Once we left the City of Bones, we headed straight to Magnus'. Jace and I hugged our friends and shook a few hands as well. Isabelle got a call saying every shadowhunter had to return to the Institute, so that's where we headed next. Even Alec got to his feet, though Magnus wanted him to rest.
Ethan returned home to let his family know he was okay, and Magnus stayed at his apartment to research. Simon, on the other hand, followed us right to the doors. Knowing they were still strict on outsiders, he hugged Clary as everyone went in. I waited back so I could get a private goodbye.
"Thanks for taking me to Magnus'; the first time," I said with a smile.
"Well, of course. I help and protect the people I care about," Simon said, pulling me in for a hug. I always loved Simon's hugs. He smelled of vanilla and wore soft sweaters. It was nice.
"You're a really good friend, Simon," I said, pulling back so I could look him in the eyes.
"If you need anything, just call me." he smiled.
"I may take you up on that offer," I said, opening the big mahogany church doors. I closed them behind me as my phone started to ring. I walked over to the side and pushed talk, "Hello?"
"Gone rogue, yet?" asked the voice on the other end.
"Raphael , how did you get this number?" I asked, ignoring his question.
"Does it really matter how I got your number?" he asked with a scoff. "I know what's happening to you, and I know how you end up … I can help you."
"I don't need help from a vampire who kidnapped and turned my best friend," I snapped.
"I may have kidnapped Simon, but I wasn't the one to turn him, that was all Camille," Raphael pointed out. "If you change your mind, and you will, come to the Dumort. Talk to you soon..."
I shoved my phone into my back pocket, put on a straight face, and walked into the main room. As I entered, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared. I walked over to Isabelle and asked her what was going on.
"Aldertree told everyone to treat you and Jace with caution. Then he suddenly changed his mind, and it kinda made the others question your and Jace's loyalty," Isabelle whispered.
"He changed his mind because we saved his life," I said as Jace nodded in agreement.
"We know that, and Aldertree knows that, but they don't," Isabelle explained as everyone lost interest and returned to work.
"Carly…"
We all turned to face my mother. She looked like she had been crying, and If she hadn't shot me, then I might've cared. But anger still lurked inside me, and I felt betrayed just looking at her.
"Mother," I said in a monotone voice.
"Can we talk?" Jocelyn asked as she looked toward me with pleading eyes. "In private?"
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Clary said, squeezing my shoulder.
"I know. But I have a few things I want to say," I said as I followed my mother into another room nearby.
She closed the door and got right to the point. "You understand why I did what I did, don't you?"
"I understand. But am I just that much of a monster, you couldn't even try to save me? That executing me was the only option?" I snapped.
"You have demon blood coursing through your veins, Carly. You're a weapon, and if armed, you would have no problem killing others. You would have no remorse," Jocelyn explained.
"What about Jace? He's just as monstrous as I am," I retorted.
"No, he isn't," Jocelyn said as she dropped her eyes to the floor.
"What do you mean, he isn't?!" I exclaimed.
Jocelyn wrung her hands. "Carly, Valentine lied. Jace isn't your brother. I could tell the moment I saw him that he wasn't Jonathan. My Jonathan."
"What are you talking about?" I asked with complete shock.
"The second I got a good look at him, I knew Jace wasn't your brother. I didn't want to rock the boat more than I had, so I kept it to myself. He isn't Jonathan because Jonathan is your identical twin, Carly," Jocelyn admitted.
The words were like a punch to the gut. I collapsed onto a chair with eyes the size of dinner plates. Jocelyn slowly approached and crouched down beside me.
My eyes met hers as I spoke barely above a whisper. "I'm Jonathan's twin…"
"Yes, you are. He tried experimenting with Clary, but she was too old, and the blood wouldn't take. When I got pregnant with you two, he saw the perfect opportunity to try again. And since you were still in the womb, you were the perfect age. Jace is not your brother, if he were, he'd be a murderous monster," Jocelyn explained.
