, she found something, horrified at what she saw.
"What is it?" Isabelle asked.
" He knows." After everyone looked at her in confusion, she elaborated. "He found out about us. About Jace."
"So then what happened?" Alec asked, anxiety creeping onto his face.
"Sebastian threw him across the room."
Alec winced just thinking about it, and Isabelle put a loving hand onto his shoulder.
"How hard?" Magnus asked.
"How hard does the best pro-pitcher throw a baseball?" Clary asked.
"Well, the fastest pitch ever recorded was 105.1 miles per hour, thrown by—" Jordan started.
"Yeah, I get the picture." Clary cut him off, sensing a sports rant. "Well, Sebastian threw Jace about twice that hard."
Simon whistled. "That'll do it."
"The point is his thoughts are kind of jumbled right now." she explained. "So he's having trouble communicating with me. And if he's asking for help, it must be pretty serious."
Clary tried not to let the pressure get to her. She felt herself breathing faster, and she fought to calm herself down. Panicking would not help Jace, she remembered.
"Let's go in." Alec decided.
Everyone stood up, and Magnus patted Clary's back reassuringly. Clary couldn't help but wish Jace had done that instead.
Jace looked around frantically, and for the first time in his life, he felt like running away. With only a short dagger in hand, he'd been able to do little damage to the greater demon, and though Jem had the build of a good Shadowhunter, he seemed a little bit…rusty.
Still, he'd fought Abbadon before. And though it hadn't been him who'd finished the demon, he remembered its techniques. When Abbadon once again sprung at him, he sank his dagger into its abdomen. Though it squealed, it seemed to be more in annoyance than pain; a dagger wasn't nearly as useful as a seraph blade.
Still, he'd managed to distract the demon, and kicked it as hard as he could where he'd stabbed it, causing more black blood to ooze from it.
Meanwhile, Jem stood on the other side of the demon, plunging his seraph blade into his back.
Abbadon whirled, and as he closed in on Jem, Jem yelled, "Use the fire!"
"What?" Jace asked.
"The heavenly fire!" he said.
Of course! Jace thought. The heavenly fire was one of a demon's main weaknesses. But he'd never summoned it willingly before.
Though Jem had spared with him, Abbadon was clearly winning. It lifted an arm, as if to strike, and knowing that he didn't have another choice, Jace flung himself at him.
He and the demon rolled on the floor, and luckily, Jace ended up on top. he used the dagger, already black with ichor, to stab the demon one more time as he willed the heavenly fire to come.
Suddenly, it welled up inside him, and he felt warm, euphoric even, as his body glowed with it. Abbadon put a hand in front of its misshapen face, but it was already too late. Jace had already locked one arm around it and one inside it, squeezing with as much force as he could, feeling the demon growing smaller as it folded in on itself.
Soon he was holding onto nothing; even the black blood on his hand had dissolved.
"That was amazing." said Jem. "I knew you could do it."
Jace smiled, feeling lighter and freer. Then he noticed something: the headache had vanished.
"The heavenly fire cured you." Jem said, as if reading his thoughts. "You should feel much better now."
"Wait a second." Jace said. "How would you know about the heavenly fire unless…unless—"
Suddenly, the pieces fit together in his head: The warm, oddly familiar voice that Jace hadn't been able to place, the raven black hair and Asian features that had looked different under a hood.
"Brother Zachariah?" Jace asked.
Rebecca wondered what had happened to her life as Sebastian chained her to a pole. He'd taken Jace and her up a steep staircase and after half an hour of climbing, had forced them into what looked like a futuristic watch tower. The whole room was circular, with a large, glass dome over it. When she looked through it, all she saw was a dense, black void. Although fluorescent lamps kept the room alight, she still felt like she was surrounded by darkness.
Her feet brushed green carpet, and at first, she'd thought Sebastian was going to let them sit down. But instead, he proceeded to tying them up.
"Don't worry." Sebastian reassured. "After the ceremony is over, you won't feel a thing."
A single tear rolled down her cheek. How did she end up in the hands of a psycho, when just a month ago, she'd been at college, laughing with her friends and studying art history?
And she still couldn't figure out why there were two Jaces.
One, she recalled, had been shoved into a wardrobe by the other, badly bruised and only half conscious, and the Jace that remained had been escorted up here with her. Maybe she'd been dreaming.
Maybe she'd gone crazy.
Regardless, the Jace that had gone with her stood against a pole at the other side of the room, and he didn't seem like the one she'd gotten to know. He looked around frantically, and hadn't even said anything witty or sarcastic when Sebastian had taken them up there.
If this really was the last time she'd feel anything, she decided to think of Simon one last time. Simon, who had vowed to protect her, even when she'd spent her childhood protecting him. Her brother. Her friend.
Was he coming?
"Why are you crying?" Sebastian asked. He looked genuinely confused. "Soon, you'll be stronger than ever, better than any of your mundane friends or any other Shadowhunter combined. You'll be faster than anyone's ever imagined. And you'll be happy to help me."
"If it works." Jace interjected. "Which, as I told you, it won't."
"Who gave you permission to talk?" Sebastian asked Jace, looking mildly aggravated.
Jace shrugged with a slight smile on his face. How he could be a smartass in a situation like this, Rebecca couldn't fathom.
Just then, Garrick strode in, looking bruised and tired for some reason unknown to Rebecca.
"Take him." Sebastian ordered the warlock. "Make him less annoying."
Garrick took a step forward, and then backed up.
Sebastian rolled his eyes. "For God's sake, don't be a pussy. Take him."
The ropes around Jace disappeared. At first, Jace started to run, but then, his body froze in place. Suddenly, he started following Garrick, but his moves looked robotic, forced. His face was contorted in pain as they left the room.
"Now we can begin." Sebastian said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Rebecca took one last look out of the glass dome that surrounded her. The dark emptiness of the Void reminded her of the state of her heart.
