I don't own the characters or places!
The next day passed in a blur. It was Alastair who took her back into the Institute after she'd stared at the place where James and Matthew had vanished for what felt like hours. Despite all her protests that they needed to do something, he accompanied her to her room and sat down on the bed with her. Then he took her hands – the hands Matthew had healed only a short while ago – and sighed deeply.
"We'll find a way, Layla." Alastair whispered soothingly. "We'll get them back."
"But how?"
Her brother didn't have an answer to that question.
The next day, both Cornelia and Alastair made their way to Cornwall Gardens, needing to help their mother pack her things. The Enclave had decided to trust Belial's bargain and had ordered all the Shadowhunters to leave London within the timeframe of thirty-six hours he'd given them.
Cordelia had been offered to stay at the Institute while her brother left, but she couldn't bear to stay there. Not after everything that happened. With the gaping hole that both Matthew and James had left.
They were all still shaken by the events of the previous day. Christopher had nearly died. Tatiana Blackthorn was dead. Belial wanted to take over London. He had those false Silent Brothers and Iron Sisters as his allies. And Matthew and James were gone.
Cordelia had held Lucie while she cried in the morning. Anna was walking around the Institute restlessly, not able to direct her anger at anything. Christopher kept spending time with Grace and they could be found in different rooms of the Institute, always talking quietly. Sometimes Jesse joined them, but most of the time, it was only the two of them. Thomas always kept an eye on Christopher, as if he was afraid that he might also vanish. Alastair tried to distract him and seemed to be surprised that it worked – something that let Cordelia roll her eyes despite everything that happened.
The evening before the Shadowhunters had to leave London, they all gathered in Cordelia's room. It was the least suspicious, considering that she'd just lost her husband and needed company. If they only knew that the loss of James' parabatai hurt her even more.
Then they started planning.
While they made their way to the place where the portal to Idris would open, Cordelia kept wondering if their plan would really work. They'd tried again to convince the other Shadowhunters that it was foolish to abandon London like this. They couldn't let Belial win and give up on James and Matthew. But no one would listen. They said that they were still children and couldn't understand the gravity of the situation. That they should stop dreaming of glory in battle – a battle they couldn't win this time – and should rather be realistic.
It had hurt, even if they'd already expected this reaction. It only made them more determined to do what was necessary.
They wandered through the dark and lifeless streets of London and Cordelia looked at her friends. Lucie was walking next to Jesse, seemingly lost in thoughts. Thomas was holding Oscar on a leash. The dog had earned them a few curious glances, bot no one protested that they wanted to take him with them. After all, he was everything that was left of Matthew. And others also carried their pets with them. Ari, for example, carried Winston in a cage. And even Martin Wentworth held a tortoise in a small glass cage. Then there was Grace, who was still limping slightly and held onto Christopher's arm. He'd tried to convince her to draw healing runes on her feet, but she'd refused. Anna walked stone-faced next to Ari. And Alastair was next to Risa, who was pushing Sona in a chair since she couldn't walk.
The archway that should lead them back to Idris stood in a park close to the river. In fact, there was nothing else surrounding it. Alastair had looked it up before they left, saying that it been the water entrance to a grand mansion before London built out the Embankment. Now the gate was standing 150 yards from the river itself, in the middle of the park. There seemed to be no connection between the York Gate and Belial or anything demonic. Cordelia thought that it was just Belial's sense of humour, sending them through a set of doors that led from nowhere to nowhere.
There was a shadow inside the archway which began to move. Instead of showing them the other side of the park, they could see a wintry meadow and mountains rising in the distance. Any Shadowhunter would recognize those mountains. It was the border of Idris.
This was it. Their way out of London. Yet no one moved.
In the end, it was Charles who spoke first. "I'll go." He said into the silence. "And I'll signal from the other side if everything's all right."
It seemed to be all right, according to Charles' wave, and also the one from Martin Wentworth who followed him. And then, one by one, the Shadowhunters started to leave London.
Except for a group of young men and women, who began to chase a dog who had broken free of his leash and began to run in circles.
"Oscar!" Thomas shouted and began to run after him.