"You're lying," I muttered, avoiding her gaze. "You have to be."
"I'm not, Carly. Valentine experimented on you both because he thought you'd be twin boys, his little warriors. When I woke up one night to find him experimenting on my stomach, I had had enough. When you were born, I grabbed you, the cup, and Clary. Jonathan had been visiting your aunt at the time, and when I got there, the house was already aflame. I ran and didn't stop running until I knew we were safe," Jocelyn said as I got up from the chair and paced.
The anger rose up inside me, and I flipped the table to my right, everything flying across the room, "So, I am a monster. If Jonathan was alive and would have been as monstrous as you say, then I must be just like him."
"Carly, I'm so sorry. When you were little, I had Magnus lock the darkness away so you could live a normal life. I kept you home and watched over you because I was so worried the darkness would come back. I just wanted you never to feel the darkness he put inside of you," Jocelyn admitted as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"It's too late for that now," I said, catching her attention. "The darkness is unlocked. When you shot me, a warlock broke the seal when he healed the wound."
"Are you sure?" Jocelyn asked.
"I don't think a normal seventeen-year-old girl can break two-inch locks with her bare hands or leave a dent in concrete when she punches it. I'm also pretty sure a normal teenager can't kick a locked jail cell door wide open," I said as Jocelyn's face grew sadder.
"It's only going to get worse from here," Jocelyn muttered.
"Isn't there a way to lock it back up?" I asked.
"I…" Jocelyn began as a scream rang throughout the building.
I headed for the door, but she grabbed my hand and pulled me back. I looked down at her hand and then back up at her face. "Don't tell anyone about Jace. Not yet, please. There is already enough going on, adding this to everyone's plate will just make things worse."
"I won't tell anyone, Mother. I'll just know that I'm the monster I always feared I would be," I said as we both headed toward the scream.
Once in the hall, we found Raj lying on the ground. I went to his side and noticed the gaping hole in his chest, right above where his heart used to be. I checked for a pulse, not really expecting to find one. I turned to tell my mom to get help, but she was gone. I returned to Raj as Clary and the rest of the gang turned the corner.
"Carly, what happened?" Clary asked, noticing the body.
"I don't know. I found him like this," I said, looking up at the others.
"It was a demon," Alec said, recognizing the missing heart.
"I thought this place was protected from demons," I retorted.
"I thought so too. Someone must've been possessed and brought it in. Nothing else goes for the heart and rips it out like that," Alec explained.
"So, what do we do?" I asked, looking around at the others.
"We alert everyone in the Institute and issue a lockdown. Then we search until it makes itself known," Alec planned, running out of the hallway.
Isabelle grabbed the first aid personnel, and they took Raj to the morgue while cleaning the floor where he had been lying. Alec went to Mr. Aldertree and told him what had occurred. Aldertree told everyone over the intercom and then locked every door going in and out of the building. Nothing could get in, and nothing was going to get out.
Mr. Aldertree put everyone in teams of two and sent them to search the building. Izzy got Lydia, Jace got Alec, and just to spite me, I was put with Clary. We got to check the creepy, dusty basement. After making it down the deathtrap they called stairs, we began to search.
"So, what did you talk about with mom? You had puffy eyes when we found you, and I know you weren't crying over Raj," Clary said, looking between a pile of boxes.
"It's something I really don't want to talk about right now," I said, holding back more tears. Now that I knew I was a monster and that my twin would have been worse, it made everything complicated.
"Well, then about that conversation we had at the City of Bones…" Clary began.
"It's not important," I said as I heard a scuttle from across the room.
"Don't say that. I'm sorry I never noticed you were lonely or hurting. I'm your sister, and I should've been there for you. I promise, you won't be left out ever again," Clary said as I heard the scuttle for a second time.
"Shhh, something's down here with us," I said as a box tipped over on the other side of the room.
