Chapter 28
We arrived at Magnus' loft and he met us at the door. He did not look pleased to see Camille. She however looked positively thrilled.
"So, Magnus, how long has it been? One hundred? One hundred fifty years?" She waltzed into his apartment. I knew that they had been together but it was so weird to see them in the same room.
"One hundred and thirty-eight. Oddly, I haven't missed you." Magnus quipped, obviously getting frustrated with her already.
"Of course you have, my love." Ew. If she was going to continue flirting, this was going to be a long night.
"All right, you two can catch up later." Clary thankfully interrupted.
"Or don't." I added. Magnus gave me a look. "Just saying."
"Right now, we need to find the Book of the White." Clary continued.
"And you will, but not without payment. You of all people should understand that." Camille stared at Magnus. He nodded slowly.
"Of course. And what is it you require?" He asked
"A clean slate." Camille smirks again. I'm really starting to hate that smirk.
"She wants a Writ of Turning-Me-Into-A-Vampire." Simon interjects.
"And we need you to draft it." Clary finished. I stayed silent. My input right now probably wasn't helpful.
"Hmm. I thought I was done with you." Magnus sighed walking over to his workspace.
"We'll never be done with each other."
Izzy pulled me to the side. "I'm gonna call for backup." I nodded.
"Simon, can I talk to you for a minute?" Clary pulled Simon into the other room leaving me with my father and Camille. Deciding I don't want to see this I walk out onto the balcony. Taking a few deep breaths, I tried to compartmentalise everything that had happened over the last few minutes, hours, days. Everything moves so fast when you're in a war. Nothing was certain. Well almost nothing. Turning round I noticed Izzy walking back through the door with Alec, both looking so disgusted. I turned my head in time to see Camille plant one of my father. I stormed back into the room.
"Woah! Don't cross a line bitch," I snarled at Camille. She seemed surprised my reaction. I glared at her until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned into Alec's chest and wrapped my arms round his waist breathing in his scent. I hadn't realised how much I missed him until now. I gripped the back of his jacket and his arms came to rest on my back. We pulled apart and I looked around for Jace. He shook his head and said, "Where's Clary?" I nodded over to the back room. He squeezed my hand before heading into the back. I followed him. Clary and Simon stood as we enter.
"Alec, did you find Hodge?" She asked.
"Yeah, but Valentine has the Cup." I snapped my eyes up to him.
"What? We're too late." I whispered, shaking my head.
"Where's Jace? Is he okay?" Clary looks confused.
"He went after Valentine by himself. It's like he's totally lost it. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen." Alec stated, obviously angry. I took his hand again in an attempt to calm him.
"We need to find Jace. He's in a dark place. We don't know what he's gonna do." Clary's eyes shot around to all of us, clearly starting to panic.
"Luke is out looking for him. Jace wants us to stay on mission." I nodded slowly.
"That means we have to find the book." I said to her.
"They're right. We have to wake up your mom." Simon added.
"It's our only way to stop Valentine." Clary summarised, setting her face with determination. We walked back into the main room to see Camille with a giddy grin on her face.
"Ready to sign?" She asked Simon. Simon wasn't having any of it.
"Take us to the apartment, give us the book, then you can have your pardon." I smirked, before giving Simon a wink. That's my boy. Camille huffed angrily glaring at us all before whipping her head back round to Simon.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." She smiled sickly sweet.
"Good." Simon deadpanned and left.
I have to admit having Alec, Izzy, Clary, Simon, Magnus, Camille and myself all squished in the Bat Van was not something I thought would ever happen but that is how we found ourselves, speeding over to Camille's apartment. She directed me into a very fancy underground car park where we got out and headed to an equally fancy lift. Always the showoff. We got out at the 13th floor to see what looked like a grand library. Books lined every wall and some items of furniture were dotted around.
"I thought the underground parking was nice. Wow." Simon muttered to Clary behind me.
"You've got a lot of books." Alec stared around at the book coated apartment.
"I've got a lot of time on my hands." Camille smirked. A well-dressed man came to meet us in the hallway.
"Welcome home, Madame Belcourt." He bowed to Camille.
"This place creeps me out." Izzy muttered to me.
"Yeah. Let's check the perimeter." Alec agreed.