"Bloody dog." Alastair cursed, while he ran to help him. One by one, everyone from their group started to chase after Oscar. Next to Thomas and Alastair there were Ari (who'd pushed Winston's cage into Eugenia's hands) and Anna, Christopher and Grace, as well as Lucie and Jesse.
Cordelia turned to her mother. "Risa, I have to help. Bring Mâmân through, I'll see you on the other side in a moment." With one last look at her mother, she ran after the others.
While they chased Oscar, the other Shadowhunters all made their way through the Portal. In the end, they were the only ones left. Oscar threw himself on the ground and Anna got down on her knees next to him, laying a hand on his side. "Good dog. What a very good dog you are, Oscar."
Their plan had been made in haste and they weren't sure if it would really work. But Matthew and James had trained Oscar well and he knew lots of tricks. Like running away from people for as long as it was required.
Thomas grinned. "Good boy." He said, rubbing Oscar gently behind the ears. "You did exactly what you were meant to do."
"Who would have thought Matthew Fairchild's dog would be so well trained?" Alastair said with a side glance at Cordelia.
"Matthew and James used to train Oscar together." Lucie explained. "They taught him all sorts of games and tricks." She sighed. "They'd be proud to know that it worked."
Cordelia hoped that they would get a chance to tell them. She could already picture Matthew's amusement about it. Surely, Oscar would get a big treat for fooling the Enclave.
"I feel so guilty." Ari muttered. "My mother… what will she think when I don't join her?"
"Eugenia will explain our plan to everyone." Thomas said. "She promised she would." It had been his idea to tell her about their plan. She hadn't been happy about her role, but in the end, she'd agreed to leave with the others instead of staying in London as well.
"The Portal's closing." Alastair said suddenly and they all turned to see that the view of Idris in the archway faded. Only moments later, all they could see was the other side of the park. The archway had returned to what it was. A gate that led from nowhere to nowhere.
This was it. Their way out of London had vanished. They were trapped.
"What now?" Grace whispered, still staring at the archway.
Cordelia took a deep breath. "Now we go back to the Institute."
On their way back, Cordelia tried not to think about everything too much. Now that their plan had worked, all her worries about Matthew and James were back. Especially about Matthew. Belial needed James. He wouldn't hurt him. Matthew, on the other hand… She hoped that he was all right. That he was still alive.
Alastair had tried to reassure her that Belial wouldn't hurt Matthew if he wanted James to cooperate. After all, he still had to give himself up willingly. Something he'd never do if Matthew was hurt or even dead.
But it was hard to believe that, now that they walked through this dark London, trying not to be seen. Lucie kept close to Cordelia all the time, as did her brother. However, it only did little to reassure her. Cordelia knew that she could only relax again if she knew that both Matthew and James were all right.
They were all silent on their way to the Institute. Once, she caught Jesse asking Lucie if someone had seen Bridget leave London, but no one was sure about that. Most probably, they didn't pay attention to her among the crowd. After all, they had their own things to worry about.
And then they were back and the planning began once more. This time, however, they could sit in the library and write down their plans openly. No more hiding. Not when they were the only ones left.
It was Thomas who started to talk when it became obvious that no one else would say something. "First priority is securing the Institute. Board up the windows of any room we're going to use, and no lights in any room we're not using. We chain up the front doors. From now on we enter and exit only by the Sanctuary. With some luck we can keep Belial from knowing that any Shadowhunters stayed behind at all."
"He'll figure it out eventually." Alastair threw in. "If we weren't spotted by Watchers on our way back from the water gate already."
Ari, who was taking notes, pointed her chalk at him. "That's very dark thinking, Alastair, and we won't have it. The longer we keep our presence hidden, the better."
"Agreed." Anna said. "Next. Ari and I are going to try to find a way in and out of London. There must be some magical gate Belial would have missed. A left over warlock Portal, a path to Faerie. Something."
"What about trying to get back the way Tatiana and the Watchers got here?" Christopher suggested. "The Path of the Dead." He glanced at Grace while saying it.
