Chapter Seven
A/N: Thank you to Cynder2013, Veridissima, Katie and Catarina Persephone for reviewing the last chapter.
Clary was leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping a cup of hot black coffee, when her stepfather came downstairs, his brow down to the rims of his glasses.
"Morning, Luke." she greeted, a little bemused. True, Luke was not much of a morning person, but even he was usually a bit more cheerful. For some reason, she felt compelled to stand up straighter and placed her mug down on the counter beside her, her fingers having begun to twitch strangely. They had not done that for a long time.
"Morning, Clary." he returned, though his frown did not fade. The man ran a hand through his hair, tousled and matted from sleep, then stumbled blindly towards the coffee pot.
Finally, ignoring the butterflies in the pit of her stomach, Clary made herself ask. "What's wrong?"
"Your mother's gone." he sighed. Immediately, Clary's heart skipped a beat and her fingers fell slack by her sides; for the briefest of moments, she was thankful that she had put down her coffee cup, but the feeling was soon overwhelmed by others. It seemed like years ago that the Ravener had come to her apartment and snatched her mother on Valentine's orders, though it had only been a couple of months. Still, the feelings of dread and anguish were burned into her mind- perhaps they always would be.
It was only on the third attempt that Clary managed to force the words from her mouth. "I assume you don't mean she popped out to see a friend."
Luke did not even manage a half-smile; in fact, he looked as if he were only a few moments away from bursting into tears. Not trusting himself to speak, he simply shook his head.
"Do you know what happened to her?" she asked, trying not to sound too fearful. "Do you know how long she's been gone?"
Again, Luke shook his head, a despairing expression twisting his features. "She woke up in the middle of the night- nightmares- and I was there with her when she went back to sleep. Then I woke up this morning and she was gone."
"What, do you think someone took her?" Clary pressed, unable to keep the tremor out of her voice. It was all happening again, like before.
In response, the man only shrugged his shoulders, though even that efforts seemed to drain him, when he was slumped over in defeat. "I don't see how they could have done. I was there with her the whole time. Surely, I would have woken if someone else had been there."
Clary knew what her stepfather meant. As a werewolf, his senses were highly tuned to any disturbances which could pose a threat to him or those around him. Even after knowing them for so long, it had taken Luke weeks to become accustomed to living with Jocelyn and Clary. Any stranger would surely have woken him up in an instant when they entered the house, let alone if they had abducted her mother from the same room.
A thought pushed its way to the front of her mind once again and this time Clary found it far more difficult to ignore. At first, she had dismissed it as nonsense- her mother would never do such a thing- but now, it was the only explanation that made any sense.
"Do you think there's any chance she might have left on her own?" Clary posed the question gently, expecting her step-father to be upset by the idea of his new wife abandoning them in the night. But despite himself, Luke began to slowly nod his head.
"She must have done." Luke's voice was almost a whisper as he crossed the room and Clary had to strain her ears to hear him. True, Luke was not the loudest of people, but she had only heard him speak so quietly when he was truly despairing. It was not lost on her that most of the times he had done so were within the last few months. "I just don't understand where she could have gone. She doesn't know anyone in Idris, not anymore. Most people here aren't very forgiving of Circle members."
Clary opened her mouth to comment, but closed it. After her experiences in the Dark and Mortal Wars, she had realised just how unforgiving Nephilim were, ignoring her own actions and judging her by those of her father and brother. 'Actually, that's not exclusive to Nephilim. People see what they want to see.'
"All the portals are on lockdown after the message, she must be here somewhere." Clary reasoned, sounding far calmer than she felt. There was fear buried deep in Luke's eyes, though he tried to conceal it, and without her mother to placate him, Clary felt that responsibility must fall on herself. She crossed the room to the coat stand, collecting her leather jacket and Luke's denim one, holding the latter out to him. "She can't have got far, we just have to start looking."
Luke stared at her, unblinking for a second, his eyes flitting between her pleading face and the proffered jacket. Then he stood a little straighter, his head held high, the image of the soldier Clary rarely saw in him. He grasped the jacket, slung it round his shoulders and headed for the door. From behind her red hair, Clary smirked, blinking back the slight film of tears in her eyes. It was going to be alright.
By the time they reached the outskirts of the city, their weary feet colliding heavily with the pavement each step they took, Luke and Clary had almost given up hope. The setting sun was reflected on the surface of Lake Lyn, the light slowly fading; it was ironic, Clary considered, given that the chance of finding her mother was growing ever dimmer. The same sense of despair when she had arrived home to find a trashed apartment was rising in her heart.
Clary made to continue towards the bank, but Luke's hand on her arm stopped her. "I don't think we're going to find her tonight, Clary. We'd better head back, then we can start looking again in the morning."
"I guess you're right." Clary conceded, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. "It's going to be too dark to see anything anyway soon, so-"
Her voice trailed away, in that moment, and she did not know whether to laugh or cry. The fading light had caught a flash of flaming red hair, strewn across the river bank around her mother's unconscious body.
A/N: Sorry it's been so long, but here's an update, in celebration of Christmas and the new season of Shadowhunters! Please review!