"Good idea. If I know Camille, she'll have a trick or three up her sleeve." Izzy, Alec and Magnus head out into a different room. I raked my eyes over the bookshelves to see if I could find anything that resembles what we saw in the alternate dimension.
I turned sharply when I hear Simon exclaim in pain, "Ow." Camille had pricked his finger with a quill and was now pulling him over to the Writ. After a moment Simon signed it and Camille grinned and held it to her chest.
"He did what you asked. Now give us the Book of the White." Clary commanded. I kept my eyes on Camille's back as she headed over the bookcase and looked at the binds.
"I'd love to but I can't." She shrugged. "I have no idea where it is."
"What!" I felt my heart racing with fury. "Dot gave it to you." I hissed.
"I'm sure it's here somewhere. But if the idea was to hide it, telling me would defeat the purpose. Dot must have put it somewhere when I wasn't looking." I tried to calm my breathing but it was getting harder and faster.
"So we have to search the whole apartment?" We were all pissed.
"See? That's the spirit. Although I'd start now. I've got four more rooms just like this one." She laughed. I couldn't stand to be here anymore and moved into the next room to start looking at every book. I ran my fingers over the spines of every book but nothing fit. I was getting frustrated and irritated. Suddenly I felt a buzz in the back of my brain, the same as when magic was being used nearby. I turned my head and saw a purple portal had formed in the next doorway. I went to shout but a hand covered my mouth and forced me to my knees. Panic started to set in as the man's hands pushed down on my shoulders.
"Down!" He spat, shoving me harder. I couldn't take my eyes off the portal long enough to even look at the man. When it was fully formed, Valentine stepped through looking smug. My rage from earlier came back full force and my skin started getting hot.
"Before you say anything dear Charlotte, are you not even a little curious about where I got that ring." He nods down to the ring, now round my neck.
"I know where you got it! It's my mothers. So, either she is still alive and you have kept her prisoner all this time or she's dead and you stole it!" I shouted at him, mainly because I was pissed but a little part of me (alright a large part of me) hoped that the shouting would attract the others. I felt my eyes begin to well up, but I tried to force them not to fall. I didn't want to show any weakness to this monster.
"Don't you care which one?" He paced round me slowly watching my reactions.
"Of course, I care! But she's been dead for 10 years to me, and if it means stopping you from having your big reveal moment then I'm okay with not knowing!" I heard a rush of footsteps and Clary, Simon and Izzy ran into the room.
"Charlie!" Simon shouted seeing me on the floor.
"I'm okay!" I shouted back.
Valentine opened up him arms. "Clarissa. So good to see you again. Where's your brother?"
"You think I'd tell you?" Clary snapped.
"You won't have to." Valentine laughed approaching them. Simon ran out in front to stop him.
"Stay away from her!" Valentine pushed him down in one swoop and he was grabbed by another goon. Izzy grabbed his seraph blade with her whip to stop him from hurting Simon, but Valentine just pulled causing her to fall to the floor and also be grabbed.
"Stop!" A shout from the other side of the room caught out attention. Jace. "This time you're not getting away." Valentine turned with a grin.
"Finally, ready to kill your own father?"
"You abandoned me," Jace yelled.
"I was protecting you. You weren't ready then, but you've grown. You've become the warrior I've trained you to be." Valentine was trying really hard to get through to him.
"You trained me well." Luckily Jace was having none of it.
"And yet, I still have so much to teach you. I brought you here for a reason. Look, fight me, and watch your friends die." On this, two more henchmen pulled Alec and Magnus into the room. I gasped as two of the people I cared most about struggled against the goon's strong holds. "See, you are strong, but they make you weak."
"No," I whispered, I knew where this was going.
"Let us go. You can have the book. We won't be able to stop you without it." Clary tried to bargain.
"He never wanted the book, Clary. He would have made it here much earlier if that was the case. He wants Jace… and you." I said slowly. Valentine turned to smirk at me.
"Just like your mother is, so smart, so brave."
"Is?" I whispered. If anything, his smirk got wider. He turned towards Jace.
"You ready? If I go with you promise me, you won't hurt them." Jace stated, his voice strong.
"You have my word." Valentine agreed.