They'd done much research in the past days and had learned what the Path of the Dead was. A passageway that led from the Silent City to the Iron Tombs. After Tatiana had been imprisoned, she'd opened the gate within the City of Bones to allow Belial's forces to walk through from the Iron Tombs. Right into the heart of the Silent City. And from there to London.
"I wish we could do that, but remember what Charles said. The entrance to the Silent City is sealed and we couldn't possibly fight off the demons that would attack if we tried to open it." Anna said. "Especially now, when there is no real daylight, there is no time we would be safe in trying."
"If we had the aid of a warlock, we might be able to try." Lucie argued. "Magnus and Hypatia are in Paris, but Malcolm is the High Warlock of London, he must at least know what happened. And not just warlocks. We must attempt to make contact with any Downworlders still in London and see if they can be of help. Belial said they were all under his control, but he lies about everything." It was a clever thought, Cordelia had to admit.
"Fire-messages." Grace said suddenly, her eyes wandering to Christopher. "If we get them working, we can perhaps send messages to Idris. Since Belial doesn't know they exist."
Christopher nodded slowly. "We're getting closer to making it work. After all, we already sent a message once."
"Half a message." Alastair muttered and crossed his arms. "Which didn't even make sense." However, his lips twitched when he looked at Thomas.
"The Watchers." Cordelia said now. "It's dangerous, but we must learn more about them. What they can do. Whether they have any weaknesses we can exploit." She turned to Lucie. "Have you ever encountered the ghost of a Silent Brother or Iron Sister? I know their bodies do not decay, but what of their souls?"
Lucie shook her head. "I have never seen such a ghost. Wherever their souls are voyaging, it is someplace further than I have ever been."
"Figuring out anything about the Watchers is going to be difficult." Alastair threw in. "We need to remain undetected. If we fight a Watcher and run away, it will report us to Belial. If we fight a Watcher and kill it, it will be missed. I'm not saying we shouldn't try. Maybe we could drop heavy things on them from above." Her brother looked thoughtful and Cordelia knew that an idea was already forming in his mind.
"You're on dropping things on Watchers from above." Anna agreed, maybe also sensing that Alastair was already scheming. "Meanwhile the worst and most important problem remains."
"Saving Matthew and James." Cordelia whispered with a nod.
Jesse looked around. "We'll have to find them first."
"James will hold out for as long as he can." Lucie's voice sounded firm when she said it. "But we don't know how long that will be, or if Belial will find a way of possessing him without his consent."
"And Belial didn't expect to take Matthew at all." Cordelia felt sick while she said it. "He has no reason to keep him alive. So we have even less time than that." Suddenly, someone took her hand and squeezed it gently. To her surprise, it was Anna. Who looked at her knowingly and also a little concerned. So maybe she and Matthew hadn't been as subtle in their attempts to keep their relationship secret as they thought.
"He has one reason to keep Matthew alive." Lucie threw in now. "James will never cooperate if Belial hurts him." Alastair nodded at this and Cordelia shot her best friend a grateful glance.
Thomas sighed. "We'll have to cling to that for now. Since we don't even know where to start looking for them. Edom is another world. We have no way of reaching it. Perhaps with the help of a warlock…" He shook his head then, dismissing the thought. But for a brief moment, Cordelia wondered if they could reach Edom. Not with the help of a warlock, but maybe another greater demon?
"So Ari and I will be looking for magical ways in and out of London." Ari concluded now. "Christopher and Grace will figure out how to make the fire-messages work."
"I can help them." Jesse offered.
Anna nodded. "Alastair, you and Thomas are on Watchers and how to fight them. Cordelia –"
"Lucie and I will look into the Downworlders." Cordelia said. "And we'll figure out how to rescue Matthew and James." Maybe her idea could work. It was crazy, but just maybe… She had to keep the faith that somehow, they could make it to Edom and find Matthew and James.
"That's all the tasks and all of us." Ari said, looking up from the notes she'd taken. "Funny how quickly things can be accomplished when the rest of the Enclave isn't here to slow us down."
"When everything has gone to Hell, it focuses the mind rather effectively." Alastair muttered darkly.
Then they all began to talk about the different tasks at hand. When Lucie came over and joined Cordelia, she felt a small spark of hope. Maybe everything would turn out all right in the end.