"Carly, I won't leave you out. Okay?" Clary repeated.
"Okay...now shhh," I whispered as we slowly crept to the other side of the room. We snuck through a maze of boxes to find another body with its heart ripped out. I touched the corpse's wrist, and it was still warm.
"This just happened. We need to go, now," I said as we got to our feet.
We headed for the steps, but when we got there, Lydia blocked our path. Her eyes were black. Completely black.
"I don't think you're going anywhere. Hahaha." Lydia laughed, taking a step closer as we backed away.
"Where's Izzy?" Clary quickly asked.
"She's just knocked out. I didn't want to murder her yet," Lydia said with the creepiest smile.
"Lydia, you can fight this," Clary pleaded as I glanced over at her, us both backing away.
"Lydia's asleep, and you'll join her. Haha."
Lydia lounged at Clary. She blocked the attack, causing the demon to pull the blade from Clary's hand. Once bladeless, it knocked her out with the handle to her head. It then lounged at me, pinning me to the wall. All of this happening within seconds. At first, it sniffed me, then it gave me an odd, excited look.
"I can smell the darkness in your blood. I can sense it all over you. The evil of it is … tantalizing." Lydia cooed. "Adding your abilities to mine will make me even stronger."
"I'm not really in the mood to get mind raped by a devil spawn, so if you would let me go…" I said as it loosened its grip and then gripped me tighter.
"Oh, no. You're not going anywhere. I have so many plans for you, hahaha. Now, I want you to stand still. This might tickle."
Lydia forced my mouth open. Then she tilted her head back, and a black mist bellowed out. I struggled against her grip, but there was no escape. The mist made it to my mouth and forced its way down my throat. Once the demon was inside, Lydia fell to the ground unconscious.
I fought for control, but the demon was way more powerful. My body twitched as we fought, and when it had won, I slowly stood tall. While this was happening, Clary had woken up.
"Carly?" Clary asked.
"Oh no, Carly's gone," said the demon as my eyes fluttered open to show nothing but black abysses.
"Get out of my sister's body. Now!" Clary yelled, pointing her blade toward me.
"No, I have things I want to do with all this power. Murder, mischief, and all of the above, hahaha," The demon said with a creepy grin.
"Get out of her right now or so help me…" Clary began.
"Or so help me what? You can't get me in here. You don't want to ruin this nice packaging," The demon whispered, motioning to my body as a whole. "You have no leverage. Goodbye for now..."
Clary spun around, trying to spot me, but I was gone. Clary was about to go find me when she noticed Lydia's chest rise, and she helped Lydia up the stairs. A few others took Lydia from Clary's hands, and she was taken to the infirmary. Once they were out of sight, Clary made her way over to Alec and Jace, who was helping Izzy get to her feet.
"Are you okay?" Clary asked, giving Isabelle a tight hug.
"I'll be fine," Isabelle replied, hugging back.
Jace looked around and noticed I was missing. "Where's Carly?"
"She's..." Clary began as a body fell from the ceiling with its heart missing. Everyone got into battle stances as the demon appeared before the body.
It showed off my eyes as it spoke, "Here."
"Let her go," Alec ordered as everyone pointed their blades at me.
"Why do you want to save her? She's a one-of-a-kind freak. Carly's going to go dark side, and this will be her future. I'm just showing you all who you want to save, hahaha." The demon cooed.
"What is it talking about?" Isabelle asked, looking around at everyone.
"It's…" Jace began.
"Jace, no need. You're not a part of this."
"But I am."
"No because I can read Carly's mind. Carly has demon blood coursing through her veins because of her daddy's experiments. You're Jonathan … Valentine lied. He lied to make her feel less alone and for you to feel like the monster he wants you to be. Besides, you can't be Jonathan, Jonathan was her identical twin, and you look nothing like her," The demon explained, jumping up and down.
"Jonathan was her twin?!" Everyone asked with surprise.