"This is insane." Clary shouted. My head was still reeling. I needed to hear him say it. I needed him to tell me that she was alive. "Jace what are you doing? You can't be serious! Valentine is wrong. You're not like him." Clary was begging now, tears streaming down her face. "I'm not. You're not!"
"You don't know that, Clary. You don't know that." Jace couldn't fight anymore.
"Let them go." Valentine ordered. As soon as we were released, we tried to push towards Jace but he pushed us back.
"Get back, get back. Alec, I mean it." The goons went through the portal and Valentine began to walk towards it. I had to know.
"TELL ME!" I screamed at him. I might not get another chance. Valentine turned and looked me dead in the eye. I could hear Clary screaming, being held back by Alec but at that moment I was totally focused on him.
"She's alive… they both are." And with that he was gone, disappeared into the purple portal. I felt my knees give out from underneath me. I felt like my head was going to explode.
They were alive.
They.
Were.
Alive.
They.
They.
They.
They.
Alive.
Alive.
Alive.
Alive.
My brain buzzed and fizzed with the realisation that Valentine now had Jace, my mother… and my father. They were alive. I felt a cool breeze brush across my face that brought me back down the earth. The hardwood floor under my knees, the sounds of heavy breathing and crying. I turned my head to see Clary crying into Izzy's shoulder and Magnus rushing over to me. As soon as he reached me, I threw myself at him and said, "They're alive. They're alive. They're alive." He rubbed my back gently. He seemed just as speechless as me. We sat there rocking each other for a few minutes. I heard talking but I was too wrapped up in everything that had happened that I couldn't focus. I felt myself get lifted up and moved. We went down into the lift and into the van. Before I even registered what was happening, we were back at the Institute and I had Alec stood in front of me.
"Come on," He whispered taking my hands and leading me inside. He pulled me off into a corridor and held me tightly. I felt myself returning to reality as I held him close. I took a deep breath and looked up at him.
"They're alive Alec. My parents. He's had them this whole time. I had my suspicions but…"
"What do you mean, you had suspicions?" I gently pulled the ring out from under my shirt and showed it to him.
"When we were at Renwicks, before he portaled away, Valentine threw this at me. It's my mums, her engagement ring. It was mine too, in the alternate universe. I knew as soon as I saw it. I just needed him to say it." Alec brushed his fingers gently over the ring. Taking my face in his hands he made me look at him.
"We will get them back, and Jace. We will get them all back." And I believed him. With every fibre of my being I believed him. Footsteps in the hallway caused us to turn and see Luke coming towards us.
"They're ready. They moved her to the Ops Centre." I nodded. Alec gripped my hands and we followed Luke towards Op's.
Jocelyn was floating in the centre of the room. Everything had been moved. I moved over to Clary and took her hand with my free one. She was squeezing so hard it was painful, but I didn't care. If this worked, we would have our mum back.
"Do you really think this is gonna work?" Clary asked as she passed Magnus the book.
"Let us hope." Magnus took a deep breath and opened it.
"Jocelyn!" He shouted so loud it echoed around the room. He began chanting in a language I didn't understand so I gripped Alec and Clary's hands even harder. We stood and we watched as Magnus continued to chant until the green cocoon diminished and she began to fall. Luke swooped in and caught her before she hit the floor holding her close. I couldn't breathe even as I saw her begin to move. It wasn't until I heard her whisper, "Luke," that relief smacked into me like a wave. I felt myself sag but Alec gripped my arm to stop me from falling. She was back. She was alive. Luke gently placed her on the floor, and she looked around in amazement before seeing us.
"Mom." Clary's voice broke as she rushed up to hug her. I felt like my feet couldn't move but as soon as she looked at me, they were moving, fast towards her. I threw my arms around my family and sunk my head into her neck. "Mom! We've missed you so much." She smelled like home, so familiar, so far removed from the life that we lived now.
"Oh Clary, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you about your past." Jocelyn whispered
"No, not now. I have had enough for one day. We can talk about all that later. Right now, I just I just really need my mom." Clary whispered before gripping Jocelyn even tighter. I pulled back feeling that Clary needed this more than me and walked back over to Alec. I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head against his chest. He gently kissed the top of my head, which was caught by Jocelyn who raised an eyebrow but smiled, nonetheless. We had a lot to tell her.