"Indeed he was," The demon confirmed with a cooky smile.
"So where is Jonathan then?" Clary asked, stepping forward.
"He died in that fire years ago when your mother fled with you two," The demon admitted. "Besides, who cares about him? What about Carly and her demon side? I can feel the darkness in her soul. Slithering around, waiting to take control."
"How come no one ever told me Carly was part demon?" Alec asked, trying to hold back some of the anger he was feeling.
"Neither of you were told because we thought it was a good idea not to tell you," Clary said, looking from Alec to Isabelle.
"You knew?" Isabelle asked with shock.
"My mother told Simon and me after she shot Carly. I didn't want to believe her, but when I saw Carly punch a dent in cement, I knew it must've been true. Carly told me that she thought it was activated by Ethan when he healed her. But she wasn't sure," Clary explained.
"Ethan didn't do this," Isabelle quickly replied.
"No, he didn't, but his magic did. It acted as a key to the box, locking the darkness away," Clary said as the demon screeched.
When they all turned back, there was an arrow in the demon's stomach. The owner of the arrow stepped forward, revealing it to be Jocelyn. She put her crossbow up and aimed for the demon a second time.
"Don't you think it's repetitive, Jocelyn? Shooting your daughter with an arrow," The demon said, pulling the arrow out as the wound healed instantly.
"You're not my daughter," Jocelyn said, aiming for my head.
"Mom, don't!" Clary yelled as the room went dark.
They swung at the darkness, hoping to hit the demon, but they had no luck. The backup generators came online, and the room lit up. I was unconscious, and the demon was nowhere in sight. That is until the group turned around, and Alec had Jocelyn in a chokehold. Clary slowly made her way to my body and dragged me over to the group so they could protect me, while the others stayed in their battle stances.
"It's not as strong as Carly's body, but this one is so much cuter," The demon cooed, rubbing its hands up and down Alec's chest.
"Let my mother go," Clary warned.
"And my brother," Jace and Isabelle said at the same time.
"Where's the fun in that? Just giving them back would ruin the purpose of taking them," The demon spat.
"Don't risk your life for mine," Jocelyn gasped.
"We're not going to let you die, even if I barely got to know you," Jace said as he and Jocelyn shared a look.
Consciousness returned as my eyes fluttered open. The others were arguing with the demon as I turned my head to find the dead shadowhunter lying beside me. I reached over him and grabbed his shadow blade, sneaking around the corner of the room. I felt bad, terrible even, but now was not the time to feel sorry. I needed to end this demon before it ended us.
"Letting them go is no fun. I think I'm going to do something a little more … heartbreak..." The demon began as it screeched, letting go of Jocelyn.
As the demon started to shake, it turned around to reveal me behind him. There was a bleeding cut on his forearm, which caught his attention. "Impressive, hahaha. Monster vs. monster. But you see, you can't kill me. Not when I'm in your friend's body. If you kill me, you kill him."
"I might be a monster, but I also know how to fight monsters. I don't need to kill Alec, so I can kill you. As long as you are possessing him and this blade goes through the skin, I kill you," I said as I embedded my blade into Alec's shoulder. It'd kill the demon, but leave Alec with only a scar. The demon started screeching louder as it fell to its knees. But before it died, the demon smiled.
"What are you smiling about, you're about to die," Isabelle spat.
"Oh, I know, but I'm not going out alone." The demon said, shoving its hand through Jocelyn's flesh.
"No!" Clary screamed as the demon ripped Jocelyn's heart from her chest, her body falling to the side.
Alec's body shook as a bright light shone through his eyes. His body collapsed, and the room was filled with Clary's screaming. Jace comforted Clary as Izzy went to check on Alec. After she knew he was alive, she turned to me as a single tear rolled down my cheek. She tried to comfort me, but I just couldn't. I backed away and ran out of the room; to my bedroom. I slammed the door and slid down the wall, sobbing.
